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Mass shootings in America have become so common that an official handbook has been prepared to help mayors to cope when there is a shooting in their community. As the first funerals take place for the victims of the Independence Day mass shooting near Chicago in Illinois, the mayor of the city where it happened,

Hollywood actor Paul Rudd has become a real-life superhero after reaching out to a schoolboy whose yearbook was only signed by two students. Rudd, who plays Ant-Man in the Avengers franchise, reportedly responded to a now viral Facebook post by 12-year-old Brody Ridder’s mother, Cassandra, when he received just two autographs wishing him well. Cassandra,

Sopranos actor Tony Sirico has died at the age of 79, his family said. Sirico played the role of Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri in the popular HBO show, appearing in all six seasons. He died on Friday morning, according to a Facebook post by his brother Robert. Image: Steve Van Zandt, James Gandolfini and Tony Sirico

Elon Musk has pulled out of a deal to take over Twitter for $44bn (£36.5bn). In a statement provided to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, representatives for Mr Musk said Twitter breached terms of an agreement and “appears to have made false and misleading representations”. They said Twitter had also failed to provide data

A woman has been left feeling “very relieved and excited” after firefighters dived into a river to retrieve her huge diamond ring after it fell overboard. During a trip on a yacht along the Charles River in Massachusetts, US, the woman dropped the impressive piece of jewellery into the water below. The dive team from

Ahead of the biggest premiere the world of astronomy has ever seen, NASA has published the cosmic A-list that will be appearing through the lens of its colossal new space telescope. And it’s not just stars. There are galaxies, a planet too, and what promises to be the deepest view back in time that humanity

Ghislaine Maxwell has officially appealed against her conviction and sentence in the United States for sex trafficking. The 60-year-old was found guilty of luring young girls to massage rooms for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the Southern

Derek Chauvin has been given a 21-year jail sentence for violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin will serve the federal sentence at the same time he serves his 22-and-a-half year sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter. The former police officer pinned George Floyd to the pavement outside a Minneapolis corner shop for more

US basketball player Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drugs charges in a Russian court. The 31-year-old was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February while travelling to play for a Russian team. Police said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. Speaking today, she told the court: “I’d like to plead guilty, your

An armed policeman at the Uvalde school massacre had an opportunity to shoot the gunman but missed his chance waiting for permission from a supervisor, according to a new report. Two teachers and 19 children died after police waited more than an hour to storm Robb Elementary School when Salvador Rolando Ramos opened fire on

The man charged with killing seven people in a shooting on an Independence Day parade in Chicago has confessed to police that he fired on the crowd. Robert E Crimo III faces seven counts of murder over the shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, and news of the confession – which was

A two-year-old has been left an orphan after both of his parents were killed when a rooftop sniper opened fire on the Fourth of July parade in Chicago. Irina McCarthy, 35, and Kevin McCarthy, 37, were among at least seven killed in the attack on Monday, in which around 50 people also suffered gunshot wounds

It is a stark and frightening sight. A road that was, just hours ago, the heart of a community’s Independence Day celebrations is now strewn just with the belongings people left as they ran for their lives.  Picnic chairs, flags, buggies, toys, water bottles. The bits and pieces of family gatherings. Phones and shoes too.

The man suspected of killing at least six people and seriously injuring more than 30 at a Fourth of July parade in Chicago has been arrested, police have said. A Highland Park police spokesperson said the suspect, Robert E Crimo III, 22, was spotted by a patrol who tried to initiate a traffic stop. The

Jeff Bezos has clashed with US President Joe Biden’s administration on Twitter over the cost of petrol for American consumers. Mr Biden had tweeted this weekend that “this is a time of war and global peril” and that the companies running gas stations were acting out of greed. “Bring down the price you are charging

Police have released bodycam footage showing the moment a black man was shot up to 60 times after he fled a traffic stop. Eight police officers in Akron, Ohio, were involved in the shooting of Jayland Walker, 25, last week after a pursuit by car and on foot. Police say they believed Walker was armed