I want to congratulate Republican politicians in America. Something I have not found much cause to do in the ten years that I've lived and worked in the United States. But for once, they've done absolutely the right thing. Yet before my hands get too weary from all this clapping, permit me to throw one slight spanner in the works. It wasn't a flag that killed nine black Americans in their Charleston church. It was a gun.

The anchor posed the question following uproar that President Obama had used the word to challenge claims racism no longer exists in the U.S. Following the controversy, Lemon argued during a debate with analyst Sunny Hostin that people should be able to use the word in some situations. 'I don't think we should bastardize the word, but if you're using it in the context of a story, and it is relevant, you should be able to say it,' he said. 'It is our job to convey the truth and to tell people reality.' On Monday night, he asked whether viewers were offended as he held up the sign. He asked the same question as he held up a Confederate flag in response to calls to take down the one flying over the South Carolina capitol's grounds in the aftermath of the shooting.

Diddy has been arrested for allegedly attacking an American football coach (bottom right) with a kettlebell weight (inset) during an altercation, according to a report. The incident allegedly took place at the athletic facility of UCLA where his son Justin Combs attends. The 45-year-old rapper - real name Sean Combs - was taken into custody at the campus jail Monday afternoon (pictured main in a campus cop car), TMZ reports. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and was later transferred by campus officers to LA County Jail according to the site, but sources associated to the rapper claim he was acting in self defense.

The Battle of Verdun, between the French and the Germans, raged for 10 months in 1916 (inset left). When it had finally finished, an estimated 65million shells had been fired, and an area larger than the city of Paris had been completely destroyed. The once lush landscape was so badly damaged that at the end of the First World War, it was consigned to be a 'Zone Rouges', left for nature to reclaim. But even now, there are swathes where nothing grows (left) thanks to the poisons in the ground, and those who dare tread into the forest which has grown up elsewhere could easily stumble across an abandoned rifle (top right) or even one of the unexploded shells (bottom right).

Lyle Mitchell (left), who is also an employee of Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeared on the Today show on Tuesday morning for his first TV interview since his wife Joyce (right) was arrested. He said he first became suspicious of her alleged role in helping Richard Matt and David Sweat (pictured inset) escape on June 6 when she was repeatedly questioned by cops. 'An investigator says, "Mr Mitchell, your wife is more involved than what she's letting on",' he recalled. 'She said, "I did some things and I got over my head". I didn't know what to say.' She claimed that the two men had offered her drugs to knock him out so that she could flee with them - and that's when she claims she had a change of heart. 'She said she was never going through with it,' he said. 'She told me she really loved me.' The search for the inmates is now in its 18th day.

Filmed in the ISIS stronghold of Mosul, the sickening seven minute video uses expensive underwater cameras to film the terrified men as they sink below the surface with no hope of escape. Elsewhere in the video the ISIS militants are filmed brutally killing prisoners by locking them in a car and shooting them with rocket launchers, and chaining another group together with explosive necklaces which are then detonated.

Clearly having more fun than you, are the tanned, bikini-clad revellers laughing down the three slides in the BSR Cable Park in Waco, doing backflips and cheering on friends in the sun. The Royal Flush has recently opened and looks like the ultimate boredom buster. Causing quite a splash, the high-definition aqua action was uploaded on YouTube last week, and includes GoPro shots and footage filmed in 4K with the use of selfie sticks.

Georgianna Reid has lived in her home in Brookside, Kansas City, for more than 33 years, but covered the front of the house with 80 tonnes of sand three years ago in an operation that cost her $4,000. But the local council and her neighbors don't see it as the beach-like oasis Reid does, and she has been given 10 days to remove it or could face 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. 'I think the house looks revolting with all that is out there,' neighbor Edwin Bisby told KSHB. Reid, who has she only has about six months to live due to illness, has agreed to get rid of the sand, but says she will now lay asphalt, in another effort to stop her from having to mow.

A woman who tried to live just like Kim Kardashian for an entire week has detailed the ups and downs of her attempt to mirror the reality star's diet, dating routine, and her all-important selfies. Sally Holmes (right), a senior editor at Elle.com, first attempted to master Kim's wardrobe and complicated makeup routine. And now, Sally has attempted to conquer Kim's diet and maintain her waist training regimen, while also trying to learn how to take the perfect Kardashian-esque selfie. Sally undertook the task in honor of Kim's newly-published selfie book, Selfish, and the result is a four-part online series, of which two parts were released last week.

Speaking from the witness stand in Manhattan federal court, an emotional Hanna Bouveng, 25, said New York Global Group CEO Benjamin Wey, 43, pressured her into sex with him on four occasions and made her feel 'weak' and used. Wey, 43, testified last week that he fired his assistant last year because he felt 'cheated.' Bouveng's termination came after Wey found her in bed with her boyfriend in the Tribeca apartment he was renting for her.

Ashley M. of Texarkana, who police say is likely mentally ill, posted photos over the weekend showing her face covered in what she said were bruises. Her post alleged she'd been jumped in a Walmart after asking several 'African American' men not to cuss in front of her children. After being ridiculed online, Ashley responded to criticism with a photo of herself giving the finger and the message 'Here's your police report'.

The amateur video of the fight between the snake and rabbit has gone viral on YouTube, being viewed more than 1,6million times. The extraordinary film shows how the long black snake has wrapped itself around bunnies (top left) before their mother comes to the rescue, leaping from nowhere onto the snake (top right). After managing to get the snake to release her young, the rabbit continues pursuing the reptile in an epic battle of wills (bottom left). At one stage the rabbit is sent flying into the air in a backwards somersault (bottom right) after the snake manages to bite it and then slithers off - but the rabbit is still in hot pursuit. By the end of the clip one thing is clear - the one thing is clear - the reptile won't be trying to wrap itself around this bunny's babies again any time soon.

A single-engine plane registered to Oscar-winning composer James Horner (pictured left holding his two Oscars for Best Original Song for 'My Heart Will Go On' and Best Dramatic Score for Titanic) crashed in Southern California Monday morning. Ventura County fire spokesman Mike Lindbery said the crash (pictured right and inset) happened around 9.30am in the Los Padres National Forest. Horner's assistant, Sylvia Patrycja, later confirmed that it was the beloved composer who died in the crash. 'We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart, and unbelievable talent,' Patrycja wrote on Facebook. 'He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road.'

A video of two golden retriever cheese puppies, Colby and Bleu, running for their dinner over the course of none months has gone viral. One million people have watched the mealtime race so far. The pair have become so popular they even have their own Instagram account which has been showcasing their first few months of life.

The dazed-looking drug user was filmed taking the Class A substance on a southbound Northern Line train between Elephant and Castle and Kennington, south London. The man, said to work for a data room provider which helps companies store confidential information, was seen making clucking sounds after snorting the drug, before rubbing it into his gums. In the video, which was published by The Sun today, the man is seen waving a bag of white powder in front of him before telling those sitting nearby: 'I just like taking it'. A report earlier this month named London as the cocaine capital of Europe, with the highest concentration of the drug in its waste water.

The 21-year-old brother of Paris and Nicky Hilton (left) is in custody after he allegedly broke into the 19-year-old's (right) family home on Monday. It comes less than a month after Hunter, whose father is Rick Salomon, had been granted a temporary restraining order against him. Inset: The aspiring actress shared a picture in November with father Rick Salomon, sister Tyson, stepmother Pamela Anderson and her two sons Brandon and Dylan.

A map of the United States based on the latest state-by-state GDP growth data shows that even the smallest and poorest states such as Mississippi are on par with some European Union countries. California has the largest state economy at more than $2.3trillion, which at roughly the same size as Brazil would be the 8th largest economy in the world by country. The economy of Texas, which saw more than 5 per cent growth in 2014, jumped from being about the size of Australia's economy to about the size of Canada's.

Located in a quiet mews in the city's upmarket Mayfair (top left), the bright and spacious property boasts a modern kitchen, large garden (top right) and a reception room that offers ample room to entertain (bottom right). It was owned by the family of shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, whom Jackie Kennedy married in 1968, and was home to his daughter, Christina Onassis, in the 1970s. She hosted her father and stepmother on a number of occasions and the family were often photographed stepping out in London. Inset, Jackie and Christina together in 1975.

James Owen and his crew accidentally caught the 6.3-metre basking shark in their trawler at Portland, west of Warrnambool, in Victoria on Sunday but instead of selling the sought-after Chinese delicacy, they decided to donate the rare three-tonne male fish to science. Dr Martin Gomon praised the fisherman for contacting the Melbourne Museum saying he had great respect for him as choosing to make money from the second largest living fish would have been the more enticing option. A crane had to be used to lift the mammoth mammal from the boat and it took an astounding five hours to cut up the shark in pieces small enough to be carried.

Manuel Rocha, 26, is accused of killing Alexus Garcia, of Fort Worth, Texas, in the early hours of Saturday morning, after the pair met at her home. He is now wanted on a capital murder charge. Garcia is believed to have texted an unidentified witness confirming that was at his address and they 'talked about her safety.' Her body was found inside a burning green Fiat which had been set alight using gasoline in a nearby wooded area. Rocha - who frequently met with prostitutes - is wanted on a capital murder charge.

A new video from Rumble has revealed a simple way of separating egg yolks and egg whites in under 30 seconds using nothing more than an empty water bottle. The hack works by (clockwise from top left) first cracking an egg on to a plate, squeezing the air out of a plastic bottle, delicately sucking the yolk into the neck of the bottle and finally using the suction to deposit it into a spare dish.

He's been linked to many high-profile women in his time.   But casino billionaire James Packer only had eyes for his Dream Lover Mariah Carey, 45, when he went sailing around Italy with the singer and her twins on Sunday. As the Mediterranean sun beat down, the businessman, 47, was glued to his new love interest's side and paid particular attention to her children, Monroe and Moroccan, both four. The singer recently divorced their father, presenter Nick Cannon.

Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth hurled the sharp tool towards a target on a wood post prior to a segment on timbersports on June 14 but missed, hitting Jeff Prosperie, a drummer who was performing nearby with The Hellcats, which is apart of the U.S. Army's West Point Band. The marching band was playing during the show in honor of the Army's 240th birthday and Flag Day. A video shows the moment Hegseth throws the axe and misses before it strikes Prosperie on the arm.

Canadian law enforcement officer Halley Barrantes, who is in uniform, asks everyone to put their hands in the air and begins freestyle rapping at an event in Edmonton, Alberta. Throughout the clip, the crowd can be heard cheering and dancing along with the officer. The video concludes with Barrantes dropping the microphone to further cheers from the crowd.

The collection of five letters, inset, which are set to go under the hammer, were penned to Marjorie Bickham, right, from Ledbury, Worcs. She was 20 when she met Flynn, then 25, left, while performing at the Malvern Festival in Worcestershire in 1934. Flynn, who was most famous for swashbuckling films like 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood, was a member of Birmingham Rep when he met Miss Bickham - just one year before he married his first wife, French actress Lili Damita in 1935. The letters were kept by Marjorie's great niece, but whether a romance blossomed between the pair remains a mystery.

A photographer out to capture the majesty of Yosemite's Half Dome at sunrise recently caught on film something unexpected: massive flames shooting out from atop the 5,000 granite formation. Or, at least they appeared to be flames. In reality, 20-year-old Austin Jenanyan had snapped a cloud formation that looked uncannily like fire just as it drifted by Half Dome. Jenanyan called it a brief but 'very surreal and magical experience.'