MON SIX

This week is marked by major political shifts. Tony Blair secures a Labour landslide in 1997, while over a million demonstrators in France protest against the electoral rise of the far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen. A newly published memoir exposes a 1974 MI5 plot against the former prime minister Harold Wilson. Across the Atlantic, widespread riots break out in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers involved in the beating of Black motorist Rodney King. Decades later, US politics takes a surreal turn as President Barack Obama is pressured into releasing his birth certificate. All this and more is charted across the front pages ofThe Independent.

27 April 1987 – MI5 plot against Harold Wilson revealed

According to the explosive memoirs of former intelligence officer Peter Wright, 30 senior MI5 staff engaged in a "politically-motivated and treasonable plot" to oust prime minister Harold Wilson in 1974. TheSpycatcherallegations, which included claims that top officials actively protected the conspirators, sparked an ultimately and unsuccessful legal battle by the UK government to ban the book's worldwide publication.

1 May 1992 – Riots break out in Los Angeles

National Guard troops deploy across Los Angeles to enforce a strict curfew as the city faces a second night of widespread looting and arson. The riots began after a jury acquitted four white police officers involved in the videotaped beating of Black motorist Rodney King. The unrest ultimately lasted six days, leaving more than 60 people dead and causing an estimated $1bn in property damage

2 May 1994 – Senna dies at San Marino Grand Prix

Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna dies in an Italian hospital at the age of 34 following a severe crash at the San Marino Grand Prix. Coming just 24 hours after the death of driver Roland Ratzenberger on the same track, the back-to-back tragedies immediately turn the spotlight onto the sport's safety standards and the recent removal of high-tech driving aids.

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2 May 1997 – Labour landslide at general election

Tony Blair secures a "devastating Commons landslide" to become prime minister, officially bringing an end to 18 years of Conservative rule as John Major concedes the election. Addressing supporters at his Sedgefield constituency count in the early hours of the morning, Mr Blair promises to serve with all his heart and energy, declaring, "I will not let you down."

1 May 1999 – Nail bomb explodes at Soho pub

A nail bomb explodes without warning inside the crowded Admiral Duncan pub in central London's Soho, killing two people and injuring 81 others. Sending shockwaves through the capital's historic gay community, the targeted attack marks the third bombing in consecutive weeks following similar blasts aimed at ethnic minorities in Brixton and Brick Lane.

2 May 2002 – Over a million protest against Le Pen in France

More than 1.3 million people take to the streets across France in a massive, peaceful protest against far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. The widespread demonstrations, drawing over 400,000 people to Paris alone, decry the veteran National Front leader's controversial advancement to the second round of the presidential election.

28 April 2011 – Obama makes birth certificate public

In what the paper describes as an "absurdly surreal moment" in US politics, President Barack Obama officially releases his long-form birth certificate to the public. The unprecedented move follows relentless pressure from property magnate and reality TV star Donald Trump, who leveraged the baseless conspiracy theory to tease his own early presidential ambitions.

30 April 2011 – The royal wedding

The Independentmarks the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton by dedicating its front page to an exclusive, commemorative artwork by Tracey Emin. The highly anticipated ceremony at Westminster Abbey draws a massive global audience, as the couple officially became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Please fasten your seatbelt, make sure your tray table is in an upright and locked position, and prepare for delivery.

A passenger on aDeltaAir Lines flight fromAtlantagave birth to a healthy 5 1/2 pound girl just before the Boeing 737 landed at Portland International Airport inOregonon Friday night. Two paramedics who happened to be on the flight assisted, borrowing blankets from other passengers and using a shoelace to tie off the umbilical cord.

Baby Brielle ReneeBlaircame in about two weeks ahead of schedule; the plane, about 20 minutes.

Her mom, Ashley Blair, who is from Tennessee, was flying to Oregon to be with her own mother for the birth, but didn't quite make it. She went into labor about half an hour from Portland.

One of the paramedics, Tina Fritz, told TheAssociated Presson Monday that she and the other paramedic, Kaarin Powell, were returning home after vacationing in the Dominican Republic. They had been helping a nurse attend to another passenger's medical needs at the back of the plane when a flight attendant asked them to check on Blair.

They found Blair was indeed in labor and contractions were getting close. It was a full flight with 153 passengers on board — soon to be 154 — so they began moving the passengers next to Blair back to their seats to make room for the delivery.

They asked flight attendants for blankets and an obstetrical kit, a sterile set of medical tools used in emergency childbirth. Fritz said they had to improvise when neither was available.

They got blankets from other passengers and a shoestring from a flight attendant to tie off the umbilical cord. Powell tore out one of her own shoelaces to use as a tourniquet to start an IV.

Then, Fritz recalled, the mother yelled: “OK, it’s time. I got to push.”

As she was doing so, flight attendants told Fritz and Powell they needed to sit because the plane was about to touch down.

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“We’re like, ‘No! No!’” she said.

Blair gave three “super, really good pushes, and the baby came out really quickly,” Fritz said. “It was nice.”

Powell cut the umbilical cord and sat down while holding the baby. Fritz sat down next to her, and the wheels hit the runway.

“Baby pinked up right away," Fritz said. "She was gorgeous. Mom was a rock star.”

After the plane began taxiing to the jetway, they handed the baby to Blair, and everyone celebrated by taking photos.

A responding crew from Portland Airport Fire &Rescue“found the mother and baby healthy, and the new family was transported to a local hospital for observation,” Port of Portland spokesperson Molly Prescott said in an email to TheAssociated Press.

In a statement, Delta said a doctor and two nurses assisted flight attendants, but Fritz said there was no doctor and the only nurse stayed with the first ailing passenger. Delta didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking clarification.

“We extend our sincere thanks to the crew and medical volunteers on board who stepped in to provide care to a customer onboard prior to landing in Portland. The health and safety of our customers is always our top priority, and we wish the new family all the best,” Delta said in the statement.

Blair didn’t return messages from theAP. Fritz, who has been keeping in touch with Blair since the birth, said she's been a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

“I feel like we’re friends now forever,” Fritz said.

The Government is set to introduce “age or functionality restrictions” onsocial media platforms for under-16s, education minister Olivia Bailey has confirmed.

Ms Bailey said that these measures would be "imposed" irrespective of the outcome ofan ongoing consultation into the potential harms of social media for children.

This commitment follows sustained pressure from theHouse of Lords.

Peers, spearheaded by Tory former education minister and academy chain founder Lord Nash, voted on four separate occasions to compel theCommonsto accept a ban on such access.

While a consultation on technology access for under-16s was already underway, exploring ideas like age restrictions for social media, gaming sites, and AI chatbots, the government had previously refrained from making any definitive pledges.

The latest announcement marks a significant shift towards concrete action.

Ms Bailey told MPs: “On the remaining question on access to social media, we have listened carefully to the concerns raised across both Houses about the importance of the Government acting swiftly once the consultation has concluded.”

“The Government has said repeatedly that it is a question of how we act, not if, but to put beyond any doubt, we are placing a clear statutory requirement that the Secretary of State must rather than may, act following the consultation.

“This brings forward regulations without pre-empting the consultation’s outcomes, and does not ignore the tens of thousands of parents and children who have already engaged with us.

“Let us be clear, the status quo cannot continue.

“We are consulting on the mechanism, and that is the right thing to do. But we are clear that under any outcome, we will impose some form of age or functionality restrictions for children under 16.

“I can also confirm that consideration of restrictions such as curfews will be in addition, not instead of this.”

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The move was welcomed by Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott who said: “We now have a commitment on the floor of the House, from the Government, that they will impose an age restriction for children under 16, and this is in addition to, not instead of, any curfews.

“This is a huge step forward in keeping children safe and supporting parents in their fight against screens destroying children’s lives.”

Ms Trott added: “Every month a delay just leaves children more exposed to the harms of social media online, so I urge the minister to keep to her words today and make sure that action is as swift as possible.”

A proposed ban has been supported by campaigners, includingEsther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered by two teenagers in 2023.

A fortnight ago SirKeir Starmertold tech bosses from X, Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google – which owns Youtube – that changes were urgently needed.

The prime minister had hinted at the possibility of measures to restrict children’s access to social media sites, amid mounting concerns over its impact on their health and safety.

Sir Keir said: “Things can’t go on like this, they must change because right now social media is putting our children at risk.

“In a world in which children are protected, even if that means access is restricted, that is preferable to a world where harm is the price of participation.”

Lord Nash described the Government’s concession as “a huge step forward for our children’s safety online”.

He added: “We will now all turn our attention – together – to making sure this is implemented as soon as possible in the best way to protect our children.

“Thank you to my colleagues in the Lords who voted four times to ensure that this happened. But above all, I want to thank the bereaved parents I have campaigned alongside.

“They didn’t have to do this. They did it so that no other family would have to live through what they have lived through, and they have ensured that as a result every child in the country will be safer because of their work. I thank them for it.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — TheSupreme Courton Tuesday seemed likely to grant tech giant Cisco's bid to shut down a lawsuit claiming that the company’s technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China.

The justices are reviewing an appellate ruling that would allow the lawsuit against Cisco to go forward in U.S. courts.

The company argues that it cannot be held liable under two separate laws for aiding and abetting human rights violations. The laws are the 18th-century Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), first enacted in 1991.

The main questions among the court's conservative majority seemed to be how broadly to rule for Cisco and whether lower courts are allowing too many similar suits to proceed. Justice Neil Gorsuch at one point asked whether the courthouse door is “not closely guarded.”

In recent years, the Supreme Court and presidential administrations of both parties have been skeptical of lawsuits seeking to use U.S. courts as a venue to seek justice over the acts of foreign governments, especially those that took place abroad. To try to overcome that skepticism, Falun Gong members have argued that a substantial portion of Cisco’s activities involving China took place in the United States.

An Associated Press investigation last yearshowed that American tech companies, to a large degree, designed and built China’s surveillance state, encouraged by Republican and Democratic administrations, even as activists warned such tools were being used toquash dissent,persecute religious groupsandtarget minorities.

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In 2008, documents leaked to the press showed Cisco saw the “Golden Shield,” China's internet censorship effort, as a sales opportunity. The company quoted a Chinese official calling the Falun Gong an “evil cult.” A Cisco presentation reviewed by AP from the same year said its products could identify over 90% of Falun Gong material on the web.

Other presentations reviewed by AP show that Cisco represented Falun Gong material as a “threat” and built out a national information system to track Falun Gong believers. In 2011, Falun Gong members sued Cisco, alleging the company tailored technology for Beijing that it knew would be used to track, detain and torture believers.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson seemed most willing to allow the lawsuit to continue.

Cisco was a willing partner with the Chinese government, Sotomayor said. "It knew that those people will be tortured,” she said.

Not true, said Cisco lawyer Kannon Shanmugam. "Cisco vigorously disputes those allegations,” Shanmugam told the justices.

A decision is expected late June.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Denver-Minnesota rivalry took another dramatic turn in the closing seconds ofGame 4on Saturday, when Nuggets star Nikola Jokic confrontedJaden McDanielsafter he took an uncontested layup with the Timberwolves on the way to victory and a 3-1 lead in the first-roundNBA playoffseries.

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After McDaniels made the unsportsmanlike basket with 2.1 seconds left with the Nuggets having conceded the 112-96 decision, Jokic ran from one end of the court to the other to shove him. Players from both teams converged around them to broaden the scuffle before order was restored. Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, who was livid with Jokic, was ejected along with Denver's center.

“He scored when we'd stopped playing,” Jokic said. “You guys saw what happened.”

McDaniels, who spiced up the series after Game 2 by declaring Denver's team was full of “bad defenders,” said afterward he didn't know what Jokic said to him during the confrontation.

“I just seen someone who was big as hell,” McDaniels said.

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So why did he take the meaningless two points?

“The clock still be running, so I might as well go score,” McDaniels said.

As teams in the same division playing four times each regular season, and facing each other in the playoffs for the third time in four years, the Nuggets and Timberwolves have become quite the archrivals.

“Obviously I didn't like what McDaniels did,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “The game was over. The game was conceded both ways. In 2026, that stuff just doesn't happen anymore. That's something that happened in the ‘80s, where teams would continue to score. But that’s who he is, you know? And so if that's what they want to do, that's what they want to do.”

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NEW YORK –Andy Serkishas been trying to animateGeorge Orwell’s “Animal Farm” for 15 years. In 2026, he says it “couldn’t, actually, be more relevant.”

Serkis and his producing partner, Jonathan Cavendish, started tinkering around with an adaptation after he filmed 2011's “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” The rebellion in that movie reminded him of “Animal Farm,” which he read for the first time on the bus to school when he was 10 or 11. Fifty-some years later, it sticks with him. He wore a red hat to the premiere that read, "Make Animal Farm Fiction Again."

“It was just the most amazing experience of reading something that hits you viscerally,” Serkis tells USA TODAY. “It feels like it's something else, but you're not quite understanding the ground swell of darkness that's underneath it.”

Orwell is often lauded as prophetic because his 1940s dystopian novelsring true with readers today. The theme of last year's Banned Books Week was"Censorship Is So 1984."When he wrote “Animal Farm,” he intended it as an allegory for the Russian Revolution and rise of Stalinism. Barnyard animals overthrow their farmer to build a utopia but by the end of the novel have devolved into a corrupt power structure where "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Serkis approached the adaptation by asking himself what Orwell would write about if he wrote “Animal Farm” today. He didn’t want it to be a story about Stalinist Russia. Instead, he gravitated toward themes of capitalism, wealth and overconsumption. The billionaire antagonist, Pilkington (Glenn Close), drives what closely resembles a Cybertruck.

The lead-up to this adaptation, in theaters May 1, has been largely controversial. Whenthe trailer droppedin December, oversaturated with middle-school knee-slappers and set to the upbeat “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, the criticism was swift. After all, “Animal Farm” is a serious and violent story with a bleak ending. This advertised butt jokes, campy fight montages and sinister Seth Rogen laughs. Even a star-studded ensemble of Rogen, Close,Gaten Matarazzo, Jim Parsons,Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi andLaverne Coxcouldn’t sell the new “Animal Farm” to some.

Andy Serkis welcomes criticism of new animated ‘Animal Farm’

Backlash to the trailer included one particular sting: “Orwell is rolling in his grave.” But Serkis maintains his estate signed off on the adaptation when he secured the rights. He insists “Orwell would have wanted” controversy.

“He's sort of adored and abhorred by both left and right, and that's the other thing about our film. We're not having a go at any one administration or regime. It's about authoritarianism and our response to that and power corrupting,” Serkis says. “I welcomed it. I loved that debate because that's what it's all about, creating a debate. That's what I do in my job as an actor, storyteller, filmmaker. Any act of creating art for me is about saying to the audience or the viewer, ‘Think about this differently.’ And if you don't agree with me, that's not a problem, but think about it differently."

When he bought the rights, Serkis said the Orwell estate didn’t exert much creative control, only requesting that he not stray too far from what the book is about.

Representatives for the Orwell Estate did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Anti-dictatorship, but for kids

Serkis scrubs the story of its violence, at least in any graphic manner. Snowball (Cox), for example, is escorted off the farm rather than chased by hounds and torn to pieces like in the book. Boxer’s (Harrelson) horrific glue factory death is largely implied. It didn’t stop Serkis’ team from giving me apromotional bottle of craft gluewith the horse’s face on it, though. I'm not sure how this bit of dark humor will go over with the kiddos.

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Deciding who the audience was, Serkis says, was part of why it took a decade and a half to get the project off the ground. He points out “Animal Farm” was once subtitled“A Fairy Story”: “It was meant for a younger audience. He was writing with children in mind … I think we’ve remained loyal to that,” Serkis says. He added a new protagonist, Lucky (Matarazzo), a “young innocent piglet” with a moral arc and a slightly off-beat side-plot romance.

Did he worry that replacing the violence with potty humor would dilute the message? Serkis doesn’t miss a beat in his reply.

“We didn’t. We wanted to translate it in such a way that the threat is there, the impending threat is always there,” Serkis says.

Many of the secondary school English classes that teach “Animal Farm” study violence as a central theme and abuse of power. The atrocities make the seemingly silly feel sobering. But Serkis prefers his Trojan horse without the slaughter.

“We’re almost desensitized by the amount of violence that we are subjected to through news. But in a way, we’re so desensitized, we can’t cope with it,” Serkis says. “For a young person, if you can allow them to emotionally feel something like I did when I read the book, emotionally feel something, but not fully understand it, that's a good place to be, I think.”

Why Andy Serkis made major changes to ‘Animal Farm’ ending

“Animal Farm,” classically, is a story without a happy ending. But Serkis’ interpretation gives viewers closure. The film adds an entirely new third act: Lucky has a change of heart and apologizes, the animals take down Napoleon and the evil capitalistic Pilkington. Lucky tells the cautionary tale for a new generation.

While the book haunts, the film aims for hopeful: dictators are bad, we should help each other and freedom is working hard “not because we have to, but because we choose to,” as Lucky says.

Serkis chose this new ending because he was hesitant to dog-pile on an already “bleak world,” he says.

“We live in a world where there seemingly is no hope at the moment. We keep making the same mistakes. There are oppressive regimes globally. There are bosses in companies that maltreat their workers globally. We're living in such a difficult time. All times are difficult for humanity, but we're living in, it seems, certainly a world without truth or the inability to really know what is true and what isn't true,” Serkis says. “So we wanted the next generation, the kids who we hopefully are going to be watching this film, to at least have the ability to question what they should do next time around. History will inevitably repeat itself.”

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find heron Instagram, subscribe to our weeklyBooks newsletteror tell her what you’re reading atcmulroy@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Andy Serkis welcomes criticism of new 'Animal Farm' movie

Miami quarterback Carson Beck and Penn State quarterback Drew Allar both landed in ideal spots in theNFL Draftthat could offer opportunities to them sooner rather than later.

Beck, who some refused to believe could be the third quarterback drafted, became exactly that whenhe was selected by the Arizona Cardinalswith the first pick in the third round (65th overall) on Friday night. He’ll enter a Cardinals franchise that expects to have Jacoby Brissett as a bridge starter in 2026, but will be motivated to get a look at Beck if he earns it. With the 2027 expected to be loaded with first-round quarterbacks, I think Arizona will try to get a look at Beck at some point as a rookie starter if he proves worthy, if only to know whether the franchise will need to go back to the draft well in next year’s deeper class. For Beck, that potentially means stepping into an offense with No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love at running back, first team All-Pro tight end Trey McBride, and Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. at the wideout spot.

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Among the first three quarterbacks drafted — including the Las Vegas Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza andLos Angeles Rams’ Ty Simpson (who is stuck behind reigning league MVP Matthew Stafford)— you could argue that Beck is the winner in terms of surrounding pieces and potential immediate opportunity. It will be worth keeping an eye on next season.

As for Allar, it’s my understanding that his drafting by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (76th overall) has no impact whatsoever on the team’s hope that Aaron Rodgers returns for 2026. Right now, it’s my belief that Rodgers is coming back and that new head coach Mike McCarthy will let Allar and Will Howard battle it out with Mason Rudolph to determine who fills out the rungs under Rodgers on the depth chart. Assuming a Rodgers return, it’s likely the fourth quarterback in that mix is eventually cut or traded — and that player willnotbe Allar.

I think the hope is that Rodgers comes back in 2026 and that Allar finally puts his considerable raw talent together under the tutelage of McCarthy, with an eye on him succeeding Rodgers whenever that time comes. And if Rodgers doesn’t return, I think Allar will be given the opportunity to show whether he deserves to be in a QB competition with Rudolph and Howard.

However it ultimately unfolds, the point for Allar is that there will be some kind of opportunity in Pittsburgh. It might be this season, in 2027 or beyond. But it will eventually be there, and that’s all you can ask for as a third-round draft pick.