Elon Musk has met a leading Iranian official ahead of attempts by the incoming Donald Trump administration to calm tensions in the Middle East. Not content with taking the axe to America’s bloated bureaucracy on behalf of the incoming President, the billionaire is turning his hand to foreign policy. The Tesla tycoon – appointed by the President-elect to lead a new US Department of Government Efficiency – spent more than an hour meeting Iran’s ambassador to the UN, it was reported yesterday.

Best friends Max Dixon and Mason Rist were on their way to buy pizza when they were senselessly ‘hunted down’ and murdered by a machete gang in a case of mistaken identity. Forming a close bond from an early age, Max, 16, and Mason, 15, had grown up together. They went to the same nursery, junior and secondary school and spent their time chatting and gaming on the PlayStation. January 27 was no different – the teenagers wanted to spend time together. CCTV shows Max calling round Mason’s house in Ilminster Avenue, Knowle, Bristol, at 11.13pm and the pair can be seen walking down the street to go and pick up a pizza.

This is the moment a bike-riding phone thief got his instant comeuppance after a diner hurled a cafe chair at the criminal as he attempted to flee. The thief had just snatched a phone out of a woman’s hands before he attempted to speed past two diners enjoying breakfast outside a cafe. But one of the diners, having witnessed the theft, got up and threw her chair at the criminal he was getting away.

Americans are expressing their outrage as Covid-era mask rules slowly take hold across California. Sonoma County, in San Francisco, is the latest region to reinstate its mask mandate in all medical settings for staff but not visitors. There are more than 20 hospitals and clinics in the area treating over 480,000 residents and visitors, with the largest being the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

John Oliver ranted at the Democratic Party for sidelining trans issues during Kamala Harris’ campaign, contrasting this with the GOP’s aggressive spending on anti-trans attack ads. On the latest episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver discussed Harris’ defeat, criticizing self-proclaimed progressives who’ve turned against transgender people and blamed ‘woke’ politics for Donald Trump’s success. He bluntly critiqued Harris’s campaign and how it largely ignored trans rights while Republicans poured over $215 million into anti-trans advertising – amounting to roughly $134 for every trans person in the U.S.

Britain’s ‘most controversial policeman’ was secretly found guilty of misconduct after an appalling security blunder which jeopardised police operations against serious organised crime, the Mail can reveal. Steve Rodhouse, Director General (Operations) at the National Crime Agency, ‘recklessly’ left his work laptop, containing classified intelligence files and information about highly sensitive police investigations, in the back seat of his parked car while attending the theatre with his wife. The device, and other classified documents, were stolen by a thief in the summer of 2021 and never recovered.

A member of Kamala Harris’ campaign is finally speaking out amid accusations by critics that celebrities were paid millions to endorse the vice president during her failed presidential campaign. Adrienne Elrod, who served as a senior spokesperson for the campaign, told Deadline they do not pay celebrities. ‘We have never paid any artist and performer. We have never paid a fee to that person,’ she said.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz did not commit to backing Matt Gaetz for attorney general when asked Thursday. Cruz demurring on the matter is the latest incident highlighting Congress’ hesitancy to get behind Donald Trump’s nominee. Both Republicans and Democrats have bristled at the idea Gaetz could be the top law enforcement official in the U.S.

The Republican president-elect improved his share of support in New York City including in AOC’s district in 2024, leaving some scratching their heads over how someone could vote for him and a progressive member of ‘The Squad.’ After the election, the Democratic congresswoman put out on social media that she wanted to hear from such voters about their thinking. The responses came flooding in. She shared her takeaways in an interview with the liberal news network. ‘When it comes to people who split their ticket, I think a lot of people cited several different things,’ Ocasio-Cortez told Reid.