US

A dog breeder was shot and killed on Monday night after a planned sale of a French bulldog went wrong, police have said. Lonnie A Ray, 76, organised to sell the dog in Bishopville, South Carolina. Authorities described Mr Ray as “probably the best breeder” in the area. Mr Ray had planned to meet the

Chinese “spy” balloons have been spotted in skies above countries across five continents, according to US officials. The US has also been in touch with its allies on the issue of the balloons, according to the White House. It comes after US fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spying device off the coast of

Joe Biden came out punching on Capitol Hill in a way that belied learned expectation. On the big occasion, he didn’t fluff his lines or miss his targets – unlike the Joe Biden of so many other occasions. For too many, to watch him is to write him off. Too much about this 80-year-old president

Joe Biden has vowed to work with political rivals in his latest State of the Union address. The US president was speaking before Congress for the first time since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last month. While he acknowledged that America’s democracy is bruised, Mr Biden stressed it is “unbowed and unbroken”.

Google has launched its own artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, in answer to the wildly successful ChatGPT. The new conversational AI service will be named Bard and will be put out to “trusted users” before a public release in the coming weeks, Google’s parent firm Alphabet Inc announced on Monday. It comes following the release of

China has threatened “further actions” in response to America’s “serious overreaction” in the downing of a suspected spy balloon. The white aircraft was shot out of the sky off the South Carolina coast on Saturday after days of intrigue, while diplomatic relations soured further between Washington and Beijing. US President Joe Biden ordered the object

China has claimed the flight of an “airship” over the US was an accident and accused politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation. Washington claims the craft is a suspected spy balloon and said it had committed a “clear violation” of US sovereignty. China insisted it is used for meteorological and other scientific

The US military is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been flying over northwestern America in recent days. A senior defence official said the US has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. “Clearly the intent of this balloon is for surveillance,”

The US Justice Department is conducting a search of a beach house owned by President Joe Biden in Delaware. A statement from Bob Bauer, personal attorney for the President, read: “Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware. “Under DOJ’s standard procedures,

Former US president Donald Trump has kicked off his 2024 White House bid with stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina, while brushing aside criticism that his campaign was off to a slow start. Speaking to party leaders at the New Hampshire Republicans’ annual meeting in Salem, the former president insisted he was motivated to

Police bodycam video has been released showing the moment a man attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer in his San Francisco home. Officers knock repeatedly on the front door – when it opens Mr Pelosi is holding the head of the hammer while the intruder is gripping the handle and trying to prise the

A 28-year-old woman was dragged for eight miles in her car on a road in Kansas, Missouri, after getting caught underneath a truck. Police in Leawood, Kansas, are investigating after receiving reports at around 3.40am on Wednesday that a truck, driving westbound on Interstate 435 (I-435), was dragging a silver Kia under the edge of

A school board in Virginia has voted to fire its district superintendent after a six-year-old pupil shot a teacher. The Newport News School Board voted five-to-one to relieve George Parker III of his duties – but as part of a separation agreement, he’ll be paid more than $502,000 (£405,063) in severance – two years of

The teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student texted a loved one to say the boy was armed and school officials were failing to act before she was wounded. Abigail Zwerner sent the text around an hour before she was shot in Virginia earlier this month, NBC News reported. The 25-year-old teacher at Richneck

Germany and the United States will reportedly send tanks to Ukraine to help the country fight off Russia’s invasion. While there has been no official confirmation from Berlin or Washington, Ukrainian officials have celebrated what they said was a potential game-changer. “A few hundred tanks for our tank crews – the best tank crews in

The sole suspect in a Chinese New Year shooting which killed 11 people at a California dance hall has been named as Huu Can Tran.  Nine others were wounded in the massacre, with further deaths averted by the heroic actions of a worker who disarmed Tran when he entered a second dance hall in Los

A suspected gunman who killed 10 people in a Chinese New Year mass shooting in California fatally shot himself in his van as officers closed in. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the man was found dead in the vehicle he used to flee the scene of an attempted second shooting. The suspected gunman

Elon Musk has appeared in court to refute allegations that Tesla shareholders were defrauded out of billions of dollars by his tweets. The company’s chief executive wrote in 2018 that he had “secured” funding to take the electric carmaker private and later that investor backing was “confirmed”, causing shares to soar and then fall. Less

Donald Trump might start tweeting again soon, a confidante of the former president has revealed. Advisers for his 2024 presidential campaign have been workshopping ideas for what his first post should be, according to NBC News. Mr Trump had been banned from Twitter in the aftermath of the Capitol riots – but was allowed back

Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to “go on for some time” and now is the moment to ramp up military aid, the US secretary of state has said. Antony Blinken said “ferocious” fighting continues along Ukraine’s eastern front – but Western partners are determined to “make sure the Ukrainians have what they need to