New York City is launching a lottery for 1,000 discounted World Cup tickets priced at $50. The city’s Mayor, Zohran Mamdani said match prices had soared into the thousands of dollars. The scheme is intended to give working-class New Yorkers access to matches.

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo leads Al-Nassr to Saudi Pro League title in last game before World Cup 2026.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al-Nassr clinched the Saudi Pro League title with a 4-1 win over Damac, ending his long wait for domestic silverware.

A trademark free-kick and a close-range finish, both in the final half-hour of Thursday’s game, sealed the win Al-Nassr needed on the last night of the season, with Al Hilal finishing just two points behind.

Ronaldo, 41, who was without a major club trophy since winning Serie A with Juventus in 2020, arrived in the oil-rich desert kingdom to great acclaim in 2023, wept as he watched the final minutes from the bench.

He adds the Saudi championship to his English, Spanish and Italian titles and five Champions League medals.

Al-Nassr took a 2-0 lead but were back to 2-1 before Ronaldo’s free-kick on 63 minutes evaded the goalkeeper and a forest of legs to find the far corner.

He struck again nine minutes from time, receiving a cut-back on the edge of the six-yard box and smashing high into the net.

Next up for the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer, with 143 goals, is a sixth crack at the World Cup after he was named in Portugal’s squad this week.

Ronaldo opened the door to a series of big-money Saudi signings when he joined Al-Nassr in January 2023, following an unhappy second spell at Manchester United.

Neymar and Karim Benzema were among those to follow after Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half-year deal estimated at $232m, extended for two years in June 2025.

The stated aim was to turn the Pro League into one of the world’s top five football competitions measured by the quality of players, stadium attendances and commercial success. International interest has been muted, however.

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia was confirmed as host of the 2034 World Cup, a coup as it pushes to decouple its economy from oil and attract business and tourists, partly via the buzz of sport.

With a record 664 million Instagram followers, Ronaldo has been a highly visible ambassador as Saudi Arabia tries to turn the page on the ultra-conservative image that has defined it for decades.

The world’s biggest oil exporter and home of Islam has been accused of “sportswashing” – using sport to deflect human rights criticism – as it has invested in Formula 1, golf, boxing and tennis alongside football.

Some of the more outlandish spending on economic diversification, including sprawling tourist developments and NEOM, a futuristic city in the desert, is being reined in.

This month, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it was exiting the breakaway LIV Golf tour, after reportedly ploughing more than $5bn into a venture that split the sport.

Expensive football signings have also waned with the stream of big-money transfers slowing to a trickle.

Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer in his first two seasons, with his career tally now at 973 – tantalisingly close to the 1,000-goals milestone.

His Saudi stint has not always been smooth. In 2024, he was left in floods of tears when Al-Nassr lost the King’s Cup final to Al Hilal on penalties, denying him his first Saudi title.

This season, he disappeared from Al-Nassr’s lineup for three games in an apparent protest at Benzema’s transfer to rival team Al Hilal.

Al Hilal and Al-Nassr were among the stable of Saudi teams owned by the Public Investment Fund, the country’s $900bn sovereign wealth fund.

Before Thursday, Ronaldo’s only silverware with Al-Nassr was the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup. He was also disappointed on Saturday, when Al-Nassr lost to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final.

Married At First Sight USA Season 19 is back with brand new episodes on E4, but things are already getting tense

A Married At First Sight bride has walked out following an uncomfortable encounter with her husband.

The US edition of the popular reality series has kicked off Season 19 with new episodes broadcasting weekdays on E4 at 8pm. Earlier this week, audiences watched five new couples tie the knot with complete strangers they’d never met before.

Thus far, viewers have remained sceptical about the revised format, particularly following an explosive Australian series, though the programme is still finding its feet as the newlyweds embark on their honeymoons.

In tonight’s episode (May 21), several couples faced significant challenges just days into their marriages. Brittany and Will have discussed their communication difficulties, with Brittany voicing worries about her husband’s failure to ask her questions.

Yet Will also highlighted concerns about their contrasting communication approaches, leading to Brittany walking off by herself, reports OK!.

She said: “I want to dive deep I want to have those conversations”, however Will interrupted her stating: “No, you haven’t asked me any questions.”

Acknowledging she has “been trying”, Will described her questions as “vague and conspicuous” as Brittany replied: “I didn’t realise I needed to be super specific.”

Following further exchanges, the couple failed to reach common ground and Will said: “I don’t need you to hold my hand all the time.” Exasperated, Brittany continued: “It’s bothering me… like really. Sorry, I’m going to calm down”, to which Will responded: “Do whatever you need, it’s okay.”

His reply only wound Brittany up more as she snapped: “I’m frustrated because we’re on two separate, I won’t even say two separate pages, we’re like in different books. I need someone who can communicate.”

Storming off, Brittany told producers it was like talking to someone who does not talk back, while Will made no attempt to follow his wife, telling cameras: “She left for a reason, I’ll let her leave.”

The row followed an uncomfortable moment on their wedding night. But will the pair manage to bridge their differences? Fans will have to keep watching weekdays to discover what happens next.

Plenty of viewers took to social media to share their views, with one person commenting: “This is what happens when couples have completely different communication styles.”

Another posted: “It looks like Will and Brittany need counselling already”, while a third added: “Omg the chats they’re having are not interesting enough for prime time TV.”

Meanwhile, Pat and Rhonda are also grappling with communication issues, with Rhonda revealing she wished her husband would show more interest in her life.

Despite this hurdle, the couple have already declared their feelings for each other, with Rhonda saying: “I love the person that you are, I love your kindness and generosity, I love everything about you.”

One viewer took to X to write: “I love yous already!” while another responded: “‘I love you.’ Already?”

Married At First Sight USA airs weekdays at 8pm on E4.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans appeared increasingly unlikely to meet their self-imposed deadline for passing a roughly $70-billion immigration enforcement bill this week as disputes over security funding for the White House and the Trump administration’s $1.8-trillion settlement fund effectively derailed progress.

Republicans were already expected to abandon $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Trump’s ballroom amid backlash from members of their own party. But then questions about the settlement fund added to some of the senator’s concerns. They are questioning who would get the money.

Republican senators met with acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche on Thursday as they worked to finalize the bill’s text and whether to put parameters on the settlement, which was designed to compensate Trump’s allies who believe they have been politically persecuted. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters that senators had questions and wanted to know “how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately.”

But senators who emerged from the meeting were tight-lipped and indicated that lawmakers would not hold a vote on the package before leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break, risking failure to meet Trump’s June 1 deadline.

Asked about a vote this week, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) responded, “I don’t even know.” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) was more blunt: “We’re going home,” he said.

The last-minute scramble comes as Democrats have criticized Republicans for trying to fund Trump’s ballroom when voters are concerned about basic affordability issues — and as some GOP lawmakers have grown increasingly frustrated with Trump. Several GOP senators have spoken out against the settlement, which was announced this week, and many were upset by the president’s endorsement Tuesday of Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton in the party primary runoff next week against Sen. John Cornyn.

Asked Thursday at the White House if he was losing control of the Senate, Trump replied: “I don’t know, I really don’t know. I can tell you — I only do what’s right.”

Possible parameters on Trump’s settlement fund

The “anti-weaponization” fund, part of a settlement that resolves Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, unexpectedly became one of the main complications in the bill. Democrats said they would force votes to block it or place restrictions on it.

Democrats have an opening because Republicans are trying to pass the immigration enforcement bill through a complicated budget process that requires a long series of amendment votes. Democrats are considering multiple amendments, potentially to block that new fund outright or to ban any payments to Trump supporters who harmed law enforcement officers in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Presenting a united front, Democrats from both the House and Senate rallied on the Capitol steps Thursday to show their opposition. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the amendment process “will give Republicans countless chances to do the right thing.”

He added that if they declined to make changes, it would show voters that “Ballroom Republicans are not working for you, they are busy fighting for Trump.”

Those amendments, along with others, could pass as a growing number of Republicans have voiced reservations about the fund. So Republicans are now discussing their own last-minute additions to head that off, potentially placing some parameters on the settlement and who could receive compensation, according to two people with knowledge of the private discussions who requested anonymity to discuss them.

It was unclear how any Senate changes would be received in the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that the House will pass the bill “whatever form it takes.”

Tensions rise between Senate and White House

As Republicans challenged the settlement and parts of his agenda, Trump unloaded on the Senate in a social media post on Wednesday.

He urged Republicans to fire the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who said over the weekend that parts of the $1-billion security proposal cannot remain in the ICE and Border Patrol bill. Trump also renewed his long-standing calls for the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a Republican bill that would require all voters to prove U.S. citizenship, and to end the Senate filibuster.

Republicans need to “get smart and tough,” Trump said, or “you’ll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible!”

While they have been loyal to Trump on most issues, Senate Republicans have resisted his repeated calls — even in his first term — to kill the filibuster, which triggers a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.

Hanging over the growing GOP rift is Trump’s surprise endorsement of Paxton. That intervention has Republican senators privately fuming that it could cost them their majority in November as they view the incumbent, Cornyn, as the better candidate in the November general election.

Secret Service request falters

Under the Secret Service’s request, about $220 million would fund security improvements related to the ballroom. The rest would go for a new screening center for visitors, training and other security measures.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea.” The bill should not have included the other security improvements, he said, “because it’s just giving everybody the ‘billion-dollar ballroom.’”

Several other Republicans in the House and Senate have questioned the request, and senators left a briefing with the director of the Secret Service last week saying they needed a lot more information.

People “can’t afford groceries and gasoline and healthcare, and we’re going to do a billion dollars for a ballroom?” asked Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost reelection in his GOP primary on Saturday after Trump endorsed one of his opponents.

Left in the bill is the money for ICE and Border Patrol, which Democrats have blocked for months in protest of the administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

Democrats demanded changes for the agencies, but negotiations with the White House yielded little progress. So Republicans are using the complicated budget maneuver called reconciliation — the same process that allowed them to pass Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill last year — to fund the agencies through the end of Trump’s term with a simple majority and no Democratic votes.

Still, passage requires sign-off from the parliamentarian and unity from Republicans.

Jalonick, Freking and Groves write for the Associated Press. AP writers Collin Binkley, Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

Hull KR: Broadbent; Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Booth; Lewis, Hampshire; Sue, Lawton, Hadley, Whitbread, Martin, Minchella.

Interchanges: Litten, Amone, Luckley, Brown.

Wigan: Cartwright; Lowe, F Yeomans, O’Loughlin, Daniel; Marsden, C Yeomans; Eseh, Forber, McDermott, Daniels, Mason, Kerr.

Interchanges: Mago, McMillan, O’Connor, Rathbone.

Referee: Aaron Moore

DRAYTON Manor Resort is my family’s happy place. 

We go almost every school holiday as we are lucky enough to live just a 15-minute drive away, and there is always something different to explore. 

So Wilf, nine, and Jasper, six, were mega-excited to visit the theme park to have a go on their favourite rides and see what is new for summer. 

This visit marked an exciting milestone for Jasper as he is now tall enough to go on all the rides, except two. 

We have been coming to the resort since our eldest was just a baby, as regardless of a child’s height, there is loads to do at Drayton Manor. 

When the boys were tots and loved Thomas the Tank Engine, their minds were blown as the theme park has the only area in Europe dedicated to the little blue train. 

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And for kids who like a break from the rides, the playgrounds at Drayton Manor are top notch and give parents a great excuse to sit down and enjoy a coffee from one of the many cafes. 

The playgrounds are really exciting and not — the dreaded word — “babyish”. 

Tidal Towers is the lads’ favourite, as the climbing frames are high enough to make it exciting and far from run-of-the-mill. 

Alongside more than 50 exhilarating rides and attractions at the Staffordshire park, in the heart of the country, there is also a zoo you can visit. 

This is included with your entry ticket and is home to more than 100 animals in a 15-acre section of the grounds. 

We always love visiting the cheeky and talkative cockatoos. 

Drayton Manor is the perfect place to take primary-aged kids who feel too grown up for “baby parks”. 

Brilliant family bonding time was achieved as we got to blast around the River Rapids, chill out on the retro Carousel and bash each other about on the Dodgems Ahoy bumper cars. 

As we belted along the tracks of ride The Wave, which reaches speeds of 53mph, Jasper declared it was the highlight of the trip and couldn’t wait to tell his mates he’d been on a proper rollercoaster. 

The Vikings area is also a huge people-pleaser with my lot, as the four rides in that section look enormous and terrifying, but everyone can ride them. 

We ended our visit spinning at high speed along the tracks of the (to be perfectly honest, terrifying) Thor ride, where you are spun in a giant wheel across a track and are left feeling weightless. 

This was the highlight of Wilf’s day . . . he said he will never stop laughing at how much I screamed. 

May 21 (UPI) — Eli Lilly said its weight loss drug, retatrutide, helped nearly half of participants in a phase 3 trial to lose more than 30% of their weight.

Many of the people who lost that much weight were on the highest dose of retatrutide for up to two years, but the company said that the weekly injection was effective for weight loss across all doses of the drug.

Retatrutide affects three hormones — GLP-1 and GIP, each of which are targeted by similar weight loss drugs, and glucagon, which none of them targets — and could be best for people looking to lose larger amounts of weight, said the company’s chief scientific and product officer, Dan Skovronsky.

“We haven’t seen that level of weight loss before with these kinds of medicines,” Skovronsky said, referring to a group of drugs that includes Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

“For some patients, 30% weight loss may be more than what they’re seeking,” he said. “For other patients, that may be what they need to get healthy. So, not everyone will go up to the highest dose level and stay on it for two years.”

The phase 3 trial included 2,339 people who were obese or overweight. They were evaluated after 1 1/2 years or two years having injections.

Those who received the highest dose lost an average of 70 pounds, roughly 28% of their body weight, after 1 1/2 years, with patients who were assessed after two years losing an average of 85 pounds, or 30.3% of their weight, the company reported.

Side effects from the drug were reported to be similar to other weight loss drugs, which include nausea, diarrhea and constipation, and some patients also experienced upper respiratory tract infections and a nerve condition called dysesthesia, the company said.

The side effects were also similar to those seen in phase 3 trials evaluating retatrutide for use against diabetes and a specific type of arthritis.

Eli Lilly has not yet applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval of the drug for any of the three uses.

Rylan Clark made a candid admission about his divorce from Dan Neal on ITV’s The Assembly

Rylan Clark has candidly opened up about his split from ex-husband Dan Neal.

The 37-year-old TV personality is the latest famous face to take on ITV’s The Assembly, as the candid interview series wraps up its second run.

This extended series has also welcomed beloved figures including Sir Stephen Fry, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, comedy icon Sir Lenny Henry, actor Anna Maxwell Martin, and rapper Aitch.

The famous faces have to answer an unflinching series of questions that go beyond anything typically asked on traditional chat shows, press tours or even political interrogations. Rylan’s episode airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 10pm on Sunday (May 24), where he confronts difficult questions about his divorce.

The presenter parted ways with his husband Dan in 2021 following six years of marriage. Rylan has been open about what led to the separation, acknowledging his infidelity during the early stages of their relationship, reports the Express.

In the upcoming episode of The Assembly, a man named Cameron asks Rylan: “When you told your husband you cheated on him, he divorced you. Is honesty always the best policy?”

The question clearly catches Rylan off guard, prompting him to respond: “Oh wow,” before continuing: “Yeah, I think it is. I’m okay admitting I’m in the wrong, because actually I don’t deal well with guilt and I don’t deal well with secrets. It made me so ill, like so ill. It sounds a terrible thing to say, but I’m glad it happened.”

Cameron follows up with: “What do you miss about Dan, if anything?”

Rylan pauses to collect his thoughts before responding: “Do you know, I never think about him. So, this is like, my whole body just went [tense]. I miss feeling like I’ve got it all. I thought I had life done – I’ve got the job, I’ve got the family, I’ve got the marriage, I’ve got the car, I’ve got the house.

“I thought I had it sussed. I didn’t have anything sussed. I didn’t know what was a real relationship, and I can look back now and know that I don’t regret anything. I don’t regret anything, so I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

During a break from filming, Rylan is seen getting his make-up done. He says to the make-up artist: “I’m so glad I did this. But yeah, [the] Dan questions, I was like [surprised] – I don’t even say his name.”

The television personality goes on to openly reflect on the collapse of his marriage and the subsequent breakdown he went through.

“When my marriage ended, you know that term when someone says, ‘To pull the rug from under you?’ That’s the only way I can describe it. It’s like someone went like that and I fell over, and I couldn’t get back up. [It was] like I broke both my arms and legs,” he reveals.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get out of it. I went back to live with my mum because I didn’t want to be in my house, because there were too many memories of things in there.”

Rylan is currently in a relationship with Kennedy Bates, who works in the fairground industry. The couple went public with their relationship after Rylan posted snaps of their sun-soaked Maldives holiday back in January.

Speaking on The Assembly, he reveals: “When I first started dating Kennedy, and I told [my mum] about him, she was like, ‘He’s handsome,’ and he is handsome. And then she was like, ‘So, has anything happened?’ And I’m like, ‘Shut up! Shut up!'”

Rylan’s episode of The Assembly will air at 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, May 24

WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court on Thursday broadly upheld lawsuits by U.S. companies whose property was seized in Cuba prior to 1960, including claims against cruise ship lines that docked there in the past decade.

These suits do not seek compensation from Cubans but from those who “traffic in property which was confiscated by the Cuban government.”

In a 8-1 decision, the justices revived a $400-million judgment against four cruise lines whose ships stopped in Havana between 2016 and 2019.

All of them used docks that were built early in the 20th century by the Havana Docks Corporation, an American company.

Justice Clarence Thomas pointed to a rarely enforced 1996 law that authorized suits against those who “use property tainted by a past confiscation.”

Past presidents had suspended enforcement of the law, but President Trump allowed such claims to go forward.

That change in policy exposed “traffickers in confiscated property of United States nationals” to brings claims in federal courts, Thomas said.

The four cruise line companies — Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival Corporation, and MSC Cruises — transported nearly a million paid passengers to Cuba, he wrote.

They paid the Cuban government tens of millions of dollars to do business in Cuba. They collectively earned hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from voyages that included a stop in Havana, he said.

A federal judge in Florida ordered each of the cruise lines to pay $100 million in damages, but the U.S. appeals court in Atlanta blocked the decision by a 2-1 vote. It said Havana Docks Corporation had a contract to run the docks had expired in 2004.

Justice Elena Kagan made the same argument in dissent.

She said “the docks belonged to the Cuban Government — not Havana Docks — all along. What Havana Docks owned was only a property interest allowing it to use those docks for a specified time. And that time-limited interest expired in 2004 — more than a decade before the cruise lines ever used the docks.”

Still pending before the court is a similar claim from Exxon Mobil Corp., which was argued on the day in late February.

Verhoeven is a huge underdog and victory over Usyk would rank among the biggest shocks in boxing history, arguably surpassing Buster Douglas’ stunning win over Mike Tyson in Tokyo in 1990.

The Dutchman won 66 of his 76 kickboxing fights and has not lost in more than 4,000 days. But the 37-year-old has had only one professional boxing bout – a stoppage win over a journeyman 12 years ago.

Usyk, meanwhile, is one of boxing’s most decorated fighters; an Olympic gold medallist, undisputed cruiserweight champion and two-time undisputed heavyweight champion who remains unbeaten in 24 professional bouts.

The 39-year-old wore a striking Egyptian-inspired white and gold outfit, complete with a cape and draped sleeves, though his answers did not match the extravagance of his attire. At one stage, he even appeared to be on a video call during the media-only event.

When it was put to him that Verhoeven believes his lack of experience could bring an element of surprise Usyk has never faced before, the champion replied: “I have no idea how many rounds this will go. I’m not sad with 12 rounds. It’s normal. But I don’t know. When I have the chance, I’ll do it.”

The contest will count as a defence of Usyk’s WBA ‘Super’ title and he would also lose his IBF belt if defeated, although Verhoeven is not eligible to win either championship.

Pricing for 2026 World Cup has been under heavy scrutiny, including in New York where city mayor cuts limited tickets.

Some lucky New York City residents will soon get a chance to snag cheap seats to this summer’s high-priced World Cup.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Thursday that 1,000 tickets costing $50 will be made available to city residents of the city of more than 8 million for the world’s most watched sporting event.

“To put that into perspective, that is five lattes in New York City,” Mamdani quipped from a bar in Harlem’s Little Senegal neighbourhood, alongside US men’s national team star Timothy Weah.

The tickets will be available for seven of the eight games played at the 82,000-seat MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan. The lone exception is the high demand July 19 final, where some seats are costing nearly $33,000.

The tickets will also include free round-trip bus transportation to the stadium and will be distributed via a lottery starting May 25.

With persistent concerns about the sky-high costs for tickets to the games, Mamdani said the city ensure the ones they distribute go to New York City residents and are not resold on the secondary market.

He said the tickets will be non-transferable, with a “variety of ways” used by city officials to verify residency. They will only be handed out directly to fans as they board buses on game day.

“We are making sure that working people will not be priced out of the game that they helped to create,” Mamdani said.

The Democrat, who took office in January, said the effort underscores how his administration is not simply focused on making everyday things like housing and groceries more affordable.

“It extends to making it possible for every New Yorker to take part in the things that make us human,” he said.

During his campaign, Mamdani called on FIFA, football’s global governing body, to make it cheaper for New Yorkers to go to games by setting aside 15% of tickets at discounted prices. He had launched a petition calling on FIFA to reverse its plan to set ticket prices based on demand.

The $50 tickets don’t come directly from FIFA, but from those allotted to New York and New Jersey’s joint host committee for the games, according to the mayor’s office.

Previously, FIFA had made some $60 tickets available for every game at the tournament in North America following backlash over exorbitant prices.

Those reduced price tickets, though, went to the national federations of the teams playing, with the federations deciding how to distribute them to loyal fans who have attended previous games at home and away.

Besides the final, the home stadium for both the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is set to host five group World Cup matches and two knockout stage games. Group stage matches for former winners Brazil, France, Germany and England, along with other nations, begin on June 13.

The ONS says net migration fell to 171,000 in the ⁠12 months to the end of December from 331,000 a year earlier.

Long-term net migration to the United Kingdom nearly halved ⁠in 2025, falling to levels last seen before the post-Brexit immigration system was introduced, as tougher government measures enacted in recent years restricted arrivals.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday that net migration fell to 171,000 in the ⁠12 months to the end of December from 331,000 a year earlier, extending a sharp decline from a record peak of 944,000 in 2023.

Immigration – both legal and illegal – has dominated political debate in the for more than a decade, with successive governments imposing stricter visa rules and higher salary thresholds. The current government has pledged to go further.

The British Future think tank ‌said the country was “experiencing one of the sharpest falls in net migration on record”, but that most people believed the opposite, according to its research.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood welcomed the progress from tighter policies, but said that there was still work to do.

“We will always welcome those who contribute to this country and wish to build a better life here. But we must restore order and control to our borders,” she said, adding that the government’s new skills-based migration would reward contribution and end reliance on “cheap overseas workers”.

On Saturday, far-right activist Tommy Robinson drew tens of thousands of people in London to attend his “unite the kingdom” march. Islamophobic and ethnonationalist hate flyers were reportedly distributed to the crowds. “In a country saturated with degenerates, grifters and imported political enemies … We are a brotherhood of White Europeans who share the same values,” read one leaflet.

Meanwhile, employers and economists ⁠have raised concerns about labour shortages, particularly in sectors such as care and hospitality.

The ONS said long-term net migration was ⁠now close to its level before the new immigration system was introduced at the start of 2021, when the UK transitioned out of European Union membership, and when COVID restrictions ⁠were still in place.

The drop reflects policy changes implemented from 2024, ⁠when the previous Conservative government banned most international students from bringing dependents and raised salary thresholds for skilled worker visas.

The current Labour government has tightened policies further as it seeks to counter Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, which campaigns on an anti-migration platform and holds a double-digit lead in opinion ‌polls.

To that end, the government last year moved to end overseas recruitment of care workers, the single biggest driver of work migration in recent years, and raised the salary threshold for skilled worker visas further. It has since announced ‌more ‌sweeping reforms, including plans to speed up deportations of those arriving illegally and double the qualifying period for some workers to obtain settled status to 10 years, as well as making refugee status temporary.

HER last tour in 2020 was cut short thanks to the Covid pandemic but now Louise is gearing up to go back on the road.

The Borderline singer will play five live shows as part of her Naked/Confessions tour next April, taking in cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester, with tickets on sale today.

And in an exclusive interview to celebrate the announcement, ex-Eternal star Louise says she’s never felt so inspired after her last album Confessions became her fourth top ten record.

“I’m so proud of that album,” Louise tells me.

“That’s really what spurred me on to carry on writing.

“It taught me that it’s OK not to please everybody.

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“I’m enjoying the creative process of not worrying about if people might hate on it.

“Knowing that you just can’t please everyone.

“It’s all about the mindset and the confidence.

“I do think that comes with age as well.”

After saying yes to going back on the road, Louise reveals she’s learned the power of saying no — and was inspired by pop royalty Madonna.

“I am a big fan, I loved the show she did with Sabrina Carpenter. As a woman, for me, it’s about celebrating people and their achievements,” Louise says.

“I hated reading anything negative about that because for me, she is a genius. I’m at that stage where I’m trying to embrace everything and go with it, but I am also saying no.

“I just wrote a song about saying no and I love it.

“The basis of the song is when you finally learn to say, ‘That’s not for me.’

“We all live in a world where we don’t want to say no to anything for a multitude of reasons.”

The tour, which kids off in Sunderland on April 8 next year, will see Louise picking her favourite tracks from her debut album Naked — which turns 30 in 2027 — and from Confessions for the set list.

And Louise — who will play The Mighty Hoopla festival in London next weekend — has promised to throw in some brand new tunes too.

Louise, who has scored nine Top Ten solo singles including 2 Faced and Pandora’s Kiss, adds: “I get that people will want the hits. It’s about celebrating Naked and Confessions — but I definitely will do new stuff on the tour.

“I don’t want to play it particularly safe.

“The one thing I have learned in this industry is that you have to keep changing.

“You have to keep finding new ways to motivate yourself. Whether that be music, what you’re wearing, the lyrics you’re writing.

“Now I know the lane that I’m in and I know what I want to do.”

Girls single minded

THEY have been together for over a decade, represented the UK at Eurovision and performed at Wembley Stadium.

Now, British girl group Remember Monday have given Bizarre’s Howell the exclusive that they’ve just completed work on their debut album in Prague – and have today dropped the first single, Delusional.

The trio, made up of Lauren Byrne, Charlotte Steele and Holly-Anne Hull first started work on the track two years ago, but only finished it last summer with the help of McFly’s Danny Jones and Dougie Poynter, after being introduced to them at the Capital Summertime Ball.

Lauren, who posed with her bandmates for the single artwork, said: “It feels like it was the first song that started the whole new era.

“After that session, it was like, this is the kind of music that we want to be working on now.”

Holly continued: “We just wanted to kind of hone in on our sound, really solidify what we want to say moving forward.

“I don’t know if we can say, but . . . well, we’re releasing an album.

“The sound that we’re going down is quite nostalgic. Like, we really love the Nineties rom-com energy of music.”

The group will support McFly on tour this summer.

They admit their path is not always easy given that they are independent artists without the financial backing of a major record label.

Referencing the title of their single, Charlotte said: “Our whole band is run and fuelled by delusion.”

Lauren added: “It’s weird to be around. But we do just talk about things as if they are happening regardless of whether we have the funds or contacts. We just speak it into existence.

“And it actually has worked. I don’t even know how we’ve got to this stage.”

It’s working so far ladies.

Good for you.

Too pretty for this ditty

SONGWRITER Linda Perry has revealed she almost turned down Christina Aguilera’s request for her song Beautiful after admitting she thought she was too pretty to sing it.

Linda wrote the track which ended up being one of Christina’s most enduring songs from her 2002 album Stripped.

Appearing on the Zach Sang Show, Linda said she played American star Christina, pictured at the Abbey’s 35th anniversary party in Hollywood, the track and explained: “She was like, ‘ I want that.’

“And I’m thinking, ‘No, you’re like, a hot chick. I’m not giving you this song. No way. Are you kidding me?”

It was only after Christina sang the track for Linda that she changed her mind, adding: “It broke the ice between the both of us when I saw that.

“That’s when I discovered beautiful people are actually insecure and just as damaged as I am.”

Sphere come all the Girls?

THE SPICE GIRLS might fancy zig-a-zig-ah-ing their way into a Las Vegas residency, but I’m told bosses at the Sphere aren’t interested in a quick nostalgia cash-in.

Insiders have confirmed bosses will only give the green light if Victoria Beckham, Melanie C, Melanie B, Geri Horner and Emma Bunton are all on board.

My Sphere insider said: “The Spice Girls would be a massive draw, but this couldn’t be done as a one-off or a short residency.

“The costs involved in creating a Sphere show are enormous. There’s special cameras, bespoke visuals and millions of dollars in production costs before a ticket is sold.

“They’d need all five on board and would want 40 to 60 shows.”

Last month Posh Spice teased that she was keen for the shows to go ahead, saying: “How good would the Spice Girls be at the Sphere? I love the idea of it.”

The venue, which has mind-blowing wraparound screens, has already hosted U2, The Eagles and No Doubt.

TREVOR NELSON was handed a top gong at last night’s Audio Academy Arias.

Rylan Clark hosted the bash at The Roundhouse in North London, which saw Radio 2 legend Trevor honoured with a Special Recognition Award.

He was handed the gong by my pal Craig David, who spoke about Trevor’s impact on the British music scene.

It was a great night for Radio 1 DJ Greg James too, with his Breakfast show landing the top prize in its category, while BBC Radio 6 Music’s Beth Ditto was handed Best New Presenter.

LOUIS TOMLINSON reckons there’s one man who could tempt him into a collaboration – fellow Doncaster star Yungblud.

Ex-One Direction singer Louis admitted he’s not keen on teaming up with artists for the sake of it, but working with the rock wild man would feel different.

Louis explained: “I really like his music and he’s from Doncaster, my hometown, I think that would make it even more interesting.”

But he joked that their might be a slight age gap issue.

Louis laughed: “I’d be the senior one in that conversation.”

Doncaster might be running the UK music scene soon . . . 

MY fellow Spurs fan AJ Tracey has joined talkSPORT as a World Cup pundit.

The Thiago Silva rapper will join footballer-turned-Strictly star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Burnley ace Kyle Walker on the station’s line-up for the big event this summer.

CRUZ BECKHAM And The Breakers lead the new music releases today with their catchy new single, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

DJ Sonny Fodera also drops his new tune, Let Me Be In Your Arms, ahead of his performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend tonight.

LEGENDARY recording studio Abbey Road has announced its fifth annual Music Photography Awards.

This year’s judging panel is packed with music industry royalty, including Raye and Nile Rodgers.

Photographer to the stars, Rankin, is also on the panel ahead of the VIP ceremony on September 24.

Rankin said: “With another stellar judging panel joining us, I can’t wait to get stuck in and review the 2026 submissions. What are you waiting for?”
Submissions are open now.

NEW YORK — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America” during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower,” according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.

The committee’s chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.

On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime.”

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats’ focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party’s acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”

A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin’s handling of the situation.

“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.

Report says Democrats don’t ‘listen to all voters’

The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”

“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”

Thursday’s release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn’t in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.

Were Democrats too nice?

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump’s negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats’ messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”

The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”

Trump’s attack on Harris’ transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign’s “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris’ previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.

Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response,” the report said.

‘The math doesn’t work’

The report criticized Harris’ outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party’s focus on “identity politics.”

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”

The report also references Democrats’ underperformance with male voters of color.

“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.

Peoples writes for the Associated Press.

CITY SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Semifinals

At Cal State Northridge

OPEN DIVISION

#2 El Camino Real 4, #8 Granada Hills 3

#1 Birmingham 4, #4 Carson 1

At Stengel Field

DIVISION I

#10 Taft 2, #3 Venice 0

#13 Verdugo Hills 2, #1 Sylmar 1

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At East LA College

DIVISION II

#6 South East vs. #5 LA Roosevelt, 5:30 p.m.

At Fremont

DIVISION III

#9 LA Hamilton vs. #7 Fremont, 2:30 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Dodger Stadium

OPEN DIVISION

#2 El Camino Real vs. #1 Birmingham, 1 p.m.

DIVISION I

#10 Taft vs. #1 Verdugo Hills

May 21 (UPI) — Americans traveling back to the United States who have recently been in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan will be required to enter the country through Washington, D.C.

Citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in any of the countries in the last 21 days will be required to fly to Washington Dulles International Airport for enhanced health screenings before continuing on to their final destination, the U.S. Department of State announced.

The announcement follows an Air France flight bound for the United States on Wednesday afternoon being redirected to Montreal Trudeau International Airport after a passenger on board was determined to be from the DRC.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday already had blocked non-U.S. passport holders from entering the United States if they had been to any of the three African nations in the last 21 days.

An American doctor, one of several exposed in the DRC, was also confirmed to be infected with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on Tuesday and flown to Germany for treatment.

“The Dulles requirement applies to all passengers, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, who were present in those countries,” the State Department said in a travel advisory.

“Please be prepared for flight changes or cancellations,” the department said.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference that there have 51 confirmed cases of Ebola among the three countries, with nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths.

Tedros said the scale of the epidemic is “much larger” in the DRC, and that there have been deaths reported among health care workers, which suggests health care-associated transmission.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the doctor whose case was confirmed this week, with officials flying him to Germany because of their previous experience in handling Ebola cases.

Although contacts linked to the doctor also have been moved to Germany and Czechia for observation, there have been no additional cases in Americans, the CDC said.

At this year’s festival to unveil our inaugural Cannes issue, I had to opportunity to sit down with Sony Pictures Classics co-founders and co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and EVP of Acquisitions, Production and Business Affairs Dylan Leiner on the Main Stage at the Marché du Film to discuss the company’s festival strategy, bidding wars, artificial intelligence and more. Watch the full conversation and read edited excerpts below.

How much does the festival reception of a movie, the reviews coming out of a festival, the buzz around it, shape decisions that you’re making? Or is it just confirming what your gut already knows?

Leiner: I want to tell one story that speaks to that, which was at the first Berlin Film Festival we attended after COVID. I remember, in the same day, I ran into three international distributors who all asked if we had seen “The Teacher’s Lounge.” And I didn’t even know what the film was. It wasn’t on our radar, it wasn’t in competition. So we quickly saw “Teacher’s Lounge” and we acquired the film [which went on to be nominated for the 2024 international feature Oscar]. And that was one of the great values of an in-person festival, the ability very quickly to communicate with distributors, with tastemakers, with critics from around the world and get that kind of information. Gut, personal taste… It plays into it a lot, but then we need reassurance. And being at a festival and being in this fishbowl environment is really helpful for that.

For a lot of people, myself included, the mystique of a festival is often around the bidding war narratives: Who’s going to pick up what and what are they going to pay? I’m curious for your take on the first big acquisition of this year’s Cannes, A24 buying “Club Kid” for a reported $17 million.

Bernard: Throughout the years, there were companies [that would] maybe overpay, or they were going to bid to get this movie no matter what, because they were the headline in all the newspapers covering this festival. So in terms of a company that’s branding — which, A24 is one of the best in branding — I think that that had to do with a little bit of the cash that went up. … There’s a branding aspect in a lot of festivals for a movie that’s a hot movie that the press has decided to seize on.

Barker: Here’s a key to how we have survived. It’s different from the way you talk about it. When we acquire a movie, whether anyone else has offers, we try to block it out. And we have trained ourselves to not let that noise bother us. What is it worth to us? What do we think it’s going to do? Dylan runs these incredible models of what it’ll do on the low end, what it will do on the high end. And then you decide where you want to be.

Bernard: Or we think we can make it work.

Barker: But at no point do we sit around and worry about who else has a higher offer for the movie. Because I have to say, in very few instances, on the movies we buy, are we the higher offer. We just do the best we can, and if we lose it, we lose it.

Bernard: [French film producer] Serge Silberman, a sage of the past, he always said, “You never lose money on a movie you didn’t buy.”

That brings up a question that I had about “Nuremberg,” which was a real success. What you’re saying is, it performed in alignment with your expectations. Were there any lessons that you took away from that in terms of future projects that might come along?

Leiner: Yes, it performed in accordance with our expectations. What’s interesting about that film, we acquired it here last year. Nobody else was really interested in the movie. … So our challenge basically was to figure out how to convince the filmmaking team that, because it was a very expensive film, that we were the right company to acquire the film on the terms that we could afford and that we could make it work. And it was a very intense series of phone conversations, in-person meetings.

Bernard: We felt like we were auditioning to get married to somebody. We were never going to be able to pay to make their money back. It was a $40-million movie, and they were really sort of out there without anybody really looking at it. And we said, “Listen, sell it to us. We think it’s going to be a great success. We’ll make your movie way more valuable over the test of time.”

Barker: There are two types of movies that are being made and distributed. One are the big tentpole studio movies. It’s about winning the weekend theatrically. These are the theatrical-driven movies. And it’s all about making that huge budget back very quickly. But the other kind of film, which is why we are in business, is the evergreen. Every one of our films, we open it with the best marketing push we can. Yes, we try to get the highest box office. But what we know will happen, even if the box office ends up being less, we believe in these films as long-term players. And these films have really long tails. You look at movies like “Run Lola Run” or “Call Me By Your Name” or even “Living” … They have generated revenues to the filmmakers and to us that’s way beyond what the box office would have portended when it opened.

I would be curious, what areas of the filmmaking process or the film distribution process do you think AI is appropriate for use, that you’ve experimented with it, that you’re excited about its prospects? And where are your red lines, if you have any?

Barker: One of the people on our staff — we really love our young staff. One of them was writing a screenplay with AI, and told me they got certain rules on AI. And I’m listening to all these rules. You can’t have your main character die in a first scene. You can’t have your romantic female lead be totally unlikable, people aren’t going to go. I’m listening to this, and I said, “Have you ever seen ‘Sunset Boulevard?’” And she goes, “No, what is that?” I said, “Go watch that movie.” She came back and she was like, “Holy cow.” I said, “Billy Wilder sat down and made that up based on what he observed.” AI is not going to be able to do that.

In a Venezuela whose infrastructure has been abandoned to the past, it is easy to forget that even here the famous phrase “the future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed” still applies. In many ways it perfectly encapsulates the contradictions of Venezuelan society, a country where running water and electricity is far from a certainty and yet adoption of payment technologies and cryptocurrencies far outpaces that of developed countries. Whatever one thinks of the usefulness and value of these technologies, we can expect even more contradictions in the coming age of AI. 

The future and AI will arrive in Venezuela, but to whose benefit? And for which purposes?

Before answering these questions I think it’s helpful to understand the technology which is AI through Jensen Huang’s analogy of a five layer cake, where Layer One is the top and Layer Five the bottom.

One – AI Applications (Claude Code, Copilot, ChatGPT, etc)

Two – AI Models (Claude-Opus, GPT5, Llama, etc)

Three – Cloud Data Center Infrastructure

Four – Chips and Computing Infrastructure

 Five – Energy

Each layer of the cake requires the one below to stand. These are complicated supply chains that allow for the incredible technology that is modern generative AI. 

In the case of Venezuela we can forget about having much to do with Layers Two and Four. These simply require too much know-how that the engineers and manufacturers in Venezuela do not have. We cannot compete with factories in Taiwan or China nor can we compete with computer and electrical engineers making millions of dollars a year in Silicon Valley. For a few decades at least.

Let’s look at how we can expect the other three to apply to Venezuela.

The first layer of the cake, even if these applications are not made in Venezuela (and most won’t be), they will not be difficult to deploy as these companies will offer (as they do now) software-as-a-service (SaaS) products whose infrastructure can run anywhere else in the world. The use of these tools requires little more than an internet connection and we can expect some level of widespread adoption, but likely not much in terms of cutting-edge innovation. 

Because of the insatiable demand from AI companies for energy and places to put their datacenters where it’ll be the most profitable, Venezuela is attractive with its much lower-cost energy in relative terms.

Before discussing more of possible AI applications in Venezuela, let’s consider layers three (cloud datacenter infrastructure) and five (energy). These are where Venezuela is more relevant than may first meet the eye.

As you can see the entire cake relies on one base: energy. Energy and its cost is the main constraint for the entire supply chain of AI and the main reason why companies like Anthropic and OpenAI remain unprofitable despite tens of billions of dollars in revenue.

Venezuela is a potential powerhouse for energy production. Not only does it have incredibly high oil reserves but also impressive hydropower, and an extremely underdeveloped solar and wind industry.

In her bid to ask for international support, opposition leader María Corina Machado has framed Venezuela’s future as an energy hub for the Americas. Because of the insatiable demand from AI companies for energy and places to put their datacenters where it’ll be the most profitable, Venezuela is attractive with its much lower-cost energy in relative terms.

If only it had a functioning grid.

The focus on fixing this enormous issue during this stabilization phase of the American plan is no accident. The world, as has been the case since it first found oil, looks to Venezuela for the energy it can provide. One could see this negatively in that Venezuelans will have to compete with large multinational AI companies for energy, but the “stability” in the political environment that these companies require could incidentally be good for Venezuelans.

Stability of governance and respect of property rights is crucial for any company looking to make hypothetical data center or energy investments since this infrastructure takes multiple years to develop, if not decades. A return to true law and order and unassailable property rights would be an undeniable boon to the economy.

What applications may we see?

Local corporations will probably use AI-powered enterprise software as many others in the world. Though the Venezuelan entrepreneurial spirit keeps surprising, it seems likely that Venezuelan businesses will be not quite at the cutting edge but still positioned to take advantage of AI. 

The area of most interest, or rather most concern, is how the government might use these tools. The Venezuelan government has laid out their first risk-based ethical code for AI, largely modeled after the EU’s AI Act. Whether or not this translates to law, remains to be seen, but they have spoken about their commitment to “humanist” AI which disavows use cases such as manipulation, mass surveillance and disinformation. These are great values to strive for, but the government’s respect for its own laws, let alone ethical codes, has been more than lacking.

AI gives tyrants around the world exactly what they want: an army of intelligent capable agents who can’t say no and don’t need to be fed or housed.

In its ability to perform thinking tasks with lightning speed in a parallelizable manner, AI is a technology which tyrants in years past must have wished they had access to. A virtual army of bureaucrats (which the Venezuelan State already has in human form) observing citizens and making small decisions, putting names on lists, logging personal connections, building political profiles as well as modeling how likely a person would be to vote a certain way or become an annoying political activist, thus saving intelligence agencies hundreds of thousands of man-hours a year. Relying less on actual humans to want to do the work of spying on their own people or even themselves.

AI agents can screen social media and the internet for any sign of online political coordination and connect that to their already centralized data systems, which could be used to target or deny access to benefits for anyone who the AI has decided is toxic to your agenda.

When you are unpopular and attempting to maintain control over a population, technology is your friend because you can leverage your human capital much further, to do what you need done without the need to grow your network of trusted people. AI gives tyrants around the world exactly what they want: an army of intelligent capable agents who can’t say no and don’t need to be fed or housed.

At the moment, Venezuela’s future hangs in the balance, leadership going forward is unclear but one thing is clear. It will not be more of the same. The only permanent thing in the world is change, and the future will arrive in Venezuela. The question is: how will it be distributed? Who will get the benefits?

As always, it will benefit those with power. The question is: who will have power?

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital.

Commissioners, all of whom were appointed by Trump, approved the design despite overwhelming opposition from the public. Approval is a key step in the project’s process.

The proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

He has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the concept for the arch at its monthly meeting in April.

As presented to the federal agency, the arch itself would stand 250 feet tall from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two eagles and guarded at the base by four lions — all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top. Removing them would significantly reduce the arch’s height by about 80 feet. Critics of the project, including an overwhelming number of people who submitted public comment in April, said the arch would be taller than any other monument in the capital city and dominate the skyline.

At a height of 250 feet, the arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet tall.

McCrery also recommended that the lions on the base be removed because that animal is “not a beast natural to the North American continent.” And he objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum’s department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

Trump’s rehab of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for Thursday afternoon in federal court in Washington.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.