Taylor Swift has filed trademark applications covering her voice and likeness, apparently in a bid to halt the creation of artificial intelligence deepfakes.

The pop superstar, who was recently named as Spotify’s most-streamed artist of all time, submitted two sound trademarks covering her voice, one including the phrase “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift,” and the other simply “Hey, it’s Taylor.”

She also filed to trademark an image of herself holding a pink guitar during her record-breaking “Eras” tour.

In a blog post, intellectual-property attorney Josh Gerben (who does not represent Swift) argued that is likely the filings are intended to protect Swift from unauthorized AI versions of herself being created.

“Theoretically, if a lawsuit were to be filed over an AI using Swift’s voice, she could claim that any use of her voice that sounds like the registered trademark violates her trademark rights,” wrote Gerben.

Gerben continued: “The image-based filing serves a similar purpose. By protecting a distinctive visual, down to Swift’s commonly worn jumpsuit and pose, Swift’s team may gain additional grounds to pursue claims against manipulated or AI-generated images that evoke her likeness.”

Last year, actor Matthew McConaughey was granted a trademark for his signature catchphrase “alright, alright, alright” in a similar legal move.

Attorneys for the entertainment law firm Yorn Levine, representing McConaughey, applied for the protection in December 2023, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved the trademark in December 2025.

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While state consumer protection laws already protect celebrities from having their likeness replicated to sell products, McConaughey’s trademark strategy means that the Interstellar actor will now have grounds to sue in federal court over general “misuse” on the internet, even if misleading AI videos using his image are not explicitly selling anything.

Yorn Levine founder and lawyer Kevin Yorn said in a statement shared with The Independent: “We embrace AI, invest in it, and actively support its evolution. Progress, however, should have boundaries. Protecting individual voice, image, and intellectual property is essential to building a future that works for everyone. Along with Matthew, we are forward-looking, engaged in the possibilities of AI, and thoughtful about how everyone’s creative identity is represented and protected.”

McConaughey told the Wall Street Journal: “My team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s because I approved and signed off on it. We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”

Chelsea are once again on the lookout for a new manager following the departure of Liam Rosenior

Chelsea are on the search for a new manager following the sacking of Liam Rosenior last week. The Blues decided to part ways with the manager following a 3-0 defeat against Brighton.

Calum McFarlane is taking interim charge of the side until the end of the season, with the search over Rosenior’s permanent successor now taking place. Several names have already been linked with the role, including Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and former midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Chelsea should be getting used to searching for a new manager, given the changes in the managerial hotseat over the last few years. Former Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has previously revealed that he has turned down the role at Stamford Bridge.

READ MORE: Galatasaray claim refs have ‘evil inside’ after Jose Mourinho waged war on Turkish officialsREAD MORE: Joe Cole tells Frank Lampard to steer clear of ‘insane’ Chelsea return – ‘Stay away’

The Blues approached the German following Frank Lampard‘s exit in January 2021. Speaking to The Times just a month later, Rangnick revealed talks with Chelsea over the position, but there was one major sticking point.

“I said, ‘I would love to come and work with you, but I cannot do it for four months,” he said. “I am not an interim coach.’ To the media and players you would be the ‘four-month manager’, a lame duck, from day one.”

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Following his rejection of the job, Chelsea turned to now England boss, Thomas Tuchel, who went on to win the Champions League just a few months after his appointment. “Thomas is tactically on a very sophisticated level,” Rangnick said.

“[His assistant] Zsolt Low was my player and assistant coach at Leipzig and plays a vital role in his staff. And you can see from the way he interacts with players, Thomas also has great leadership skills.

“I can only congratulate Thomas and Chelsea for the choice.”

Tuchel left in 2022, and was replaced by Graham Potter. Chelsea have since had Lampard (interim), Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Rosenior as managers.

Less than a year after making the comments about turning down the Chelsea job, Rangnick took up the interim role at Man Utd. In his 29 games in charge, United won eleven, drew 9 and lost 9.

The 67-year-old is now the manager of the Austria national team. He will lead the nation in this summer’s World Cup, where they will take on Jordan, Argentina and Algeria in their Group J encounters.

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Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

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Major producers, including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brazil, Sudan, and Kenya, are now entering critical planting cycles as energy and fertiliser costs soar.

As the season shifts towards the Northern Hemisphere in May, the window to secure the 2026 harvest is rapidly closing.

Last year, ten countries accounted for two-thirds of all people facing acute food insecurity globally, said the UN.

Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan alone represent nearly one-third of the total, according to the report.

Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen experienced the worst food crises, both in terms of the share and absolute number of people facing acute food insecurity.

More than 80 per cent of those affected live in countries affected by conflict.

An estimated 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished across the surveyed countries, including just under 10 million with severe acute malnutrition.

For many, the damage will be irreversible.

Children who survive acute malnutrition, often suffer permanent “stunting” – lifelong cognitive and physical damage.

Famine was last year confirmed in two areas – parts of the Gaza Strip and in Sudan – marking a first since records began, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the UN-backed global hunger monitor.

Improvements were reported in Bangladesh, Niger, parts of Nigeria and Sudan, and the Syrian Arab Republic, the report said.

Anthony Joshua has signed a deal to fight fellow former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, Eddie Hearn has announced.

Joshua, who has not fought since he was a passenger in a fatal car crash in December, will first have a comeback fight against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 25 July.

Fury and Joshua – both two-time world champions – have carried British boxing on the global stage for more than a decade, yet despite years of negotiations and false starts, the fight has never materialised.

But promoter Hearn posted on social media on Monday that the long-awaited fight was “signed, sealed and delivered”.

“As I said, the landlord will collect his rent. That is certain,” Joshua said about the fight.

Joshua, 36, must first get past unknown 35-year-old Albanian Prenga – who boasts a record of 20 wins, all by stoppage, and one loss.

The British fighter’s most recent appearance in the ring was against Jake Paul in December.

Later that month Joshua’s driver crashed in Nigeria, with two members of the boxer’s team being killed.

“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring and today is the next step on that journey,” Joshua said.

A date or venue for Joshua v Fury has not been announced. Hearn has previously suggested it could land in November on streaming giant Netflix.

Joshua attended Fury’s recent comeback fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov and was called out by his British rival immediately after he secured a comfortable decision win. Fury, 37, attempted to goad Joshua into the ring, but he declined.

Afterwards, Team Fury said they had signed their part of the contract and were waiting on Joshua to do the same.

“I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off,” Joshua added.

Istvan Elek admitted having and sharing a collection of extreme pornography featuring pigs, hamsters, dogs, horses and a cobra.

A weirdo who distributed cobra and pig porn has been banned from keeping animals and told to stay away from play parks.

Istvan Elek admitted having and sharing a collection of extreme pornography featuring pigs, hamsters, dogs, horses and a cobra.

Elek has been banned from approaching under-16s and told that he is not allowed to “own or care for any animals.”

Sheriff Paul Brown ordered Elek to carry out 300 hours unpaid work in the community and placed him on the sex offenders register for five years.

He placed him on a curfew for six months and ordered him to attend the Tay Project rehab course for sexual offenders as a direct alternative to custody.

Elek was also made subject to a conduct requirement which includes limiting his internet and social media use and he cannot form any new “intimate or domestic relationship” without telling social workers.

Elek was found with the deviant material on his phone after asking others on a WhatsApp group to send him twisted images featuring animals.

The 56-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted having banned pornography featuring women having sex with animals.

Elek, from Kinross, admitted possessing extreme pornographic images at his former home in Milnathort between 13 November 2021 and 14 February 2024.

He also admitted downloading indecent images of children at the same address in Marshall Place between 15 August and 4 September 2023.

Elek admitted possessing indecent images of children between 11 May 2022 and 14 February 2024. He also admitted distributing child and extreme animal porn between 29 September 2022 and Valentine’s Day in 2024.

The welder flooded international bestiality networks with stomach-turning films of people having sex with animals.

Elek downloaded illicit files from various dark web group chats where likeminded perverts shared grotesque clips of women and children engaging in sex acts with animals.

Elek also shared hundreds of sick files with the groups, which contained “a vast number” of members and went under Spanish-language names.

By the time police finished analysing the enormous cache of filth on the phone and two laptops they seized on their first trip to his home, Elek had bought a new mobile and amassed hours’ more sick footage.

Officers raided his home and found a mobile phone device which showed Elek ran accounts called “BeastForum,” “BarnLove” and “PetSex”.

On the phone, police found 481 files, including 102 videos with a run time of more than two hours. Some of the material dated back to May 2022.

The vile material depicted boys and girls aged from two to 14 being sexually abused by adults, other children and animals.

Police also discovered 3,448 “extreme pornography” files on the mobile, including 1,267 videos which, if played back-to-back, would have run for more than 46 hours.

Among them was a clip of a masked woman engaging in a sex act with a pig and a dog.

Analysis of the phone showed Elek had been searching online for the terms “zoophilia and bestiality videos, pig porn, Asian zoo porn, porn cobra and zoo hamster.”

He explained to police he was a member of a group chat in which extreme pornography was being shared.

Sheriff Brown told Elek “this is a serious matter” after rejecting his bid to withdraw his guilty plea to the child porn charges.

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Poor Linda Carter (Kellie Bright). After losing her husband, EastEnders’ least-toxic man, Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), she’s found herself tangled up with it’s most-toxic man, Max Branning (Jake Wood), and we all know how that’s likely to go…

Linda and Max had an affair years ago, resulting in baby Annie Carter (Lois Hawkins), though she told everybody that then-husband Mick was the dad.

Max ultimately left without knowing he had another daughter when Linda rejected him in favour of making things work with Mick.

With Mick now presumed dead, Max’s return last year saw him learn the truth, despite Linda’s previous agreement with Max’s daughter, Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and brother, Jack (Scott Maslen) to keep the information secret.

Despite Max’s kidnap of Annie as he struggled to process the information, Linda decided Annie should have a relationship with her dad and agreed to co-parent with him.

As Max struggled to re-bond with his family after his homecoming, Linda became a firm and reliable source of support for him, even verbalising that she knows, in her core, that there’s a good man deep within Max, buried deeply beneath his scheming and devious veneer, though when he tried to throw the lips on her, she recoiled.

Things seemed to be improving after she convinced him that fleeing the Square again would do nothing but prove his naysayers rightm as she put aside her anger and, once again, proved to be a solid ally.

The spark was seemingly relit for both, despite Elaine Peacock’s (Harriet Thorpe) determination the keep them apart.

Though they shared a kiss, ultimately, Max’s secrecy over Linda’s son, Ollie Carter’s (Harry Farr) bullying ordeal at the hands of his own grandson, Louie Beale (Jake McNally) drove them apart, when Linda told him that he ‘made her sick’.

Max won back Linda’s trust when he stepped in to help the growing rift between her and her son, Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff), but when she went to find him later, intending to reveal her feelings, she found him getting hot and heavy with Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).

Next week sees Linda’s jealousy over Max and Cindy’s burgeoning relationship intensify, though Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp), with whom Linda recently allied with to maintain a close eye on Phil Mitchell’s (Steve McFadden) mental health, suggests she treats herself to a spot of pampering.

Continuing to support her, Grant later inspires Linda’s decision to sell her share of Fox & Hair, when she learns from Elaine that Johnny is having serious money trouble. When she offers him cash, though, he bites her head off, forcing Grant to step in again and give Johnny a proper Mitchell talking to.

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Emotionally raw, Linda partakes in a bunk-up with somebody new, something Max learns of at his and Cindy’s joint birthday party. Apparently just as jealous as Linda is, he responds by asking Cindy to live with him, to which she happily agrees.

As Linda and Max continue to play a dangerous game of one-upmanship, who’s heart will end up broken? Who does Linda spend the night with, and what’ll be the after effect? Will they ever stop messing around and just admit their feelings to each other?

Probably not, and rightly so. The mess they’re making is much more fun to watch!

MORE: Grant’s return destroyed in EastEnders as Phil explodes with rage

MORE: Walford in mourning as Nigel dies in EastEnders and emotions run very high

MORE: Phil on absolute edge in EastEnders as his whole life falls apart

Yorkshire Air Museum, located in Elvington near York, is hosting its ‘We’ll Meet Again’ event on May 9 and 10, offering a nostalgic 1940s experience.

The museum, a former RAF heavy bomber base, will be transformed with military and civilian re-enactors, vintage vehicles, and a 1940s-style singer.

‘We’ll meet again’ (Image: Yorkshire Air Museum)

Jerry Ibbotson, communications manager at Yorkshire Air Museum, said: “We’ll Meet Again is one of the most popular events in our calendar, when the Museum feels like it’s travelled back in time to the 1940s.

“To see reenactors dressed as wartime aircrew standing next to our Halifax bomber really evokes the feeling of that period.

He added: “As well as our organised reenactors, we’d love to see as many of our visitors as possible dress up for the occasion, with some 1940s outfits.

Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington near York is set to host its ‘We’ll Meet Again’ wartime weekend (Image: Yorkshire Air Museum)

“The café will be open but you’re also welcome to bring a picnic and enjoy it in the sunshine as the Yorkshire Air Museum takes you back eighty years.”

The museum is currently running an exhibition called ‘Operation Halifax’ which marks 30 years since the official unveiling of the restored Halifax, so it will be great to see her outside in the sunshine (we hope).”

The museum’s Handley Page Halifax bomber, the only one of its kind in Europe, will be displayed outside the hangar for the only weekend of the year.

Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington near York is set to host its ‘We’ll Meet Again’ wartime weekend (Image: Yorkshire Air Museum)

Guests can enjoy historical displays, demonstrations, and opportunities to dance or pose for photographs in period style.

Yorkshire Air Museum ison the former site of RAF Elvington, which operated as a Bomber Command station from 1943 until the end of the Second World War.

The site retains many original wartime buildings, including its distinctive control tower.

There is no additional charge for ‘We’ll Meet Again’ activities.

Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington (Image: Yorkshire Air Museum)

‘We’ll Meet Again’ (Image: Yorkshire Air Museum)

Before all that though, there needs to be a decision about Carrick.

Many feel delivering a return to the Champions League – it was predicted after his first two games against Manchester City and Chelsea that his side would be in the bottom half of the table – should be enough to secure him a full-time contract.

Getting rid of Carrick, the argument goes, would be the most risky option.

But there are two schools of thought.

The first is that Carrick gets the job because he deserves the chance, it goes wrong next season and the United hierarchy are derided for following the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer model – even though that downplays the Norwegian’s achievement of delivering successive top-four finishes, something no coach has done since Sir Alex Ferguson quit in 2013.

The other is that Carrick is replaced by a more experienced manager, who struggles to adapt and then the hierarchy are accused of trying to fix something that wasn’t broken.

This decision is not made easier by the knowledge that Paris St-Germain are confident the standout candidate, Luis Enrique, will sign a new deal with them, and even if he does not, will want wages among the highest in the world to change clubs.

The practicalities of trying to bring in someone like Julian Nagelsman – whose contract with Germany does not expire until 2028 and could be involved in the World Cup final a day after Manchester United’s first pre-season game against Wrexham in Helsinki – make it an unviable option.

Andoni Iraola is well liked but, as Thomas Frank, who spoke to United in 2024, discovered at Tottenham, managing a progressive, smaller Premier League club is a whole different world to dealing with the biggest.

No-one knew what results Carrick would deliver when he was asked to take over until the end of the season. However, one thing United’s powerbrokers were certain about was that he would not be swamped by the sheer scale of what he was taking on.

Carrick met Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a cup of tea and a casual chat last week. Time will tell how important that brew was.

Barring an unimaginable sequence of results, Old Trafford will host Champions League football again next season.

But one senses for those running the club, their most significant work is about to begin.

In the wake of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, top Republicans want to use $400 million in taxpayer funds on President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, arguing the new building is vital for national security. This comes despite past promises from the president the ballroom would be entirely funded by private donations.

“It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Monday. “The times in which we live are unusual. I’ve been up here for a while now. I’ve never felt the sense of threat that exists today.”

Graham and his GOP colleagues Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Katie Britt are pushing a bill to fund the ballroom and offset costs by using customs and national parks user fees. The proposal includes building new military and Secret Service infrastructure within the ballroom complex.

Graham said the White House supports his effort, despite the president’s frequent claims that he and private donors were personally funding the entire ballroom project. The White House has previously said major tech corporations, including those that do business with the federal government and donated to Trump’s inauguration, have committed millions to funding the ballroom.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

Fellow Republicans have joined the effort to boost the ballroom, which the White House argues is more crucial than ever after the security breach at the Correspondents’ Dinner.

Sen. Rand Paul has said he will bring a bill to the floor Tuesday that moves the ballroom project forward without using additional taxpayer funds, while allowing Congress to give expedited reviews to major White House projects.

In the House, Rep. Lauren Boebert is working on companion legislation, she said Monday.

She told the MeidasTouch network that “hardly any” taxpayer money would be involved in the effort. The main obstacle remaining, she said, was an ongoing lawsuit by a preservation group against the ballroom project.

“He has it funded,” Boebert said of the president. “We just have to get it approved and get the lawsuit over with.”

The president has argued Saturday’s shooting underscores the need for a new secure, large-scale meeting space on the White House grounds.

“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote early Sunday morning in a Truth Social post.

Influential Democrats say they will oppose efforts to fund the ballroom with taxpayer dollars.

“At this point no,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin told The Hill. “There’s obviously a lot of questions about how much it costs, how many people will be accommodated.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused the president of making shifting claims about the ballroom in recent months.

“He demolished the East Wing of the White House, a historic jewel of the American people, and he started to build this ballroom long before any incident,” the New York congresswoman told reporters on Monday. “He also promised the American people that this was going to be built with private dollars, and so the idea that they are trying to change the rationale for this in retrospect doesn’t quite add up.”

Others argued it would be inappropriate for the White House to host an event like the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, regardless of the facilities.

“By the way, the White House hosting the correspondents dinner in its own ballroom is arguably a violation of the First Amendment: it’s government control over press access and expression and could have a chilling effect on criticizing the president,” former Obama administration under secretary of state and TIME editor Richard Stengel wrote on X on Monday.

Sen. John Fetterman has been a rare Democratic voice in favor of the ballroom. He called on opponents of the project to end their “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and get behind the ballroom effort.

“After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these,” he wrote on X on Sunday.

Outside of Congress, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to stop construction on the ballroom, arguing the president illegally embarked on the effort without consulting Congress.

On Sunday, the Justice Department urged the group to drop the suit, citing the shooting at the Correspondents’ Dinner, but the trust plans to move ahead with the complaint.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that construction can continue while the lawsuit plays out.