“Leave the Gun, take the cannoli” was improvised by actor Richard Castellano. But a disagreement with director Francis Ford Coppola may have led to him being ousted from the sequel.

Eberechi Eze believes his injury nightmare two years ago gave him the platform for England recognition. The Crystal Palace midfielder is eyeing a senior debut after being included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. The call came after Eze was named in England’s provisional Euro 2020 squad in May 2021 – only for a serious Achilles injury on the same day to wreck his dreams. His has fought back and insists his six months on the sidelines only gave him strength and confidence in his ability. Eze said: “I know without setbacks and difficult moments it’s hard to grow and be the person I am today. I look back at those memories fondly because I know it has helped shape who I am. “It’s hard to put into words. I look at things a bit differently. I saw it (the potential call) as I was on the right trajectory, even though I was injured, this was the level I could get to. It gave me the motivation to keep going. “I got a message which gave me an inkling I was going to be called up but being injured that was the end of it for a little while. It’s been a journey getting back to the standard and putting in the performances but it’s been a good one.” Eze scored 10 goals for Palace in the 2022-23 season – six after Roy Hodgson returned to replace Patrick Vieira in March to steer the Eagles to 11th in the Premier League. Hodgson initially signed the 24-year-old from QPR in 2020 and Eze credits him and his assistant Ray Lewington as big influences in his fight to return to the top. “He has got insane wisdom, it’s good to talk to him and hear what he has to say,” he added. “From the first day I met them they have been improving me as a person and a player. It has opened my eyes to more. I have grown so much because of them. “I am very grateful to Roy and Ray for all they did helping me to regain form, they helped me massively with performances and my mental state. In terms of them staying on (at Palace), it’s not my decision.” England travel to Malta for Friday’s Group C qualifier before hosting North Macedonia in Manchester on Monday. Eze, who chose England over Nigeria and has eight Under-21 caps, has the chance of featuring but is not taking anything for granted. “My main focus is training well, doing what I can do, being the best version of myself. All I can do is what I can do, that decision is for Gareth to make,” he said. “Naturally there is always something else you want, when you achieve them it’s on to the next thing (a debut), I am grateful to be in this position. I know I have worked hard but no-one is doing me any favours.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rory McIlroy skips US Open media duty with PIF merger still in headlines Tottenham fan receives three-year ban for mocking Hillsborough disaster York hope to avenge memory of recent loss during Challenge Cup clash with Leigh

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said his administration will deploy an “inflatable border” composed of floating barriers along the Rio Grande as part of its bid to deter migrants from attempting illegal crossings into the state. The new policy was quickly slammed by some mocking the idea and others who said that Texas taxes could be better spent on other initiatives. The barriers, seen in concept art presented at the state Capitol in Austin on Thursday as the governor signed six new border security bills into law, are effectively a string of interconnected buoys that spin when someone attempts to scale them, making them difficult to pass. Below the waterline, a web of netting weighed down by anchors will prevent anyone from simply swimming underneath The barriers will be placed along known hotspots for attempted crossings, with the first 1,000 feet to be situated near Eagle Pass, where Texas National Guardsman Bishop E Evans, 22, tragically drowned last year while attempting to rescue migrants from the river. The governor’s office said in a statement that the strategy was intended to “proactively prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry by making it more difficult to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border”. Continuing to blame President Joe Biden for the perceived failure to secure the US-Mexico border, Governor Abbott said his latest package of bills is aimed at ensuring his state can “hold the line” against illegal immigrants, drugs and weapons entering the United States from the south. They grant the Texas military the authority to use unmanned aircraft in search and recovery missions, authorise trained US Border Patrol agents to carry out arrest, search and seizure operations at checkpoints and compensate rural landowners whose property is damaged by illegal immigration-related activities. They also designate Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organisations and increase the penalties for those caught destroying illegal drugs and those who operate stash houses. Speaking at Thursday’s signing, Governor Abbott said: “Thanks to the leadership and hard work of [Texas Department of Public Safety] Director [Steve] McCraw, General Thomas Suelzer and their teams, Texas has pushed back against the swell of migrants and held the line to keep people out of Texas – but there’s more that needs to be done. “The Texas Legislature has stepped up to make sure we continue to robustly respond to President Biden’s growing border crisis, including allocating $5.1bn for border security. “Today, I am signing six bills from this year’s regular session to ensure that Texas can continue to do even more to stop illegal immigration at our southern border and provide new tools to the brave men and women along the southern border to protect Texans and Americans from the chaos and crisis of the border.” Regarding the barriers specifically, the governor said: “What we’re doing right now, we’re securing the border at the border. “What these buoys will allow us to do is to prevent people from even getting to the border.” Director McCraw added: “We don’t want people to come across and continue to put their lives at risk when they come between the points of entry.” He explained that the barriers are currently being tested by specialists and will be moveable so that they can be quickly relocated to new areas as needed. Of their role as a deterrent, he said: “You could sit there for a couple of days and hold onto it, but eventually you’re going to get tired and want to go back. You’ll get hungry.” Rodolfo Rosales, director of the Texas chapter of the League of United Latin Americans Citizens has condemned Mr Abbott’s latest approach to the situation as inhumane. “We view it as a chilling reminder of the extreme measures used throughout history by elected leaders against those they do not regard as human beings, seeking only to exterminate them, regardless of the means employed,” he told CBS. “It is with profound horror and shame that we bear witness to the consideration of these measures, which are evidently intended as political theatre but will undoubtedly result in the loss of innocent lives among the refugees seeking asylum in the United States.” Social media users were quick to respond to Mr Abbott on Twitter. “Texas will deploy new marine floating barriers to deter illegal border crossings between ports of entry. We continue to hold the line in Biden’s absence,” the governor tweeted on Friday. “You know they can swim under it right?” one Twitter user said. The director of the Central America and Mexico Policy Initiative at the Strauss Center at The University of Texas at Austin, Stephanie Leutert, wrote: “Some places of the Rio Grande will be shallow enough that this won’t be effective. And smugglers moving people across in rafts will quickly figure out how to cut these apart or hoist people over them from raft to raft. But... they will 100 percent cause more drowning deaths.” “I bet they didn’t think about sharp objects that can penetrate said buoys or holding ones breath. Also this seems like a waste of money, time & labor,” one account holder added. Several Twitter users compared the barrier to objects used in the NBC show American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout on TBS. “Welcome to Wipeout: Illegal Immigration special!” one Twitter user said. Gustaf Kilander contributed to this report Read More Texas businessman tied to impeachment of attorney general Ken Paxton to appear in federal court Texas camp teens airlifted to hospital after elevated walkway collapses in Surfside Beach photo Mexico charges migrant in detention center fire that killed 40 Analysis: What makes a fair election? Recent redistricting the most politically balanced in years New voting districts could change again in some states before the 2024 elections Homeland Security names Border Patrol veteran Jason Owens to lead the agency

An Israeli patrolman was shot and killed in Tel Aviv on Saturday night by a Palestinian gunman who was also shot and killed, Israeli authorities said.