US & Canada

New lawsuits have been filed against the helicopter company that owned and operated the aircraft that crashed in January, killing Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and eight others. Family members from four of the eight passengers have sued the company, Island Express Helicopters. The Associated Press reported that two of …

U.S. health regulators on Tuesday OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The test from LabCorp will initially only be available to health care workers and first responders under a …

Michael Bloomberg spent more than $1 billion (£813m) during 104 days of his presidential campaign, it has been revealed. A Federal Election Commission filing from Monday showed that the former mayor spent over $1 billion in less than four months. Mr Bloomberg had a staff of more than 2,400 to …

A new bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee reasserts the panel’s position that Russia launched an “unprecedented” election interference campaign in 2016 to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. The Senate Intelligence Committee is chaired by Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina. The 158-page, heavily redacted fourth volume …

President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US because of the coronavirus. On Twitter, he cited “the attack from the invisible enemy”, as he calls the virus, and the need to protect the jobs of Americans, but did not …

In the worst-case scenario, there is a risk that 77-year-old Joe Biden won’t be able to construct whole or meaningful sentences or even maintain the activities of daily living, Norwegian psychiatrist Fred Heggen has mused. Having analysed the public appearances of US President hopeful Joe Biden, Norwegian psychiatrist Fred Heggen …

The United States has once again threatened that Turkey could face sanctions if it proceeds with the installation of the S-400 missile systems that it has purchased from Russia, repeating the call for Ankara to cancel the deal with Moscow, which has been a major bone of contention between the …

New York schools and hospitals could see a 20 percent decrease in funding without federal assistance, the governor warned. Governor Andrew Cuomo has put pressure on President Donald Trump and the federal government in recent days because of the assistance his state desperately needed in order to properly fight the …

A gunman disguised as a police officer went on a 12-hour rampage in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, shooting people in their homes, setting fires and killing at least 18 people, including a policewoman, in the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history. Officials said the suspect, identified as …

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that it could take weeks if not months before the country’s most populous city reopens due to a lack of widespread testing, even as officials elsewhere began rolling back restrictions on daily life. De Blasio, whose city is at the …

Footage of tornado damage in Alabama in March 2020 For the second Sunday in a row, the Southern US states were in the midst of an outbreak of severe weather over the weekend, including widespread damaging winds, tornadoes, hail and torrential rainfall. Waves of severe thunderstorms blew through Louisiana to …

Far more Americans are placing their trust in what White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are saying about the health crisis than what Donald Trump is saying, according to a new poll from NBC News/Wall Street Journal. Three out of every five Americans …

The coronavirus outbreak in New York state — the epicenter of the epidemic in the United States — is “on the descent,” Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday. “We are past the high point, and all indications at this point are that we are on the descent,” Cuomo told a …

A man who killed one Texas police officer and wounded two others before killing himself was wearing body armor and waiting to ambush them when they arrived at his home in response to a domestic violence call, authorities said Sunday. The attack Saturday in San Marcos, a city 45 miles …

Police in the Atlantic Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Sunday arrested a 51-year-old gunman who they said was suspected of shootings that had resulted in several victims. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the shootings occurred in the small coastal town of Portapique, about 130 km north (80 miles) …

Dave Littrell stood at a socially un-distant length from his fellow protesters on Saturday. Some shook hands. Others hugged. More than a hundred people rubbed elbows and shoulders, their signs and flags touching, their faces unmasked. Mr. Litrell held his 6-year-old daughter as those surrounding him chanted to reopen the …

US President Donald Trump is accused of stoking Islamophobia after raising questions about social distancing in mosques during the holy month of Ramadan. Trump said on Saturday there “could be a difference” in how authorities and politicians enforce coronavirus lockdown measures during the upcoming Ramadan compared with how Christians were …

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has relaxed the state’s COVID-19 containment measures, scaling back restrictions on outdoor activities with an executive order as outraged residents take to the streets to demand an end to the lockdown. While some forms of outdoor recreation were permitted under a previous directive, an array of …

The United States has accused China of “bullying behavior” in the South China Sea and said it is concerned by the country’s “provocative actions” aimed at offshore oil and gas developments in the disputed waters. A Chinese government survey ship on Friday was tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia’s …

Thousands of protesters in cars and on foot have flouted Michigan’s stay-at-home orders to demand the state reopened. ‘It’s time for our state to be opened up’ said one protester in her car. ‘We’re tired of not being able to buy the things that we need, go to the hairdressers. …