By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into conditions

VIDEO: Jonathan Allen pile drives Justin Fields into the field.

Carlee Russell’s story about being abducted after stopping at the side of a road to help a distressed toddler was a lie, her lawyer has said in a statement. The 25-year-old from Alabama told police she was kidnapped after stopping to help a toddler in diapers who was walking alone on Interstate 459 on the evening of 13 July. She came back home two days after the alleged abduction. Her family had stuck by her story, even after police publicly expressed scepticism. However, Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis on Monday said Ms Russell’s attorney, Emory Anthony, had now provided a statement on Monday saying there was no kidnapping The statement in part read: “There was no kidnapping on Thursday July 13. My client did not see a baby on the side on the road.” Earlier CrimeStoppers walked back a pledge to return almost $63,000 in donations to help find Carlee Russell after the 25-year-old’s kidnapping story fell under suspicion. More than $63,000 was raised during the two-day search for the Alabama woman. But the organisation that offers anonymous tips about criminal activity now said the money will not be returned after initially making the promise. Read More Carlee Russell admits she was never kidnapped, Alabama police say Carlee Russell sent several bizarre tweets before disappearing Boyfriend of Carlee Russell deletes social media posts after police cast doubt over her kidnapping story Police doubt Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claims. Could she face consequences?

By Laura Sanicola U.S. refining profits are expected to fall from last year's records but remain strong as

The hotly anticipated new trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto game is nearly upon us, and gamers are on tenterhooks. It has been more than 10 years since the last instalment of the world’s most popular video game, and the makers, Rockstar Games have been dropping cryptic hints about the next one over the next few months. Some fans have even reportedly quit smoking so they definitely live until the eventual release date. Safe to say, some people are unhealthily obsessed. With the trailer set to drop in early December, here are six things to expect. The location Previous Rockstar Games trailers have featured a highlight reel revealing the location of the game, and giving fans an idea of the new world they’ll be tearing up. Liberty City, Vice City, and Los Santos, the previous game locations, are as iconic to GTA players as any of its playable characters, so this is likely to be an important one. Moreover, Rockstar spends a huge amount of time and effort on world design, it’s a key part of the franchise. Any trailer will surely feature this heavily. The big question is: where will it be? A data leak last September suggested that it will be in a revamped version of Vice City – but whether that's the only location is anyone's guess. Some cars Everyone loves cruising around GTA game worlds in classic cars blasting music and occasionally stopping to commit some virtual crimes, right? Social media users certainly hope that cars – and other vehicles – will play a part in the upcoming trailer. One person commented on Reddit: “I know the game will take place in the modern era, but I really hope we'll see classic/old-school cars as well, like in GTA 5. “Something like a Chevrolet Bel Air or a Ford F-100 or basically anything from the 50s to the 80s. If 90% of the cars are going to be modern and electric, I will be pretty disappointed, not gonna lie.” How it will deal with the popularity of GTA Online The massive success of GTA Online, where players play against one another in a virtual world, will cause some headaches for people designing the trailer – and the next game in general. Will it give people the chance to continue their online adventures in the last game into the new one? Some gamers have spent untold amounts of money – and days of their life – on their GTA multiplayer profiles, so this will be a big concern for them. Other bits from the recent leak While official information about the game has been sparse, a massive data leak last September gave fans a sneak peak. About 90 videos from an in-development version of the game appeared on a forum, showing that the game might feature the series’ first playable female protagonist. The character, called Lucia, was clad in a pink outfit, and appeared to be robbing someone at gunpoint. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that she will feature somewhere in the upcoming trailer. Fans on social media also speculated that the makers of the trailer will include various other, more random, aspects – one person suggested rollerblades, for example. Another person said they wanted to see a “police shootout”, which sounds a little more in-keeping with the franchise. Whatever the trailer brings, it will have gamers across the land incredibly excited.Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Tottenham Hotspur are progressing in talks with Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba, but are wary that he is a target for several other clubs. Spurs have identified Harry Maguire, Aymeric Laporte, Max Kilman and Marc Guehi as other targets.

Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company's Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson's new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled "Elon Musk."

Alabama police have expressed doubt over Carlee Russell’s claim that she was abducted from the side of an interstate highway last week, saying she appears to have made internet searches relating to kidnappings prior to the incident. Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said during a press conference that investigators were “unable to verify” most of the 25-year-old’s statements relating to the events. Mr Derzis detailed Ms Russell’s peculiar search history on Wednesday, saying she had searched for the movie Taken and Amber Alerts, raising the possibility she may have faked her alleged ordeal. Before she disappeared for a mysterious 49 hours, she posted a series of bizarre tweets. On the day she went missing on 13 July, she tweeted at 8.55pm: “today was a GREAT day God be looking out im telling you!!” One minute later, Ms Russell wrote: “someone to tell you ‘i love you’ and don’t got a reason.” Finally, she tweeted, “yeah i want a family now” at 9.19pm. Just moments later, around 9.30pm, the Alabama woman called 911 and told detectives that she was following a lost toddler along the interstate. Read More Carlee Russell claimed she was kidnapped by a man with orange hair. Police say they can’t verify any of it Boyfriend of Carlee Russell deletes social media posts after police cast doubt over her kidnapping story Police doubt Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claims. Could she face consequences? Carlee Russell searched for Amber Alerts and the movie ‘Taken’ before disappearing, say police

Italy is removing children from registers and stopping surrogacy abroad in new rules affecting same-sex couples.

Logan Paul expressed his frustration with Dillon Danis' relentless social media harassment, accusing Danis of 'spending his life stalking' Nina Agdal

A Las Vegas newspaper is the subject of vicious attacks online for its coverage of an alleged murder of a retired police chief

It’s the final day of the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich contesting the closest title race for years