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Disney has announced it is making changes to its policy that helps guests with disabilities avoid queuing after people who do not meet the criteria have been exploiting current rules.

The company’s Disability Access Service programme (DAS) was launched in 2013 to assist guests who are unable to wait in ride queues for an extended period of time, according to Disney‘s website.

It allows guests with a “developmental disability such as autism or similar” to return to an attraction at a certain time without having to wait in line – similar to a fast-track pass.

Under the current policy six people from the same group are allowed to use the pass at one time, but from next month, in certain parks this is being cut down to four.

It is unclear from guidance on the company’s website if families of six or more people will be exempt from the changes or not.

Guests will also have to wait 120 days before they can reapply for the DAS programme, double the current 60 days.

A Disney spokesperson said on Friday that DAS is the most popular requested service at Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California and applications have trebled in the past five years, Sky News’ US partner network, NBC, reported.

The spokesperson said the surge in numbers includes those who try to use the service when it is not intended for them.

Len Testa, president of itinerary planning website Touring Plans and co-author of the Unofficial Guides to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, said in an email to The Washington Post: “The system has always had some level of questionable use, if not abuse.”

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Guests are currently required to meet with a Disney staff member – known as cast members – before their visit to determine their eligibility for the DAS programme.

Disney said when necessary, staff will work with healthcare professionals to help them “determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations and ensure that these accommodations are provided only for the guests for whom they are intended”.

A spokesperson reiterated that the parks do not require proof or documentation of disabilities from guests and do not plan to do so in the future, according to NBC.

Those who are found to have lied about a disability can be permanently banned from entering the parks, with any remaining tickets or passes not refunded, the company website states.

The new rules are expected to come into force on 20 May at Florida‘s Disney World and on 18 June in Disneyland, California.

A Disney official told NBC: “Disney is dedicated to providing a great experience for all guests, including those with disabilities, which is why we are so committed to delivering a wide range of innovative support services aimed at helping our guests with disabilities have a wonderful time when visiting our theme parks.”

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Day 77: Q&A – Trump’s tariffs, Putin’s Arctic, and penguins

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Day 77: Q&A - Trump's tariffs, Putin's Arctic, and penguins

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On Day 77, US correspondents Mark Stone and David Blevins answer your questions on everything from Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and their impact on American consumers, to Trump’s relationship with Putin and if they have plans for the Arctic, and penguins.

If you’ve got a question you’d like Mark, Martha, and James to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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Thousands protest against Donald Trump and Elon Musk at rallies in all 50 US states

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Thousands protest against Donald Trump and Elon Musk at rallies in all 50 US states

Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.

Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.

The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.

In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”

Demonstrators hold up their banners during a 'Hands Off!' protests protest against President Donald Trump at the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP

A demonstrator twirls a ribbon during a "Hands Off!" protest against President Donald Trump at the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Pic: AP

Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”

Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Demonstrators march during a "Hands Off!" protest against President Donald Trump on Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
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Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP

People take part in the nationwide anti-Trump “Hands Off” protest in Atlanta, Georgia U.S., April 5, 2025. REUTERS/ Megan Varner
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People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters

Hundreds of people show up to protest President Donald Trump at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, Vt., during a national "Hands Off" protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
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A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP

Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.

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“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.

A drone view shows a protest at the Utah State Capitol building in a demonstration that is part of larger "Hands off" events organized nationwide against U.S. President Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., April 5, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
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A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters

People participate in a protest at the Utah State Capitol building in a demonstration that is part of larger "Hands off" events organized nationwide against U.S. President Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., April 5, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
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A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters

People participate in a protest at the Utah State Capitol building in a demonstration that is part of larger "Hands off" events organized nationwide against U.S. President Donald Trump, in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., April 5, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
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Pic: Reuters

Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.

Protesters refuse to take Donald Trump’s policies lying down

It was built to honour George Washington, a founding father of the United States.

And in the shadow of the 555ft Washington Monument, protestors were refusing to accept Donald Trump’s policies lying down.

“Stand tall,” they chanted, again and again.

“In every city, stand tall. In every state, stand tall. In truth, stand tall. In justice, stand tall.”

Those words, shouted by thousands on the city’s iconic mall, were reinforced by the words on their placards and t-shirts.

A minister, wearing a t-shirt with ‘Troublesome Priest’ printed on it, told me she found what was happening in the US government “appalling and immortal”.

One man said he had won the long-distance award, having travelled 2,750 miles from Hawaii for the protest.

“I finally reached a breaking point,” he added. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Another woman said: “We have to speak up, we have to act, we have to do something, because this is not America.”

I asked her what she would say to those who argue the people did speak when they elected Donald Trump as president.

She replied: “Some people have spoken and then some people have not and those of us that have not, we need to speak now.”

Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.

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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.

People protest in Manhattan, during a demonstration that is part of larger “Hands Off!” events organized nationwide against U.S. President Donald Trump, in New York City, New York, U.S., April 5, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
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People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters

Activists protest President Donald Trump, who was a few miles away at his Trump National Golf Club, during a "Hands Off!" demonstration Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP

Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”

The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

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He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

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These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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