Trump gives rambling speech about trophy wives, golf and the ‘great late’ Al Capone in politically-charged West Point address
Trump gives rambling speech about trophy wives, golf and the ‘great late’ Al Capone in politically-charged West Point address
President Donald Trump gave a politically-charged, rambling speech about DEI programs, golf and Al Capone while addressing the 2025 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Trump’s Saturday morning address in West Point, New York, stretched on for over an hour. The speech was originally focused on West Point graduates and their accomplishments, but Trump soon turned toward other topics.
The commander in chief of the U.S. military used his keynote address to highlight his efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the country. He claimed to have “liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings,” and said there will be “no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody.”
Trump reads from his autocue at West Point. He diverted from his prepared remarks on several occasions (AFP via Getty Images)
This follows his January executive order that sought to deny the existence of transgender, intersex and nonbinary people throughout government.
“The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host drag shows to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun,” he said. “The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place.”
West Point disbanded several clubs based on race, ethnicity and gender in the wake of Trump’s anti-DEI executive order earlier this year. These groups included the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the National Society of ****** Engineers, the Native American Heritage Forum, the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers Club.
Trump, wearing a red cap featuring his political slogan “Make America Great Again,” went on to praise his administration’s crackdown on immigration. This comes just hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to return a Guatemalan man “wrongfully” deported to Mexico.
“Our country was invaded for the last four years, and they’ve allowed people to come into our country that shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t be here…We’re getting them out and bringing them back where they came from,” Trump said.
“Hopefully the courts will allow us to continue,” he added. “You know, we had the greatest election victory. This was November 5. We won the popular vote by millions of votes.”
Trump arrives to deliver his commencement speech at West Point. The president discussed his efforts to end DEI programs and his crackdown on immigration (AP)
Trump also brought up some of his favorite famous names, including retired professional golfer Gary Player.
“To be really successful, you’re always going to have to work hard,” Trump said. “An example is a great athlete, Gary Player, great golfer. He wasn’t as big as the other men that were playing against him. Great, big, strong guys. Gary was a smaller guy.
“He’s a friend of mine, he gets a little angry at people. He hits the ball just this far,” Trump continued. “He said, ‘I hit the ball further than them. Why am I small?’ But he worked very, very hard. He was always doing exercise. He was always he was well ahead of his time. He never stopped.”
Trump then pivoted to a discussion about real estate developer William Levitt, who is widely considered the inventor of the modern American suburb. Levitt died in 1994.
“He was great at what he did,” Trump said of Levitt. “You see him all over the country, still Levittowns. This was a long time ago, but he was a first of the really, really big home builders, and he became very rich, a very rich man, and then he decided to sell.
Trump shakes hands with West Point superintendent Steven W. Gilland (Getty Images)
“And he sold his company, and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn’t work out too well, but it doesn’t – that doesn’t work out too well, I must tell ya. A lot of trophy wives.”
The president also spoke about his past legal challenges, claiming he was investigated more than the infamous mob boss Al Capone. Trump made this comparison several times on the campaign trail last year. Last spring, he also made history by becoming the first criminally convicted former president.
“I was investigated more than the great late Alphonse Capone,” Trump told the West Point graduates. “Alphonse Capone was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I’m talking to you as president. Can you believe this?”
Trump left the ceremony before noon and flew to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
It was almost five years since a previous address at West Point led to negative news coverage that Trump brought up repeatedly over the next few years. After finishing his address in June 2020, Trump visibly struggled to walk down a ramp from the stage, leading to questions over his physical fitness.
Trump reacted angrily, saying the ramp had no grip and that he was walking slowly because he didn’t want to slip.
Following the latest speech at West Point, the president exited the stage not by the ramp at the front but by walking to the side and down a short staircase.
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Massive power outage disrupts Cannes Film Festival – BBC
Massive power outage disrupts Cannes Film Festival – BBC
Massive power outage disrupts Cannes Film Festival BBCPower Outage in Cannes During Film Festival Is Sabotage, Officials Say The New York TimesCannes awards Palme d’Or to Iranian revenge drama ‘It Was Just an Accident’ AP NewsCannes film festival impacted as major power cut hits southern France CNNPower Cut Hits French Riviera on Final Day of Cannes Festival Bloomberg
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Ben Stokes says Jacob Bethell comments were ‘twisted to suit agenda’
Ben Stokes says Jacob Bethell comments were ‘twisted to suit agenda’
While neither the question nor Stokes’ answer on Wednesday specifically mentioned the England squad or playing XI, the 33-year-old believes his comments about Somerset batter Rew, who was unused member of the squad for the Test against Zimbabwe, made it clear he was referring to Bethell’s place in the squad, rather than the XI.
Speaking after a three-day victory over Zimbabwe was completed, Stokes told Test Match Special: “I personally felt that it was a bit of a, not a vendetta, but I got asked a simple question about Bethell, said put two and two together he comes back into the squad, and then all of a sudden it turns into something that suits the agenda of the time.”
While Pope may have been most vulnerable to Bethell, opener Zak Crawley would have been another candidate to make way and also made a hundred at Trent Bridge. Bethell’s left-arm spin could have also potentially pressurised off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who took nine wickets in the match.
On Thursday, after his innings, Crawley said he had not felt pressure on his place, then on Friday morning Pope said he had “learned to live with the noise”.
Pope also said he had not seen Stokes’ pre-match comments, but the captain said on Saturday he discussed them with Pope the night before the Test.
Stokes added: “He is a very important player in this team, not only with his runs at number three, because he has been exceptional since he has been given that opportunity, averaging over 40 now and he is my vice-captain.
“I value his input especially when we are out there in the middle. Not only are his runs great but his leadership has gone from strength to strength.”
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One dead in NYC sewage-boat explosion on Hudson River
One dead in NYC sewage-boat explosion on Hudson River
A man has died after an explosion on a boat carrying raw sewage that was docked on the Hudson River in New York, authorities said.
Two other workers on the city-owned Hunts Point were hurt and taken to the hospital after the blast around 10.30am local time on Saturday, New York City Fire Department Deputy Assistant Chief David Simms said at a news conference.
The boat takes raw sewage to be treated, Simms said.
The men on the boat were doing work involving a flame or sparks when the explosion happened, the US Coast Guard said on social media.
First responders answering a 911 call found a 59-year-old man unconscious in the river, and he was declared dead at the scene, New York police said.
The explosion happened near the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The blast spread raw sewage over the deck of the boat, and firefighters and other first responders had to be decontaminated, Simms said.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion. The man’s name was not released.
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Private spacecraft circling moon snaps photo with strange optical illusion
Private spacecraft circling moon snaps photo with strange optical illusion
A Japanese commercial spacecraft has sent home another close-up image of the moon, its intended landing destination in a matter of days, but this picture can play tricks on the eyes.
Tokyo company ispace released a fresh photo from its lunar lander Resilience as it orbits the moon. The snapshot reveals the rugged landscape of the lunar south pole, a highly sought region by NASA and other spacefaring competitors because of its ice within permanently shadowed craters. That ice could be a valuable commodity for future space voyages if it can be converted into rocket fuel, oxygen, and drinking water.
But some viewers may not see the pictured craters denting the surface as they are.
“This image presents an optical illusion to some,” the company said in a post on X. “Although the image is filled with concave craters, from this orientation they may look like they are convex to the eye.”
SEE ALSO: NASA astronauts are proud bedwetters. They even practice.
Loading the Resilience lander into a shipping container
Engineers for ispace load the Resilience lunar lander into a transport container before shipping it to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: ispace
Make no mistake: Those are hollowed out dips, not bumps. The reason they may appear as the latter, though, is a relief inversion phenomenon — a common problem when interpreting spacecraft photography. Astronomers have even coined names for it, calling it the “crater illusion” or “crater-dome illusion.”
“Upon first glance, it is difficult to tell if ground is rising up, sinking down, or a mix of both,” according to the European Space Agency.
The crater-dome illusion, explained
The optical illusion occurs because people are used to interpreting shadows as coming from an overhead light source. But that’s not necessarily the orientation of spacecraft. In many satellite photos, the light source is almost horizontal to the surface. That makes it easy for the patterns of light and shade to fool our brains.
Where sunlight illuminates south-facing slopes and leaves northern slopes in shadow, for instance, many viewers experience the issue, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. For that reason, astronomers often orient satellite images so that north is up.
Four months after Resilience’s mid-January launch, it reached the moon and has flown laps around it since in preparation for ispace’s second attempt at a lunar landing. The company’s first try two years ago failed when its spacecraft ran out of fuel and crashed on the moon.
The new mission, dubbed Hakuto-R, is gearing up for a touchdown near the center of Mare Frigoris at 3:24 p.m. ET on June 5. (It will be June 6 in Japan.) Livestream coverage will begin about one hour earlier, at 2:15 p.m. ET, with English translation.
ispace’s moon landing plan
If the Hakuto-R mission aces the landing, it will spend two weeks running experiments on the lunar surface before powering down for the brutally cold lunar night. Credit: ispace infographic
Landing on the moon remains onerous — demonstrated by numerous flopped landings. Though Firefly Aerospace succeeded in landing in March, another U.S. company, Intuitive Machines, didn’t fare as well, ending up on its side in a crater less than a week later.
The difficulty arises from the moon’s exosphere, which provides virtually no drag to slow a spacecraft down as it approaches the ground. What’s more, there are no GPS systems on the moon to help guide a craft to its landing spot. Engineers have to compensate for those challenges from 239,000 miles away.
Whether ispace is better positioned for success this time remains to be seen. For now, flight controllers are enjoying the spacecraft’s scenery. And for those who are having trouble appreciating the moon’s southern craters in the new image, ispace has a tip.
“Flip the image,” the company said, “or tilt your head to change your perspective!”
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Federal judge orders the Trump administration to return a Guatemalan man deported to Mexico to the U.S.
Federal judge orders the Trump administration to return a Guatemalan man deported to Mexico to the U.S.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man it deported to Mexico in spite of his fears of being harmed there.
The man, who is gay, was protected from being returned to his home country under a U.S. immigration judge’s order at the time. But the U.S. put him on a bus and sent him to Mexico instead, a removal that U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy found likely “lacked any semblance of due process.”
Mexico has since returned him to Guatemala, where he is in hiding, according to court documents. An earlier court proceeding determined that the man, identified by the initials O.C.G., risked persecution or torture if returned to Guatemala, but he also feared returning to Mexico. He presented evidence of being ****** and held for ransom there while seeking asylum in the U.S.
Court documents stated the Guatemalan man said he was only told about his deportation to Mexico, essentially as it was happening and that he begged to speak to his attorney but was denied.
“No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat,” Murphy wrote. “In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just ****** and kidnapped.”
O.C.G. entered the U.S. in March 2024, without prior authorization, according to court documents. The man said he had asked for asylum, was denied an interview and was deported shortly thereafter to Guatemala. In April 2024, O.C.G. decided to try again and crossed Mexico where, he said, he was ****** and held hostage until a family member paid ransom.
In May 2024, he arrived in the U.S. and was referred to an asylum officer after expressing fear of return to Guatemala. The officer determined he had had a credible fear of persecution or torture and initiated withholding-only proceedings. Two days later, he was sent to Mexico, court documents show.
A message seeking comment was left with the Department of Homeland Security.
Murphy’s order adds to a string of findings by federal courts against recent Trump administration deportations. Those have included other deportations to third countries and the erroneous deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran who had lived in Maryland for roughly 14 years working and raising a family.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. from a notorious Salvadoran prison, rejecting the White House’s claim that it couldn’t retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him. Both the White House and the El Salvadoran president have said they are powerless to return him. The Trump administration has tried to invoke the state secrets privilege, arguing that releasing details in open court – or even to the judge in private – about returning Abrego Garcia to the United States would jeopardize national security.
In his Friday ruling, Murphy nodded to the dispute over the verb “facilitate” in that case and others, saying that returning O.C.G. to the U.S. is not that complicated.
“The Court notes that ‘facilitate’ in this context should carry less baggage than in several other notable cases,” he wrote. “O.C.G. is not held by any foreign government. Defendants have declined to make any argument that facilitating his return would be costly, burdensome, or otherwise impede the government’s objectives.”
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The Israeli embassy shooting was a stupid and horrific attack | Moustafa Bayoumi – The Guardian
The Israeli embassy shooting was a stupid and horrific attack | Moustafa Bayoumi – The Guardian
The Israeli embassy shooting was a stupid and horrific attack | Moustafa Bayoumi The GuardianFather of suspect accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers in DC was guest at Trump’s joint address Fox NewsThey came from thousands of miles apart to DC and found love. Then tragedy struck CNNOpinion | Darkness on a Washington Street WSJMeet the former Democrat leading Trump’s charge against 10 universities Politico
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Tommy Watson: From outcast to eternal Sunderland hero
Tommy Watson: From outcast to eternal Sunderland hero
What is also remarkable is that in the first home game at the Stadium of Light last month after the move was announced, Watson was booed by some fans in light of his pending switch to the south coast.
Former ****** Cats striker Marco Gabbiadini described that response as “brainless”, but there is no doubt Watson has had the last laugh in a way nobody will ever forget.
In his 22nd and final game for the club and with only his third goal – the two others came against Stoke City in December – the teenager delivered in the grandest manner.
For head coach Regis Le Bris, the key thing was the squad had no issue with Watson still being involved in these crucial last few weeks.
“It was probably a tough decision for him, but it was clear in our mind and his mind that he was still a player of Sunderland,” said the Frenchman.
“The group, the squad accepted this decision as well, knowing that he is a good player and that he can help and we don’t know what can happen and he had his opportunity this afternoon.”
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Player Breaks NDA, Leaks 1.5 Hours of Unfiltered Battlefield 6 Gameplay Footage
Player Breaks NDA, Leaks 1.5 Hours of Unfiltered Battlefield 6 Gameplay Footage
In the wild world of video games, leaks are like birthday presents you weren’t supposed to open yet, but you tear through the wrapping anyway. That’s exactly what’s happening with Battlefield 6, the hotly anticipated next entry in EA and DICE’s beloved FPS franchise.
While the devs are teasing tidbits here and there, one playtester said, “Nah, let’s show it all.” The 90 glorious minutes of unapproved Battlefield 6 footage have hit the internet, briefly, before EA’s copyright hammer came down. But the internet never forgets, and the hype is now off the charts.
Battlefield 6 is in testing… but secrets are hard to keep
For the past few months, Battlefield 6 has been undergoing closed playtesting under EA’s hush-hush initiative known as Battlefield Labs. The goal? Gather feedback from handpicked players while keeping the game’s features and mechanics under wraps.
Participants are asked to sign NDAs that strictly prohibit them from sharing anything about the experience. But, as always, there are some who ignore the warning and leak things anyway. That’s exactly what happened recently (via TheGamePost): a tester uploaded 90 minutes of raw PS5 gameplay.
Unsurprisingly, the video quickly spread across forums and social media like wildfire, before EA caught wind and issued a takedown. The original upload (from a channel called Gambf) is now taken down, but not before the community dissected every frame.
Ever since the start of the closed testing, EA has been keeping a tight lid on all the information, but situations like this continue to slip through the cracks. While leaks like this are a headache for developers, they’re also a goldmine for fans hungry for more details.
Fans are hopeful that an open beta (possibly by the end of the year) will offer the full experience (full hands-on one). For now, this leak gave us our most revealing look yet at what’s brewing behind EA’s curtains.
Here’s what the leaked footage revealed
Nothing’s more Battlefield than chaos, even in the legal department. | Image Credit: DICE
Even though the leaked gameplay didn’t come from an official source, it revealed a lot. Battlefield 6 is looking like a serious step up from its predecessor. First off, the footage confirmed a return to the franchise’s roots, with classic destruction mechanics front and center.
Buildings and cover structures were torn apart piece by piece, or completely obliterated by heavy artillery, just like in the series’ golden days. The chaos? Beautiful. The destruction? Satisfyingly detailed.
Players got to see multiple matches played across a variety of maps and modes, including Domination. There were match introduction animations, distinct combat classes in action (like medics and engineers), and glimpses of large-scale vehicle combat alongside tight infantry skirmishes.
On top of that, the footage revealed some of the new movement mechanics, making combat feel faster and more dynamic. Players also got a look at various UI elements, loadout customization, and even in-game settings.
That said, it’s clear this is still a work-in-progress. While the game appeared more polished than previous leaks, some textures and models were still incomplete, and the menus looked a little rough around the edges.
Still, what’s shaping up underneath is exciting: a noticeable evolution from Battlefield 2042 and a real promise of something special. Whether we get a full reveal or open beta later this year, one thing is certain: the battlefield is about to get very loud.
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UNC-Chapel Hill announces site for first new dorm in almost 20 years
UNC-Chapel Hill announces site for first new dorm in almost 20 years
UNC-Chapel Hill plans to open a new residence hall in 2028, its first new dorm since 2006.
The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees announced the site for what it’s calling New Residence Hall 1 in a meeting on Wednesday.
It will be located between Stacy Residence Hall and Cobb Residence Hall on the north end of the campus, on the current site of Jackson Hall. In order to begin the project, the 83-year-old Jackson Hall, which houses the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, will be demolished.
The location of a planned UNC-Chapel Hill residence hall.
The new dorm is expected to house anywhere from 600 to 700 students and is anticipated to cost $93 million. The university plans to begin construction in 2026.
“It’s going to be in a terrific location right there in the heart of North Campus,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said Thursday. “We’re excited about it.”
This project is just one of many housing improvements in the university’s “decade-long plan to expand and renew Carolina’s undergraduate and graduate student housing portfolio,” according to a statement to The News & Observer from UNC Media Relations.
Roberts also told reporters Thursday that the renovation in Avery Residence Hall, which has been ongoing since late 2024, is nearing completion.
Roberts said he wants more of UNC’s students to live in the dorms.
Twenty-nine percent of UNC students live in the residence halls, according to a report to the Board of Governors in January detailing the housing rate of each institution in the UNC System. However, roughly half of all undergraduate students live in UNC’s residence halls.
“But as everyone who goes to school here knows, some of our housing is pretty old,” Roberts told reporters. “Because housing is always aging out and requiring renovation, we also have an obligation to look at building new housing.”
The location of a planned UNC-Chapel Hill residence hall.
The university is still looking for a new location for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, according to its statement to The N&O.
“On behalf of students, thank you. I think it’s the beginning of a new plan to modernize our housing, and finally lets us catch up to our peer institutions,” said UNC Student Body President Aldolfo Alvarez, who also serves as a member on the Board of Trustees.
Enrollment increase, housing concerns
The announcement comes as UNC’s admissions rise. The latest class to enter the university had a record 73,192 applicants, and 5,624 of them were accepted and enrolled, contributing to the university’s 7.7% enrollment increase since 2020.
UNC has not yet released the number of new students enrolled for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Roberts wants the university to continue growing. He announced in a January Board of Trustees committee meeting that UNC would open 500 additional slots for students for admission in 2025.
The N&O reported that Roberts intends for the university’s undergraduate enrollment to increase by 5,000 students in the next decade.
With the increase in enrollment, some UNC students have expressed concerns about housing availability for students after their first year, the Daily Tar Heel reported.
Freshmen are required to live on campus, with some exceptions. Because students with a higher amount of credits receive second priority, sophomores often are least likely to get a housing assignment, the newspaper reported.
One student wrote a column in the Daily Tar Heel and likened the housing process at UNC to the game show “Survivor.”
Last June, the university asked some students to voluntarily opt out of their housing assignments for the upcoming year to make more rooms available for incoming freshmen, the Daily Tar Heel reported. If enough students did not volunteer to move to another residence hall, the newspaper reported, the university said it would use a lottery system to reassign housing.
Enough students volunteered, so the lottery system was not used.
Additional UNC building projects
UNC will also continue demolishing the remaining buildings in Odum Village, its long out-of-commission undergraduate, graduate and family housing built in the 1960s.
Demolition of Odum Village’s 47 buildings began in 2016 due to their inability to meet fire safety standards. Evan Yassky, UNC’s executive director of facilities planning and design, said that it was more cost effective to demolish the unusable dorms rather than renovate them, UNC Media Hub reported.
However, the project was not completed due to insufficient funding, Yassky said at Wednesday’s Board of Trustees meeting. More than 20 buildings remain.
Just three buildings in Odum Village are still used by the university, one of which is the Carolina Veterans Resource Center, according to UNC Media Hub. The university is “actively working to relocate” the center, UNC Media Relations said in a statement to The N&O.
The other two buildings are being used by UNC Police and contractors for the construction of Steven D. Bell Hall, which is set to finish by the end of this year, the university said.
Yassky hopes to demolish 20 more buildings “roughly by the end of 2025.”
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Trump Relives Assassination Attempt at Memecoin Dinner – The Daily Beast
Trump Relives Assassination Attempt at Memecoin Dinner – The Daily Beast
Trump Relives Assassination Attempt at Memecoin Dinner The Daily BeastWho Won a Seat at Trump’s Crypto Dinner? The New York TimesAt Trump’s $148 million meme coin dinner, ‘the food sucked’ and security was lax, attendee says CNBCInfluencer who attended Trump’s memecoin dinner says he got a ‘Walmart steak’—and no access to the president YahooTrump Used Presidential Seal At Meme Coin Dinner—Despite White House Saying He Was There On ‘Personal Time’ Forbes
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United Airlines Announces New Check-In Rule Starting on June 3
United Airlines Announces New Check-In Rule Starting on June 3
It’s almost June, and summer travel season is officially here. Over the Memorial Day weekend, AAA predicts 3.61 million passengers will be on flights in the U.S., which is a significant increase of 2% over last year, when 3.55 million Americans traveled during the annual holiday. This year’s Memorial Day trends also point to airlines surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 12%, although the record for air travel over Memorial Day weekend still dates back to 2005 at 3.64 million travelers.
According to AAA, the majority of the flights taking place over Memorial Day weekend are to large cities such as Chicago, New York, Orlando, Denver and Seattle.
To save some dough, AAA suggests booking flights that take off on Tuesdays or return on Wednesdays, since weekend flights tend to be more costly.
Now, passengers using United Airlines will have to make a change starting on June 3, as the airline has announced that it will require all domestic passengers without checked luggage to check in at least 45 minutes ahead of departure, a change from 30 minutes. So, for domestic passengers flying on and after June 3, that 45-minute mark will be the cutoff, and those who don’t meet it will be left behind.
According United Airlines, the check-in time limits for domestic travelers with and without checked in bags is 45 minutes, while the check-in time for international travelers is 60 minutes. That international check-in time remains unchanged.
The airline says the change with domestic flights will increase efficiency and streamline their process. The added time will help their agents assist those who make the cut with their luggage, seating and arrangements. Starting on June 3, the airline will start enforcing this rule, without exceptions.
So, the time when last-minute check-ins were acceptable is winding down. It’s just another reason to get to the airport as early as possible when you’re taking a trip.
Related: Major U.S. Airline Announces Expansion of Routes
United Airlines Announces New Check-In Rule Starting on June 3 first appeared on Men’s Journal on May 24, 2025
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Gay Kink, Godard (Via Linklater) and ******* Girlhood: THR’s Critics Pick the 20 Best Films of Cannes 2025 – The Hollywood Reporter
Gay Kink, Godard (Via Linklater) and ******* Girlhood: THR’s Critics Pick the 20 Best Films of Cannes 2025 – The Hollywood Reporter
Gay Kink, Godard (Via Linklater) and ******* Girlhood: THR’s Critics Pick the 20 Best Films of Cannes 2025 The Hollywood ReporterSirat to Eddington and Sentimental Value: The 12 Cannes films you need to know about BBCSheer Looks at Cannes Film Festival 2025: Dakota Johnson, Imogen Poots and More Celebrity Style, Photos WWDSaturday, May 24, rerun of the films in Competition! Festival de CannesCannes 2025: Movie Scorecard Rotten Tomatoes
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DR Congo ex-leader Joseph Kabila lashes out after immunity lifted for treason charges
DR Congo ex-leader Joseph Kabila lashes out after immunity lifted for treason charges
Joseph Kabila, the ex-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has lashed out at the government of his successor – calling it a “dictatorship”.
The 53-year-old made a 45-minute speech live on YouTube on Friday evening from an unspecified location a day after the Senate lifted his immunity from prosecution.
DR Congo’s authorities intend to charge the former president with treason and war crimes, linking him to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who have taken control of several towns in the east.
Kabila, in power between 2001 and 2019, said he had broken his silence because he felt the unity of the country was at risk.
Analysts say any trial of Kabila could further destabilise the country, which has been battling the M23 rebellion since 2012.
The government of President Félix Tshisekedi has not responded to the speech in which Kabila also set out a 12-point plan that he said could help end decades of insecurity in the mineral-rich east of DR Congo.
Dressed in a navy suit with a Congolese flag badge pinned to his lapel, Kabila stood before a lectern in what was termed an “address to the nation” – a broadcast topped and tailed by the national anthem.
The YouTube link shared by his spokesperson has subsequently been deleted, but the recording has been shared by numerous other accounts.
Once an ally of Tshisekedi, Kabila fell out with his successor and their parties’ coalition formally ended in 2020.
The former president has been living outside the country for two years – he initially left to pursue a doctorate in South Africa.
During his speech, he hit out at “arbitrary decisions” taken by the government last month after “rumours” that he had travelled to the eastern city of Goma.
This prompted the authorities to ban his People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) and order the seizure of his assets.
It all “testifies to the spectacular decline of democracy in our country”, Kabila said.
During his speech, he did mention that he intended to go to Goma “in the coming days”, where he is not in danger of arrest as the city has been under control of the M23 rebels since January.
Kabila also hit out at the president for trying to undermine the constitution, at parliament for failing to hold the president to account and at the justice system for allowing itself to be “openly exploited for political end”.
He was critical of government’s handling of the economy, corruption and public debt, which he said had “skyrocketed” to more than $10bn (£7.3bn).
Kabila, a former general, was also disparaging about the government’s handling of the security situation countrywide, especially the use of pro-government militias as “auxiliaries” of the armed forces.
“The national army… has been replaced by mercenary bands, armed groups, tribal militias, and foreign armed forces that have not only demonstrated their limitations but also plunged the country into indescribable chaos.”
He mentioned that one of these armed groups was the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an ethnic Hutu militia involved in the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and still active in eastern DR Congo.
Rwanda sees the presence of the FDLR rebels as an existential threat. Rwandan troops are currently in DR Congo in support of the M23, which is led by ethnic Tutsis who say they took arms to protect the rights of the ********* group.
Kabila urged the withdrawal of “all foreign troops” from DR Congo and welcomed a recent decision by Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to pull out troop that had been deployed to help the army fight the M23.
After 18 years in power, Kabila maintained that the achievements he had made had been squandered.
“In record time – six years – we are back at square one: that of a failed, divided, disintegrated state, on the verge of implosion, and ranked high on the list of the most corrupt and heavily indebted poor countries,” he said.
Reaction to his address has been mixed, with some pointing out the irony that many of his criticisms of Tshisekedi’s administration reflected those levelled at his own government.
“The dictatorship must end, and democracy, as well as good economic and social governance, must be restored,” he said towards the end of the speech.
Kabila noted that the government had “finally resolved to sit around the same table” with M23 but felt other countrywide peace initiatives backed by the Catholic church should be pursued.
DR Congo and Rwanda, which denies accusations it backs the M23, may be edging towards a peace deal to end the fighting, which has seen hundreds of thousands of civilians forced from their homes in recent months.
The two countries signed a preliminary agreement in Washington last month and said they had agreed on a pathway to peace.
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STM Loves: Mumsly, Mello x Peppa Hart, Sea Grass Festival, Adapt Health Club and Taste The Square
STM Loves: Mumsly, Mello x Peppa Hart, Sea Grass Festival, Adapt Health Club and Taste The Square
It’s a mixed bag this week with a motherhood app founded by a Perth Olympian, a tasty 10-day winter food festival, a Fremantle music festival raising money for a good cause and a fancy new gym in Claremont.
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Archaeologists Found a 5,000-Year-Old Tomb That May Be a Gateway to a Prehistoric Kingdom
Archaeologists Found a 5,000-Year-Old Tomb That May Be a Gateway to a Prehistoric Kingdom
Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:
Excavations in central China uncovered a 5,000-year-old tomb filled with artifacts from the Dawenkou Culture.
Experts believe the size of the tomb and wealth of the artifacts show the owner was a prehistoric king.
The diversity of artifacts within the excavation offers cultural connections beyond one region.
Archaeologists uncovered a new range of tombs at the Wangzhuang ruins this fall in central China’s Henan Province. Especially exciting is tomb M27, which likely belonged to a prehistoric king judging by the size of the tomb, coffins, and bounty of burial artifacts. In fact, experts now believe that the entire site could have been the capital of a prehistoric kingdom, stemming from the ancient Neolithic Dawenkou Culture that existed from 4000 B.C. to 2600 B.C.
“The latest discovery indicates that the Wangzhuang ruins are not an ordinary settlement, but rather the capital of a prehistoric kingdom,” Zhu Guanghua, associate professor at Capital Normal University and lead architect on the excavation, said according to China Daily.
The size of the tomb served as the first clue. Running about 15 feet long and stretching roughly 12 feet wide, it’s one of the largest from the *******. Even the wooden coffin is impressive, with an inner and outer vessel together measuring about 182 square feet. Additionally, inside the tomb were about 350 burial artifacts, including almost 200 ***** ornaments, bone tools, animal remains, and 100 pieces of pottery. The presence of the pig mandibles—the most common animal bone in the tomb—was a signifier of wealth.
The artifacts spanned the eastern and central regions of ancient China and the Yangtze River basin. “Its discoveries testify to the initial exchanges of early ******** civilization, providing evidence for the nature of diversity within ******** civilization,” said Li Zinwei, deputy director for the Institute of Ancient History at the ******** Academy of Social Sciences. “This site offers important examples for studying cultural fusion across different prehistoric regions.”
While many artifacts originated from far and wide, there were also finds that pointed to local rituals, such as the burial of a water deer’s teeth and small-mouthed jars. Archaeology Magazine reported that the Dawenkou Culture is known for advancements in pottery production, and helped shape the ritual culture of ******** dynasties.
Guanghua also believes that the tomb shows evidence of damage from soon after it was built. This could be an intentional act of defiance from rivals, as the remains of the tomb’s owner were largely removed—with only toe bones left behind—and ceremonial pieces were intentionally broken.
The M27 was the most prominent find at the site, but archaeologists uncovered a total of 45 tombs from the Dawenkou Culture. “The exquisite pottery, stone tools, and ***** artifacts vividly demonstrate the division of labor and the level of productivity at the time,” said archaeologist Liu Haiwang. “The richness of the burial objects is closely linked to the size of the tombs, indicating that a clear social hierarchy and class stratification had already emerged.”
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Trump touts anti-DEI changes in West Point address
Trump touts anti-DEI changes in West Point address
US President Donald Trump prepares to sign executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump touted his administration’s changes to the military during a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that at times resembled a campaign-style speech.
“You are the first West Point graduates of the golden age of America,” Trump, wearing his trademark red, ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, said to the graduating class.
“This is the golden age, and you are going to lead the army to summits of greatness that has never reached before,” he added.
During remarks that spanned almost an hour, Trump promoted an “America First” worldview and he touted the strength of the U.S. military, which he claimed credit for bolstering.
He told the graduates they are becoming “officers in the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known.”
“And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military, and we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term,” Trump said.
His remarks mixed elements of a traditional graduation speech, such as advice to the students, with aspects reminiscent of his 2024 campaign speeches, including criticisms of his predecessors.
Trump also used the remarks to highlight his administration’s achievements.
“The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place,” he said.
“A big part of that job is to be respected again, and you are, as of right now, respected more than any army anywhere in the world,” he continued.
Read more CNBC politics coverage
He accused past administrations of sending some U.S. soldiers “on nation building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.”
Trump’s remarks come as his administration has zeroed in on military academies as part of its broader crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) across the country.
He praised those efforts during his address. “We’ve liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings,” Trump said.
West Point eliminated a number of cultural clubs, such as the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the Japanese Forum Club and the Latin Cultural Club, following Trump’s executive order removing DEI programs from the military, NBC News reported.
The Pentagon has also directed military academies, including West Point, to remove books that include mentions of racism or sexism from their libraries, according to the New York Times.
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Trump touts anti-DEI changes in West Point address
Trump touts anti-DEI changes in West Point address
US President Donald Trump prepares to sign executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump touted his administration’s changes to the military during a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that at times resembled a campaign-style speech.
“You are the first West Point graduates of the golden age of America,” Trump, wearing his trademark red, ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, said to the graduating class.
“This is the golden age, and you are going to lead the army to summits of greatness that has never reached before,” he added.
During remarks that spanned almost an hour, Trump promoted an “America First” worldview and he touted the strength of the U.S. military, which he claimed credit for bolstering.
He told the graduates they are becoming “officers in the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known.”
“And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military, and we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term,” Trump said.
His remarks mixed elements of a traditional graduation speech, such as advice to the students, with aspects reminiscent of his 2024 campaign speeches, including criticisms of his predecessors.
Trump also used the remarks to highlight his administration’s achievements.
“The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place,” he said.
“A big part of that job is to be respected again, and you are, as of right now, respected more than any army anywhere in the world,” he continued.
Read more CNBC politics coverage
He accused past administrations of sending some U.S. soldiers “on nation building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.”
Trump’s remarks come as his administration has zeroed in on military academies as part of its broader crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) across the country.
He praised those efforts during his address. “We’ve liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings,” Trump said.
West Point eliminated a number of cultural clubs, such as the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the Japanese Forum Club and the Latin Cultural Club, following Trump’s executive order removing DEI programs from the military, NBC News reported.
The Pentagon has also directed military academies, including West Point, to remove books that include mentions of racism or sexism from their libraries, according to the New York Times.
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Dr David Hurst: Dumped dental patients urge widow Clara Hurst to assist with insurance claims
Dr David Hurst: Dumped dental patients urge widow Clara Hurst to assist with insurance claims
Patients who’ve been stranded for months say they hope glamorous western suburbs cosmetician Clara Hurst can do something to assist their claims against her late husband’s professional indemnity insurance.
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#David #Hurst #Dumped #dental #patients #urge #widow #Clara #Hurst #assist #insurance #claims
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******** singer Julión Álvarez says his visa was revoked ahead of sold-out Texas show
******** singer Julión Álvarez says his visa was revoked ahead of sold-out Texas show
******** singer Julión Álvarez said his visa to enter the United States was revoked before a sold-out May 24 show at AT&T Stadium in Texas.
His group, Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda, had to postpone the evening concert at the Dallas Cowboys’ Arlington stadium with nearly 50,000 tickets sold, according to a May 23 news release.
In a video posted to Instagram, Álvarez said he was told the morning of May 23 his work visa was canceled.
“It’s not possible for us to go to the United States to fulfill our commitment to you,” Álvarez, 42, said in Spanish. “It’s a situation that’s out of our hands.”
Concert promoter CMN and Álvarez’s record label Copar Music said they were looking to reschedule the performance with tickets remaining valid, the AT&T Stadium news release said. They would work to refund tickets in the coming days.
“I apologize to all of you,” Álvarez, who is called King of the Ticket Office, said. “And God willing, we’ll be in contact to share more information.”
In an email response to USA TODAY, the U.S. State Department declined to comment on Álvarez’s announcement, since visa records are confidential by law.
In recent years, ******** artists have increased in popularity in the United States.
At the same time, narcocorridos, or drug ballads, have gained mainstream followings in Mexico and abroad, including in the United States. The style has drawn the ire of officials in Mexico and the United States.
Álvarez is the latest ******** musician to say he had his visa revoked to perform in the country during the second Trump administration, as officials look to cut down on immigration.
Earlier this year, the State Department revoked the visas for band members of Los Alegres del Barranco after the band displayed an image of ******** drug lord Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” while performing a narcocorrido dedicated to him at their Guadalajara, Mexico, concert in late March. The group had a planned American tour.
In early April, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau confirmed the department canceled Los Alegres’ work and tourist visas for “glorifying” Oseguera Cervantes, who is head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The Trump administration has designated CJNG and other ******** cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Julion Alvarez performs onstage at the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards presented bu State Farm on Telemundo at Bank United Center on April 30, 2015 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images)
******** President Claudia Sheinbaum called for an investigation of Los Alegres’ concert. A spokesperson for the band defended their right to make their music freely, without punishment, in an interview with Billboard Español.
It wasn’t immediately clear why Álvarez’s visa had been revoked ahead of his May 24 show. An award-winning regional ******** artist, Álvarez plays traditional corridos, or ballads, along with mariachi and cumbia. He’s known for songs about love or heartbreak, such as “El Amor De Su Vida” and “Cero Empatía.”
In 2017, he had his visa revoked after the Treasury Department accused him and former ******** professional soccer player Rafa Marquez of having ties to a drug trafficker identified under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. American officials accused them of acting as fronts to hold assets for the trafficker.
Álvarez denied the accusations. The designation had him banned from Spotify, Billboard reported.
In 2022, he was taken off the list, and Spotify allowed his music back on its platform, where he has nearly 17 million monthly listeners. Álvarez then was able to perform in the United States again.
In mid-April, Álvarez had three sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles after years of not playing in the country, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at *****@*****.tld or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ******** singer Julión Álvarez had his visa revoked before Texas show
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Iranian thriller wins Cannes’ top prize
Iranian thriller wins Cannes’ top prize
It Was Just An Accident by contentious Iranian director Jafar Panahi has won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or top prize.
Panahi, who has been arrested several times for his filmmaking, was last at the festival in person in 2003, when Crimson Gold was screened in the Un Certain Regard category.
“Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life,” said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing the award on Saturday
It Was Just An Accident follows Vahid, played by Vahid Mobasseri, who kidnaps a man with a false leg who looks just like the one who tortured him in prison and ruined his life.
Vahid sets out to verify with other prison survivors that it is indeed their torturer, and then decide what to do with him.
The Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d’Or, was awarded to Sentimental Value from acclaimed director Joachim Trier.
Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Belgium’s Dardenne brothers.
Earlier in the day, a major power outage which struck southeastern France, threatened to jeopardise the Cannes Film Festival’s closing celebrations, including the much-anticipated Palme d’Or ceremony.
Police said they have opened an investigation into possible arson.
Power was restored hours before the ceremony, around 3pm local time, as music began blasting again from beachfront speakers. The end of the blackout was greeted with loud cheers from locals.
Earlier, about 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes department lost electricity after a high-voltage line fell on Saturday morning, electricity network operator RTE said on X. The outage came hours after a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes overnight had already weakened the grid.
“We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately,” said a police spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie.
In a statement, Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes department, condemned “serious acts of damage to electrical infrastructures”
“All resources are mobilised to identify, track down, arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators of these acts,” said Hottiaux.
Cannes Film Festival organisers confirmed the outage affected the early activities of Saturday and said the Palais des Festivals — the Croisette’s main venue — had switched to an independent power supply.
“All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions,” the statement said.
“At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway.”
Traffic lights in parts of Cannes and the surrounding city of Antibes stopped working after 10am, leading to traffic jams and confusion in city centres. Most shops along the Croisette remained closed, and local food kiosks were only accepting cash. Train service in Cannes was also disrupted.
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Metro Trailhead Direct starts May 24
Metro Trailhead Direct starts May 24
Memorial Day Weekend kicks off the unofficial start of summer, and with that, King County Metro’s Trailhead Direct is starting up again for hikers looking to get in the summer spirit.
Metro Trailhead Direct is a transit-to-trails service, operating in its eighth season starting Saturday, May 24.
It operates on weekends and designated holidays.
These are the routes currently offered:
Mount Si (Route 636): Link Light Rail 1 Line—Capitol Hill Station (Broadway Avenue East and East Denny Way)Buses leaving at 7:39 a.m., 8:09 a.m., 8:39 a.m., 9:08 a.m., 9:42 a.m., 10:10 a.m., 10:40 a.m.
Issaquah Alps (Route 634): Mt. Baker Transit Center 2824 Rainier Avenue S. (between Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King Avenue South.)Buses leaving at 7:42 a.m., 8:12 a.m., 8:42 a.m., 9:23 a.m., 9:53 a.m., 10:12 a.m., 10:42 a.m.
Both routes: Link Light Rail 2 Line—South Bellevue Station 2700 Bellevue Way S.E. Buses leaving at 7:52 a.m., 7:58 a.m., 8:22 a, 8:28 a.m., 8:52 a.m., 8:58 a.m., 9:23 a.m., 9:27 a.m., 9:53 a.m., 10:01 a.m. Metro staff will be at South Bellevue Station to meet hikers with special surprises to celebrate the start of the service.
Trailhead Direct operates until Monday, Sept. 1.
Get more information on fares here.
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Live updates, highlights and more from Liberty-Fever – ESPN
Live updates, highlights and more from Liberty-Fever – ESPN
Live updates, highlights and more from Liberty-Fever ESPNNew York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever: How to watch Caitlin Clark’s WNBA game this afternoon Yahoo SportsIndiana Fever-NY Liberty live updates: Score and highlights for Caitlin Clark game USA TodayLiberty face early litmus test against Caitlin Clark, Fever — here are the keys to watch New York PostIndiana Fever vs New York Liberty live score updates, Caitlin Clark stats today, highlights IndyStar
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