US and Canada

Figure skaters Ilia “Quad God” Malinin and Sarah Everhardt train to achieve their Olympic dreams at SkateQuest in Reston, Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC. It’s also where the next generation of Olympic hopefuls are watching, learning, and being inspired by those they train with in the same rink. On …

A commission made up of Trump appointees signed off on the design after architects made changes in response to concerns. BBC News

Nine backcountry skiers are missing following an avalanche in California’s Lake Tahoe region on Tuesday, authorities say. Six others have so far been rescued. The avalanche was reported about 11:30 PST (19:30 GMT) in the Castle Peak area near the town of Truckee, according to officials. Weather conditions remain dangerous, …

The trapped skiers were directly across the snow-blocked highway from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, also closed due to the weather, but the resort was able to deploy rescue teams in an attempt to reach them. Another nearby resort, Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center, also sent teams. Some used …

Grieving parents awaited Mark Zuckerberg’s arrival at a courthouse in downtown Los Angeles for what is being called the social media industry’s “big tobacco moment”. “I’m comforted by the fact he’s here alone, with only his lawyers and a jury. He’s without his lobbyists or his PR machine,” says Lori …

Mexico City conducted its first earthquake drill of 2026, activating 13,900 loudspeakers across the capital along with mobile phone alerts to prompt residents to evacuate, according to Laura Velázquez, head of the National Civil Protection Coordination. About 8.2 million people participated in the drill, with the average evacuation time being …

Jamil Jivani, a Conservative MP, told an US news sit that Canada was undermining its relationship with the US by throwing an “anti-American hissy fit”. BBC News

A billionaire mogul says paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein stole vast sums from his family. Les Wexner, 88, who was behind retailers including Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch, was answering questions about his friendship with Epstein in a behind-closed-door session on Wednesday with US Congress. Mr Wexner, who is pictured …

Eight skiers have been found dead, and one is still missing, after an avalanche in the northern California mountains, authorities have said. The avalanche hit the Castle Peak area of Truckee in California about 10 miles (16km) north of Lake Tahoe, at around 11.30am local time on Tuesday. The cascade …

Donald Trump has said Sir Keir Starmer is “making a big mistake” with the Chagos Islands deal. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president warned against the loss of the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, which the UK is retaining through a 99-year lease of …

After a week spent in an Italian hospital, US skier Lindsey Vonn has returned to the US to continue her recovery after sustaining a fractured tibia during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Vonn, who came out of retirement in 2024 to race in these Olympics, has had four surgeries on her …

The defection brings Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party just three seats shy of a majority in the House of Commons. BBC News

Six skiers have been rescued while nine remain missing following an avalanche in the northern California mountains. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to Frog Lake on Tuesday after an emergency services call at around 11.30am (7.30pm UK time) reported an avalanche, with people buried. Six ‘backcountry’ skiers – those …

DNA recovered from a glove found near the home of Nancy Guthrie does not match anything in a national database, authorities have said. It marks a significant setback for detectives investigating the case of the missing 84-year-old, who is the mother of NBC’s Today show presenter Savannah Guthrie. She was …

Body camera footage shows NYPD Harbor Unit officers rescuing an injured bald eagle stranded on ice in the Hudson River. Members of the Harbor Unit acted swiftly, safely removing the bird and transporting it to a New Jersey animal sanctuary, officials said. Once nearly extinct in New York, bald eagles …

Fast-moving grassfires have ignited in Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado amid extreme winds and critically low humidity. The Ranger Road Fire has burned approximately 15,000 acres in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Officials have begun evacuations in southwest Kansas and northwest Oklahoma, with law enforcement closing several roads. The National Weather Service has …

Two people were killed and three others injured in a shooting at a high school ice hockey game in Rhode Island. The shooting happened at the Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, about five miles (8km) north of the state capital, Providence, and about 45 miles south of Boston. After …

The victims in the shooting at an ice rink in Rhode Island are the attacker’s ex-wife and son, police have said. The shooting happened at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, near Providence, Rhode Island, at around 2.30pm local time on Monday, where a youth hockey game was due …

McClaughlin has vigorously promoted and defended Trump’s deportation push across social media and in interviews. BBC News

Barack Obama has paid a warm tribute to Jesse Jackson’s “lifetime of service” – after Donald Trump took a swipe at him in his own eulogy. Mr Obama has credited the civil rights leader, who died on Tuesday aged 84, with laying the foundation for his own successful presidential run, …