Britain and the European Union on Monday struck a landmark deal to remove some post-Brexit trade barriers and to bolster cooperation on security and defense as they reduce their reliance on an unpredictable United States.

The agreement, unveiled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in London, is a significant reset for the two allies.

But the final details of several important policies were not in place, and Britain had to make some concessions that could prove politically costly for Starmer.

“It’s time to look forward,” Starmer said, “to move on from the stale old debates and political fights to focus on delivering common-sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.”

The immediate, hostile reaction from Starmer’s opponents, however, illustrated the political perils for almost any politician in revisiting Brexit, the most fraught and divisive issue in recent British politics.

Under the agreement, European countries will be encouraged to allow British people to use electronic gates in Europe when crossing borders, and traveling with pets will be easier, too. The sale of some British meat products in the EU — Britain’s biggest trading partner — will be possible again, and some border checks on animal and plant products will end.

But the most important part of the deal is a security partnership that will bolster defense cooperation between the partners. It will allow them to better pool resources and share technology and intelligence at a moment when a more aggressive Russia — and a more reluctant United States — has left Europe scrambling to defend itself better.

AAA predicts record Memorial Day travel

Whether it’s a road trip to a nearby lake or jumping on a plane to explore a big city, Americans are expected to get away in record numbers over the long Memorial Day weekend even as economic and technical worries rattle the U.S. travel industry.

Over 45 million people — 1.4 million more than last year — will venture at least 50 miles from their homes between Thursday and next Monday, with the vast majority going by car, auto club organization AAA predicts. The holiday’s previous domestic travel record was set 20 years ago.

AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said the analysts who prepared the forecast weren’t sure when they started their research if concerns about the economy would cause fewer U.S. residents to plan getaways for the unofficial start of summer, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.

“People are still feeling pretty good about travel,” Diaz said, adding that some households and individuals may just opt to spend less money on their trips.

Spain orders Airbnb to cut 65K listings

Spain has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 vacation listings on its platform for having violated rules, the Consumer Rights Ministry said Monday.

The ministry said that many of the 65,935 Airbnb listings it had ordered to be withdrawn did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. Others listed numbers that didn’t match what authorities had, it said.

Spain is grappling with a housing affordability crisis that has spurred government action against short-term rental companies.

Netflix comes to rescue of ‘Sesame Street’

Netflix has thrown “Sesame Street” a safety net with a new streaming deal that offers the popular children’s staple a broad reach while keeping it on its long-standing home, PBS, at the same time, the companies announced Monday.

Starting later this year, new episodes will run on Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day. No specific premiere date was immediately announced. Select past episodes will be available on Netflix worldwide.

The change for the more than 50-year-old show comes after Warner Bros. Discovery — which had aired the show since 2016 — last year decided not to renew its deal for new episodes that air on HBO and Max, though episodes will remain there until 2027.

— Associated Press