And Finally

An American politician has been roundly mocked after sharing an image of a downed "drone" which was actually a Star Wars prop. Doug Mastriano, a US army veteran and Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate, later claimed he was joking after he posted the image of the TIE fighter to X, formerly T

Hundreds of offences committed by Star Trek fans have been erroneously blamed on one woman for years, her lawyer has said. New York woman Beda Koorey has experienced legal trouble for more than four years because of a state-issued license plate which reads NCC 1701.

The head of a police watchdog has insisted he can continue to carry out his function remotely after swapping his notoriously cold city for sunny Portugal. John McDougall, chair of the Edmonton Police Commission, has permanently relocated more than 4,600 miles away from the city whose police force he

Rapper Ludacris narrowly avoided being recognised after being summoned for jury service in his home town of Atlanta, Georgia. In a video posted to Instagram, the three-time Grammy Award-winning rapper and actor shows off his cunning disguise of a mask, sunglasses and hood as he walks out of the cour

A family is suing the makers of an AI chatbot which allegedly encouraged their teenager to murder them for restricting their internet access. The Character.AI chatbot allegedly told the 17-year-old: "You know sometimes I’m not surprised when I read the news and see stuff like 'child kills pare

A judge has blocked a bid by satirical news website The Onion to buy far-right media platform Infowars. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was forced to give up the platform he founded in 1999 after declaring bankruptcy shortly after a court ordered him to pay $1.5 billion to the families of victim

A parody musical inspired by Australia's infamous Olympic breakdancer Raygun has been shut down following a threat of legal action. Lawyers for Rachael Gunn — who uses the breakdancing name Raygun — intervened to stop the debut performance of Raygun: The Musical just hours before it was

Thousands of drug convictions are set to be overturned because the drugs in question were produced by the police department that made the arrests. The Broward County Sheriff's Office in Florida manufactured crack cocaine between 1988 and 1990 and sent its officers onto the streets to sell it —

A nun has reportedly been arrested by Italian police on suspicion of colluding with the mafia. Sister Anna Donelli, a 57-year-old nun who volunteers in Milan's San Vittore prison, is suspected of carrying messages between the 'Ndrangheta mafia and its imprisoned members.

A mother is suing toy giant Mattel after purchasing a Wicked doll with a misprinted web address that led to a pornographic website. Mattel apologised last month for the packaging mistake on the first run of fashion dolls based on Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's characters in the new film adaptatio

Hundreds of official Harry Potter replica swords have been recalled in Japan after they were discovered to be illegal weapons. Over 350 swords have been sold at the Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo, billed as "the largest indoor Harry Potter attraction in the world", since it opened in May 2023.

A Michelin-starred chef has urged thieves who stole thousands of pies in a Christmas heist to donate them to charity. A refrigerated vehicle carrying "nearly a tonne" of pies worth around £25,000 was stolen on Sunday night before it was meant to deliver the pastries to a Christmas market in Yo

Police have been led on a chase by a 12-year-old boy who travelled over 150 miles in his grandfather's car before being caught. The child took the stolen car on a 161-mile journey, starting in Issaquah in Washington, USA and travelling through the Cascade Mountains.

A stowaway has managed to fly from New York to Paris without a boarding pass. The woman, a Russian passport holder somewhere between 55 and 60 years old, is awaiting deportation to the United States following her arrival in France without a visa, CNN reports.

The Pope's surgeon has been charged with fraud in connection with allegedly fake records of operations he never performed. Sergio Alfieri, who successfully operated on Pope Francis twice, in 2021 and 2023, lied about performing surgeries 29 times, prosecutors claim.