A 47-car freight train carrying hazardous material derailed and caught fire in the US state of Iowa on Sunday. Thick black smoke wafted into the air after the Union Pacific train came off the tracks causing a huge pile-up of cars near Sibley, in the north west of the state. There were no reports of

Prince Harry is facing a backlash from US first amendment campaigners after he called the constitutional rule “bonkers”. The duke was speaking to actor Dax Shepherd and producer Monica Padman on the Armchair Expert podcast. He seemed to criticise the amendment – the right to free speech – saying: “I’ve got so much I want

A tiger that was spotted roaming around Houston is safe and well, the city’s police department has said. India, a nine-month-old tiger, had been spotted last Sunday in the west of the city and was nearly shot by an off-duty deputy. Houston Police Department Commander Ron Borza said it was not clear where the tiger

A man killed in a car crash may have had his Tesla on Autopilot while posting social media videos of himself, police have said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the crash, which happened in Fontana, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. It is the 29th case the federal agency has investigated that

Ellen DeGeneres has said she “didn’t understand” the allegations of a toxic work environment made about her talk show and that guests only spoke of the programme’s “happy atmosphere”. The comedian and TV presenter, who announced on Wednesday that the programme is ending after 19 years, has addressed the controversy in a broadcast interview for

The much-anticipated Friends reunion will be broadcast on 27 May, HBO has announced. Friends: The Reunion, which will feature all six members of the original cast, was supposed to have been filmed over a year ago but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The unscripted, one-off special was instead filmed earlier this year on

Two days after Liz Cheney was fired from one of the most senior roles in the Republican Party, she has been replaced by New York Representative Elise Stefanik, an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump. At the age of just 36, Stefanik is assuming the position of Republican House Conference Chair, placing her in

Entertainment giant Disney has seen another drop in revenues, with the pandemic still weighing heavily on its business, as it plans to put yet another film straight onto its streaming platform. Its world-famous theme parks are still taking a hit as a result of COVID-19-forced restrictions, and cinema closures have kept its films off the

The winner of a $26m (£18.5m) lottery prize may have left the ticket in a trouser pocket – and destroyed it in the wash. Thursday marked the last day to redeem the winning ticket, which was sold at a convenience store in a suburb of Los Angeles, and no one came forward. But Esperanza Hernandez,

Vaccinated people in the US will be allowed to stop wearing their face masks in most settings. Masks are no longer being recommended for vaccinated people when they are in crowded places outdoors and in most indoors settings – and they won’t have to follow social distancing measures either. The Centers For Disease Control And

Tesla has halted the use of Bitcoin to pay for its vehicles because of the environmental impact of using the currency. Bitcoin is created when high-powered computers compete against other machines to solve complex mathematical puzzles, a process known as mining, an energy-intensive activity that currently often relies on electricity generated with fossil fuels, particularly

The mummified body of a cult leader has been found festooned with Christmas lights and glitter in a Colorado home. Amy Carlson was the head of a spiritual group called Love Has Won and was known as “Mother of God” by her followers. According to legal documents, her mummified body which was discovered at a

People should not fill up plastic bags with petrol, a US safety body has warned – while tensions continue to boil over between drivers trying to buy fuel. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission told people to only use containers approved for fuel, and not plastic bags. The safety body also tweeted that gas

Ellen DeGeneres has announced her talk show will end after 19 years, following controversy over an alleged toxic environment on set. The American TV host, 63, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR) she was moving on because the programme was “just not a challenge anymore”. According to the publication, DeGeneres had been

Petrol stations in America’s eastern states are starting to run low after supplies were hit by a ransomware attack on a crucial pipeline. The price of petrol has also gone up to its highest level in nearly seven years. Prices were rising across the nation already, with demand increasing as the effects of the pandemic

A member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has told Sky News he wants HFPA and Golden Globe Awards bosses to be held accountable for the lack of diversity in the organisation and ongoing controversy surrounding the high-profile awards. Responding to NBC’s decision not to televise the Golden Globes next year (for the first

US regulators have approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12. US President Joe Biden said the authorisation is “a promising development in our fight against the virus”. “If you are a parent who wants to protect your child, or a teenager who is interested in getting vaccinated, today’s decision

US network NBC will not air the Golden Globes in 2022, following criticism over a lack of diversity in the group that organises the awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which oversees the TV and film prizes, has faced a Hollywood backlash after it emerged in February that none of its members are black.

The last 12 months has highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience. That was seen, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, in the difficulty involved in obtaining personal protective equipment and, more recently, the disruption to deliveries of numerous goods caused by the stranding of the container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal. It has

The Duchess of Sussex has appeared on TV for the first time since her and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan pre-recorded a video message for the Global Citizen VAX Live concert, where she said women had been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world Image:

Former US president Barack Obama and his family are mourning the loss of their dog Bo, who died after a battle with cancer. Mr Obama, who served two terms as US president until 2016, posted the new on social media accompanied by photos of the dog. Today our family lost a true friend and loyal

Elon Musk has revealed he has Asperger syndrome, as he hosted the US TV comedy show Saturday Night Live. He revealed he has the condition, which is a form of autism, as he explained he has difficulty getting people to know whether he means what he says. The 49-year-old Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder and one

Noah, a four-year-old from New York, loves SpongeBob. A lot. In fact, he loves the absorbent and yellow and porous cartoon character so much that he decided to pop on Amazon for a spot of retail therapy. Little did his mother know that he had purchased 51 cases of SpongeBob ice lollies – 918 of

Three people have been shot after a young girl brought a gun to her school and opened fire. The girl was in a school hallway on Thursday morning when she pulled a handgun from her backpack and fired multiple rounds at Rigby Middle School in Idaho. Two people were hit inside before she went outside

Twitter has suspended several accounts that have been set up to share posts from Donald Trump’s website. The micro-blogging site said the accounts broke the rules by helping the former president to circumvent a ban from the social network. Mr Trump was banned from a number of platforms after his supporters stormed the US Capitol

A stolen car has just been recovered from a reservoir in Marin County in California, 25 years after it was dumped there. They only spotted it because the water level has dropped so low – a chilling sign of what the authorities say is a “historic” drought and the impacts of climate change. The reasons

Remember Mark Wahlberg’s gruelling daily routine that involved 2.30am wake-ups and cryo chamber recovery to get over his punishing workouts? That post went viral in 2018 and it looks like the actor is taking it to the extreme once again, posting before and after photographs of a major body transformation, taken just three weeks apart.

There are two distinct strands to today’s decision by Facebook’s oversight board, which is funded by the social media giant but made up of an independent board. There is the domestic impact and then there is the international precedent it sets. Domestically, it’s clear that Mr Trump is frustrated by his social media ban. Image:

The head of the World Health Organization says the US backing of a proposed waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines is a “monumental moment” in the fight against the virus. The move could significantly boost vaccine production around the world by lifting patents, copyrights and protections for industrial design and confidential information. It

Facebook’s oversight board has upheld the indefinite suspension on former US President Donald Trump. The board has upheld Facebook’s decision on 7 January to restrict Mr Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account. Mr Trump was banned from a number of social media platforms after his supporters stormed the US