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The King will address the French senate on Thursday for the first time in history. Charles is the only British monarch ever to speak from the senate chamber, where he will remark on the close friendship between the UK and France. A Guard of Honour will line the King’s route to the Salle des Conferences where he will meet representatives from the Senate and National Assembly and sign the visitors’ book before entering the chamber to deliver his address. Charles and Camilla are then set to meet sports stars in Saint-Denis, where France is hosting the Rugby World Cup, as part of their state visit which began on Wednesday. The King and Queen will be joined for the visit by Brigitte Macron as well as sports personalities before visiting a coffee shop on the town square where they will meet beneficiaries of Objectif Emploi, an organisation in Saint-Denis that helps vulnerable young people to find careers, and representatives from The Prince’s Trust International. Earlier, King Charles and Queen Camilla were welcomed with pomp and ceremony on the first day of their long-delayed state visit to France as the monarch attempts to rebuild bridges between the two nations after Brexit. The royal couple arrived for their three-day trip on Wednesday, welcomed by President Emmanuel Macron, six months after it was postponed because of widespread rioting sparked by protests over pension reforms. As the day drew to a close, Charles honoured his late mother, Elizabeth II, in his speech at a lavish state banquet at the Palace of Versailles during which he spoke of her close ties to France and told of the “firm friendship” between the nations. The King and Queen were guests of honour at the star-studded dinner in the Hall of Mirrors, with Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger and actor Hugh Grant among the 160 guests who dined on lobster, Bresse chicken and cheese. Speaking of the tributes paid in France to the Queen last September, the King told the president: “You said that she had touched your hearts – and it was she who held France in the greatest affection.” In a speech spoken partly in French, the King said relations between the UK and France have not always been “straightforward” but went on to stress the unity between the nations. Earlier, Charles gave Mr Macron a book containing photographs of the pair together, as well as a complete edition of French philosopher Voltaire’s writings, during a visit to the Elysee Palace, the president’s official residence. In return, Mr Macron gave the King a golden coin featuring Charles’s portrait, as well as a prize-winning French novel. They later planted an oak tree, also a gift from Mr Macron. Read More King Charles France visit – Charles and Camilla at lavish state banquet with Macron after Elysée Palace visit King Charles and Camilla join stars at lavish state banquet on long-awaited France state visit King recalls his mother’s links to France as stars attend state banquet Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Orla Guerin visits a hospital and clinic in Ukraine, where 15,000 lost limbs in the first half of 2023.

Authorities in North Carolina have accused a man of murdering his wife and tossing her body in a lake. Omar Matthew Ibrahim Drabick, 34, is facing charges of first-degree murder and concealment of unnatural death in connection with the killing of his wife Hadeel Ghadhanfer Hikmat. The victim’s body was pulled from Jordan Lake in New Hope Valley on after a boater spotted the remains on 29 August. Law enforcement believes Mr Drabick reportedly dumped her body off a bridge. Hikmat, who was found wearing a pearl necklace, was not immediately identified, prompting authorities to share a sketch with the public. Hikmat’s brother Firas Hikmat reported her missing to police in Apex, where the victim and her husband lived, after she failed to answer his calls, according to ABC11. Hikmat was eventually positively identified through fingerprint analysis. “I don’t know exactly if I’m happy that Omar is in jail or sad because of my sister’s murder, Hadeel. Nothing can get her back,” Mr Hikmat told the outlet about news of Mr Drabick’s arrest. Mr Hikmat said that he had been concerned about his sister’s safety before she was killed. The grieving brother said his family is originally from Iraq and that Hikmat had moved to the United States following her marriage to Mr Drabick last year. Hadeel Hikmat studied engineering in Iraq and had recently taken a job at a Walmart. “My sister Hadeel was so ambitious, so dedicated ... she was working two places because she wanted to help her husband,” Mr Hikmat told ABC11 before Mr Drabick’s arrest The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office added that detectives conducted searches on 8 September at two separate locations that were known to be frequented by Hikmat. “These kinds of incidents are a reminder of the tragedy of domestic violence,” Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a statement. “It’s a scourge that affects far too many lives and causes immeasurable pain and suffering. We urge anyone who may be in an abusive relationship to reach out for help and support.” Mr Drabick is being held without bond in the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. His next court hearing is scheduled for 25 September. Read More Student accused of fatally shooting UNC professor may be mentally unfit for trial A family of four and their three dogs were fatally shot in a quiet Illinois town. The suspect was found dead days later Suspect in murder of family of four outside Chicago found dead states away in Oklahoma

Former Donald Trump aide Molly Michael will be one of the most important witnesses in the classified documents case, a former prosecutor has said. Ex-Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons appeared on CNN on Tuesday night, saying that Ms Michael has got “damning information” since Mr Trump allegedly told her to lie to the authorities. “This is a smoking gun,” Mr Timmons said. Ms Michael worked with Mr Trump both in the White House and then at his Florida private club Mar-a-Lago. It was reported on Tuesday that Mr Trump gave instructions when he came to understand that the authorities were going to interview Ms Michael about the boxes containing classified documents that he kept at his Sunshine State residence after leaving office. “You don’t know anything about the boxes,” Mr Trump told Ms Michael, according to reporting from ABC News and The New York Times. Mr Timmons told CNN that there is a point in every case and trial when it’s won or lost. If Mr Trump chooses to take the stand, that will probably be the pivotal point, he said. But if Mr Trump is not a witness in the trial, Ms Michael will be the “key witness,” Mr Timmons said, adding that her testimony will likely decide “whether the former president is convicted”. Mr Timmons was asked if Mr Trump’s direction that “you don’t know anything about the boxes” would affect the case. “Absolutely,” he said. “I think it’s got three possibilities of coming in. One, the least likely is a re-indictment including these additional predicate acts and further into the conspiracy. I don’t think it fits quite that neatly.” “Second, it could be brought in and there’d have to be a motion filed under what’s referred to as similar acts, that it’s close to or even brought in as maybe kind of a distant part of the RICO scheme,” he added. “The third one – I think the former president is going to take the opportunity to testify in the Georgia case. I really do. A number of people think that he’s not going to. I think he’s not going to miss that opportunity to be on every television in the entire world,” Mr Timmons said. “And if he does testify, then at that point it comes as impeachment evidence and it shows that he lacks credibility and is dishonest.” In the Florida case, Mr Trump faces 32 counts of willful retention of national secrets, six counts of obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements. In Georgia, he faces one count of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), three counts of soliciting violation of oath by a public officer, and a litany of further charges. Read More Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani sexually assaulted her on Jan 6 in new book Ray Epps pleads guilty to Jan 6 charge as GOP lawmakers revive debunked conspiracy theories Trump speaks at Iowa rally as Giuliani accused of sex assault on Jan 6 - latest news

Two suspects sought by police in the murders of a family of four outside of Chicago were found shot inside a burning car states away in Oklahoma, authorities said Wednesday. Nathaniel Huey Jr., 31, of Streamwood, Illinois, and an unnamed woman were identified as persons of interest in the slayings after the two adults, two children and three dogs were found inside a home in the small Illinois town of Romeoville over the weekend. Romeoville Deputy Chief Chris Burne told local news outlets that a car linked to the man was spotted by a license plate reader in Catoosa, Oklahoma, sparking a traffic stop. But when officers tried to stop the vehicle, it sped away, crashed and caught on fire. Officers on the scene reportedly “heard two noises believed to be gunshots,” Chief Burne said. Officers found the man fatally shot in the driver’s seat and a critically wounded woman in the passenger seat. “This is still an active and evolving investigation and this portion of the incident is still unfolding,” Chief Burne said. He did not say what the relationship was between Huey and the family who was killed over the weekend, but said evidence “has shown us a nexus between our suspect and the victims, as well as a possible motive.” It comes just days after a family of four was gunned down in a Chicago suburb. Police were called in for a welfare check at the home in Romeoville, Illinois, on Sunday morning. Officers arrived to find the bodies of Alberto Rolon, 38, Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, their two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their dogs. “I want to know what happened to my nephews, my sister, her husband and WHY?” Bartolomei’s sister Bryana wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post. The loss of the Rolon-Bartolomei family has shocked many friends and family members – with Bartolomei’s sister Bryana stepping forward and sharing her heartache with the community. In the description of a GoFundMe, Bryana wrote: “This fundraiser has been created with the aim of helping the Rolon-Bartolomei family with funeral expenses, as well as to create awareness of this ongoing case. Zoraida Bartolomei, Alberto Rolon, their kids Adriel & Diego (ages 10 & 7) were involved in a horrific crime that took their lives and shattered countless others.” Bryana said her sister and brother-in-law had just brought their first home together and described the children as “the sweetest most innocent angels who could hug your worries away.” “The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them,” she added. Read More A family of four and their three dogs were shot dead in a quiet Illinois town. Their killer is still at large Illinois police say family of four shot dead in Illinois home were ‘targeted’ – as killer remains at large

The royal state visit is intended to reinvigorate the relationship between France and Britain.

A woman running what has been described as a “morality campaign” for mayor in Franklin, Tennessee has confirmed that she was arrested for promoting prostitution three decades ago. Gabrielle Hanson, a MAGA Republican and Franklin alderman, claims she believed that she was working for a modelling agency when she worked answering phones for what turned out to be an escort service while she was a college student. Seven hours after Nashville’s NewsChannel5 reached out to Ms Hanson about her criminal past, she shared a video in which she said: “One day the police came knocking at my door.” She was detained in Dallas, Texas in the mid-1990s. “I was shocked, I was devastated. Everything I worked for for 13 years was about to come true. It should have been the happiest, most exciting time of my life, and it ended up being the absolute lowest,” Ms Hanson said. “That was definitely not who I was, but I was definitely in the middle of all of it.” The Tennessee TV station notes that Ms Hanson has been running a “morality campaign” opposing LGBT+ rights and events like Pride Fest. In the video posted to her campaign’s Instagram account, Ms Hanson said that she was trying to finish college as a student at Southern Methodist University when she took a job answering the phone for what she believed to be a modelling and casting agency. “I answered the phone, I took a name, I took a number and a date,” she says in the footage. “At the end of my work session, I would call the owners and give them that information.” She insists that she didn’t know it was an escort service until the police appeared. She agreed to a plea deal for a single charge under a process allowing offenders without criminal records to avoid convictions known as “deferred adjudication”. “My punishment for the deferred adjudication was ‘do not live in Dallas for two years,’ because they knew I was leaving. I said, ‘No problem, because I don’t ever want to live in Dallas again after this experience’,” Ms Hanson says, adding that it was at this time that she moved to Chicago. NewsChannel5 has also reported that Ms Hanson posted a photo of a number of women who she said backed her campaign, but the women later told the station that they didn’t know Ms Hanson. She claimed they denied knowing her to protect her. The TV station noted that there are also questions surrounding where she and her husband live. Ms Hanson compared pleading no contest to one count of promoting prostitution to getting a speeding ticket. “I moved to Chicago, where I rekindled my love for Christ,” she says in the video. Ms Hanson has also been slammed for downplaying lynching and opposing “racial terror” markers, according to The Tennessee Holler and The Daily Beast. She also faces allegations that she shared false information about a mass shooting at a Nashville school and that she threatened to take action against the local airport for backing a Juneteenth festival, the national holiday marking the end of slavery in the US. Read More Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani sexually assaulted her on Jan 6 in new book Don Jr’s hacked account posts Trump ‘passed away’ as bombshell book claims Murdoch wishes it true - latest John Fetterman says he’ll wear a suit if GOP ‘jagoffs’ stop government shutdown threats

Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are being sued after being accused of beating a grandmother in a so-called “torture warehouse,” a new lawsuit alleges. Baton Rouge resident Ternell Brown was detained in June; but rather than taking her to the police station, Baton Rouge police officers drove her to an unmarked warehouse, according to a 18 September lawsuit she filed. Officers referred to this facility as the “Brave Cave,” where the street crimes unit held people in custody, assaulted them, and conducted strip and body-cavity searches on them, the lawsuit claimed. Police officers wrongfully informed Ms Brown that it was illegal to have different prescription medicines in the same pill container, according to the complaint. Ms Brown, 51, was allegedly arrested on suspicion of illegal drug activity – after officers discovered a legal prescription medication in her car during a traffic stop. She was taken to the warehouse and held there for two hours, the filing states. There, officers “forced her to spread her vagina and buttocks for inspection and examined her vagina using a flashlight,” despite not having a warrant, probable cause, or consent to conduct a strip or body cavity search, the suit states. After a couple of hours, Ms Brown was released without charge. The 51-year-old isn’t the first one to flag the “Brave Cave.” Jeremy Lee, a Baton Rouge resident, was arrested in January, and police took him to the warehouse, which one officer called the “Brave Cave,” WAFB previously reported. Bodycam footage captured Mr Lee sitting in a wooden chair in what appeared to be a warehouse. There, the 22-year-old was punched and kicked – although that happened off-camera, the outlet noted. After the incident, Mr Lee “was so badly beaten that authorities at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison refused to accept him” into its custody, “insisting that Mr Lee be taken to the hospital,” according to a lawsuit he filed. He was treated for broken ribs and other injuries. After the incident, Mr Lee filed a lawsuit; in August, the city’s mayor ordered the facility’s operations to be suspended “in light of the serious allegations.” The FBI is now investigating the claims, and an officer involved in Mr Lee’s alleged “Brave Cave” assault have resigned. An attorney for Ms Brown called out Police Chief Murphy Paul at a Monday press conference. “Chief Murphy Paul, instead of bringing BRPD policy in compliance with the constitution, decided to double down and endorse what his officers were doing and to insist that the illegal strip search policy that BRPD maintains was appropriate,” said Thomas Frampton. As a result of the chief’s decision, Mr Frampton said, “countless Baton Rouge citizens have been subject to illegal, sexually humiliating strip searches.” Chief Paul was interviewed by the Washington Post, although he declined to comment on the pending lawsuits, adding that an internal investigation is underway. He did, however, address the “Brave Cave” at a news conference last month, explaining that it was a narcotics processing facility owned by the parish that had been used by the police department for “approximately 20 years.” However, up until Mr Lee’s lawsuit came out, he was unaware of the term “Brave Cave,” he said. “We made a mistake on this one,” Mr Paul told the Washington Post. “I’ve got to own that.” The police chief also addressed other accusations made in Ms Brown’s complaint. The filing claims that the Baton Rouge Police Department’s strip search policy “violates the legal standard” by allowing officers to subject non-arrestees to such searches based on an officer’s suspicion alone. The suit also accuses the department of ignoring misconduct complaints by the street crimes unit. “We’ve been pretty consistent in our discipline,” Mr Paul told the Post, disagreeing with the suit’s claims. “We’ve terminated officers for bad behavior.” To demonstrate this, he noted that two officers who were once involved in the street crimes unit were placed on administrative leave on Tuesday. He added that the department has moved operations — which used to be conducted at the warehouse — to other facilities. The police chief said that before restoring the street crimes unit, he was waiting for the internal investigation to be completed. Ms Brown is suing the Baton Rouge Police Department for unreasonable search, unreasonable seizure, Monell liability, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, negligence, and state constitutional violations. Read More A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They're still waiting for new maps Louisiana moves juveniles from adult penitentiary but continues to fight court order to do so Prosecutors set to lay out case against officers in death of unarmed Black man in Denver suburb

A missing woman is feared dead after a blood stain was found in her home and police discovered evidence that something was dragged into a lake in her backyard. Sheryl Ann Siddall, 57, was reported missing on Monday after she failed to answer phone calls from her family. Family members say they last spoke to Ms Siddall, who lives in Liberty County, Texas, on 12 September. A Texas deputy searched the 57-year-old’s home and found a 52-year-old man who said he was buying the home from Ms Siddall. He also told police Ms Siddall told him she was going to visit her sister in Oklahoma. The man was arrested and booked into the Liberty County Jail on a charge of felon in possession of firearms, police said. In a statement, police said the deputy found a bloodstain on the floor of Ms Siddall’s home. “Suspecting that foul play may be involved, the deputy immediately backed out of the room and called for investigators,” the statement continued. Investigators also said they found evidence that suggested something was dragged into the lake that borders Ms Siddall’s backyard. A Texas game warden searched Horseshoe Lake using a sonar system on his boat, deputies said, but he did not find any other evidence. Another search of the property was carried out by investigators using cadaver dogs on 19 September. Ms Siddall’s cellphone was last pinged near her home, deputies said, and her car and purse were both found at the home along with other personal possessions. An investigation is ongoing. Read More Husband of mother missing with three young children says he’s ‘not concerned’ Family sues department store after cleaner’s body lay undiscovered in bathroom for four days Teen found drenched with accelerant and set on fire after mother begged her to stay home

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaned into their four-decade friendship and highlighted areas of common ground Wednesday at a long-anticipated meeting in New York, marking the first time the two leaders have met one-on-one since the prime minister returned to office last December.

Ancient timber preserved in a riverbed suggests humans were building wooden structures 500,000 years ago.

Paul Murdaugh was pulled over by police for hosting a booze-fuelled boat party just days before he was brutally murdered by his father – and at a time when he was awaiting trial over a 2019 deadly boat wreck. In the new series of Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal”, released on Wednesday, housekeeper and family friend Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson revealed that the 22-year-old had a fresh brush with the law in the run-up to the 7 June 2021 murders. His father Alex Murdaugh was said to be taking care of the matter. The incident took place around a week before Memorial Day weekend, when Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said Maggie told her that “Paul got in trouble again”. “He was on the boat with friends and they were drinking,” she said. “But they called Alex and he said he was going to take care of it.” Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill also confirmed that the DNR had stopped the 22-year-old with a boat full of people of board. The group was already drinking alcohol from a cooler “full of booze” and were “ready to go out on the water” in the boat. “The DNR held him back and took all of the booze off the boat,” said Ms Hill. The court clerk said that the incident is shocking given that – just two years earlier – Paul allegedly caused a drunken boat wreck that killed his close friend Mallory Beach, 19. “You would think someone who would be appearing in court to decide if they are going to jail for killing somebody from a boat crash just two years before would not be still found on a boat partying,” she said. It was one night in February 2019 and Paul was allegedly drunk driving the Murdaugh family’s boat and crashed it, throwing his friends overboard. The others survived but Beach as missing. Her body washed ashore a week later. Paul was charged with multiple felonies over the boat wreck and was facing 25 years in prison at the time of his murder. At Murdaugh’s trial, prosecutors revealed that the disgraced attorney was also being sued by Beach’s family. On the day of the murders, Murdaugh was working on the case. A lawsuit hearing had been scheduled for 10 June 2021 – a hearing which prosecutors said would have exposed Mr Murdaugh’s ruinous finances. Murdaugh was also investigated by a grand jury investigation into allegations he tried to influence the other teens who survived the boat crash to get Paul off the hook. Prosecutors said that the boat wreck – and the escalating legal troubles it had brought – was the catalyst for murdering Maggie and Paul. Now, details of May 2021 boating incident – and Murdaugh’s apparent plans to fix it – appear to indicate another “pressure point” for Murdaugh in the run-up to the 7 June 2021 killings. “It makes you wonder if it was another pressure point for Alex knowing that he could not control anything that Paul did,” said Ms Hill in the show. “It just added to the pressures that were adding up in Alex’s life.” Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said that the incident also cast doubts on Murdaugh’s claims – and that of his son Buster when he took the witness stand in his defence – that things were “normal” among the family prior to the murders. Jurors had been shown footage of the family and some close friends singing “Happy Birthday” to Murdaugh during a Memorial Day weekend celebration. Buster had described the day as a “normal Memorial Day weekend”. Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said that description was “not true”. “That’s not true... There was a lot going on at the time,” she said. At the trial, jurors heard how a “perfect storm” led Murdaugh to kill his closest family members, arguing that he wanted to distract from what later transpired to be a decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud scheme – at a time when it was on the brink of being exposed. On the day of the murders, jurors heard testimony of how he was confronted by Jeanne Seckinger, the CFO at his law firm PMPED, about missing payments. Murdaugh had stolen the money from the firm and his clients – and didn’t have the money to pay back. The boat crash lawsuit was also going to expose his financial crimes. And his father Randolph – the family patriarch – was dying. Randolph died on 10 June 2021 – three days after Maggie and Paul. Ms Turrubiate-Simpson said that she thinks the family knew that Murdaugh would “lose it” once his father died. “I think [Maggie] knew at that point that if something happens to Randolph, Alex is going to lose it because he was really close to his dad – like Paul,” he said. “It might not have been spoken but I think the family knew that once Mr Randolph was no longer alive the family dynamic was going to change. There was not going to be that family unity any more.” The disgraced legal scion was convicted in March of the brutal murders after a gruelling six-week trial. Now, he is fighting to be granted a new trial, accusing court clerk Ms Hill of tampering with the jury. Even if he is granted a new trial, Murdaugh will likely spend his life behind bars as he is facing a slew of state and federal charges over a slew of financial crimes. On Monday, he reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors – agreeing to plead guilty to 22 federal charges and admitting that he stole millions of dollars from law firm clients for his own personal benefit. He is headed to court on Thursday to officially enter his plea – marking the first time that he has ever pleaded guilty to committing a crime. Read More Murdaugh Netflix show airs new bombshell claims as Alex strikes plea deal for financial crimes – live Alex Murdaugh’s bombshell confession before infamous botched hitman plot revealed Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to committing crime for first time