Guns, beer and childcare are among incentives being offered to Americans to encourage coronavirus vaccinations. A total of 296,404,240 doses have been administered in the US, with 135,867,425 people – or 41.39% of the population – fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A mixture of public and private sector motivations are being offered, as President Joe Biden

Donald Trump has shut down his blog, with no plans for the page to return to his website. The former president launched the “From The Desk of Donald J. Trump” platform less than a month ago, after he was banned from multiple social media outlets. However, it has now been removed from his website. Image:

Coachella festival, considered one of the biggest music events in the world, will get under way again next year, after the pandemic forced it to close its gates. Revellers will be able to head back to the Indio desert near Palm Springs in April 2022, organisers have said. The 2020 event was meant to take

Joe Biden has become the first sitting US president to visit the site of the Tulsa massacre – 100 years since one of America’s darkest episodes of racial violence. Hundreds of black people were killed by a white mob in the city’s Greenwood district between 31 May and 1 June 1921. Mr Biden led a

Hundreds of people gathered outside a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the deadliest racist massacre in the US – and President Joe Biden is set to honour the victims later today. The Tulsa race massacre took place between 31 May and 1 June 1921, when white residents in Tulsa’s Greenwood

A copy of a Bob Dylan album has been returned to an Ohio library 48 years after it was due back. Howard Simon returned the Self Portrait record, which he describes as one of “Dylan‘s least-loved albums”, with a letter explaining the almost five-decade delay in giving it back to the Cleveland Heights library in

Actor Joe Lara – best known for starring in the TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures – has been killed in a plane crash in Tennessee. The star, 58, was one of seven people to die when a small jet crashed into a lake near the town of Smyrna. His wife, Gwen Shamblin Lara, who

Gavin MacLeod, known for his roles on classic US sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Love Boat, has died aged 90. He died early on Saturday at his home in Palm Desert, California, his stepdaughter Stephanie Steele Zalin said. She attributed his death to his age and said he had been well until

Kelly Clarkson will take over the slot left vacant by Ellen DeGeneres when she ends her chat show next year, NBC has said. DeGeneres revealed earlier this month that she would end her show after 19 seasons on the network. Although one of the biggest names in US entertainment, she became marred in allegations of

Betty DeVille, who is the mother to the unruly twins Phil and Lil in the 90s cartoon Rugrats, is an openly gay woman in the show’s reboot, her voice actor has revealed. Natalie Morales is the new voice behind Betty in the show’s 3D reboot on Paramount+, which sees the diapered heroes on new adventures.

President Biden has announced his first annual budget – a $6trn (£4.2trn) package that includes investment in fighting climate change and steep tax hikes for the wealthy. The US federal government’s spending plan for the fiscal year ending September 2022 would increase spending on infrastructure, education and provisions for the poor and middle class. However,

Marcus Rashford has had a Zoom call with Barack Obama, describing the experience as “surreal”. The 23-year-old footballer met virtually with the former president and the pair bonded over their shared experiences of being raised by single mothers and wanting to make an impact on society. Rashford, who has been an outspoken champion for tackling

People in California are being offered the chance to win a $1.5m (£1.06m) lottery prize if they get a coronavirus vaccine. Ten vaccinated residents will be given the jackpot prize when the state fully reopens on 15 June, governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday. Anyone over the age of 12 who has not been vaccinated

A co-founder of Black Lives Matter is to step down from its foundation but insisted her decision is not linked to what she branded “right-wing attacks” seeking to discredit her. Patrisse Cullors said Friday would be her last day after nearly six years at the helm of the movement, set up to tackle racial injustice.

A former NASA astronaut has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after killing two young sisters in a car crash nearly five years ago.  James Halsell Jr, an ex-space shuttle commander, was allegedly under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he drove a rental car into the back of another vehicle carrying 11-year-old Niomi Deona James

Kevin Clark, who played mouthy drummer Freddy Jones in the film School Of Rock, has died at the age of 32. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Clark had been cycling in the Avondale area of the city when he was hit by a car in the early hours of Wednesday. He was found by paramedics

A man has walked free from prison after 32 years after his murder conviction was overturned due to new evidence. Gilbert Poole Jr, 56, was jailed for the murder of Robert Mejia in 1988 in Detroit, Michigan. He had always challenged the ruling – despite his girlfriend at the time saying he confessed carrying out

A mechanic at a San Jose, California rail yard has shot dead eight co-workers before taking his own life as police officers arrived on the scene. The gunman, named by officials as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, opened fire at around 6.30am local time at the light rail facility for the Valley Transportation Authority, which provides bus,

US President Joe Biden has asked intelligence officers to “redouble” their efforts to find out the true origin of the COVID-19 outbreak. An international team of World Health Organisation scientists, working with experts in China, had been researching how the pandemic began, and as part of its work, visited the province of Wuhan where the

As evening drew in over George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, the carnival atmosphere was in full swing. On a temporary stage erected on what used to be a car park, huge speakers blasted performances with gospel, African and Caribbean influences. An old petrol station was filled up with grills serving up hotdogs and chicken. Just

Prosecutors in New York have convened a special grand jury as part of a two-year investigation into Donald Trump’s business dealings. According to news first reported in The Washington Post, the grand jury will meet three days a week for six months and could eventually be asked to consider returning indictments. Mr Trump is being

George Floyd’s daughter led a chant of “say his name” outside the White House, a year after the 46-year-old man was murdered by a police officer. Gianna, seven, joined other members of her family and their legal team as they met President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. And Chris Stewart, one of the

US President Joe Biden will meet with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for face-to-face talks in Geneva on 16 June. The main focus will be to help tackle the troubled state of relations between Moscow and Washington, analysts said. But the Kremlin said in a statement the two leaders would discuss bilateral ties, problems related to

Hundreds of people are expected to join members of George Floyd’s family in Minneapolis today to commemorate one year since he was murdered by a white police officer in an act that shocked the world and shook America to its core. Multiple events are planned across the country to remember his life, reiterate calls for

In a local community hall in Newark, New Jersey, around 20 elderly people gather multiple times a week to play bingo. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. Not one you would necessarily associate with frontline policing in America. But that’s what this is. The event’s being run by about half a dozen burley police officers

Kevin Spacey is set to return to the big screen for the first time since allegations of sexual assault and misconduct were made against him more than three years ago, according to US media reports. The Oscar-winning actor, who has strenuously denied claims made against him, is set to appear in an Italian film called

In the Third Ward of Houston in Texas, the name and face of George Floyd adorn dozens of walls. The murals and slogans reflect that he spent most of his life in this neighbourhood. His death forced a reckoning on racial equality and police brutality in America but there is another battle being fought over

Virgin Galactic has made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle. Two pilots made the flight in the VSS Unity as Virgin Galactic moves towards offering tourist trips to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. A live feed by NASASpaceFlight.com showed the rocket ship accelerating upward

Two prison officers who were guarding paedophile Jeffrey Epstein the night he killed himself have avoided jail after admitting they falsified records. Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were accused of sleeping and using the internet instead of monitoring Epstein when he took his own life while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. They had been

A US police officer who pushed an elderly dementia sufferer to the ground and pinned her to the hood of his car is facing criminal charges. Karen Garner, 73, was being arrested for walking out of a Walmart in Colorado without paying for $14 (£10) worth of items when the incident happened in June last