Comedian Russell Brand is charged with rape and assault in U.K.
Actor and political pundit Russell Brand is facing multiple charges of rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police announced on Friday, listing charges that span more than six years.
The criminal charges were announced one and a half years after Brand was accused of sexual misconduct by four women in the fall of 2023.
Brand denied those allegations after they emerged, saying that while he had been sexually promiscuous, all of the interactions “were absolutely always consensual.”
But the women’s accounts sparked a police inquiry.
“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said in a statement as the charges were revealed.
Brand is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, May 2.
Brand is charged with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape and two counts of sexual assault. The police allegations range from a 1999 rape in the Bournemouth area to a woman who was sexually assaulted in the Westminster area of London between 2004 and 2005.
Trump threatens tech export limits, new 100% tariff on Chinese imports
President Trump threatened to place an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting on Nov. 1 or sooner, potentially escalating tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a recession.
AstraZeneca makes deal with White House to lower drug prices
The U.K.-based drugmaker became the second to strike a deal with the Trump administration as part of the president's push to rein in U.S. drug prices.
Macron puts Lecornu back as France’s prime minister just days after he quit
French President Emmanuel Macron has reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister, just days after his resignation, asking him to try again to form a government and produce a budget.
National Guard troops begin patrols in Memphis
Guard members in Memphis are operating under the governor's command — unlike other cities facing troop deployments, including Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago.
Peru: Chicha Cumbia, the electric pulse of Lima
Photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia music in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.
White House says ‘substantial’ layoffs of federal workers have begun, with few details
The Trump administration says it has started the process of issuing reduction-in-force notices to federal employees. It's not clear how many agencies are affected or how many people.