US

For any household with children – or even just Disney fans – you are likely well versed in the songs from the studio’s latest animated classic, Encanto. Since its release on to Disney+ on Christmas Eve, streaming of the film’s soundtrack has soared, as fans get their fix of the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned music. And now,

A teenager has asked Elon Musk for $50k (£37k) after the billionaire requested that the youngster delete a Twitter bot which tracks his private jet. Jack Sweeney, 19, turned down an initial offer of $5k to shut down the @ElonJet account, saying the payment wouldn’t replace the satisfaction he received from running it. The SpaceX

A single flash of lightning stretched across the sky over three US states, setting a new world record. The lightning bolt extended 477.2 miles across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi in April 2020, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said. This beat the old record of 440.6 miles set in 2018. Also in 2020, a single lightning

Whoopi Goldberg has apologised for comments about the Holocaust that were described by others as “devastating” and “dangerous”. The actor co-hosts ABC talk show The View and was part of a discussion about a US school board’s decision to ban Maus, a Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel about the experiences of a Holocaust survivor. Goldberg, 66,

A US judge has asked for Prince Andrew’s former assistant, Robert Olney, to give evidence as part of the civil sex assault case brought by the duke’s accuser Virginia Giuffre. Court documents reveal Judge Lewis A Kaplan has written to both the Senior Master of the Queen’s Bench Division and the Australian attorney general to

Wordle, an online word game which has seen a surge in popularity recently, has been bought by The New York Times. The deal, which saw the media company take over running the game from creator Josh Wardle, was for “an undisclosed price in the low seven figures”. Wordle sees players try and guess a five

The East Coast is battling deep freeze conditions after a fierce storm barreled through several states on Saturday, flooding coastlines, dumping masses of snow and outing power for thousands. Officials in New York described conditions as “life-threatening“, five states declared an emergency and Rhode Island banned all non-emergency road travel as snow and high winds

The US has called for the United Nations (UN) Security Council to hold a public meeting to discuss Russia’s “threatening behaviour” against Ukraine. On Thursday, the US ambassador to the UN asked the security council to meet publicly on Monday. Russia has manoeuvred around 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, though Moscow has denied

The US grew at its strongest pace since 1984 last year as it bounced back from 2020’s pandemic-driven downturn, official figures show. GDP in the world’s biggest economy expanded by 5.7% in 2021 after shrinking by 3.4% the year before, according to America’s bureau of economic analysis. It has not enjoyed such strong one-year growth

The US has given Russia its written responses to a set of security demands by Moscow over Ukraine amid fears it could invade its neighbour. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the “ball is in Russia’s court”, as he added: “We’re ready either way.” Russia has massed about 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border

A woman has been handed a restraining order after allegedly sending Apple boss, Tim Cook, hundreds of “threatening” messages and turning up at his condo. The temporary order, that demands the 45-year-old woman stop harassing, stalking, and contacting the tech firm’s chief executive, was issued by a court on Friday. In a petition for the

Joe Biden has said he would consider imposing personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin if Russia invades neighbouring Ukraine. The US president also said there would be “enormous consequences” for the world if President Putin’s troops push into the former Soviet state, that lies on its south-western border. Some 8,500 US troops have been put on

A six-month-old baby has been killed after getting caught in the crossfire of a gunfight in Atlanta. The shooting happened near a convenience store and a school in the northwest of the city. The child’s mother told WSB-TV that she was driving when she saw people in two cars firing at each other. She said

Boris Johnson has warned that “gloomy” intelligence suggested Russia was planning a lightning raid on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv as fears grow of an invasion – with NATO sending additional ships and jets to its deployments in eastern Europe. The alliance said it could also add additional combat units in response to Russia’s military build-up on

The US has ordered the families of all American embassy staff in Kyiv to leave Ukraine amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion. The US State Department told the dependants of staffers at the US embassy in Ukraine’s capital that they must leave the country and said that non-essential employees could also leave at government

Three former Minneapolis police officers who were on the scene of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 go on trial in a US federal court today. Former officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng stand accused of violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights by failing to administer medical aid to him. Kueng and Thao

Tributes are being paid to the son of Oscar-winning actress Regina King, who has died just days after his 26th birthday. Ian Alexander Jr was a musician and DJ who often accompanied his mother to red carpet events, and both were big champions of each other’s work. A spokesperson for King confirmed his death was

A New York City police officer was killed and a second injured following a shooting in Harlem on Friday. Jason Rivera, 22, died while responding to a call from a mother saying she was fighting with one of her sons. The gunman was shot by a third officer at the scene and taken to hospital

The boyfriend of Gabby Petito claimed responsibility for her death before taking his own life, according to the FBI. Brian Laundrie had been on a cross-country trip in the US with Ms Petito when she disappeared. Her body was found in Wyoming in September, sparking a manhunt for Laundrie, who officials believe returned to Florida

A group of teenagers from a Christian youth group, bundled up in scarves and beanie hats, march down the National Mall in Washington DC chanting “Hey Ho, Hey Ho, Roe has got to go.” They are protesting a decision that legalised abortion long before they were born, and for some of them, before even their