Two U.S. families went to Italy’s highest court Tuesday to challenge the scope of a year-old law passed by Giorgia Meloni’s government limiting citizenship claims to Italian descendants removed by more than two generations.

Their lawyer, Marco Mellone, argued before the Cassation Court that the law should apply only to people born after it took effect, potentially opening a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States and parts of Latin America. Another lawyer represented Italian descendants from Venezuela.

A decision by an expanded panel, which makes the ruling binding in lower courts, is expected in the coming weeks.

A decree by the conservative government in March 2025 put the brakes on previous rules allowing anyone who could prove ancestry after Italy’s formation in 1861 to seek citizenship. Italy’s constitutional court last month ruled the new law is valid, but Mellone said the supreme court has the power to clarify the scope of the law.

“The families involved in this case are simply descendants … from an Italian ancestor who emigrated in the late 19th century to the United States, like millions of other people, of other Italians,’’ Mellone said before the hearing. “Today they are invoking their right to Italian citizenship.”

Mellone’s case would clarify the citizenship rights of the descendants of some 14 million Italians who emigrated between 1877 and 1914, according to Foreign Ministry statistics, and beyond.

While Mellone’s case involves two families, another dozen people whose citizenship claims were stopped by the law were present outside the courthouse in solidarity.

Karen Bonadio said she hopes one day to move to Italy on the strength of her ancestry. She brought photos of her as a young girl alongside her Italian-born great-grandparents, who emigrated from Basilicata in southern Italy to upstate New York, along with their birth certificates.

“The new law says, ‘all these great-grandchildren didn’t know their great-grandparents.’ This is from 1963, I think I was 3 ½,’’ she said, showing the photograph.

At least one of Mellone’s cases had been rejected in lower courts before the new law, hinging partially on rulings that Italian emigrants who took on another citizenship before having children cannot pass on Italian citizenship.

Jennifer Daley’s case has been working its way through the Italian bureaucracy for nearly a decade. Her grandfather, Giuseppe Dalfollo, immigrated to the U.S. in 1912 from the northern province of Trento when it was under Austro-Hungarian control. He later married an Italian woman and brought her over, and at some point became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Daley said she always had a strong Italian identity that transcended her last name anglicized by U.S. immigration officials. She petitioned for citizenship because “it is truly a recognition of who I am, where I am from. It’s so much more than citizenship. It’s everything,” Daley, a historian, said by phone from Salina, Kansas.

Outside the courthouse, Alexis Traino said great-grandparents on both her maternal and paternal sides had come from Italy, where she now lives, mainly in Florence.

“My entire life, I grew up knowing — and my parents always emphasized — that I was Italian. I had a very, very strong connection with Italy,” said Traino, 34, who was waiting for documents from Italy and the U.S. when the law passed, blocking her case.

“I want to be Italian. I want to contribute to Italy and be a citizen,’’ she said.

Murray will be remembered for his razor-sharp volleying skills and the preposterous angles he conjured at the net. His returns were often unorthodox and he was fond of a lobbed service return to unsettle opponents.

Alongside his triumphs, Murray has been a staunch defender of doubles players and frequently demanded they be shown more respect.

“Doubles has its place in the game – it’s not the golden ticket that singles is, but it’s undervalued by the tour,” Murray told BBC Sport.

“As these events go longer and longer they need content, and doubles supports that.”

Murray said he was proud to have represented his hometown of Dunblane and the country of Scotland at the highest level.

“There is no history of tennis and no environment of tennis [in Scotland],” Murray told BBC Sport.

“I’d imagine the odds were against us from the start but we were able to make some good things happen.”

His mother Judy thought Jamie had the better hand-eye co-ordination of her sons when young. Jamie and Andy briefly became rivals as tennis players – and also while wrestling.

Judy once recalled: “Andy’s favourite [wrestler] was The Rock and Jamie’s was Stone Cold Steve Austin, and they used to create these bouts that they saw on the television. They used to wrestle each other on the duvet and thump each other with pillows, and create these belts and make up their own rules and scoring systems.”

Jamie is 15 months older than Andy, and as his early dominance on the tennis court started to fade Andy says he quite literally bore the brunt.

“We were coming back from Solihull in the minibus and I’d beaten Jamie in the final, I think, of the under-12s, so basically I was winding him up about that and my hand was on the hand rest,” he said in 2015.

“We were sitting next to each other and he just basically punched me on the hand – I lost my fingernail and I’ve still got the scars to show for it.”

Despite some defeats against Andy, Jamie was still very much on track for a professional singles career until a negative experience at an LTA training school in Cambridge in his very early teens.

He struggled with living away from home and the elite training environment, and even though he has never sought to blame the LTA, his forehand suffered and he has said he was never quite the same player again.

“The existence and contents of his suspected martyrdom note, along with his possession of two knives, and material downloaded from his mobile phone, demonstrate his intention to use violence against people inside the Israeli embassy and sacrifice his own life in the process – to die, in his words, ‘for the glory of God’.

Cantor Zöe Jacobs, on behalf of the senior clergy of Finchley Reform Synagogue, said: “FRS is a proud, progressive and welcoming space for all. We not only hold Jewish services and celebrations, but within our community we host a nursery, a homeless shelter, and are a safe place for refugees to gather.

A 14-year-old schoolboy shot eight classmates dead and killed a teacher in a ‘personal attack’ at his middle school in Turkey.

It is Turkey’s second school shooting in two days.

The student who carried out the shooting is believed to have used guns that belonged to his father, a former police officer.

The student concealed the weapons in a backpack, entered two classrooms and opened fire ‘randomly’.

Horrifying footage seen by Metro shows the boy firing a pistol at a girl already lying on the ground.

Eight students and one ​teacher died in the shooting in the province of Kahramanmaras, Turkey’s Interior Minister ​Mustafa Ciftci told reporters, adding that six of the wounded were ⁠in critical condition.

‘This was solely a personal attack carried out by one of our ​students, it is not a terror incident,’ Ciftci said.

Earlier, Kahramanmaras Governor Mukerrem Unluer had said ​the shooter had shot and killed himself in the commotion.

‘An eighth-grade student came with 5 weapons and 7 magazines – which we believe belong to his former police officer father – in his bag, entered ​two classrooms with fifth grade students, causing deaths and injuries indiscriminately,’ Unluer said.

Fifth-grade students ​are usually aged 10 and 11 in Turkey.

It came the day after another 18-year-old gunman, who was recently expelled, wounded at least 16 people before killing himself.

Armed with a shotgun, he opened fire on anyone he could see at a vocational high school in Siverek in the province of Sanliurfa.

CCTV captured the moment his victims were shot. Trapped victims flee along a narrow corridor right past the shooter as he reloaded.

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Snooker star Jack Lisowski was demolished in his bid to qualify for the World Snooker Championship as He Guoquiang progressed following an impressive win

Jack Lisowski has crashed out of the World Snooker Championship after being upset in the qualifying rounds of the Crucible tournament. The World number 18 was unable to complete a comeback against He Guoqiang, who prevailed on the final day of qualification with a 10-5 win.

Snooker’s top 16-ranked players receive automatic qualification to the Crucible, celebrating its 50th edition, and a further eight players sealed their entry on Tuesday, including Stan Moody, Liam Pullen and Antoni Kowalski going through. Wednesday sees the final eight players claim their place, with Lisowski’s chances now in tatters, along with Luca Brecel, who was defeated 10-5 by Jak Jones.

Lisowski lost the opening five frames of his clash before getting on the scoreboard as Guoqiang stamped his authority on the match with a break of 138. But Lisowski was able to hit back to take the sixth frame 65-36.

It was a short-lived hope of a comeback for the 34-year-old Lisowski as Guoqiang got back to winning ways to take the seventh frame 79-33. Lisowski found some form in the eighth frame and reeled in his opponent’s scoring with a break of 90 to once again narrow the gap.

The English star was able to retain his momentum to claw another frame back to bring the score to 6-3 after a couple of visits to the table as he made it to the interval.

READ MORE: World Snooker Championship 2026: When is the draw, how to watch on TV and listen on radioREAD MORE: Snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan dubbed ‘amazing talent’ reaches Crucible aged just 19

The pair returned from the break and Lisowski missed an opportunity to continue where he left off, and Guoqiang prevailed in a back-and-forth frame as the final session got underway. Lisowski missed a key blue with the scores level to allow his opponent to take the frame.

But he was not about to give up without a fight as he claimed back-to-back frames to fire himself back into contention at 7-5. He was stopped in his tracks as Guoqiang picked up two frames of his own to put himself within touching distance of competing in the World Championship.

Guoqiang went ahead, but let Lisowski in to claim a 68-36 lead. The English star could not end the frame there, as Guoqiang capitalised on the opportunity left to him to win the frame by a single point.

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The 47th-ranked player held his nerve after a stunning opening salvo to begin the match.

Heading into this year’s tournament, Zhao Xintong will look to overcome the Crucible curse to become the first player to defend his maiden title. Last year, he prevailed over Mark Williams in the final to cap off a stunning tournament.

The draw for this year’s tournament will take place on Thursday, following the culmination of qualifying on Wednesday. The 16 seeded players will be matched up at random against the 16 qualifiers.

Guoqiang will be in the hat on Thursday morning and could be drawn against some of snooker’s biggest names in Ronnie O’Sullivan or Judd Trump.

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Taylor Momsen has shown off her grim injury after a spider ‘took a chunk’ out of her leg while on tour with AC/DC.

The bite comes almost two years after she was bitten by a bat, also on the leg, while on stage with her band, The Pretty Reckless.

While last time she joked she was ‘really a witch’ as the bat hung from her skirt, Taylor appeared a little less enthusiastic about the spider bite as she headed to hospital.

The 32-year-old singer showed off her leg, which was covered from ankle to knee in a red, swollen patch, radiating from the massive, inflamed bite.

Sharing a video on Instagram, she wrote: ‘So it wouldn’t be an AC/DC tour if I didn’t get bit…this time a massive spider decided to take a chunk out of me and its venom did a number on my system so had to have the wonderful doctors in Mexico come and deliver quite the shot before the show last night…add it to the list! Spider woman? Batgirl?’

However, the shot didn’t appear to have helped, as she ended up in the emergency room after the bite reaction got worse.

‘Hospital today, show tomorrow, poisonous spiders are NO BUENO but the show must go on, see you tomorrow Mexico City!’ she shared on Tuesday.

Her nonchalant approach got worse as just 12 hours later she confirmed she had ‘spent the night’ under the doctor’s supervision.

‘Thank you to the amazing doctors who, well, they know,’ Taylor wrote on her story, posting snaps with an ice pack on her head and of her still inflamed leg.

The Gossip Girl star has not posted any updates since, instead sharing promotional posts about their latest release.

While performing on the AC/DC tour in Spain in May 2024, she ended up having rabies shots after a bat decided to have a taste.

‘There’s a flying bat on my leg right now. Could someone help me please?’ she announced on stage after fans frantically pointed it out to her.

‘I must really be a witch’ joked Taylor, staying remarkably calm after letting out a little ‘eeep’ while stagehands came to save her.

She stood still as they tried to scare the bat away, with it eventually flying off and the Grinch icon telling the audience it was all okay.

However, in the ‘rock and roll moment’ she missed that the animal had actually bitten her thigh, leaving some marks behind.

‘‘In the moment I was performing and had no idea until the incredible crowd kept screaming and pointing…he was cute, but yes he bit me…so rabies shots for the next two weeks 😖😖😖,’ Taylor wrote on Instagram after.

The Pretty Reckless have been touring as the support for AC/DC for several years, having originally formed in 2009.

Breakthrough hits like Make Me Wanna Die and Heaven Knows made them staples of the 2010’s rock scene as she transitioned away from her actor image.

At just six years old, she starred as Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 Jim Carrey film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Taylor also appeared in other children’s films, including Spy Kids 2, Underdog and Hansel and Gretel and made a name for herself as a child star.

Then as a teenager in 2007, Taylor went on to play Jenny Humphrey or ‘Little J’ in Gossip Girl, in which she had a complete transformation from squeaky clean teen to emo rock chic.

Speaking to her on-screen brother Penn Badgley on the Podcrushed podcast in 2023, the singer revealed that she was made fun of as a child for her role.

‘First of all, The Grinch changed my life in a multitude of ways – one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly.

‘Every time I would start a new school or go somewhere else, I don’t even think the kids knew my name. I was just “Grinch Girl”. Not even the character name, just “Grinch Girl”. I got used to it, but it was alienating.’

Taylor recently embraced her younger self by releasing a version of Where Are You Christmas, her song from The Grinch.

Last year, she also reunited with co-star Jim Carrey for the first time in 25 years when they both attended the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

On the red carpet, the And So It Went singer told People of her favourite memories of working with Jim.

‘I just love that he was very protective of me. He was always very kind. And just the entire experience of filming Grinch and getting to know him so well, even in all the makeup, was just wonderful,’ she said.

‘As a young person watching an artist at work and taking their craft so seriously, that left a really powerful, lasting impact on me as an adult now,’ Taylor added. ‘And I’m excited to be able to tell him that as a grownup.’

She no longer acts, instead touring the world with her Pretty Reckless bandmates: guitarist Ben Phillips, bassist Mark Damon, and Jamie Perkins on drums.

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The motorway is closed in both directions between the A56 at Edenfield and Junction 1 of the M66 at Walmersley.

Traffic is queueing in both directions leading up to the incident.

All emergency services are understood to be on the scene, including the North West Air Ambulance.

LIVE: All lanes stopped on M66 after ‘serious crash’ and flooding

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a man is receiving medical attention after a van crashed into the central reservation.

The extent of his injuries is currently unknown.

A GMP spokesperson said: “Officers have been called to a collision whereby a van has crashed into the central reservation.

“A man is injured and is receiving medical attention. The extent of his injuries is currently unknown at this time.

“The carriageways have been closed in both directions to allow emergency services to arrive.

“The North West Ambulance Service and the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service are at the scene.”

Diversions for drivers not yet on the M66 heading south are in place. They should leave the A56 southbound at the A56/A676 roundabout at Edenfield and take the second exit onto the A56 heading south; turn right onto Wood Lane, Whalley Road junction to remain on the A56 and follow for approximately two miles; then continue to the M66 J1 and turn left to rejoin the M66.

National Highways has not yet given any diversion instructions for those heading north.

Kian Meredith’s barrister said her client wants to qualify as a barber so he is in a ‘better position’ when he returns to the community

A man who relapsed into cocaine and crack use “for no particular reason” tried – and failed – to outrun police, a court has heard.

Kian Meredith was out of prison on licence following a previous conviction for being part of a Class A drug supply conspiracy known as the Jack line when his return to dealing was uncovered following a foot chase.

The 22-year-old’s barrister told Swansea Crown Court her client was keen to tackle his addiction issues and wanted to train as a barber so he is in a “better position” when he returns to the community.

Alexandra Wilson, prosecuting, told the court that on March 23 this year police on patrol in Prince of Wales Road in Swansea saw a group of known drug users on the street and observed what they thought was a drug deal being carried out.

She said as the officers approached the group it dispersed with members making off in different directions.

Meredith ran up the street towards Dyfatty junction and was chased by officers who found him a short time later hiding behind two parked cars.

On the ground near him were wraps of cocaine.

The court heard Meredith was arrested and searched and officers recovered a phone and £115 in cash.

He subsequently answered “no comment ” to all questions asked in interview.

A download of the defendant’s phone showed messages related to the supply of cocaine and crack over the previous three months along with a so-called “tick list” of monies owed by people. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter.

Kian – also known as Kieran – Meredith, of Caradog Place, Townhill, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and to the simple possession of cocaine when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

He has two previous convictions for three offences – being concerned in the supply of cannabis from 2021 and conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply cocaine from 2023.

The 2023 conviction relates to Meredith’s role in the Jack line drugs network which was supplying significant quantities of both cocaine and heroin to users around Swansea.

He was sentenced to three years detention in a young offenders institution for those matters and was out of custody on licence when caught dealing near the Palace Theatre.

Emily Bennett, for Meredith, said the defendant’s lack of maturity was reflected in his decision to try to run away from officers when approached on the street.

She said they were her instructions that “for no particular reason” the defendant had relapsed into cocaine and crack use in January this year which led to a “spiral” of addiction, debt, and then dealing.

The barrister said the defendant wanted to use the inevitable custodial sentence he was facing as constructively as possible and was keen to tackle his addiction issues and to train as a barber “so he is in a better position when he comes out of prison”.

Judge Catherine Richards said she accepted Meredith’s life had been blighted by drugs but said of the age of just 22 he had been caught dealing in drugs on three occasions and said the recent matter was aggravated by the fact he had been on licence at the time.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Meredith was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.

He will serve 40% of the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

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