Sting embarks on “The Last Ship”

May 3, 2026 / 10:12 AM EDT / CBS News

By

Mark Phillips Senior Foreign Correspondent
Mark Phillips is the CBS News senior foreign correspondent and has been based in the London Bureau since 1993. He has covered every major international story of the past 35 years, including conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

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When Sting comes back to his hometown these days, it’s not to the same place he left more than five decades ago. The city of Newcastle, tucked up in the northeast corner of England, now presents a tranquil vista where modern architecture spans calm waters. But for centuries, Newcastle was a hard-scrabble, noisy, industrial powerhouse. It built ships.

And Sting, a boy from a working-class family, was given some fatherly advice he didn’t want to hear: “He’d say, ‘Son, go to sea. See the world, make something of yourself.’ Of course, I disappointed him!”

Sting with correspondent Mark Phillips in Newcastle. CBS News

All Sting did was become one of the most successful songwriters and pop performers of his generation, starting with his 1970s band The Police, and through many variations since. His most popular songs – “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Message In A Bottle,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Fields of Gold,” “Shape of My Heart” – have streamed in the billions.

Asked if he keeps score of awards won and albums sold, Sting replied, “The answer is, enough. I have had more than enough success and affirmation. I don’t actually need any more. It’s lovely, but it’s not something I particularly think about. I don’t think of myself as a celebrity. I don’t like to. I like to think of myself as a working musician with a story to tell” – a story about his hometown.

“I just wanted a bigger life than the one I was being offered,” he said, “and it was only later that I realized that where I’d been brought up was actually a gift.”

How so? “Because of these very profound symbols to wake up to every morning: A gigantic ship hanging over the street; an army of men walking to work; the ship being built, launched into the river, out to sea. Those are very powerful images for an artist. I wanted to honor where I came from, because what they gave me was a sense of identity, a work ethic. So, I wanted to repay that.”

Sting’s musical (which he’s been working on for more than a decade) is called “The Last Ship,” and it recounts the demise of Newcastle’s shipyards. Now he’s taking it on tour, with the advantage of added star power – namely, Sting, and his good friend, Mr. “Bombastic” himself, Shaggy.

Sting starring in his musical, “The Last Ship,” about a community’s loss of its shipyard, a key part of its identity and economy. “The Last Ship”

The reggae star told us he’s never done anything quite as bombastic as “The Last Ship”: “Not quite on this scale,” he said. “I’m still sitting here and I’m saying, what have I gotten myself into?”

Why Shaggy? Working together has paid off before, when he and Sting won a Grammy for best reggae album in 2019, for “44/876.”

Shaggy and Sting. CBS News

“I immediately knew Shaggy was the perfect man for the job,” said Sting. “He has a great sense of mischief, a great sense of joy, but he’s also a natural actor.”

“He knows me better than me!” Shaggy said. “I was like, ‘I can’t really,’ and he was like, ‘No, you can do that.’ And then I’m doing it and I was like, I hate admitting that he was right!”

The show has already played to sold-out halls in Europe and Australia, and is set for a run at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. An earlier incarnation of “The Last Ship” played on Broadway in 2014. The show has had its book revised.

Asked why the project has meant to much to him, that he has stubbornly pursued it for more than a decade, Sting replied, “I’m tenacious. If I believe in something, I will stick at it. And I do not conflate commercial success with excellence or quality at all. I think this play, even though it’s set in the 1980s, has something to say to people now. All of us are in danger of losing our work to AI. All of us. “

Asked if he wants to be taken “seriously” as a theatre composer, as distinct from his pop career, he said, “I’m very grateful for the pop career, and it was a certain time in my life when I was of a certain age and looked a certain way and made a certain kind of music. But it can’t be my entire life. I don’t want to be just defined from how I was at the age of 25. I’m 74 now.”

Sting, born Gordon Sumner, was given his stage name because of the striped yellow-and-black top he used to wear that someone said made him look like a wasp. And there’s been plenty of buzz about his career ever since, including about the real meaning of his biggest hit, “Every Breath You Take.”

The Police – Every Breath You Take (Official Music Video) by ThePoliceVEVO on YouTube

“Some people interpret that song as being a very romantic love song, or it’s about a stalker – this obsessive watching, I’ll be watching you,” said Sting. “I don’t contradict people in their individual interpretation of the song. I think it enriches the song. I think gives it its power. It’s about both things.

“Some people get married to that, so God bless them!”

Sting’s life has been about many things. Now it’s about coming home – spiritually at least – as when he came with our cameras to a Newcastle pub. “They have come to bring me home, to shoot some local color, which would be you,” he told the crowd. “So, please be as colorful as you are!”

Sting performs “Message In a Bottle,” and the crowd joins in. CBS News

If ever there was a “local boy makes good” story, this is it. And everybody here seems to know the words to “Message In a Bottle.”

We asked Sting if he ever thinks of taking a vacation. “Explain that concept to me,” was his response.

But why is he still doing this? “Because I like to work,” he replied. “Could I retire? I’m not sure I could do it. I haven’t developed that skill to just sit and do nothing. Perhaps I’m afraid of it. I haven’t prepared myself for it. But while I’m still fit enough to do my work, I will continue. At some point, I hope I have the objectivity to say, OK, you’ve done enough. Go and sit on the farm.”

Could he do that? “I’m not sure!” he laughed.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Sting (Video) https://www.cbsnews.com/video/extended-interview-sting/

Extended interview: Sting 18:42

For more info:

• “The Last Ship” (Official site)
• Sting’s”The Last Ship” at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City (June 9-14)
• Sting (Official site)

Story produced by Mikaela Bufano. Editor: Carol Ross.

Explosion that killed 2 in U.K. is not being investigated as suspected terror incident, police say

May 3, 2026 / 8:53 AM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor

After an explosion killed two people in southwestern England early Sunday, British police said the incident would not be investigated as suspected terrorism, seeking to dispel concerns tied to a recent update to their country’s national terrorism threat level.

“Given the recent change to the U.K. threat level, we would like to reassure the public from the outset we are not treating this as a suspected terrorist incident,” police said in a statement. Government officials had adjusted the threat level to “severe,” up from “substantial,” last week.

The explosion happened at around 6:30 a.m. local time at a residential property in the city of Bristol, according to police. Two adults died as a result, and the cause is being treated as suspicious, they said. A “major incident” was declared, meaning multiple emergency services agencies were involved in the response.

Law enforcement is not searching for anyone else in connection with the incident, police said. They are, however, investigating a different property in a nearby neighborhood with ties to the situation. No details were provided about the potential relationship between that second property and the first.

Police said they have cordoned off an area around the site of the explosion “as a precaution to help keep the public safe.” People living within that area have been temporarily evacuated, although police do not believe the blast caused significant damage to other properties.

The explosion took place as authorities around the United Kingdom grapple with persistent acts of violence, including a spate of antisemitic attacks.

On Thursday, the U.K. raised its national terrorism threat level from “substantial” to “severe,” in the wake of a stabbing that wounded two Jewish men in London earlier in the week and was formally declared a terror incident. Government officials referenced growing threats of Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorism in the U.K. when they announced the change.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/jewish-leader-reacts-to-london-stabbing-attack-as-uk-raises-terrorism-threat-level/

奥地利北部营地“战争遗物”爆炸 致五名儿童受伤

2026年5月3日 22:45 / 联合早报

奥地利北部营地篝火下的“战争遗物”爆炸，导致五名年龄介于10至14岁的儿童受伤。

奥地利警方发声明说，目前正在调查“战争遗物”是如何出现在篝火区域下方的。 （示意图 / Pexels）

路透社报道，奥地利警方星期天（5月3日）说，这起事件发生在星期六（2日）晚上，位于上奥地利州弗赖施塔特附近的圣奥斯瓦尔德村（St Oswald bei Freistadt）。这个地区经常有青少年团体露营，受伤儿童则是来自上奥地利州其他地区的团体。

警方声明指出，爆炸发生后，警方检查了相邻的一个火坑，发现了另一个含有爆炸物的物体，同样被描述为“战争遗物”，随后召来了拆弹小组进行处理。

声明说：“目前正在调查这些战争遗物是如何出现在篝火区域下方的。”

警方说，目前尚不清楚这些儿童的伤势严重程度，他们已被送往附近林茨市的一家儿童医院。

虽然奥地利仍不时发现二战时期的炸弹，尤其是在建筑施工挖掘过程中，但像星期六这样的事故实属罕见。

中国借东京审判批日本军国主义 分析：对日舆论反制进行现实动员

2026年5月3日 23:06 / 联合早报

中国外交部星期日发布声明，指日本军国主义遗毒未清、潜滋暗长，批评日本右翼势力加速“再军事化”。图为日本东京星期天举行大型宪法集会，人们举着“不要战争”、“停止修宪”等标语牌。 （法新社）

在官媒连日造势后，中国外交部在东京审判开庭80周年当日发声，指日本军国主义“遗毒未清、潜滋暗长”，右翼势力“磨刀霍霍、拉弓搭箭”，“新型军国主义”成势为患，重温东京审判的背景更具现实意义。

受访学者认为，北京的高调发声是对日本政策动向展开舆论反制，也是具现实意义的综合战略表达。中日关系未来或进入政治安全领域摩擦常态化、经贸领域维持有限合作的“低位稳定竞争型关系”。

中国外交部星期日（5月3日）以发言人答记者问的形式发声，指日本右翼势力磨刀霍霍、拉弓搭箭，加速“再军事化”，部署进攻性武器，重整军工产业，推动修改宪法，严重背离战后日本自我标榜的“和平主义”。

发言人说，东京审判和纽伦堡审判的法律效力不容挑战，奠定的战后国际秩序基石不容撼动；任何人或势力企图为侵略翻案，必将遭到全世界爱好和平者的坚决抵制，“必将被再次押上历史的审判台”。

1946年5月3日，由美、中、英、苏等11个同盟国在日本东京共同设立远东国际军事法庭，对第二次世界大战中日本甲级战犯进行了国际司法审判，史称“东京审判”。

中国最高人民检察院主管的《检察日报》、中共机关刊物《求是》、《人民日报》和《环球时报》连日来也发文强调，东京审判的法理依据，呼吁国际社会对日本“新型军国主义”保持高度警惕。

海颐智库日本研究中心主任陈洋接受《联合早报》记者采访时说， 在当前地区安全格局加速重组的背景下，中国的密集发声具有明显的现实动员作用，强化国际社会尤其是亚洲国家的共同记忆。

他说：“中国通过把历史记忆、国际法依据与现实安全关切相结合，形成更具解释力和动员力的话语体系。向周边国家传递中国的关切和底线，以争取更多潜在共识与支持。”

中华全国日本学会理事包承柯受访时则说，发声目的是要引起日本政府的高度关注和对历史的反省，同时也警告：“不要发展到不可收拾的地步”。

日本首相高市早苗去年11月发表“台湾有事”论后，中日关系急转直下。日本今年将中国从“最重要双边关系之一”降级为“重要邻国”，并持续推进防务政策调整，包括讨论修宪、放宽武器出口限制等，进一步引发中国不满，两国交流陷入停滞。

日本共同社星期日引述相关人士称，日本执政党自民党选举对策委员长西村康稔星期六访华。这也是高市上台以来，自民党“四大要职”成员首次访华，但据报未与中国政要会面。

陈洋分析，中方的冷淡传递了“政治问题不解决，经贸与高层对话免谈”的信号，只有日本安全政策调整、高层互信恢复，中日关系才可能出现明显转圜。

台湾辅仁大学日本语文学系特聘教授何思慎受访时说：“中日关系没有松动迹象，但美国总统特朗普若访华成行，对中日关系发展会起到牵引作用。”

他指出，高市明显对美倾斜，若特朗普对华态度急转弯，会对高市的外交政策形成一定压力。北京也希望创造这样的条件，让高市最终因形势所迫而作出调整。

日媒早前报道，日本知华派代表人物、前众议院议长河野洋平将率日本国际贸易促进协会代表团6月访华，中方已表示愿意接待。此次访问能否为中日关系带来转机，成为关注焦点。

日本创价大学教授林大伟受访时说，中日非官方层面的“二轨外交”仍在持续推进，两国关系能否通过这些努力取得实质性成果，有待时间检验。

A tool to help keep dementia in check

May 3, 2026 / 9:36 AM EDT / CBS News

By Allison Aubrey

If you worry about your risk of dementia, Lauren Sprague knows your fear. Her father had a stroke when she was in high school. What followed was a long, slow descent into memory loss and dementia. He died at just 63.

“So, since I was 16 years old, pretty much every day of my life I worry, ‘Is today the day that the same thing could happen to me that happened to my dad?’” Sprague said. “It’s an incredible fear to walk around with.

“Every day of my children’s lives up until now, I’ve worried that that could be me,” she said.

Then she went to see Dr. Jonathan Rosand, who told us, “Time and again I would get the question, ‘Doctor, what can I do to take good care of my brain so that I don’t end up like my mother, my brother, my father?’”

Rosand is a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He explained to Sprague it was possible to cut the risk of dementia by making changes to daily habits, from choices about what you eat, to the amount of physical activity you get every day. “It turns out that these modifiable risk factors probably account for at least 40% of all dementia cases,” Rostand said.

A committee of experts from around the globe has concluded that about 40 to 45% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors:

• Physical inactivity
• Smoking
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Air pollution
• Traumatic brain injury
• Hearing loss
• Untreated vision loss
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Low education attainment
• Social isolation
• High cholesterol
• Depression

Rostand said that it’s a very common conception that if dementia or Alzheimer’s is in one’s family, that they are doomed. “But the truth is there’s so much we can do,” he said.

The idea that exercise and diet are important is not new, of course. But what is new is a tool from Rosand and his team to help you understand exactly how much and what kind of lifestyle changes are beneficial. It starts with a simple questionnaire free to everyone online, called the Brain Care Score.

“The Brain Care Score is a tool for any of us to use in our daily lives that lists out the modifiable risk factors for dementia, stroke and depression,” Rostand said.

The Brain Care Score allows you to identify traits and lifestyle habits that can impact your brain health. Global Brain Coalition

The healthier your habits, the higher your score. And to improve your score, you pick which habits you want to focus on changing. Rostand said, “It’s a guide to where you can go next. And in our work with patients, it really does give a choice, and a sense of freedom.”

A groundbreaking study from June 2025 found that a five-point higher Brain Care Score is associated with a 43% lower risk of developing heart disease, and a 31% lower incidence of most common cancers (including lung, colorectal, and breast cancer).

It’s evidence that what’s good for the brain is good for the rest of the body, too.

So, where to start? For Lauren Sprague and her husband, Scott, change started in the kitchen. They doubled down on greens and cut out highly-processed foods. (This added one point to her score.) They spend more time outdoors, which helps with fitness and stress relief. (That can add 2 more points.) She also takes time to sing and create, adding meaning, more stress relief, and purpose (while adding 2 more points).

Sprague said, “The Brain Care Score really gave me the prescription that I needed. And the wonderful thing about it is, it is a recommendation, but there is nuance, and it can be customized, which is wonderful.”

And Rosand is hoping this is one prescription that we all can share. He said, “The key message we want to convey with the Brain Care Score is, it is you. It is each of our viewers. It is everyone who wants to take a step forward. It’s up to you and you’re in control.”

For more info:

• Take the Brain Care Score (Global Brain Care Coalition)
• Understanding your Brain Care Score
• Dr. Jonathan Rosand, McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital
• Lauren Sprague

Story produced by Amol Mhatre. Editor: Emanuele Secci.

共和理工学院改良田径信号系统 助听障学生不输在起跑点

2026年5月3日 23:06 / 联合早报 许翔宇

美华小学的听障学生日前与听力正常的同学在校内进行田径短跑训练，他们虽然听不到老师发出的起跑指令，但只要看到装置在起跑线上的信号灯亮起绿等就开始奔跑，不必像以往那样必须有人在他们身旁拍打肩膀示意开跑。 （梁麒麟摄）

11岁的美华小学听障女生黄一欣平时参加田径赛跑时，因听不到起跑指令或鸣枪声响，须靠一名伙伴拍打她肩膀示意，她才起跑，因此总担心自己起跑比别人慢。

最近，她试用一套改良版起跑信号系统，只要起跑线上装置的信号灯亮起绿灯，她就立即开跑，减少了她与听力正常选手竞赛时所处的劣势。

这个专为听障学生参加田径赛跑而改良的信号系统，由共和理工学院与美华小学合作开发。产品原型今年首次在全国校际运动会上试用。

新系统获赋能体育基金支持

新系统获得赋能体育基金（Enabling Sports Fund）的支持。赋能体育基金通过资助和推动由社区主导的项目，让残障者有更多机会参与体育活动，从而发掘他们的运动潜能。

美华小学是一所录取以手语学习、中度至严重失聪学生的主流小学。听障学生可参加学校开办的任何课程辅助活动（CCA），表现出色则有机会代表学校参加校际比赛。美华小学几乎每年都派学生参加全国校际运动会的田径项目。

然而，美华小学校长林淑浈说，听障学生参加田径赛面对的一大挑战，就是听不到发令员的指令和起跑枪声响，学校会安排手语通译员传译，让学生明白指令，但枪声发出那一刻，还须有人拍打听障选手的肩膀，选手才起跑。

“这多少会造成一些反应延迟，导致听障选手与其他学生竞赛时，相对处于劣势。”

美华小学去年联系共和理工学院，希望借助学院的体育科学、工程学知识，以及解题式教学模式，为参加田径赛跑的听障学生开发一个新方案，让他们有更公平的起跑点。

共和理工学院应用科学系讲师朱汉杰看到校方发出的电邮后，决定响应美华小学的请求，成立了一支师生团队，着手开发这个系统。

他受访时说，现有的起跑信号电子仪器，一旦由发令员启动，扩音器会播放一道鸣枪的声响，与此同时，电子仪器上会亮起一个信号灯。

“然而，这个信号灯一般闪出白光，而且是从发令员身边的仪器发出，与听障选手有一段距离，他们在白天比赛时未必能清楚看得到。此外，所有选手就位准备冲刺那一刻，经常采用蹲踞姿势，因此他们脸部朝下，不会抬头看向信号灯。”

朱汉杰说，他与团队开发的新方案，并非要取代现有系统，而是衔接现有的电子信号器材起到相辅相成的效果。

共和理工学院应用科学系讲师朱汉杰带领师生团队，改良现有的田径赛起跑信号系统，让听障选手赛跑时减少听不到起跑指令或鸣枪的劣势。图为他展示一款可装置在起跑线的信号灯，可让听障选手清楚看到起跑信号。（梁麒麟摄）

他指出，团队将信号灯装置在跑道上，也就是选手起跑位置的两侧，一旦发令员用现有的信号仪器启动鸣枪声响，声音信号传送至信号灯，选手侧视看到信号灯亮起后，就可立即起跑。

目前，这个改良版信号灯会亮起绿光。共和理工团队在探讨为信号灯添加红灯和黄灯，并会继续测试如何让信号功能更有效。团队希望日后推广这套系统，让更多听障体育选手受惠。

从拍肩提示到看灯起跑 听障学生比赛更安心

热爱跑步的六年级生黄一欣，小三开始参加田径活动。她通过手语通译员告诉记者，以往比赛时，她须注意身边的帮手用脚轻敲地面的信号，以及拍打她的肩膀，示意她做准备和起跑。

“我以往总在担心自己能否在第一时间开始起跑……采用这个新的信号系统，我只要看到旁边的信号灯亮起就能往前冲，我觉得现在更能专注在比赛上了。”

文化、社区及青年部今年3月宣布，赋能体育基金未来五年拨款260万元，支持21个社区发起的体育项目，预计可支持超过8000名残障者参与20多种运动。

据报道，伦敦南部的布里克斯顿星期六（5月3日）凌晨发生的枪击事件，造成四人受伤。 （示意图 / Pexels）

英国伦敦南部发生一起无差别枪击事件，造成四人受伤送院。

英国天空新闻报道，这起事件发生在星期六（5月3日）凌晨，伦敦南部的布里克斯顿发生一起“无差别枪击事件”，所有受害者都有枪伤。

一名25岁男子伤势严重有生命危险，另外三名分别为21岁、47岁和70岁的伤者则没有生命危险。

警方说，正在调查约一小时后在附近发生的一起持刀伤人案件是否与这起枪击案有关。

据报道，警方周六凌晨1时14分（新加坡时间早上8时14分）接获报案称，在布里克斯顿科尔德哈伯巷（Coldharbour Lane）有人从车内开枪；凌晨2时17分，又接到报案称附近埃克巷（Acre Lane）发生持刀伤人事件。

在埃克巷，一名33岁男子被发现身中多刀，已送院治疗，伤势严重。

警方称，目前未逮捕任何人，并正努力追查肇事者。

客场闷平淡滨尼流浪 狮城水手提前两轮卫冕新超冠军

2026年5月3日 23:21 / 联合早报

狮城水手球员（前白衣）与前来客场观赛的球迷们一起庆祝提前卫冕新超冠军。 （海峡时报）

本地足球豪门狮城水手（Lion City Sailors）在星期天（5月3日）的新加坡超级联赛客场以0比0踢和BG淡滨尼流浪（BG Tampines Rovers），提前两轮卫冕成功。

水手赛前就以50分领跑积分榜，领先身后的淡滨尼八分。此役过后，还剩两轮未赛的水手积51分，已超过淡滨尼理论上能达到的最高积分（48分），因此提前夺冠。这也是水手自2020年从内政联（Home United）更名以来，第三次在本地联赛登顶。

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比赛在淡滨尼天地（Our Tampines Hub）举行。在主场球迷的声浪下，淡滨尼开场仅43秒就攻破水手门将苏萨克（Susak）把守的龙门，只可惜进球因越位被判无效。

逃过一劫后，水手整体前压至中线和对方半场，并通过长时间控球来掌握局势。淡滨尼也一度抓住防守漏洞，打出快速反击，但水手回防及时，让双方在上半场互交白卷。

易边再战，淡滨尼在换上马耳他国脚布哈加尔（Buhagiar）后，左路进攻有所提升。布哈加尔一度打出精彩的二过一配合，在禁区内直面对方门将，但关键时刻有所犹豫，被水手后卫破坏良机。

不甘以平局收场的淡滨尼在最后五分钟展开猛攻，让客队的门前风声鹤唳，但水手最终守住平局，夺得冠军。

这是淡滨尼连续第二年不敌水手，屈居亚军。赛后，水手球迷对着主队看台高唱“你们又是老二”，主队球迷则显得垂头丧气。

水手球迷赛后大肆庆祝，还打出写有“我们在你们主场夺冠”的横幅。（海峡时报）

水手主帅：庆祝冠军 也要开始考虑下赛季

在向自家球迷致谢后，水手西班牙籍新帅卡萨斯（Casas）说，虽然对队员们的表现并不是完全满意，但冠军还是值得庆祝。

曾执教伊拉克国家队的卡萨斯说：“对手确实非常强。正因为如此，这个冠军对我们来说意义更大。我们还是会努力赢下接下来的两场比赛……现在既要和球员们一起享受这个时刻，也要开始考虑下个赛季。”

而如愿夺得个人首个新超冠军的雄狮日裔中场仲村京雅，赛后也显得十分激动。对阵老东家淡滨尼夺冠，让这份感觉更加特别。不过他也表示：“接下来还有两场比赛，希望全力以赴，让水手保持（新超）不败战绩。”

水手球员（白衣）在确认夺冠后疯狂庆祝，淡滨尼球员（黑黄衣）则显得垂头丧气。（海峡时报）

按照规定，新超联赛和新加坡杯冠军均可参加下季亚冠二级联赛，而水手此前在新加坡杯击败淡滨尼夺冠后已获名额，另一张入场券将递补给新超联赛第二名。

而目前以43分暂排联赛次席的淡滨尼，在还剩两轮的情况下领先身后少赛一场的新瀉阿比雷斯（Albirex Niigata）五分，亚冠二级的参赛名额并不稳固。对此，淡滨尼临时主帅冯敬源说：“我们会把剩下两场当成决赛来踢。”

Overtourism: Too much of a good thing?

2026-05-03 9:16 AM EDT / CBS News

By

Seth Doane Correspondent
Seth Doane is an award-winning CBS News correspondent based in Rome, Italy since 2016. Doane has covered terrorist attacks and breaking news across Europe, traveled with Pope Francis as part of his coverage of the Vatican, and has reported on issues ranging from migration to climate change.

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We are bombarded, lured, or both, as hotels, airlines, social media influencers, cruise companies, and our own friends curate, post and tempt us to travel. What’s often cropped out are the crowds and long lines – the frustrations that can come with vacationing today, or living in a vacation destination.

“Where we see neighborhoods starting to serve tourists more than residents, that’s where we start to see problems,” said Paris-based writer Paige McClanahan. “And that’s where we start to see pushbacks, like we’ve seen some anti-tourism protests in places like Barcelona.”

McClanahan, who has covered travel and tourism for decades, says tourism is a huge economic force. “Globally, tourism is 10% of the global economy,” she said. “It’s about one in 10 jobs around the world.”

Correspondent Seth Doane with journalist Paige McClanahan outside the Louvre Museum in Paris. CBS News

In her book, The New Tourist, McClanahan traces how guidebooks, low-cost airlines, and now social media are fueling a surge in travel. In 1950, there were 25 million tourist arrivals around the world. Today there’s more than 1.5 billion.

One place on many tourists’ checklists: The Louvre in Paris. It’s the world’s most-visited museum. “It’s obviously an iconic spot,” McClanahan said. “It’s also a spot that really epitomizes some of the pressures that we’ve been talking about.”

In June 2025, Louvre employees went on strike because of its inability to cope with the crowds.

“It feels like tourism is having a coming-of-age moment, where destinations are really waking up to the fact that tourism is something that needs regulation, it needs taxes, it needs urban planning laws, it needs physical infrastructure,” said McClanahan. “At the same time, tourists, we travelers, are also waking up to the impact of our presence in places.”

Visitors angle for a view of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, April 6, 2005. Raphael GAILLARDE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

So, has social media been good or bad for travel? “Yes!” McClanahan replied. “Yes to both.”

Consider this: A canyon in Iceland had to be closed after a Justin Bieber music video attracted too many tourists. A farmer in Italy’s Dolomites protested crowds by installing a turnstile to charge to get to Instagrammable spots.

Then, there’s this fragile city…

A flood of tourists in Venice

Each year around 30 million visitors come to Venice – that’s about 600 times the local population. In 2024 the city implemented a fee for daytrippers of 5 to 10 Euros at peak times – one way to combat the crush of tourists.

Tourists crowd onto the Ponte di Rialto bridge in Venice, April 3, 2026. The Italian city, a UNESCO World Heritage treasure, draws tens of millions of visitors. Emanuele Cremaschi / Getty Images

Venice has also tried banning massive cruise ships – but tourists still come. Portofino, on Italy’s other coast, added new rules to manage the behavior of those already there.

Police commander Chiarello Giuseppina got new duties this past summer when Portofino banned drinking alcohol or sitting on the ground in main streets and squares. Also off-limits in peak times: being barefoot or shirtless. There’s an up to 500 Euro fine.

Does she ever hear complaints from visitors? “No, we have no complaints,” Giuseppina said. “In general, people understand. We explain that we are, yes, on the sea, but we are in a very famous center, and it’s correct to respect and enjoy the town.”

Across Europe, countries are trying to regulate tourism. Spain started removing tens of thousands of illegal Airbnbs, and introduced taxes which decrease over time to encourage longer stays.

Asked what tourist destinations and cities should do, McClanahan said, “It’s not the sexiest topic really, but one really interesting tool is a tourism tax, and we’re seeing that in Amsterdam. They’ve upped the tourist tax to 12.5%, which is currently the highest in Europe.”

Amsterdam: Venice of the North

Amsterdam is known for its canals, and more and more its crowds. Home to fewer than one million residents, it saw a record 23 million tourists in 2024. “At a certain point, residents started to raise their voices,” said Anouschka Trauschke, who used to manage what she calls a “typical” tour company. But she says she had an inner conflict: “You feel like an ambassador of the city. But on the other side, you were feeling that you were part of a problem.”

Amsterdam registered a record 23 million tourists in 2024. CBS News

Trauschke organizes community sessions to brainstorm solutions to overtourism, and started Tours That Matter, which tailors visits, often touring less-trafficked spots, like taking the ferry to North Amsterdam, where a former shipyard is on one of her tours.

But is it just a drop in the bucket, considering the more than 20 million tourists that come to the city? “That’s what you would think,” she said, “but with Tours That Matter, we’ve been very much part of a pioneer movement. And then we still have this large, large tourism that is just asking for transition.”

Edwin Scholvinck is pushing for that transition. For 33 years he’s lived in the city’s world-famous red-light district, known for its windows and sex workers. But he says his friends won’t come visit anymore. Why? “Because there are too many tourists,” he said.

Lately, he has been able to find a little more peace at home. Guided tours are no longer allowed in the often-noisy neighborhood, and bars must close earlier. He’s also joined a community campaign called We Live Here. “The idea is to show the visitors to this area that there’s not only party, but there’s also a residential area,” he said.

We Live Here is one of several different efforts underway. Economist Jasper van Dijk says, “I think those efforts are great. It’s great, but it’s not enough.”

Van Dijk is part of a group trying to sue the city of Amsterdam for not adhering to an agreed-upon cap of 20 million tourists. “The city definitely took measures,” he said, “and I think we’re also one of the front-runners in Europe. But we’re saying it’s quite a little too late. We can do way more.” He thinks even higher tourist taxes would cut down on the numbers.

Scribner

“Sunday Morning” had plenty of questions for the City of Amsterdam, but could not get anyone to talk with us. The Mayor, the Deputy Mayor involved in tourism, even the marketing agency working with the city each declined our request to be interviewed.

The irony is that ten years ago, the city had so much success with its marketing campaign, I amsterdam, that it later launched another campaign encouraging rowdy visitors to stay away. Paige McClanahan said, “In too many cases you have to get to sort of a breaking point before the city wakes up and realizes they need to invest like this.”

She says solutions need to be catered to each community, but some of the responsibility lies on those of us travelling. “Whether tourism is going to be more of a force for good in the world or more of a destructive force, a challenging force, is really up to us to decide,” McClanahan said. “If we all come together and treat tourism with the respect and the scrutiny and the responsibility that it deserves, then we can use our power to turn tourism into a constructive force for humanity.”

联邦检察官证实白宫晚宴枪手射中特勤局人员

2026年5月3日 23:52 / 联合早报

联邦检察官证实白宫晚宴枪手射中特勤局人员

美国联邦检察官皮罗（左二）星期天说，闯美国白宫记者晚宴的枪手，确实射中一名特勤局人员。 （路透社）

美国联邦检察官星期天说，调查人员已找到明确证据，指闯美国白宫记者晚宴的枪手，确实射中一名特勤局特工。

美国联邦检察官皮罗星期天（5月3日）接受美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）访问时说，调查人员现在可以明确指出，击中这名特工的子弹是来自枪手艾伦（Cole Tomas Allen，31岁）的枪火。“我们现已证实，被告所持的莫斯伯格泵动式霰弹枪发射的一颗铅弹，已嵌入这名特工防弹背心的纤维中。”

她补充说：“这绝对是他的子弹，他击中那名特勤局特工。他当时完全打算杀死他以及任何阻碍他刺杀美国总统的人。”

上星期六（4月25日）晚上，艾伦持枪企图闯入在华盛顿希尔顿酒店举行的白宫记者协会晚宴，出席活动的特朗普、副总统万斯等政要紧急撤离，艾伦随后被制伏逮捕。他日前已被控被控企图刺杀总统特朗普等多项罪名。

调查人员公布了事发时的部分监控录像。在录像中，艾伦冲过酒店内的一处安检站，并将枪口对准一名特勤局特工，这名特工在艾伦跑出画面时向他开了数枪。

皮罗称，未来将公布更多视频，包括艾伦跑出画面后发生的情况。