US

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

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

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 has been handed a no-penalty sentence following his conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. The incoming US president has received an unconditional discharge – meaning he will not face jail time, probation or a fine. The sentencing in Manhattan comes days before the 78-year-old is due to be inaugurated as US

Mel Gibson says there is “nothing left” of his Hollywood home following the LA wildfires and “someone should answer” for the devastation. The Braveheart star was with podcaster Joe Rogan when the flames engulfed his Malibu mansion and said he was a “little tense” while recording their discussion. But he knew his family were “out

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

Donald Trump will be sworn in as US president on 20 January in Washington DC, his second run at the biggest job in politics. A national holiday thanks to the fact it coincides with Martin Luther King Jr Day, spectators can expect a day full of pomp, pageantry and entertainment. Image: Donald Trump and his

All five of the living US presidents have been pictured together at the funeral of Jimmy Carter. The 39th US president died at the age of 100 on 29 December. President Joe Biden will give a eulogy to his fellow Democrat at the state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. He appeared alongside president-elect Donald

The eldest daughter of Ruby Franke, who was convicted of physically and emotionally abusing her children, has revealed the torment she went through in a new memoir. Shari Franke, 21, who reached out to authorities and the child protection services for help before her mother’s arrest in August 2023, writes that she and her five

A series of ferocious wildfires erupted across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, fuelled by powerful winds and dry conditions. At least five people have been killed and dozens more injured, with many of the remaining fires not contained at all by the emergency services. Some 130,000 people are now under mandatory evacuation orders across

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

The grooming gangs scandal has been in the public eye for more than a decade, with multiple public enquiries and a string of prosecutions. All of that went apparently unnoticed by the world’s richest man, until a few days ago. Sky News analysis suggests just a handful of right-wing accounts on X prompted and developed

Two NASA astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since June 2024 have said they “do not feel like castaways”. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams originally planned to go to space for just eight days but got stuck on the ISS when their Boeing Starliner spacecraft experienced a myriad of problems. By

At least two people have died in a wildfire in Los Angeles, officials have said, with firefighters battling five blazes across California. Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Marrone said two people have been killed in the Eaton fire, one of four growing blazes in the area. Follow live: Firefighters battling wildfires All four of

Hollywood celebrities are among thousands of people to have been evacuated from their homes as fires rip through areas of Los Angeles. Sky News’ US correspondent Martha Kelner reported that Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck and Reese Witherspoon were all evacuated on Tuesday as wildfires continued to spread in the Pacific Palisades suburb of LA. The