US

Chinese ‘spy’ balloons have been spotted in skies above countries across five continents, US officials have announced. The US has also been in touch with its allies on the issue of the balloons, according to the White House. It comes after US fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spying device off the coast of

Joe Biden has vowed to work with political rivals in his latest State of the Union address. The US president was speaking before Congress for the first time since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last month. While he acknowledged that America’s democracy is bruised, Mr Biden stressed it is “unbowed and unbroken”.

Rail crews in Ohio have been burning off toxic chemicals from a freight train that derailed last week, after ordering nearly 2,000 residents to evacuate their homes. The train, operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad and consisting of three locomotives and 150 freight cars, was travelling from Illinois to Pennsylvania when it derailed shortly before 9pm

A suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the US over the weekend was 60m (200ft) tall – comparable to a 20-storey building. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), told reporters that the balloon was also carrying a load similar in size to a commercial plane. He added that

A suspected surveillance balloon spotted over Latin America is for “civilian usage” and entered the region’s airspace by accident, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman has said. The balloon has been spotted after US fighter jets shot down an initial suspected Chinese spying device off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman

China has threatened “further actions” in response to America’s “serious overreaction” in the downing of a suspected spy balloon. The white aircraft was shot out of the sky off the South Carolina coast on Saturday after days of intrigue, while diplomatic relations soured further between Washington and Beijing. US President Joe Biden ordered the object

For beach-walking South Carolinians, it would have been quite the Saturday afternoon spectacle.  Two US fighter jets soaring above them, armed with air-to-air missiles. Then a launch. From an altitude of 58,000ft, one of the two jets fired a single ‘Sidewinder’ short range missile. It was 2.39pm eastern US time. Eyewitnesses on the ground in

The US has shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had been flying over its airspace. Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending toward the water off the Carolina coast. The balloon was shot down with a missile fired by an F-22 fighter aircraft, about six nautical miles off the

The US is “going to take care of” a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over its airspace, Joe Biden has said. The US president was speaking after the balloon was spotted again – this time over North Carolina. Biden made his remark in response to a question about whether the US would shoot down the

China has claimed the flight of an “airship” over the US was an accident and accused politicians and the media of taking advantage of the situation. The US claims the craft is a suspected spy balloon and said it had committed a “clear violation” of US sovereignty. China insisted it is used for meteorological and

China has said a suspected spy balloon that has been flying over the US was in fact a “civilian airship” that had strayed into American airspace. The US has said it believed the object – spotted over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday, close to one of the US’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air

The US military is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been flying over northwestern America in recent days. A senior defence official said the US has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. “Clearly the intent of this balloon is for surveillance,”

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin will make his first appearance in a US court on 24 February over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin, 64, faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the incident on the set of the Rust movie in October 2021. He was formally charged with the offences by the

Tyre Nichols’ mother said “blood is going to be on the hands” of congressmen and women if they fail to pass a bill that would limit immunity for US police officers. Vice President Kamala Harris and celebrated civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton urged Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act at

The US Justice Department is conducting a search of a beach house owned by President Joe Biden in Delaware. A statement from Bob Bauer, personal attorney for the President, read: “Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware. “Under DOJ’s standard procedures,

Scott Hubbard remembers exactly where he was on the day of one of the deadliest tragedies in the history of space travel. Before he stepped out of bed on the morning of 1 February 2003, a radio broadcast brought news that NASA’s Columbia space shuttle was “overdue” on its return to Earth. “I had a