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

Stand-up comedian Jackie Mason – who went from rabbi to Broadway star – has died at the age of 93. He died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, New York, his friend and lawyer Raoul Felder confirmed to Sky’s US partner NBC News. He was having trouble breathing and had been at the hospital for

Two weeks after the largest anti-government demonstrations in decades in Cuba, activist groups say more than 500 protestors are still missing. Thousands of people across the island marched through the streets in several towns and cities on 11 July, calling for democracy and sweeping economic reform in the country amid major food and medicine shortages.

R Kelly is facing additional accusations in his sex trafficking case, including one that he had sexual contact with an underage boy that he met in a McDonald’s. In a court filing on Friday, federal prosecutors in the US revealed the latest raft of allegations (but not charges) against the rapper in his ongoing case.

The founder of UK tech firm Autonomy has said he will fight extradition to the United States on fraud charges after a London court granted the move. Dr Mike Lynch, who sold the software company to Hewlett Packard (HP) for $11bn in 2011, is wanted to face trial in the US on allegations he artificially

The US government has requested to keep Anne Sacoolas’s job a secret in the Harry Dunn damages case due to “national security” concerns. The 19-year-old’s parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn travelled to the US last month to pursue a civil case against his alleged killer Mrs Sacoolas, as well as her husband Jonathan. Harry

The search for victims in a collapsed Miami apartment block has officially finished, the city’s fire and rescue department says. Champlain Towers South, in the Miami suburb of Surfside, collapsed in the early hours of 24 June, killing at least 97 people. It is believed that one victim is still unaccounted for and police will

Simone Biles has a ritual when she competes in gymnastics that she won’t be able to do at Tokyo 2020. The world’s greatest gymnast is just 4ft 8in tall, but she is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars at this summer’s Olympics. Biles has won a remarkable 30 Olympic and world championship medals and she

Kanye West premiered his 10th studio album at a sold-out listening party in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, with a surprise feature from Jay-Z. West hosted a launch party at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Atlanta for Donda – an album named after his late mother. It is a follow-up to his 2019 gospel album Jesus

A bear attack victim has been rescued after a helicopter crew spotted his pleas for help from the air. During a flight from Kotzebue to Nome in Alaska earlier this week, the US Coast Guard crew from Kodiak approached a remote mining camp. They could see an SOS sign on top of a shack and,

The US has imposed new sanctions against a Cuban security minister and an interior ministry special forces unit over alleged human rights abuses during protests on the island. President Biden said it was “just the beginning” in a statement that also condemned “mass detentions and sham trials”. “The United States will continue to sanction individuals

Two Olympics. Three gold medals and one silver. A protest for equality and human rights at the 1968 Olympics before the iconic gesture by Tommie Smith and John Carlos. A legacy that includes being a founding member of the Women’s Sports Foundation. But the story of one of the Olympic greats is not well known

Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault in Los Angeles. The disgraced Hollywood mogul, 69, was brought into court on Wednesday in a wheelchair after losing his bid to block extradition from New York. Weinstein appeared in the city where he made his name as a producer, charged with 11 counts

A South Carolina man has gone on trial accused of killing a woman who got into his car thinking it was her Uber ride. Nathaniel Rowland is accused of the kidnap and murder of 21-year-old university student Samantha Josephson in March 2019. Ms Josephson’s death prompted changes aimed at improving safety for those using businesses

A row of colourful family houses with picket fence gardens and a junk yard overlook the site of one of the most controversial chapters in recent American history. Weeds and vines are now wrapped around the rings of barbed wire, the wooden watchtowers are decaying and signs warning of a restricted area are torn in

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has described the first ever launch of his private spaceflight company Blue Origin as the “best day ever”. The billionaire, 57, achieved his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut 52 years to the day it was sparked by watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. Mr Bezos himself

Harvey Weinstein has been extradited to California to face more sex assault charges, New York prison officials said. The former Hollywood producer was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in a New York prison last year for rape and sexual assault. He is wanted for trial in Los Angeles, California, on charges of allegedly attacking

More than 360,000 acres (531 square miles) have been destroyed by a wildfire in the US state of Oregon, where more than 2,000 people have been given evacuation orders, while a similar number of firefighters are battling the blaze. The Bootleg fire, centred in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest, 250 miles (400km) south of

Jeff Bezos says his dream of travelling into space was born when, as a five year old, he watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in 1969. Fifty-two years to the day, the Amazon founder and richest man on the planet will blast off in his own rocket to make that dream

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has said he is “ready”, not nervous, for his flight to the edge of space. The billionaire is set to blast off on Blue Origin’s sub-orbital New Shepard rocket from Texas, with his brother Mark, female astronaut Wally Funk who trained in 1961 but never went to space, as well as

A New York police officer kept a stabbing victim alive by using an empty bag of crisps and tape. NYPD officer Ronald Kennedy has been praised by police bosses for his quick thinking after placing the makeshift tourniquet over the man’s wound. The extraordinary action was captured on body cam after the officer responded to

A teenager has been accidentally shot dead by his friend, police in the US said. The two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, left their homes in the early hours of Saturday morning before meeting up in a church car park in their home town of Salt Lake City, Utah. West Jordan Police Lieutenant Richard Bell

The eldest daughter of Nelson Mandela says the “struggle” against racism “is not complete” and that the world should continue fighting against it “with everything we have in our might”. Speaking on Nelson Mandela International Day, Dr Makaziwe Mandela told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday: “My father would be repeating what he said when

Britney Spears has posted on Instagram that she won’t perform again while her father has control over her career. The 39-year-old is currently undergoing a legal battle over a conservatorship that has overseen her life and career since 2008, when she suffered a series of mental health crises. Her father Jamie Spears has the final

Britney Spears has hit out at people closest to her who “never showed up”, as her battle against her conservatorship continues. It comes after the 39-year-old’s sister Jamie Lynn, 30, and mother Lynne, 66, shared messages of support for the singer on their social media channels. The pop star is engaged in a legal bid

Misleading information about vaccines and COVID-19 on online platforms like Facebook is killing people, Joe Biden has said. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Friday afternoon, the US president was asked if he had a message to platforms like the social media giant regarding the misleading or incorrect information that frequently

A man known as the “Hollywood Ripper” has been sentenced to death for the murder of two women and attempted killing of a third. Michael Gargiulo, 45, was convicted almost two years ago, but delays due to procedural problems and the COVID pandemic means it was only on Friday that he was ordered to death

A woman has described her horror after discovering 18 snakes writhing under her bed as she was about to go to sleep.   Trish Wilcher had to do a double take after noticing what she initially thought was a “piece of fuzz” moving on the floor. Seconds later, she noticed another piece of “fuzz” moving

The United States is looking to build a spy base in the UK to probe deep space and spot any attempt by states such as Russia or China to attack vital satellites orbiting the Earth. Using radar technology that can identify an object the size of a football up to 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometres) away,

Firefighters are battling to control a wild inferno which is spreading up to four miles a day and has left 2,000 people homeless in Oregon. The so-called Bootleg Fire is ripping through southeast Oregon and is said to be the largest of dozens of wildfires burning across the US. The blaze has now torched an