National park closes areas near Old Faithful after attack by one or more bears, with incident under investigation

Two hikers were injured in a bear attack on Monday on a trail in Yellowstone national park, park officials said.

The National Park Service said in a statement on Tuesday that the hikers sustained injuries on Monday by “one or more bears” on the Mystic Falls trail near Old Faithful in Yellowstone national park. Officials did not specify which species of bear.

Veteran host says format may not last as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ends its 33-year run amid controversy

Ahead of the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, former network late-night host David Letterman said that he would be “surprised” if other shows in that format last too much longer.

Letterman, 79, made the remark in an interview with the New York Times that was published on Tuesday, in which he also described his “disbelief” upon learning Colbert’s show had been cancelled.

Democrats had filed civil contempt resolution against former attorney general for not appearing for deposition

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The House oversight and government reform committee has said that former attorney general Pam Bondi will now appear before the panel on 29 May to answer questions about the Department of Justice’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its release of the Epstein files.

The announcement of the date came shortly after the Democrats on the committee announced that they had filed a civil contempt resolution against Bondi after she did not appear for her deposition earlier this month.

Sky Roberts said survivors ‘still fighting to be heard’ after king, whose brother Andrew was accused of assault by Giuffre, did not meet with them

The brother of the late Virginia Giuffre criticized King Charles III for not meeting with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse during his visit to the United States this week.

“Survivors are here sitting with members of Congress, still fighting to be heard, still pushing for real accountability, while many of the powerful figures connected to these systems remain just out of reach, unable to acknowledge survivors face to face,” Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts said. “You would expect this to be a moment for the king to give a message to the world that he stands with survivors.”

Residents and visitors in California alert each other whenever they spot the above average size animal at Pier 39

A gigantic 2,000lb Steller sea lion nicknamed “Chonkers” has become an unexpected local celebrity after taking up residence in the San Francisco Bay.

The massive sea lion swam up to a dock on Pier 39 in San Francisco about a month ago and has remained in the area since, drawing attention from residents, visitors and social media users who have been sharing frequent photos and videos of the animal looming over its peers.

Hisham Abugharbieh has been charged in the deaths of his roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend

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The man charged with killing two University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh allegedly asked ChatGPT about what happens if a person has been put in a garbage bag and “thrown in a dumpster”, according to prosecutors in a court filing.

He also allegedly bought duct tape and trash bags in the days leading up to the students’ disappearance.

The gambling crisis ‘demands a public health response’ and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert says

Gambling addiction is spiraling “out of control” in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.

The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, “demands a public health response”, according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene.

Mandated release of files was marred by missed deadlines, leaked victims’ information and excessive redactions

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The US Department of Justice’s office of the inspector general (OIG) announced on Thursday that it is launching an audit of the justice department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

In a news release, the deputy inspector general William M Blier, who the statement said is performing the duties of the inspector general, said the “preliminary objective” of the internal inquiry “is to evaluate the [justice department’s] processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the act”.

Committee to Protect Journalists says Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was found innocent after 52 days in detention

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A Kuwaiti-American journalist, who had been detained in Kuwait, has been acquitted, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who has previously worked for PBS, HuffPost, the New York Times, the BBC and Al Jazeera, was arrested on 3 March during a brief visit to Kuwait.

Two teenagers were killed and five others wounded in Winston-Salem after pre-planned fight in park

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North Carolina authorities say they are pursuing criminal charges against adults who allegedly “stood by” a scheduled fight among teenagers that led to a mass shooting that killed two people and wounded five others on Monday.

“We’re sending the message that if you stand by, encourage, aid or abet our juveniles in delinquent behavior, we will not tolerate it,” William H Penn, the Winston-Salem police chief, said in a joint video message on Tuesday alongside the local sheriff and district attorney.

Measure passed 50-49 to overturn a 20-year ban on mining near renowned Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

The US Senate narrowly voted on Thursday to overturn a ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, an enormous complex of interconnected lakes, rivers and forests that is among the most visited wild areas in the US.

The resolution passed 50-49 to repeal a 20-year moratorium imposed by former president Joe Biden’s administration in 2023 on mining across the 225,000 acres in the Superior national forest.

New York mayor Mamdani calls footage of arrest of wrongly identified suspect ‘extremely disturbing and unacceptable’

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The New York police department has launched an internal investigation after videos posted online showed two police officers repeatedly punching and kicking a man they were attempting to arrest on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the New York City police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said that “there are a number of videos circulating online of an incident that occurred yesterday inside a store in Brooklyn involving two members of the NYPD.