The American actor known for her roles in Nashville, Heroes and Remember the Titans has died aged 36

South American fish with razor-toothed jaws was probably released by someone who owned it as a pet, officials say

An eight-year-old boy fishing for bass in Pennsylvania was stunned to catch something more associated with the Amazon – and countless horror movies – than the rolling landscape of the eastern US.

Seamus Coffey, who was fishing with his father Michael in a lake near Philadelphia, hauled in a large red-bellied piranha, complete with the razor-toothed jaws that the fearsome breed is so famous for.

Indiana faced most outages at 267,000, about 8% of its customers, with severe thunderstorms and wind ahead

Power supply was cut on Thursday ⁠to about 540,000 homes and businesses across the US midwest as severe storms battered the region, data ⁠from PowerOutage.us showed.

Indiana ⁠was the ​hardest-hit state, with more than 267,000 outages, representing about 8% of its roughly 3.3 million customers, the data ⁠showed.

Trump’s most prominent spokesperson won regular plaudits from her boss for her unflinching defense of his agenda

Donald Trump’s most prominent spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, is leaving the White House. The US president announced on Wednesday that his press secretary would depart at the end of the month.

Leavitt, who has served in the role since Trump’s returned to power in January 2025, won regular plaudits from her boss for her unflinching defense of his agenda, but faced frequent criticism for amplifying misinformation and curbing press freedom.

Small skiff ran out of fuel off Alaska and was helped by cruise ship even though Meta CEO’s vessel was closer

• Zuckerberg faces questions over why superyacht reportedly declined to help stranded boat

The crew of a yacht owned by Mark Zuckerberg did not hear a radio call for a maritime assist from a small skiff that ran out of fuel off the coast of Alaska, and by the time it did, another nearby ship had already rendered assistance, a spokesperson for the Meta CEO said.

The Alaska Beacon news outlet reported that the skiff had issued a call for assistance through the US Coast Guard last week and a nearby small cruise ship, the Wilderness Legacy, towed it into nearby Farragut Bay in south-east Alaska and refueled it.

Levels at reservoir along Arizona-Nevada border dipped below previous record set in 2022, amid water crisis in west

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago, the latest sign of a deepening water crisis in the American west.

Water levels at the reservoir, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border outside Las Vegas, hit 1,040.4ft (317.1 meters) above sea level on Friday, according to federal data. That’s just below the record set on 28 July 2022, according to the US Bureau of Reclamation.

Case, who has represented island state’s first district in US Congress since 2019, beat state senator Jarrett Keohokalole

The moderate Democratic representative Ed Case has seen off a progressive challenge to retain his party’s nomination for the US House of Representatives election in Hawaii’s first congressional district.

Case, who has represented the district in Washington DC since 2019, prevailed in Saturday’s primary over Jarrett Keohokalole, the state senator.

Officials praise unarmed employee from nearby store for engaging 24-year-old gunman who later killed himself

Police released video on Friday of a mass shooting that killed three people at an Idaho In-N-Out Burger restaurant last weekend, and praised an unarmed employee from a nearby store who engaged the gunman outdoors, slowing him down and possibly preventing more deaths as authorities were catching up.

The video released by the police also showed at least three people confronted the gunman with their own weapons during the incident.

Nominees to face off in November in redistricted seat central to Trump’s bid to retain slim Republican majority

Tennessee primary voters picked a pair of Memphis-area lawmakers to square off in a dramatically reconfigured US House seat central to Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a slim Republican majority in the midterm congressional elections.

Republicans chose state senator Brent Taylor, who was endorsed by Trump, to be their nominee in the revamped ninth congressional district. Democrats picked state representative Justin Pearson, who gained national prominence three years ago when he was expelled from the Tennessee house for protesting in support of gun control measures.

Congressional ethics panel had recommended Edwards face censure over its findings on ‘hostile work environment’

• US politics live – latest updates

Chuck Edwards announced he would not run for re-election after the US House of Representatives ethics committee determined the US congressman “fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment” by giving gifts and lavishing attention on two young female staffers.

Edwards, a Republican for North Carolina, said he would complete his current term, which is due to end in January.

Restaurant chain pulls peppers ‘out of an abundance of caution’ as salmonella outbreak sickens 100 people

Chipotle said on Tuesday ⁠it had removed jalapeños from some of the chain’s restaurants after identifying ⁠the peppers as ⁠a ​potential ingredient tied to a salmonella outbreak, replacing them ⁠with supplies from different growers.

The company said it ​began tracing ‌ingredients through its supply ‌chain after learning of a ‌potential outbreak and identified jalapeños from a common lot as a possible source.

Move comes after Blanche gives senators written assurance he will drop Trump’s $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund

Two Republican senators who threatened to block Todd Blanche’s bid to permanently become US attorney general announced they will advance his nomination after he said in writing that a planned $1.8bn slush fund for Donald Trump’s allies was dead.

The US Senate judiciary committee is due to vote on Tuesday on whether to approve the nomination of Blanche, who is already acting attorney general, and send it to the wider Senate for a vote.