AFP

US President Donald Trump's administration is "ignoring the scientific consensus to benefit polluters," hundreds of Environmental Protection Agency employees said in a letter of dissent Monday, accusing the government of undermining the EPA's core mission.

The scathing letter, signed by more than 200 current and former officials and their supporters, accused EPA chief Lee Zeldin of enacting policies dangerous to both humans and the environment.

"The decisions of the current administration frequently contradict the peer-reviewed research and recommendations of Agency experts," said the letter.

"Make no mistake: your actions endanger public health and erode scientific progress -- not only in America -- but around the world."

Under Zeldin, the EPA has worked to deliver Trump's campaign promises of lifting environmental regulations, boosting fossil fuel production and cutting clean energy spending.

The letter identifies five main areas of concern, including the increasing politicization of the agency, the reversing of programs aimed at marginalized communities and the "dismantling" of the agency's Office of Research and Development.

It described the agency's communications under Zeldin as being used "to promote misinformation and overtly partisan rhetoric."

"This politicized messaging distracts from EPA's core responsibility: to protect human health and the environment through objective, science-based policy."

As an example, the letter cited official communications that likened "climate science to a religion."

Zeldin has repeatedly stated that he sees the EPA's role as supporting US economic growth, and under his guidance the agency has set in motion a full-scale reversal of several environmental standards and greenhouse gas regulations.

Unveiling a set of policy initiatives in March, Zeldin hailed the move as "the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen."

"We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the US and more," said the administrator of the federal agency charged with protecting the environment.

The letter came weeks after the publication of a similar text signed by dozens of employees of the National Institutes of Health over the Trump administration's "harmful" policies.

The EPA letter had more than 170 "anonymous signers," with the text stating the administration had promoted "a culture of fear" at the agency.

A US commercial mission carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, marking the first time in decades that these nations have sent crew to space.

Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, lifted off early Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding a Falcon 9 rocket.

Onboard were pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India; mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary; and Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, a former NASA astronaut now with Axiom Space, which organizes private spaceflights.

The capsule, the fifth and final Dragon in the SpaceX fleet, was christened "Grace" after reaching orbit.

It achieved "soft capture," or the first stage of docking, with the orbital lab Thursday at 6:31 am Eastern Time (1031 GMT).

They later entered the station through the hatch and were greeted by the current ISS crew during a brief welcome ceremony.

"It's so great to be here at last," said Whitson. "That was a long quarantine."

The crew will now spend about 14 days aboard the station, conducting some 60 experiments -- including studies on microalgae, sprouting salad seeds, and the hardiness of microscopic tardigrades in space.

- Key step for India -

The last time India, Poland or Hungary sent people to space, their current crop of astronauts had not yet been born -- and back then they were called cosmonauts, as they all flew on Soviet missions before the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Shukla is the first Indian to reach space since Rakesh Sharma, who flew to the Salyut 7 station in 1984 as part of an Indo-Soviet mission.

India's space agency, ISRO, sees this flight as a key step toward its first independent crewed mission, slated for 2027 under the Gaganyaan ("sky craft") program.

"What a fantastic ride," Shukla said in Hindi after liftoff. "This isn't just the start of my journey to the International Space Station -- it's the beginning of India's human space program."

Each country is funding its astronaut's seat.

Poland has spent 65 million euros for its astronaut's flight, according to the Polish Space Agency. Hungary announced a $100 million deal with Axiom in 2022, according to spacenews.com, while India has not officially commented.

The Ax-4 launch comes after technical issues delayed the mission, originally slated for early June.

It also follows an online spat between US President Donald Trump and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, the world's richest person and, until recently, Trump's ally and advisor.

Trump threatened to yank SpaceX's federal contracts -- worth tens of billions of dollars -- prompting Musk to threaten an early retirement of Dragon, the only US spacecraft currently certified to carry astronauts to the ISS.

Musk walked back the threat a few hours later and in the days that followed continued to deescalate, stating on X that he had gone "too far."

Any falling out between SpaceX and the US government would be massively disruptive, given NASA and the Pentagon's reliance on Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy to send up crew, cargo, satellites and probes.

But for now, analysts believe both sides are too entangled to risk a serious break.

Billionaire Elon Musk has said he is leaving his role in the US government, in which he was tasked with reducing federal spending, shortly after his first major break with Donald Trump over the president's signature spending bill.

While classified as a "special government employee" and "senior advisor to the president," the South African-born tycoon has left indelible marks on American politics as Trump's most visible backer.

- The 'Nazi' salute -

AFP

Musk's gesture -- which he repeated -- led to critics calling Tesla vehicles 'swasticars'

Standing at a podium bearing the presidential seal, Musk's right arm was straight, his hand open, his palm facing down. Historians agreed with Democratic politicians that the sharp gesture looked exactly like a Nazi salute.

The Tesla boss -- whose electric vehicles were soon dubbed "swasticars" by critics -- dismissed the claims, posting on his X social media platform: "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."

Whatever the display meant, Nazi-related jokes and memes dominated public reactions to the day meant to mark Trump's triumphant return to office.

- Endorsing Germany's extreme-right -

AFP

German mainstream political parties see Musk's endorsement of the extreme-right, anti-immigrant AfD as foreign meddling

Musktold the crowd "you really are the best hope" for Germany and urged them to be "proud of German culture and German values."

His endorsement of the AfD shook mainstream German parties, which said they viewed it as foreign interference by Trump's advisor. Vandals burned four Teslas in the streets of Berlin afterward.

Despite record gains at the polls, AfD ultimately took second place in the election behind Germany's conservatives.

- Brings kid to work -

AFP

Musk carried his son X around the White House

During Musk's first appearance before reporters since his arrival in Washington to run DOGE, the child was trotted out and Trump said: "This is X and he's a great guy."

The boy was filmed picking his nose while his father boasted about his cost-cutting exploits while standing next to the Oval Office's Resolute Desk.

- Brings chainsaw to budget -

AFP

He brandished a chainsaw in reference to the cuts he is making to US federal services

To illustrate his management style, Musk donned sunglasses and brandished a chainsaw on stage at a conservative get-together in Washington.

It was handed to him -- not turned on -- by right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei, who made the machine a symbol of slashing bureaucracy and state spending in his own country.

- Overshadowing Trump's cabinet -

AFP

Musk has clashed with people in Trump's administration

Even without a literal seat at the table Musk, who helped bankroll Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, overshadowed the country's most powerful officials.

Trump downplayed this tension shortly before the meeting, posting on his social media platform: "ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON."

- Trump the Tesla salesman -

AFP

Trump lent his showman aura to Musk's floundering Tesla brand

With a Tesla Cybertruck and a Model S parked on the South Portico, Trump and Musk mounted a sales pitch.

Trump even said he had purchased one.

The stunt didn't ultimately turn around Tesla's plummeting sales, with the electric vehicle maker reporting a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profits.

- Fails to sway court election -

AFP

Musk's money did not sway a Wisconsin court vote

Musk paid voters $100 to sign a petition opposing "activist judges" and even handed out $1 million checks to voters, beseeching the public to select the conservative judge.

The court's docket was packed with precedent-setting cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.

The US state instead chose a liberal judge by a wide margin in April, dismaying the billionaire -- who had spent roughly $277 million in 2024 in the national race to help get Trump elected.

- Tariff dissenter -

AFP

Musk called Trump's trade adviser and tariff champion Peter Navarro 'dumber than a sack of bricks'

This clashes with Trump's trade policy.

Shortly after, he called Trump's economic advisor Peter Navarro, a longtime advocate for trade barriers, "dumber than a sack of bricks."

Navarro had taken aim at Tesla, saying the carmaker mostly sourced assembled major components from factories in Asia.

Musk retorted with studies he said showed "Tesla has the most American-made cars."

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt tried to play down the public feud, saying that "boys will be boys."

- Big, Beautiful Bill -

Musk said he was "disappointed" by Trump's divisive mega-bill, which offers sprawling tax relief and spending cuts, in a rare split with the Republican president.

The tech tycoon said the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" -- which passed the US House last week and now moves to the Senate -- would increase the deficit and undermine the work of DOGE, which has fired tens of thousands of people.

Critics warn the legislation will gut health care and balloon the national deficit by as much as $4 trillion over a decade.

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk told CBS News.

Musk announced he was quitting his US government role shortly after.

Harvard University has been flooded with requests from foreign students to transfer to other institutions as US President Donald Trump's administration seeks to ban it from hosting international scholars, a staff member said Wednesday.

"Too many international students to count have inquired about the possibility of transferring to another institution," Maureen Martin, director of immigration services, wrote in a court filing.

Trump has upended the United States' reputation among foreign students, who number around one million, as he presses a campaign against US universities he sees as obstructing his "Make America Great Again" populist agenda.

He has blocked Harvard from hosting international scholars in a maneuver being challenged legally, targeted non-citizen campus activists for deportation, and most recently suspended student visa processing across the board.

The president's crackdown has prompted "profound fear, concern, and confusion" among students and staff at the elite university, which has been "inundated with questions from current international students and scholars about their status and options", Martin wrote.

More than 27 percent of Harvard's enrollment was made up of foreign students in the 2024-25 academic year, according to university data.

"Many international students and scholars are reporting significant emotional distress that is affecting their mental health and making it difficult to focus on their studies," Martin wrote in the filing.

Some were afraid to attend their graduation ceremonies this week or had canceled travel plans for fear of being refused re-entry into the United States, she added.

She said that a handful of domestic students at Harvard had also "expressed serious interest" in transferring elsewhere because they did not want to attend a university with no international students.

A judge last week suspended the government's move to block Harvard from enrolling and hosting foreign students after the Ivy League school sued, calling the action unconstitutional.

A hearing into the case was scheduled for Thursday.

At least 10 foreign students or scholars at Harvard had their visa applications refused immediately after the block on foreign students was announced, including students whose visa applications had already been approved, Martin wrote.

"My current understanding is that the visa applications that were refused or revoked following the Revocation Notice have not yet been approved or reinstated," despite a judge suspending the move, she said.

A US federal appeals court has temporarily halted a ruling that found many of President Donald Trump's tariffs illegal, but the chance it could ultimately back the original decision looms over the White House.

What is in the US Court of International Trade's original ruling -- which the Trump administration is appealing -- and what options does the administration have?

- Which tariffs were affected? -

The three-judge trade court ruled Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing blanket tariffs by invoking emergency economic powers.

The judgment -- although temporarily halted -- affected levies unveiled on April 2, which involve a 10-percent tariff on most trading partners and higher rates on dozens of economies including China and the European Union. These higher levels are currently suspended while negotiations take place.

The ruling also applies to tariffs imposed on Canada, Mexico and China over their alleged roles in allowing an influx of drugs into the United States.

But it left intact sector-specific levies like those on steel, aluminum and auto imports.

- Why a pause? -

The ruling by the little-known court, which has nationwide jurisdiction over tariff and trade disputes, initially gave the White House 10 days to complete the process of unwinding the levies.

But the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday granted a temporary stay "until further notice" while the Trump administration's appeals process plays out.

This means the tariffs can remain in effect for now, while a longer-term outcome is yet to be determined.

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told Fox News the administration is "very pleased with the ruling," dubbing it a victory.

- What are Trump's alternatives? -

The appeals court could eventually uphold the trade court's original decision to block Trump's sweeping tariffs.

The president, however, has other means to reinstate his tariff agenda, said Thibault Denamiel, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

These include Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, "which is intended to deal with a balance of payments emergency but does not require a formal investigation," Denamiel told AFP.

The authority restricts tariffs to 15 percent and they can only last 150 days.

But it is among the policy levers that Trump could pull as he seeks a "bridge" towards more lasting actions, said KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk.

Another option is Section 338 of the Trade Act of 1930, allowing the administration to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on countries that discriminate against the United States, Denamiel said.

- Does this affect trade talks? -

The US trade court's ruling did not remove the threat of US tariffs for Europe or end the need for negotiations, said Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics.

This is because the threat of reciprocal tariffs remains if the White House wins its appeal, he said.

Trump could also turn to sector-specific means as he did in his first term or seek congressional approval for tariffs, though this is less likely, Kenningham said.

It is not clear if negotiations will lose steam, Swonk added, given that the administration wants to leverage the threat of tariffs "very aggressively."

Even if the original ruling is eventually upheld, US officials could still buy time to exert pressure on other economies including the European Union and China.

- What about the broader economy? -

The court process "introduces greater ambiguity around the future direction of US trade policy," especially because the appeal is ongoing, said EY chief economist Gregory Daco.

"This legal development amplifies longer-lasting uncertainty for businesses navigating cross-border supply chains," he added in a note.

US stocks closed higher Thursday, but economic fallout has already occurred in recent months with Trump's see-sawing approach to unveiling tariffs and pausing them selectively.

Financial markets have been roiled by policy shifts, and shipping halts due to high tariffs bring disruptions that cannot be cleared overnight, analysts said.

"The fate of the economy remains precarious even if we avert a recession," Swonk said on social media.

A car plowed into soccer fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title victory on Monday, injuring several people while police said a 53-year-old man had been detained.

Witnesses reported people being knocked over as a dark-coloured people carrier swerved through huge crowds among tens of thousands who turned out to see the English team's victory parade.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw at least four people taken away on stretchers.

"It was extremely fast," said Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, near Birmingham, central England, to see Liverpool players parade the trophy through the city in an open-topped bus.

"Initially we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of the car," he told reporters.

"It was horrible and you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people."

Other eye-witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing an angry crowd surround the vehicle before police arrived.

Merseyside Police called for calm and said the arrested man was "a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area".

"Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision," a spokesperson added.

Cordons were put in place and a fire engine was also at the scene.

North West Ambulance Service said its crews were "assessing the situation" with other emergency services.

"Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible," a statement read.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes in Liverpool "appalling". "My thoughts are with all those injured or affected," he wrote on X.

"I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident," he added.

"I'm being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate."

Liverpool's soccer history has been marked by tragedy.

In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a stadium crush at a game in Sheffield.

In 1985, 39 mainly Italian fans were killed when a wall collapsed amidst disturbances between Liverpool and Juventus fans at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

by Maggy DONALDSON

Pop great Billy Joel cancelled a series of global tour dates after being diagnosed with a brain condition that worsened because of recent performances, he announced Friday.

"Billy Joel has announced that he will be cancelling all scheduled concerts following a recent diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)," read a statement on the Piano Man's website.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade

The condition arises if cerebrospinal fluid cannot properly flow throughout the brain and spinal cord, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The excess fluid and pressure can cause brain damage.

The institution said on its website that NPH is rare, but can cause cognitive impairment including memory problems as well as trouble walking.

Joel's statement said "this condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance."

Prompt treatment can alleviate the condition if diagnosed early.

Joel's scrapped dates include several in Britain, as well as a packed schedule crisscrossing the United States from July 2025 up until July 2026 when he was due to round off his ambitious string of dates in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The "We Didn't Start the Fire" legend, 76, wrote "I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding."

- Consummate New Yorker -

Joel has been a pop mainstay and performer extraordinaire since the 1970s, with a catalog of fan favorites including "Uptown Girl" and "New York State of Mind."

Last year he capped a decade-long residency with more than 100 shows at Manhattan's famed Madison Square Garden.

The residency drew in millions of fans and grossed more than $260 million.

"Let's be real -- I'm from New York," the Bronx-born, Long Island-raised artist told journalists in the run-up to his 100th performance at the top arena.

"This is my venue. Fortunately for me, Madison Square Garden is a world venue. You can play almost any other arena in the country and nobody else in the world is going to know about it," he said.

Last year, Joel released his first new original song in almost two decades, "Turn the Lights Back On."

The Grammy winner has a laundry list of accolades to his name, including induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in addition to that organization's top lifetime achievement honor.

Joel is also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well a Kennedy Center honoree.

A documentary film about his storied life -- "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" -- is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 4.

Police in El Salvador have arrested a prominent human rights lawyer with an organization helping families of imprisoned Venezuelan migrants who were deported by the United States, authorities said Monday.

The Cristosal rights group called for the immediate release of activist and attorney Ruth Eleonora Lopez, a critic of President Nayib Bukele.

The 47-year-old, who was detained late Sunday, is accused of embezzling state funds when she worked for an electoral court a decade ago, the public prosecutor's office said.

"Neither her family nor her legal team has managed to find out her whereabouts," Cristosal said in a statement.

It called the authorities' refusal to disclose Lopez's location or grant her lawyers access "a blatant violation of due process."

Her arrest "raises serious concerns about the increasing risks faced by human rights defenders in El Salvador," it added.

Lopez runs Cristosal's corruption and justice division and is a critic of Bukele's anti-crime policy, the highlight of which is the sweeping arrests of thousands of alleged gang members.

Bukele has jauntily called himself "the world's coolest dictator" and is a darling of US President Donald Trump.

Cristosal helps families of Salvadorans caught up in Bukele's waves of arrests and the Venezuelans who were deported in March by the Trump administration, which paid El Salvador to imprison them.

Trump invoked rarely used wartime laws to fly the Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador without any court hearings, alleging they belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, a charge that their families and lawyers deny.

Last week, a law firm hired by Caracas to assist the Venezuelans alleged that the migrants were victims of physical and emotional "torture."

Cristosal said last month that police officers had entered its headquarters during a press conference to film and photograph the premises, as well as members of the media and vehicles belonging to staff.

It said the incident was part of "the current context of authoritarianism and the closure of democratic spaces in El Salvador."

Last week, nine international organizations including Amnesty International accused the Bukele administration of adopting "an authoritarian pattern in the face of social discontent."

"The Salvadoran government has resorted to excessive use of force, undue militarization, the criminalization of protest, and threats to further restrict civic space," a joint statement said.

Lopez was included in a list of 100 inspiring and influential women around the world last year by the BBC, which praised her for being "passionate about law and justice."

A new song by rapper Kanye West glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler has racked up millions of views on Elon Musk's X platform, after it was banned by other sites such as YouTube.

West -- the winner of 24 Grammys over the course of his career in hip-hop -- in recent years has made repeated anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi statements.

"Heil Hitler" was released on May 8 by the 47-year-old artist who now prefers to go by Ye -- the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

As of Saturday, the video had been seen nearly 10 million times.

In the clip, dozens of Black men -- wearing animal pelts and masks, and standing in a block formation -- chant the title of the song, as West raps about being misunderstood and his custody battle with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

The song ends with an extract of a speech by the Nazi dictator.

NBC News cited a YouTube spokesperson as saying: "We removed the content and will continue to take down reuploads."

Reddit also told NBC that it would remove any versions of the song from its platform, with a spokesperson adding: "Hate and anti-Semitism have absolutely no place on Reddit."

The song has also been removed from streaming platforms Spotify and Apple Music.

Since Musk purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022, he has allowed hate speech and disinformation on the site, positioning himself as a champion of free speech.

But critics say the Tesla and SpaceX chief is amplifying those who share his political beliefs.

Musk has become a close ally of President Donald Trump, and donated $277 million to support Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2024 election.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

In February, West's X account was deactivated after a days-long rant that included vitriolic, anti-Semitic outbursts.

He also repeatedly referred to himself as a "Nazi."

Also in February, the website of his Yeezy fashion brand was taken offline after plain white T-shirts with a swastika went on sale.

The rapper had been locked out of social media platforms in the past, notably when he was banned from X for nearly eight months for violating rules barring incitement to violence.

Adidas cut ties with West in 2022 after allegations of anti-Semitism against him.

The partnership was one of the most successful sportswear tie-ups in history, and the resulting Yeezy range went on to help make West a billionaire.

As of Saturday, Forbes put his net worth at $400 million.

For years, West has spoken openly about struggles with bipolar disorder. He has said on "The Download" podcast that he has been diagnosed with autism.

US safety officials launched a probe Sunday after a 150-foot tall Mexican sailing ship crashed into New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge, snapping its masts and killing two crew members.

Numerous sailors were positioned among the navy vessel Cuauhtemoc's rigging at the time, video of the incident showed.

New York Mayor Eric Adams said early Sunday that 277 people had been on board the vessel and that two people had died from their injuries, without specifying where they were located on the vessel.

Nineteen others sustained injuries, he said, two of whom were in critical condition.

The white-hulled ship was moored Sunday along banks of the East River, its mangled masts contrasting against colorful decorations for its US departure.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on social media that it was "launching a go-team" to conduct an initial probe of the crash.

Nearby the ship, Aldo Ordonez told AFP that his sister, 24-year-old cadet Alejandra Ordonez, had been standing among the sails when the ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge.

His sister was temporarily left hanging from a sail, he said, but sustained only minor injuries and slept with others on the boat.

Aldo Ordonez arrived Sunday morning from Mexico City after seeing the accident on television.

Crew members were expected to fly home to Mexico later Sunday, he said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X that she was "deeply saddened" by the two crew members' deaths.

The ship lost power at around 8:20 pm (0020 GMT Sunday) while the captain was maneuvering the vessel, forcing it to head for a bridge abutment on the Brooklyn side, New York police chief of special operations Wilson Aramboles told a press conference.

There was "panic on the ship," Brooklyn resident Nick Corso, 23, who was standing near the water, told AFP.

He had been poised to take a photo, but when he realized what was happening he switched to video.

"Lots of screaming, some sailors hanging from the masts, looked like panic happening on the ship," he said.

The Mexican Navy said in its statement that no one had fallen into the water, and that no rescue operation had been launched.

The ship had been departing New York at the time and flags fluttered in its rigging, while an enormous Mexican flag waved off its stern.

The Cuauhtemoc, built in 1982, was sailing to Iceland when it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge when it opened in 1883.

The incident is the second deadly ship crash into a US bridge in little over a year, after a fully laden cargo vessel smashed into a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland in March 2024, causing it to collapse and killing six road workers.

A top US Republican said Sunday that a mega-bill meant to advance President Donald Trump's domestic agenda remains "on track" despite a recent failure to advance in committee.

Trump has been pressing the Republican-controlled Congress to move quickly on the "big, beautiful bill," which -- among many other provisions -- extends tax cuts passed in his first term while imposing new restrictions on welfare programs.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told "Fox News Sunday" that he plans for a floor vote on the package by the end of the week, despite its failure to advance in the Budget Committee on Thursday.

Independent congressional analysts calculate that the mega-bill's tax provisions would add more than $4.8 trillion to the federal deficit over the coming decade.

To partially offset that, Republicans plan significant cuts in spending -- notably by adding new restrictions on the Medicaid program that helps provide health insurance for more than 70 million lower-income Americans.

The policy change would result in over 10 million people losing coverage under the program, according to estimates by the independent Congressional Budget Office.

But sharp divisions within the party threaten at least to slow the legislative process.

Moderate Republicans fear overly large cuts in the popular program could upset the party's prospects in the midterm elections of November 2026.

But deficit hawks on the party's far right insist the projected cuts don't go far enough.

A handful of Republican legislators on Friday voted against the bill's passage out of the Budget Committee, derailing its progress at least temporarily.

"We don't like smoke and mirrors," one of those legislators, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, told reporters. "We want real cuts."

Speaker Johnson has been spending the weekend working to persuade the holdouts. Republicans have a very slim majority in the House, meaning the bill needs almost unanimous support to pass.

"This is the largest spending reduction in at least three decades, probably longer," he told the Fox program. "It's historic."

The Budget Committee is set to continue debating the bill into late Sunday, in hopes this time of securing passage.

But even if it passes in the House, it will face challenges in the Senate.

Republicans in the upper chamber, who have a similarly narrow majority, are demanding major changes in the sweeping bill -- which Trump is eager to present as a signal accomplishment early in his second term.

American R&B singer Chris Brown, former boyfriend of superstar Rihanna, was Friday remanded in custody until June 13 by a UK court, charged with assault over a 2023 incident.

The judge's decision to reject his bail request throws into doubt the start of Brown's next tour, with shows already sold-out in the Netherlands on June 8 and Germany on June 11.

Brown, 36, was arrested in the early hours of Thursday at a Manchester hotel and then charged over the alleged assault at a London nightclub in 2023, police said.

He appeared at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Friday, where District Judge Joanne Hirst remanded him in custody until a plea and trial preparation hearing at London's Southwark Crown Court on June 13.

Brown is due to play in Germany that day, and has a series of shows planned in the UK and Europe during June and July, before heading to the United States.

The singer is known for mid-2000s hits such as "Kiss, Kiss" as well as a litany of legal troubles including a felony conviction for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

He has also faced criminal accusations including sexual assault and domestic violence.

- Hotel arrest -

Brown was charged with "grievous bodily harm with intent" in relation to "an assault, which reportedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London" on February 19, 2023, police said.

Brown allegedly attacked music producer Abe Diaw with a bottle at Tape nightclub in London's exclusive Mayfair district, The Sun daily reported.

AFP

Members of the public and photographers look on as a prison van leaves from the back of a Manchester court shortly after US R&B singer Chris Brown charged with a 2023 assault in a London nightclub

Brown reportedly flew into Manchester airport by private jet on Wednesday afternoon.

Police detained Brown at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Manchester, according to media reports.

The two-time Grammy winner rose to fame at a young age with his rich R&B voice and later rap, but his reputation was later tarnished by allegations of domestic violence and other abuse.

He was convicted of having beaten Rihanna before the 2009 Grammy Awards, forcing the pop star to miss the annual gala.

In 2012, Brown was involved in an altercation at a New York nightclub with members of hip hop star Drake's entourage, during which French basketball star Tony Parker suffered an eye injury after being hit by a thrown glass bottle.

Two years later, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a fan in Washington.

Brown, who rose from a local church choir in Virginia to sudden fame, was also arrested in 2016 after a woman alleged that he pointed a gun at her.

There are not many fans of Donald Trump's dream to save Hollywood with tariffs among the dealmakers at the Cannes film festival -- even among those who voted for him.

Unlike Robert De Niro -- a vocal critic who called Trump "America's philistine president" at the festival's opening ceremony -- they told AFP they have no political or personal axes to grind with him.

But they see his idea of 100-percent tariffs on movies produced "in foreign lands" as a "massive potential disaster" for an industry already shaken by streaming platforms.

"I don't see any benefit to what he is trying to do. If anything it could really hurt us," Scott Jones, the head of Artist View Entertainment, told AFP.

"A lot of people are out of work right now, and this is not going to make it better. There needs to be method to the madness," said the producer, in Cannes with a Tennessee-shot Civil War epic "The Legend of Van Dorn".

Trump's own "special ambassadors" to the industry, actors Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone, both signed a letter Tuesday thanking him for drawing attention to "runaway" US productions being shot overseas, but asking for tax breaks to keep them in the United States rather than tariffs.

A wide coalition of Hollywood producers, writers and directors groups also put their names to the call.

"More than 80 countries offer production tax incentives and as a result, numerous productions that could have been shot in America have instead located elsewhere," they said.

The biggest American film at Cannes is Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" -- which was mostly shot in Britain and South Africa.

- 'Catastrophic' -

"Hollywood movies are made all over the world," said Louise Lantagne, head of Quebecreatif, which supports the Canadian industry.

And producers have been going north to make movies in Canada for decades "because we are cheaper and we have tax credits, great facilities and really top technical talent", she added.

"Of course it is going to be hell if (tariffs) happen," she told AFP, but "for the moment it is just a tweet -- even if everyone is really stressed by these declarations".

Many, like American sales agent Monique White of California Pictures, think tariffs are "unfeasible" and Trump will quietly drop the idea.

"Tariffs are legally and technically impossible without changing the law in Congress, which doesn't look likely," she told AFP.

But others worry that the damage has already been done.

One veteran producer who voted twice for Trump, and asked not be named, said the threat of them alone has already been "catastrophic for confidence".

"Investors, particularly foreign ones, don't want to get burned down the line. He's killing us," he told AFP.

- 'Too expensive' -

Even if Trump manages to push tariffs through, Lantagne argued it would be a "bureaucratic nightmare to rule on what is a US film", as financing and talent is now so international.

AFP

Oscar-winning film editor Sylvain Bellemare said American producers can no longer afford to shoot entirely in California

He is in Cannes for the red carpet premiere of the US film "Splitsville" starring Dakota Johnson.

"It was completely shot in Quebec," he told AFP, but with American money.

And last year he worked on the Paramount film "Novocaine", which was set in San Diego but shot in South Africa with its post-production in Quebec.

American producers "do not have the money anymore to shoot in the US like they used to in California, it is so expensive", he told AFP.

California's governor Gavin Newsom has been struggling to push through plans to double tax breaks to $750 million (670 million euros) a year to stem the flight -- a sum White said "is still way too small".

Meanwhile, Cannes' bustling industry market is crammed with countries offering generous fiscal incentives to tempt US movie and TV makers their way.

Defense lawyers for Sean Combs have another stab Friday at the testimony of the music mogul's former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, who will return to the stand for a fourth day of marathon questioning in his sex trafficking trial.

Defense lawyer Anna Estevao spent much of Thursday pointing to loving moments between the couple, as well as implying that drug addiction played a key role in Combs's rage that Ventura has testified left her systematically battered.

Ventura said she and Combs -- whose various stage names include "Diddy" -- both suffered from addiction to opioid drugs, and the defense implied that both withdrawal symptoms and "bad" batches of party drugs could have resulted in erratic behavior.

But earlier in the week Ventura, the singer widely known as Cassie, told jurors that Combs raped, beat and forced her into drug-fueled sex parties during their more than 10 years together.

Her excruciating testimony opened her up to grilling from Combs's legal team, but so far, much of the defense's questioning has meticulously focused on a ream of text exchanges between the couple.

The defense highlighted the tender moments, pointing out messages in which Combs and Ventura expressed love for each other. Other messages were sexually explicit.

"I'm always ready to freak off lolol," read one of the messages from Ventura to Combs -- dated August 5, 2009, when she was 22 and Combs 39.

"Freak-offs" were elaborate sexual performances that involved Combs, Ventura and male escorts -- sessions directed by the music mogul that sometimes lasted days, according to Ventura.

Ventura, who is heavily pregnant with her third child, emphasized the subtext, saying that messages that might seem benign or even pleasant to outsiders contained pressures or other meanings that were clear to her.

And as Estevao directed her past a batch of texts Thursday, Ventura indicated the defense lawyer might be cherry-picking those elements that cast Combs in the best light.

"This isn't about what I feel is relevant, right? Because there's a lot that we skipped over," Ventura said of the voluminous text records she was given to read.

- Domestic abuse or sex trafficking? -

AFP

Alex Fine (C), Casandra Ventura's husband, was in attendance as she was cross-examined by attorneys for Sean Combs

He is now incarcerated on charges of sex trafficking and leading an illegal sex ring that enforced its power with crimes including arson, kidnapping and bribery.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

High-profile witness Ventura spent two days on the stand giving vivid accounts of coercive sex parties demanded by Combs -- she participated in hundreds, she testified -- and his routine brutal beatings of her.

But the defense contends that while Ventura's relationship with Combs was complicated and included domestic abuse, it did not amount to sex trafficking and that she behaved erratically and even violently herself.

Judge Arun Subramanian on Thursday urged the defense to move more quickly in cross-examining Ventura given her late-stage pregnancy, and attorneys said they would attempt to wrap up their questioning of her Friday.

Prosecutors indicated Dawn Richard -- a singer who found fame on MTV's reality show "Making the Band," which Combs produced -- will be among the next witnesses.

Richard sued Combs last year on allegations including sexual assault and battery. She said in the court documents she had witnessed Combs physically abuse Ventura.

World Press Photo suspended on Friday the credit for who took one of the most iconic pictures in history, the Vietnam War image "Napalm Girl", after doubts were raised over the photograph's authorship.

The organisation, which awards one of the world's most prestigious photojournalism prizes, said it carried out its own investigation into the haunting 1972 photo -- which shows a nine-year-old girl fleeing naked from a napalm strike -- after the premiere of the film "The Stringer".

The documentary chronicles an investigation into rumours that the image, which helped change global perceptions of the US war in Vietnam, was taken by a little-known local freelancer, not the Associated Press (AP) staff photographer Nick Ut, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the photo.

World Press Photo, which awarded its own Photo of the Year prize to Ut in 1973 for the black-and-white image -- whose official title is "The Terror of War" -- said the film had "prompted deep reflection" at the organisation.

After investigating from January to May, it determined that "based on analysis of location, distance, and the camera used on that day", two other photographers "may have been better positioned to take the photograph than Nick Ut".

"World Press Photo has suspended the attribution of 'The Terror of War' to Nick Ut, from today," it said in a statement.

The organisation named the two other photographers as Nguyen Thanh Nghe and Huynh Cong Phuc, both present for the infamous scene in the southern village of Trang Bang on June 8, 1972.

In "The Stringer", which premiered at the Sundance film festival in January, Nguyen told the documentary's makers he was certain the photo was his.

AP, which said earlier this month it would continue crediting the photo to Ut, said in a statement it stood by that decision.

But it acknowledged its own investigation had raised "real questions that we may never be able to answer" about the picture's authorship.

"We have found that it is impossible to prove exactly what happened that day on the road or in the bureau over 50 years ago," it said.

AFP

Nick Ut, the AP staff photographer credited with the photo, won multiple prizes for the iconic image

The girl in the picture, Kim Phuc, survived her injuries, and is today a Canadian citizen and outspoken advocate for child war victims.

World Press Photo emphasised that the authenticity of the image itself was not in question.

"It is without question that this photograph represents a real moment in history that continues to reverberate in Vietnam, the United States, and globally," said executive director Joumana El Zein Khoury.