The travel industry is on edge after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reiterated his threat to withdraw U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in so-called sanctuary cities in a move that could jeopardize international flights.

The U.S. Travel Assn. said that Mullin confirmed he is considering withdrawing the officers in a meeting where the trade group was pressing its concerns about other proposals the Trump administration is considering that could hamper travel. The travel association and major airlines quickly condemned the idea, and even Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it doesn’t make sense to him.

“U.S. Travel believes such a move would have devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation,” the industry group said Friday in a statement.

Details of the meeting were first reported by the Atlantic.

Duffy said at a congressional hearing this week that he wasn’t familiar with Mullin’s remarks, and he’d like to learn more about the context and maybe ask Mullin a question about what he meant. But Duffy said it would be a bad idea to start restricting travel based on political views. After all, he acknowledged, at some point Democrats will be in charge and “you will all switch spots at one point — hopefully not too soon, Mr. Chairman.”

“We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places. We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” Duffy said.

So it’s not clear how much support this idea has within the administration, though President Trump has previously threatened to withhold funding from sanctuary cities.

There is no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally refer to jurisdictions that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And courts have rejected the idea of pulling funding from them in the past.

In Trump’s first term in office, in 2017, courts struck down his effort to cut funding to the cities.

It’s not clear exactly which cities and airports Mullin might target, but the Justice Department last year published a list of three dozen states, cities and counties that it considers to be sanctuary jurisdictions. They include California, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego County.

The Airlines for America trade group was quick to say the idea would hurt the economy and disrupt travel.

“Reducing CBP staffing at major airports would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries, causing a significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers and the flow of international cargo.”

Funk and Yamat write for the Associated Press.

SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Semifinals

DIVISION 1

La Mirada 5, La Habra 1

JSerra 2, Norco 0

DIVISION 2

Whittier Christian 11, St. Paul 6

Mater Dei 4, San Clemente 2

DIVISION 3

Great Oak 4, North Torrance 3

Riverside Prep 4, Dos Pueblos 2

DIVISION 4

Oxnard 1, Monrovia 0

Mission Viejo 5, Burbank Burroughs 3

DIVISION 5

Grace 16, Patriot 10

Northwood 15, Covina 3

DIVISION 6

Irvine 16, Granite Hills 2

Arroyo 11, Hesperia Christian 4

DIVISION 7

Ramona Convent 17, Faith Baptist 9

Edgewood 6, Cathedral City 0

DIVISION 8

San Bernardino 25, Workman 3

Arroyo Valley 18, Capistrano Valley 7

Note: Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine (times TBA).

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reveals details of Iran’s position on the potential peace agreement with the US. US President Donald Trump earlier revealed the two countries were close to an Memorandum of Understanding.

SHE is regarded as the Queen of Pop.

But it seems that Madonna also has royal standards when it comes to travel. I can reveal that the Like A Prayer hitmaker brought her own private chef on to a British Airways flight last month.

She jetted from Los Angeles to London’s Heathrow with former foot- baller boyfriend Akeem Morris.

Her chef plated her up some sushi before they took off for the 11-hour flight to England.

A source said: “Madonna is strict about her lifestyle and avoids processed foods.

“She has the luxury of taking her private chef when travelling. He knows exactly what she eats to ensure she is sufficiently nourished when travelling between timezones.”

ETERNAL WAIT OVER

Louise reveals she’s working on new music after being inspired by Madonna

POP CARNAGE

Bitter feud brewing as Madonna targets Charli XCX with shady Instagram post

Madge is understood to follow a strict macrobiotic diet which is favoured by A-listers including actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

She avoids sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed items, instead favouring fruit, veg and protein.

Functional nutritionist Pauline Cox previously told The Sun: “Madonna has a carefully planned diet that allows her to carry on performing at a high level.

“She eats complex carbohydrates — brown rice, beans and oats — for slow energy release.”

I previously told how Madonna turned night owl for a new music video, shooting between 5pm and 2am.

She is set to premiere the ten-minute film at the Beacon Theatre at the Tribeca Festival in New York in the US on June 5.

It is built around the first six tracks from her album, Confessions II, out on July 3.­

ELLIE KNUCKLES DOWN

ELLIE GOULDING let her hair down as she returned to the stage for the first time after giving birth to baby number two in March.

Wearing a baggy white tee, leather shorts and diamond knuckle-duster, inset above left, for her show at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland, the singer revealed that her five-year-old son Arthur was watching.

She said: “So, guys, this is kind of a big deal, because my son is watching me for the first time today.”

Ellie also sang her new song Black Prada Dress.

Great to have you back, Ellie.

BBC RADIO 1 host Charlie Hedges has pleaded for Harry Styles to return to the Live Lounge.

The DJ, who hosts Dance Anthems, revealed how she was presenting a 24-hour show when the former One Direction star was in the building.

She told Biz on Sunday: “Harry was confirmed to be in the Live Lounge however it was the same day that I’d decided to do a 24-hour Radio 1 dance day. So I missed Harry Styles.

“I stitched myself up because it was my idea to do the 24-hour show. I can’t blame anyone. I am fuming.”

Meanwhile Charlie – who is in Sunderland for Radio 1’s Big Weekend – revealed Lewis Capaldi is one of her favourite guests.

She said: “He is probably the funniest man I have ever met in my entire life, let alone being an incredible performer.”

ZARA McDERMOTT cheered on boyfriend Louis Tomlinson from the side of the stage yesterday.

It comes after she was pictured hugging Joey Essex and sent the internet into meltdown.

An onlooker said: “Zara was all smiles.”

SAM SO WIRED

HUNKY electrician Sam Workman is hoping to make sparks fly in the Love Island villa.

The lad, from Dudley, is lined up for the next series of the ITV dating show in Majorca, which kicks off on June 1.

A source said: “Sam is ready to use his electrician charm in the villa.

“He has also been hitting the gym to make sure he’s villa ready.”

Sam has started his summer in style and was spotted at Coachella Festival in California, US, in April.

Hopefully Sam finds himself a festival sidekick in the villa.

STORM OFF, YAS

SHE signed up with top modelling agency Storm Management after leaving Love Island last year.

But I can reveal that Yasmin Pettet has left the company that has launched the careers of supermodels Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.

A source said: “Yasmin loved working with Storm and learned a lot from the agency. However her career is going in another direction.”

The agency posted a snap of Yasmin – who finished third with Jamie Rhodes on the dating show – on their Instagram last year to announce the new signing.

It read: “Yasmin’s fearless, edgy aesthetic positions her within the new wave of British It girls: challenging conventions and breaking the mould.”

MARRIED MILEY’S WEBBED BLISS

MILEY CYRUS is a married woman, according to her mother.

The revelation came at the singer’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in LA on Friday, where Miley wore this webbed maxi dress.

Onlookers witnessed Tish call Miley’s fiancé Maxx Morando, who proposed in winter 2025, her “husband”.

As Miley’s mum herded together family and friends for photographs, she looked over at Maxx, drummer for the rock band Liily, and declared, “We’re gonna bring the husband.”

Maxx then posed next to Miley and kissed her on the cheek.

Tearful Miley lavished praise on her father Billy Ray even though he wasn’t present to see her being honoured with the Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

The singer, who was also joined by designer Donatella Versace and actress Anya Taylor-Joy, declared, “My dad used to say a skyscraper starts with a jackhammer” as she vowed her career is fuelled by making her art immortal.

With tears on her face, Miley continued: “To my family, my future family, parents, my mom, my siblings, my friends, my collaborators, thank you for loving and supporting not only the choices that I make, but my fears, and then facing them with me.

“Today is something that I’ll never forget and I’m always going to cherish.”

AD SUITS YOU, TOM

HE had viewers swooning over him in his suits in The Night Manager – and now Tom Hiddleston is cashing in on his style.

The actor has shot a top-secret Ralph Lauren collaboration, which will be unveiled later this year.

Thor star Tom has been a mainstay at the American label’s events lately, including sitting front row at Milan Fashion Week and attending the post-runway dinner party where he sat pride of place next to Ralph’s son.

A source said: “Tom has a busy filming schedule, but he managed to squeeze in this ad as he was delighted to be asked.

“He loves the brand and plans to wear it on red carpets and at awards dos.” Tom, who is engaged to Fresh Meat actress Zawe Asthon, gushed about fashion earlier this year.

Speaking to Esquire he said: “There’s a certain element of respect when you wear a suit. Not just for yourself, but for the people you’re in the company with.

“I admire the craft of it all, and there’s something about how tailoring can honour shape and athleticism as a man. I love texture. I love the idea of getting dressed up.

“I love the construction of it and the details add up to a whole that I find pleasing.

“My tan shoes match my watch strap, and my pocket square gives a flourish.”

AIR WE GO… OFF TO AMERICA

SHE’S kept her head down since appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files earlier this year, but I can reveal that Donna Air is quitting the UK.

The ex-Byker Grove actress is returning to her acting roots and hoping to land some roles in the US.

This follows The Sun on Sunday story in February revealing her links to the paedophile businessman. Plus, earlier this month, Donna lost her dad Trevor to cancer.

Posting on social media she wrote: “I’ve packed up my home, and I’m off to pastures new.”

A source said: “It’s been a tough year for Donna. She wants a change of scene and a fresh start. She is hoping to audition for some roles in America and see what comes her way.”

STARS OUT FOR THE BBC

A HOST of top stars from music, films and telly are backing the BBC after filming a new ad promoting the licence fee.

Chris Martin, Daisy Ridley, Cate Blanchett, Ruth Jones and Claudia Winkleman have remade the 1986 advert starring comic John Cleese, titled What Have The BBC Ever Given Us?

The original was a parody of his and Monty Python’s sketch from 1979 film The Life Of Brian.

The ad was filmed at a top-secret location in London earlier this month with scenes from Glastonbury festival and Wimbledon.

A source said: “The BBC has come under a lot of heat lately so this is its rallying cry to boost morale among the public.”

SCARLETT MOFFATT has revealed that she is expecting a baby boy.

The reality star and partner Scott already have a son, Jude.

She said: “I was born to be a boy mum. I’m so excited. All my family and friends knew I wanted another boy.

“My preference was a boy, to give Jude a brother. I’m just so happy for him.”

It will be JSerra taking on La Mirada for the Southern Section Division 1 softball championship next weekend in Irvine after both teams won their semifinal games on Saturday.

JSerra, behind 14 strikeouts from Liliana Escobar, defeated No. 2-seed Norco 2-0 to advance to its first championship game. Annabel Raftery hit a solo home run and Magenta De Arte added an RBI single.

Alison Ortega threw a complete game with seven strikeouts in La Mirada’s 5-1 win over La Habra. Freshman Rylee Thurmond had three hits.

Whittier Christian 11, St. Paul 8: A grand slam by Danni Lopez in the seventh powered the Heralds to victory in a Division 2 semifinal game. Whittier Christian will face Mater Dei in the final.

Mater Dei 4, San Clemente 2: Tulutululelei Salue hit a two-run home run and Aly Carrillo added a solo home run for the Monarchs in a Division 2 semifinal.

Great Oak 4, North Torrance 3: Regan Spillers delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning in a Division 3 semifinal. Isabella Paun finished with three hits. Great Oak will face Riverside Prep, a 4-2 winner over Dos Pueblos.

Oxnard 1, Monrovia 0: Sophomore Destinee Herrera threw the shutout, striking out eight with no walks, in a Division 4 semifinal. Oxnard will face Mission Viejo, a 5-3 winner over Burbank Burroughs.

May 23 (UPI) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday added two more airports that travelers to the United States can be routed through for Ebola screening when entering the country.

The enhanced travel screening announced earlier this week by the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security is meant to screen people for the virus on entry to the country if they have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan or Uganda.

The outbreak, which started in the DRC and has spread to neighboring South Sudan and Uganda, is estimated to have 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, the World Health Organization on Friday said, adding that the “real scale of the outbreak is likely far larger.”

The CDC first issued restrictions on Thursday for Americans returning to the United States to be screened at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., before continuing on to their final destinations.

The two additional airports will be Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which started to accept travelers at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, and George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, which will start to accept travelers on Tuesday, May 26, at 11:59 p.m. EDT, the CDC said on Saturday.

“These travelers will have their air travel re-routed to arrive at select airports,” CDC officials said in the update.

The enhanced health screening includes being escorted to a designated screening area; completing a questionnaire about their travel history and symptoms; having their temperatures checked using non-contact thermometers; and observation by CDC staff for signs of illness.

“Travelers with fever or other symptoms that could be Ebola will receive additional evaluation by a CDC public health officer,” the agency said.

“If the assessment shows that a traveler may be sick with Ebola, the traveler will be transferred to a hospital for further medical evaluation,” it said.

The WHO on Friday raised the national risk assessment during the outbreak in the DRC to “very high,” but officials said that global risk for infection with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is no approved vaccine.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus during a meeting on Friday thanked the efforts of neighboring nations in Africa who have assisted during the outbreak, as well as the various regional and global health agencies that also have done so.

Although the United States last year pulled out of the WHO, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday that it has activated a dedicated Ebola Response Task Force that is led by “senior experts with direct experience managing prior Ebola outbreaks” in 2014 and 2018.

The department also has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team and provided $32 million in assistance to U.S. partners in the region, it said in a press release.

[kicker]

ITV viewers were quick to issue the same complaint about Danny Dyer and Emily Atack’s new gameshow Nobody’s Fool

ITV viewers have ‘switched off’ new gameshow Nobody’s Fool after voicing identical complaints.

Fronted by actors Danny Dyer and Emily Atack, the quiz-based series features ten strangers battling it out for a whopping £100,000 prize fund. Unlike the majority of gameshows, this programme isn’t about how intelligent contestants are, but rather how intelligent others perceive them to be.

Each participant tackles a general knowledge quiz in private, with their correct answers contributing money to the prize. Having completed the quiz, players can opt to lie or tell the truth about their performance.

The genuine tension of the game emerges during the eviction task, where contestants must pinpoint the person who contributed the least to the prize fund based purely on their impressions of their fellow players.

Victory hinges on persuading the other contestants that you’re clever enough to remain in the game, even if that means double-crossing them, reports the Daily Star.

Despite its fascinating premise, viewers were swift to condemn the new programme for allegedly “ripping off” BBC’s The Traitors.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one viewer wrote: “So this #nobodysfool is 100% a rip off of #Thetraitors.”

As devotees of the BBC gameshow will recognise, The Traitors is similarly a game of deception, which relies on players’ perceptions of one another. The Traitors is also set in a castle, while Nobody’s Fool takes place in a manor.

Someone else drew the same parallel, writing: “Budget version of The Traitors #NobodysFool,” while a third contributed: “#NobodysFool so this is another traitors/ fortune hotel rip off.”

Others were swift to switch off the programme. “Nope 2 minutes in and off #nobodysfool,” remarked one, while someone else noted: “Nodding off already. Surely not another itv flop.”

Despite the harsh judgements, however, some ITV audiences are prepared to give the gameshow an opportunity. One commended: “I’m liking #NobodysFool so far not a bad opening.”

While a second concurred: “#NobodysFool seems okay at the moment.”

And yet another viewer offered a measured assessment, declaring: “Too many shows these days are trying too hard to replicate The Traitors – and failing miserably. #NobodysFool however is decent so far and already a lot better than #TheNeighbourhood.”

Nobody’s Fool is streaming now on ITVX

Mulivai Levu helped UCLA remain the comeback kings of college baseball, hitting a walk-off, three-run home run to seal a 7-5 win over rival USC on Saturday and a spot in the Big Ten tournament championship game.

It was No. 1 seed UCLA’s 27th comeback win of the season and the second consecutive game Levu’s hit sealed a victory during the Big Ten tournament played in Omaha, Neb.

On Saturday night, Levu hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to seal UCLA’s comeback 4-3 win over Purdue in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

UCLA improved to 50-6, a record that Levu said gives the team confidence it will find a way to win.

“It’s the power of friendship right there. We’re all well connected,” Levu said during an interview Saturday on the Big Ten Network. “… We just don’t give up. We’re never out of it, we’re never doubting ourselves. We know what kind of lineup we’ve got, we’ve just got to use it.”

USC’s Augie Lopez hit a double and the rest of the Trojans were active early, building a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Levu hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit. Dominic Cadiz had an RBI single in the fourth before pitchers held both teams scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings.

Dean West hit a two-run home run in the seventh to give UCLA its first lead at 4-3, and both teams were scoreless in the eighth.

In the ninth, Adrian Lopez and Augie Lopez managed to score runs for USC, taking a 5-4 lead. Top Trojans reliever Adam Troy got No. 1 MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky to fly out.

Then Levu entered the batter’s box with two outs and hit the home run that sent USC (43-15) back to Los Angeles for a break before the NCAA tournament brackets are revealed Sunday night.

“They’re rivals on the field, but those are our boys off the field,” Levu said of the Trojans. “They’re good guys and they’re good team. We’ll probably see them again later on in the playoff run. Props to them, it was a great game, they made it very interesting. I’m just glad we won.”

May 23 (UPI) — The White House was locked down on Saturday evening after a man approached one of its checkpoints and opened fire at the executive mansion before being shot by the Secret Service.

Around 6 p.m. a man near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue approached a White House entrance, pulled a firearm from his bag and started firing at the entrance, the Secret Service said in a statement.

Members of several media organizations, some who were reporting live, reported hearing what they thought were gunshots before the Secret Service told them to seek shelter inside the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

“Secret Service Police returned fire, striking the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said in the statement.

“During the shooting, one bystander was also struck by gunfire,” Guglielmi said. “No injuries were sustained by officers.”

The bystander is in serious condition, CBS News reported.

The Secret Service said that President Donald Trump, who has been working at the White House all day amid negotiations to end the Iran war, was in the White House during the shooting, “however no protectees or operations were impacted.”

Reporters on the North Lawn reported that they heard what they thought was gunfire and ducked before Secret Service agents told them to “sprint to the press briefing room” to take cover.

Both the Secret Service and FBI quickly confirmed that both agencies were investigating reports of gunfire near the White House.

The White House was briefly locked down, and The Washington Post reported that its security gates remained locked hours after the incident.

The White House checkpoint the man fired at is located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, which is near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Although the suspect approached the White House, Fox News reported that he never actually got inside the general perimeter of the executive mansion.

Rapper Rob Base, one-half of the hip-hop duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, died on Friday after a battle with cancer. He was 59.

“Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world. Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten,” a statement on Base’s Instagram read.

The statement also expressed gratitude to Base, who was surrounded by family as he died, for “the music, the memories and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives.”

Rob Base was born Robert Ginyard in May 1967. He was best known for his collaborations with DJ E-Z Rock. The two were lifelong friends, meeting in fifth grade while living in Harlem. Their song “It Takes Two” was released in 1988 by Profile Records. The song became a breakout single for the duo and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard U.S. dance club songs chart, with The Times calling “It Takes Two” “the rage of the rap underground.”

The duo followed up the hit with the release of the singles “Joy and Pain” and “Get On the Dance Floor.” Base released his solo album, “The Incredible Base,” in 1989.

Base was an ardent supporter of the rap genre, explaining to The Times in 1989 the nuance of the music.

“People outside rap don’t understand it. There’s all sorts of subtle things — key things — happening over and above the beat in rap songs. The fans want new stuff all the time,” Base said.

Base had two children, De’Jené Ginyard and Robert Ginyard Jr. His wife, April, died in 2013.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service shot a person near the White House on Saturday, and a bystander also was shot, a law enforcement official said.

Both individuals were said to be in critical condition, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Journalists working at the White House on Saturday reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room.

On X, the Secret Service said it was “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” — one block from the White House — and was “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground.”

In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers were responding to shots fired and said he would “update the public as we’re able.”

President Trump was inside the White House at the time.

Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape snaked across the pavement and Secret Service officers placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical material, including what appeared to be purple surgical gloves and kits typically used by emergency medical personnel, were also seen.

In a post shared on X, Selina Wang, the senior White House correspondent for ABC News, shared video of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover. Writing that she had been performing an ordinary task that reporters at the White House do every day — filming themselves on a cellphone, for a social media post — Wang’s video shows her speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s statements earlier Saturday about a potential Iran deal.

As the sounds of gunfire are heard in the background, Wang’s eyes grow wider, and she ducks down in the media tent, which is among those situated in a line along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports. On X, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times as of Saturday evening, and viewed at least 3 million times.

The Metropolitan Police Department said on its X account that the Secret Service was working the scene and cautioned people to avoid the area. The scene is near where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard in November.

U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that incident.

The gunfire Saturday comes nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president on April 25 as he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.

Following that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also near the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting. A teenage bystander was wounded in that incident.

Superville and Durkin Richer write for the Associated Press. AP photojournalists Jose Luis Magana and Alex Brandon and writers Gary Fields, Meg Kinnard and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

The Pyramids of Giza loomed over a purpose-built open-air arena for one of boxing’s most unusual world title fights in recent memory.

A kickboxing heavyweight legend who ruled his sport for more than 4,000 days, Verhoeven sprinted to the ring at around 01:10 local time, flanked by performers dressed as Egyptian pharaohs, before Usyk emerged in a gladiator-style outfit complete with a golden helmet.

Verhoeven, who insisted his unpredictability could trouble Usyk, made a lively start with constant movement and energy, landing a solid right hand to the body.

Usyk responded with a sharp double uppercut in the second, but Verhoeven absorbed it well and fired back with two right hands of his own.

Boxing royalty including Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin and Anthony Joshua watched on from ringside, alongside Hollywood star Jason Statham – the man credited with helping to bring the fight together.

Another right hand from Verhoeven landed flush on Usyk in the third round.

Usyk – so often the sport’s master of patience – was forced to dig deep. He briefly responded in the fourth, hurting Verhoeven with a straight right and stinging left.

“Get back to your boxing, you’re getting too greedy, trying to land and getting caught,” Verhoeven’s trainer Peter Fury warned his man.

Verhoeven entered the sixth round for the first time in his fighting career – kickboxing bouts are capped at five rounds, and his only previous professional boxing fight ended inside two.

He stuck to the trainer’s instruction and a lethargic Usyk was rocked again in the eighth by a right hand, but the champion came alive in the 10th and 11th, unleashing a flurry of punches and repeatedly finding the uppercut – the shot that had given him his most success all night.

Verhoeven spat out his gumshield while Usyk immediately protested at the added time his opponent was given to recover.

Usyk surged again and sensed the finish. Verhoeven was visibly hurt and a stoppage may have come in the 12th round had the fight continued.

Arguably, Verhoeven should have been allowed the chance to see it through.

Instead, the referee stepped in and waved off what will go down as a contentious stoppage.

A satirical political movement called the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ has gone viral in India after Chief Justice Surya Kant compared unemployed youth to “cockroaches”. The movement taps into growing frustration over unemployment, inflation and living costs under Narendra Modi’s government, gaining more than 22 million Instagram followers in just six days.

Authorities are finding it difficult to contain the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo as cases continue to spread. Hospitals are overwhelmed and treatment facilities are struggling to cope with the growing number of patients. Response efforts have also been disrupted by attacks on medical facilities.

In a squeaker race for Cannes’ top prize, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu prevailed on Saturday, taking the Palme d’Or for his tense community drama “Fjord.”

The movie, a widely admired conversation-starter at the festival, stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as religious parents who come into conflict with the child protection services of their tiny Norwegian town where they have relocated with their family.

Mungiu, a previous winner of the Palme for his controversial 2007 abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” now joins an exclusive group of 10 filmmakers who have won the Palme twice — an achievement shared by Francis Ford Coppola (1974’s “The Conversation” and 1979’s “Apocalypse Now”) and Ruben Östlund (2017’s “The Square” and 2022’s “Triangle of Sadness”), among others. No one has ever won a third Palme d’Or.

Another record, maybe even more impressive, was set by distributor Neon, which, with “Fjord,” extends its streak of Palme wins to an unprecedented seven in a row. Those previous six Neon winners, many of which eventually claimed Oscars, are “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Anora” and last year’s “It Was Just an Accident.”

Neon will release “Fjord” in the fall, with an extensive awards campaign to follow.

This year’s nine-member main competition jury, led by Korean director Park Chan-wook and studded with notables including “The Substance” star Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård and “Hamnet” director Chloé Zhao, seemed intent on spreading the wealth among as many winners as possible. There were three ties at Saturday’s awards ceremony.

The award for actress was shared by Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, co-stars of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” a movie pegged by many to potentially go all the way. Similarly, the prize for actor was bestowed on both Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, co-stars of Lukas Dhont’s World War I romantic drama “Coward.”

The prize for directing went to three people — and two movies — with a joint win for Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (better known as Los Javis) for their century-spanning queer historical drama “The Black Ball,” as well as to director Paweł Pawlikowski for his exquisite post-World War II psychodrama “Fatherland.” (Pawlikowski half-joked at the podium, “This was a disastrous piece of mise-en-scène” after the awkward award presentation had him waiting in the wings.)

Claiming this year’s Grand Prize (essentially second place) was “Minotaur,” the rapturously received comeback film of Andrey Zvyagintsev, a Russian director who had been sidelined with a near-fatal bout of long COVID that put him in a coma. His new movie, about a wealthy Moscow family, is both an erotic thriller and an indictment of amoral oligarchy detached from the war with Ukraine.

The festival’s third-place Jury Prize went to the borderland German drama “The Dreamed Adventure,” directed by Valeska Grisebach.

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Saturday that the United States and Iran have agreed on the basic terms of an agreement to end the two countries’ nearly three-month-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“An Agreement has been largely negotiated,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened.”

Iran’s state television network quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying the draft pact will be a “framework agreement” that defers talks toward limiting Iran’s nuclear program until later. Trump did not mention the nuclear issue in his statement.

If that is the form the deal takes, it would represent at least a short-term concession from the president, who initially demanded a definitive end to Iran’s nuclear program as the price of peace.

Trump has also relaxed an earlier U.S. demand that Iran give up its right to enrich uranium and says he would be satisfied with a deal to “suspend” enrichment for 20 years.

Those signs of U.S. flexibility have raised alarm from Iran hawks, reportedly including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They say they fear Trump is so intent on restoring the flow of oil from the gulf that he might agree to a deal that falls far short of U.S. goals.

Mark Dubowitz, a leading critic of past agreements with Iran, said he worries that Trump might settle for “a foolish agreement” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“I’m concerned that the administration is looking to cut some ‘Phase One’ deal” in which Iran is given “significant sanctions relief in exchange for agreement to reopen the strait,” he said in an interview Friday. “I think that would be a foolish agreement. Iran would get real money, but they could continue to close the strait any time they wanted simply by making threats.”

Robert Kagan, a conservative foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution, wrote that a deal to reopen the strait while deferring the nuclear issue would amount to a U.S. “surrender.”

“On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war,” Kagan wrote in the Atlantic.

When the war began in February, Trump said he wanted not only to end Iran’s nuclear activities and destroy its ballistic missile program, but bring about regime change as well.

Instead, the nuclear talks have focused on narrower, more achievable goals: a “suspension” of nuclear enrichment for 20 years or less and removal or destruction of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, the essential ingredient for a nuclear weapon.

“A basic agreement shouldn’t be impossible to achieve,” said John W. Limbert, who worked on Iran policy at the State Department for three decades, and was one of the American hostages seized by Iranian militants in 1979. “The deal would be some kind of verifiable limits on the nuclear program in return for economic relief.”

“The fact that we’re talking about a suspension of all enrichment, and the question is whether it will be five years, 20 years or halfway in between — that’s important,” said Nate Swanson, an Iran expert who worked at the National Security Council under President Biden and Trump. “That sounds like you really have the basis for an agreement. … But don’t fool yourself to think that completely addresses the situation.”

Swanson said other issues, including Iran’s nuclear research and its advanced ballistic missiles, haven’t been addressed.

Despite signs of progress toward an agreement, the gaps between the two countries remain large.

Part of the problem is that both sides appear to believe they have won the war, said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Iran analyst at Israel’s defense intelligence agency.

Trump and other U.S. officials frequently assert that the United States has gained the upper hand by destroying Iran’s navy, air force and many of its missiles.

But the Iranians use a different scoring system, Citrinowicz said.

“Iran does not measure success the same way Washington often does,” he wrote in an email. “From Tehran’s perspective, simply holding firm in the face of American pressure can be framed as a win.”

“Tehran believes time is working against Trump politically and strategically,” he added. “Iran is prepared for prolonged confrontation; the United States, far less so.”

And even if a negotiated agreement is reached, the deals under discussion now won’t resolve all the conflicts between the two countries.

“An interim deal to buy time [is] probably where we end up,” Swanson said. “Buying time is not a bad thing. Ending a war is not a bad thing. But it’s not a comprehensive solution.”

Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, the president of the country’s soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament.

Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. It will play Belgium in Inglewood six days later before finishing the group stage against Egypt in Seattle. But there had been questions over the Iranian team’s security in the U.S. after American and Israeli attacks on the country began nearly four months ago.

This World Cup will be the first in which a qualifying team will play in a host country with which it was at war. In March, shortly after the war began, Iranian officials began to question whether they should travel to the U.S. for the tournament — doubts that increased after President Trump posted on social media to say he did not believe it was appropriate for Iran to come “for their own life and safety.”

Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran requested permission to move its base across the border, a request Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday had been granted.

FIFA, the World Cup organizer, did not immediately confirm to move.

“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] FIFA,” Taj said in his statement obtained by the Associated Press. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

Iran’s federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. Taj that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”

Tijuana is about 50 minutes by air from LAX, about 55 minutes quicker than a flight from Tucson. Iranians have been banned by the U.S. government from receiving visas to enter the U.S., although exceptions are to be made for athletes, coaches, and support personnel involved in the World Cup.

US law enforcement agencies are responding to reports of shots fired near the White House.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers are responding to shots fired and said he would “update the public as we’re able”.

President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time. Police cordoned off access to the White House and National Guard troops blocked reporters from entering the area in downtown Washington.

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said there were more than 30 shots heard from the White House North Lawn.

“The White House is now surrounded by multiple emergency vehicles and agencies. We understand the president was in the Oval Office at the time. The shots were fired outside the White House, but the White House has not confirmed or let anyone know about the president’s condition at this time.”

Journalists who were on the White House North Lawn at the time said they were ordered to run and shelter in the press briefing room.

The Secret Service said it’s “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” – one block from the White House – and is “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground”.