US

Five children, all younger than 10, have died in an apartment fire in St Louis, Illinois. The children’s mother had left home to pick up another adult from work and returned to find the building on fire, officials said. The mother entered the building several times in a bid to rescue her children. Although it

A woman has filed a criminal complaint against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, accusing him of groping her breast. The former employee in Mr Cuomo‘s office, known only as “Executive Assistant #1”, filed the complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s office on Thursday. The development increases the possibility that Mr Cuomo could face criminal charges.

Ten people are dead after an overloaded van crashed on a remote south Texas highway. The van was carrying 29 migrants when it crashed just after 4pm on Wednesday on Highway 281 in Encino, a small community about 50 miles north of McAllen. The driver is among the dead and about 20 other passengers were

New York governor Andrew Cuomo is facing growing calls to resign after an investigation found he sexually harassed multiple current and former state government employees. Two lawyers independent of his department spoke to 179 people, and found that his administration was a “hostile work environment” that was “rife with fear and intimidation”. Its findings have

Simone Biles has won bronze in the women’s balance beam final in her eagerly awaited return to action at the Tokyo Olympics. Biles made her dramatic return to the Games after she withdrew early in the women’s final last week, citing a desire to protect her mental health. The 24-year-old had arrived at the Tokyo

A US police officer has become the third suicide among those who defended the Capitol building from rioters in January. Washington DC police officer Gunther Hashida was found dead at his home on 29 July, leaving a wife and three children. Mr Hashida, 43, was part of the emergency response team in the Special Operations

Simone Biles, who has pulled out of several events at the Tokyo Olympics citing the need to protect her mental health, will compete in the balance beam final, USA Gymnastics has said. “We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow – Suni Lee AND

A TikTok star has died after spending several days on life support following a shooting inside a cinema in the US, police and his family have said. Anthony Barajas, 19, and Rylee Goodrich, 18, were both shot in the head as they watched The Forever Purge at a cinema in Corona, southern California, about 50

Simone Biles has pulled out of another two Olympics finals, USA Gymnastics has said. The four-time Olympic gold medallist has ruled herself out of the vault and uneven bars finals in Tokyo. On Thursday, she withdrew from the all-round final – citing a desire to protect her mental health. The 24-year-old is still undecided on

Donald Trump’s tax returns must be given to congressional investigators by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US Justice Department has said. In a memo on Friday, the department’s Office of Legal Counsel said the Treasury should provide the House Ways and Means Committee with the former Republican president’s tax details. The move could bring

The amount of ice that melted from Greenland on Tuesday alone would be enough to cover the whole US state of Florida in two inches of water, scientists have warned. The autonomous Danish territory is suffering significant melting as Arctic temperatures soar. While the number of gigatons lost is not as extreme as in 2019,

President Joe Biden has called on states and local authorities in the US to offer residents $100 (£71) to get vaccinated against COVID-19. State and local governments will be able to access a $350bn (£250bn) coronavirus aid fund to pay for the incentives, the US Treasury has promised. Federal workers and onsite contractors will also

The trailer for King Richard has been released, offering a first look at Will Smith as the father of tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams. The film is based on the true story of the Williams sisters‘ rise to stardom, told from the perspective of their father Richard. It will show how Williams raised his

A tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaska Peninsula. Alerts have been issued for the US state, as well as the Peninsula and Pacific coastal areas from Hinchinbrook Entrance to Unimak Pass, and the territory of Guam. The quake struck at 10.15pm on Wednesday local time,

Simone Biles says mental health concerns were behind her shock withdrawal from the team gymnastics final at the Tokyo Olympics as she admitted: “I just didn’t want to go on”. Biles, the US superstar who some consider the greatest female gymnast of all time, was bidding for six gold medals coming into the competition, but

Olympic champion Simone Biles has pulled out of the gymnastics team finals due to an apparent injury. The record-breaking American athlete had a rocky start in the final, where the US is looking to secure a third straight Olympic title. The 24-year-old bailed on her planned Amanar vault, opting for an easier one in mid-air,

Thousands of homes remain under threat as California’s biggest wildfire continues to gain strength across western parts of the US. It comes amid fresh calls for politicians in Washington to take “bold action” against climate change as more than 85 large wildfires continue to burn around the country. The Dixie Fire started on 14 July

In an open letter to NASA, Jeff Bezos has offered to waive billions of dollars in payments from the space agency in order to ensure his company Blue Origin gets to take part in its upcoming moon missions. With a potential funding shortfall threatening to derail NASA’s planned moon missions – in particular its Human

Boeing is to attempt the second uncrewed test flight of its new Starliner capsule to the International Space Station as it bids for more NASA contracts. While the capsule has been successfully tested on the ground, orbital test flights for the CST-100 have faced several delays and software problems. Boeing and NASA are aiming to

The US is “going in the wrong direction” on coronavirus as cases soar due to the Delta variant and a large proportion of unvaccinated people, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert has said. Dr Anthony Fauci said the nation is “practically pleading” with people to get vaccinated as coronavirus cases surge once again in areas