Author: SKYNEWS

Actor Timothy Busfield, who starred in the hit shows The West Wing and Thirtysomething, has been charged with child sex abuse.The Emmy Award-winning actor, 68, made his first court appearance on Wednesday over allegations he sexually abused two boys on the set of a ​television series.Busfield appeared remotely via a video link from jail a day after turning himself in – when he was taken into custody in Albuquerque on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.The judge ordered Busfield to be held without bond.Prosecutors allege Busfield groomed and sexually abused the…

Scientists have dismissed warnings from Donald Trump linking paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism.The US president made the allegation in September as he claimed there had been a “meteoric rise” in cases of autism. Identifying the medication – known as Tylenol in the States – as a potential cause, Mr Trump suggested pregnant women should “tough it out”. You need javascript enabled to view this content Enable javascript to share Share Trump links autism with paracetamol Now, after reviewing dozens of studies on the topic, experts have concluded there is “no clinically important” link between paracetamol use and autism.For the…

Wholesale natural gas prices have risen by more than 40% this month as a raft of pressures, described by one analyst as a “perfect storm”, threaten to raise energy bills ahead.Day-ahead prices for UK delivery were at a six-month high on Friday, a rise of more than 14% on the day, as contracts across Europe rose according to LSEG data. Europe has witnessed a price spike this year as cold weather and low gas storage levels combined with slowing deliveries of liquified natural gas (LNG), mainly from the US.Money latest: The area where £10m lottery prize is unclaimed Contracts for…

Julio Iglesias has denied abusing two former domestic employees behind a criminal complaint against him, calling the accusations “completely false”.Prosecutors with Spain’s High Court have opened preliminary proceedings into the complaint lodged by women who used to work for him in the Caribbean. In a post written in Spanish containing his signature and published on his Instagram page, the Spaniard said he denied “having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are completely false and cause me great sadness”.He said messages of support had given him “great comfort”.The women said he was guilty of human trafficking for ​forced labour…

Even though it’s high summer in the Antarctic, the ocean around the Rothera research station is -1 Celsius.As some of the most productive oceans on the planet – a soup of microscopic plant and animal plankton – it’s murky to boot. Not everyone’s idea of the perfect scuba spot.But the divers I’m with seem positively excited about tipping themselves backwards into the depths. Image: A seal swims by icebergs off the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera base. File pic: Reuters “You can get these big starfish with 40 arms that you don’t see anywhere else, they’re my favourites,” said Pati Glaz,…

The petrol forecourts giant founded in Blackburn by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa will next week kick off formal plans for a $9bn (£6.7bn) US stock market listing.Sky News has learnt that EG Group, about 25% of which is owned by each of the brothers, will hold a beauty parade of banks in London ahead of a flotation expected to take place this year. Banking sources said Barclays, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley were all likely to take part in next week’s selection process.EG Group has become one of the world’s largest fuel retailing multinationals,…

Prince Harry is expected to appear at the High Court in London next week to give evidence in his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.The Duke of Sussex and six others, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, allege Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) hired private detectives to commit a series of unlawful acts between 1993 and 2011.Alleged activities included placing listening devices inside cars, using deception, or “blagging” private records, such as flight details and medical records and accessing private phone conversations.Harry’s case explained Image: Elizabeth Hurley Image: Sir Elton John. Pic: PA Harry is expected to…

The Grok AI tool on Elon Musk’s X will no longer be able to undress pictures of real people, the company has announced.”We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” said a statement. “This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.”It comes amid mounting condemnation in the UK and US of the chatbot’s image editing capabilities, with British government ministers threatening the platform with action.Sir Keir Starmer has described nonconsensual sex images produced by Grok as “disgusting” and “shameful”, and media regulator…

The UK economy recorded growth of 0.3% in November, according to official figures, showing an improvement for output at a time when households and businesses were anxiously awaiting details of the budget.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported an improvement for industrial production on the previous month amid the phased restart of manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover after August’s cyber attack. The ONS measured growth on a rolling three-month basis at 0.1% – a rise on the upwardly revised zero growth covering August-October.Money latest: Why you may have a trust fund you don’t know aboutEconomists have partly put that performance…

Spanish prosecutors are investigating allegations that singer Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted two former employees in the Caribbean.The singer is accused of sexually assaulting the workers in his Caribbean residences between January and October 2021. It comes after Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published a joint investigation into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.Iglesias – father to Hero singer Enrique – has yet to speak publicly regarding the allegations.Russell L. King, a Miami-based entertainment lawyer who lists Iglesias as a client on his website, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press. The Spanish…