Derailed train going at 80mph in 30mph zone

The passenger train that derailed while crossing a highway bridge in Washington state, leaving three people dead, was travelling at more than double the speed limit.

The Amtrak 501 train - the first high-speed commuter service to use a new track from Seattle to Portland - was moving at 80mph in a 30mph zone, federal officials said. A data recorder recovered from the train's rear locomotive indicated the speed at which it went off the tracks.

With about 78 passengers and five crew, the train was on a bridge over the Interstate-5 highway in Pierce County, 40m (65km) south of Seattle, when it came off the tracks at 7.40am (3.40pm GMT) on Monday. City of DuPont fire chief Larry Creekmore said more than 100 people were taken to hospital after 13 carriages fell on to the road. The number of dead was lowered from an earlier figure of six.

A British citizen could be among the injured.

State governor Jay Inslee, visiting some of the passengers in hospital, said: "There's a young man whose passport is on the train, going to England, and we want to make sure we can get him home and I assured him we'll take care of that." An official briefed on the investigation said preliminary signs indicated the train may have struck something on the track before derailing on the Mounts Rd overpass.


Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan tweeted: "This catastrophic derailment is horrific. My thoughts are with those injured & our first responders who rushed to the scene. "The City of Seattle has offered our assistance & is ready to work with Amtrak, local, state, federal officials in the aftermath of this tragic incident."  The sheriff's office said "multiple" motorists were injured when their vehicles were hit but no fatalities have been reported. Traffic cameras and police photos showed carriages dangling off the bridge onto the highway and others smashed onto the busy road below.

US President Donald Trump tweeted that the incident shows "more than ever" why his infrastructure plan "must be approved quickly". Ten minutes later he added that his "thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved" in the accident.  Passenger Chris Karnes told CBS News: "We had just passed the city of DuPont and it seemed like we were going around a curve.
"All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill.

"The next thing we know, we're being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there's water gushing out of the train. People were screaming. "The tracks for this line were supposed to be upgraded to be able to handle higher speeds," he continued. "I'm not sure what happened at this juncture." The train was using the new Point Defiance Bypass route created to avoid slow curves and "single track tunnels" on the main line tracks.

The project, which began in 2010, cost $181m (£135m), a report by the Washington State Department of Transportation revealed.

'Gross abuse of power': Footage of US jail's use of Tasers prompts call for inquiry

Disturbing footage of US jail guards firing Tasers at inmates has prompted calls for a criminal investigation.

A series of videos obtained by the Reuters news agency allegedly shows stun guns being used inappropriately against inmates at Franklin County Jail in Ohio. The footage includes Sergeant Mychal Turner firing a Taser at a mentally-ill man multiple times for refusing to stand in his cell, according to Reuters. A handcuffed man who refuses to sit on a bench and another inmate who will not remove a nipple ring are also targeted in the videos, the news agency said.
The incidents violated the jail's Taser policy and were cited in a settled lawsuit that accused jail guards of "sadistic" and unconstitutional use of Tasers from 2008 to 2010, court records show.

Neither Mr Turner, who is now commander of Franklin County Corrections Center II, nor any of his deputies were disciplined over the incidents, according to internal county jail records. Ohio state senator Charleta Tavares said the footage showed inmates being treated like "animals" and called for a criminal investigation.

"Do I believe those who are responsible should be held accountable? Absolutely," Ms Tavares said. "Whether it's today or whether it was back in 2009. "Any time a stun gun is used inappropriately - particularly in the video, where it looks as though it is just used over and over and it's more like a prod that people would use on animals - that is criminal in my opinion."
Logan Amburgey, whose 21-year-old brother Patrick was stunned in June 2009 after defying orders to sit on a bench in his cell, said: "It's a gross abuse of power - it's really all it boils down to.

"There's no scenario, unless he's threatening their lives where that should ever happen. "It was absolutely abuse."

In one video, a young woman is shown screaming while surrounded by jail guards as the sound of a Taser being fired can be heard. Another video shows a man saying "I'm scared" while lying on the floor after being hit with a stun gun. An officer then tells him: "Get up. I'm going to ask you one more time or I'm going to Taser you again."
In another video, an inmate screams on the floor after a Taser is fired at him. After complaining that he cannot feel his legs, a stun gun is fired at him again before a guard says: "Stand up or you're going to get Tasered again."

Some 22 guards at Franklin County Jail used Tasers on 80 inmates from 2008 to 2010, with 60% of the incidents involving inmates classified by the jail as intoxicated or mentally ill, Reuters said. According to the jail's Taser policy at the time, stun guns were allowed for self-defence, protection of another inmate or staff, disarming an inmate, preventing self-harm to an inmate, or controlling a combative inmate.

Theresa May and Donald Trump discuss 'differences' in first call since Britain First re-tweets

Theresa May and Donald Trump have spoken for the first time since a public spat over the US President's controversial Britain First re-tweets.

The leaders "wished each other a very merry Christmas" in a phone call on Tuesday afternoon, according to Downing Street. They also discussed "different" positions on Mr Trump's decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, agreeing the US needed to "bring forward new proposals for peace". Mrs May previously condemned the move as "wrong", despite the President's promise it would help bring stability to the region.

The call also came hours after Britain joined 13 members of the UN Security Council in rejecting the US decision on Jerusalem. It was vetoed by a single vote from the US. However, a statement from the White House made no mention of Jerusalem, only referring to the two leaders discussing "the next steps in forging peace in the Middle East."

Both leaders also paved the way for a "swift" post-Brexit trade deal, with Mrs May hailing the "good progress" made in negotiations with the EU. And they discussed "deep concerns" at the humanitarian situation in Yemen. But off the official record was any mention of their row over Mr Trump's posts on Twitter of anti-Muslim videos.

He shared three videos to his 43.6 million followers, including unverified footage purporting to show Muslims committing crimes. The far-right group Britain First that originally posted them has since lost its verified badge on Twitter and been suspended pending an investigation by the tech company.
The President blasted back at Mrs May after her criticism: "Don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!"

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has hit out at the PM, saying: "It has taken Theresa May two weeks to contact Trump over his dangerous decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, yet she seems to have failed to use the opportunity to call him out for re-tweeting abhorrent Islamophobic material. "As Prime Minister, May has a responsibility to stand up against hate and for all communities in our country."

Sex abuse lawsuit against Michael Jackson's estate dismissed

A lawsuit brought by a choreographer who claimed Michael Jackson molested him as a child has been dismissed.

The ruling from judge Mitchell L Beckloff resolves one of the last major claims against the holdings of the "King of Pop", who died in 2009 aged 50. It was decided that the two Jackson-owned corporations that were the remaining defendants in the case were not liable for Wade Robson's exposure to the singer.

The judge did not rule on the credibility of the allegations themselves. Mr Robson's lawyer, Vince Finaldi, said his client plans to appeal against the judgement. The 35-year-old Australian native has worked for Britney Spears and NSYNC and met Jackson when he was five.

Back in 2005 he testified in Jackson's defence at the Thriller singer's criminal trial, saying he had spent the night at Jackson's Neverland Ranch more than 20 times, usually sleeping in the star's room, but had never been molested. Jackson was acquitted in the high-profile trial.
But in 2013, Mr Robson sued the Jackson estate over what his lawyers described as molestation over the course of seven years. Two years later, a court ruled Mr Robson had filed his lawsuit too late to get any of Jackson's estate.

This decision left two remaining defendants, both of them corporate entities owned by the singer while he was alive - MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures.
In his ruling, the judge said they could not be held responsible for Mr Robson's exposure to Jackson, in the way a school or the Boy Scouts can be held liable for bringing together an abusive adult and a victim. Howard Weitzman, Jackson's lawyer, said he "believes the court made the correct decision in dismissing Wade Robson's claim against it".

Boy, 5, calls police to stop Grinch stealing Christmas

A five-year-old boy got an unexpected visitor after calling the police to report the Grinch for trying to steal his Christmas.

TyLon Pittman, from Jackson, Mississippi, told his mum he had called 911 after watching clips of the family film on Facebook and becoming scared. However, his mother TeResa did not believe him until Byram police officer, Lauren Develle, knocked on the door later that evening.

TyLon's big brother, who was home for Christmas from his role in the Air Force, filmed the visit on his phone and posted it on his Facebook page to share with friends and family.
"I can NOT make this up!!!" TeDera Dwayne Graves wrote. "My five-year-old brother called the police and said that the Grinch is stealing people's Christmas and he don't want him to steal his, so they really came to our house!"

Ms Develle, whose favourite Christmas film just happens to be the Dr Seuss classic, told the worried youngster she would protect gifts from the Grinch and take him to jail if he tried to steal Christmas.
During a visit to the police station, TyLon - who wants to be a police officer when he grows up - told officers if he saw the Grinch he would say "put your hands behind your back and get down on the ground".TyLon said he would then ask the Grinch "Why are you stealing Christmas?", and hold him until the police turned up to lock him up in a cell.

Baby girl who was frozen as an embryo for 24 years born in Tennessee

A baby who was frozen as an embryo for more than two decades has been born to a woman in the US.

The embryo was cryopreserved for 24 and a half years, making it the longest ever frozen embryo to be successfully born, according to research staff at the University of Tennessee Preston Medical Library.  Emma Wren was born on 25 November to Tina Gibson, 26, from East Tennessee, it can now be revealed.

As an embryo, she was frozen on 14 October, 1992, about 18 months after Mrs Gibson was born.  Embryologist Carol Sommerfelt revealed when the Gibsons were shown a picture of their embryos as they were being transferred, Mrs Gibson said: "These embryos could have been my best friends."

In March last year it was thawed at the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, and a transfer was performed on Mrs Gibson, then 25 years old, two days later. Benjamin Gibson, the baby's father, said: "Emma is such a sweet miracle.

"I think she looks pretty perfect to have been frozen all those years ago."

Ms Sommerfelt added: "It is deeply moving and highly rewarding to see that embryos frozen 24 and a half years ago using the old, early cryopreservation techniques of slow freezing on day one of development at the pronuclear stage can result in 100% survival of the embryos with a 100% continued proper development to the day-three embryo stage." Dr Jeffrey Keenan, the NEDC's medical director who performed the transfer, said: "The NEDC has been privileged to work with the Gibsons to help them realize their dreams of becoming parents. "We hope this story is a clarion call to all couples who have embryos in long-term storage to consider this life-affirming option for their embryos."

Cardinal Law, symbol of Church's sex abuse scandal, has died at 86

Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who became a symbol of the Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandals, has died at 86.

Cardinal Law died in a hospital in Rome, where he had been living.

The Vatican did not give a cause as it announced his death, but the Cardinal was believed to have been suffering from complications of diabetes and liver failure, among other ailments.  Cardinal Law was archbishop of Boston, one of the most prestigious and wealthy American archdioceses, for 18 years.

The late Pope John Paul reluctantly accepted his resignation in 2002 after the Catholic Church was rocked by worldwide sex abuse revelations.

The scandal was uncovered by the Boston Globe's Spotlight team, which showed how priests who sexually abused children had been moved from parish to parish for years rather than being sacked or reported to the authorities.

Cardinal Law was widely blamed for allowing that to happen.

The report soon began a trickle-down effect around the world, as the cover-up techniques used in Boston were discovered to have been used in country after country. "It is my fervent prayer that this action may help the archdiocese of Boston to experience the healing, reconciliation and unity which are so desperately needed," Cardinal Law said upon resigning.

"To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes, I both apologise and from them beg forgiveness." Still, he retained support in the Vatican. In 2004, a year before John Paul's death, he was appointed archpriest of the Basilica of St Mary Major, one of four principal basilicas in the Italian capital. Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston lawyer who has represented victims of the sex abuse scandal, said the Cardinal's death had reopened old wounds.