Social media experts have warned of a "disinformation campaign" aimed at creating a false narrative of arson being solely responsible for the Australian bushfire emergency.

Three individuals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts for conspiring to interfere with the civil rights of members of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a Springfield, Mass., church with a predominantly African-American congregation.

A federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts has charged Michael Jacques and Thomas Gleason of Springfield, Mass., in a three-count superseding indictment in relation to the arson of a church.

Benjamin Haskell, 23, of Springfield, Mass., pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two crimes related to the burning of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African-American church in Springfield.

Thomas Gleason, 22, of Springfield, Mass., pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two crimes related to the burning of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African-American church, in Springfield on the morning after President Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American President of the United States.

A federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Ohio today charged Ronald J. Pudder with intentionally damaging, destroying and attempting to destroy religious property because of the race, color and ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with that property, and for willfully and knowingly using fire to commit a felony offense.

A settlement agreement with the Carson City School District in Nevada has been reached to ensure that all English Language Learner (ELL) students receive sufficient services as required by federal law.

Henry Clay Glaspell, of Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty today to a hate crime charge stemming from the ethnically-motivated arson of a children’s playground at the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center in Arlington in July 2010.

An Ohio man was sentenced to 51 months in prison for setting fire to the First Azusa Apostolic Faith Church of God in Conneaut, Ohio.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Eugene, Ore., has indicted Cody Crawford, 24, of Corvallis, Ore., on federal hate crime and arson charges for intentionally setting fire to the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center.

Steven Scott Cantrell, of Crane, Texas, pleaded guilty today to hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort to murder a disabled African-American man.

Donny Eugene Mower of Madera, Calif., pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of arson, one count of damaging religious property and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Henry Clay Glaspell, 34, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 14 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February 2011 to a hate crime charge stemming from an arson of a children’s playground at the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center in Arlington in July 2010.

Steven Scott Cantrell, 26, of Crane, Texas, was sentenced today for hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort to murder a disabled African-American man.

Michael Jacques, 27, was sentenced in Boston by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor to 166 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.

Donny Eugene Mower, 38, of Madera, Calif., was sentenced in federal court today following his October 2011 guilty pleas to one count of arson, one count of damaging religious property and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to damage the property of a reproductive health services facility. These charges stem from Mower’s lighting a fire inside a Planned Parenthood clinic and throwing a brick at a mosque in Madera.

Thomas Gleason, 24, was sentenced today in federal court for his role in the arson of the predominately African-American Macedonia Church of God in Christ just hours after the election of President Barack Obama.

Teresa Witthar, 43, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to federal hate crime charges in connection with the vandalism and arson of a bi-racial man’s mobile home in 2006.

Bobby Joe Rogers, 41, of Pensacola, Fla., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the fire that destroyed the American Family Planning Clinic in Pensacola on Jan. 1, 2012.

The Justice Department announced today that Charles Wilhelm, 23, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., to federal hate crime charges in connection with the vandalism and arson of a bi-racial man’s home in 2006.

A Missouri woman was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for her role in the vandalism and arson of a biracial man’s home in Independence, Mo., the Department of Justice announced.

Charles Wilhelm, 23, of Independence, was sentenced in the Western District of Missouri by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple.

A Missouri man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in the vandalism and arson of a biracial man’s home in Independence, Mo., the Department of Justice announced.

Jean-Claude Bridges pleaded guilty earlier this year to deliberately setting a church on fire and was sentenced this morning in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Danville, Va.

The Justice Department announced today that Jedediah Stout, 30, of Joplin, Mo., was charged today in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., with the attempted arson of a Planned Parenthood facility.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson for the Western District of Missouri announced that a man and a woman, both from Independence, Mo., were sentenced in federal court today for violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.

In honor of what would have been Rachel Carson's 100th birthday, the U.S. Environmental Agency has an essay/poetry/photo contest for two-person teams. The famed writer and biologist once wrote about the need for children and adults to share the "joy,

This coming Sunday would've been Silent Spring author and environmental hero Rachel Carson's 100th birthday. In recognition of Carson's contributions to the creation of the modern environmental movement, Sen. Benjanmin L. Cardin (D-MD) has announced his

When I wonder what words should replace Emma Lazarus's obsolete phrase on the Statue of Liberty - "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free" I think of Frank Luntz's dictum learned from Joe Romm: "There is a simple rule,

Everybody knows that change is happening, but thanks to the fossil fuel economy, we are all having such a good time.

Jim Parsons says playing the talent agent Henry Willson in Ryan Murphys upcoming "Hollywood" turned out to be "one of the more powerful experiences" of his life.

Murphy's limited series follows a group of aspiring actors who try to make it big in post-World War II Hollywood.

Murphy was sure that Parsons, still best known as lovable nerd-genius Sheldon in "The Big Bang Theory", would be perfect for the role of Willson. After working on the series, Parsons admits that he had developed empathy for the agent, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"He ended up destitute because he had used every resource he had to get his clients to the place that he wanted them to be and that they wanted to be -- paying for clothes, paying for lessons, paying for teeth -- and so as nasty and weird and slimy as he could be at times, I felt for him when I read he died penniless in a Styrofoam coffin," said Parsons.

To get the role right, Parsons would spend some two and a half hours in the make-up chair.

"I'd leave the makeup trailer feeling somewhat transformed and a little freer without even knowing it was happening," he said, adding: "It ended up being one of the more powerful experiences of my life."

The Netflix show also stars David Corenswet, Darren Criss, Jeremy Pope, Laura Harrier, Samara Weaving, Dylan McDermott, Holland Taylor, Patti LuPone, Jake Picking, and Joe Mantello amongst others.

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UK-based education company is still more value trap than takeover candidate

It's been four years since we bade farewell to Downton Abbey on our TV screens, and now all the old favourites are back in a film alongside new faces Imelda Staunton and Tuppence Middleton.

In an exclusive first look at the film Thomas struggles to hide his fury as he asked to step aside, and snaps that he 'won't be a sort of anything.'

TALK OF THE TOWN: Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary was on a mission to buy essentials for herself and boyfriend Jasper Waller-Bridge, the brother of Fleabag star Phoebe.

George Clooney enlisted the help of Brie Larson for the coffee brand's latest advert, with the pair spotted filming scenes in Madrid on Tuesday.

George Clooneyrode a donkey alongside fellow Hollywood star Brie Larson in Madrid to film a new advert for his Nespresso collaboration.

The momentary phenomenon of a presidential run by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough quickly fizzed on Saturday, and Carson -- targeted by a 'draft committee' -- came in a close third.

Carson stepped out in silver heels and wore her hair plastered against her skull. She completed the look with dark pink eye-shadow and pale pink lip color and added statement earrings.

His bitter feud with bullying Clement Freud. How KIenneth Williams saved Just A Minute. And the raging factory foreman who set him on the road to fame. In his own words, Nicholas Parsons

Keith Farquharson, 60, of Aberdeen, smothered mother-of-three Alice, 56, on August 29 last year.

Stunned residents watched on as the huge fire swarmed the dry, grassy area in Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday night.

A judge was satisfied that Ahmed Hassan lied about his age to remain in the UK. He was convicted of attempting to kill 93 commuters with a homemade bomb at Parsons Green station.

Ahmed Hassan claimed he was a 16-year-old orphan when he entered the UK illegally three years ago and applied for asylum. The case raises concerns over how many terrorists are using the loophole.

Seemingly unfazed by the busy hustle and bustle of passengers around them, the couple were pictured sharing a tender moment as Malia closed her eyes, while Rory planted a kiss on her forehead.

The woman, a resident of the building in her 40s, was arrested on the street below the block in Paris' wealthy 16th arrondissement, trying to set fire to a car and a wheely bin.

Olympic gold-medallist Sally Pearson had to settle for the runner-up place in an Australian Sportswoman of the Year contest - after she was pipped at the post by a horse.

Australian sport will show it is on its way back at the Commonwealth Games after a disastrous showing at London 2012, Olympic 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson has warned.

Four Sri Lankan athletes were stopped by police after cycling down the M74 motorway on Wednesday. The cyclists were pulled over near the exit for Motherwell and Hamilton and advised to ‘get off the road’.

Athletics Australia officials and sporting identities are angered at the timing and nature of Eric Hollingsworth's comments.