Labor rallies in large cities swelled with demonstrators focused on immigration, education and worker’s rights. But protesters also rallied at small-town schools and city halls in Trump country.
A General Motors plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. The chief executive, Mary T. Barra, said the company was planning changes that it hoped would offset about 30 percent of the tariffs’ effects.
A traditional day for labor marches provided an opportunity for protesters across the country to demonstrate opposition to the Trump administration’s agenda.
The project will highlight scripted short films from international communities along with snippets of a conversation between the director and the pontiff, who died last month.
Martin Scorsese and Pope Francis in 2024. “He knew in his soul that ignorance was a terrible plague on humanity,” Scorsese said after the pope’s death last month.
Mike Waltz was President Trump's closest adviser on national security issues
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz is leaving his post with the Trump adminstration, according to media reports.
Waltz, who was the president's principal adviser on national security issues, has had a difficult tenure amid accusations that senior officials used insecure methods of communication to conduct government business.
Last month, he took responsibility for a group chat on the Signal messaging app in which high-ranking officials planned military strikes in Yemen in the company of a journalist who was inadvertently added.
Waltz's deputy Alex Nelson Wong has also reportedly been removed from his post in what appears to be a shakeup of the US' security establishment.
In March, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he had been mistakenly added to a group chat on Signal, in which senior officials - including Waltz, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - discussed confidential information about a planned military strike on Yemen.
Mr Goldberg revealed he was added to the chat by Mike Waltz, who later took responsibility for the fiasco.
At the time, Trump and US intelligence chiefs downplayed the security risks and said no classified material was shared.
President Trump had defended Waltz, saying he was "doing his best" with "equipment and technology that's not perfect".
But Democrats and some Republicans had called for an investigation into what several lawmakers described as a major breach.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in Istanbul, with 50,000 police officers deployed to the city as authorities attempt to crack down on May Day protests.
Public transport was shut down to stop people reaching Taksim Square, where demonstrations have been banned since 2013.
Footage from the Turkish capital showed clashes between riot police and protesters with demonstrators chanting as police forcefully move detainees onto buses.
The city saw huge protests in March after the arrest of the opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - the main rival to Turkey's President Erdogan.
Taksim Square – the heart of Istanbul – was under a tight lock down, with police and metal barriers along all roads leading to the area.
Authorities were determined, perhaps this year more than ever, to ensure there were no major protests on the square, and they had enough riot police to ensure that.
The square, normally busy with bustling crowds, looked lifeless, with restaurants and shops sealed shut.
The only way past the lines of police was with permission. Several labour unions were allowed briefly onto Taksim, carrying red banners and flowers.
Standing in front of the Republic Monument, which commemorates the founding of the modern Turkey in 1923, one speaker complained about the restrictions they faced. Trucks with water canon parked a short distance away.
On roads leading to the square, groups of tourists passed by on foot from time to time, dragging suitcases, unsure of where they could go and unable to reach taxis.
The square was sealed off for several days before 1 May, according to AFP news agency.
A student named Murat said streets had been "blocked... as if it's a state of emergency", he told AFP.
"We weren't allowed into the squares... We were taken from the streets in small groups under torture. It's not a situation we're facing for the first time. It probably won't be the last."
On Wednesday, 100 people were detained for allegedly planning to protest in the square.
The city's authorities said on Thursday that 382 people had been arrested for "non-authorised demonstrations".
Rights group Amnesty International has urged Turkey to lift the ban on demonstrations in Taksim.
The restrictions "are based on entirely spurious security and public order grounds", said Dinushika Dissanayake, an Amnesty's specialist on Europe.
In a statement, the group called on officials to respect the right to protest and "not use force against peaceful protesters".
Ekrem Imamoglu's arrest in March triggered mass protests on the streets of Istanbul as hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators came out in support of Istanbul's mayor, who is being held in jail on corruption charges he denies.
He has said his arrest is political, but the has government denied this and insists the Turkish courts are fully independent.
Mayor since 2019, Imamoglu is widely viewed as the only politician capable of challenging Erdogan in the 2028 election. Imamoglu was confirmed as the opposition party's candidate while he was in custody.
Erdogan has been in power for more than 20 years, first as prime minister then as president from 2014. He cannot run again for the presidency after 2028 - unless he changes Turkey's constitution.
Behind the scenes, a top department official pressed employees to gather a list of activists and investigate them, people familiar with the matter said.
The National Law Day of Action, which drew roughly 1,500 people in New York City, was organized to resist the president’s threats against judges and the nation’s jurisprudence.
A new record was set for the hottest start to any May on record on Thursday, with temperatures reaching 29.3C (84.7F) in London.
That high, which was recorded at Kew Gardens, beat the previous record of 27.4C (81.3F), which was set in Lossiemouth, Scotland, in 1990, the Met Office said.
Much of the UK basked in heat well above the average for the time of year, though conditions were cooler in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The spell of hot weather was triggered by an area of high pressure which had become blocked over the UK, leading to a sustained south-easterly air flow bringing warm conditions.
Thursday was also the hottest day of the year so far, beating the previous high of 26.7C recorded in Wisley, Surrey earlier this week.
Temperatures in London soared above several European cities, including Athens and Rome.
The capital was also hotter than Cairo (27C), Marrakesh (27C) and Los Angeles (21C).
While not expected to hit the same sort of peaks as Thursday, temperatures are on course to remain high for many on Friday.
However, conditions are forecast to return to closer to seasonal averages across the Bank Holiday weekend.
Temperatures are expected to reach the low twenties in the south of England, with highs only reaching the mid-teens further north and in Scotland.
What is fuelling this sunny spell?
When we see heat records challenged in the UK, there is often an influence of air coming from Iberia or north Africa involved.
This is not the case this week - instead, we have seen a large area of high pressure sitting across the UK.
PA Media
High pressure is essentially a huge zone in the atmosphere where air is actually descending towards the ground and warming as it travels towards us, which has been happening cumulatively over a number of days.
There are a number of other factors at play which have contributed to this record-setting day.
The area of high pressure has also come with clear and sunny skies, which helps to warm the ground.
A lack of rain has left the ground very dry, meaning it can warm more quickly.
To break that cycle of warming, the UK will need either strong winds, a change in wind direction or the arrival of cloud and rain.
While it looks set to remain dry for the vast majority of the UK across the Bank Holiday weekend, we are expecting to see those wind conditions change, which will push temperatures down.
UK regulator could ban vet chains from linking incentives to certain treatments
British vets could face price caps on medicines, prescriptions and other services like cremations, the regulator has indicated, as it outlined changes it is considering to the way the UK's £2bn veterinary sector operates.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating the sector, looking at whether a lack of competition in the sector has contributed to soaring prices.
Prices for treatments grew by 60% between 2015 and 2023, compared with inflation of 35% for other general services, according to CMA research.
The regulator is also pushing for more transparency as part of the overhaul due to be finalised in the coming months.
In addition to the price caps, the CMA is looking into a ban on bonuses linked to offering specific treatments.
It said on Thursday that it would look into a ban on any policies that would curtail vets' "clinical freedom". Some vets had reported feeling under pressure to meet targets in relation to the treatments they sell.
It found that businesses were marking up medicineprices, sometimes by as much as four times the purchase cost.
The watchdog also found there was a lack of transparency around the cost of treatments and what choices were available.
In a list of potential remedies, the CMA said vets could be forced to create a clear online display of prices for medicines, surgeries, treatments and out-of-hours help. The working paper also suggested that the mark-up charged on pet cremations, sold to customers at a "vulnerable moment", might be capped.
The watchdog has also suggested a comparison website making it compulsory for clinics to inform owners if cheaper options are available.
The CMA expects to release a provisional report on what measures it will take in the summer months, with a final decision by November.
The CMA said basic local vet services are worth £2bn-£2.5bn a year, but when other aspects such as cremation, specialist treatments and medicines are taken into account, the overall value of the industry is estimated at £5.7bn a year.
The competition body highlighted how the sector was increasingly being dominated by larger firms and how this might be reducing consumer choice.
There are about 5,000 vet practices in the UK, it said, but since 2013, approximately 1,500 of these have been acquired by six large corporate groups.
They are CVS, Independent Vetcare Ltd, Linnaeus, Medivet, Pets at Home and VetPartners.
Four of these six tend to retain the name and branding of an independently-owned practice when they buy it, which the CMA said may create an "illusion of competition" for consumers if they are trying to shop around to find alternative practices.
With more than 100 people killed this week in a region controlled by the Druse minority, Druse leaders signaled new willingness to join forces with the Sunni Muslim-dominated government.
The new government has pledged to unify Syria after overthrowing the Assad dictatorship. One of its biggest challenges is persistent sectarian violence.
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