US

Dozens of planes have been forced to divert or fly holding patterns to avoid potential debris from the SpaceX rocket that blew up. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it briefly slowed and re-routed planes in the area where the pieces were falling back to earth. Tracking app FlightRadar24 said its most-watched flights last

SpaceX’s gigantic Starship rocket has been “lost” just minutes into its seventh test flight. The 400ft rocket – the biggest and most powerful in the world – soared from Boca Chica, south Texas, on Thursday around 4.40pm local time (10.40pm in the UK). Just minutes after the rocket launched, its booster made its planned return

President Joe Biden has warned of a “dangerous concentration of power” among a few wealthy people in the United States in his farewell address to the nation. Without naming president-elect Donald Trump, Mr Biden said: “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our entire democracy,

At 4.30pm last Tuesday afternoon, a dark grey smoke cloud loomed over North Mount Holyoke Avenue in Pacific Palisades, obscuring the setting sun. The blazes which would become the deadliest wildfire in California’s history were racing up a nearby canyon. The streets were almost deserted, the air choking, and most people had already evacuated. My

Donald Trump’s choice for US defence secretary has been accused of lacking the competence for the job, during a much-disrupted Senate confirmation hearing. Senators are determining whether Pete Hegseth, a former combat veteran and TV news show host, is fit to lead the US military as Mr Trump’s choice for defence secretary. He is a

President-elect Donald Trump engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat, according to a report by Special Counsel Jack Smith. He said that Trump “inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence” in the January 6 riots and knowingly spread a false narrative about fraud in the 2020 election. Special

A Gaza deal is “on the brink”, President Joe Biden has said in his final foreign policy address. The outgoing US president said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians. Mr Biden was delivering his final foreign policy address before he leaves office next week. Today’s address will

The launch of a huge, partially reusable rocket, built by Jeff Bezos’s company, has been called off this morning after hours of delays. The 98-metre rocket, called New Glenn, is around as tall as Big Ben. It was set to carry up to 45 tonnes of tech to low Earth orbit. However, the team at

The Duchess of Sussex has delayed the release of her new Netflix series due to the devastation caused by the wildfires in LA, the streaming platform has announced. Meghan’s eight-part series, With Love, will premiere on March 4 instead of January 15. “I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the

Details are starting to emerge of the victims of the Los Angeles fires – and at least two died trying to protect the homes where they raised families for decades. The number of people killed by the wildfires has increased from 11 to 13, according to officials. The Eaton fire has killed eight people and

When President-elect Donald Trump talked about acquiring Greenland for the United States he was following a long tradition of US presidents musing about this issue. In 1867 President Andrew Johnson thought about trying to buy Greenland. So did President William Taft in 1910. During the Second World War the US occupied Greenland to prevent anyone

They are the displaced and there are tens of thousands of them, 600 in an evacuation centre we visited. From elderly people who fled without their medication, to pregnant mothers desperate to escape the smoke, they had nowhere else to go. Jim Mayfield, who has lived in the northern suburb of Altadena for 50 years,

Authorities in California have vowed to arrest anybody caught looting in burnt-out neighbourhoods, with one official warning: “We are not screwing around with this.” Five separate wildfires continue to burn across Los Angeles County, including the Pacific Palisades blaze – which has torn through more than 20,000 acres of land and destroyed an estimated 5,000

Donald Trump says a meeting is being set up between himself and Vladimir Putin – and that he and Barack Obama “probably” like each other. Republican US president-elect Mr Trump spoke to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday, saying Russian president Mr Putin “wants to meet, and we are setting it up”.

A woman from the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles has offered to “fill up the hydrants myself” as she confronted state governor Gavin Newsom over his response to the disaster. Rachel Darvish, a lawyer who has lived in the Palisades all her life, was forced to flee her home along with many thousands

There was nothing but a stairwell left at one house in Altadena and even that was ablaze. The flames swallowing homes and cars, and the suffocating smoke, made for truly apocalyptic scenes. Firefighters tackled a blaze at one property as the resident next door dashed in and out to rescue a few precious items. People

A real-life drama is unfolding just outside Hollywood. Ferocious wildfires have ballooned at an “alarming speed”, in just a matter of hours. Why? What caused the California wildfires? There are currently three wildfires torching southern California. The causes of all three are still being investigated. The majority (85%) of all forest fires across the United

Firefighters in California are battling a fast-moving wildfire which is sweeping an exclusive Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity homes. Officials say the wildfire is being fanned by gusts from a “life-threatening” and “destructive” wind storm hitting southern California. Image: Pic: AP Image: Pic: AP Fire crews are battling a handful of small blazes in

US president-elect Donald Trump has refused to rule out military or economic action to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland – as he said he believes NATO spending should be increased to 5% per member state. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Mr Trump made a series of sweeping claims on what his policies could look like

It’s the news story of the day here. The fact America’s Congress hasn’t been laid siege to shouldn’t be a story at all – the fact it is tells you all you need to know about US politics. In Washington DC, they’ve been preparing for this January 6th since the January 6th that came to