US Republican presidential candidates have taken aim at Donald Trump for failing to show up at their latest televised debate. The event, hosted by Fox Business in California, saw Mr Trump’s rivals stepping up their attacks on him in an effort to put a stop to the former president’s commanding lead in the polls ahead

A lucky winner has come forward to claim a $1.6bn (£1.32bn) Mega Millions lottery jackpot in the US. The ticket was bought at a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, near Jacksonville in Florida. However, the winner sat on the ticket for a while as the numbers were drawn at the start of August. Under state

The stars of this year’s Ryder Cup walked down Rome’s famous Spanish Steps on Wednesday – days before teeing off in the famous golfing competition. Europe’s star man, Rory McIlroy, was there with wife Erica Stoll, along with captain Luke Donald and his wife Diane Antonopoulos. Team USA captain Zach Johnson also led his team

A US man who spent nearly 30 years in prison for kidnapping, rape and robbery has been declared innocent and freed. Gerardo Cabanillas was exonerated with the help of DNA testing in a 1995 attack on a couple sitting in a parked car in the city of South Gate in California, the Los Angeles County

Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House, a court has ruled. Judge Arthur Engoron found that the former president and his company deceived banks and insurers by massively overvaluing assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals

America’s largest bank says it has resolved its final lawsuits relating to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, including a case it brought against former executive Jes Staley. JPMorgan Chase has faced a series of claims related to disgraced financier Epstein – a client of the bank from 1998 until 2013 – who killed himself in a

A death row prisoner in Alabama is fighting plans for him to be the first person to be executed using nitrogen gas. The new execution method of nitrogen hypoxia causes death by forcing the prisoner to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen. Authorities in Alabama want to execute Kenneth Smith using the method –

The number of first responders from the New York City Fire Department to have died from illnesses related to 9/11 has reached 343 – matching the number who died on the day of the attacks. Hilda Vannata, an emergency medical technician, died from pancreatic cancer on 20 September this year, while retired firefighter Robert Fulco

A NASA capsule carrying the largest sample ever collected from an asteroid has returned to Earth. The capsule, which landed in the Utah desert, contained around 250g of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu as part of NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission. Experts say the carbon-rich, near-Earth asteroid serves as a time capsule from the earliest

Police have identified a woman whose remains were found in the mouth of a 13ft alligator in Florida. The body of 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham was pulled from a canal in Largo, about 20 miles west of Tampa, after a witness spotted her in the alligator’s mouth, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said. The animal was

A “tentative” deal has been reached to end a long-running strike by writers in Hollywood. The WGA (Writers Guild of America) went on strike in May after negotiations reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers’ rooms, and the role of artificial intelligence (AI), among other issues. In July, the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union started

A three-year-old child and two adults were fatally shot during an argument over an apparent dog sale in Florida, according to police. Five people – including the toddler – had gone to a luxury apartment complex at around 10pm on Saturday to meet with some people about the sale of a dog, said Jacksonville Sheriff’s

A sharp rise in migrants crossing the US border from Mexico has pushed a Texas city to “breaking point”, its mayor has warned. With more than 2,000 people a day seeking asylum, services in El Paso have been overwhelmed, leaving the authorities struggling to cope. The influx has also hit the Texas border city of

An alligator was spotted with human remains in its mouth by a passer-by in Florida. The 13-foot reptile was spotted by Jamarcus Bullard in a canal in Largo, about 20 miles west of Tampa. He said he saw the the alligator and a corpse in the water on Friday afternoon. “I threw a rock at

The family of a black student who was suspended from school in a row over his hairstyle has filed a lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general. Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been expelled since 31 August because school officials said his dreadlocks fall below

A fugitive convicted of attempted murder who evaded police for more than 30 years has been caught. Greg Lawson, who had been on the run for 32 years, laughed and asked officers “how are you doing?” as he was handcuffed in Huatulco, Mexico. Lawson, 63, fled Louisiana, in the US, just before a jury found

“If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.” That stark message from Ukraine’s president in private meetings with American politicians cut to the core of his plea. It’s a blunt message designed to focus minds. It reflects the state of the war and what Ukraine believes is at stake. It also shows

A recording has captured the bizarre emergency call made by a US military pilot after ejecting from his jet and landing in a resident’s back garden. The unidentified pilot was flying over Charleston, South Carolina, in an F-35 fighter jet on 17 September when he ejected due to what he described as an “aircraft failure”.

A man has been executed in the US for the rape and murder of a dance student which went unsolved for years until DNA from the crime scene was matched to him while he was in prison for burglary. Anthony Sanchez, 44, protested his innocence as he was strapped down in the death chamber at

Police have discovered a large quantity of fentanyl hidden in a nursery days after a toddler died from an apparent overdose from the opioid. The owners of the New York nursery, Divino Nino, were concealing bags of the drug and other paraphernalia under a trap door in the children’s play area, authorities said. The hidden

Sophie Turner is reportedly suing Joe Jonas for the return of their two young children to the UK. The filing alleges the Jonas Brothers singer is refusing to hand over the children’s passports, said NBC, Sky News’s US partner. It also claims that Turner heard Jonas had filed for divorce through the media in early

Google is being sued by the family of a man who drove off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps. The family of Philip Paxson are accusing the tech giant of negligence, claiming they had been informed the bridge had been collapsed for five years but failed to update their navigation system. The medical device

The Ukrainian president arrives in Washington DC today, the 548th day of the war, with a plea – “do not abandon us now”. It is a sign of the times, if not a reflection of a shifting world order, that the weakest link in the Western alliance against Russian aggression right now seems to be

A father who called the police after he found out his 11-year-old daughter had been sending images of herself to a man online was told his child could be face charges of making indecent images of children Police in Columbus, Ohio say they are investigating a report that their officers told the worried parent their

A man who is facing a child rape charge has been arrested after faking his own death in a kayaking accident, Louisiana police have said. Melvin Emde, 41, was detained after crashing his motorbike while being pursued by police in Georgia for not having a number plate on Sunday. The suspect, from Talihina in Oklahoma,

Hunter Biden will plead not guilty to a federal firearms charge following the collapse of a plea deal. Lawyers for President Joe Biden’s son confirmed their intention in a letter to the judge while also asking for the initial court appearance to be held remotely. The 53-year-old was indicted last week for possessing a gun

Joe Biden has said the world must stand up to Russia’s “naked aggression” and support the people of Ukraine. Speaking to the UN General Assembly, he said Moscow alone bears responsibility for the war, stands in the way of peace, and has the power to end the conflict immediately. The US president urged UN members

The owner of a nursery in New York City and a tenant living in the building have been arrested after a one-year-old boy died and three others fell ill following apparent fentanyl exposure. The arrests come after authorities discovered four children – aged eight months to two years – showing signs of suspected opioid overdose

The son of infamous drug lord “El Chapo” has appeared in court for the first time since being extradited to the US from Mexico. Ovidio Guzman Lopez denied drug and money laundering when he appeared at a Chicago court on Monday – three days after he was brought to the US. Guzman Lopez, 33, and

A British national and four Americans who were released from detention by Iran in exchange for $6bn (£4.8bn) and a prisoner swap are now free after landing in Doha. The group’s plane touched down in Qatar’s capital shortly after 3.30pm UK time following their departure from Tehran earlier on Monday. The British man freed is