WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior officials in the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center were blindsided by a recent decision that opens the door to allowing more unauthorized electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto the U.S. market, The Associated Press has learned.

The guidelines, posted days before former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned, will allow companies to launch certain nicotine-based products before they’ve been fully vetted by regulators.

Some FDA officials tasked with enforcing vaping regulations were not consulted on the changes and only learned of them the night before the document was published earlier this month, according to two staffers who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential agency matters. The document’s sudden appearance sparked internal confusion about how the policy came about and who authorized it, the staffers said.

In recent days, agency officials have convened hourslong meetings grappling with how to implement the six-page memo, which breaks with longstanding FDA policy requiring scientific verification of health benefits for smokers before any new products are introduced.

It’s highly unusual for the FDA to draft new policies without input from the staffers who oversee them.

“It begs the question of whether the true subject matter experts may have actually opposed this policy and were ordered to do it anyway,” said Mitch Zeller, who retired as the FDA’s tobacco director in 2022. “And that goes to the ability of the public to have trust and faith in institutions like FDA.”

The vaping guidelines bypassed a federally required period that allows for public comment and revisions. Instead, the FDA published them as a finalized policy hours after media reports surfaced that President Donald Trump had approved a plan to fire Makary. He resigned from the FDA last week following months of complaints from industry lobbyists close to the White House.

A Health and Human Services spokesperson did not address the origins of the guidance in a written statement.

“This approach strengthens protections against youth nicotine addiction while supporting evidence-based alternatives for adult smokers seeking to move away from combustible tobacco products,” Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

Messages seeking comment from Makary were not immediately returned Friday.

FDA eyes new approach to vaping flavors

Most health researchers agree that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and the products have been promoted in the U.K. and other European countries as an alternative for smokers.

In the U.S., the FDA has struggled to police the market for over a decade. The agency has authorized vaping products from five companies while rejecting millions of other applications, mainly due to the presence of fruit, candy and other sweet flavors that were deemed appealing to kids. And yet, unauthorized vapes are widely available.

But recent changes in Washington and across the U.S. reflect a shifting landscape.

Underage vaping among U.S. teenagers has fallen to its lowest level in more than 10 years, following the disruptions of the pandemic and new state and federal restrictions.

Trump came to power last year after vowing to “save” the vaping industry. Major tobacco companies, such as Reynolds American and Altria, have contributed millions to political action committees supporting Trump and other administration priorities, including Trump’s inauguration and his proposed White House ballroom. Both companies have invested heavily in e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, in addition to cigarettes.

Despite the influence campaign, vaping issues took a backseat at FDA under Makary. On rare occasions when Makary addressed e-cigarettes, he voiced skepticism about the data showing declining underage use.

Even as FDA staffers were poised to shift course on flavors, Makary and other agency leaders intervened.

In February, one of Makary’s deputies blocked an FDA decision that would have authorized the first fruit-flavored vapes, according to internal memos later released by the agency. FDA reviewers had determined the products were unlikely to be used by children when combined with digital age-verification technology.

The mango- and blueberry-flavored products were finally OK’d during Makary’s last full week heading the FDA, just days before the agency posted the new guidelines allowing unauthorized nicotine products.

Under the guidance, the FDA is supposed to publish a list of e-cigarettes and pouches that are not yet authorized but will be subject to “enforcement discretion,” meaning they can be sold without regulators targeting them for removal. While there is no public list of products that might qualify, the policy is expected to allow for new flavors that had previously been blocked by regulators.

“What we’re seeing is a broader opening up and responsiveness to flavored products by the agency both in terms of a stronger appetite for authorization but also less appetite to take enforcement action against flavored products,” said Brian King, former FDA tobacco director now with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

US stores are already packed with illegal flavored vapes

While FDA’s new approach breaks with precedent, it may have little impact on the flavors already available at gas stations, vape shops and convenience stores.

The U.S. market has been flooded for years by unauthorized vapes containing mango, gummy bear, strawberry and dozens of other flavors.

These disposable e-cigarettes filled the vacuum left by Juul when it pulled its high-nicotine flavored products from the market, after they became ubiquitous in U.S. schools beginning around 2017. Currently, the company only sells FDA-authorized e-cigarettes in tobacco and menthol flavors.

Juul and other companies now see the chance to directly compete with disposable Chinese vapes, which by some estimates account for 80% of U.S. sales.

“The choice we face is not whether flavored vaping products should be sold in the U.S. They already are,” said Robyn Gougelet, a Juul vice president. “The choice is whether those products should be regulated and responsibly marketed — or illegal, untested, and smuggled into the country.”

Rather than targeting flavors, the FDA said its new enforcement approach will focus on vapes with specific youth-appealing features, such as designs that resemble children’s toys.

“The reality is they’re just deluged by illegal products coming across the border,” said Jonathan Foulds, a tobacco-addiction specialist at Penn State University. “So they’re making it clear what should be common sense: ‘We’re going to focus on the worst actors.’”

New policy may create winners and losers among vaping firms

It’s far from clear whether FDA’s new approach will be embraced by the vaping industry at large, which includes multinational tobacco companies alongside hundreds of smaller companies selling imported devices from China.

As written, the guidance suggests only e-cigarettes that are under “scientific review” will qualify to launch without FDA authorization. Only a small number of applications typically reach that stage, which requires detailed health data on smokers who switch to the new product, King noted.

“This is certainly going to benefit the larger tobacco companies, which have the resources to get far enough into the application review process and thus won’t be prioritized for enforcement,” King said.

Lobbyists for smaller companies say it’s too early to tell whether the policy will be help or hinder their clients, but they fear being left behind.

“The big companies would love nothing more than to see their largest swath of competitors out of the marketplace,” said Tony Abboud of the Vapor Technology Association.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Flights arriving from the United States and Europe were among those most heavily affected, with several services running more than 20 minutes behind schedule.

The most significant disruption reported so far was the cancellation of IndiGo Air flight 31 from Mumbai to Manchester, which had been scheduled to arrive at 10.40am.

Among the delayed arrivals was Virgin Atlantic flight VS128 from New York JFK, which was expected at 8.15am but was revised to 9.49am a delay of around 94 minutes.

Virgin Atlantic flight VS74 from Orlando was also running late, with its arrival pushed back from 9.40am to 10.11am.

Several European services also experienced disruption.

EasyJet flight EZY702 from Belfast was listed as delayed, while EasyJet flight EZY2162 from Amsterdam was also running behind schedule.

Other flights delayed included:

• Swiss International Air Lines flight LX390 from Zurich — delayed by around 16 minutes
• Ethiopian Airlines flight ET726 via Marseille — delayed by approximately 9 minutes
• SunExpress flight XQ3134 from Bodrum — delayed by roughly 23 minutes
• Finnair flight AY1361 from Helsinki — delayed by around 15 minutes
• Turkish Airlines flight TK1993 from Istanbul — delayed by approximately 13 minutes
• Ryanair flight FR6 from Madeira — delayed by about 21 minutes

Flightradar24’s live airport disruption tracker showed Manchester operating with “minor problems” rather than severe disruption, though delays continued to build through the morning.

Manchester Airport’s official departures and arrivals boards advised passengers to continue checking flight statuses throughout the day, as timings may change.

A court heard how the 25-year-old had been at an end of season dinner before deciding to drive home after drinking

A Frenchman leaving a rugby dinner, who almost crashed into the PSNI on a blue-light pursuit before swerving across three lanes of the M2, has avoided jail for drink-driving.

A court heard aviation executive Adrien Cesbron also nearly crashed into police outside Belfast as officers attempted to bring his Audi A1 to a halt.

The Frenchman received a three month suspended prison sentence for what the judge branded “an appalling piece of driving”.

Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard police spotted the 25-year-old travelling erratically on the M2 close to Antrim shortly after midnight on April 5 this year.

The car weaved between lanes and across the white lines, continuing on after the patrol unit deployed blue lights and sirens. At one stage officers drew level and used hand gestures for Cesbron to move on to the hard shoulder.

He briefly slowed to a stop but then drove off again towards Belfast, a Crown lawyer said.

Other members of a PSNI road policing team waiting at the Sandyknowes junction mounted another unsuccessful attempt to bring his car to a halt.

“The driver of the Audi continued to be erratic, swerving across three lanes of the M2 and narrowly avoiding collision with police vehicles and civilians,” the prosecutor added.

He was eventually detained after further tactics were used to box in his vehicle. He failed a preliminary breath test at the scene.

Cesbron, with an address at Rosette Road in Belfast, admitted dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol, and failing to stop for police.

His counsel described what he has done as inexplicable. Barrister Paul Burns set out how Cesbron joined a local rugby club after moving to Northern Ireland to work as an aviation manager.

He had attended the club’s end of season dinner and been bought drinks by other members on the night of the incident.

“Under the influence he made a very foolish decision to try and drive home from the club,” Mr Burns said.

“His behaviour once he saw the police was quite incredible for someone in his position.”

Based on the guilty pleas, District Judge Austin Kennedy suspended the prison term for two years.

He also imposed a 12-month driving ban and fines of £750.

The judge told Cesbron: “This was an appalling piece of driving.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday oversaw the White House swearing-in of the new Federal Reserve chair and said he would like Kevin Warsh’s help in stimulating the economy even as he tried to emphasize that the nation’s central bank would remain independent.

Trump spent months criticizing Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for being reluctant to cut interests rates, with the Republican president arguing that lower borrowing costs would provide an economic boost. By taking the unusual step of holding the ceremony in the East Room and not the Fed, Trump made clear his pleasure that Warsh is now in charge.

The war with Iran has caused gas prices to spike, unsettled financial markets and driven inflation concerns across the economy. Those developments have led to recent doubts about whether Warsh might heed Trump’s calls and push the Fed to lower rates.

Still, Trump said he had faith that Warsh would prioritize a strong economy.

“Thankfully, unlike some of his predecessors, Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, it is, that’s a good thing,” the president said. Trump said it was not necessary “to go crazy. Just let it go. We want it to boom.”

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office. Also on hand were House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Justice Brett Kavanaugh, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Cabinet members.

“I expect he will go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve that we’ve ever had,” Trump said of Warsh.

Republican President Ronald Reagan swore in Alan Greenspan as Fed chair at the White House in 1987. Republican President George W. Bush attended the 2006 ceremony at central bank headquarters when Ben Bernanke became chair.

But having the event at the White House raises more questions about the Fed’s independence at a time when Trump has constantly sought to bend the independent central bank to his will.

Trump’s Department of Justice began an investigation into Powell and the Fed’s extensive building renovations. That drew backlash from lawmakers and the department scrapped the investigation. The Fed’s internal watchdog is now handling the matter. Powell’s term as chair ended last week, though he has opted to remain on the Fed board for now.

Trump made a point of saying during his remarks, “Honestly, I really mean this. This is not said in any other way: I want Kevin to be totally independent.”

“I want him to be independent and just do a great job,” Trump said. “Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing.”

In the next breath, however, Trump said that “in the eyes of many, the Fed has lost its way in recent years” under his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump also suggested that Warsh is looking to lead policies that promote “positive economic growth” and that doing so did not have to mean higher inflation.

Trump also noted that the stock market had risen Friday. “That means they like you,” he said of Warsh.

Warsh once harshly criticized Fed’s policies, including its low interest rate policies coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, which he says contributed to the largest U.S. inflation spike in four decades in 2021-2022. More recently, he has sometimes echoed Trump’s demands for lower rates.

Warsh says productivity gains from artificial intelligence will help the economy grow more quickly without spurring inflation, enabling the Fed to reduce borrowing costs. Many Fed officials, however, disagree that AI’s development will support rate cuts, especially because the technology has also been blamed for large-scale layoffs in the computer sector and other parts of the economy.

On Friday, Warsh promised “to lead a reform oriented Federal Reserve, learning from past successes and mistakes, both escaping static frameworks and models and upholding clear standards of integrity and performance.”

He told Trump that he believes “these years can bring unmatched prosperity that will raise living standards for Americans from all walks of life. And the Fed has something to do with it.”

Warsh further noted that the Fed’s mandate “is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve, inflation can be lower; growth, stronger; real take home pay, higher and America can more prosperous.”

As he left the ceremony, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced Trump’s message, predicting to reporters that Warsh will “do the right thing for inflation and growth.”

Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters have been deployed to tackle a flat fire in London in the early hours of Saturday morning

The blaze broke out on Lenham Road, with London Fire Brigade releasing a statement confirming the scale of the emergency.

The brigade said: “Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters have been called to a flat fire on Lenham Road in Thornton Heath.

Part of the ground and first floors and the whole of the roof of a mid-terraced house converted into flats are alight. Part of the ground floor of a neighbouring property is also alight.”

Follow all the latest developments in our live blog below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard resigned as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Friday, saying she needed to leave office as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Cabinet member to depart during Trump’s second term, all of them women.

In her resignation letter, which she posted on social media, Gabbard said she told Trump she would leave her job overseeing the coordination of 18 intelligence agencies on June 30. She said her husband had recently been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she wrote in the letter, which was reported earlier by Fox News.

Trump, in his own social media post, said “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.” He said her principal deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

While Gabbard says her departure is for personal reasons, the juxtaposition between her long-held, anti-interventionism stance and Trump’s series of overseas military operations had seemed to put them on a collision course.

There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after the president’s decision to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March and said he “cannot in good conscience” back the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. This put her in an awkward position when the U.S. joined Israel in launching attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

During a congressional hearing in March, her measured comments were notable for their careful non-endorsement of the Iran war. She repeatedly dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned of potential fallout from the conflict, including Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial for global oil shipments.

Gabbard said in written remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that there had been no effort by Iran to rebuild its nuclear capability after U.S. attacks last year “obliterated” its nuclear program. That statement contradicted Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that the war was necessary to head off an imminent threat from the Islamic Republic.

This created several awkward exchanges with lawmakers who asked Gabbard for her opinion on the threat posed by Iran as the nation’s top intelligence official. She repeatedly said it was Trump’s decision to strike, not hers.

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said.

Gabbard’s departure follows Trump having ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in late March, in the midst of mounting criticism over her leadership of the department — including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

A surprising choice for the job

A military veteran but without any intelligence experience, Gabbard was a surprising choice for director of national intelligence. She ran for president in 2020 on a progressive platform and her opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign military conflicts.

Citing her military experience, she argued that U.S. wars in the Middle East had destabilized the region, made the U.S. less safe and cost thousands of American lives. Gabbard later dropped out of the race and endorsed the ultimate winner, President Joe Biden.

Two years later, she left the Democratic Party to become an independent, saying her old party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. She subsequently campaigned for several high-profile Republicans and became a contributor to Fox News.

She later endorsed Trump, who also was a strong critic of past U.S. wars in the Middle East and campaigned on a pledge to avoid unnecessary wars and nation-building overseas.

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Shortly after taking on the job and before this year’s war, Gabbard testified before lawmakers that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons. After Trump launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites last June, he said Gabbard was wrong and that he didn’t care what she said.

She appeared to be back in Trump’s good graces when she took a lead role in Trump’s effort to relitigate his 2020 election loss to Biden. She appeared at an FBI search of election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, even though her office was created to focus on foreign espionage, not state elections.

She also worked to undermine the results of earlier investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia.

In her year on the job, Gabbard oversaw a sharp reduction in the intelligence workforce, as well as the creation of a new task force that she charged with considering big changes to the intelligence service.

Earlier this year, an intelligence sector whistleblower filed a complaint that Gabbard was withholding intelligence for political reasons, a complaint that prompted calls from Democrats for Gabbard’s resignation.

Gabbard, 44, was born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa, raised in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines. She was first elected as a 21-year-old to Hawaii’s House of Representatives but had to leave after one term when her National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

As the first Hindu member of the House, Gabbard was sworn into office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu devotional work. She was also the first American Samoan elected to Congress.

During her four House terms, she became known for speaking out against her party’s leadership. Her early support for Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run made her a popular figure in progressive politics nationally.

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Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

Anyone travelling this bank holiday weekend across London may want to check their options as multiple London Underground and Overground lines will be closed.

Journeys through and around the capital are set to be disrupted over the late May bank holiday weekend period as both Transport for London (TfL) closures and a rail strike threaten to cause some bumps to your journey.

If you didn’t catch it earlier this week, a new two-day strike affecting West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services will cause a severely reduced timetable today.

No trains will run from 7am today, and National Rail has urged people to only travel if necessary due to the small number of trains that are expected to run.

Meanwhile, in London, several Tube lines will be closed between Saturday and Monday, including London Underground, London Overground, and the DLR.

Scroll on to see which routes are closed to avoid disruption to your travels.

Which London Tube lines are closed this weekend?

District line, part closure (All weekend)

There will be a partial closure on the District line over the entire weekend:

• No service between Earl’s Court and Ealing Broadway
• No service between Earl’s Court and Richmond

TfL has suggested you use Mildmay line services when available or utilise the PLI replacement bus service between Earl’s Court and Richmond.

Piccadilly line, part closure (All weekend)

On Saturday, the Piccadilly line will face disruption from Hyde Park Corner between 2am and 4.30am:

• No service between Hyde Park Corner and Heathrow Terminal 5

Then, from 4.30am onwards on Saturday and all day Sunday and Monday, including Saturday Night Tube, there will be:

• No service between Hyde Park Corner and Northfields
• No service between Hyde Park Corner and Uxbridge

TfL suggests travellers use Metropolitan services when possible or the PLI replacement bus service.

Waterloo & City line, planned closure (All weekend)

The Waterloo & City line, which never operates on weekends and bank holidays, will be completely closed, including on bank holiday Monday.

DLR, part closure (All weekend)

There are several closures planned across the DLR on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. This includes:

• No service between Lewisham and Poplar
• No service between Lewisham and Westferry
• No service between Poplar and Westferry
• No service between Poplar and Canary Wharf

TfL recommends travellers use the Jubilee line or replacement bus service DLR3 between Westferry and Lewisham.

Windrush London Overground, part closure (Sunday)

There will be a part closure on the Windrush London Overground line all day on Sunday:

• No service between Clapham Junction and Surrey Quays

TfL have urged travellers to use the M replacement bus service between Canada Water and Wandsworth Road.

Northern line, part closure (Bank holiday Monday)

TfL have confirmed a part closure on the Northern line as part of ongoing track replacement work, which started in January but is due to end on Thursday, May 28.

The closure is only in operation from 10pm on bank holiday Monday:

• No service between Camden Town and Kennington (via Bank)

From 10pm Monday through to Thursday, all trains will operate via the Charing Cross branch, and travellers will be able to use a shuttle service between Mill Hill East and Finchley Central.

Suffragette London Overground, reduced service (Bank holiday Monday)

The Suffragette London Overground line will operate a reduced service across its entire line, with the 05.33 and 05.48 morning trains not running.

Weaver London Overground, part closure (Bank holiday Monday)

The Weaver London Overground line will be affected by a part closure, which sees the majority of the line shut down on bank holiday Monday:

• No service between Chingford and Hackney Downs

An L3 replacement bus service will be in operation between Hackney Downs and Chingford. Meanwhile, the Weaver line will still be operational between Liverpool Street and Hackney Downs.

Are there any other travel disruptions for this weekend?

TfL has warned of further non-London Underground and Overground travel disruption.

A march will take place today from midday in central London, starting from Marble Arch and finishing at Trafalgar Square via Park Lane, Piccadilly Circus, Haymarket, and Cockspur Street.

Road closures have been confirmed as well as bus diversions, and TfL has warned to expect large crowds throughout the afternoon.

While that’s happening, there will be temporary traffic signals on Streatham High Road at the junction with Prentis Road due to essential Thames Water works, which is due to continue until mid-June.

Tomorrow, a cultural procession will close roads and divert buses. The procession starts at Park Lane at midday and will finish later in Trafalgar Square.

Finally, TfL has confirmed that its Santander e-bike docking stations in Lancaster Drive, Tower Hamlets, and New North Road, Hoxton, will be suspended over the entire weekend.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Six artists were shortlisted for the commission, which aims to shape the tree’s next chapter by using half of its timber.

Helix Arts and George King Architects won the contest after a national public vote and final decision by an expert judging panel, the National Trust said on Saturday.

The arts charity and architects studio, based in North Shields near Newcastle and London respectively, collaborated on an idea called “The People’s Tree”.

The proposal combines public participation, sound, architecture and storytelling to respond to the loss of the world-famous tree.

It comes after Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, from Cumbria, travelled to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland during Storm Agnes in 2023 to cut it down.

The act of vandalism sparked national outrage and an outpouring of grief for the widely-loved landmark, which is thought to have been planted in the late 1880s.

The National Trust said the winning proposal scored highest across the public vote and the judges.

Rather than centring on a single memorial, the artwork will involve a UK-wide programme where members of the public are invited to record reflections on their own relationships with trees and nature.

Alongside these sound and spoken word recordings, the artists will create a digital soundtrack by scanning the tree’s rings.

The final compilation of stories and audio will then be presented through a series of exhibitions and workshops held to the north, south, east and west of Sycamore Gap.

Sections of some of the seasoned wood will also be used to co-create artworks with communities and local artists.

After these exhibitions and workshops, the project will culminate in a “sound sculpture” – an artwork that includes some of its wood as well as the archive of stories and nature sounds, which will be placed in an accessible location along Hadrian’s Wall.

Cheryl Gavin, director at Helix Arts, said: “To be chosen by both the public and the judging panel feels phenomenal.

“This project comes from a belief that the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree lives not only in its wood, but in the relationships, memories and moments of connection it sparked.”

George King, from George King Architects, said: “It is a real honour to be entrusted with responding to a place that means so much to so many people.

“The tree as it was can never be replaced, but what we can do is create a place for reflection and connections.”

Annie Reilly, public engagement director at the National Trust and chairwoman of the judging panel, said: “What stood out about this proposal was how it puts a real conversation between people and the tree at its heart.

“It doesn’t try to give one answer to loss. Instead, it invites people to listen, reflect and reconnect — with nature and with each other.”

The project will now move into a development phase, with Helix Arts and George King Architects working closely with the National Trust, local partners and communities along Hadrian’s Wall.

The public’s participation in the project is expected to start from this summer, with the completed work set to be realised by September 2027.

The initiative comes as part of a wider public engagement programme responding to the tree’s felling, supported by Northumberland National Park Authority (NNPA), Historic England, the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership and the National Trust.

So far, the main section of the tree’s trunk has been installed at the gateway to Northumberland National Park, where the tree once stood.

Heartwood prints from a cross-section of the trunk created by printmaker Shona Branigan are now on display at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland.

UK communities were invited to apply for one of the 49 saplings grown from seeds rescued from the original tree, which have now been planted across the country.

The National Trust also confirmed on Saturday that, for the third consecutive year, several shoots are regrowing from the stump, giving further confidence that one day a new tree will grow in the Gap.

Shrek, the big green ogre who became the face of a multi-billion-dollar franchise, turned 25 this week, and the impact of its success is still being felt from here ot Far Far Away. 

The DreamWorks Animation pictures hit is impossible to ignore when considering the history of Hollywood animation, and the life it has taken as grown far beyond the cinema screen. 

From sequels and spin-offs, to theme parks, internet meme culture and themed club raves fueled by millennial nostalgia, the Shrek swamp party has never really stopped over the last 25 years. 

That is, in large part, thanks to the smash(mouth) success of the 2001 original. It made a splash with $494million at the box office. It even competed for the Palme d’Or at that year’s Cannes Film Festival, before topping it all off by winning the very first Oscar for Best Animated Feature. 

But that fairytale ending for Shrek wasn’t always a foregone conclusion – and it came after a long rollercoaster of a production that nearly saw a very different version come to the screen. 

So, as the original adventure for Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona returns to the big screens for the 25th anniversary, let’s dive into the swamp that made up the journey to get Shrek from page to mega stardom…

Once Upon a Time…

DreamWorks – founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen in 1994 – was having something of a moment in the late 90s and early 00s. 

The live-action wing was coming off of two back-to-back Best Picture winners with American Beauty (1999) and Gladiator (2000) – and would make it three-in-a-row in 2001 with A Beautiful Mind. The animation wing, however, was a different story. 

With Katzenberg in charge, the animation division was keen to go toe to toe with the mighty mouse itself, Walt Disney Pictures, a rivalry stoked by the fact that Katzenberg had been fired from Walt Disney in 1994 by then-president and CEO Michael Eisner. 

Their very first animated offering – the computer-generated Antz in 1998 – was released just one month before Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story follow-up, similar insect-focused A Bug’s Life, with the Disney-Pixar titans dominating the worldwide box office at the end of their runs (Antz grossed $171.8million, A Bug’s Life $363.3m). 

Antz was followed up by more traditional hand-drawn animated offerings – The Prince of Egypt ( well-reviewed and a modest financial success) and The Road to El Dorado, which received mixed reviews and was a big box office flop (it has, however, quite rightfully gained a cult following). 

Katzenberg needed a hit, but turning to Shrek wasn’t the most obvious choice. 

Getting ‘Shreked’ 

Adapted from a 30-page children’s book by William Steig, the movie had been in active development from the very early days of DreamWorks, but being assigned to it quickly became a short-hand for punishment at the fledgling DreamWorks Animation. 

‘It was known as the Gulag,’ an animator told author Nicole Laporte for her book The Men Who Would be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies and a Company Called DreamWorks. 

‘If you failed on Prince of Egypt, you were sent to the dungeons to work on Shrek,’ the unnamed source added. Employees at Dreamworks began calling it being ‘Shreked.’ 

The film almost looked very different, too. Originally envisioned as a live-action project, the development then shifted to using an early version of motion-capture animation, which resulted in the now infamous Shrek – I Feel Good animation test. 

Not released publicly till 2023, the test features a very creepy-looking Shrek and a much darker tone. Animated by a crew known as the Propellerheads, which had future Shark Tale director Rob Letterman and mega-producer JJ Abrams in its ranks, it did not go down well with the powers that be, with Katzenberg stating, ‘It looked terrible, it didn’t work, it wasn’t funny, and we didn’t like it.’ 

It did feature comedian and actor Chris Farley in the role of Shrek. The SNL star was originally cast in the role, and even recorded much of the dialogue for the project before he died of an overdose at age 33 in 1997. 

You can see a recording set to early storyboards that give you a sense of what Farley was bringing to the character, a much different but surprisingly vulnerable take on the big green ogre who would go on to be voiced by Mike Myers, fresh off the success of the Austin Powers movies. 

Turning the page 

Around the time of Farley’s passing, the movie was beginning to have a creative overhaul.

Pacific Data Images PDI, the computer animation company that worked on Antz, took over the animation, and once Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson were confirmed as directors, joining the Shrek development team began to feel less like a punishment and a bit more punk rock. 

Discussing the film’s anniversary with journalist Barry Levitt for Letterboxd, Jenson recalls, ‘Because the spotlight’s not on you for quite a while, there’s a tremendous amount of focus. 

“For so long, it was just this little movie we were working on up in Palo Alto, away from the DreamWorks mothership. It felt like we were making a movie in our garage.’

The film also began to take shape as something that came to be the key to its success and tone, standing as a more satirical take on fairytales and of the movies produced by Walt Disney Pictures. 

Christopher Holliday, lecturer in film studies, Department of Liberal Arts, King’s College London, wrote for The Conversation that ‘Shrek was a milestone for American cartoons that paved the way for a unique brand of animated anarchy and sardonic irreverence that still holds sway across the industry today.’

From pop-culture references ranging from the obvious Disney targets (the Duloc song riffing on It’s A Small World) to the more adult-targeted (The Matrix fighting styles), Shrek’s irreverent humour stood in stark contrast to the traditional model of family-friendly movies of the time, and that approach has reverberated over the last quarter of a decade. 

The same can be said for its use of needle drops in the film, which replace the more traditional ballads and songbooks found in Disney movies. As Holliday observes, its signature hit, Smash Mouth’s All Star, has a bombastic tone that ‘fitted the film’s playful anti-Disney sensibility.

‘Shrek’s frequent aims at the Mouse House’s recognisable narrative formula and saccharine sentimentality were deemed a pointed dig at Katzenberg’s former employers too.’ 

But as Jenson is keen to point out, it was all about poking fun at Disney, which was something that was always on Katzenberg’s mind, too.

‘Obviously, we’re poking at fairy tales, and Disney was the one who brought most fairy tales to the culture in a big way,” she says Jenson 

‘And in a couple of cases, sure, we were. Like, the expectations of a princess. When we’d present something to Jeffrey that was especially pointed, he’d sit back in his chair and say, ‘They’re gonna blame me. But it’s funny, go for it.’ He was very out there about his dealings with Disney, and loved being on the phone with his lawyers, gloating. But he never sat us down and said this would be a middle finger to Disney. He knew the story came first. He wanted to make a great movie.’

An enduring appeal with many layers

But the film wouldn’t have its enduring appeal if it also didn’t offer characters in which to hook and a story that proved worthwhile, with its theme of not judging a book by its cover continuing to provide a sweetness and strong emotional arc that helps it resonate. 

Jenson points towards Cameron Diaz’s Princess Fiona as a character who embodies the strengths of the movie to both unpack stereotypes and genre trappings to mine both humour and emotion. 

‘I think she continues to resonate because when we were working on the movie, all the rom-coms out there, women were only talking about getting married, and landing a guy. To watch someone in real time go from these expectations handed to her about what her life was supposed to be, and discovering who she really is, and finding someone who could see that and not judge her, is unique. She relaxed into her own true self.’

It’s all these elements – including the buddy-movie banter between Shrek and Donkey – that helped the movie land with such a splash in the summer of 2001, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of the year, as well as earning two Oscar nominations for best adapted screenplay and animated feature. 

It still boasts an impressive 88% Rotten Tomatoes score and continues to find fans, with nearly a million five-star reviews from users on Letterboxd, before even considering it would go on to spawn a franchise that to this date has earned over $4billion world-wide. 

What’s happening with Shrek 5? 

Speaking of that legacy, the long-rumoured and discussed Shrek 5 is finally on its way. 

While there have been three sequels and two Puss in Boots spin-offs, there hasn’t been a feature film featuring Shrek since the release of Shrek Forever After in 2010. 

But you can’t keep a good ogre (or IP) down for too long, with Shrek 5 currently slated for release on June 30, 2027, with a Donkey spin-off also in the works.

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz are coming back, with Zendeya also joining the cast as Shrek and Fiona’s daughter. 

The first look at the movie left some fans in shock with the redesign of the characters, with some on social media calling for the creators to stay more in line with the original.

‘Bring back old animation, WTF IS THIS,’ Riccoo commented on Instagram. 

‘We’re all excited for this comeback, but to be honest, it’s not good. Bring back the old design’ Fernando added.

That reaction only goes to show the level of affection that fans have towards the movie, particularly the people who have grown up with it over the last 25 years. 

With the original now back in cinemas for its birthday celebrations, and a new entry just over one year away, the swamp party is far from being over.

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