The group says it attacked an Israeli military base with a hypersonic missile.

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for launching two missiles towards northern Israel, targeting the Ramat David military airbase and the Tel Aviv area, as the group continues its military pressure in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli fire.

The Israeli military said on Friday it intercepted the first missile and launched another interceptor at the second, which was also fired from Yemen.

Alarms were triggered in several locations, though authorities reported no casualties or damage. The military added that the outcome of the second interception was still under review.

Yahya Saree, spokesperson for the Houthis – also known as Ansar Allah – confirmed the group had carried a “military operation” against a key Israeli military target.

Saree said hypersonic missiles were used and had successfully hit their intended destination.

The Israeli army responded that “interception attempts were made” without providing further details.

The Houthi group has repeatedly said its attacks on Israel as well as United States and British ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait will only cease if Israel agrees to a permanent Gaza truce.

The Houthis did not carry out attacks during the Gaza ceasefire earlier this year until Israel blocked all aid into the besieged enclave in early March and followed that with a full resumption of the war.

Growing civilian death toll

The attacks come as the US escalates its military operations in Yemen.

Since March, the US has launched large-scale attacks not only on infrastructure but increasingly on individuals linked to the Houthi leadership.

Civilian casualties are mounting, with UK-based monitor Airwars estimating between 27 and 55 civilians were killed in March alone, and suggesting April’s toll is even higher.

One of the deadliest US strikes in April hit Ras Isa port in Hodeidah, killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 150.

On Monday at least 68 people were killed in the overnight strike on detained African migrants, and eight people were killed around the capital, Houthi media reported.

Rights advocates have been alarmed about the growing civilian death toll. Three US Democratic senators recently wrote to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, demanding an accounting for civilian lives lost.

“Strikes pose a growing risk to the civilian population in Yemen,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. “We continue to call on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.”

IT’S the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs racecourse on Saturday night and there is more than just £4 million on the line.

The field of 20 three-year-old colts will bid to secure their place in history as the winner of one of the world’s great races – and secure themselves and their owners a lucrative career at stud.

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The race is due off at 11.57pm UK time and you’ll be able to watch all the action at Churchill Downs on Sky Sports Racing.

Last year, Mystik Dan caused a 19-1 upset when clinging on by a nose from Sierra Leone in a thriller under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.

This year the vibes around the long-time favourite Journalism, who won the Santa Anita Derby last time out, are especially strong.

His trainer Mike McCarthy, said: “Anybody who’s in the horse business, this is kind of where they want to be.

“He is a top-class horse, he won the Santa Anita Derby last time. We need to avoid trouble but he is favourite for a reason.”

Godolphin have a big fancy in the ‘Run to the Roses’ in the shape of Sovereignty, who was second in the Florida Derby last time out.

The Mark Casse-trained Sandman was a good winner of the Arkansas Derby last month, a race in which last year’s Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan was third in his final prep race.

There is some doubt about the state of the ground with an unsettled weather forecast, but it looks likely the race will be run on slow dirt.

Top tipster Templegate has been digging through the American formbook, so check out his tip for the big race below.

Templegate’s verdict

BURNHAM SQUARE looks a good value bet at around the 12-1 mark in the Kentucky Derby.

He really came into his own when winning the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland last month. Despite some trouble in running, he managed to peg back leader East Avenue in the shadow of the post. The time of the race was good and a bit more luck around the home turn here would only boost his chances.

That last race was over 1m1f and the slightly longer trip at Churchill Downs should be right up his street.

Favourite Journalism will be no pushover after his Grade 1 success in the Santa Anita Derby. He and the second pulled right away from a useful field and he has more to come. 

Sandman got the job done well in the Arkansas Derby last time but that didn’t look the hottest of races and he’ll have to pull out more at this level.

Luxor Café looks the pick of the Japanese raiders although he’s not the very best they could have sent over. His top form has come on dirt and the magic man Joao Moreira is a good jockey booking. He has an each-way shout at double-figure odds.

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Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” That’s one of Walt Disney’s most popular quotes, often used in the context of the theme park marvels imagined by the company he created.

Over the decades Walt Disney Imagineering, the secretive arm of the Walt Disney Co. devoted to theme park experiences, has dreamed up a room full of singing birds and flowers, brought to life a mini New Orleans, captured the idealism of space flight and re-envisioned modern transportation, to name just a few of its many varied accomplishments.

For its latest trick, Imagineering will attempt to resurrect a life of sorts, that is to fully animate a highly accurate robotic creation of one of the most recognizable figures of the 20th century, Walt Disney himself. First unveiled last summer at the company’s fan convention D23, the goal, said Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro at the event, is to capture “what it would have been like to be in Walt’s presence.”

That means finding a middle ground between romanticism and realism.

Imagineers Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, left, and Tom Fitzgerald,\ are principals on “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” which will debut in the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland on July 17. The show will feature a lifelike robotic figure of Walt Disney.

(Mike Pucher / Disneyland Resort)

On Wednesday morning, Imagineering previewed for a select group of media the upcoming show “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” set to premiere July 17 to coincide with Disneyland’s official 70th anniversary, when it will temporarily displace an attraction centered on a robotic Abraham Lincoln. An early sculpt of what would become the animatronic was revealed, one complete with age spots on Disney’s hands and weariness around his eyes — Imagineers stressed their intent is faithful accuracy — but much of the attraction remains secretive. The animatronic wasn’t shown, nor did Imagineering provide any images of the figure, which it promises will be one of its most technically advanced.

Instead, Imagineering sought to show the care in which it was bringing Disney back to life while also attempting to assuage any fears regarding what has become a much-debated project among the Disney community. When D’Amaro unveiled “A Magical Life” last summer, he did so noting he had the support of the Disney family, singling out Disney’s grandnephew, Roy P. Disney, who was in the audience.

Yet soon a social media missive critical of the attraction from Walt’s granddaughter would go viral. It raised anew ethical questions that often surround any project attempting to capture the dead via technology, be it holographic representations of performers or digitally re-created cinematic animations, namely debates surrounding the wishes of the deceased and whether such creations are exploitative. “Dehumanizing,” wrote Joanna Miller in her Facebook post on the figure.

The animatronic somewhat represents a shift in thinking for the Walt Disney Co., as the majority of its robotic figures are representations of fictional characters or overly-saturated political figures such as those in Florida’s Hall of Presidents, in which new politicians are added while they are living. Arguably, the Walt Disney Co. first tested the public’s willingness to embrace a resurrected Disney via a holographic-like projection for its touring “Disney 100: The Exhibition,” which initially raised some eyebrows.

Longtime Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald, known for his work on beloved Disney projects such as Star Tours and the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster in Florida, said Wednesday that “A Magical Life” has been in the works for about seven years. Asked directly about ethical concerns in representing the deceased via a robotic figurine, Fitzgerald noted the importance of the Walt Disney story, not only to the company but to culture at large.

Disney Imagineers at work on the wardrobe of Walt Disney for the new animatronic show, “Walt Disney — A Magical Life.” Seen here is a close-up of the stitching of a logo for Palm Springs’ Smoke Tree Ranch, a favorite retreat of Disney’s. The locale will be represented on Disney’s tie.

(Mike Pucher / Disneyland Resort)

”His life story had been told in these other formats already,” Fitzgerald says, referencing the film “Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream,” which currently airs at Florida’s Hollywood Studios. “What could we do at Disneyland for our audience that would be part of our tool kit vernacular but that would bring Walt to life in a way that you could only experience at the park? We felt the technology had gotten there. We felt there was a need to tell that story in a fresh way.”

Disneyland, in contrast to the company’s other parks around the globe, places a premium on historical attractions, in part because it’s the only park Disney walked in. The park’s patriarch even had a small apartment on Main Street, U.S.A., in which he would occasionally spend the night. After its initial run during the 70th celebration, “A Magical Life” will play in tandem with “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln” thanks to a newly constructed revolving stage. A new pre-show gallery will feature a mini-re-creation of Disney‘s apartment and also unveil some never-before-seen artifacts, such as early master plans of Disneyland.

The figure, essentially, was created in part to anticipate criticism. Fitzgerald notes modern audiences, with the ability to zoom in on a character via smartphone, are far more discerning. The animatronic will aim to represent Disney in 1963. Disney died in 1966 at 65.

“He needs to be able to speak with his hands. Hands, very important,” Fitzgerald says. “When you watch Walt Disney talking, he’s very expressive with his hands when he talks. He also has expressive eyebrows, which many of you had heard about. When he speaks, he speaks with his eyebrows. … One of the things I discovered in watching the footage, he doesn’t blink when he speaks.” Thus, when animating the figure’s eye movements, Fitzgerald says, there was much discussion over his “blink profile,” ensuring it matched up with filmed footage.

Though the exact arc of the show, which will run about 17 minutes, wasn’t revealed, Fitzgerald and fellow Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, who was instrumental in the recent reimagining of Disneyland’s Toontown, noted that all dialogue will be taken directly from Disney’s speeches. The setting will be in Disney’s office, and for much of the show Disney will be leaning on his desk, although the figure was teased as being able to stand up.

Fitzgerald and Shaver-Moskowitz note that they researched Disney’s shoe size, looked at molds of his hands and even attempted — and failed — to find out which hair products Disney used. He will be wearing a tie emblazoned with the logo for Palm Springs’ Smoke Tree Ranch, a favorite retreat of Disney’s.

“We didn’t order an animatronic to look like Walt,” Shaver-Moskowitz says. “We built a Walt animatronic to deliver a performance that was specifically Walt.”

Veteran Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald reviews storyboards associated with “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” which launches July 17 at Disneyland. The show will include a robotic figure of Walt Disney as well as a short film.

(Mike Pucher / Disneyland Resort)

Yet can any animatronic capture the essence of a human, even a theatrical interpretation of one?

“You could never get the casualness of his talking,” Disney’s granddaughter Miller wrote in her post. While those who know the Disney family have confirmed the veracity of the post, attempts to reach Miller have been unsuccessful. Members of the Walt Disney family are said to be divided, with many supporting the animatronic and some others against it, say those in the know who have declined to speak on the record for fear of ruining their relationships.

“He was so fascinated with technology, and also the intersection between technology and art,” says Kirsten Komoroske, executive director of the Walt Disney Family Museum, of Disney. Multiple descendants of Disney’s sit on various boards that the Family Museum is associated with, and Komoroske says those working with the institution have pledged their support of the animatronic. “They really feel that he would have liked this project.”

Others who knew Disney, such as legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr, the designer of the Disneyland Monorail, the Matterhorn Bobsleds and more, as well as a pivotal collaborator on the Lincoln figure, have confirmed that they have seen the animatronic but have chosen not to discuss it. “I am embargoed,” Gurr told The Times, adding only that the public would have “quite a reaction.”

Imagineers were asked about Miller’s comments. Dusty Sage, executive editor of Disney fan site Micechat, told the audience he has spoken with Miller and her primary concern was that Disney never wanted to be turned into a robotic figure.

“In all our research, we never found any documentation of Walt saying that,” Shaver-Moskowitz says. “We know that it’s anecdotal and we can’t speak to what was told to people in private and we can’t speak to Joanna’s specific feelings about the project. But we have worked very diligently for many years with the Walt Disney Family Museum and members of the Disney and Miller family. … We’ve taken care to make sure that the family is along the journey with us and we feel that we’ve presented a faithful and theatrical presentation that keeps Walt alive in the medium that he pioneered.”

The Walt Disney Co. has made a significant effort over the years to mythologize Disney. Statues of Disney can be found at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and trinkets bearing his image, including an ornament of the latter, can occasionally be spotted for sale in the park’s gift shops. The reality of who Disney was has arguably become obscured.

“Walt Disney — A Magical Life” will walk a fine line when it opens, attempting to inspire a new generation to look into Disney’s life while also portraying him as more than just a character in the park’s arsenal.

“Why are we doing this now?” Fitzgerald says. “For two reasons. One is Disneyland’s 70th anniversary is an ideal time we thought to create a permanent tribute to Walt Disney in the Opera House. The other: I grew up watching Walt Disney on television. I guess I’m the old man. He came into our living room every week and chatted and it was very casual and you felt like you knew the man. But a lot of people today don’t know Walt Disney was an individual. They think Walt Disney is a company.”

And now nearly 60 years after his death, Disney will once again grace Main Street, whether or not audiences — or even some members of his family — are ready to greet him.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday re-upped his threat to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, escalating a showdown with the first major college that has defied the administration’s efforts to crack down on campus activism.

He’s underscoring that pledge even as federal law prohibits senior members of the executive branch from asking the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or an investigation. The White House has said any IRS actions will be conducted independently of the president.

“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status,” Trump wrote on his social media site Friday morning from Palm Beach, Fla., where he is spending the weekend. “It’s what they deserve!”

The president has questioned the fate of Harvard’s tax-exempt status — which a majority of U.S. colleges and universities have — ever since the school refused to comply with the administration’s demands for broad government and leadership changes, revisions to its admissions policy, and audits of how diversity is viewed on the campus. That prompted the administration to block more than $2 billion in federal grants to the Cambridge, Mass., institution.

The Treasury Department directed a senior official at the Internal Revenue Service to begin the process of revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status shortly after a social media post from Trump in mid-April questioning it, although the White House has suggested that the tax agency’s scrutiny of Harvard began before Trump’s public comments targeting the school.

Democrats say Trump’s actions against Harvard are purely political. The Senate minority leader, Charles E. Schumer, along with Massachusetts’ two Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and the Senate Finance Committee chairman, Ron Wyden of Oregon, called for an inspector general investigation into Trump’s attempts to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

Trump’s move “raises troubling constitutional questions, including whether the president is trying to squelch Harvard’s free speech rights and whether the revocation of its tax-exempt status will deprive the university of its due process rights,” the senators wrote in a letter Friday to Heather Hill, the acting Treasury inspector general for tax administration.

Mike Kaercher, deputy director of NYU’s Tax Law Center, said: “Overwhelming bipartisan majorities in Congress have enacted laws making it a crime for the President and his staff to request an audit or investigation of a particular taxpayer.”

An IRS representative did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Trump’s battle against Harvard is part of a broader campaign the administration is framing as an effort to root out antisemitism on college campuses. But the White House also sees a political upside in the fight, framing it as a bigger war against elite institutions decried by Trump’s loyal supporters.

The “next chapter of the American story will not be written by The Harvard Crimson,” Trump said Thursday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he delivered the commencement address at the University of Alabama. “It will be written by you, the Crimson Tide.”

The Harvard Crimson is that school’s student newspaper. The Crimson Tide refers to the Alabama school’s athletic teams.

In addition to threatening Harvard’s tax-exempt status and halting federal grants, the Trump administration wants to block Harvard from being able to enroll international students.

Kim writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.

New Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says winning the Irish Premiership is the “ultimate goal” for the ambitious top flight club but progress must be made “step-by-step” in moving towards achieving that.

Higgins was revealed as Dean Shiels’ successor in the role on Friday and will take charge of the Bannsiders’ European play-off semi-final against either Dungannon Swifts or Crusaders next Wednesday.

The 40-year-old takes over at the helm at a time when the Ballycastle Road club is the subject of major investment, including from executive chairman and majority shareholder Henry Ross, and is finishing its first year operating to a full-time model.

Joel Cooper, a key figure in Linfield’s convincing Irish Premiership success, is among the players who will be joining Coleraine in the summer.

“You want to be part of clubs who want to be successful. This club definitely wants success but you have to take it in stages as well,” said the former Derry City boss.

“You have to compete first, unsettle the teams above you, and the next stage then is winning. It’s step-by-step.

“But I’m very confident. There are a lot of smashing players here at the minute. I’ve seen that at first hand, players that I am really looking forward to working with.”

Aid workers trying to deliver supplies to Gaza were left stranded on a burning ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea after they say it was attacked by drones. The ship was part of an attempt to challenge Israel’s two-month blockade of Gaza.

Control over city gives the RSF strategic advantage in its bid to take Darfur capital el-Fasher, located 400km to the west.

Fighting in the Sudanese city of al-Nahud, a strategic city in West Kordofan state acting as a gateway to the Darfur region, has killed 19 people and left 37 wounded, according to sources who spoke to Al Jazeera, in the latest eruption of violence in the brutal two-year civil war.

Local sources told Al Jazeera that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which declared on Telegram that it had “liberated” al-Nahud from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Thursday, had rampaged through neighbourhoods, looting the market, houses and cars.

Al Jazeera understands that a doctor, a journalist and a police officer were among those killed as paramilitaries overcame the city, held by the SAF since the start of the conflict that has left tens of thousands dead and uprooted more than 12 million.

Control over al-Nahud has become a priority for both the RSF and SAF as fighting between the pair intensifies in Darfur, where 542 people have been killed in the past three weeks alone, according to the United Nations on Thursday.

The RSF has been doubling down on Darfur in recent weeks after losing the national capital, Khartoum, last month, in a bid to seize regional capital el-Fasher, the last major population centre still in the army’s hands, located 400 kilometres (250 miles) west of al-Nahud.

Recent violence in el-Fasher and the nearby refugee camps of Zamzam and Abu Shouk has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee 60km (37 miles) across the desert to the town of Tawila.

As it continues its campaign in Darfur, the paramilitary group has also been inching closer to Khartoum again, shelling the presidential palace in its second attack on the capital in less than a week.

On Saturday, the RSF bombarded the army’s General Command headquarters in Khartoum.

Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, commenting on the death toll in Darfur and extrajudicial executions conducted by both sides in Khartoum state, said on Thursday that the “horror unfolding in Sudan knows no bounds”.

The conflict between SAF, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF’s Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo has divided Sudan in two, with the army holding sway in the north and east, while the RSF controls most of Darfur and parts of the south.

Ruth Buzzi, famous for her work as handbag-wielding spinster Gladys Ormphby on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” died Thursday, her family announced Friday. The actor was 88.

“Ruth Buzzi died peacefully in her sleep at home in Texas,” read the note on Facebook. “She was in hospice care for several years with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Buzzi’s husband of more than 40 years, Kent Perkins, announced in July 2022 that she had suffered “devastating strokes” that left her bedridden and incapacitated.

“I am living with an attitude of gratitude for 43 years of marriage to my best friend, the greatest person I ever met, the one and only Ruth Buzzi,” he wrote at the time on social media. “Her love for others knows no bounds, and she has spent a lifetime making people smile.”

She could still speak, understand and recognize her friends and loved ones at that point, he said.

Early Thursday he wrote on Facebook that Buzzi had “asked me to thank all of you for being so good to her for so many years. She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them.”

The performer was born July 24, 1936, in Rhode Island and raised in Connecticut. She enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, which was affiliated with Southern California’s Pasadena Playhouse from 1928 to 1969 and had more than 5,000 students over the years.

She was in every episode of NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” (1967-73), where she honed her comedic role as a park-bench spinster, and was among many cast members to utter the line “Sock it to me.” That came after Buzzi became a fixture on television in the late 1960s with appearances on “The Monkees” (1967) and “The Steve Allen Comedy Hour” (1967) and a part on “That Girl” (1967-68).

“You can’t find anyone funnier than Goldie Hawn or Ruth Buzzi or Arte Johnson,” “Laugh-In” creator and executive producer George Schlatter told The Times in 2019.

Buzzi herself told The Times in 2011 about working with John Wayne on the variety show.

“John Wayne loved us so much. He would do just about anything you would ask him to do. He did one sketch where he was Gladys’ husband,” she said, referring to her famous character. “They had me wearing a little-bitty cowboy hat and little-bitty guns. I had to hit him, and I kept hitting him waiting for them to say cut. I turned around and said, ‘Please, I don’t want to hit this man.’ It was so funny they put [the aside] in the show.”

Among her more recent acting credits were the 2009 film “City of Shoulders and Noses,” “Fallen Angels” (2006) and multiple episodes of “Passions” (2003), and she played Suzie Kabloozie in 86 episodes of “Sesame Street.” Her final credit came in 2021 when she played Agnes in the movie “One Month Out.”

This story is developing and will be updated.
Former Times staff writer Lauren Beale contributed to this report.

THEY are social media’s hottest couple and fans were delighted when Molly-Mae Hague FINALLY confirmed she had reunited with Tommy Fury this week .

After months of playing cat and mouse with the media to avoid being pictured together – despite The Sun capturing them snogging on New Year’s Eve – the influencer waited to reveal the news on her new Amazon docuseries.

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It was a smart move that compounded Molly-Mae’s power as one of Britain’s most shrewd influencers for, despite the heartache of their break-up, the couple’s split has seen interest in them soar at a time they were launching new projects.

Now Molly-Mae and Tommy have been revealed as the UK’s fifth richest TV couple with a combined wealth of £13million.

She has her own clothing range, homeware and fake tan, is brand ambassador for Pretty Little Thing and has an ongoing deal with Starbucks.

This week she signed a deal worth £1million with Beauty Works while her TV show and business ventures boosted the coffers by around £6million.

Tommy, brother of Tyson Fury, is worth £3million, earns around £1.6million a fight and has a contract with M&S worth £150,000.

Even two-year-old daughter Bambi is getting in on the act, starring in a new brand campaign for Persil and Comfort, said to have netted the family seven figures.

According to Daily Mail analysis the influencer and boxer, who met on Love Island in 2019, are even richer than telly golden couple Tess Daly and Vernon Kay, estimated to be worth £11.5million. 

They are pipped to fourth spot by Rochelle and Marvin Humes, worth £15.1million between them, while actress Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright take the top spot at £20million.

The influencer and boxer, both 25, broke up last August amid rumours he cheated and Tommy later admitted to struggling with booze.

Shortly after, Molly-Mae took to Instagram to announce her new fashion brand Maebe while Tommy was busy promoting his autobiography – sparking online speculation their split was all a publicity stunt.

She vehemently denied the accusation in January after The Sun exclusively revealed a photo of the pair snogging at a New Year’s party.  

In March, eagle-eyed fans spotted the couple were on holiday in Dubai together – despite posting separate, strikingly similar pictures on their Instagram pages.  

It’s likely that Amazon bosses behind her new Prime Video show Molly-Mae: Behind It All were keen to get an exclusive take on their big break-up.

Publicity stunt?

Speaking in January, Molly-Mae, known for her sharp business acumen, denied the split was orchestrated to earn big bucks.

She called out stunt rumours at the launch of her show saying: “I think that for me above everything else that (the speculation) has been the most frustrating part because I actually say in the documentary, I wish it was a publicity stunt because it would be a lot easier, because going through all of this with the turmoil of a breakup has been incredibly hard.

“And I think to have those comments – and I do see the comments, I see all of them – like people saying, you know, this has obviously been done for the launch of a brand or publicity stunt, that is very painful to read because it’s real life.”

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Molly-Mae continued: “You know, Tommy and I have a baby together and it’s very, very real, and it’s really, it’s a really hard thing that we’ve both gone through the last six months.

“I think the documentary will clear up any questions.

“You see a real, real side to it, and it’s kind of like you’re a bit vulnerable, and like I say, I think people will be surprised by how honest we’ve been.”

Fans were blindsided when Molly Mae announced the pair had split on Instagram last summer amid claims he had cheated on a lad’s holiday in Macedonia.

Five months later The Sun’s Clemmie Moodie broke the story that the couple were back together after our exclusive images showed them sharing a kiss at a New Year’s party at the Cheshire home of Man Utd star Luke Shaw.

Most nights I would drink to get black-out drunk. I think that’s what really took its toll on me

Tommy Fury

The celebrity pair were careful not to be pictured together looking loved-up as they continued to co–parent baby Bambi – paving the way for Molly-Mae to tell all in her new show, which airs on May 9.

Cheating denial

Tommy denied cheating on his partner saying: “I think if you were going to cheat on someone you should just sit down and say, ‘I don’t love you any more’, clearly, because you want to go and pursue other people.

“When you get to that stage, I think you should just call it a day.

“If you want to go there and have affairs with women then you definitely shouldn’t be with your partner. Definitely not. And have I ever reached that point? No.”

Tommy later blamed the split on his  alcohol addiction saying: “Most nights I would drink to get black-out drunk. I think that’s what really took its toll on me.”

The couple, who live in a £4.5 mansion, might be back together but there could be more drama to come.

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In a trailer for her documentary, Molly-Mae’s big sister Zoe grills her on her relationship with Tommy asking: “Have you actually addressed the problems?”

The influencer replies: “One hundred per cent.”

However, Molly-Mae is also filmed saying: “Things are looking like they are heading in a good direction but by tomorrow could it all be destroyed again?”

Whatever happens in their relationship there’s no doubt that, with so much intrigue surrounding the pair, the cash will continue to pour in.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been thrown into two top national security jobs at once as President Trump presses forward with his top-to-bottom revamp of U.S. foreign policy, upending not only long-standing policies that the former Florida senator once supported but also the configuration of the executive branch.

Trump’s appointment of Rubio to temporarily replace Mike Waltz as national security advisor is the first major leadership shake-up of his second administration, but Waltz’s removal had been rumored for weeks — ever since he created a Signal group chat and accidentally added a journalist to the conversation in which top national security officials shared sensitive military plans.

So, just over 100 days into his tenure as America’s top diplomat, Rubio now becomes just the second person to hold both positions. He follows only the late Henry Kissinger, who served as both secretary of State and national security advisor for two years under Presidents Nixon and Ford in the 1970s.

Rubio — a onetime Trump rival and hawkish conservative who was derided by the president as “Little Marco” during the 2016 presidential campaign — has proven adept at aligning himself with Trump’s “America First” foreign policy positions. Rubio has largely eschewed his staunch advocacy of providing foreign aid and promoting democracy overseas since taking over the State Department, repeating a refrain that every policy or program should make America safer, stronger or more prosperous.

Rubio leads during Trump’s massive changes

Since being confirmed in a 99-0 Senate floor vote, Rubio has presided over a radical reorganization of the State Department. That includes the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and plans to cut U.S. jobs by 15% while closing or consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide. He has also begun a major cull of the visa system, revoking hundreds, if not thousands, of visas issued to foreign students.

He has overseen the negotiation of agreements to send immigrants accused of crimes to third countries, most notably to El Salvador, in cases that are now being challenged in federal courts.

“Marco Rubio, unbelievable,” Trump said Thursday before announcing on social media that Waltz would be nominated as ambassador to the United Nations and Rubio would take over as national security advisor in the interim. “When I have a problem, I call up Marco, he gets it solved.”

That’s a far cry from 2016, when Rubio and Trump were competing for the GOP presidential nomination and Rubio warned that Trump was a threat. After Trump won, the relationship remained contentious, but eight years later, Rubio was an enthusiastic Trump supporter who worked his Florida bona fides to get into the president’s inner circle.

Yet, even after Rubio was nominated to the top diplomatic job, doubts remained. Many pundits suggested he would last only a short time in office before Trump dismissed him in the same way he did his first-term secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who was fired by tweet in 2018 just 18 months into the job.

Yet Rubio has been resilient. And as of Thursday, he oversees both the State Department and the National Security Council, which is responsible for coordinating all executive branch foreign policy functions, ranging from diplomatic to military and intelligence operations.

Thomas Wright, an NSC official during the Biden administration who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the national security advisor post alone is “more than a full-time job.”

“It is just very hard to comprehend the idea that you can do this job sort of part time,” Wright said.

He said he watched national security advisor Jake Sullivan and his deputy work 14-15 hours a day, six to seven days a week: “I think they felt that they had to do that to do the job properly.”

Rubio says little so far on his additional role

Appearing Thursday night on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Rubio was not asked to weigh in on the president’s decision to tap him as national security advisor but did joke that he was barred from adding pope to his list of many jobs because he is married.

But as he marked the first 100 days of Trump’s latest term, Rubio applauded the president for his vision.

“I am honored by the trust President Trump placed in me and I am proud of the work the Department of State has done over the past hundred days to implement his agenda and put the American people first,” he wrote Wednesday in a State Department Substack post.

One of Rubio’s former Florida statehouse colleagues, Dan Gelber, a Democrat, said of Rubio’s increasing responsibilities that “Marco is probably, to a certain extent, one of the more reliable Cabinet officers, if not the most reliable.”

“And I can only believe those qualities are even more vital to his current confluence of positions and growing portfolio,” Gelber said. “He’s not a chaos guy, and I’ve always sort of wondered how he’s going to do in an administration where there seems to be so much chaos. And maybe that’s why he’s getting all these positions.”

Rubio’s dual-hatted role comes on top of him serving as acting administrator of the largely shut down USAID and as acting head of the National Archives. It puts him in a similar position to that of Trump’s longtime personal friend and golfing buddy Steve Witkoff.

As a special envoy, Witkoff is the lead U.S. negotiator in the Iran nuclear talks and in administration peace efforts for the Israel-Hamas war and the Ukraine-Russia war.

In many ways, Rubio and Witkoff are following in the footsteps of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had multiple roles in the first administration, ranging from brokering peace in the Middle East to dealing with Latin America and immigration.

How Rubio’s expanded duties are seen at the State Department

State Department officials appeared taken aback by Trump’s appointment of Rubio as acting national security advisor. Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said at a briefing Thursday that she learned the news from a journalist who asked her a question about Trump’s post minutes after it appeared on social media.

Officials, however, have noted that Rubio in recent weeks has spent an increasingly large amount of time at the White House away from his posh seventh-floor State Department office in what is known as “Mahogany Row,” a corridor known for its wood paneling.

At the same time, these officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel shift, said they did not expect Rubio’s duties as secretary of State to change significantly. He still plans to travel on diplomatic missions abroad and likely will delegate at least some of the NSC management to others, they said.

Lee and Amiri write for the Associated Press. Amiri reported from the United Nations.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby dropped to 19 horses on Friday when Grande was scratched from the race with a foot bruise. Grande is trained by Todd Pletcher and was to be ridden by John Velazquez. The owner is Mike Repole.

Grande joins Rodriguez, trained by Bob Baffert, as scratches since the race was drawn last Saturday. Both are coming out of the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. Rodriguez won the race and Grande was second.

Two years ago, Forte, also trained by Pletcher and owned by Repole, was scratched as the morning-line favorite. This is the first time in 21 years that Pletcher has not had a Derby starter. Pletcher has won the Derby twice with Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017.

Grande did not race as a 2-year-old and had only run three times. He won his maiden and then an allowance before finishing second in the Wood. A son of Curlin, he was purchased for $300,000.

He was scheduled to break from nine, wearing the saddlecloth of 10. All horses on the outside of him will move in one gate.

President Joseph Aoun says Lebanon must not be used as a launchpad for instability or be dragged into unnecessary wars.

Lebanon’s top security body has warned the Palestinian group Hamas against using the country’s territory for acts that could undermine national security, after rocket fire towards Israel led to counterstrikes.

The Higher Defence Council issued the warning on Friday as Lebanon faces growing United States pressure to disarm groups outside state control, following a 14-month war between Israel and the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.

Lebanese authorities are also trying to establish their authority throughout the country, particularly in the south near the border with Israel.

Israel has violated the US-brokered November 2024 truce agreement on a near-daily basis, according to Lebanese authorities, including three air attacks on the capital Beirut.

In a statement, the council headed by President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon must not be used as a launchpad for instability or be dragged into unnecessary wars.

It added that “the utmost measures and necessary procedures will be taken to put a definitive end to any act that violates Lebanese sovereignty.”

Aoun, who previously served as army commander, has pledged to bring all weapons in the country under the state’s authority, but has admitted that disarming Hezbollah, which the US has been pressuring Lebanon to do, is a “delicate” matter.

Mohammad al-Mustafa, secretary-general of the council, told reporters on Friday that while Aoun highlighted the importance of Palestinian rights, he also stressed that Lebanese stability should not be compromised.

Hamas has a longstanding presence within Lebanon, including in camps across the country that host hundreds of thousands of longtime Palestinian refugees, and where Lebanese security forces have long had only limited authority.

Along with Hezbollah, Hamas fighters in Lebanon fired rockets across the southern border into Israel in solidarity with Palestinians after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, when Israel began a huge bombardment campaign in Gaza.

Since then, Israeli air attacks have killed several Hamas commanders in Lebanon, including the group’s deputy chief in early 2024.

Israel has cited security concerns for its continued deadly raids on Lebanon, despite the ceasefire.

In a bid to address the concerns of Israel and the US, which brokered the ceasefire, the Lebanese army arrested Lebanese and Palestinian individuals accused of firing rockets towards Israel on March 22 and March 28.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Hezbollah has denied any involvement.

But a Lebanese security source told the AFP news agency that security forces arrested three Hamas members.

The council said legal proceedings would begin early next week against those detained over the rocket fire in March.

Chile has issued a tsunami warning and said people should evacuate coastal areas in the south of country after a large earthquake.

The warning was issued for the remote Magallanes region on the country’s southern tip and parts of the Chilean Antarctic Territory.

It comes after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck 219km (136 miles) off the coast of the city of Ushuaia, in neighbouring Argentina, on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake was also felt in Ushuaia, local media reports, and aftershocks have been reported in the region.

In a post on X, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said: “We call for evacuation of the coastline throughout the Magallanes region.” All state resources would be made available to deal with any impact, he added.

More than 1,700 people have been evacuated to higher ground in the sparsely-populated Magallanes region so far, including 1,000 from the town of Puerto Williams and 500 from Puerto Natales, according to Chile’s disaster agency (Senapred).

Some 32 people also followed evacuation procedures in Chile’s Antarctic research bases, Senapred added.

The agency advised residents to “act calmly and follow the instructions of authorities and response teams”.

Footage posted on social media, as yet unverified by the BBC, showed people calmly heading for higher ground in Puerto Williams, with sirens blaring in the background.

Local media is reporting that this is a precautionary measure, with residents being asked to evacuate to safe areas which are 30m above sea level.

The earthquake struck the Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctica at a depth of 10km (6 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

The official UK spokesperson for Eurovision has been announced as a huge Doctor Who star will be announcing the all important scoring board on May 17

A huge Doctor Who star has been announced as the United Kingdom’s Eurovision spokesperson delivering the results of the UK’s National Jury live on May 17.

Announcing the news on social media, the BBC penned: “Two worlds collide. The UK spokesperson for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is… Ncuti Gatwa.” Ncuti is currently playing the role of The Doctor in the popular BBC and Disney+ series – and now fans will see him on screen in a different light.

Sharing the news to their own page, the official Doctor Who account wrote: “Douze Points (or should that be fifteen?) for #DoctorWho! Ncuti Gatwa will be the UK’s jury spokesperson for this year’s #Eurovision Song Contest, delivering the UK points to the world! #Eurovision2025.”

In the post, the star could be seen wearing a blue pin-stripe cape and trousers as he smiles ahead of the huge announcement.

Fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter to share their excitement, as one penned: “Fab-u-lous Great idea!” as a second agreed: “Woohoo!!! Excited!!!” A third exclaimed: “THIS IS EPIC!!”

Ncuti will follow in the footsteps of previous high profile presenters, including Catherine Tate and Joanna Lumley.

It’s a double whammy for Doctor Who fans, who will also be treated to a Eurovision themed episode of Doctor Who. The show will air on the same night as the Eurovision and its writer has claimed that it is the “most expensive” episode in the sci-fi show’s 62-year history.

During the special episode, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) will travel to the 803rd contest, which is co-hosted by Rylan, with Graham Norton also making an appearance.

The episode to tie-in with the action from Switzerland has been written by sci-fi author Juno Dawson, who said this month: “It’s the most ridiculous episode they’ve ever done – and the most expensive.”

This year, the competition will take place in Basel, Switzerland with Remember Monday flying the flag for the United Kingdom, with their entry, What The Hell Just Happened?

As well as watching live on BBC One, fans can tune in to BBC Radio 2, as they gear up for an all-out takeover of the 2025 Song Contest, broadcasting straight from the heart of Switzerland.

Fan-favourites Scott Mills, Rylan, and Richie Anderson leading the charge – and this year, they’re joined by Radio 2 staple Sara Cox.

Doctor Who – The Interstellar Song Contest will air on Saturday, May 17. With the Eurovision Song Contest airing just after.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Trump’s first 100 days of his second term have been marked by an onslaught of executive action that has overhauled the federal government, the economy and United States foreign policy. His actions have triggered a surge of political backlash.

But is the political opposition doing enough to fight his policies?

This week on UpFront, Redi Tlhabi speaks with Bernie Sanders’s former National Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray, Assistant Professor of History at George Washington University Timothy Shenk, and Senior Director of Communications at the public policy think tank Third Way, Kate deGruyter.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation.

The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month.

The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster or civil strife.

A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request.

President Trump’s administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments.

The emergency appeal to the high court came the same day a federal judge in Texas ruled illegal the administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelans under an 18th century wartime law. The cases are not related.

The protections had been set to expire April 7, but U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ordered a pause on those plans. He found that the expiration threatened to severely disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and could cost billions in lost economic activity.

Chen, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Obama, found the government hadn’t shown any harm caused by keeping the program alive.

But Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on behalf of the administration that Chen’s order impermissibly interferes with the administration’s power over immigration and foreign affairs.

In addition, Sauer told the justices, people affected by ending the protected status might have other legal options to try to remain in the country because the “decision to terminate TPS is not equivalent to a final removal order.”

Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife.

Sherman and Whitehurst write for the Associated Press.

Celtic winger Jota will be sidelined for between six to nine months with a cruciate ligament injury, manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed.

The 26-year-old, who returned to the Scottish champions from Rennes in January, picked up a knee injury during Saturday’s 5-0 win over Dundee United.

Jota was taken off in the first-half at Tannadice as Celtic sealed a fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title, the Portuguese wide man leaving the stadium on crutches.

“Sadly, it’s not good news for him or for us really,” Rodgers said. “It didn’t look as bad, but when he had the scan, it looks like he’ll probably be out for six to nine months.

“So he’s done his cruciate and a little bit of other damage in there. He’s quite upbeat and philosophical about it.”

Jota impressed in his first spell with Celtic, initially on loan from Benfica, but after being sold to Al-Ittihad in 2023, he fell out of favour with the Saudi club and at Rennes.

He has made 16 appearances, nine of them starts, after returning to Glasgow, scoring five goals.

“He’s had a challenging couple of years really after his move away from here to Saudi, but this will give him a chance to come back even stronger and grow.”

Celtic visit city rivals Rangers on Sunday as they look to avoid losing a third consecutive Old Firm league meeting.

More to follow.

May 2 (UPI) — Former Prime Minister and acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo declared Friday he will run to officially hold the presidential office.

In an expected move, he made the announcement at the National Assembly, one day after he resigned as both prime minister and acting President. He served as prime minister twice, as trade minister, minister of economy and finance and also as the South Korean ambassador to the United States.

“Our nation is also gripped by internal unrest, as conflict and division threaten the foundations of our society,” he said in his announcement in regard to his run for president, “I have decided to step forward out of love for the country and a sense of responsibility for our shared future.”

The election will take place on June 3, and will challenge Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party. The eventual winner will replace impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Chile issues evacuation alert for coastal areas in the Magallanes region in the country’s far south.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck off the southern coasts of Chile and Argentina, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) says.

Chilean authorities issued an evacuation alert on Friday for the entire coastal section of the Strait of Magellan, in the far south of the South American country.

Citing the threat of a tsunami, the Chilean National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response also ordered the evacuation of the beach area of the Antarctic Territory, Magallanes Region.

Argentina did not immediately issue a similar tsunami warning.

No damage or casualties have been initially reported.

The earthquake struck Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctica at a depth of just 10km (6 miles), the USGS said.

Magallanes is Chile’s largest and southernmost region and one of its least populated. According to government figures, in 2017, the population totalled about 166,000 people.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said all of the country’s resources were available to respond to the quake.

“We call for evacuation of the coastline throughout the Magallanes region,” he wrote in a social media post. “At this time, our duty is to be prepared and heed the authorities.”

A VITAL new £1 billion tramline has been unveiled, set to transform lives by linking the city centre to the airport and unlocking thousands of jobs and investment.

The ambitious project, hailed as a “moment of great opportunity,” is set to reshape how people live, work, and travel.

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The plan focuses on East Birmingham and North Solihull, aiming to link the heart of the city to major hubs including the NEC, Birmingham Airport, and the HS2 interchange at Arden Cross.

It’s been described as a once-in-a-generation project that will breathe new life into areas struggling with high unemployment and child poverty.

Years in the making, the proposal has gathered momentum thanks to the efforts of West Midlands mayor Richard Parker and Tom Wagner, the American investor behind Birmingham City FC’s owners, Knighthead.

The line would run from the new Curzon Street HS2 station, through Digbeth and Bordesley Green, home to the planned £2.9 billion Blues super-stadium, then on to Heartlands Hospital, the NEC, and the airport.

Local leaders stress that this is not just about transport but about connecting people to opportunity.

Mayor Parker said: “We are creating a necklace of opportunity that will join communities together and bring in billions of pounds of investment.

“This is a massive opportunity for the whole region.”

The proposal carries the slogan “Invest a Little, Unlock a Lot,” arguing that an initial £350–400 million of public funding could spark billions in private investment and create thousands of new jobs.

Business leaders, local councils, and sports executives have joined forces to call on the government to back the project.

Birmingham City FC’s CEO Jeremy Dale has been clear: “There’s no point building a stadium for 60 to 70 thousand people if they can’t get out of the stadium.”

Investor Tom Wagner added that improving connections will benefit not just sports crowds but the 375,000 residents who live along the planned route.

The tramline would also support big projects like Washwood Heath, Bordesley Park, and Tyseley Energy Park, opening up new opportunities in green technology, advanced manufacturing, and energy innovation.

This could help position the region as a leader in the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

Leaders across the political divide — including Birmingham’s Labour council and Solihull’s Conservative leadership — have come together to support the plan.

They issued a joint statement calling it a “moment of real opportunity” to bring more jobs, better housing, and stronger communities to the region.

Local MP Liam Byrne has urged ministers to back the formation of a Mayoral Development Corporation to oversee the project, which he says will help cut through bureaucracy and ensure swift delivery.

He praised the proposal in Parliament, saying it could be a national example of how to unlock regional growth.

While no official government funding has yet been announced, insiders believe that ministers are warming to the plan.

Talks with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander have been described as positive, with a formal announcement possible as part of June’s spending review.

If approved, phase one of the project could be complete by 2030, in time for the opening of the Blues’ new stadium.

The full network would follow within a decade, delivering a dramatic upgrade in transport connectivity across Birmingham and Solihull.

This new line is seen as essential to making the most of the massive HS2 investment, ensuring local communities are connected to new national and international rail links.

Without it, leaders warn, the full potential of HS2 and regional regeneration projects may be lost.

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