President Barack Obama said that the United States is still in shock about the shooting rampage in Arizona that has left a Democratic congresswoman fighting for her life, but he commended the courage of the people who responded on site, saying their actions reflect the “best of America”.

A teenager plotted "a spectacular show" of terrorism for months, saying he did not mind that children would die if he bombed a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony, court documents reveal.

Police in the US found an “amateurish” but potentially powerful bomb in a smoking sport utility vehicle in New York’s Times Square, then cleared the streets of thousands of tourists milling through the landmark district so they could dismantle it, authorities said today.

A man calmly drew a gun and fired at the tube station entrance to the Pentagon complex, shooting two police officers before being fatally wounded.