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A gunman who shot dead 18 people in the US state of Maine has been identified as a US Army Reserve petroleum supply specialist.

Robert Card, who is still on the run, has over two decades of service and no prior overseas deployments, the army confirmed.

Maine police intensified their search on Thursday for the 40-year-old US Army reservist, following a shooting incident that resulted in 18 deaths and 13 injuries at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston the previous night.

Card, holding the rank of sergeant 1st class, enlisted in December 2002, according to army officials.

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Police are searching for 40-year-old Robert Card
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Police are searching for 40-year-old Robert Card

Maine governor, Janet Mills, warned residents in a news conference on Thursday not to approach the “person of interest” who is “armed and dangerous” and to call police immediately if he is spotted.

“I’m profoundly saddened to stand before you today to report that 18 people lost their lives and 13 people were injured in last night’s attacks,” she said.

“In memory of those we lost, and in honour of those who were injured, President Biden and I have ordered all US flags to be lowered…for the next five days.”

She added: “Maine state police have issued a shelter in place order for Lewiston, Bowdoin and Lisburn as the manhunt continues for that person of interest.

“Mr Card is considered armed and dangerous and police advise that Maine people should not approach him under any circumstances.”

‘We cannot accept it’, Biden says

President Joe Biden urged residents in the vicinity of the Maine mass shootings suspect search to follow the guidance provided by local law enforcement.

“For countless Americans who have survived gun violence and been traumatised by it, a shooting such as this reopens deep and painful wounds,” he said in a statement, adding that he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for the families of the victims.

“Far too many Americans have now had a family member killed or injured as a result of gun violence. That is not normal, and we cannot accept it.”

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Suspect ‘armed and dangerous’

Suspect was under mental health care

Card, who had reportedly been under mental health care earlier in the summer, was taken by police for evaluation after acting erratically at West Point in July, according to a US official.

Another anonymous US official told the Associated Press that commanders from the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment, grew worried about Card’s erratic behaviour during their training at West Point.

Concerned for his safety, military officials called the police. New York state police then took Card to the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point for evaluation.

In an extensive manhunt, law enforcement officers spread out across southern Maine armed with an arrest warrant for Card on eight counts of murder.

Police circulated images of a man, wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt and jeans, captured at one of the crime scenes, wielding what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.

Police have released images of the suspect.
Pic: Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office
Image:
Police have released images of the suspect.
Pic: Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office

The US Army confirmed that Card, a sergeant and petroleum supply specialist in the Army Reserve, had never been deployed in combat since his enlistment in 2002.

The attacks began shortly before 7pm local time at Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, resulting in the deaths of one female patron and six males, according to police.

A map showing the city of Lewiston in the US State of Maine
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A map showing the city of Lewiston in the US State of Maine

Map of US shooting in Maine on 25 October 2023 at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley - which are situated about four miles apart.
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Map of US shooting in Maine at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley – which are situated about four miles apart.

The ages of the victims were not provided. Shortly after, reports of another shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, approximately three miles (5km) away, were received.

Police said that seven males were fatally shot at that location. Additionally, three victims died in hospital.

Several parents and children were present at Sparetime as part of a children’s bowling league.

 Brandon (last name not available) -  Bowling alley shooting witness
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Brandon said he heard 10 shots while at the bowling alley

One of the bowlers, who identified himself as Brandon, recounted the incident, saying: “I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon – he was holding a weapon – I just booked it.” He described hearing about 10 shots, initially mistaking the first for a balloon popping.

Brandon further explained how he hurriedly fled down the alley, eventually sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery. Reflecting on the situation, he mentioned, “I was putting on my bowling shoes when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours.”

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Cheers and boos as Donald Trump arrives for delayed Sinner-Alcaraz US Open men’s final

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Cheers and boos as Donald Trump arrives for delayed Sinner-Alcaraz US Open men's final

The men’s US Open final has been delayed by extra security measures as Donald Trump’s arrival was met by cheers and boos from fans at Flushing Meadows.

The match between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s top two players, was pushed back by half an hour in New York on Sunday before Alcaraz won three sets to one.

The US president was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos from early arriving spectators when he waved from a suite at the Arthur Ashe Stadium about 45 minutes before the match began.

Crowds waiting to enter the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the US Open men's singles final. Pic: AP
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Crowds waiting to enter the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the US Open men’s singles final. Pic: AP

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the US Open tennis men's singles final. Pic: AP
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President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the US Open tennis men’s singles final. Pic: AP

Increased security checks at entrances to the grounds and to get into the arena building prompted the US Tennis Association to move the start time to 2.30pm, local time, instead of 2pm.

Organisers said it was “to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats.”

A spokesperson for the US Tennis Association said it “was not a request made by the White House”.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning the US Open men's singles title. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning the US Open men’s singles title. Pic: Reuters

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Pic: AP
Image:
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Pic: AP

Despite the change, the 24,000-capacity arena was only about two-thirds full when the first point was played, while thousands of fans still were standing outside the court, waiting in line to enter.

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Mr Trump, who is the first sitting president to attend the tournament at Flushing Meadows since Bill Clinton in 2000, was booed again when he appeared for the National Anthem.

Standing up and saluting, the president was shown briefly on the arena’s big screens during the anthem, and offered a smirk that briefly made the boos louder.

Movie star Ben Stiller. Pic: AP
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Movie star Ben Stiller. Pic: AP

Anna Wintour. Pic: AP
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Anna Wintour. Pic: AP

Read more on Sky News:

‘Chipocalypse Now’: Trump threatens US city
Trump orders ‘take down’ of 44-year-old peace vigil
The proxy war that will redefine public health in America

Always a big celebrity draw, the final attracted, among others, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, former Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Hollywood stars Ben Stiller and Danny DeVito, director Spike Lee and basketball player Steph Curry.

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‘Chipocalypse Now’: Trump threatens ‘war’ on Chicago in immigration crackdown

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'Chipocalypse Now': Trump threatens 'war' on Chicago in immigration crackdown

Donald Trump has signalled his intention to send troops to Chicago to ramp up the deportation of illegal immigrants – by posting an AI-generated parody image from Apocalypse Now on social media.

There were protests in the city, the largest in Illinois, on Saturday night, with thousands of people marching past Trump Tower to demonstrate against possible immigration raids.

That came as the US president ramped up his threats to deploy federal authorities and military personnel in Chicago, as he has done in Los Angeles and Washington DC.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself as a military officer in the movie Apocalypse Now, with the title changed to “Chipocalypse Now” over flames and the city skyline.

The post – a screenshot from X – said: “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning…’. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

Pic: Truth Social
Image:
Pic: Truth Social

Mr Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Pentagon as the Department of War.

“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, wrote in a post on X, responding to Mr Trump’s post.

“This is not normal. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”

Mr Pritzker previously said that he believed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids would coincide with Mexican Independence Day festivals scheduled for this weekend and next weekend.

Some Mexican festivals in the Chicago area were postponed or cancelled over the threatened stings.

A protest against threatened immigration raids in Chicago on Saturday. Pic: AP
Image:
A protest against threatened immigration raids in Chicago on Saturday. Pic: AP

A military deployment in Chicago has long been reported. Last month, the Pentagon was said to be drafting plans to send the US Army to Illinois.

In a statement responding to that report, originally from The Washington Post, Mr Pritzker said the state had “made no requests for federal intervention” and accused Mr Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis”.

Vice president JD Vance said on Wednesday that there were “no immediate plans” to send the National Guard to Chicago.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump orders ‘take down’ of 44-year-old peace vigil
Former President Biden has skin cancer surgery
The proxy war that will redefine public health in America

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ICE arrests 475 Hyundai workers

On Thursday, ICE agents carried out a raid at a Hyundai car battery plant in Georgia, saying 475 people, mostly South Koreans, were found to be illegally working there.

It marked the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE.

The day after the raid, ICE posted a video and photos of workers shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles getting on a bus.

South Korean junior foreign minister Park Yoon-joo told a US government official in a phone call that the video release was regrettable.

Seoul’s foreign ministry added the post came “at a critical time, when the momentum of trust and cooperation” between the two countries, forged through their first summit, “must be maintained”.

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Mandelson to praise Trump as maverick ‘risk taker’ and paint Brexit as liberating force

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Mandelson to praise Trump as maverick 'risk taker' and paint Brexit as liberating force

Britain’s ambassador to the United States will use a keynote speech today to underline the UK-US special relationship – while also attempting to ‘Reform-proof’ his own struggling government.

Lord Mandelson, the architect of New Labour, master of political spin and now Britain’s man in Washington, will use the 2025 annual lecture at Ditchley Park to offer a positive spin on a presidency which has proudly upended norms and frayed alliances.

In the speech, parts of which have been released in advance, Mandelson will describe President Trump as a “risk taker” with an “iron-clad stomach”.

Lord Mandelson was chosen as ambassador by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer late last year. He is a political appointee rather than a career diplomat.

And with intriguing language he will offer his take on the parallels between Trump and Starmer’s challenges and mandates.

He will say: “I credit President Trump’s political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…

“These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump’s.”

Yet Mandelson delivers the speech at the end of a week when Nigel Farage was in town.

Screaming for his own form of Trump-like national renewal, the disruptive leader of the UK’s top-polling political party – Reform – was in Washington to hobnob in the Oval Office and to tell Congress that Keir Starmer is turning Blighty into North Korea.

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Farage likens UK to North Korea in Congress

Mr Farage enjoys lapping up the limelight in Washington, where he is an old-world conservative celebrity in the new MAGA White House.

His calculation is that the MAGA wave will reach the UK shores soon.

Reform‘s policy platform is a mirror of the Trump agenda in many respects, tweaked accordingly. The administration is happy to support him. There is a MAGA-Reform mutual respect.

And so it is politically savvy or unavoidably necessary for Lord Mandelson, New Labour‘s architect laying the foundations of the current UK government, to proclaim: ‘We respect Trump too.’

The truth is the government, like so many around the world, sees Donald Trump as an infuriating and unpredictable disrupter with the ability to upend norms at the stroke of a Sharpie. But they can’t articulate that publicly.

Instead, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ will cast Mr Trump as the consequence not the cause of the disruption to international systems, even if many argue that he can be both.

As a master of spin, strategy and ruthlessness, Mandelson clearly has an admiration for Trump’s political style and sheer chutzpah.

Lord Mandelson's speech comes a week before Mr Trump's UK state visit. Pic: AP
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Lord Mandelson’s speech comes a week before Mr Trump’s UK state visit. Pic: AP

He will tell the Ditchley Park lecture: “The president may not follow the traditional rulebook or conventional practice, but he is a risk taker in a world where a ‘business as usual’ approach no longer works.”

At a time when the Labour government is struggling and feeling the heat from Farage and his disrupters, are these words to be read as a not-so-subtle message to Prime Minister Starmer?

Mandelson is an old-fashioned liberal. He hasn’t the stomach for ‘wokey’ politics or own goals like the arrest of Graham Linehan. Is there a frustration that the political party he built is now messing it all up?

“Indeed, he seems to have an iron-clad stomach for political risk…” he will say of Trump, decrying the tendency of previous presidents to descend “into an analysis paralysis and gradual incrementalism”.

Lord Mandelson may be Britain’s man in Washington now but, more than anyone else to hold the post, he is deeply integrated into the Downing Street machine.

He is tight with Number 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and was inside Downing Street when Friday’s reshuffle took place. A total coincidence I am told.

A week before the president’s state visit to the UK, Lord Mandelson’s speech is designed to steady a special relationship put under pressure by the return of Trump.

“Do we always have identical views?” he will say. “Of course not, we never have. And we are not looking for special treatment. Our alliance exists because it serves both nations’ interests, because the core values of Britons and Americans remain aligned, as the world around us becomes more threatening.”

Lord Mandelson will say Brexit has freed the UK to pursue closer ties with the US. Pic Reuters
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Lord Mandelson will say Brexit has freed the UK to pursue closer ties with the US. Pic Reuters

Read more from Sky News:
Trump rebrands Pentagon as the Department of War
The proxy war that will redefine US public health

And, in a shapeshifting manoeuvre that only the original spin doctor could manage, Lord Mandelson, a cheerleading remainer in the EU referendum campaign, now casts Brexit as a liberator.

“Brexit has freed us to pursue closer US ties,” he will say in his speech.

“Britain has the opportunity to use its regulatory freedom and independence from European law to deepen American investment opportunities. This is crucial as, post-Brexit, we need to leverage every advantage we can to spur UK growth and employment.”

The ambassador is expected to concede that pre-referendum warnings of the demise of Britain’s trans-Atlantic clout have not transpired, while maintaining that Brexit has hit the UK financially with a net-loss to its economy.

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They say the British ambassador is the custodian of the US-UK special relationship. This ambassador has seen what the relationship looks like under Trump.

With trademark political gymnastics, he seems now to be both admiring of the Trumpian movement but also anxious that if Britain under Labour doesn’t get its house in order, then it too will get its own Trumpian disrupter.

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