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One person is dead, several people are missing and thousands have been evacuated following severe flooding in the northwest of the US and parts of Canada.

A storm has brought days of rain to western Washington and British Colombia causing flood damage described by officials as “severe”.

The storms, which started on Sunday, wrecked roads, forced an oil pipeline to close, shut Canada‘s two biggest railways and limited land access to Vancouver – the city with the country’s largest port.

Officials in the small city of Sumas, Washington, said on Facebook on Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and an estimated 75% of homes had water damage.

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Cattle are herded through Canada flood

A man uses a jet ski to help a cow swim across a flooded field to rescue after rainstorms caused flooding and landslides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jesse Winter
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Cows are left stranded before their rescue in Abbotsford, British Columbia

Southwest of the city, a 59-year-old man – identified by police on Tuesday as Jose Garcia – remained missing after his truck was swept into a flooded field.

Across the border, the body of a woman was recovered from a landslide near Lillooet, northeast of Vancouver, that was triggered by record rainfall.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at least two other people were reported missing.

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A satelite image shows flooding in Fraser Valley, Canada November 16, 2021. Courtesy of European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery / Processed by DG DEFIS / via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. MANDATORY CREDIT EUROPEAN UNION COPERNICUS SENTINEL-1 IMAGERY / PROCESSED BY DG DEFIS
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A satellite image shows flooding in Fraser Valley, Canada on Monday

The Sumas River overflowed, overwhelming rescuers in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, where 1,100 homes were evacuated.

Community members struggled to rescue stranded cattle from a farm and used Jet Skis to help pull the animals to safety.

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said that impassable roads were creating havoc as authorities tried to get people to evacuation sites.

Picture date 15 November 2021
Crew members from Royal Canadian Air Force 442 Squadron lead some of over 300 motorists stranded by mudslides towards a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter for their evacuation, in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada November 15, 2021. Picture taken November 15, 2021. RCAF/Handout via REUTERS MANDATORY CREDIT. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
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Crew members from Royal Canadian Air Force 442 Squadron rescued some of more than 300 motorists stranded by mudslides on Sunday

“It breaks my heart to see what’s going on in our city,” he said.

The evacuees from Abbotsford and Sumas were among thousands who were forced from their homes.

Officials in the northern Washington city of Ferndale urged people in homes and businesses to evacuate in an area near the rising Nooksack River yesterday.

A truck is partially submerged on a flooded stretch of the Trans-Canada highway after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia, triggering landslides and floods and shutting highways, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier
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A truck is partially submerged on a flooded stretch of the Trans-Canada highway

A half-dozen bystanders near the town’s main street rescued a man who had mistakenly drove into floodwaters by pushing his floating car to higher ground.

Further people were airlifted by the US Coast Guard near the town of Forks, Washington.

The floodwater has caused havoc for roads and railway.

Rail services operated by Canadian Pacific Rail and the Canadian National Railway were both out of service at the towns of Hope and Chilliwack in the lower mainland Fraser Valley region, to the east of Vancouver, on Monday.

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Drone footage shows extent of US floods

Crews partially reopened the west coast’s main north-south road, Interstate 5, near Bellingham, Washington, on Monday following its complete closure because of mudslide debris.

Additionally, six railroad cars derailed in Sumas, cancelling services in that location until the water recedes.

At the height of the storm on Monday, more than 158,000 customers in western Washington had no electricity as wind speeds reached 60mph.

More than 31,000 people across the state remained without power on Tuesday.

U.S. Coast Guard air crew from Sector Columbia River rescue people from floodwaters near Forks, Washington, U.S., November 15, 2021, in this still image obtained from video. Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest / Twitter via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. MANDATORY CREDIT U.S. COAST GUARD PACIFIC NORTHWEST VIA TWITTER.
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US Coast Guard air crew rescue people from floodwaters near Forks, Washington

The rains were caused by an atmospheric river – a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon.

About 14cm (5.57in) of rain fell at Bellingham International Airport, Washington, from Saturday through to Monday. The normal monthly rain total is 13cm (5.2in) for November, according to National Weather Service data.

Some areas of Canada received 20cm (8in) of rain on Sunday, the amount that usually falls in a month.

It is the second major widespread flood event in the northwest of Washington state in less than two years, and climate change is fuelling more powerful and frequent severe weather, Whatcom County officials told the Bellingham Herald.

The National Weather Service had issued flood warnings for several rivers around western Washington.

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UK and US announce trade deal to save thousands of British jobs, Starmer says

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UK and US announce trade deal to save thousands of British jobs, Starmer says

The UK and US have agreed a trade deal, with Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump confirming the announcement during a live televised phone call.

It is the first trade deal agreed after Mr Trump began his second presidential term in January, and after he imposed strict tariffs on countries around the world in April.

Sir Keir said the “first-of-a-kind” deal with the US will save thousands of jobs across the UK, boost British business and protect British industry.

Politics latest: Trump and Starmer say trade deal just the start

The deal includes:

• Lowering 27.5% tariff on British car exports to the US to 10%, affecting 100,000 vehicles each year

• UK steel and aluminium industries will no longer face any tariffs after they had 25% duties placed on them

• Beef exports allowed both ways

• UK to have “preferential treatment whatever happens in the future” on pharmaceuticals, the president said.

However, there is a still a 10% tariff on most UK goods imported into the US after Mr Trump imposed that duty on most countries’ exports last month.

Mr Trump said the “final details” of the agreement were still being “written up”.

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Watch full call with Trump and Starmer

Trade minister Douglas Alexander told parliament the UK has “committed to further negotiations on tariff reductions”.

MPs will be able to debate the deal and any legislation needed to implement it, he added.

Sir Keir said “this is a really fantastic, historic day” that will “boost trade between and across our countries”, while Mr Trump said the agreement would be a “great deal for both countries”.

The president said the deal will make both the UK and the US “much bigger in terms of trade” as he thanked Sir Keir, who he said has been “terrific for his partnership in this matter…we have a great relationship”.

Sir Keir said it was achieved by not playing politics, and insisted the UK can have good trade relations with both the US and the EU.

Red lines on beef and chicken

The PM said the UK had “red lines” on standards written into the agreement, particularly on agriculture.

Mr Alexander told the Commons: “Let me be clear that the imports of hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken will remain illegal.

“The deal we’ve signed today will protect British farmers and uphold our high animal welfare and environmental standards.”

Read more:
UK and India strike ‘historic’ trade deal

Starmer faces rebellion from Labour MPs over welfare reforms

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Sky challenges Trump on trade deal

‘American beef is the safest’

US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said the deal will “exponentially increase our beef exports”, and added: “To be very clear, American beef is the safest, the best quality, and the crown jewel of American agriculture for the world.”

On whether the UK will have to accept all US beef and chicken, Mr Trump said: “They’ll take what they want, we have plenty of it, we have every type, we have every classification you can have.”

Hinting the US will move towards higher welfare practices, he said US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr “is doing a tremendous job and he’s probably heading toward your system with no chemical, no this, no that”.

‘A Diet Coke deal’

Previous UK governments have attempted – and failed – to secure a free trade agreement with the US, but Sir Keir had made it a high priority.

Conservative shadow trade secretary Andrew Griffith chastised the deal, saying the UK is still in the same category as Burundi and Bhutan.

“It’s a Diet Coke deal, not the real thing,” he told the Commons.

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

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Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home

A man has been charged after allegedly harassing Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his car through the front gate of her home, prosecutors have said.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, of New Albany, Mississippi, is accused of having repeatedly sent the Friends star unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages since 2023.

The 48-year-old is then alleged to have crashed his grey Chrysler PT Cruiser through the front gate of Aniston’s home in the wealthy Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles early on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said the collision caused major damage.

Police have said Aniston was at home at the time.

A security guard stopped Carwyle on her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.

There were no reports of anyone being injured.

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Carwyle has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism, prosecutors said on Thursday.

He also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest on Monday, is set to appear in court on Thursday.

His bail has been set at $150,000 dollars (£112,742).

He is facing up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.

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“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorise others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Mr Hochman said in a statement.

Aniston bought her mid-century mansion in Bel Air on a 3.4-acre site for about 21 million dollars (£15.78m) in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.

She became one of the biggest stars on television in her 10 years on NBC’s Friends.

Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more.

She has appeared in several Hollywood films and currently stars in The Morning Show on Apple TV+.

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Tyre Nichols death: Ex-police officers found not guilty of murdering motorist in US

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Tyre Nichols death: Ex-police officers found not guilty of murdering motorist in US

Three former police officers in the US have been found not guilty of murder over the death of motorist Tyre Nichols.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were acquitted by jurors following a nine-day trial at Tennessee state court.

The former Memphis officers were also found not guilty of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

Mr Nichols, a father of one, died three days after officers punched, kicked and hit him with a baton in January 2023 as he was just yards from his home.

Former Memphis Police Department officers Demetrius Haley, center, Tadarrius Bean, left, and Justin Smith Jr., right, hug each other after they were acquitted of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop. Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (Chris Day/Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network via AP, Pool)
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The defendants hugged each other after being acquitted of the charges. Pic: Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network/AP

The 29-year-old’s death and a video of the incident – in which he cried out for his mother – sparked outrage in the US including nationwide protests and led to police reform.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, described the verdicts as a “devastating miscarriage of justice”. In a statement, he added: “The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve.”

Memphis District Attorney Steve Mulroy said he was “surprised that there wasn’t a single guilty verdict on any of the counts” including second-degree murder. He said Mr Nichols’ family “were devastated… I think they were outraged”.

From left Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, three former Memphis officers acquitted of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop in 2023. Memphis Police Dept. / via AP file
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Former police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith were accused of second-degree murder. Pic: Memphis Police Dept/AP


But despite the three defendants being acquitted of state charges during the trial in Memphis, they still face the prospect of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges of witness tampering last year.

Two other former officers previously pleaded guilty in both state and federal court. Desmond Mills Jr. gave evidence as a prosecution witness, while Emmitt Martin was blamed for the majority of the violence.

Sentencing for all five officers is pending.

Protesters march down the street Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., as authorities release police video depicting five Memphis officers beating Tyre Nichols, whose death resulted in murder charges and provoked outrage at the country's latest instance of police brutality. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Tyre Nichols’ death sparked street protests in January 2023 in Memphis and across the US. Pic: AP

Video evidence showed Mr Nichols was stopped in his car, yanked from his vehicle, pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser. He broke free and ran away before the five police officers caught up with him again, and the beating took place.

Prosecutors argued that the officers used excessive, deadly force in trying to handcuff Mr Nichols and were criminally responsible for each others’ actions.

They also said the officers had a duty to intervene and stop the beating and tell medics that Mr Nichols had been hit repeatedly in the head, but they failed to do so.

The trial heard Mr Nichols suffered tears and bleeding in the brain and died from blunt force trauma.

The defence suggested Mr Nichols was on drugs, giving him the strength to fight off five strong officers, and was actively resisting arrest.

In December, the US Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people.

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