Nikolas Cruz has pleaded guilty to the murders of 17 people killed in the 2018 high school massacre in Parkland, Florida. The 23-year-old entered his pleas in a courtroom in front of a dozen relatives of victims after answering a long list of questions from Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer aimed at confirming his mental competency.
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A ransom of $1m (£720,000) is being demanded for each of the 17 American and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti. The country’s justice minister, Liszt Quitel, said talks are under way with gang to release the group, who were kidnapped over the weekend outside Port-au-Prince. They were taken by a gang called 400 Mawozo, who
Lawyers representing Kobe Bryant’s widow have accused officials of “scorched-earth” tactics that are designed to “bully” her into dropping a lawsuit against them. Vanessa Bryant is suing Los Angeles County after first responders took and shared graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star, their teenage daughter and seven
Microsoft executives warned Bill Gates to stop sending flirtatious emails to a female employee in 2008, the company has confirmed. The Wall Street Journal first reported that two senior bosses met with the billionaire after the tech giant discovered inappropriate messages had been sent to a mid-level member of staff. According to the newspaper, Gates
US President Joe Biden has paid tribute to former US secretary of state Colin Powell following his death, saying he “could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business”. The 84-year-old died following complications from COVID-19, his family said in a statement today. Figures from across the political spectrum have paid their tributes to the first
A statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee that was removed from a park in Dallas is now on display in a golf course in West Texas. The bronze sculpture of both Lee and a soldier on horseback was removed from the park in Dallas in 2017, and later sold in an online auction. It
A last-minute deal has been reached to prevent a strike of almost 60,000 film and TV workers in the US. There had been fears that the strike, over working conditions and pay, would cripple the industry as behind-the-scenes workers walked away from their jobs. But after days of talks, representatives from the International Alliance of
A man who was 13 when he killed a four-year-old boy has been granted parole. Eric M Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994, and jailed for nine years to life. A year earlier, he had lured Derrick Robie into the woods and struck him on the head with a rock in the New
The divisive nature of American politics has seen threats against politicians rise four-fold in the last year, according to a security review following the attack on Capitol Hill. The invasion of Congress on 6 January revealed the physical risk now posed to politicians in a polarised and acrimonious political climate – an angry mob attacking
Former US president Bill Clinton has remained in hospital for a second day, where he has reportedly been recovering from a urological infection. The 75-year-old was visited by his wife, Hillary Clinton, at the University of California Irvine Medical Center. He went to the hospital on Thursday after suffering from fatigue and has received both
William Shatner has hit back at criticism from Prince William saying the heir to the throne is “missing the point” about space travel. The 90-year-old became the oldest man to reach space after he blasted off from Texas on a Blue Origin rocket, from the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He called
Former US president Bill Clinton, 75, was admitted two days ago to a hospital in California with a “non-covid infection,” his spokesman has said. “On Tuesday evening Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to UCI Medical center for treatment of a non-covidinfection,” spokesman Angel Urena said on Twitter. “He is on the mend, in good
Star Trek actor William Shatner has become the oldest person to reach space, calling his trip “the most profound experience”. The 90-year-old blasted off from Texas just at about 3.50pm UK time on a Blue Origin rocket – the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the original
The value of shares in Apple dropped on Tuesday following reports that the company has slashed production numbers of its new iPhone 13. Apple is going to make 10 million fewer devices than it had initially planned, reported Bloomberg News, due to the ongoing global shortage of computer chips. The expected impact on the company’s
The US will reopen its land borders for non-essential travel in early November, ending restrictions that have been in place since March 2020. Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the US and its neighbours Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential activity, such as trade, for the last 19 months. Foreign visitors will
Gabby Petito was strangled to death, a US coroner has announced, following a post-mortem examination of her body. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue told a news conference: “In the manner of death in Gabrielle Venora Petito, we find the cause of death the cause is by strangulation and the manner is homicide.” Ms Petito,
At least two people have been killed in a plane crash near San Diego, California. Two homes were engulfed in flames and another ten damaged after the aircraft went down in a densely populated suburban area in Santee. There were at least two people injured and several vehicles, including a UPS delivery truck, were set
Dave Grohl is one of the world’s best-known rock stars, but his journey to fame and fortune wasn’t always easy. The Foo Fighters frontman has revealed that his father didn’t approve of him joining a rock band – and a rift formed between the pair. Writing in his new memoir, the 52-year-old said: “My mother
Earthquakes have hit two different parts of the US in two days, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). On Monday morning, Alaska, suffered a 6.9 magnitude earthquake around 70 miles (114km) east of the small city of Chignik, which has a population of about 100 people. The US Tsunami Warning System did not
A three-year-old boy who went missing for four days after chasing a family dog has been found alive in a wooded area. Christopher Ramirez, from Texas, was found on Saturday following a tip-off and was being taken to a hospital for evaluation, Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said. He said the boy appeared to be