AFP

Utopia (United States) (AFP) – In a tiny Texas town called Utopia, a sign at the entrance to its only school warns that staffers are packing guns — a measure designed to prevent shootings like the one that left 19 kids and two teachers dead down the r…

Washington (AFP) – The National Rifle Association is the central and fiercest promoter of gun rights in America, and is again holding its annual convention days after a mass school shooting. Just like the NRA’s meeting after the 1999 Columbine attack, …

Fairfax (United States) (AFP) – Lawyers for “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard delivered closing arguments on Friday after a six-week trial featuring blistering mutual accusations of domestic abuse. Elaine Bredehoft…

Los Angeles (AFP) – For nearly two decades, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and its openly lesbian host have beamed into homes across America, busting stereotypes and charming daytime TV audiences with a feel-good blend of quirky comedy and celebrity. But a…

Uvalde (United States) (AFP) – Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, on Thursday made an unannounced visit to the Texas town of Uvalde to pay her respects to the victims of a shooting at an elementary school that left 19 children and two t…

New York (AFP) – McDonald’s shareholders overwhelmingly rejected billionaire Carl Icahn’s efforts to install two board members to remake the company’s animal welfare policies, the restaurant chain said Thursday. Icahn, known on Wall Street for playing …

Los Angeles (AFP) – Actor Ray Liotta, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic “Goodfellas,” has died in the Dominican Republic, the country’s cinema authority said Thursday. He was 67. Liotta, whose blistering turn as real-life mobster Henry …

London (AFP) – Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey is facing sexual assault charges in the UK, police and prosecutors said on Thursday, after a review of allegations against him. The two-time Oscar winner for “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty” was art…

Uvalde (United States) (AFP) – A distraught Texas grandmother of a girl killed in the massacre in Uvalde pleaded Thursday for urgent action by US authorities to prevent future school shootings, as the country plunges again into the roiling debate over …

Washington (AFP) – Republicans in the US Senate prevented action Thursday on a bill to address domestic terrorism in the wake of a racist massacre at a grocery store in upstate New York. Democrats had been expecting defeat but were seeking to use the p…