Riled by ‘drastic’ price increases on hotels and restaurants, a passionate British tourist has slammed Spain for making one of its most popular islands completely ‘unaffordable’
The Spanish island has been slammed by one passionate tourist(Image: Getty Images/imageBROKER RF)
The extent of Spain’s escalating anti-tourist rhetoric has been laid bare – and it seems Brits are paying the full price quite literally. Last year, the country witnessed a record-breaking 94 million international visitors flock to its mainland, and slew of insatiably popular islands.
It was an unprecedented tourist boom that quickly descended into chaos, motivating droves of fed-up locals to take to the street and demand holidaymakers ‘go home’. The string of confrontational protests has kept their momentum, with activists vowing to ‘intensify’ their efforts ahead of the looming summer season.
Demonstrations have even taken a violent spin in recent months- with one shocking sign threatening to ‘Kill a Tourist’ popping up in Tenerife. Reports also suggest anonymous locals set fire to rental cars – often used by tourists to explore the island – to make their message clear.
Anti-tourist protests erupted across Spain last year – and more are on the way (Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)
Despite the furore, it seems some Brits are willing to persevere – unable to image a world without their beloved Costa del sun. Edward Fox, who has been holidaying in Mallorca for more than three decades, visits the island for up to nine weeks every single year.
In a brutal letter sent to Majorca Daily Bulletin – a Spanish news site for English readers – Edward passionately argued the island has undergone a ‘drastic’ up-charge on accommodation as well as food and drink prices. He insists these rising prices are ‘not reflective’ of global inflation figures, and is worsened by growing ‘tourist tax’ levies that can sting travellers with up to €4 fees per night.
Edward argues Mallorca is pricing Brits off the island(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The Spain-enthusiast went on to claim Mallorca is now ‘unaffordable’ for most British tourists – who are now opting to visit cheaper destinations such as ‘Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines’. “So go ahead Mallorca, bite the hand that has came to this island put so much money into your tourism, infrastructure, government , hoteliers pockets etc etc for the best part of 40 years,” Edward wrote.
“Us tourists ‘Do Bite Back’, and me personally and many hundreds of thousands of tourists have bitten back. As a seasoned traveller to Mallorca it is getting far too expensive and non tourist friendly and everything is so not worth visiting or holidaying on this island until your Balearic Government and the people of Mallorca realise this.”
Edward also raised issue with locals referring to tourists as ‘guiris’. This is a word that describes English-speaking foreigners, but has slowly expanded to include northern European tourists as a whole.
The Brit tourist argues holidaymakers will ‘bite back’(Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Want the latest travel news and cheapest holiday deals sent straight to your inbox? Sign up to our Travel Newsletter.
Despite Edward’s concerns, it seems most Brits aren’t fazed by rising costs or growing hostility. New data published by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica) found a staggering 810,045 international visitors flocked to the Balearics during the first three-months of 2025 – a 3.6 per cent increase compared to the year before.
However, with threats of more planned protests in the summer – Brits may start listening to the demands of frustrated locals, who argue that over-tourism is worsening the country’s housing crisis. In fact, hotel bookings in Tenerife – one of Spain’s most popular hotspots – have already warned of a hotel booking ‘slump’ ahead of the peak season.
Is Spain trying to price Brits out? Have your say in the comments section below.
Filmmaker James Foley, whose directing career spanned music videos, television and film, with stars including Madonna, Al Pacino and Bruce Dern, has died.
Florent Lamy, a representative for Foley, confirmed the Brooklyn-born director’s death to The Times on Thursday. Lamy did not provide a cause of death, but according to media outlets including the Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker had been battling brain cancer. Foley was 71.
“James Foley was not only a talented director but also a dear friend,” Lamy told The Times. “He was one of my very first clients, and over time, he became someone very special in my life.”
Foley’s diverse directing career — which notably included films “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “At Close Range” and the “Fifty Shades” sequels — began in the mid-1980s. The 1984 film “Reckless” marked his directorial debut and gave him the opportunity to work alongside actors Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn and prolific producer-filmmaker Chris Columbus.
In the following years, Foley directed films — including 1986’s “At Close Range” (featuring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken) and 1990’s “After Dark, My Sweet” (starring Dern) — as well as music videos and other visuals for Madonna, who was en route to global pop stardom at the time. From 1985 to 1990, Foley directed music videos for Madge’s “Dress You Up” and “True Blue.” He directed both her music video “Who’s That Girl?” and her 1987 comedy of the same name.
Foley also directed music videos for rock band Deep Purple and Marky Mark, actor Mark Wahlberg’s former rap persona. He would later reunite with Wahlberg for the 1996 thriller “Fear” and 1999’s “The Corruptor,” with Chow Yun-Fat.
In 1992, Foley directed the film adaptation of playwright David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross.” One of Foley’s most popular works, the adaptation featured a star-studded cast of Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey and Jonathan Pryce. Pacino received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his work on the dark comedy.
Foley’s final film credits, “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed,” also were among his popular works. Foley took over the film franchise, based on E.L. James’ erotic novels, after “Fifty Shades of Grey” director Sam Taylor-Johnson departed over reported disputes with the author, who was also a producer. The “Fifty Shades” films starred Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.
Foley also directed episodes for series “Twin Peaks,” “Hannibal,” “House of Cards” (which reunited him with Spacey) and “Billions,” among other shows.
In a 2017 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Foley said he embraced the variety of his decades-long career. “I’ve had a very fluid career of ups and downs and lefts and rights, and I always just responded to what I was interested in at the moment and I was very unconscious about genre,” he said.
“I’ve always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse. What’s best and what’s worst [about the industry] are almost the same to me,” he added. “Because what’s worst is you get pigeonholed and what’s best is I haven’t been. It means that I’m still making movies, despite hopping all over the place.”
Foley’s survivors include his brother Kevin, sisters Eileen and Jo Ann, and nephew Quinn, according to several reports. He was preceded in death by his other brother Gerard.
How the first American pope will interact with the president of his homeland remains to be seen, but a few posts on social media might provide a clue.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is also known on the social media site X as @drprevost, where he has occasionally weighed in with reposts on issues of faith and politics — including Trump administration comments or actions.
In February he shared articles that took issue with a comment by Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult and met on Easter Sunday with Pope Francis, who died the next day.
Vance’s visit came after the pope had written a letter to U.S. bishops in February, detailing his concerns over the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations.
The pope underscored his support for “migrant and refugee brothers and sisters” in the letter: “Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity. Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.”
On Feb. 12, Prevost reposted an article from the Catholic publication America magazine saying the pope’s letter served as a rebuke of Vance’s comments in a Jan. 29 Fox News interview “that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.”
Prevost reposted an article in a similar vein on Feb. 3 from the National Catholic Reporter headlined “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
Reposts on social media do not necessarily signal an endorsement of their viewpoints.
In April, the new pope reposted of a comment from writer Rocco Palmo, who questioned Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s meeting in the Oval Office. The presidents met days after the U.S. wrongly deported a Salvadoran man residing in Maryland, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and declined to bring him back, despite an order from the Supreme Court that the U.S. facilitate his return.
Palmo’s post quoted an article written by Washington, D.C., Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar: “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”
In 2018, when news of immigrant children being separated from their parents at the border reached a fever pitch during Trump’s first term, Prevost retweeted a post from the archbishop of Chicago that said: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”
Trump on Thursday praised the news about Prevost. “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” the president wrote on X. “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
The liberal advocacy group Occupy Democrats, in a statement on X, suggested Trump’s praise would be fleeting: “Once [President] Trump gets a better sense of Pope Leo XIV’s beliefs — namely that Christians are called to love and care for all of the people of the world, not just white conservatives — the president will likely be singing a very different tune. If and when that attack comes, we will proudly stand with Pope Leo’s love and kindness against Trump’s hatred and cruelty.”
The announcement of Prevost as the first American to be named pope comes at a tense time for European-American relations, as the Trump administration is moving to isolate the United States and, in some cases, antagonize its traditional allies.
European nations are still navigating choppy economic waters after Trump issued sweeping tariffs last month against all countries. The papal decision Thursday coincided with the White House’s announcement of its first trade agreement struck with a European nation, the United Kingdom. Several other European nations are still waiting their turn to negotiate with Trump over lowering the tariffs.
While adjusting to rapid economic changes, European leaders are also still reeling from when Vance gave them a stern rebuke at the Munich security conference in February, when he warned against overregulation and advocated listening to all corners of the political spectrum — including Germany’s far-right party.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says the belief that would come with winning the Europa League is worth more to his side than any financial gain.
United survived a first-half wobble on Thursday to eventually beat Spanish side Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate and set up an all-English final against Tottenham.
Beating Spurs would also result in Champions League qualification for 2025-26, which would drive an additional £100m into United’s coffers at a conservative estimate.
“The money is not the most important thing,” Amorim said. “To win a title as a coach brings a feeling, a feeling we can do good things, that we can give something to our fans.
“I agree it is not just playing Champions League next season. It is that feeling we can change things.”
After winning 3-0 in Bilbao, Amorim said he could not be sure which version of his United side would turn up for the second leg and so it proved as they struggled for 70 minutes against the Basque outfit.
United were 1-0 down and looking nervous before rallying late on thanks to two goals from Mason Mount either side of efforts from Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund.
For a coach brought in because he has a certain style of play, the admission he does not know what will happen at any given moment must make Amorim shudder.
“I should be a better manager at this moment,” the Portuguese said. “The team should be better at this moment.
“But we are trying. We did quite well in Europe but we struggled a lot in the Premier League.”
Amorim’s side has certainly struggled against Tottenham this season.
They have already lost three times to Ange Postecoglou’s men and have won only twice in the Premier League – against Ipswich and Leicester – since the third of those reverses, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in February.
However, Tottenham have been no better overall this season than United and remain behind Amorim’s side in the table.
Postecoglou is widely expected to leave his job at the end of the season, win or lose.
“Both teams are going to play all or nothing,” said Amorim, who was appointed as United head coach in November 2024..
“The position of the coach is similar, I know Ange has one more year [in his job] but both of us are struggling. That is the good thing.”
The Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged members of the violent Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, which imprisoned them, after their temporary protected status was removed. File Photo by Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security/UPI | License Photo
May 8 (UPI) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether or not it can end temporary protected status for more than 500,000 people from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
The Biden administration granted temporary protected status for 532,000 people from those nations, which gives them the ability to work and live in the United States while they have protected status, NBC News reported.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wants to end their temporary protected status, which lasts for up to two years, but a lower court ruling blocked that effort.
U.S. District of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani ruled the Trump administration can’t arbitrarily remove the protected status and instead must address each individual’s respective case before ending TPS and undertaking deportations.
Solicitor General John Sauer said Talwani “nullified one of the administration’s most consequential immigration policy decisions” and wants the Supreme Court to resolve the matter.
The Supreme Court has already received eight emergency requests filed by the Trump administration through March 28.
Many more cases are headed to the Supreme Court, which could swamp it with legal filings.
Federal district court judges have blocked Trump administration policies at least 17 times during President Donald Trump‘s first 100 days in office.
Many of those rulings have been overturned by appellate and Supreme Court rulings, but some also have been upheld.
Shortly after being sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Trump signed several executive orders, including ending TPS status for many.
President Joe Biden, days before leaving office, extended TPS protections for many people from Venezuela, Haiti, Venezuela, and other nations.
Trump ordered an end to their TPS status to undertake mass deportations of those who do not self-deport.
Pakistan’s military says it brought down 25 Indian drones over cities including Karachi and Lahore. India says Pakistan had targeted India and Indian-administered Kashmir with drones and missiles that were shot down. The exchanges are fueling fears of a new phase in the ongoing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is an ancient royal tradition observed in Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand to mark the traditional beginning of the rice-growing season.
The tradition has Hindu and Buddhist origins and is intended to honour farmers and bless the plants and ceremonial start to the new growing season.
In the ceremony, Oxen are covered in red and gold and circle the ceremonial ground nine times, as a nine is a lucky and auspicious number in Thailand.
There are 16 million rice workers in Thailand and Thailand is the second-largest exporter of rice in the world, underlining the importance of a good rice growing season to the country’s economy.
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang, an open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. It is often attended by royalty and the ceremony is broadcast on national television.
As Royal Ploughing Day is a holiday for civil servants and state enterprise workers, and government offices will be closed. Banks and companies carry on as normal and the sale of alcohol is permitted. Post offices will close on a half-day.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD – Molly-Mae: Behind It All part two is finally out today after months of waiting, and there’s no shortage of drama…
Molly Mae Hague’s show featured some huge bombshells(Image: Amazon Prime)
After months of anticipation, the second part of Molly-Mae Hague‘s Prime Video documentary has been released – and it’s no short of drama.
The second half of the series documents the reunion between Molly and Tommy Fury, after their shock breakup last August. However, the reunion didn’t come without problems, including a clash with her sister, Zoe Rae.
Rumours of a reunion between the former Love Island stars started spreading when the pair were spotted sharing a kiss together on New Year’s Eve. Now, viewers will see the story behind the kiss, and the moment Molly found out it had been leaked to the world.
Molly also reveals where her and Tommy’s relationship stands now, and what their future holds, following their “perfect” family holiday to Dubai.
Molly’s bad accident
Molly Mae admits that she could only see black when she fell from the horse(Image: Amazon Prime Video)
It’s not just the drama with Tommy that Molly has to deal with, as the show also documents a freak accident that had the 25-year-old had to deal with.
In one tense scene, Molly is seen on a horse at a riding lesson – however, the animal picks up speed and begins galloping. Panicking, Molly screams: “I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared,” and just seconds later she’s seen falling off the horse and banging her head on a wooden fence – leaving the crew in a panic.
However, everyone breathes a sigh of relief when Molly gets up a few seconds later, although she herself was frightened for her life.
Speaking to the camera, Molly-Mae explains: “I’m just happy to be alive because when I went down, all I saw was black. I thought, ‘Hospital job’.
“Tommy is going to say I told you so. He always says, ‘Be careful with animals.’ My a**s cheek isn’t ok though. It’s going to be black.”
Clash with sister Zoe
Zoe and Molly clash during the new series(Image: Prime)
The series showcases the ups and downs of Molly and Zoe’s sisterly relationship, which appears to be hugely affected by Molly’s relationship with Tommy.
Big sister Zoe explains how all she wants is for Molly to be treated right, as she explains how she’s been on the other end of the phone when a distressed Molly couldn’t get hold of Tommy during his nights out.
“Sisters need to be able to tell each other everything,” she says, before Molly-Mae, 25, fumes: “Right, then I need to be able to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly.”
“I know at some point Mol, in the next year, however long it is, there will be a time, where unfortunately, and I hate to say it – you probably will be upset again,” Zoe contiues.
“I know I’ll have to have another baby at some point, because there’s just no way I’m having her being a single child, I’ve seen her play with other children. Like, she lights her up,” Molly says while preparing for Bambi’s second birthday party.
Towards the end of the series, after their “perfect trip” to Dubai, Molly reveals: “Things are looking so much better for us. I’m gonna start spending more time at Tommy’s house, keeping things slow and not rushing anything.
“But as always, I always say I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t think it’s gonna be a plain sailing future. I don’t. That’s just me being honest. I think we’re still gonna have bumps.
“The dream is still the same that, you know, we’ll get to a place one day when we will all be happy in that house together and have more children, hopefully, and just have a really nice, happy life together.
What really happened with Tommy on New Year’s Eve
Molly and Tommy were pictured sharing a kiss on New Year’s Eve(Image: Instagram / mollymae)
This New Year’s Eve, the showbiz world went into detective mode when Molly and Tommy were photographed kissing at Manchester United footballer Luke Shaw’s party in Cheshire. Although the two kept quiet at the time, Molly’s reaction to seeing the photo leaked online was captured on camera.
“What’s happened is I’ve attended a New Year’s Eve party and a familiar someone showed up like ten minutes before countdown and that was Tommy and basically, we shared a moment, we shared a kiss at midnight,” she says. “And it would appear that someone has taken a video and it’s basically been sold to the press.
“It was just a moment that we shared. I can’t really explain it. It kind of just happened. You think you’ve had a private, intimate moment, and nothing is private. Even in a room full of people that you trust and that you know, people like to make a quick buck.”
Speaking about the people who sold the video, she added: “I’d love to know how much they did make, I hope it was worth it anyway. Karma always comes back around with these, don’t you think?”
The public weren’t the only ones grilling Molly on the kiss, as her manager Fran asks what went down, as Molly insists: “He turned up at ten to 12. I swear, he wasn’t meant to be there. He messaged me saying, ‘I’m outside, I want to see the New Year in with you.’ I kid you not Fran, he was there for eight minutes. He was literally not there. He wasn’t there all night.”
Vatican City – It felt like the square could talk in one voice: “Leone! Leone! Leone!”
Thousands of people in St Peter’s Square chanted in chorus the name adopted by Robert Prevost as he ascended to the papacy on Thursday: Leo XIV.
Just an hour and a half earlier, white smoke had billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, announcing that a conclave of cardinals had elected a new leader for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Now, it was time to meet Pope Leo himself. A solemn silence fell across the square. The faithful waited to hear the pope’s first message, which would set the tone for his papacy.
“Peace be upon you,” said Leo XIV, appearing on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
He proceeded to repeat a blessing uttered by his late predecessor, Pope Francis, just weeks earlier: “God loves us, God loves everyone, and evil will not prevail. We are in the hands of God.”
It was a closely watched moment, with red-hatted cardinals poking out of nearby windows to catch their first glimpse at the newly minted pontiff.
Pope Leo XIV was elected on the second day of the conclave, and his opening remarks as leader signalled continuity with Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88. But experts say he is likely to strike a middle path, between furthering Francis’s inclusive agenda and embracing Vatican tradition.
“Peace” was one of the most used words in his brief speech — a choice meant to echo the words that Jesus pronounced after Easter, as Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni explained during a news briefing.
Leo XIV called on Catholics to seek “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace” through “dialogue” and “building bridges”, in a brief speech heavy with themes of unity.
“Bravo! That is what we need!” one audience member in the square shouted as the new pope spoke.
Another, 29-year-old Kasper Mihalak from Denmark, was squeezed in the middle of the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of the first North American pope.
“I am really excited. Cardinal Prevost, now Leo XIV — it’s gonna be amazing! He said a lot about peace during his speech. I think the world now really needs it,” Mihalak said.
Rosaria Venuto could hardly hold back her tears. Early in the morning, she picked up her two children and drove four hours from Ascoli Satriano, a small town in the southern Italian province of Apulia, to be in St Peter’s Square.
“I am deeply moved to have the chance to be here and live through this joy and be a small part of this historical event,” she said.
Crowds gather below the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Leo XIV made his first appearance [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]
His own man
Born in Chicago, a midwestern city in the United States, Leo XIV spent more than two decades in Peru, where he acquired dual citizenship.
There, he worked in some of Peru’s poorest areas, and he eventually became the bishop of Chiclayo, in the country’s agricultural north. Then, in 2023, Pope Francis appointed him to lead a powerful office that manages bishops across the world.
Phil Pullella, a Vatican expert who has covered the papacy for more than four decades, said that background offers a degree of continuity with Francis, who hailed from Argentina and advocated against poverty.
“He knows about poverty in Latin America,” Pullella said of Leo XIV. “So, he’s not the same thing as if they had elected some cardinal of New York, for example.”
That continuity was likely appreciated by conservative camps at the Vatican, as well as liberal-leaning ones, Pullella added.
“He comes from the wealthy world, but he witnessed firsthand the problems of the Global South in a poor country,” he said.
Still, Pullella noted that the way Leo XIV dressed showed that “he is going to be his own man”.
Instead of the simple white cassock that Pope Francis wore in 2013 when he was elected, Leo XIII added a traditional red cape over his vest, symbolising the spiritual and temporal powers of his office.
“In a sense, he is going back a little bit to that kind of tradition,” Pullella said. “He would not have been elected had he not had the votes of the conservative bloc.”
Nuns at the Vatican react with glee to the announcement of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV on May 8 [Amanda Perobelli/Reuters]
A unifying figure
Leo XIV’s election came as a surprise to many. Many observers were betting on a new pope by nightfall, but few expected only three rounds of voting.
The crowd was stunned when white smoke started to pour out of the tiny chimney by early evening, at around 6:09pm local time (16:00 GMT).
That was the signal that — of the 133 cardinals under the age of 80 who were eligible to vote — a candidate had received the two-thirds majority needed to become pope.
This year’s conclave had the distinction of being the most international in the Vatican’s history: The participating cardinals hailed from more than 70 countries, representing divergent views for the Catholic Church’s future.
The diversity was part of the legacy of Pope Francis, who appointed cardinals from underrepresented countries like Laos and Haiti to broaden the church’s global appeal.
Francis spent 12 years as head of the Catholic Church, shaking up the establishment by adopting a distinct style and tone, focused on austerity and advocacy for marginalised populations.
The late pope’s efforts caused excitement among reformers but also dismay among conservatives, who accused him of diluting the Church’s teachings. Experts say that led to a deep polarisation within the church, with some members criticising Francis for decentralising the church’s authority.
Those experts point out that Leo XIV’s experience in the Roman Curia — the church’s government — was likely a selling point among conservative conclave voters looking for stability in the years ahead.
Members of the Catholic Church cheer the election of a new pope on May 8 at the Vatican [Marko Djurica/Reuters]
What’s in a name?
While Pope Leo XIV’s first moves are yet to be revealed, his choice of name is noteworthy.
Bruni, the Vatican spokesperson, noted that “Leo” is a direct reference to Pope Leo XIII, who adopted a new social doctrine in the late 19th century.
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical — or papal letter — known as the Rerum Novarum. It called on Catholics to address the “wretchedness” facing the working class, amid the upheavals of industrialisation and political changes like the unification of Italy.
That encyclical marked a radical new approach to workers, and it triggered the creation of Catholic newspapers, social cooperatives and banks — a social movement that is still alive today.
Bruni said the current Pope Leo hoped to draw a parallel to that time, with its technological revolutions.
“It is not a casual reference to the men and women of their work at a time of artificial intelligence,” Bruni explained.
Robert Orsi, a professor of religious studies at Northwestern University, said the name choice could also signify other historical parallels.
Leo XIII “strongly put down a movement called Americanism,” said Orsi.
“This movement was a kind of nationalist impulse within Catholicism, with national churches claiming to have their own identities, their own particular ways of doing things,” he explained. “And I think by choosing the name Leo XIV, this pope was, without a doubt, signalling a return to a global Catholicism.”
Pullella also believes it is noteworthy that, while Leo XIV mentioned his parishioners in Peru, he avoided highlighting his ties with the US.
“I think it’s very significant that he did not give a shout-out to the United States. He didn’t say, ‘I’m from America.’ He didn’t speak in English,” Pullella said.
That sent a message that “basically he’s not owned by the United States”, Pullella added. Leo XIV has previously been critical of the administration of US President Donald Trump over issues like nationalism and migration, just as the late Pope Francis was.
Still, Orsi predicted the Vatican under the new Pope Leo would be “subtle and wise” in how he deals with Trump in the years to come.
President Trump’s 2026 “skinny budget” is out, and at first glance it gives small-government advocates reason to cheer. It proposes deep cuts to domestic agencies, calls for eliminating redundant programs and gestures toward reviving federalism by shifting power and responsibility back to the states. It promises to slash overreaching “woke” initiatives, end international handouts and abolish bureaucracies that have outlived their usefulness.
But this budget is more rhetorical than revolutionary. As impressive as Trump’s envisioned cuts are — $163 billion worth — they lose luster because the version of the budget being considered in Congress also calls for increases to defense and border security spending, as well as the extension of the 2017 tax cuts. And for all its fiery declarations, the budget fails to truly confront the drivers of our fiscal crisis.
The budget does, thankfully, enshrine the Department of Government Efficiency’s acknowledgment that federal sprawl has become unmanageable. It proposes defunding environmental-justice programs, trimming National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation budgets, slashing the Department of Education and eliminating corporate welfare masquerading as climate policy.
It also rightly calls for cutting the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities — two anachronisms with no constitutional justification. Art and education don’t need federal management; they need freedom.
The budget retreats from Washington’s micromanagement of local affairs. Education grants, housing subsidies and green-energy projects are best cut and handled by state governments or the private sector. One-size-fits-all federal fixes for everything from school lunches to water systems have failed. Devolving authority isn’t just constitutional; it’s practical.
But these trims are wrapped in a document that nevertheless sustains a bloated government. Even with the reductions, 2026 discretionary spending would remain essentially unchanged at $1.6 trillion. In some respects, the budget enshrines Biden-era spending.
Then there’s defense. For all the “America First” rhetoric about maintaining a domestic focus, Trump’s budget does nothing to rein in the Pentagon’s fiscal free-for-all aimed at projecting power around the world. Quite the opposite: It proposes a 13% increase, pushing base defense spending past $1 trillion, including $892.6 billion in discretionary spending supplemented by $119.3 billion in mandatory spending and an additional $150 billion to be passed through Congress’ reconciliation process.
The Pentagon remains the largest federal bureaucracy and among the least accountable. It hasn’t passed a full audit since 2018, yet it gets a raise. If “peace through strength” means blank checks for defense contractors and redundant weapons systems, we need to rethink our definition of strength.
Consider the new F-47 fighter jet included in this budget. As Jack Nicastro notes in Reason magazine, this aircraft — billed as the most advanced ever built — is being developed to replace the F-35, which has been a taxpayer-funded boondoggle. So far, the F-35 has cost taxpayers more than $400 billion, far beyond the initial projected cost, and is expected to total $2 trillion over its lifespan. It’s suffered from technical failures (including at some point having problems flying in the rain) and some doubt it will ever be fully functional.
Considering the government incentives that gave us the F-35 mess still exist and given that aerial combat is shifting toward automated or remotely piloted systems, why would we believe our money will be better spent on the F-47?
Trump’s budget also boosts Homeland Security spending, propping up another sprawling bureaucracy. The president’s high-profile and problematic approach to deportation, while politically popular with his constituency, costs a lot of money. As the Cato Institute’s David Bier notes, indiscriminate deportations risk shrinking the workforce, reducing tax revenue and undercutting economic growth — all while ignoring the merit-based immigration reforms Trump claims to support.
Finally, there’s the ever-present elephant in the room: entitlements. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up nearly 60% of spending and are the main drivers of our debt. Yet they are mostly untouched in the current fiscal sketch. The administration promises a more complete plan later to show where the savings would be found, but we’ve heard that before — and House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday that Republicans would block some of the most effective approaches to cutting Medicaid. But the math is straightforward. Without serious entitlement reform, no discretionary spending cuts can avert a debt crisis.
The bipartisan failure to govern responsibly isn’t just a policy lapse; it’s a moral one. Deficit spending and the burden of debt repayment crowds out private investment, fuels inflation and burdens future generations with obligations they have no say over. The U.S. is on track to exceed its World War II-era debt record by 2029. If this budget is truly the plan to reverse course, we’re in trouble.
Yes, the new Trump budget has bright spots, but those gains are neutralized by massive defense spending, costly immigration priorities and persistent gimmicks. At best, it maintains a flawed status quo. We don’t need more of the same; we need evidence of a serious turnaround. Until that happens, we have little choice but to assume that Trump’s budget is another big-government blueprint in small-government clothing.
Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate.
A football fan is suing the NFL for $100 million over the “severe emotional distress and trauma” that he suffered when former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders unexpectedly dropped to the fifth round of last month’s draft.
In a lawsuit filed May 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Buffaloes fan Eric Jackson alleged the NFL had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act for collusion and possibly violated the Civil Rights Act for race discrimination, as well as consumer protection laws for “misrepresenting the nature of the drafting process and the qualifications of players.”
Jackson filed the case as a John Doe but revealed his identity by indicating he was representing himself. He describes himself in the lawsuit as “a dedicated fan of Colorado football” who “has closely followed Shedeur Sanders throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons.” He included a request to file the complaint “in forma pauperis,” meaning he is unable to pay the filing fees.
Sanders, the son of Hall of Fame NFL player and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, was considered by some to be a potential first-round pick. Instead, he was bypassed until the Cleveland Browns claimed him at No. 144 overall, after they had already picked another quarterback, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, in the third round.
“Reports and leaked statements suggested that Sanders ‘tanked interviews,’ ‘wasn’t prepared,’ and ‘was too cocky,’ which contributed to a narrative that has unjustly harmed his reputation and potential as a player,” the lawsuit reads. “These slanderous statements reflect biases that influenced the NFL’s decision-making process, causing emotional distress and trauma to the Plaintiff as a fan and consumer.”
Jackson is also seeking “a formal acknowledgment from the NFL regarding the emotional distress caused by their actions and statements,” “a retraction of the slanderous statements made about Shedeur Sanders, along with an apology for any harm caused to his reputation,” and “implementation of fairer practices in the drafting process to ensure that talented players are recognized and given opportunities based on merit.”
The NFL did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment. Asked if the league had any reason to be concerned over the lawsuit, USC professor of law Clare Pastore told The Times, “Nope.”
She said the NFL’s lawyers will likely file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit for failure to sustain a claim, and that will likely be the end of the matter.
“This is ridiculous in many ways, but the biggest thing that I believe will immediately leap out at a judge is the concept of standing,” said Pastore, a former litigator whose specialties include civil rights law. “A supposed harm someone suffers in combination with some vast number of other people is not something that, that one person has standing to contest. … It’s what the courts call a generalized grievance. And a generalized grievance does not provide standing in federal court.”
She added: “It’s a little hard for me to see how anything about the Sanders situation could make out a race discrimination claim. I believe there may be race discrimination in certain aspects of the NFL. You look around the coaching ranks, the ownership ranks, they’re not very integrated. But in terms of players, it’s difficult to see how a claim could be made out that a player wasn’t drafted on race discrimination grounds.”
As for the $100 million in damages Jackson is seeking, Pastore called it “absurd.”
“That’s another aspect — it’s not quantifiable,” she said. “Like, how much is a fan harmed by a player that they want to see play not playing for their team, not playing for the team they want, not playing at all? It’s just not the stuff of which lawsuits are made.”
Mason Mount scores twice as Manchester United come from behind to win 4-1 against Athletic in their semifinal.
Manchester United produced a dramatic late comeback to beat Athletic Club 4-1 in the Europa League and complete an emphatic 7-1 aggregate semifinal victory, setting up a mouthwatering showpiece against Tottenham.
Fireworks crackled and red smoke filled an expectant Old Trafford on Thursday following an impressive 3-0 win against 10-man Athletic in northern Spain last week.
But the air of excitement was tinged by the knowledge that Ruben Amorim’s United have shown a startling ability to implode during a horrendous Premier League season.
Perhaps, little to anyone’s surprise, Amorim’s United, much like most of the club’s teams that preceded him, had to do it the hard way. Trailing with 18 minutes to play, the substitutes were thrown on – including Mason Mount, who produced two brilliant goals to illuminate the Theatre of Dreams and turn the game on the night.
Mason Mount of Manchester United scores a goal to make it 1-1 on the night [Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images]
Amorim reverted to the team that started in the first leg, making eight changes following Sunday’s 4-3 defeat against Brentford.
Dani Vivian was suspended after his red card last week, and coach Ernesto Valverde was also hamstrung by the absence of brothers Nico and Inaki Williams, as well as top-scorer Oihan Sancet.
Mikel Jauregizar silenced the home fans and gave the visitors hope on the night with a stunning strike in the 31st minute.
For long periods of the match, the visitors looked more dangerous, and the game needed substitute Mount to settle the home supporters’ nerves with his 72nd-minute strike.
The match totally changed complexion as Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund and Mount again scored.
Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United tapped in his side’s third goal of the game [Adam Vaughan/EPA]
It means United have kept alive their hopes of eking something out of a terrible season.
Winning Europe’s second-tier club trophy crucially guarantees a place in the Champions League, which would boost United’s chances of attracting top talent as Amorim attempts a monumental rebuild.
United were heavy favourites to complete the job on home turf, but injury-hit Athletic nursed a grievance after defender Vivian was sent off in Spain.
They enjoyed the bulk of the early possession but struggled to fashion clear-cut chances and looked nervous when the visitors attacked.
Athletic midfielder Alex Berenguer had a good early opportunity after the home side failed to clear, but his curling shot sailed over the bar as he aimed for the top corner.
The midfielder created another chance after a surging run midway through the half, but fired wide of Andre Onana’s post from just outside the area.
United feel the nerves in Manchester
But the visitors broke the deadlock in sensational style after half an hour to give themselves hope when Jauregizar picked his spot from outside the box and curled past Onana.
The goal came after some sloppy work from United’s defence. Harry Maguire played a ball across the box and Alvaro Djalo smashed a shot against Leny Yoro.
The ball fell to Jauregizar, who could not have hit the ball more sweetly.
United struggled for attacking rhythm but should have been level shortly before half-time.
The stadium held its breath as Alejandro Garnacho was put through by the lively Patrick Dorgu, but his attempted dink over the goalkeeper went wide.
Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho spurned his side’s best chance of the first half [Jason Cairnduff/Reuters]
United offered little going forward in the early stages of the second half as Athletic made the running, forcing United to hack clear on multiple occasions.
Both teams made a triple change just after the hour mark. Shortly afterwards, Unai Gomez headed the ball across the goal and it bounced just wide of the post.
Injury-hit Mount has been a peripheral figure in his two seasons at Old Trafford, but produced a fine finish, swivelling and curling the ball into the far corner for his first.
Casemiro scored a second with his head from a Bruno Fernandes cross as United’s earlier nerves were completely forgotten.
Hojlund poked home in the 85th minute before Mount scored an outrageous second from near the halfway line after Athletic goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala came out of his box and made a poor clearance.
United will face Tottenham in the final in Bilbao on May 21.
Student protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi has appeared at the Vermont state house to help launch a legal defence fund to help immigrants like himself who are facing deportation hearings.
His appearance on Thursday comes nearly a week after Mahdawi himself was released from immigration detention, after spending nearly 16 days in custody for his pro-Palestinian advocacy.
The administration of President Donald Trump has sought to deport Mahdawi and other student activists for their demonstrations, citing a Cold War-era law that allows the removal of foreign nationals deemed to have adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.
Though released on bail, Mahdawi continues to face deportation proceedings. He reflected on his time behind bars at a news conference where he and state officials announced the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund.
“ I was unjustly kidnapped or detained, if you want to go by the legal term,” Mahdawi said with a wry smile.
“And without the support and the love that I received from the people of Vermont – Vermonters and the representatives of the people in Vermont – I may not have been here today among you.”
Mohsen Mahdawi reflects on his time in immigration detention as he announces the launch of the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund [Alex Driehaus/AP Photo]
Mahdawi entered the national spotlight as a leader in the student protests at Columbia University, an Ivy League school in New York City that has been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian advocacy.
A legal permanent resident of the US, Mahdawi himself is Palestinian and grew up in the Far’a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. He has publicly described the oppression he said he experienced there, including the deaths of family members and friends at the hands of the Israeli military.
Since Israel launched its war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Mahdawi has been outspoken in his opposition to the military campaign.
As an undergraduate at Columbia, he helped found student groups like Dar: The Palestinian Student Society and Columbia University Apartheid Divest. The latter has taken a lead role in protesting ties between the school and organisations involved with Israel and its military activities.
But President Trump has described such protests as “illegal” and pledged to crack down on non-citizen participants.
On March 8, Mahdawi’s colleague at Dar, Mahmoud Khalil, was the first student protester to be taken into custody for his role in the nationwide student protest movement. Others have since been detained, including Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, who supporters say did little more than write an op-ed about the war in Gaza.
Just over a month later, on April 14, Mahdawi arrived at an appointment in Colchester, Vermont, ostensibly for his US citizenship application. Immigration officers, however, were waiting on site to arrest him, and he was led away in handcuffs.
Mahdawi was accused of no crime. The Trump administration, however, has accused him of harassing Jewish students and leading “pro-Hamas protests”, though it has not offered evidence to support those allegations.
“His rhetoric on the war in Israel proves his terrorist sympathies,” a recent document from the Department of Homeland Security said.
Mahdawi’s detention galvanised Vermont politicians on both sides of the political spectrum. Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, called on the federal government to release any evidence it had that Mahdawi was a threat to national security and denounced the surreptitious manner of his arrest.
“What cannot be justified is how this action was undertaken. Law enforcement officers in this country should not operate in the shadows or hide behind masks,” Scott wrote in a press release.
“The power of the executive branch of the federal government is immense, but it is not infinite, and it is not absolute.”
Meanwhile, Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat, visited Mahdawi behind bars at Vermont’s Northwest State Correctional Facility in an effort to raise awareness about his case.
Ultimately, on April 30, a federal district court deemed that Mahdawi was no flight risk and released him on bail, warning that the government’s actions could be interpreted as an attempt to “shut down debate”.
In his public appearance on Thursday, Mahdawi thanked his fellow Vermonters for showing him support and called on the state to act as an example to others.
“Home is where you feel safe and loved. And those who surround you, they are your people, and you are my people,” he told the crowd.
“This is a message of hope and light that our humanity is much larger than what divide us. Our humanity is much larger than unjust laws. Our humanity is much larger than being Democrat or Republican, Black or white, in a city or in rural area.”
Mahdawi also described how, when he was in detention, he saw an undocumented farm worker praying on his knees each night before going to sleep.
“ I think his prayers have been answered today by this initiative,” Mahdawi said of the legal defence fund.
The fund’s organisers said they hope to raise $1m to “build a lasting safety net” for immigrant families in Vermont. That sum, they said, would fund training and hiring legal staff to respond to what they described as an immigration “crisis”.
“Vermont is going to take action to ensure no one faces deportation, detention or family separation alone and unrepresented,” said State Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale. “This will be embedded in our civic infrastructure in a way we have not achieved before and we hope will have long-term benefits beyond this immediate crisis.”
Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak added that the fund would ensure justice is not solely reserved for those who can afford it.
“This effort is not about politics. This effort is about principle,” he said. “The fundamental right to due process means very little if somebody cannot access legal representation, especially when they’re navigating a system as complex and as high stakes as the US immigration law.”
FROM a budding maths genius in the US to an adventurous missionary in Peru – horseriding Pope Leo XIV has now reached the highest summit in the Catholic Church.
History-maker Robert Prevost is the first American Pope, and his incredible life has seen him climb from an altar boy to head of the Vatican.
13
Former altar boy and maths student Robert Prevost was elected on May 8Credit: Getty
13
A young 7-year-old Robert Prevost at the St. Mary of the Assumption School (4th left at the back row), 1962
13
Robert Prevost greets Pope John Paul II in 1982 after being ordained a priestCredit: St. Mary of the Assumption Parish
13
Newly elected Pope Robert Prevost on a horseCredit: Instagram/peandersongomes
Known as Father Bob, Prevost was announced as Pope Leo XIV on Thursday after less than 24 hours of voting in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
The dark horse beat steep odds of 66/1 to become God’s messenger on Earth before being unveiled to crowds of the faithful in Rome.
But his humble beginnings started all the way over in Chicago, Illinois, where he was born on September 14, 1955.
He was born to immigrant parents of French, Italian and Spanish descent.
Prevost’s first religious gig saw him work as an altar boy at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, just outside the far South Side of Chicago.
He completed his secondary studies at St. Augustine Seminary High School in 1973 – where he was consistently on the honor roll and was even given a Letter of Commendation for impressive academic results.
The whizz-kid then earned a degree in mathematics at Villanova University in 1977.
The Pope-to-be then joined the Order of St. Augustine, taking his vows in 1978.
He became a priest in 1982, with pictures showing the newly-ordained Rev. Robert Prevost greeting Pope John Paul II shortly after.
The multi-talented Catholic Church head can speak English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese – and can even read Latin and German.
President Trump is honored by new American Pope
After being ordained a priest, he joined a mission in Peru in 1985 where he spent many years heading up a seminary.
He returned to the US in 1999, but before that had returned regularly to serve as a pastor and a prior in his home city.
Despite being an American the new pontiff holds Peruvian nationality, and is a beloved figure in the country due to his work with marginalised communities.
Prevost spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in northwestern Peru.
During his momentous first speech, Leo spoke fondly of his predecessor Francis.
He said: “We still hear in our ears the weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis who blessed us.”
13
Pope Francis puts the red biretta on the head of new cardinal Robert Francis Prevost during a consistory in St. Peter Square at the Vatican, September 30, 2023Credit: Alamy
13
Pope Francis served as pope from March 2013 to April 2025Credit: AFP
13
Leo XIV told the crowds: “We must be a church that builds bridges”Credit: AP
Pope Francis made Prevost the Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru one year after he became Pope.
Prevost was known for his high-profile role as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Latin America – tasked with selecting and supervising bishops.
He was made archbishop in 2023 and within a few months he was promoted to the cardinal by Francis.
The horseriding Pope is seen as more traditional than Francis – but not the conservative hardliner some in the church were hoping for after his predecessor’s efforts to make the faith more progressive.
The new pontiff urged people to “build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace”.
He also spoke in Spanish, saying to his South American friends: “I would particularly like to say hello to my compatriots from Peru.
“It was a great pleasure for me to work in Peru.”
13
A person stands draped in a US flag after the appointment of Leo XIVCredit: Reuters
13
Catholics celebrated the first American Pope in historyCredit: Reuters
13
Cardinals listen as newly elected Pope Leo delivers the “Urbi et Orbi” messageCredit: Reuters
13
Crowds cheer and wave the stars and stripesCredit: AFP
US President Trump was quick to congratulate the Pope Leo XIV and said it’s “a great honour” for the US.
SirKeir Starmerbranded the election of the first American Pope as a “momentous moment” and said that he looks “forward to meeting the Holy Father and continuing to work closely with the Catholic Church”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated the new Pope.
He said: “Ukraine deeply values the Holy See’s consistent position in upholding international law, condemning the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine, and protecting the rights of innocent civilians.
Russian PresidentVladimir Putinsaid he hoped the American pontiff would engage in “constructive dialogue” with theKremlin.
The new Pope’s speech in full
Here is Leo XIV’s speech from the Vatican balcony in full:
Peace be with all of you
Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of Christ resurrected, the good pastor who gave life for the Lord and I would also like this greeting of peace to come into your hearts and join everyone, whoever they are, all peoples on the whole earth, peace be with you.
This is the peace of Christ resurrected, it’s a peace that’s disarming, humble and will also persevere and it comes from God, God who loves all of us unconditionally.
And let us keep hearing even the weak voices and Pope Francis was always courageous and blessed Rome.
The pope that blessed Rome, he is blessing the whole world on that Easter morning. So let us follow up that blessing.
God loves us, God loves all of you, sin will not prevail, we are all in the hands of God.
And at the same time without fear, let us be reunited hand in hand with God and amongst ourselves let’s move forward because we are the disciples of Christ, Christ preceded us, the world needs your light, humanity needs him as a bridge in order to be able to get to God and reach God’s love.
You must also help us and help one another. And we all must be a single peoples.
I would also like to thank all my brother cardinals who have chosen me to be the successor to Peter and to walk together with you as a united church always trying to find peace, justice and always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ without fear and also to be missionaries.
I am a son of St Augustin, I am Christian with you and to that extent we can all walk together towards that land that God has prepared us for.
To the church of Rome, I would like to give you a speciial greeting. Together we must try to find out how to be a church that builds bridges, establishes dialogue, that’s always open to receive on this piazza with open arms to anyone that needs our charity, our presents, dialogue and love.
And I would just like also t osay something in Spanish. I particularly like to say hello to my compatriots in Peru
To all of you, brothers and sisters, of Rome, the whole world, we need to be a church that walks a path of peace, that always looks for charity, that is always looking to be close especially to those that are suffering
Today, the day in which we pray to the Madonna of Pompeii, our mother Mary always wants to stay close to us and help us with her love and her intercession.
Let us pray together, this new mission, for the whole church, and for peace throughout the world.
And let’s ask for this special grace for Mary, our mother. Hail Mary
The new Pope, who is active on social media, has repeatedly voiced his concerns overDonald Trump‘simmigrationpolicies and shared his progressive views.
Both Leo and Francis were said to be close and Prevost was considered by Vatican insiders to be a potential kingmaker for the current election.
But few considered the new Leo XIV the likely winner of the secret vote.
The last pope to take the name Leo was Leo XIII, an Italian who led the church from 1878 to 1903.
