Police arrest man suspected of shooting into a Sacramento ABC news station

Police say the ABC10 building was occupied when shots were fired into the lobby but ‘no one was injured’

Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting into the lobby of Sacramento’s ABC affiliate on Friday.

Though the shooting occurred just a day after protesters gathered outside to the station to condemn ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talkshow, Sacramento police said the motive in the case remained under investigation, with it not being immediately clear whether the gunfire was targeted or random.

Continue reading...

Four people arrested in Washington after alleged hate crime attack on trans woman

Three teenagers and one adult arrested in Renton after an alleged attack left a 39-year-old woman hospitalized

Four people – including three teenagers – are accused of a hate crime in Washington state after being arrested in connection with an alleged attack on a transgender woman that left the victim hospitalized, according to authorities.

The Renton police department said the four suspects in the case first argued with the 39-year-old woman on Monday evening – then beat her after she saw them again later. Investigators say they hurled homophobic slurs at the victim, who was attacked on a street near a transit center in Renton and suffered serious injuries.

Continue reading...

Two-year-old boy drowns after heavy rain unleashes mudslides in southern California

Boy’s body was found Friday after he drowned in family’s vehicle when it was swept off the road by flood waters

A two-year-old drowned in a vehicle that was swept away by flood waters in southern California, and the child’s father had to be rescued by authorities, officials said Friday.

The deadly emergency unfolded amid sudden heavy rain east of Los Angeles that unleashed mudslides which plowed into homes and trapped drivers for hours on roadways.

Continue reading...

US attorney tasked with inquiring into Trump critics resigns after president says ‘I want him out’

Erik Siebert leaving after his investigation finds insufficient evidence to charge New York’s attorney general Letitia James with a crime

The federal prosecutor for the eastern district of Virginia resigned Friday under intense pressure from Donald Trump, after his office determined there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, a political rival of the president, with a crime.

Erik Siebert told colleagues he was resigning in a letter sent Friday, NBC News reported. Meanwhile, in an early Saturday post on his Truth Social platform, Trump maintained that Siebert didn’t quit – but rather: “I fired him!”

Continue reading...

Chinese executive jailed for 25 years in US for trafficking fentanyl chemicals

Qingzhou Wang of Amarvel Biotech accused by prosecutors of turning chemical company into ‘pipeline of poison’

A Chinese company executive has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for trafficking in chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, the US justice department has said.

Qingzhou Wang, 37, principal executive of Amarvel Biotech, a company based in Wuhan, and Yiyi Chen, 33, the firm’s marketing manager, were convicted in New York in February of fentanyl precusor importation and money laundering.

Continue reading...

Trump again asks supreme court to end protections for Venezuelans in US

Justice department urges court to overturn ruling that Kristi Noem lacked authority to end TPS program

The Trump administration asked the US supreme court on Friday to intervene for the second time in a case involving its bid to end deportation protections the former president, Joe Biden, granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States.

The justice department filed an emergency application asking the justices to lift a federal judge’s ruling that the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, lacked the authority to end the protections for Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program.

Continue reading...

Brett James, Grammy-winning songwriter, dies in plane crash

James’ wife and stepdaughter were also killed when the Cirrus SR22T crashed in Franklin, North Carolina

Brett James, a Grammy-winning songwriter whose credits include the Carrie Underwood hit Jesus, Take the Wheel – died alongside his wife and stepdaughter in a plane crash on Thursday, according to authorities and reports.

James, 57, had been flying with his wife and stepdaughter when the plane, a Cirrus SR22T, crashed “under unknown circumstances” in a wooded area of Franklin, North Carolina, said officials and media reports. The plane had taken off from John C Tune airport in Nashville, Tennessee, as reported by the Associated Press.

Continue reading...

White House asks supreme court to halt judge’s order on passport sex markers for trans people

Judge’s order order allows transgender or non-binary people to request a male, female or ‘X’ marker

The Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to halt a judge’s order allowing transgender and non-binary people to choose the sex marker on their passports.

The justice department filed an emergency request to lift a federal judge’s order that bars the US state department from enforcing a Trump-directed policy.

Continue reading...

Trump says Xi Jinping has agreed to approve TikTok deal, but details unclear

Trump’s statement suggests preliminary agreement between leaders in the first direct contact between them since June

Donald Trump said on Friday that he and Xi Jinping had agreed to approve a deal over TikTok.

“He approved the TikTok deal,” Trump said about Xi to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting the leaders signed off on a preliminary agreement. But Trump offered no details about the agreement or when it would be signed.

Continue reading...

UN votes to allow Palestinian president to address annual gathering via video link

Trump had refused to grant visas for Palestinian delegation due to attend conference and UN general assembly

The United Nations general assembly has voted to allow the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to address next week’s annual gathering of world leaders next week in New York via video link after Donald Trump said he would not give him a US visa.

The resolution received 145 votes in favour and five votes against, while six countries abstained.

Continue reading...

Judge quashes Home Office’s decision on US extradition of vulnerable man

Portugal has also made extradition request for Diogo Santos Coelho, who is facing cybercrime charges

A high court judge has quashed a Home Office decision that paved the way for a vulnerable autistic man to be extradited to the US on cybercrime charges carrying a possible 52-year sentence.

The UK government has accepted that Diogo Santos Coelho, 25, a Portuguese national, was groomed and exploited online by adults from the age of 14, leading to him setting up the website RaidForums, to which the alleged crimes relate.

Continue reading...

Maria Ressa tells Jon Stewart Americans are ‘deer in the headlights’ in face of Trump assault on free speech

Nobel prize-winner says US institutions have collapsed much quicker than expected under the Trump administration

The Nobel prize-winner Maria Ressa has said Americans are like “deer in the headlights” amid the collapse of US institutions and free speech under the Trump administration, particularly after Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

Speaking to Jon Stewart on the satirical news programme The Daily Show, the journalist and author of How to Stand Up to a Dictator, said the speed at which Donald Trump had “collapsed” US institutions happened much faster than she anticipated.

Continue reading...

For comedians around the world, the laughs often end as democracy fades

Silencing of Jimmy Kimmel sets US on course similar to that charted by authoritarian regimes from Egypt to India

The exiled Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef has experienced firsthand how intolerant governments can silence political satire. And he had a short message this week for those living in an age of Donald Trump’s free speech clampdown: “My Fellow American Citizens,” he wrote on X. “Welcome to my world.”

In his attacks on the most prominent of American satirists, the US president has joined a cadre of illiberal and sensitive leaders around the world who will not tolerate a joke.

Continue reading...

Starmer has avoided state-visit bear traps but has he changed any of Trump’s thinking?

PM cannot afford for US president to walk away from Ukraine crisis and must persuade him to publicly support specific Gaza plans

With bear traps avoided and fireworks unlit, Keir Starmer will be delighted that his press conference with Donald Trump lent credence to his claim to be America’s first partner in defence, trade and now technology.

Trump, for his part, got the “great pictures” he wanted and was on his best low-wattage behaviour. He said he did not disagree with his host about much, save Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state. And he teetered on the edge of being diplomatic, at least until he advised Starmer to use the military to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

Continue reading...

Judges rule against Trump administration on deporting Guatemalan children and Venezuelans

Double defeat protects Venezuelans with temporary protected status and Guatemalan minors

The Trump administration has been handed a double defeat by judges in immigration cases, barring the executive branch from deporting a group of Guatemalan children and from slashing protections for many Venezuelans in the US.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the administration to refrain from deporting Guatemalan unaccompanied immigrant children with active immigration cases while a legal challenge plays out.

Continue reading...

Chip giant Nvidia to take $5bn stake in Intel and collaborate on products

Deal gives Intel a lifeline as firms team up on AI data centers and PC chips after Trump stake sparks market surge

Nvidia, the world’s leading chipmaker, announced plans to invest $5bn in Intel and collaborate with the struggling semiconductor company on products.

One month after the Trump administration confirmed it had taken a 10% stake in Intel – the latest extraordinary intervention by the White House in corporate America – Nvidia said it would team up with the firm to work on custom data centers that form the backbone of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, as well as personal computer products.

Continue reading...

Trump and Starmer sign ‘tech prosperity deal’ as PM claims new US-UK investments ‘break all records’ – UK politics live

Starmer says deals worth £250bn are ‘flowing both ways across the Atlantic’

President Trump is now leaving Windsor Castle. He will be flying to Chequers by helicopter.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has thanked King Charles for what he said at the state banquet last night strongly supporting the Ukrainian cause.

I extend my deepest thanks to His Majesty King Charles III @RoyalFamily for his steadfast support. Ukraine greatly values the United Kingdom’s unwavering and principled stance.

When tyranny threatens Europe once again, we must all hold firm, and Britain continues to lead in defending freedom on many fronts. Together, we have achieved a lot, and with the support of freedom-loving nations—the UK, our European partners, and the US—we continue to defend values and protect lives. We are united in our efforts to make diplomacy work and secure lasting peace for the European continent.

Our countries have the closest defence, security and intelligence relationship ever known. In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny.

Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace. And our Aukus submarine partnership, with Australia, sets the benchmark for innovative and vital collaboration.

Continue reading...

Macrons to submit scientific evidence to US court to prove Brigitte was not born a man

French president and wife allege rightwing influencer Candace Owens is using defamatory attacks against them to boost media profile

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife plan to present scientific evidence to a US court to prove that Brigitte Macron was not born a man, the lawyer representing them in a defamation suit has said.

The couple filed the suit in July against Candace Owens, a rightwing influencer, and her business, alleging continuing defamatory attacks against them in order to boost the profile of her media platform, gain more audience and make money.

Continue reading...

Trump cheers suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show after host’s Charlie Kirk comments | First Thing

The two largest Hollywood unions voiced support for Kimmel. Plus, Bernie Sanders becomes first US senator to say Israel committing genocide in Gaza

Good morning.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been suspended “indefinitely” after comments he made about the killing of Charlie Kirk, ABC has announced, hours after the Donald Trump-appointed chair of the broadcast regulator threatened broadcasters’ licenses if action was not taken against the late-night host.

What did Kimmel say? During his opening monologue for Tuesday night’s show, Kimmel said: “Many in Maga-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.” He accused the US vice-president, JD Vance, of blaming the left for Kirk’s death without evidence. “Here’s a question JD Vance might be able to answer: who wanted to hang the guy who was vice-president before you? Was that the liberal left? Or the toothless army who stormed the Capitol on January 6?” Kimmel said.

How are people reacting? Trump celebrated the suspension on social media, calling it “great news for America”. But the two largest Hollywood unions – the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild – as well as several Democratic lawmakers voiced support for Kimmel.

What’s the context? It comes after an independent UN commission of experts concluded that Israel’s actions “meet the criteria set forth in the genocide convention”. It said: “Explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and the pattern of conduct of the Israeli security forces indicate that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.”

What’s the latest in Gaza City? The Israeli ground operation, which began on Tuesday morning, continues with Israeli troops pressing ahead yesterday, making further efforts to force more people to flee their homes and travel to overcrowded and unsafe areas in the south of the devastated territory. Read our coverage here.

Continue reading...

Jimmy Kimmel Live! suspended over Charlie Kirk comments after US government pressure

Removal of late-night show criticised as part of Trump administration’s attack on critical voices in media, academia and business

Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has been suspended “indefinitely” after the US government put pressure on broadcasters to crack down on the comedian, who had accused Donald Trump’s political movement of exploiting the killing of Charlie Kirk.

ABC, which Disney owns, announced on Wednesday night that it would remove Kimmel’s show from its schedule for the foreseeable future.

Continue reading...