Author: SKYNEWS

Elon Musk has been summoned to an emergency court hearing on Thursday over the $1m prizes he has been awarding registered voters in swing states.The Tesla and X chief executive has been ordered by a judge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to address a civil case by the city’s top prosecutor to stop Mr Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, from giving the cash away. The suit accuses Mr Musk of operating an illegal lottery and trying to influence voters in next week’s presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Mr Musk and his PAC are backing Mr Trump, the…

Courteney Cox has paid tribute to Matthew Perry, a year on from his death.The 60-year-old actress wrote on Instagram: “Missing you today and always.” She followed the message with a heart emoji, and tagged the addiction charity set up in his honour. Perry was found dead at his home on 28 October 2024, aged 54. A medical examiner later ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death.Both household names thanks to their roles in hit sitcom Friends, Perry’s Chandler Bing married Cox’s Monica in the seventh season of the US show, in a two-part episode titled The One With…

Lowri Williams is struggling to cover her basic expenses. Earning a low income with very little support, she says she feels like she’s “living hand-to-mouth” and barely getting by.She’s one of a large group of people in low-income households who are caught in a precarious position, earning too little to comfortably support themselves, but too much to qualify for significant financial help.For people like Lowri, working more or earning a higher income could mean losing vital support like Universal Credit, leaving them no better off and in some cases even worse off. Image: Lowri Williams in her home Higher tax…

A new radioactive therapy has shrunk a man’s deadly brain tumour by half, in what experts hope could be a breakthrough cancer treatment. Paul Read, a 62-year-old engineer from Luton, noticed he had a severe headache last December. Two weeks later, his wife Pauline was concerned he had a stroke as his face appeared to have dropped on one side. He was diagnosed with recurrent glioblastoma – a type of brain cancer which kills most patients within 18 months – after doctors found a large mass on his brain.Despite undergoing an operation on 27 December, followed by courses of radiotherapy…

An AI-replicated Sir Michael Parkinson is set to host a new podcast, featuring a series of completely unscripted interviews with celebrities.Virtually Parkinson is a world-first podcast according to its producers, Deep Fusion Films, and has been made with the support and involvement of Parkinson’s family and estate. Known for his interviews with the world’s biggest stars, Parkinson died last year aged 88, following a brief illness.The eight-part show will use AI technology to synthetically recreate the late presenter’s voice and interview style, drawing from a back catalogue of over 2,000 of his interviews.The system – dubbed “Squark” – uses AI…

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has accused the independent fiscal watchdog of “political impartiality” ahead of its review that could be critical of the Conservative government. The previous government has been accused by Rachel Reeves, the current chancellor, of leaving a £22bn financial “black hole” between income and promised spending in the public finances. Ms Reeves said she only became aware of it upon entering government as information was withheld by the Tory government from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – independent budget forecasters.The OBR review into the issue of possible withholding of information and the past government’s departmental spending…

Global climate action plans are “falling miles short” of what is needed to stop climate change from “crippling” economies, the United Nations has warned.Current national climate plans submitted by 168 nations to the UN will see global emissions of greenhouse gases in 2030 just 2.6% lower than in 2019, a new report has found. This marks only “marginal progress” since the same annual “Synthesis” report last year, when 2030 emissions were forecast to be 2.0% lower than in 2019.And it is “only a fraction” of what is “urgently needed”, it said, given emissions should plummet 43% by 2030 in order…

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden was rushed to hospital after last night’s main show – but has said she is feeling “much better”.The dancer, who also has Crohn’s disease, had returned to the show in August after receiving cancer treatment. A spokesperson for Dowden said: “Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern.”We request Amy’s privacy in matters of health is kindly respected.”Dowden, who has not partnered a celebrity on the entertainment show since 2022, was…

Britain’s biggest energy retailers have told ministers that they will provide more than £500m of extra help for households as the government tries to deflect criticism over the winter fuel payments row.Sky News has learnt that EnergyUK, the industry body, is planning to make a joint announcement with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in the coming days about an industry-wide package of support. Sources said it could be unveiled by Rachel Reeves as part of her inaugural budget next week.They added that the additional figure of over £500m would comprise both repayable and non-repayable measures, such…

An astronaut was taken to hospital shortly after returning to Earth from an extended mission on the International Space Station.The astronaut, who NASA did not name for privacy reasons, is suffering from an undisclosed medical issue. NASA initially said the entire crew was flown to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola hospital out of precaution, but did not specify whether all or some of the crew had been experiencing issues.The other three crew members have left the hospital and returned to Houston, the space agency said.NASA said: “The one astronaut who remains at Ascension is in stable condition under observation as a…