key

Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham Hotspur and Ghana)

Kudus is awaiting further assessment on a quad injury that could require surgery. Ghana risk losing their key creative figure if recovery takes longer than expected. His availability remains uncertain as crucial decisions loom. The Ghana international has been out for more than three months after limping out of Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Sunderland on 4 January.

Eder Militao (Real Madrid and Brazil)

Militao has been ruled out for the rest of Real Madrid’s season after suffering a hamstring tear. The 28-year-old centre-back is targeting a return for the World Cup, but Brazil’s medical staff are cautious given his recent history of muscle injuries.

Reece James (Chelsea and England)

England defender James is once again dealing with hamstring issues while sidelined at Chelsea. Having missed the past two major tournaments, his hopes depend on avoiding further setbacks. The 26-year-old sustained the injury in a 1-0 Premier League defeat by Newcastle in March. Any delay in recovery would put his place in serious doubt.

Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich and Canada)

Canada’s talisman is once again struggling with the recurring muscle issues that have plagued his recent seasons at Bayern Munich. His explosive pace is central to Canada’s threat, but his body seems to be pushing back at the worst possible moment. If he is not fully fit, Canada’s chances take a massive hit.

WASHINGTON — Many of the groups that helped elect Donald Trump as president again are deeply unhappy with his performance, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

Trump’s return to the presidency was fueled by a wide-ranging coalition that built on his loyal base of supporters. Now that Trump has been in the White House for more than a year, the survey of more than 2,500 U.S. adults from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that many key groups — including Hispanic adults, younger adults and men — are increasingly dissatisfied with his presidency.

The poll was conducted from April 16 through Monday, as oil prices fluctuated and Americans spent more at the gas pump.

It’s a particularly bad moment for Trump, a Republican whose economic approval slumped over the past month as the Iran war drives prices higher. But AP-NORC polls show that discontent has been building among critical segments of the population over the past year.

Trump’s overall approval among Hispanic adults has fallen 16 percentage points since March 2025, and his support has declined by 9 percentage points among men.

And while Trump’s base is still largely behind him — most Republicans approve of his performance — there are signs that his second term may not be living up to their expectations.

Here’s what polling shows about Trump’s current status with four important groups:

Hispanic adults

Hispanic Americans have grown increasingly discontented with Trump over the past year.

About one-quarter of Hispanic adults approve of how he’s handling the presidency in the new poll, down from about 4 in 10 in March 2025.

That decline has been visible since late last year — suggesting that it’s not just the war in Iran or recent spikes in gas prices that are leaving this group unhappy.

Trump’s restrictive immigration approach may be playing a role. Only about one-quarter of Hispanics approve of his handling of immigration, down from 36% at the beginning of his term.

His immigration tactics appear to be particularly unpopular among younger Hispanics — a group with which he made gains in 2024. Only 18% of younger Hispanic adults approve of his performance on immigration, compared with 40% of Americans overall.

There is also broad discontent about the state of the U.S. economy among Hispanics. Only about one-quarter of Hispanic adults approve of how Trump is handling that issue, and about 2 in 10 say they approve of his approach to the cost of living. Few Hispanic adults, about 2 in 10, describe the nation’s economy as “good.”

Young adults

Trump’s overall approval with Americans under age 45 has slid over the past year, falling from 39% in March 2025 to 28% in the latest poll.

Younger women have a particularly dim view of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Only about 2 in 10 women under age 45 approve of how Trump is handling the economy, including only 7% of younger Hispanic women who approve of his economic approach. More young men, about 3 in 10, approve of him on this issue.

Trump’s struggles among young adults extend to other groups, too. Only about one-third of white adults under age 45 approve of his overall performance, compared with 45% of white adults age 45 or older.

A downtick among men

Trump made broad appeals to men throughout his 2024 campaign, and most male voters backed Trump in the presidential election over Democrat Kamala Harris. In particular, he made slight but significant gains with Black and Hispanic men, who were drawn by his vows to revitalize the economy.

Since he reentered office, though, American men have become slightly less likely to approve of his performance, declining from 47% at the start of his second term to 38% in the most recent poll.

There are signs that Black men, in particular, aren’t seeing Trump’s economic promises pan out. Black men are more likely than white or Hispanic men to disapprove of Trump’s approach to the presidency, as well as his approach to the economy, the cost of living and Iran. Only about 1 in 10 Black men say they approve of how Trump is handling the cost of living, and roughly 2 in 10 approve of how he’s handling the economy.

Hispanic men, too, have a relatively dim view of Trump’s overall performance. About 3 in 10 approve of how Trump is handling the presidency, regardless of their age. That support is stronger among white men, with about half approving of Trump.

While young Republicans are frustrated, MAGA still backs Trump

Trump has benefited from Republicans’ loyalty for years, but there are recent signs of frustration even within his base.

Roughly two-thirds of Republicans approve of Trump’s job performance. That is down slightly from 82% near the start of his second term and is generally in line with the GOP low point from his first term.

But only about half of Republicans overall approve of Trump’s approach to the cost of living, and a majority of Republicans under age 45 disapprove of him on that issue.

Trump is still buoyed by the support of his MAGA base, even as he faces backlash from conservative media figures on some of his recent actions in Iran.

About 9 in 10 MAGA Republicans — those who consider themselves supporters of the “Make America Great Again” movement — approve of Trump’s job performance, and a similar share approve of his handling of Iran.

It’s a good sign for Trump that his most robust supporters are still in his corner, but not all Republicans identify with MAGA. About half of Republicans, 54%, say they consider themselves MAGA supporters.

Among non-MAGA Republicans, Trump’s approval is much lower, at 44%.

Sanders and Thomson-Deveaux write for the Associated Press. The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Virginia voters have narrowly approved a referendum to redraw the state’s congressional map, with about 51.5 percent voting yes and 48.6 percent voting no, and 97 percent of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press news agency.

The map redraws the boundaries of Virginia’s congressional districts, changes that can directly shape which party wins seats in the United States House of Representatives.

With most votes counted, the result remained close, but Democratic-leaning areas helped push it through.

The vote is part of a broader national fight over district lines – a battle that could decide who controls Congress.

Republicans in Florida, for instance, are planning a special session of the state legislature next Tuesday where they are expected to seek to redraw their state’s political map – a move that could help them gain as many as five seats, potentially wiping out any Democratic gain in Virginia.

Here are five key takeaways:

Democrats gain a major advantage in the House race

Currently, Virginia sends 11 members to the US House. At the moment, they comprise six Democrats and five Republicans.

The new map changes how those seats are drawn. By reshaping district boundaries, it makes most areas more favourable to Democrats by clumping together voters who lean towards the party strategically, while splintering communities that typically vote Republican.

• Eight districts would be safely Democratic
• Two would be competitive but lean Democratic
• Only one would be safely Republican.

Because of this, Democrats could realistically win at least eight and possibly up to 10 of the 11 seats in the US house, instead of just six.

This shift follows a high-stakes political battle, with total spending estimated at $100m.

Democratic leaders, including Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, framed the new map as a direct response to efforts by US President Donald Trump and Republicans to redraw districts in their favour in other states.

However, even with this win, “there’s no guarantee they’ll send a delegation dominated by Democrats to Washington,” Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan said, reporting from Virginia.

There are still six months until the midterm elections, and voter behaviour can shift. Even favourable maps can produce unexpected outcomes.

Virginia is one part of a bigger battle

Virginia is just one part of a bigger fight over who controls the US House.

After the 2024 election, Trump pushed Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps before the usual timeline to improve their chances in the 2026 midterms.

Republicans moved first in states like Texas, where new maps could give them up to five more seats.

Democrats responded with their own moves. In California, voters approved a plan backed by Governor Gavin Newsom that allowed lawmakers to draw a new, more partisan map. This is expected to give Democrats up to five extra seats.

The Virginia result fits into this bigger picture. If Democrats gain up to four seats there, it could help cancel out Republican gains in other states.

But the fight is not over. More changes could still happen, including in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis is looking at redrawing the map.

“Virginia just changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms,” Democratic state House Speaker Don Scott said in a celebratory statement.

“At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to lock in power before voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and levelled the playing field for the entire country.”

Legal challenges could still overturn the result

The measure has been approved by voters, but its future is still uncertain.

The Supreme Court of Virginia is expected to review ongoing legal challenges that could affect whether the new map takes effect. While the court allowed the vote to go ahead, it said it would examine the case in full if the measure passed.

The challenges focus on two key issues: Whether Democratic lawmakers followed the correct legal process when putting the proposal forward, and whether the wording on the ballot may have been misleading to voters.

A narrow win

Both parties were watching the vote closely.

Democrats were happy to win, even if it was close. Republicans, meanwhile, were relieved it wasn’t a big loss.

“Virginia Democrats can’t redraw reality,” said Republican Congressman Richard Hudson. “This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander.”

Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing electoral maps in ways that can benefit one party over another.

Democrats said the tight result was partly down to voter confusion, which they blamed on Republican messaging. Democrats framed the effort as a response to Trump, promoting the plan with advertisements featuring former US President Barack Obama.

Opponents pushed back by pointing to past comments from Obama and Spanberger, both of whom have previously criticised gerrymandering, using that to question the Democrats’ position.

Gerrymandering is at the centre of the fight

The vote highlights the growing importance of partisan map-drawing in US politics.

Democrats say this balances Republican advantages elsewhere. Republicans call it a power grab in a competitive state.

Either way, redistricting is now a key tool shaping election outcomes, not just reflecting them.

The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) has caused major travel disruptions across European airports, and a travel expert has issued three key checks every traveller should do

A travel expert said there are three key checks every holidaymaker should make before heading to the airport, following the new EU rules.

As of April 10, 2025, the European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) was fully implemented across European airports. It requires all Brits travelling to the Schengen area to “create a digital record” and register their biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photograph.

The new digital border system has replaced manual passport stamping, and after the initial registration, the EES remains valid for three years. While it’s only needed for the first arrival at the airport border in the Schengen area, it’s caused major travel chaos as thousands of British holidaymakers register with the new system, leading to significant queues and delays of up to four hours across European airports.

READ MORE: TUI travel update statements for all holidaymakers ‘due to travel’READ MORE: Latest Jet2 rules for flying with children and babies

Adam Edinburgh, Head of Travel and New Products at Post Office Insurance, told the Mirror: “Passengers may be impacted by facing longer queues initially due to biometric data collection, a process expected to take several minutes per person.

“Passengers should be encouraged to plan contingency options if travelling on a tight schedule (alternative routes or transport), as any teething problems or incomplete information could cause delays to miss flights, ferries, or connections.”

The travel expert also outlined three vital checks that Brits should do before heading to the airport, in a bid to make their journey as smooth as possible following the rollout of the EES. He advised:

1. “Check your passport expiry date (must be valid for at least 3 months after your trip for EU countries)
2. “Know your entry airport’s EES setup (expect biometric checks)
3. “Keep essential travel documents easily accessible, including passports, travel insurance, accommodation confirmation, and proof of onward or return travel.”

Explaining exactly how the EES works, Adam said: “Travellers entering for the first time will undergo biometric registration at border kiosks or e-gates. This includes the system capturing a facial image, fingerprints (if visa-exempt), passport details, and entry/exit information.

“For subsequent visits, the process will be faster due to the data already being stored. It’s important to note that no pre-registration is required – registration happens at the border during your first entry. “

Countries in the Schengen area include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The EES system is not required for travel into the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus, as they are not within the Schengen area, and Greece has relaxed its EU requirements for Brits, ditching the need for biometric details.

For travel insurance before your next trip, visit the Post Office website. Or visit the government website for more information on the new EES system.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Army officials have shared new details about plans to launch extremely long-range drones from the service’s forthcoming ME-11B High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) surveillance and reconnaissance planes. With ranges of around 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) or more, the uncrewed aerial systems will help keep the Bombardier Global 6500 bizjet-based ME-11Bs as far away from enemy air defenses as possible. In this way, the Army expects to gain a penetrating aerial intelligence-gathering capability without the need for a very stealthy or otherwise highly exquisite and costly aircraft.

“There will be nothing in the world that we can’t touch with a combined range of HADES and what we can launch off of this thing,” Andrew Evans, Director of Strategy and Transformation with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, or G-2, told TWZ and other outlets today. “I don’t think anybody’s safe in the future from a sensing perspective.”

Evans comments came at a roundtable with several Army officials about HADES on the sidelines of the Army Aviation Association of America’s (AAAA) 2026 Warfighting Summit.

To take a step back quickly, the Army selected the Bombardier Global 6500-based bid from the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) as the winner of the HADES competition in 2024. Flight testing of the first ME-11B prototype is now slated to kick off this summer. The service is expecting to take formal delivery of that aircraft from SNC before the end of the year. Two other prototypes are currently in various stages of conversion.

Each HADES aircraft will have a built-in suite of sensors, as well as a robust array of communications systems to pass the data it collects along to other nodes in near-real-time. The Army says it is following an incremental approach to integrating systems with the initial trio of prototypes. The service is also using a modular open-systems approach to make it easier to add new and improved capabilities down the line.

Details about what sensors the baseline HADES configuration will have are limited, but we do know it will include a version of the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System-2B (ASARS-2B), something TWZ was first to report back in 2024. ASARS-2B was originally developed for the U.S. Air Force’s U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes, and it features synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) modes, as you can read more about here.

For more than a year now, the Army has also been talking about launching very long-range so-called “launched effects” from the HADES aircraft. This term is a catch-all used to describe drones configured designed to perform a wide variety of missions that can be deployed from aircraft (fixed wing and rotary; crewed and uncrewed) in flight, as well as platforms on the ground or at sea. The process of converting Global 6500s into ME-11Bs includes integrating four underwing pylons, which the aircraft will be able to use to launch drones and carry podded sensor systems.

At the roundtable today, Evans, the Director of Strategy and Transformation, offered a detailed explanation of how the Army arrived at this plan and what it expects to gain from the blend of capabilities in response to a question from our Jamie Hunter.

“So, someone’s going to eventually ask about survivability. It’s going to tie it all together in here,” Evan said. “We did the research. I’ll save you time on doing the research.”

“In 70 or 80 years, there would be 0.1% of the time when you wouldn’t be able to fly ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions] because you would be afraid of the threat, potentially, or the threat would be too high to fly,” he added. “That means that 99.9% of the time of a life of the system, it is a useful system for deterrence, for building pattern of life, target development, and so on and so forth. So we’re building a system that can be used for 99.9% of the useful life of the system.”

“So we’re, I think, wise in the approach, saying, all right, if there’s still that 0.1% of the time where you need to be resilient enough to survive in a situation, how do you do that? Well, how do you combine the best of both? Because there’s no one perfect solution, right?” he continued. “What’s really, really good for conflict is not very good for the 99% of the time you need it for campaigning [routine operations], and vice versa. So what we’ve determined strategically is that there’s a way to combine both of these things.”

This is where Evans says the air-launched drone capability comes in.

“We can have a useful asset for campaigning 99.9% of the time, but we can pair with it launch effects [for] when we aren’t going to put that capital system in harm’s way,” he said. “We’ve already engineered hard points into HADES to be able to receive these launch effects in the future. So once we mature the capabilities and determine which way forward we want – what type of launch effects, what type of performance we need out of these things – and we marry those two things up, now we have the best of both. We have something that’s supremely capable in campaigning and probably the best joint asset in the world at being able to do penetrative launch effects. And now you have a bit of a utopia.”

Furthermore, “we believe that in the role of HADES, there’s also an opportunity to be a bit of a quarterback of an ecosystem of sorts. So you can imagine how that might look,” Evans also noted. “That isn’t going to quarterback everybody’s assets, but the ones that have the most strategic importance and match that type of mission profile. There’s certainly a space for it to do that.”

In terms of the range of drones launched from HADES, the Army has put forward the 620-mile (1,000-kilometer) figure in the past. Speaking today, Evans alluded to even greater potential reach.

There are questions about the scale and scope of coverage that a single ME-11B will be able to achieve using “launched effects” type drones designed to be lower cost, and that will likely have a limited sensor payload. The concepts of operations the Army is putting forward for HADES point to a need for expendable designs, as well. These are drones that, in turn, are most effective when employed in large networked swarms to cover broad areas cooperatively. The ME-11B, at least as it is being presented now with its four underwing pylons, does not seem set to carry very large numbers of uncrewed aerial systems.

“This is important breakthrough technology. so I’m not going to reveal too much about what we’re discovering in this space,” Evans said. “But know that it’s going to change the game. It takes us from a sensing platform to a sensing and platform, and the ‘and,’ I’ll just let you use your imagination.”

Evans’ deliberately vague comments here might point to a broader airborne drone controller role in HADES future. ME-11B crews could potentially oversee larger and more capable drones, including Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) types now in development. CCAs or other heavier types would be able to carry bigger sensor suites and otherwise bring additional capabilities to the table, including the ability to provide close-in defense for HADES itself during missions.

Survivability has certainly been a hot topic of discussion around HADES since the Army first announced its intention to acquire a new fleet of business jet-based ISR aircraft. The service had highlighted growing concerns about the vulnerability of its now-retired fleets of turboprop ISR planes, which had provided key intelligence-gathering capacity globally for decades, tracing back to the Cold War. TWZ and others have repeatedly noted that these concerns are very real, especially in the context of a future high-end fight in the Pacific against China, but also apply to non-stealthy jets like the Global 6500.

For routine operations, the ME-11B does a major leap in capability over the turboprop ISR aircraft the Army previously operated, both in terms of its mission systems and its general performance. HADES can fly higher, faster, and farther, and do so while carrying a bigger sensor payload. Higher altitudes also offer greater fields of view for the aircraft’s sensors. The improved performance also translates to being able to get to and from operating areas more rapidly and the ability to remain on station longer. The underwing pylons will offer additional flexibility beyond the drone launch capability.

“The deployability of this platform, being able to fly 6,000 miles at 0.87 Mach, and go globally without the world will require the ability to rapidly change sensors,” Army Col. Joe Minor, the Capability Program Executive for Aviation within the office of the Program Acquisition Executive for Maneuver Air, also said at today’s roundtable at the AAAA conference. “With those hard points and cleared envelopes for pods, it gives us that ability to rapidly configure and update even more quickly than we could internally or within the canoe [fairing under the fuselage]. So those hard points being built in from the beginning is part of that [sic] building the right platform and air vehicle from the start, with the ability to integrate and evolve very quickly as you move forward.”

Using the Global 6500 as the underlying aircraft offers maintenance and other logistical benefits. This is an in-production aircraft with a significant global user base. This includes the U.S. Air Force, which operates a fleet of E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft based on this platform.

The Army says it has already been seeing an important boost in ISR capability with contractor-owned and operated ISR-configured business jets, including Global 6500-based types. The service has been utilizing those aircraft for eight years now as a transitional ‘bridge’ force to lead into the fielding of HADES.

Many of “our previous platforms were centered around the COIN [counterinsurgency] fight,” Army Col. Matt McGraw, head of the 116th Military Intelligence Brigade, the Army’s main aerial ISR unit, who was also at the roundtable today, said. “If you’re flying a platform operating full motion video [cameras], you’re tracking maybe one or two targets at most. A platform today, on these bridge aircraft with MTI and SAR, you’re tracking a couple 100 targets at the same time.”

There do continue to be significant questions about the true extent of what the Army’s ME-11Bs will be able to offer, in any context, given the expected size of the fleet. The Army currently plans to buy just six production HADES jets on top of the three prototypes. The service previously operated dozens of turboprop ISR aircraft.

“We work for the United States Army, on behalf of the United States Army. And so if the Army’s given direction to cap a fleet size based on budget pressure, and of the other things that we have to balance as an army – like, if the Army only built ISR [aircraft], we build 1,000 of these things,” Evans said at the roundtable today. “But we don’t. We build a lot of things. And ISR is an enabler to [the] ground lethality that we deliver.”

“The Army’s got a tremendous amount of budget pressure. The Army has a top line that’s not keeping pace with inflation,” he added. “And so until our top line increases to support the world’s premier land force, then we’re going to be capped inside programs like HADES.”

As it stands now, the Army certainly looks to be hoping that even the small fleet of HADES will be able to punch well above its weight, thanks in no small part to the ability to launch very long-range drones from relative safety deep in hostile territory.

Jamie Hunter contributed to this story.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Field Marshal Asim Munir leaves Tehran while premier Shehbaz Sharif heads home from Turkiye amid hopes of another round of US-Iran talks.

Pakistan’s army chief and the prime minister have wrapped up separate diplomatic visits aimed at advancing efforts to end the United States-Iran conflict, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returning from Turkiye.

Munir met Iran’s leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said on Saturday.

The visit demonstrated Pakistan’s “unwavering resolve to facilitate a negotiated settlement… and to promote peace, stability and prosperity,” the military said ahead of expected US-Iran talks in Islamabad in the coming days.

Munir held talks with the country’s president, foreign minister, parliament speaker and head of Iran’s military central command centre.

Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, led the Iranian delegation to Islamabad for peace talks with the US last week, the highest level face-to-face contact between Washington and Tehran in decades.

Those talks ended without agreement, and a ceasefire is due to expire on April 22.

But diplomacy has continued, with Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye to push the peace process.

His three-country trip concluded on Saturday, with Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departing a diplomacy forum in Antalya, according to statements from both officials.

“I leave Antalya [Turkish city] with fond memories and a renewed commitment to further strengthening the enduring fraternal bonds between our two nations, and to continuing our close cooperation to advance dialogue and diplomacy for lasting peace and stability in the region,” Sharif posted on X.

The flurry of diplomacy comes as further negotiations are expected in Pakistan in the coming days as Islamabad intensifies contacts with regional and global leaders in an effort to sustain momentum towards a US-Iran deal.

Pressure for a deal between the two countries has grown after Iran reimposed restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, hours after its reopening following the start of a ceasefire in Lebanon. Tehran accused the US of violating a deal to reopen the strategically important waterway.

Donald Trump has said a second round of talks with Iran could be held in Pakistan in the coming days. The New York Post reported that Trump praised Munir, saying he was “doing a great job”.

Reporting from Islamabad, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said Munir landed back home on Saturday as Pakistan prepared for another round of US-Iran talks expected “within the next few days”.

“We have also seen a lot of praise from the Trump administration on social media, praising the Pakistani leadership. So all eyes are on Islamabad. Serious differences remain, but there is a flurry of diplomatic activity and a hope and expectation that some sort of breakthrough may happen,” he said.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday faced federal lawmakers for the first time since September as he sought to defend a more than 12% proposed cut to his department’s budget and dodge arrows from angry Democrats along the way.

In his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, kicking off an expected sprint of seven budget hearings he’ll attend across congressional committees and subcommittees over the next week, Kennedy emphasized the administration’s work to reform dietary guidelines and crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.

Republicans on the committee praised Kennedy as a “breath of fresh air” and asked him to promote his department’s recent actions. Democrats, who have been furious over Kennedy’s sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, largely had a different agenda.

They needled Kennedy on what they viewed as the Trump administration’s hypocrisy on fraud, demanded to know why he was cutting budgets for various programs and slammed his efforts to pull back vaccine recommendations and messaging, which they said have caused unnecessary deaths.

Kennedy fired back, often raising his voice as he accused the Democrats of misrepresenting his work and past statements.

Here are three standout moments from Thursday’s hearing:

A standoff over measles

One heated exchange early in the hearing came between Kennedy and Rep. Linda Sanchez. The California Democrat decried recent measles outbreaks across the U.S. and asked Kennedy to answer for the fact that under his leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pulled back public health messaging supporting vaccination.

“As a mother, this horrifies me,” Sanchez said. “Did President Trump approve your decision to end CDC’s pro-vaccine public messaging campaign?”

Kennedy repeatedly refused to answer, saying first he wanted to respond to the “misstatements that you’ve made” and later praising the Trump administration’s record on preventing measles, although protections against the disease have eroded in some parts of the country as vaccination rates have dropped.

“That’s not answering my question,” Sanchez said as the two talked over each other.

But Sanchez also got Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist before he entered politics, to acknowledge that a 6-year-old who died of measles last year in West Texas could have potentially been saved with vaccination.

“Do you agree with the majority of doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved that child’s life in Texas?” she asked.

“It’s possible, certainly,” Kennedy said.

RFK Jr. denies talking about Black children being ‘re-parented’

A fight erupted between Kennedy and Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama, when Kennedy vehemently denied making remarks he’d said in 2024.

The comments dated back to when Kennedy was a presidential candidate. On the “High Level Conversations” podcast last July, he said, “Psychiatric drugs — which every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented to live in a community where there’ll be no cellphones, no screens, you’ll actually have to talk to people.”

“Have you ever re-parented, or parented, I should say, a Black child?” Sewell asked, as her staff held up a poster featuring an abbreviated version of the quote.

“I don’t even know what that phrase means,” Kennedy said. “I’m not going to answer something I didn’t say.”

“You’re making stuff up,” he later claimed.

A recording of the podcast shows he made the comments during a conversation about free rehabilitation facilities he was proposing opening at the time in rural areas around the country.

Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard said Kennedy before joining the administration was referring to spaces where young people facing alienation, mental health challenges and despair could get re-parented, which she said was a psychotherapy term for “developing the emotional regulation, discipline, boundaries, and self-worth that may not have been established in childhood.”

For Kennedy and his former party, civility is the exception

Kennedy spent most of his life as a Democrat, the scion of one of the nation’s most famous political families. Both Republicans and Democrats during the hearing began their remarks by expressing their admiration of Kennedy’s relatives, among them former President John F. Kennedy.

But again and again throughout Thursday’s hearing, the fraying of bonds between Kennedy and his former party was on full display as spiteful comments were passed back and forth.

The Health secretary grew defensive and visibly agitated. He repeatedly criticized Democratic lawmakers for not giving him a word in edgewise.

“They’ve all shut me up,” Kennedy said at one point. “They give a little speech that they can go and market, you know, for fundraising, and they don’t allow me to answer the question.”

On a few rare occasions, the exchanges were civil. One representative, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, used humor to make that happen.

“I promise to give you easy, comfortable questions if you don’t yell at me and hurt my feelings,” she told Kennedy. He promised he wouldn’t.

Swenson writes for the Associated Press.

A major fire at a key refinery in Australia refinery has disrupted fuel production, raising fears of shortages as supplies are already strained by the Iran war.

It will arguably be the best bogey of McIlroy’s career.

With a two-shot lead on the 18th tee the job was almost done but McIlroy had a wild swipe and his ball flew to the right and into trees.

Hearts were suddenly racing again.

After what seemed like an eternity, as he tried to usher thousands of spectators away from his intended line of attack to the green, he thrashed his ball out of the pine straw and into a greenside bunker.

It was a key moment. Another poor swing could easily have led to a double bogey and a play-off with Scheffler.

He backed that with a strong shot from the sand to 12 feet and with two putts for the title, took both of them.

The final stroke, from seven inches, was the length that all players dream of to win a major.

There was a huge release of emotion. McIlroy hugged his caddie Harry Diamond, looked to the sky and let out a roar as he raised him arms aloft – his sixth major title cementing his place as one of the sport’s greats.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was tracking right-hander Emmet Sheehan’s velocity against the Rangers Saturday, but it wasn’t going to be his primary measurement of the start.

“I think right now, where he’s at, the hitters will tell us the most, not the radar gun,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 6-3 win.

Sheehan had both in his first quality start of the season.

Just look at the way he attacked Jake Burger in the sixth inning to close his outing. Sheehan threw three fastballs in the at-bat. That pitch averaged at 95.2 mph on Saturday, almost 1 ½ mph over his season average. And even as his pitch count climbed into the mid-70s, he was sitting at around 94 mph.

Dodger Teoscar Hernández watches his three-run homer clear the left center wall during a win over the Texas Rangers Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The last pitch he threw was a slider off the plate. Burger was able to get a piece of it, but only enough to ground out to first.

Saturday’s start was Sheehan’s best based on both consistency and results. He held the Rangers to three runs and four hits in six innings.

He’d found a cue in his work between starts. And if the adjustment unlocks a consistent run, that would do a lot to stabilize the Dodgers’ rotation at the back end.

“One of the big things this week was the glove tap,” Sheehan said. “Just timing everything up. Before, I feel like I was getting in good positions, I just wasn’t timing everything up the right way. I think that helped a lot.”

He was cruising through most of it — other than the two home runs he surrendered to Rangers leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo.

Sheehan turned around his start immediately after the first long ball, on the second pitch of the game.

He came in throwing hard, pumping 96.2 mph on the first fastball, a ball inside, and 95.7 on the second. The latter drifted over the plate, and Nimmo lined it to straightaway center field, just over the “395” printed on the wall.

Sheehan, undeterred, retired the next eight batters. Nimmo hit a two-out ground-rule double that bounced over the left-field fence in his next at-bat, but Sheehan struck out Ezequiel Duran on a slider to quickly end the inning.

Only two Rangers besides Nimmo reached base against Sheehan. Evan Carter drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, and Josh Jung led off the sixth with a single into shallow center field.

Other than that, Sheehan recorded six strikeouts and generated mostly groundball contact.

He was also pitching with a lead for most of his outing, thanks to a solo homer from Shohei Ohtani and three-run shot from Teoscar Hernández in the first. The Dodgers added to their lead in the third inning with two walks, a single, and a run-scoring double play.

So, when the Rangers’ lineup turned over again, and Nimmo stepped up to the plate with a runner on base in the sixth, Sheehan was working with a four-run cushion.

Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after earning a save during the Dodgers’ win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Sheehan stayed away from his fastball, but Nimmo managed to get a hold of an inside slider.

Again, Sheehan responded with three straight outs, this time all infield grounders.

The Dodgers’ bullpen turned in a scoreless performance for three innings, even with Roberts staying away from closer Edwin Díaz, whose velocity was down Friday in his first blown save of the season.

And in the eighth, center fielder Andy Pages kept up his red-hot offensive start to the season with an RBI single into left field for insurance.

The Dodgers are off to the best offensive start of any National League team, whether they’re measured by runs (89), batting average (.297), slugging percentage (.507) or offensive fWAR (30.0).

The unknown entering the game was Sheehan, who had been working through directional issues in his delivery.

“There’s a little bit of east-west with him, and that’s kind of how he gets his power,” Roberts said. “But I think that towards the end of the year and spring, it got a little bit too east-west, where you’re just not back to front as far as direction.”

Everything was synced up for him Saturday, and even Nimmo couldn’t ruin that breakthrough.

“It can definitely be tough sometimes,” Sheehan said. “The past like month and a half we’ve been trying to work on it. It felt like at times it wasn’t progressing the way it should, but just stuck with it.”

Snell feels good after live BP

Left-hander Blake Snell threw an inning of live batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Saturday before the Dodgers’ game against the Rangers, taking a new step in his rehab progression.

“It’s very big,” Snell said. “…To be able to face two good hitters and feel good — I’ve got a lot of work to do still, but definitely a big step.”

Snell was delayed in his buildup entering spring training, after pitching through the postseason. He also dealt with shoulder issues last season, sidelined for about four months with what the Dodgers identified as inflammation in his left shoulder.

“I feel great,” Snell said. “I’ve done a lot of different things than I did last year when I was in this position. So I feel way better. I’m just very excited about how I feel right now, where I’m at, getting back to some normalcy again feels really good. I just can’t wait to pitch.”

He revisited old workouts, added Pilates to his routine and changed his diet.

Snell, an avid gamer, has also kept up his Twitch livestream activity while on the injured list. He recently responded to a harsh comment from a critic about his injury while streaming, cursing as he challenged anyone to match his World Series contributions amid pain. The clip naturally circulated widely on social media.

“I’m trying to game with my people, then trolls want to get in there and got something to say,” he said and then broke into a smile. “I should watch my language a little bit, but outside of that, it was pretty true. I’m going to have fun, going to be myself. I’ve got to watch my language though. If my mom sees that. … She probably will.”

He’s bracing for her call if she does.

Snell will continue to build up his workload in a simulated game environment, before eventually leaving on a minor-league rehab assignment. He didn’t say how many live BP sessions he’d need before that next step.

“You got to talk to the jefes,” he said.

Sitting in the dugout, Snell nodded up to the field where some of those bosses — president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes and Roberts — stood talking.

Roberts later speculated that Snell would build up to about three innings before pitching in games.

“I just miss pitching, it’s what I love,” Snell said. “So to be able to do that again, I was very excited coming to the field today. Like, I finally get to throw and pitch and see where I’m at, see if I’m good, bad, kind of figure myself out.”

On Saturday, he just wanted to throw strikes, see how his stuff played, and get feedback from utility player Tommy Edman and outfielder Alex Call, who faced him.

“The next one I want to be more crisp, want to hit locations more,” he said. “I only have so many starts left before I’m back. So I really have to hone in and make sure these weeks are very important.”

Injury updates

Edman, who underwent ankle surgery this offseason, is still on track to be activated around late May, Roberts said Saturday. In addition to taking live batting practice, he’s been running, but not quite at full speed, according to Roberts.

Shortstop Mookie Betts (strained right oblique) played catch on the field before the game Saturday.

With US and Iranian officials set to meet in Pakistan on a deal to end the war, Al Jazeera’s James Bays outlines some of the sticking points ahead.

Major strikes across Italy are set to disrupt airports and other transport routes, potentially affecting large numbers of UK travellers

A series of strikes is planned throughout April in Italy that could cause significant disruption for British holidaymakers. According to official figures from the Ministry of Transport, the month will see 14 strikes spread across six days. The nation gets around five million visits from UK travellers every year, according to official data.

The aviation sector will be affected in April with three major tourist cities facing action, and there will also be a series of strikes over public transport. The first strike date will be on Thursday, April 10, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Air traffic control, ground staff and flight attendants are set to strike on that date.

Il Gazzettino reports that eight strikes will hit the aviation sector simultaneously that day. The walkouts – almost all lasting four hours (1pm to 5pm) and taking place nationwide – are set to involve key locations such as the area control centres in Rome and Milan and major airports including Naples, Malpensa in Milan and Rome Fiumicino.

Travellers are being warned that delays and cancellations could occur. People are being urged to monitor travel information before travelling.

Italian media reports say the action on April 10 could have potential knock-on effects on flights and routes throughout Italy. Other strikes then follow later in the month.

Reports say that between April 13 and 24, there will be a further five strikes in local public transport, all regional or company-specific. The cities affected span a wide geographical area: from Naples (Eav) to Florence (Gest), from Vasto to Milan, where the ATM group will cease operations for eight hours on April 24.

There will also be a strike in the rail sector on April 13, according to local media reports. It is set to affect on-board catering services rather than train operations, and a maritime walkout (April 17) in the Strait of Messina, with an eight-hour stoppage by BluJet staff.

On April 19, Gest tram staff in Florence will strike for four hours from 1pm to 5pm, while on April 20, public transport in Chieti will be disrupted from 9am to 1pm. A public transport strike will also take place in Lombardy on April 24 in Milan when drivers and train operators strike from 8.45am to 3pm.

Elsewhere, from April 14 to 18, freight transport in Sicily is expected to grind to a halt, with protests likely to impact logistics and product distribution across the island. On April 16, press workers will strike in protest at the failure to renew the national contract, while the following day, April 17, doctors and healthcare workers will also walk out. Unions are condemning the failure to renew their contracts.

Airport strikes on April 10 in Italy

Italian broadcaster Espansione TV reports April 10 in particular promises to be a challenging day for those planning to travel by air. The nationwide strike in the sector is expected to affect several of Italy’s most significant airports. Delays, cancellations, and potential operational disruptions cannot be ruled out during the protest period. Passengers are urged to monitor their flight status in real time via the airlines’ official websites.

A 24-hour national strike by railway infrastructure maintenance personnel is also scheduled for Saturday, April 11. The protest could affect the smooth running of services, particularly in the handling of breakdowns and technical interventions, the broadcaster reports.

The broadcaster says that April 24 is also set to be a challenging day for public transport users across Lombardy. The Confial-Trasporti union has announced a fresh strike, which will hit services running in the Milan, Como, and Monza areas particularly hard, with the ATM Group bearing the brunt of the action.

The walkout will run for 8 hours, it is reported. In Milan, tram, metro, and bus services face disruption between 8.45 am and 3pm, while in Monza, passengers may experience interruptions from 2.50 pm through to the end of service.

The Como-Brunate funicular, run by ATM, is also facing potential disruption from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm.

A major change to how Brits travel to popular holiday hotspots will come into effect from Friday, 10 April, and it’s vital to make a key passport check ahead of this date

British passport holders have been urged to make one key check before a major change comes into effect on Friday, or they could face a hefty holiday fee.

From Friday, 10 April 2026, the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) is expected to be fully rolled out. This digital border system, which began on 12 October 2025, is a new requirement for Brits travelling to the Schengen area.

The countries in the Schengen area are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The EES system is not required for travel into the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus.

READ MORE: EasyJet clarifies ’28 days rule’ for all passengers in new alertREAD MORE: Spanish hotspot doubles tourist taxes including £10-a-night fees for holidaymakers

The new system means that when entering the Schengen area for short stays, British citizens may need to register their biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photograph, which is carried out at the border upon arrival free of charge. While holidaymakers do not need to do anything before arriving at the border, they must be aware of the vital passport requirements before the EES system is fully operational from Friday.

The government states that the passport must:

• Have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date you arrive – if you renewed your passport before 1 October 2018, it may have a date of issue that is more than 10 years ago
• Have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area (the expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue)

If your passport doesn’t meet the requirements above, you risk being denied entry to the country and turned away at the airport. This means you could end up forking out for an additional flight back to the UK from the Schengen area you are unable to enter, while losing out on your holiday altogether.

Therefore, it’s crucial to check that your passport is valid, and if not, renew or replace it as soon as possible. You can renew or replace your passport through the government website, with the process typically taking around three weeks, though it may take longer during peak travel season.

The rollout of the new EES system comes shortly after the price of UK passports is set to increase. The current price of a standard 34-page adult passport, when applied online, costs £94.50, while a standard child’s passport costs £61.50.

However, from Wednesday, 8 April, the price of a standard adult’s passport will increase to £102, while a child’s passport will cost £66.50. Passport applications by post will rise from £107 to £115.50 for an adult, and from £74 to £80 for a child’s.

On the passport price increase, the Home Office said: “The new fees will help the Home Office to continue to move towards a system that meets its costs through those who use it, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation.

“The government does not make any profit from the cost of passport applications.” For more information or to renew or replace your passport, visit the government website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

A major bridge near Tehran was struck today by what Iran has said were U.S.-Israeli strikes. The B1 bridge in Alborz province, one of the tallest in the Middle East, was hit in two waves of attacks, separated by around an hour, Iranian state TV reported. The bridge provides a critical link between Tehran and Karaj. The attack comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”

“A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj,” a city west of Tehran, state TV said earlier today, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties.

It said the a later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike. We cannot confirm this claim.

Imagery posted to social media showed a clear breach in the road bridge, which connects Tehran and Karaj. While a key logistics node between the two regions.

Earlier this week, Trump’s threatened to “completely obliterate,” all Iranian electrical-generation plants and oil wells. This led to questions about whether the U.S. military was being primed to commit potential war crimes under international law, with the campaign expanding to include civilian targets as a matter of policy.

When asked about this point, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump’s statement showed that Iran’s “best move is to make a deal.”

“The United States Armed Forces has capabilities beyond their wildest imagination, and the president is not afraid to use them,” she said.

In response to the bridge strike today, Iran has threatened to hit regional bridges, including in Israel.

Iranian statements also referenced potential targets in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Iraq, signaling a possible widening of threats to regional infrastructure.

UPDATES

UPDATE: 3:15 PM EST –

In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump confirmed that the U.S. attacked the B1 bridge and said there will be more such strikes unless Iran agrees to a peace treaty.

“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!,” Trump proclaimed. “IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that talks with Iran are under way through intermediaries and that Washington will continue its military campaign until Tehran abandons its nuclear and missile programmes.

He warned on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will be kept open “one way or another” and that US war objectives could be achieved “in weeks, not months”.

He also said the United States would welcome political change in Iran if the opportunity arose, but said it was not an official objective. Rubio criticised some NATO allies for refusing US access to bases during the war, and said Washington is closely watching developments in Cuba and Venezuela.

Here are the key takeaways from Rubio’s exclusive interview with Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra:

Marco Rubio says talks with Iran are happening

Much of the communication between Tehran and Washington is indirect and through intermediaries, but Rubio insisted that it is ongoing.

He said there are “messages and some direct talks going on between some inside of Iran and the United States, primarily through intermediaries”, adding that the US president “always prefers diplomacy, always prefers an outcome”.

His comments come as US President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric on social media, threatening to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure if a ceasefire is not reached soon, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett reported from Washington.

“Taken together, Rubio’s statements and Trump’s posts suggest the US is pursuing a dual-track approach: keeping diplomatic channels open through intermediaries while simultaneously increasing military and economic pressure on Iran,” she said.

US demands Iran abandon nuclear and missile programmes

Rubio said Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions and stop producing missiles and drones that can threaten countries across the Gulf region, and insisted “The Iranian regime can never have nuclear weapons.”

He said Iran’s missile programme poses a direct threat to countries across the Gulf, and claimed “These short-range missiles that they’re launching, they only have one purpose, and that is to attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Qatar and Kuwait and Bahrain.”

Rubio said Iran could pursue civilian nuclear energy, but not in a way that would allow it to quickly develop a nuclear weapon.

“What they cannot have is a system that allows them to quickly weaponise it,” he said. “They have to abandon all these weapon programmes and all their nuclear ambitions.”

However, Hassan Ahmadian, an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, questioned the narrative that Iran poses an offensive threat in the region.

“When was the last time Iran attacked its neighbours over three centuries?” Ahmadian asked, arguing that Iran’s military strategy is shaped by deterrence in an asymmetric conflict.

“Why is it doing this now? Because it’s the underdog in an asymmetric war that it wants to shield itself by expanding.”

Ahmadian added that Iran has been a central focus of US policy for years.

“With the break of two wars in less than a year, we have experienced, Iran has been on the table in different US administrations – all options are on the table,” he said.

Strait of Hormuz will be kept open ‘one way or another’

Rubio said the US would not accept Iran claiming sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and warned that the waterway would remain open regardless of Iran’s actions.

“Not only is the sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz not acceptable to us, it won’t be acceptable to the world.”

“It sets an incredible precedent … nations can now take over international waterways and claim them as their own.”

“The Strait of Hormuz will be open … It will be open one way or another,” he said, adding that otherwise, Iran would “face real consequences” from the US and other countries.

Iranian analysts suggested the closure of the strait is a temporary wartime measure and could be reversed once the conflict ends.

“It’s opened partially,” Ahmadian said, adding “I think there is no Iranian interest to not open it beyond the war.”

“It’s an asymmetric way of putting pressure on Americans, just as they are bombing Iran, and so after the war there would be no need,” Ahmadian explained. “There will be an arrangement, according to the Iranians, with the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries to reopen it and see how things are managed.”

War objectives will be achieved ‘in weeks, not months’

Rubio said the US military campaign is progressing quickly and outlined the military objectives Washington is trying to achieve.

“Those objectives are the destruction of their air force, which has been achieved, the destruction of their navy, which has largely been achieved.”

“A significant reduction in the number of missile launchers… and we are going to destroy the factories that make those missiles and those drones.”

“We are well on our way or ahead of schedule.”

“We will achieve them in weeks, not months.”

“That’s a matter of weeks. I’m not going to tell you exactly how many weeks, but a matter of weeks, not months.”

Rubio says status of Iran’s new supreme leader is uncertain

Asked by Al Jazeera about his thoughts on Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Rubio said his status remains unclear.

“We don’t even know he’s in power. I know they say he’s in power. No one has seen him. No one has heard from him,” Rubio said.

“It’s very opaque right now. It’s not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran.”

Iran’s leadership change is not an objective of the military operation

The US secretary of state suggested the US would welcome political change in Iran, though he said it was not the official objective of the military operation.

“We would always welcome a scenario in which Iran was led by people that had a different view of the future,” Rubio said. “If that opportunity presents itself, we’re going to take it.”

He said the Iranian people “deserve better leadership” and indicated Washington would not oppose a change in government if it occurred.

“Do we think the people of Iran deserve better leadership than what they’ve gotten from the clerical regime? One hundred percent,” Rubio said. “Would we be heartbroken if there was a change in leadership? Absolutely not.”

He also suggested the US would be willing to play a role if political change became possible.

“If there’s something we could do to facilitate that, would we be interested in participating? Of course.”

However, analysts said Washington’s position on regime change appears to have shifted over time.

“Originally bringing down the government was the goal; there has been a constant drawdown from that,” Paul Musgrave, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

“And now we have President Donald Trump on Truth Social saying he is negotiating with elements of what could become a new regime, so there is a lot of confusion here, but it is no longer the number one goal. It’s not something they are laying out,” he noted.

Rubio criticises NATO allies and warns alliance may be reviewed

Rubio said some NATO countries denied the US use of airspace and bases during the conflict and suggested Washington may need to reassess the alliance after the war.

“We have countries like Spain, a NATO member that we are pledged to defend, denying us the use of their airspace and bragging about it, denying us the use of their bases.”

“And so you ask yourself, well, what is in it for the United States?”

“If NATO is just about us defending Europe from attack, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement.”

“All of that is going to have to be re-examined.”

WASHINGTON — Buried in the fine print of the massive deficit-reduction bill is–of all things–a brand new social program.

The new program will cost $1 billion over the next five years–somewhat less than the Clinton Adminstration had requested, but still a substantial sum in this era of tight budgets.

Supporters, including Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, insisted that some provisions in the new program actually would save the government money in the long run. Even many of the program’s supporters questioned that assertion, however, although they insisted that the money is worth spending in any case.

The family preservation and support program–along with expanded spending for childhood immunization, tuberculosis prevention, food stamps, “empowerment zones” intended to help inner cities and the earned income tax credit for low-income workers–represents the flip side of the massive budget cutting and tax-raising efforts of the bill. All told, those social programs–aimed in large part at helping families with children–will receive an additional $29 billion from the bill.

“The President’s long-term investments for kids and families have been very well supported by this bill,” said Shalala.

The social-program funds not only were key to keeping some of President Clinton’s policy initiatives alive, they were crucial to winning support for the budget in the heavily Democratic House, where liberal Democrats and members of the Congressional Black Caucus had threatened to vote against the budget bill unless it contained money to back up at least part of Clinton’s promise to “invest” in programs for the poor.

“There are a number of important features in this bill that represented the basis for many liberal and progressive Democrats to feel they could support the overall budget,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles).

The survival of the family preservation program, which at several points during the long budget negotiations seemed likely to die, would mark the end of a long legislative road. The program would give money to the states for early intervention and support programs for troubled families. It has passed the House three times and was approved by both chambers last year as part of another piece of legislation ultimately vetoed by then-President George Bush.

Supporters of the program argued that, by intervening early, social workers can help troubled families before their situations deteriorate so much that the state has to place children in costly foster care programs.

Skeptics, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), argued that the ability of social workers to accomplish those goals has never been proven. At one point during budget talks, Moynihan derided the program as “welfare for social workers,” several participants said.

But other legislators argued that, even if the program does not save money by avoiding foster-care placements, it will provide badly needed help for children. “This creates early intervention to keep children from being abused,” said Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento), who was the program’s chief sponsor in the House.

The program “has been pared down a good deal, but at least we got it,” Matsui said.

The birth of this new program is an object lesson in how legislators and Administration officials can use the arcane rules of the budget-cutting process to advance other items on the legislative agenda.

Over the years, Waxman has become a master at that art. This time around, he engineered a new $200-million program to expand the number of tuberculosis patients who can receive federal Medicaid benefits over the next five years. He also played a key role in winning money for the Administration’s proposed child immunization program, which would receive $585 million under the budget bill.

Although immunization has been a high priority for Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Waxman and other supporters of the program had to overcome opposition not only from congressional conservatives but from some White House officials who were willing to accept much lower dollar amounts for the program as they sought to hit their deficit-cutting goals, according to Administration and congressional sources.

Under the tuberculosis program, people who are poor but not otherwise eligible for Medicaid–primarily single men without children–and who have active tuberculosis can receive government-supplied out-patient services if the state they live in decides to participate. Public health officials said they hope that the additional money will reduce the rapid spread of the disease by targeting a group of people who often do not receive care.

The immunization program has two major components. The first part will provide $500 million over the next five years to pay for vaccinations for 2.6 million children whose families lack insurance. The money also will cover the 6.5 million children now covered under Medicaid, relieving the states of a financial burden.

The second part of the bill, which has drawn howls of outrage from drug manufacturers, would allow all states to buy vaccines in bulk at the price manufacturers provide to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–something 11 states now do. The CDC has negotiated steep discounts from the prices that drug companies charge private pediatricians.

One month after US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the conflict has escalated across the Middle East. From leadership assassinations to economic disruption, the war is reshaping the region and destabilising the global economy.

Published on
27/03/2026 – 17:47 GMT+1

EU lawmakers have overcome a key political hurdle in the negotiations of digital euro, making the project closer to approval, according to a draft text seen by Euronews.

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The Parliamentary rapporteurs involved in the legislation have found an agreement on the design of the digital euro, which will be able to function both online and offline.

The digital euro would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, designed to sit alongside banknotes and the payments services offered by commercial banks.

It has taken on new political weight as economic tensions between the EU and the US sharpen the debate over Europe’s reliance on American payment giants, such as Visa and Mastercard.

Under the European Commission’s proposal, digital euro users would have a wallet for both online and offline payments, with transactions designed so they are not trackable.

The situation in Parliament changed on Wednesday evening, when the centre-right politician Fernando Navarrete, who is the leading rapporteur on the file, announced the withdrawal of his position to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline use only.

His position blocked the advancement of negotiations for months, jeopardising the whole legislative process, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.

The political deadlock has pushed EU leaders to accelerate progress on the digital euro. At the European Council meeting on 19 March, they set a goal to have the digital euro legislation approved by the end of 2026.

With the Council, representing EU countries, having already adopted its position, the European Parliament is now the only institution left to advance the law.

“Thanks to our amendments and firm stance, we have finally broken the political deadlock on the digital euro. The distinction between online and offline has been removed, and it is now established as a single payment system,” Pasquale Tridico, the rapporteur for The Left, told Euronews.

However, lawmakers still need to agree on two key aspects: the “hold limits” and the “compensation.”

The hold limits determine the maximum amount a user can store in a digital euro wallet, while compensation sets out a model for reimbursing commercial banks that provide digital euro services.

Although negotiations are not yet complete, the text is expected to be voted on in the Parliament’s economy committee before the summer, according to a source familiar with the matter.