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26- Airlines looking for fare increases to stick, even when jet fuel costs fall
Airlines looking for fare increases to stick, even when jet fuel costs fall
By Chris Isidore, CNN
(CNN) — The soaring cost of jet fuel due to the war in Iran will lead to significantly higher airfares. But don’t expect ticket prices to drop once fuel prices start to decline.
Higher fares are being driven by strong demand for travel as much as the cost of fuel. Despite higher ticket prices, travelers are booking tickets in record numbers at many airlines. So, as long as passengers keep flying, higher fares are likely to stay in place, no matter the cost of fuel.
“The longer consumers pay these prices and airlines get used to this revenue stream, the more likely it is (to hold),” United CEO Scott Kirby said during its earnings call Wednesday. The airline’s passengers are now paying on average 20% more for every mile they fly compared to last year.
When asked about keeping higher fares when fuel prices normalize, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said customers have already been willing to pay more for things like extra legroom or seats closer to the front.
“I’m bullish on what that means for our business,” Isom told analysts Thursday.
He said that summer bookings have stayed strong even as the airline raised fares.
“I think that what you’re seeing is recognition that travel is still a good deal,” Isom said.
The price of jet fuel, which has roughly doubled since the start of the year, is a major factor behind the widespread fare increases. Fuel is the second largest operating cost for airlines behind only labor.
The nation’s four largest carriers — United, American, Delta and Southwest — spent on average a combined $100 million a day on fuel last year. And that was during a time of relatively cheap oil and fuel costs.
Today, they’re paying billions more. Delta said it faced $2 billion in increased fuel costs in the current quarter alone.
Airlines are passing some of the cost to consumers. Recent results show they’re already charging passengers 20% more for every mile they fly compared to a year ago, and fares are projected to go higher still.
Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson told investors Thursday there have already been five industrywide fare hikes so far this year, with more on the way. And all the airlines say they’ve only recovered a portion of their increased costs.
Fares about far more than costs
But fares are not based on the cost of operating a flight, said Zach Griff, author of an airline newsletter, From the Tray Table.
Instead, price is primarily determined by demand — for a certain route, time of day or week and the amount of competition.
For example, midweek or overnight redeye flights are typically cheaper than prime travel times on the same route, such as on Friday afternoon. And passengers often pay far less for every mile traveled on popular long-haul flights between major cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, than on shorter routes with less demand.
Airlines are cutting some of these less profitable flights, which have become money losers amid higher fuel prices. United, for example, has cut its previously planned schedule by about 5% through September. Removing these bargain fares is also lifting the average ticket price.
But with travelers still booking tickets, airlines know they can make higher fares stick on their remaining flights.
“The fare environment will ultimately play out based on market conditions,” Southwest’s Watterson said.
There is also the possibility that Spirit Airlines, a trendsetter in ultra-low fares, could fold under the weight of higher fuel costs.
The budget carrier, which has filed for bankruptcy twice in the last two years, warned in March it could go out of business. The Trump administration has said it’s looking at possibly bailing it out or even buyi
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- Cómo la cena anual más importante de Washington se transformó en caos… y en una escena del crimen
Cómo la cena anual más importante de Washington se transformó en caos… y en una escena del crimen
Por Jeremy Herb y Kevin Liptak, CNN
El presidente Donald Trump y la primera dama Melania Trump estaban sentados en el escenario del enorme salón de baile del Washington Hilton poco después de las 8:30 p.m. (hora de Miami) del sábado por la noche, interactuando de manera juguetona con el artista de la velada, el mentalista Oz Pearlman.
Justo afuera, un hombre corrió a través de un punto de control de seguridad con una escopeta en la mano, intercambiando disparos con agentes del Servicio Secreto que lo perseguían, según imágenes de seguridad del incidente que fueron difundidas.
En cuestión de segundos, el hombre armado fue reducido por el Servicio Secreto, antes de que pudiera llegar al salón de baile donde el presidente, funcionarios de la administración Trump, miembros del Congreso y algunos de los reporteros y editores más destacados del país asistían a la Cena anual de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca.
Dentro del abarrotado salón de baile, los invitados ya estaban sentados y picoteaban ensaladas de burrata y pepino cuando quedó claro que la noche había dado un giro aterrador. Sonidos secos, uno tras otro, provenientes del exterior de las puertas del salón hicieron que el fuerte murmullo de conversación se apagara rápidamente.
Para quienes estaban dentro de la sala —ubicada un nivel por debajo de donde ocurrió el incidente— no era evidente qué eran esos sonidos. Incluso el propio presidente no estuvo seguro de inmediato de lo que había pasado. El primer pensamiento de Trump fue que se trataba de una bandeja llena de platos de la cena que se había estrellado contra el suelo: “He escuchado eso muchas veces”, diría más tarde desde la Casa Blanca, aún con el esmoquin del evento.
Pero cuando agentes de las fuerzas del orden, muchos armados, se desplegaron por la sala desde todas las entradas, quedó claro que había ocurrido un incidente grave. Gritos de “al suelo” se extendieron por el salón mientras los invitados y el personal del hotel se lanzaban debajo de sillas y mesas para cubrirse.
La mesa principal se despejó casi de inmediato. El vicepresidente J. D. Vance fue apartado de la mesa y llevado hacia la izquierda del escenario. Mientras agentes con rifles corrían hacia el frente del escenario, el equipo del Servicio Secreto del presidente lo rodeó, según un video grabado desde un costado del escenario. Mientras era evacuado, el presidente pareció caer brevemente al suelo antes de que él y la primera dama fueran llevados rápidamente a una sala segura del hotel. Quienes estaban sentados a su lado fueron trasladados a una sala distinta al final del pasillo.
Los asistentes a la cena que eligieron ese momento para salir del salón de baile antes de que se sirviera el plato principal, incluido Wolf Blitzer de CNN, lamentablemente se pusieron en peligro. Blitzer acababa de salir de un baño fuera del salón cuando vio al hombre armado a solo unos pocos pies de distancia.
“Empecé a escuchar disparos en el pasillo, justo cerca de mí, y lo siguiente que supe fue que un agente de policía me tiró al suelo y se puso encima de mí”, dijo Blitzer. “Los disparos fueron tan fuertes, tan aterradores, que nos asustó a todos. No teníamos idea de qué estaba pasando”.
El presentador de CNN fue llevado de vuelta al baño de hombres, donde él y más de una decena de personas se refugiaron en el lugar, dijo.
Perdió un zapato en medio del alboroto.
Cuando el hombre armado arremetió contra el punto de control, llevaba una escopeta, una pistola y varios cuchillos, según funcionarios de las fuerzas del orden. Un agente del Servicio Secreto recibió un disparo en el pecho durante el intercambio de disparos y estaba bien después de ser trasladado a un hospital gracia
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- 2 University of South Florida doctoral students were promising young researchers. Now a roommate is charged in their killing
2 University of South Florida doctoral students were promising young researchers. Now a roommate is charged in their killing
By Ray Sanchez, Isabel Rosales, Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
(CNN) — Zamil Limon was last seen on the morning of April 16 at his home about three blocks from the University of South Florida campus in Tampa.
Nahida Bristy was last seen later that same morning at the Natural and Environmental Sciences building on campus.
They were both 27 and promising Bangladeshi doctoral students who started out as friends and over time developed feelings for each other — to the point they had thought about marriage, according to Limon’s brother, Zubaer Ahmed.
Limon and Bristy were reported missing by a family friend on April 17, and as days went by, their friends in Florida and relatives abroad became increasingly desperate for answers.
On Friday, Limon was found dead on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa in what Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called “a deeply disturbing case that has shaken our community.”
His roommate has been charged with killing Limon and Bristy, whose body has not been found, the sheriff’s office said.
Their loss is being felt far from the Tampa Bay area. Both students had planned to travel to Bangladesh over their summer break.
Investigators called Bristy’s family in Bangladesh to say they believed she may be dead, based on the amount of blood found in Limon and the suspect’s shared apartment, Bristy’s brother told CNN affiliate WTSP. CNN has reached out to her brother and the sheriff’s office for details.
Limon’s family told CNN they were anxiously waiting to learn what happened to the joyful, young researcher.
“It’s devastating for us,” Ahmed told CNN before his brother’s body was found Friday. “We are in deep pain.”
Limon and Bristy were among the more than 17,000 Bangladeshi students — an all-time high — enrolled in US institutions, according to the US Embassy in Bangladesh, citing the 2024 Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange.
“Please keep my beloved brother in your prayers,” Ahmed told CNN Saturday via text message.
Limon was dedicated to his environmental studies
Limon had been working on his thesis for the past two years, studying the uses of generative AI to monitor shrinking wetlands in South Florida, his brother said.
“My brother is very decent and a very simple person,” Ahmed said from Bangladesh. “He always put a smile on his face.”
He had been pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy since the fall of 2024.
After completing his PhD, Limon hoped to return to Bangladesh and get a job as a university professor, Ahmed said.
“I study how natural features evolve across landscapes, with a focus on wetlands, water resources, and vegetation in both agricultural and urban environments,” Limon wrote in his student profile. His goal was “to create practical tools that enhance environmental planning, support sustainable land use, and improve long-term ecosystem management.”
His LinkedIn page said he worked as a graduate student assistant since August 2024, and his experience included stints with the Center for Natural Resource Studies, the Center for Environment and Geographic Information Services and as a junior urban planner in Dhaka. He also studied urban and rural planning at Khulna University, a public research institution in Bangladesh.
Omer Hossain, Limon’s friend and fellow student at USF, remembers him as a “chill guy”
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- Federal judge weighs mandating air conditioning in the United States’ largest prison system
Federal judge weighs mandating air conditioning in the United States’ largest prison system
By Leigh Waldman, CNN
(CNN) — A decision whether to mandate air conditioning inside Texas prisons is in the hands of a federal judge, as advocacy organizations try to force the state to address what they allege are dangerous, deadly temperatures inmates endure.
For years leading up to the two-week trial in Austin, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice says it has made efforts to mitigate heat inside its prisons during the summer months. However, inmates’ advocates and lawyers say those efforts haven’t gone far enough: Temperatures can reach 149 degrees, they say, and the conditions amount to cruel and unusual punishment – violating inmates’ Eighth Amendment rights.
“There is a dangerous condition that everybody in the leadership knows about: It’s extreme heat inside the prison system,” Jeff Edwards, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, told CNN. “What they’re doing is not solving it, it’s not mitigating it. It’s killing people.”
The plaintiffs – a group of advocacy organizations that represent inmates – are requesting air-conditioning be installed in every inmate housing area in every state-run prison. They claim more than 270 people died in Texas prisons between 2001 and 2019 due to heat exposure, citing a 2022 study by researchers at Brown and Harvard University, among other institutions, which found these deaths were “likely attributable to extreme heat.”
The state denied this allegation in pretrial court filings – though it has acknowledged heat-related deaths, albeit much fewer: A TDCJ spokesperson told CNN that between 1998 and 2012 there were 23 heat-related deaths.
“There’s people that have families in here that they’re trying to get back home to,” an inmate inside one partially air-conditioned prison told CNN. “They made simple mistakes; they don’t deserve this.”
TDCJ – which says it has made strides in addressing the problem in recent years – declined to comment on pending litigation. On its website the agency said, “Core to the mission of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is protecting the public, our employees, and the inmates in our custody.”
Amite Dominick, president of the Texas Prison Community Advocates, has been fighting for the better part of a decade to change what she describes as unsafe conditions inside prisons. She coauthored the 2022 study and another report by Texas A&M University’s Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center that highlighted the issue and concluded the TDCJ’s heat mitigation policies were insufficient.
“I didn’t think I’d be doing this job for 10 years,” said Dominick, who testified for the plaintiffs. “I really thought that by now we would have seen the humanity of it all, and the legislators would have already have funded the money for this.”
“It’s unfortunate that it has to come to a lawsuit where we’re, you know, spending millions of dollars once again, and we could have taken those same monies and just put air conditioning in those units,” she told CNN.
The Texas attorney general’s office, which represents TDCJ in the case, did not respond to multiple requests for comment or questions about the plaintiffs’ allegations.
In a preliminary injunction, Judge Robert Pitman stopped short of ordering a temporary air conditioning remedy. But he did warn TDCJ he “foresees Plaintiffs being entitled to permanent relief in the form of expeditious installation of permanent air conditioning in all TDCJ facilities.”
Pitman is expected to make his final ruling in the coming weeks.
A ‘five-alarm fire’
During the trial, medical experts testified about the impacts of extreme heat on the body. Dea
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| 27- El presunto atacante en la cena de corresponsales plantea interrogantes sobre el protocolo de seguridad del evento
El presunto atacante en la cena de corresponsales plantea interrogantes sobre el protocolo de seguridad del evento
Por Evan Perez y Kristen Holmes, CNN
El presunto atacante que el sábado se abrió paso más allá de un puesto de control de seguridad en la cena de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca reavivó las preguntas sobre los protocolos del Servicio Secreto y sobre si deberían hacerse cambios al ya estricto cordón de seguridad en el evento anual repleto de celebridades.
El secretario interino de Justicia Todd Blanche, que apareció el domingo en “State of the Union” de CNN, elogió la respuesta como “una enorme historia de éxito en materia de seguridad”.
Dijo que los investigadores creen que el hombre de California que fue arrestado, Cole Tomas Allen, pretendía atacar a funcionarios de la administración en el evento, basándose en sus escritos que los investigadores están revisando.
Blanche publicó posteriormente en redes sociales una carta que el Departamento de Justicia presentó en una demanda, en la que calificó el incidente del sábado como un “intento de magnicidio contra el presidente Trump”.
Funcionarios de la Casa Blanca dijeron a CNN que familiares de Allen alertaron a las fuerzas del orden sobre sus posibles planes de llevar a cabo un ataque, pero sigue sin estar claro si la notificación ocurrió antes o después del incidente. Sus escritos, obtenidos por CNN, incluían retórica anti-Trump.
Según funcionarios actuales y anteriores de las fuerzas del orden con experiencia en este tipo de eventos, el equipo de seguridad del presidente Donald Trump parece haber respondido conforme al entrenamiento, cubriéndolo de inmediato, mientras agentes armados adicionales tomaban posiciones con vista a la sala para impedir que cualquier amenaza se acercara al presidente.
El incidente del sábado se produce después de dos intentos de magnicidio previos contra Trump: uno en Butler, Pensilvania, en julio de 2024, y otro dos meses después en un campo de golf en West Palm Beach, Florida.
Aunque algunos críticos han planteado preguntas sobre que el vicepresidente J. D. Vance fuera retirado del estrado antes que el presidente, la secuencia parece ajustarse a los procedimientos del Servicio Secreto, que incluyen medidas que pueden no ser visibles.
Un video del hotel Washington Hilton, donde se celebra la cena anual, mostró al presunto atacante pasando a toda prisa junto a un grupo de agentes del Servicio Secreto que parecían estar en una postura relajada mientras el evento ya estaba en marcha un piso más abajo.
Según funcionarios de las fuerzas del orden, llevaba una escopeta, una pistola y cuchillos, y logró desplazarse rápidamente hasta un vestíbulo un piso por encima de donde el presidente se encontraba en el enorme salón de baile, con capacidad para 2.600 personas.
“No creo que haya sido un fallo de seguridad”, dijo Jonathan Wackrow, exagente del Servicio Secreto y analista de CNN que ha colaborado en los preparativos de la cena anual. “Siempre hay cosas que se pueden aprender. No vamos a lograr un entorno de riesgo cero”.
Otro funcionario federal de las fuerzas del orden expresó algunas preocupaciones por imágenes de video de vigilancia que parecen mostrar a los agentes del Servicio Secreto relajados y tomados por sorpresa mientras el hombre corre por un área donde se habían instalado máquinas de magnetómetro para revisar a los invitados antes de que entraran al salón de baile.
“Eso no debería haber ocurrido así; deberían haberlo detenido antes de que llegara al área del vestíbulo”, dijo el funcionario federal de las fuerzas del orden.
El Servicio Secreto realiza de forma rutinaria una revisión después de incidentes como este, dijo Wackrow, y material adicional de vigilancia mostrará un panorama más completo que podría conducir a cambios.
Ya ha habido conversaciones dentro de la administración y del Servicio Secreto sobre cómo manejar la seguridad en estos eventos en el futuro, dijeron a CNN múltiples fu
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- Military spending surges in Europe and Asia, pushing world to levels not seen in 16 years, report says
Military spending surges in Europe and Asia, pushing world to levels not seen in 16 years, report says
By Brad Lendon, CNN
(CNN) — Global military spending surged by almost 3% in 2025, fueled largely by ballooning defense expenditures in Europe and Asia, according to a report released Monday by a respected arms watchdog group.
European defense spending jumped 14% from 2024, to $864 billion, and in Asia-Oceania the increase was 8.1%, to $681 billion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its annual “Trends in World Military Expenditure” report.
Overall, almost $2.9 trillion was spent on military programs around the world in 2025, a 2.9% increase from a year earlier. The figure represents 2.5% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), the highest percentage since 2009, according to SIPRI.
The US, China, Russia, Germany and India were the biggest spenders, collectively accounting for 58% of the global sum.
While the report notes that the year-on-year increase in total spend is a drop from the 9.7% increase recorded in 2024, it says that was largely due to the United States approving no new spending to help arm Ukraine in 2025. SIPRI counts foreign military assistance on the accounts of the donor country.
When the US is taken out of the statistics, global spending on defense rose 9.2% in 2025, the report says.
Still, the US remains the world’s No. 1 spender on the military – $954 billion in 2025 – followed by China, an estimated $336 billion, and Russia with an estimated $190 billion.
But it was US allies around the world that led the spending increase, revealing some generational changes.
“In 2025 military spending by European NATO members rose faster than at any time since 1953, reflecting the ongoing pursuit of European self-reliance alongside increasing pressure from the United States to strengthen burden sharing within the alliance,” Jade Guiberteau Ricard, a researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said in a statement.
NATO countries with big increases include Belgium (59%), Spain (50%), Norway (49%), Denmark (46%), Germany (24%), Poland (23%) and Canada (23%).
Germany’s total military spending of $114 billion ranks it No. 4 worldwide.
In Asia, Japan increased military spending by 9.7% to $62.2 billion, the report said. As a portion of Japan’s GDP, the 1.4% spent on defense was the highest for the country since 1958, the report said.
“US allies in Asia and Oceania such as Australia, Japan and the Philippines are spending more on their militaries, not only due to long-standing regional tensions but also due to growing uncertainty over US support,” SIPRI senior researcher Diego Lopes da Silva said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan, the democratic, self-ruled island that the Chinese Communist Party claims as part of its territory despite never having controlled it, increased its military expenditures by 14.2% to $18.2 billion (2.1% of GDP), its biggest jump since at least 1988, according to the SIPRI.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is legally required to provide the island with the means to defend itself, and it supplies Taipei with defensive weaponry.
China’s defense spending increased 7.4% – the largest year-on-year jump in the past decade and the 31st year in a row it has gone up – as Beijing moves to meet a 2035 goal to modernize its forces, the report said.
As a percentage of GDP, Ukraine is the world’s biggest military spender, at an estimated 40%. Kyiv is in its fourth year fighting against a Russian invasion. Ukraine ranks No. 7 globally.
Russia devoted 7.5% of its GDP to the militar
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- Santa Barbara Fair & Expo wraps up first weekend
Santa Barbara Fair & Expo wraps up first weekend
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara Fair & Expo wrapped up its first of two long weekends.
Some fairgoers enjoy seeing the rides light up at night.
The Ferris Wheel and the Turbo can be seen from the 101 Freeway.
There are a many rides to choose from that light up the Earl Warren Showgrounds.
There is also an area with rides just for youngsters.
The fair opens again at 4 p.m. Friday, May 1, and runs through Sunday, May 3.
Carnival workers said they get to enjoy Santa Barbara during their midweek break.
For more information visit https://earlwarren.com
The post Santa Barbara Fair & Expo wraps up first weekend appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
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- Un brote de tormentas severas de varios días se intensifica hacia un peligroso punto máximo este lunes
Un brote de tormentas severas de varios días se intensifica hacia un peligroso punto máximo este lunes
Por Briana Waxman, meteoróloga de CNN
Partes del Medio Oeste de Estados Unidos, incluida gran parte de Illinois, podrían enfrentar este lunes la amenaza de tornados violentos, de categoría EF3 o superior, mientras un brote de tiempo severo de varios días entra en lo que podría ser su fase más peligrosa hasta ahora.
Vientos dañinos generalizados, granizo grande y tornados también amenazan a casi 40 millones de personas en una zona más amplia que se extiende desde el valle del Mississippi hasta el valle bajo del río Ohio este lunes.
La amenaza llega después de días de tiempo severo que ya han trazado un camino destructivo por partes de las llanuras y el sur, con más de 50 reportes de tornados desde el jueves. Entre ellos se incluyen un tornado violento, con una calificación preliminar de EF-4, en Enid, Oklahoma; tornados mortales en el norte de Texas; y múltiples advertencias de tornado de “Situación Particularmente Peligrosa” el domingo por la noche.
Este lunes está vigente un riesgo de nivel 3 de 5 por tormentas eléctricas severas desde partes del valle medio del Mississippi hasta el valle bajo del río Ohio, incluyendo casi todo Illinois y zonas de Missouri, el oeste de Indiana, el oeste de Kentucky y el noroeste de Tennessee.
Algunas de estas mismas áreas ya han sido golpeadas por tormentas severas en los últimos días. Elste lunes podría traer una primera ronda de superceldas seguida de una segunda ronda que podría organizarse en una línea de turbonada más tarde en el día.
Las superceldas de este lunes podrían ser capaces de producir algunos tornados potencialmente violentos, de categoría EF-3 o superior, y granizo de hasta el tamaño de una pelota de béisbol o más grande. A medida que las tormentas evolucionen durante la noche, la línea podría generar vientos dañinos generalizados, aunque las circulaciones incrustadas podrían seguir representando un riesgo de tornados.
El corredor desde el centro y sur de Missouri hasta el centro de Illinois podría ofrecer el entorno más favorable para las tormentas más fuertes, aunque la ubicación precisa del mayor potencial de tornados podría depender en parte de cómo las tormentas eléctricas matutinas modifiquen la atmósfera antes de la ronda de la tarde.
El sistema severo se desplaza hacia el este este martes, con un riesgo algo menor, pero aún significativo, de nivel 2 de 5 por tormentas eléctricas severas desde las llanuras del sur, pasando por el Mid-South, hasta el valle bajo del río Ohio.
Un tornado violento arrasó Enid, Oklahoma, la noche del jueves, lo que provocó una rara emergencia por tornado y causó daños de categoría EF-4 en partes de la ciudad, con algunas zonas arrasadas.
El tornado de Enid, con vientos estimados entre 273 km/h y 281 km/h, fue el más fuerte en Estados Unidos desde junio de 2025. Al menos 10 personas resultaron heridas y unas 40 viviendas sufrieron daños, aunque las autoridades dijeron que no se reportaron muertes.
Tornados mortales golpearon el norte de Texas el sábado, incluido un tornado de categoría EF-2 cerca de Runaway Bay, a unos 128 km al noroeste de Dallas. Al menos dos personas murieron y viviendas e infraestructura resultaron dañadas, lo que desplazó a decenas de residentes y aumentó el saldo del brote de tiempo severo de varios días.
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Con información de los meteorólogos Mary Gilb
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| 28- SBART Press Luncheon: Santa Barbara County Championships Bring the Best Out of Track and Field Athletes
- French teen faces two years in prison for licking vending machine straw in Singapore
French teen faces two years in prison for licking vending machine straw in Singapore
By Jessie Yeung and Satish Cheney, CNN
(CNN) — A French teenager is facing up to two years in a Singapore prison after he allegedly licked a straw in an orange juice vending machine – then placed it back in the dispenser.
Singapore, a small, highly-developed and wealthy financial hub in Southeast Asia, is well-known for its strict laws.
The incident took place on March 12 at a shopping center, according to Singapore police. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, was charged with two offenses for the alleged crime.
The first – a public nuisance offense – is punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 2,000 Singapore dollars (about $1,570). The second offense of mischief carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.
The teenager allegedly filmed himself committing the offense and posted it on social media, which quickly went viral and prompted authorities to investigate, according to local media reports.
IJOOZ, the company that operates the vending machines, reportedly had to replace all 500 straws in the machine he used, according to local media.
The teenager is a student at the Singapore branch of the Essec Business School, a French institution with several international campuses. The school confirmed his attendance there, and said it had provided support to the student and are in close contact with his family – but declined to comment further, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
CNN has reached out to IJOOZ, as well his lawyers for comment.
He was offered bail at 5,000 Singapore dollars (about $3,920), according to the Singapore judiciary site. His next court date is on May 22.
It’s not the first time a foreign teenager has fallen afoul of Singapore’s strict laws.
One of the most high-profile cases happened in 1993, when American Michael Fay was arrested for possession of stolen items and vandalizing several cars by spray painting them.
Fay was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane, which was reduced to four strokes after the case caused an international furor and intervention from then-US President Bill Clinton.
Singapore carried out the caning despite strong pressure from Washington, maintaining that it was important to uphold its own laws, even for foreign nationals – briefly straining the US-Singapore relationship.
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- King Charles set to emphasize the US and UK’s shared history in address to Congress
King Charles set to emphasize the US and UK’s shared history in address to Congress
By Issy Ronald, Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN
Washington, DC (CNN) — Britain’s King Charles III will emphasize the long history and democratic values his country shares with the United States in an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, delivered while relations between the two nations are at an unusually low ebb.
He will start his speech, which is expected to last around 20 minutes, by expressing solidarity and talk about how the US and United Kingdom stand shoulder-to-shoulder. He will say that he brings “the highest regard and friendship of the British people to the people of the United States” as the nation marks its 250th anniversary of independence, and is expected to reference Saturday’s shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Charles must strike a delicate balance on this state visit. British monarchs are constitutionally bound to remain above politics, able only to represent the UK rather than speak for its government. At the same time, his presence projects a soft power the British government is attempting to harness – Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper attended Monday’s garden party, where she told CNN the king’s visit was crucial for “people-to-people links” between the two nations.
Trump’s affection for the glitz and glamor of royalty has made the British monarchy a valuable asset for the UK government as it seeks to maintain the nations’ strong bond.
Events like Monday’s garden party, where Charles and Queen Camilla mingled with various guests, and the royals’ private tea with Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the White House provided a classic display of such pageantry. Before addressing Congress, Charles will have a private meeting with the president too.
The address will include remarks that will be viewed as an acknowledgement of the recent tensions between the two countries, following a period during which Trump has repeatedly attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government for not offering their complete support for the US offensive against Iran.
Despite acknowledging this, Charles will focus on the common ties between the old allies, saying that the foundations of their “democratic, legal and social traditions” – stretching all the way back to Magna Carta – mean that “time and again, our two countries have always found ways to come together.”
He will speak of the military alliance between the two nations, noting that it is “measured not in years but in decades.”
There will be a personal touch in the speech too. Charles will discuss his own faith and his belief that in the hearts of the two nations lies “a generosity of spirit and a duty to foster compassion, to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding and to value people of all faiths and none.”
And he will conclude by explicitly stating the overarching message of his visit, emphasizing that the two countries’ shared history is one of “reconciliation and renewal,” which has engendered “one of the greatest alliances in human history.”
On Tuesday evening, there will be a State Dinner, featuring toasts from both Charles and Trump.
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- King Charles set to emphasize the US and UK’s shared history in address to Congress
King Charles set to emphasize the US and UK’s shared history in address to Congress
CNN, POOL
By Issy Ronald, Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN
Washington, DC (CNN) — Britain’s King Charles III will emphasize the long history and democratic values his country shares with the United States in an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, delivered while relations between the two nations are at an unusually low ebb.
He will start his speech, which is expected to last around 20 minutes, by expressing solidarity and talk about how the US and United Kingdom stand shoulder-to-shoulder. He will say that he brings “the highest regard and friendship of the British people to the people of the United States” as the nation marks its 250th anniversary of independence, and is expected to reference Saturday’s shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Charles must strike a delicate balance on this state visit. British monarchs are constitutionally bound to remain above politics, able only to represent the UK rather than speak for its government. At the same time, his presence projects a soft power the British government is attempting to harness – Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper attended Monday’s garden party, where she told CNN the king’s visit was crucial for “people-to-people links” between the two nations.
Trump’s affection for the glitz and glamor of royalty has made the British monarchy a valuable asset for the UK government as it seeks to maintain the nations’ strong bond.
Events like Monday’s garden party, where Charles and Queen Camilla mingled with various guests, and the royals’ private tea with Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the White House provided a classic display of such pageantry. Before addressing Congress, Charles will have a private meeting with the president too.
The address will include remarks that will be viewed as an acknowledgement of the recent tensions between the two countries, following a period during which Trump has repeatedly attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government for not offering their complete support for the US offensive against Iran.
Despite acknowledging this, Charles will focus on the common ties between the old allies, saying that the foundations of their “democratic, legal and social traditions” – stretching all the way back to Magna Carta – mean that “time and again, our two countries have always found ways to come together.”
He will speak of the military alliance between the two nations, noting that it is “measured not in years but in decades.”
There will be a personal touch in the speech too. Charles will discuss his own faith and his belief that in the hearts of the two nations lies “a generosity of spirit and a duty to foster compassion, to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding and to value people of all faiths and none.”
And he will conclude by explicitly stating the overarching message of his visit, emphasizing that the two countries’ shared history is one of “reconciliation and renewal,” which has engendered “one of the greatest alliances in human history.”
On Tuesday evening, there will be a State Dinner, featuring
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| 29- #1 UCLA gets payback after pounding UCSB in front of sellout crowd
#1 UCLA gets payback after pounding UCSB in front of sellout crowd
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The Bruins wasted no time in getting their revenge.
Two batters into the game it was 2-0 after UCLA superstar Roch Cholowsky launched a 2-run towering home run to left off of Van Froling who did not survive the first inning.
The top-ranked Bruins sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring 5 first-inning runs as they spanked UCSB 15-3 in a game shortened to seven innings due to the run-rule.
Earlier in the month UCSB went to Los Angeles and stunned the #1 Bruins 4-0 ending their 27-game winning streak.
Phoenix Call finished off the scoring in the first with a 2-run, 2-out bases loaded double that ended Froling's night as well.
San Marcos alum Chase Hoover restored some order by pitching 2.1 innings allowing just one run and the Gauchos trailed 6-0 after four innings.
But the Bruins erupted for 6 more runs in the fifth inning highlighted by a Payton Brennan home run and an RBI single by Cholowsky who drove in 3 runs in the game and scored 3 times as well.
Noah Karliner was the lone bright spot in the Gauchos lineup as he hit two home runs from the #9 spot, a solo home run in the fifth and a 2-run blast in the 7th inning.
(Despite Karliner's 2nd home run of the game, the Gauchos were run-ruled by UCLA. Entenza Design).
UCSB is now 27-15 while UCLA improves to a sensational 40-4 on the season.
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- Cal Poly is double-trouble in shutout win over Santa Clara
Cal Poly is double-trouble in shutout win over Santa Clara
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - A quartet of pitchers combined on Cal Poly's second shutout of the season and Nate Castellon smashed a solo home run as part of his ninth three-hit game as the Mustangs blanked Santa Clara 7-0 on Tuesday afternoon inside Baggett Stadium.
Sean McGrath pitched five scoreless innings and matched his season high with six strikeouts while Chris Downs, Arlo Pendleton and Luke Kalfsbeek finished the shutout, combining for six more strikeouts, for Cal Poly, which won its fourth straight game and improved its overall mark to 25-18.
Playing its final midweek home game of 2026, Cal Poly amassed 12 hits, reaching double figures for the 10th time in its last 11 contests, and broke open a 1-0 game with five runs on four doubles and a pair of run-scoring singles in the fifth inning.
Held to four singles and striking out a dozen times, Santa Clara fell to 16-27. The Broncos had beaten the Mustangs 10 times in the last 13 meetings between the two teams.
McGrath, who earlier this month earned victories against San Jose State and Pepperdine, both at home, lowered his ERA from 7.11 to 5.93, evened his win-loss record at 3-3 and struck out six for the third time this month. The freshman right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA in the month of April.
Downs struck out four Broncos over two innings, Pendleton added a pair of strikeouts in his inning of work on the mound and Kalfsbeek allowed a leadoff walk but nothing else in the ninth inning for Cal Poly, which blanked Washington State 9-0 in its home opener Feb. 20.
Offensively, five Mustangs produced two or more hits, led by Castellon. The sophomore shortstop now has 17 multiple-hit games this season as he added two singles and his fourth home run of the season to his ledger, lifting his average for the year to .351.
Right fielder Dylan Kordic contributed a pair of RBI singles while third baseman Alejandro Garza and catcher Ryan Tayman both had two hits and one RBI. Left fielder Dante Vachini singled and doubled, scoring once.
Garza's single and double for his 21st multiple-hit game of the year raised his career hit total to 234, leaving him 18 shy of the school's career hits record. He has lifted his average 93 points to .360 since mid-March.
Hitting .167 in late March, Kordic has gone 20-for-51 (.392) in his last 17 games with five home runs and 20 RBIs, and currently sports a .290 mark at the plate.
A scoreless tie was broken up in the fourth inning as Tayman doubled and Kordic drove in the run with an RBI single to right-center field.
Cal Poly put up a five-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth. Vachini doubled to start the rally, coming home on Castellon's RBI single. Garza, Jake Downing and Tayman all doubled to drive in runs and Kordic capped the uprising with a run-scoring single to right field.
Final tally of the game was provided by Castellon with his two-out solo home run to left field, his fourth of the year and seventh of his Mustang career.
Santa Clara used five pitchers in the game. Andrew Habermann (0-2), the first reliever out of the bullpen for the Broncos, suffered the loss, allowing five runs and eight hits over 2 1/3 innings.
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- Channel League Baseball: Dons edge Royals in 8 innings, DP pulls into first place tie
- Simone Biles has left the door open to competing at 2028 Olympics. One key factor could determine if it happens
Simone Biles has left the door open to competing at 2028 Olympics. One key factor could determine if it happens
By Aleks Klosok, Amanda Davies, CNN
Madrid, Spain (CNN) — 50-50. With just over two years to go, a coinflip is the chance Simone Biles has put on competing at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The most decorated gymnast of all-time has previously stated she’ll be at the Games in “some capacity.”
Now in an interview with CNN Sports, Biles has offered a glimmer of hope to millions of fans around the world hoping to see her take to the floor for one last dance.
“I feel like we’re still at a 50-50 and that we’re still on a time crunch here now it’s almost half of 2026,” the 29-year-old says speaking at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.
“We’re going to have to make these decisions pretty quickly.”
The 11-time Olympic medalist is currently taking a break from the sport to, as she puts it, allow her body to recover. She hopes to begin doing some Pilates and yoga soon but stresses “that’s as far as I got right now.”
What then is the key consideration for Biles as she weighs up a potential fourth appearance at the summer Games?
“Mental health plays a big role in it because, physically, my coaches will get me in shape,” she explains.
“I can get myself in shape. We believe in that ability. We’re really thankful that I’m still healthy.
“Mental is a huge thing and it’s a lot of dedication on that because the road’s not easy. It’s long, but it’s still work.”
Realness and rawness
Biles has openly and honestly shared her struggles with mental health since taking time away from gymnastics following the tumult of the Tokyo Olympics.
There, a mental block known as “the twisties” forced her to withdraw from multiple events, including the women’s team final.
It’s a moment she reflects on as being “pivotal” – not only for her, but the wider conversation both within sports and everyday life.
“I feel like it showed the realness to me because everyone thought I was a robot, she’s not real, but it’s like, down to the core, I’m just like you guys. I’m real,” she says candidly.
“It got me the therapy that I deserved, and I’m still currently in therapy.
“I had a lot of help and my core group was really helpful in letting me know that it’s OK people go through this and you’re just human.
“Gymnasts aren’t viewed as people who have weaknesses, and that was the first time that weakness was displayed on a global stage like that.
“Now, I look at it as being courageous and not so much a weakness.”
Supporting Malinin, Vonn
Just as Biles has her support network, she’s been keen to reciprocate that for her fellow US Olympians.
Following the end of the Paris Games and the conclusion of her US tour Gold Over America, she has enjoyed time away from the sport.
Biles, however, was an avid spectator at the recent Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
She watched on as figure skater Ilia Malinin experienced his own version of the “twisties.”
The “Quad God” was the clear favorite for the gold medal in the men’s individual competition only to see those dreams dashed, falling twice and failing to perform his trademark quadruple axel durin
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| 30- Kim Jong Un praises soldier suicides, signals deepening role in Russia’s war
Kim Jong Un praises soldier suicides, signals deepening role in Russia’s war
By Will Ripley, CNN
(CNN) — At the unveiling of a towering bronze sculpture of North Korean and Russian soldiers in combat, Kim Jong Un praised troops who chose death over capture while fighting in Ukraine. It was a striking and unusually explicit acknowledgment of Pyongyang’s long-suspected battlefield doctrine.
According to a transcript published by North Korean state media KCNA, Kim declared that those who “unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting” and suicide attacks had shown the highest form of loyalty, a reference to soldiers throwing themselves on grenades or detonating explosives rather than risk being taken prisoner.
Kim made the remarks at the opening of a vast new memorial complex on the outskirts of the capital, walking past rows of freshly laid graves before kneeling to place soil into an open burial site. Inside, bronze statuary and black marble walls etched with names surround displays of soldiers’ remains, personal relics and captured military equipment. The site, part cemetery and part museum, is the centerpiece of a broader campaign to frame the deaths of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s war on its neighbor as acts of heroism and patriotic sacrifice.
For months, North Korean state media has offered vivid and often graphic accounts of how those soldiers died. Previous reporting has described troops detonating grenades as they were surrounded, shouting for comrades to stay back before triggering the blast, or killing themselves after being wounded to avoid capture. In one account, soldiers embraced each other before setting off explosives.
For years, intelligence agencies, Ukrainian officials and defectors have reported that North Korean soldiers were expected to take their own lives rather than be captured. Pyongyang never confirmed it. Now the doctrine is being endorsed at the highest level, in public, at a site built to honor the war dead.
The memorial offers one of the clearest indications yet of the scale of North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war. Analysis by NK News found that two black marble walls inside the complex list 2,288 names of soldiers believed to have died in combat, alongside 271 graves and more than 1,700 columbarium compartments for cremated remains. The complex has expanded walls and empty space for future graves, suggesting this is not a closed chapter.
South Korean and Western officials estimate more than 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, with thousands killed or wounded, losses North Korea has not admitted shown so openly until now.
Unveiled on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s declaration of victory in Kursk, with senior Moscow officials in attendance and a message from President Vladimir Putin read aloud, the complex also displays captured military equipment, including what appear to be German Leopard tanks, American Abrams tanks and other NATO-origin systems, though analysts question whether North Korean forces obtained them directly.
A small number of North Korean soldiers are known to have been
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- San Marcos celebrates 11 more student-athletes going to the next level
San Marcos celebrates 11 more student-athletes going to the next level
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Eleven student-athletes were recognized by San Marcos High School in a ceremony at the gym. Each person announced the four-year college in which they will continue their academic and athletic journey.
Brynn Behrens Sailing Tulane
Carly Grant Lacrosse Whitworth University
Charlotte Hastings Volleyball Seattle Pacific University
Koji Hefner Basketball Claremont McKenna
Gianna Hernandez Stunt Cheer Westmont
Sofi Hernandez Track Westmont
Monique Jimenez Stunt Cheer Westmont
Jeannie Johnson Beach Volleyball The Master's
Jack Kramer Water Polo Chapman
Logan Patterson Deakyne Track Cal Poly Humboldt
Samara Shalhoub Track Point Loma
Last fall the Royals had twelve student-athletes sign so San Marcos has a total of 23 commit to four-year colleges during the 2025-'26 school year.
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- CIF-SS Boys Volleyball first round playoffs: San Marcos loses: SB, DP, BD all win
CIF-SS Boys Volleyball first round playoffs: San Marcos loses: SB, DP, BD all win
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -
CIF-SS Division 1 First Round: Santa Margarita 3, San Marcos 0: Matteo Burdick led the Royals with 12 kills but the visiting Eagles sweep (25-19, 25-21, 25-20).
(Despite a size difference, Burdick still delivered double-digit kills and 3 aces for the Royals. Entenza Design).
The Royals end their sensational regular season at 24-3. San Marcos loses just one senior Koji Hefner who finished with 5 kills.
CIF-SS Division 2 First Round: Camarillo 3, Canyon/Anaheim 0: Camarillo at Yorba Linda in quarterfinals on May 5.
CIF-SS Division 3 First Round: Santa Barbara 3, Diamond Rancho 1: Jasper Bell and Kristian Dybdahl each had 13 kills to lead the Dons into the second round where they will play at Servite on Friday. Maddox Denver stuffed the stat sheet for Santa Barbara with 31 assists, 8 digs and 6 kills.
CIF-SS Division 5 First Round: Dos Pueblos 3, Aquinas 2: The Chargers will play at Hemet in the second round.
CIF-SS Division 5 First Round: Bishop Diego 3, Rio Hondo Prep 0: John Michael Flint and Damien Krautmann each had 21 kills to lead the Cardinals to their first playoff victory since 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmvO6FCHo7I
(The visiting Kares were overpowered by Krautmann and company. Entenza Design).
Bishop Diego will remain home in the second round on Friday against La Quinta/Westminster.
CIF-SS Division 5 First Round: Ventura 3, Vista Del Lago: 0: Ventura at Flintridge Prep on Friday.
CIF-SS Division 6 First Round: Capo Valley Christian 3, Carpinteria 1
CIF-SS Division 7 First Round: Foothill Tech 3, Anaheim 0: Foothill Tech hosts Bell Gardens on Friday.
CIF-SS Division 7 First Round: Godinez 3, Providence (SB) 2
CIF-SS Division 8 First Round: Laguna Blanca 3, Lynwood 0: Owls hosts West Valley on Thursda
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- La estimación del Pentágono de US$ 25.000 millones de la guerra con Irán es baja y no incluye otros costos, según fuentes
La estimación del Pentágono de US$ 25.000 millones de la guerra con Irán es baja y no incluye otros costos, según fuentes
Por Natasha Bertrand y Zachary Cohen, CNN
La estimación de US$ 25.000 millones que un alto funcionario del Pentágono presentó el miércoles a los legisladores sobre el coste total hasta la fecha de la guerra con Irán es una cifra muy baja que no incluye el coste de reparar los extensos daños sufridos por las bases estadounidenses en la región, informaron a CNN tres personas familiarizadas con el asunto.
Una de las fuentes indicó que el costo real estimado se acerca más a los US$ 40.000 o US$ 50.000 millones si se tienen en cuenta los costos de reconstrucción de las instalaciones militares estadounidenses y la sustitución de los bienes destruidos.
Según ha informado CNN, los ataques iraníes en el golfo Pérsico durante los primeros días de la guerra dañaron significativamente al menos nueve instalaciones militares estadounidenses en tan solo 48 horas, alcanzando emplazamientos en Bahrein, Kuwait, Iraq, los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Qatar.
Varios sistemas de radar estadounidenses críticos y otros equipos en Medio Oriente también fueron destruidos por ataques iraníes, incluido el sistema de radar de una batería de misiles THAAD estadounidense en Jordania y edificios que albergaban sistemas de radar similares en dos ubicaciones de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, también divulgó CNN.
Un avión E-3 Sentry de la Fuerza Aérea de EE.UU. también fue destruido en un ataque iraní contra una base aérea en Arabia Saudí.
Jules “Jay” Hurst III, el funcionario del Pentágono que actualmente se desempeña como contralor de la agencia, declaró el miércoles ante la Comisión de Servicios Armados de la Cámara de Representantes que “la mayor parte” de los US$ 25.000 millones que mencionó se han gastado en municiones.
El secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, se negó a decir si esa cifra incluía la reparación de los daños a las bases estadounidenses.
CNN ha solicitado comentarios al Pentágono.
El representante demócrata Ro Khanna se mostró escéptico ante la estimación de US$ 25.000 millones, calificándola de “totalmente errónea” durante la audiencia del miércoles.
Funcionarios del Pentágono habían informado previamente al Congreso que la guerra costó aproximadamente US$ 11.000 millones solo en los primeros seis días, y el departamento solicitó a la Casa Blanca el mes pasado que aprobara una petición al Congreso de más de US$ 200.000 millones en fondos militares adicionales para la guerra en curso, informó CNN.
Trump habla de mantener el bloqueo de los puertos iraníes durante meses.
Durante las reuniones informativas sobre el presupuesto con los periodistas la semana pasada, Hurst declaró que el Pentágono no tiene “una cifra definitiva sobre los daños sufridos por nuestras instalaciones en el extranjero” y que depende “de cómo decidamos reconstruirlas, o si lo hacemos”.
Señaló que el precio de reparar esas instalaciones “no se refleja” en la solicitud presupuestaria del Pentágono de US$ 1,5 billones para el año fiscal 2027, en parte porque el departamento todavía está evaluando “qué queremos construir en el futuro”.
“Nuestros socios también podrían aportar una parte para esa construcción”, indicó Hurst. “Así que no tenemos una estimación precisa de lo que costaría reconstruir esas instalaciones”.
Según informaron funcionarios la semana pasada, el presupuesto solicitado de US$ 1,5 billones para 2027 supondría un aumento del 42 % en la financiación del De
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| 1- San Marcos wins girls Channel League swim title, DP take boys crown behind blazing fast Carnaghe
San Marcos wins girls Channel League swim title, DP take boys crown behind blazing fast Carnaghe
GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) - San Marcos High School captured the Channel League girls swim championship and the overall combined title while Dos Pueblos claimed the boys crown.
The Royals girls piled up the points in this eight-school league meet by winning a couple of freestyle relays while freshman Nya Cable won the 100 butterfly (1:00.21) and senior Bethany King finishing first in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.89).
The San Marcos girls totaled 572 points while second place Dos Pueblos had 466 points.
DP got a double win from Riley Moore who touched first in the 100 backstroke (59.32) and 200 IM (2:14.40).
Santa Barbara sophomore Jules Horton is a double Channel League champion winning the 200 freestyle (1:55.12) and the 500 freestyle (5:06.81).
Pacifica senior and UCSB-commit Abigail Tamayo won the 50 freestyle (23.59) and the 100 freestyle (52.07).
As for the boys DP senior Eli Carnaghe set a Chargers program and a meet record by winning the 50 freestyle at 20.61 seconds.
(Carnaghe celebrates after record-setting 50 freestyle race).
The University of Santa Cruz-commit Carnaghe later won the 100 freestyle (46.29).
Grant Nelson of Dos Pueblos won the 100 backstroke title (55.92).
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- La mayor democracia del mundo ha depurado los censos electorales y ha dejado a muchos sin derecho a voto
La mayor democracia del mundo ha depurado los censos electorales y ha dejado a muchos sin derecho a voto
Por Esha Mitra, CNN
Sadre Alam luchó por la India. El abuelo de Suprabuddha Sen ilustró su primera Constitución. Durante décadas, ambos ejercieron su derecho al voto, consagrado en ese documento, en la democracia más grande del mundo.
Días antes de que se abrieran las urnas en las cruciales elecciones estatales de abril, descubrieron que les habían arrebatado su derecho. No recibieron prácticamente ninguna explicación.
Alam, de 62 años, abre una gruesa carpeta granate que contiene los aproximadamente 30 documentos que, según él, llevó a las autoridades locales para intentar convencerlas de su derecho al voto: las escrituras de propiedad de su abuelo de la década de 1920, pruebas de que sus padres habían votado décadas atrás, su certificado de baja del ejército. Sin éxito.
“Me resulta extraño pensar que mi país ya no me pertenece”, declaró el exsoldado a CNN desde su casa en el estado de Bengala Occidental, donde se están contando los votos de las elecciones de las que fue excluido. “Ese es mi dolor. Todos me preguntan: ‘¿Cómo es posible que tu nombre haya sido excluido a pesar de haber pertenecido al ejército?’”.
Alam y Suprabuddha figuran entre los más de nueve millones de nombres eliminados del censo electoral de Bengala Occidental.
Millones más fueron borrados en todo el país justo antes de una serie de elecciones estatales en la India que decidirán si el gobernante Partido Bharatiya Janata (BJP), de corte nacionalista hindú, puede lograr avances en las legislaturas estatales del sur y el este del país, donde tradicionalmente ha tenido dificultades para acceder al poder.
El BJP afirma que la depuración del censo electoral es vital para eliminar duplicados, nombres de personas fallecidas y otras irregularidades, y para preservar la integridad de la democracia india.
Los críticos sostienen que la Comisión Electoral de la India (ECI), que debería ser un organismo independiente, actúa a instancias del BJP para impulsar su agenda mayoritaria y debilitar la representación de la minoría musulmana del país.
Eso ha hecho que la controversia sobre el censo electoral sea particularmente explosiva en Bengala Occidental, donde casi un tercio de los 90 millones de habitantes son musulmanes y donde el BJP ha estado ganando terreno en los últimos años.
Días antes de que abrieran las urnas, le comunicaron a Alam que su nombre ya no figuraba en el censo electoral porque los funcionarios habían encontrado una “discrepancia lógica” en la diferencia de edad de 15 años entre su madre y él en los registros.
La insinuación de que exista una discrepancia es un insulto, afirma el exsoldado, que sirvió en la breve guerra de la India contra su vecino y archirrival Pakistán en 1999.
“A principios de 1963, mi abuelo casó a su hija de catorce años, y yo nací en diciembre de ese mismo año”, comentó.
“¿Dónde está mi culpa en todo esto? ¿Acaso hay alguna duda de que no soy hijo de mi madre? ¿Acaso me trajeron de algún sitio?”
A Suprabuddha Sen, de 88 años, ni siquiera le explicaron por qué había perdido el derecho al voto que había ostentado durante décadas.
Le dolió aún más dadas sus conexiones personales con la fundación del sistema democrático de la India tras la independencia del dominio colonial británico en 1947.
Las ilustraciones de su abuelo sobre la historia y la cultura de la India adornan la Constitución india. El emblemático emblema de los cuatro leones que es el membrete oficial del Gobierno y que se encuentra en la portada de cada pasaporte indio fue diseñado por uno de sus alumnos bajo su supervisión.
“No recuerdo una época en la que no hayamos votado”, declaró su esposa Deepa Sen, quien también fue eliminada del padrón electoral sin explicación alguna.
Suprabuddha declaró a CNN que había presentado sus documentos de graduación, los documentos de su pensión gubernamental e inclus
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- Fury over young girl’s killing sparks vigilante justice and violent clashes with police in Australia
Fury over young girl’s killing sparks vigilante justice and violent clashes with police in Australia
By Angus Watson, CNN
Sydney (CNN) — Violent crowds clashed with police outside a hospital in a remote Australian outback town Thursday night as they demanded authorities hand over an accused child-killer.
Dramatic footage showed police officers dodging rocks and sticks while rioters smashed police cars and set a police van on fire. Officers can be seen shooting rounds of tear gas at the crowd, with some smoking canisters picked up and thrown back.
“Absolute anarchy” was how Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole described the scene in Alice Springs, considered the gateway to the Uluru, formerly Ayers Rock, in the desert heart of of the country.
Jefferson Lewis, 47, was arrested Thursday for the alleged murder of a five-year-old girl now known as Kumanjayi Little Baby, a pseudonym given by her family as a cultural measure among their Indigenous Warlpiri people to avoid the utterance of a deceased person’s name during a mourning period.
Lewis had been the subject of an intense manhunt in central Australia since Sunday night, after he was seen holding hands with the child in the hours before she was reported missing.
After a four days search that saw close cooperation between the Indigenous community and local police, the girl’s body was found by the edge of a river some five kilometres from where she was last seen.
It wasn’t police who tracked down Lewis, but an angry crowd, who officers found beating the accused killer in an act of “vigilante justice.”
“At the time of his apprehension by us, he was unconscious and he was in the process of being treated by St John’s Ambulance when they were set upon, as were the police,” Commissioner Dole said.
Lewis received “quite a severe beating” Dole said, before being taken to Alice Springs Hospital where a crowd of hundreds arrived to demand the alleged killer be turned over to them.
Warlpiri elder and family spokesperson called for calm in the wake of the violence.
“What has happened this week is not our way,” senior Yapa (Warlpiri) elder Robin Granites said in a statement.
“This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family.”
Complex relationship
The relationship between Northern Territory (NT) Police and the Indigenous community is often tense. In 2025, a Coroner’s inquest found “clear evidence of entrenched systemic and structural racism within NT Police,” after Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker was shot by a police officer in 2019.
Speaking Friday, local Indigenous elder Michael Liddle said community solidarity in the face of the tragedy had been “undone” by the recent violence.
“I think bringing the word ‘payback’ into this scenario just fuels violence,” Liddle told journalists.
“There’s a system set up here, where there is a person in custody and the Western rules will deal with that person.”
Police said they intend to prosecute those involved.
“You will face the law just as Jefferson Lewis is facing the law,” Police Commissioner Dole said Friday.
Girls and women at risk
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered condolences to Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family, saying in a post on X Thursday, “No words can measure up to the immensity of the grief her family is going through. In their time of terrible loss, all Australians hold them in our hearts.”
Indigenous women and girls are more likely to be killed, raped or assaulted than non-Indigenous women, according to the findings of a federal senate inquiry into disappeared and murdered First Nations women.
The Albanese government responded to the 2024 report by acknowledging that “First Nations women and children experience disproportionately higher rates of hom
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- La decisión de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de EE.UU. desata frenética lucha por la manipulación de los distritos electorales
La decisión de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de EE.UU. desata frenética lucha por la manipulación de los distritos electorales
Por Tierney Sneed, Fredreka Schouten y John Fritze, CNN
Un día después de que la Corte Suprema de Justicia de EE.UU. debilitara aún más la Ley de Derechos Electorales, los estados gobernados por el Partido Republicano están considerando cambios para impulsar la manipulación de distritos electorales a expensas de los votantes de color, mientras que los grupos defensores de los derechos electorales intentan limitar el impacto del fallo en las elecciones de mitad de período de este año.
La Corte Suprema dio inicio a la polémica al anular un mapa de distritos electorales para el Congreso en Louisiana que incluía dos distritos de mayoría negra, en una opinión que dificultará significativamente impugnar los planes de redistribución de distritos por considerarlos discriminatorios en virtud de la Ley de Derechos Electorales.
Los líderes de la legislatura de Louisiana, controlada por los republicanos, anunciaron que se están preparando para rediseñar los distritos electorales del Congreso para las elecciones de mitad de mandato de noviembre, a pesar de que las papeletas para las primarias del 16 de mayo ya se han enviado por correo.
Los funcionarios republicanos indicaron que no contarán los votos de los candidatos a la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos en dichas primarias.
En Tennessee, altos cargos republicanos se enfrentaron a crecientes presiones públicas para convocar una sesión legislativa extraordinaria con el objetivo de destituir al único congresista demócrata del estado.
La presión de la derecha para la redistribución de distritos también está aumentando en otros estados, como Georgia, Carolina del Sur y Alabama.
Mientras tanto, un grupo de votantes negros que defendían el mapa congresional actual de Louisiana advirtió el jueves a la Corte Suprema contra permitir que el estado se apresure a emprender una redistribución de distritos precipitada basada en la decisión del tribunal.
“El gobernador ya ha indicado que tiene la intención de cancelar las elecciones primarias republicanas y demócratas en curso, en las que los votantes ya han emitido su voto y en las que los candidatos ya han invertido mucho dinero, tiempo y recursos”, declararon los votantes negros que defendían los mapas ante la Corte Suprema, citando órdenes anteriores de los magistrados que instaban a los tribunales a tener cuidado de no perturbar la planificación electoral con medidas de último minuto.
“Una medida tan drástica”, señalaron los votantes, “es innecesaria e injustificada”.
El gobernador republicano de Florida, Ron DeSantis, pudo utilizar el miércoles el fallo de la Corte Suprema para ayudar a que se aprobara un plan del Congreso en ese estado que busca convertir cuatro escaños demócratas en la Cámara de Representantes en republicanos, después de enfrentar recelo tanto por parte de la legislatura estatal como de la delegación del Congreso.
Una vez que la legislatura aprueba un nuevo plan de redistribución de distritos, “es el punto de partida, no la meta”, para los funcionarios que necesitan reelaborar apresuradamente sus planes para administrar las elecciones, dijo David Becker, un exabogado electoral del Departamento de Justicia que ahora asesora a funcionarios electorales.
Eso podría incluir verificar que millones de votantes estén correctamente registrados en sus nuevos distritos y reiniciar el proceso de calificación de candidatos.
La actual disputa surge después de que el presidente Donald Trump inyectara un enorme caos en este ciclo electoral al convencer a Texas de embarcarse en una ronda sin precedentes de redistribución de distritos a mitad de la década, una medida que inició una carrer
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| 2- NCAA Championship results: Cal Poly Beach Volleyball advances; UCSB tennis eliminated
NCAA Championship results: Cal Poly Beach Volleyball advances; UCSB tennis eliminated
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -
NCAA Championship Beach Volleyball First Round: Cal Poly 3, Grand Canyon 0
It was a strong start Friday for the Cal Poly beach volleyball team at the NCAA Championship, defeating No. 11 Grand Canyon 3-0 in the first round to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The No. 6 Mustangs had a battle with the No. 11 Lopes with three of the matches going to a third set. Cal Poly’ s No. 4 pair of Julia Westby and Elise Lenahan started things off strong with a 21-16, 21-14 win to put the Mustangs on the board first.
A short time later, Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep took care of business at the No. 1 spot, winning their match in straight sets, 21-12, 21-17 to put the Mustangs up 2-0. After they won, all three other pairs were starting third and deciding sets.
After back-and-forth battles at the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 spots, it was the No. 2 pair of Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter being the pair that won first, just ahead of the No.5 pair of Peyton Dueck and Katie Clevenger. Martinez and Walter won their third set 15-10 to clinch the duel for Cal Poly.
With their wins, Westby and Lenahan are now 29-3 on the year together and have won nine in a row. Connor and Inskeep are 32-5 on the year and Martinez and Walter are now an NCAA-leading 35-3 as a duo.
Cal Poly is now set to face No. 3 UCLA in the quarterfinals Saturday at 10 a.m. PT/12 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The winner will move on to Saturday’s semifinal match at 12:30 p.m. PT/2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2/ESPN+ against the winner of No. 2 Texas/No. 7 LMU.
(article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)
NCAA Championship Men's Tennis First Round: USD 4, UCSB 2
Doubles
- #34 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD-M) def. #67 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-2
- Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD-M) vs. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 4-3, unfinished
- Manvydas Balciunas/Vincent Marysko (USD-M) def. Lorenzo Brunkow/Diogo Morais (UCSB) 6-4
Singles
- #19 Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. #103 Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-3, 6-4
- Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. #94 Manvydas Balciunas (USD) 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
- Stian Klaassen (USD) vs. #71 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-4, 4-6, 5-2, unfinished
- Miguel Avendano (UCSB) def. Vincent Marysko (USD) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Lambert Ruland (USD) def. Charlie Underwood (UCSB) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
- Adrien Berrut (USD) def. Carson Lee (UCSB) 6-1, 6-3
NCAA Championship Women's Tennis First Round: Pepperdine 4, UCSB 0
Singles competition
- #40 Ziva Falkner (PEPP) vs. Ekua Youri (UCSB) 6-3, 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
- Isabella Wong (UCSB) vs. #35 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) no result
- #48 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
- Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Lily Pradkin (UCSB) 6-3, 6-1
- #121 Duru Soke (PEPP) vs. Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB) 6-1, 6-6 (2-3), unfinished
- Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB) 6-1, 7-5
Doubles competition- #16 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva/Ziva Fa
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- CIF-SS playoff boys volleyball results
CIF-SS playoff boys volleyball results
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -
CIF-Southern Section Division 3 Second Round: Servite 3, Santa Barbara 0
CIF-Southern Section Division 5 Second Round: Dos Pueblos 3, Hemet 0: Ben Wojogbe and Evan Daugherty each had 9 kills to lead the Chargers to the sweep (25-20, 25-22, 25-15). DP is at El Dorado in quarterfinals on Wednesday.
CIF-Southern Section Division 5 Second Round: Bishop Diego 3, La Quinta/Westminster 0: Damien Krautmann led the Cardinals attack with 21 kills while John Michael Flint added 11 in the sweep (25-20, 25-21, 25-18). Bishop Diego is at Brea Olinda in quarterfinals on Wednesday.
CIF-Southern Section Division 5 Second Round: Flintridge Prep 3, Ventura 1
CIF-Southern Section Division 7 Second Round: Foothill Tech 3, Bell Gardens 0
The post CIF-SS playoff boys volleyball results appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
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- ¿Crisis del petróleo? Los vehículos eléctricos chinos están listos para dominar el siglo XXI
¿Crisis del petróleo? Los vehículos eléctricos chinos están listos para dominar el siglo XXI
Por Simone McCarthy, CNN
Un elegante SUV ofrece masajes mecánicos para los pies, una lujosa minivan cuenta con asientos giratorios para facilitar el acceso a la tercera fila, y una sorprendente cantidad de modelos ofrecen karaoke a bordo con altavoces profesionales.
Otros incorporan faros que proyectan películas en una pared, convirtiendo cualquier lugar en un autocine. Aquí, las funciones de conducción inteligente son omnipresentes, incluso en los modelos más asequibles.
Para muchos consumidores que observan desde fuera, las opciones que ofrece China —expuestas esta semana en Beijing en el mayor salón del automóvil del mundo— parecen un sueño. Pero para algunos fabricantes de automóviles y políticos de todo el mundo, representan una amenaza existencial.
Los fabricantes de automóviles chinos están produciendo sus modelos a gran escala y a un precio relativamente bajo.
Y hay otro factor importante: mientras que los precios del petróleo y el gas se disparan debido a la guerra con Irán, la gran mayoría de estos autos son eléctricos o híbridos.
El contraste con Estados Unidos nunca ha sido tan marcado: el año pasado, Washington redujo su apoyo a los vehículos eléctricos en favor de los que consumen mucha gasolina, y de hecho ha prohibido la entrada de automóviles chinos al mercado, alegando la necesidad de proteger la seguridad nacional y la industria local.
Ante la inminente llegada del presidente de EE.UU., Donald Trump, a China a mediados de mayo para mantener conversaciones con el líder Xi Jinping, los fabricantes de vehículos eléctricos del país también están explorando otra frontera, observando si la creciente demanda mundial de vehículos eléctricos les ayudará a abrirse paso en el mercado estadounidense.
En cualquier caso, el mensaje que se pretende transmitir con esta exhibición del tamaño de 70 campos de fútbol es claro: China avanza implacablemente con la tecnología que cree que le permitirá triunfar en el siglo XXI.
Los principales fabricantes de automóviles de China, y Beijing, están apostando fuerte a que el resto del mundo elegirá su visión de un futuro eléctrico, en lugar de uno que siga ligado a la gasolina.
El aumento del precio de la gasolina es “una llamada de atención para quienes nunca han probado un vehículo eléctrico”, declaró Stella Li, ejecutiva de BYD, a CNN durante la emisión del programa, donde habló sobre la ambiciosa estrategia de expansión del mayor fabricante mundial de vehículos eléctricos. “Cuando te pasas al coche eléctrico, nunca vuelves atrás y cambias a un vehículo de gasolina”.
Captar clientes en el extranjero es ahora imprescindible para las principales empresas chinas.
Por un amplio margen, el país posee el mayor mercado de vehículos eléctricos del mundo. Más de la mitad de los autos nuevos vendidos en China son eléctricos o híbridos.
En sus megaciudades y alrededores, el tráfico se va silenciando progresivamente, y el suave zumbido del motor eléctrico reemplaza el rugido del motor de combustión interna.
Pero sus titanes de la industria también están inmersos en una lucha encarnizada por la cuota de mercado, con brutales guerras de precios y una competencia feroz en un mercado nacional saturado que re
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- San Marcos rallies past Dons to grab share of Channel League title
San Marcos rallies past Dons to grab share of Channel League title
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Heart of a champion!
San Marcos trailed for most of the game but erupted for 6 runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat rival Santa Barbara 10-5 and earn a piece of the Channel League championship.
The Royals share the title with Dos Pueblos who won at Oxnard. Both teams are 10-4 in league but San Marcos swept DP so the Royals will be the top-seed from the Channel League in the upcoming CIF-SS playoffs.
Trailing 5-4 the Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh inning and tied the game on a bases loaded walk issued to Gunner Martinez.
Pat Foster drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice to first but the Dons did not record an out on the play.
So with the bases still loaded and just one out, Levi Monson grounded to first base and the throw came home beating the runner but the umpire said that catcher's foot was not on the plate for the force and it was 7-5 Royals.
(Game of inches as the runner is called safe and soon afterwards the Royals break the game wide open in the seventh. Entenza Design).
Quinn Melton followed with a two-run single to right field and Mason Crang finished off the scoring with an RBI fielder's choice.
Miles Herbert closed out the Dons (11-14) and the Royals (16-11) celebrated another Channel League title, their fourth in the past six years.
The Dons Jetner Welch hit a first inning home run and Max Weddle added a 2-run triple in the fourth inning as Santa Barbara built up a 5-2 lead.
But the Royals chipped away scoring a run in the fifth on a hit batter with the bases loaded.
Melton ripped a single in the sixth inning and Pat Foster, who was running on the pitch, scored all the way from first base to bring the Royals within 5-4 and San Marcos finished off the comeback an inning later.
The post San Marcos rallies past Dons to grab share of Channel League title appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
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|
3- Hezbollah despliega una nueva y potente arma diseñada para evadir la detección israelí
Hezbollah despliega una nueva y potente arma diseñada para evadir la detección israelí
Por Charbel Mallo, Tal Shalev y Oren Liebermann, CNN
El cuadricóptero cargado de explosivos se deslizó por encima de los tejados del sur del Líbano, navegando con precisión entre edificios bombardeados y a lo largo de caminos de tierra. El dron le dio a su operador una imagen clara en primera persona de su objetivo: un tanque israelí con soldados de pie cerca.
En la parte superior de la imagen, en letras blancas, había dos palabras:
“BOMBA LISTA”
El cuadricóptero es un dron de fibra óptica, dicen los expertos, un arma que Hezbollah ha utilizado cada vez más con una precisión letal. Estos drones son difíciles de detener y aún más difíciles de detectar, lo que les da a sus operadores una vista de alta resolución del objetivo sin emitir ninguna señal que pueda ser interferida.
Los drones son “inmunes a la interferencia de comunicaciones y, en ausencia de una firma electrónica, también es imposible descubrir el lugar desde el que fueron lanzados”, escribió Yehoshua Kalisky, investigador principal del Instituto de Estudios de Seguridad Nacional de Israel.
En un video de Hezbollah, producido con gran cuidado y publicado este domingo, el dron cuadricóptero, que no pesa más que unos pocos kilos, impacta su objetivo mientras los soldados israelíes parecen completamente ajenos a su aproximación. Según las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI), el ataque mató al sargento Idan Fooks, de 19 años, e hirió a varios otros. Luego, Hezbollah lanzó más drones contra un helicóptero de rescate que llegó al lugar para evacuar a los soldados heridos.
Los drones de fibra óptica son eficaces por su simplicidad: en lugar de una señal inalámbrica que controle el dron a distancia, el cable de fibra óptica conecta el dron directamente con su operador.
Debido a que los cables de fibra óptica son tan finos y ligeros —prácticamente invisibles a simple vista—, el cable puede extenderse hasta 15 kilómetros o más, dijo a CNN una fuente militar israelí, lo que permite que el operador permanezca a una distancia segura mientras el dron le transmite una imagen en primera persona, nítida como el cristal, del objetivo.
Las FDI han confiado en su ventaja tecnológica para contrarrestar la guerra con drones, interfiriendo las señales y frecuencias que usan los operadores para controlar los dispositivos, con el fin de detenerlos antes de que lleguen a los soldados israelíes. Pero sin una señal, las FDI no pueden interferir electrónicamente el control de los drones de fibra óptica y también enfrentan un desafío mayor para detectar el proyectil entrante en primer lugar.
“Más allá de barreras físicas como redes, hay poco que se pueda hacer”, dijo la fuente militar israelí. “Es un sistema de baja tecnología adaptado para la guerra asimétrica”.
Los drones de fibra óptica aparecieron por primera vez en grandes cantidades en el campo de batalla en Ucrania, donde las fuerzas rusas los utilizaron con gran eficacia, ampliando aún más su alcance. Rusia también pudo conectar el cable de fibra óptica del dron a una unidad base, que luego se vinculaba a un operador. Esa conexión adicional alejaba al operador del propio dron, protegiendo a la persona y haciéndola aún más difícil de atacar. La capacidad de Rusia para producir los drones, o vehículos aéreos no tripulados (UAV, por sus siglas en inglés), en masa significó que Moscú podía cortar las líneas de suministro ucranianas con ataques de drones muy por detrás de las líneas del frente.
Los objetivos de Hezbollah son distintos. Israel está operando en el sur del Líbano tan cerca de sus propias bases que no hay líneas de suministro sustanciales que atacar. En cambio, los operadores de drones de Hezbollah han cazado a tropas israelíes en el sur del Líbano y el norte de Israel, bien
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- Here’s what to know about Spirit Airlines shutting down — and what to do if you had a flight with the airline
Here’s what to know about Spirit Airlines shutting down — and what to do if you had a flight with the airline
CNN
By Emma Tucker, Alaa Elassar, CNN
(CNN) — Chris Dell had already paid to go on a cruise next month with her two daughters when she woke up shocked Saturday to learn Spirit Airlines, which they were set to fly with for the trip, had shut down without prior notice.
She rushed to the nearest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, to find alternative flights, but without a refund for her Spirit tickets so far, she’d have to pay more money out of pocket, she said.
When Dell called Spirit’s customer service, the line “hangs straight up … you can’t get anybody,” she said.
“I’m upset,” Dell said. “And then it makes me nervous because I have already paid money to go on a cruise … I can’t let that go to waste. And then I don’t want to drive all the way to Miami. That’s like ten hours. It’s only me and my two kids. This is why we’re flying.”
Dell is one of thousands of frustrated Spirit customers who have been forced to change travel plans — or were left stranded — as the airline ceased operations globally, marking the first time in 25 years a major US airline has gone out of business due to financial trouble. The collapse comes as the company had plunged into its second bankruptcy after struggling for years and failed to secure a last-minute rescue deal with the Trump administration.
The ripple effects of the pioneering budget airline that reshaped low-cost travel coming to an end after 34 years in operation have been swift: All of its bright-yellow flights were canceled, customer service was halted and travelers who were set to fly were told not to come to the airport.
Here’s everything you need to know about Spirit’s shutdown:
Why did Spirit Airlines shut down?
The budget carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in the last two years, most recently in August.
But the airline’s financial troubles stem back to the Covid-19 pandemic. It hasn’t been profitable since then and said repeatedly in recent years there was “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue flying.
While the company said in February it had reached a deal with creditors to emerge from its latest bankruptcy and stay in operation, the war in Iran started just three days later, causing the cost of jet fuel to soar and as well as airfares.
After labor, jet fuel is the second-biggest cost for airlines. Larger airlines have been able to mitigate the impact by increasing some fees and fares and cutting flights, but business for smaller airlines like Spirit suffers when they increase their ultra-low fares intended to attract customers.
While a glimmer of hope for Spirit’s future came from an airline attorney who told a bankruptcy court last week it was in “very advanced discussions” with the Trump administration on a rescue package, a key group of creditors rejected that plan, according to a source familiar with negotiations. It would have given the government control of the overwhelming majority of Spirit’s shares, a prospect that sparked backlash from the airline industry and Republicans in Congress.
Pres
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- Here’s what to know about Spirit Airlines shutting down — and what to do if you had a flight with the airline
Here’s what to know about Spirit Airlines shutting down — and what to do if you had a flight with the airline
By Emma Tucker, Alaa Elassar, CNN
(CNN) — Chris Dell had already paid to go on a cruise next month with her two daughters when she woke up shocked Saturday to learn Spirit Airlines, which they were set to fly with for the trip, had shut down without prior notice.
She rushed to the nearest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, to find alternative flights, but without a refund for her Spirit tickets so far, she’d have to pay more money out of pocket, she said.
When Dell called Spirit’s customer service, the line “hangs straight up … you can’t get anybody,” she said.
“I’m upset,” Dell said. “And then it makes me nervous because I have already paid money to go on a cruise … I can’t let that go to waste. And then I don’t want to drive all the way to Miami. That’s like ten hours. It’s only me and my two kids. This is why we’re flying.”
Dell is one of thousands of frustrated Spirit customers who have been forced to change travel plans — or were left stranded — as the airline ceased operations globally, marking the first time in 25 years a major US airline has gone out of business due to financial trouble. The collapse comes as the company had plunged into its second bankruptcy after struggling for years and failed to secure a last-minute rescue deal with the Trump administration.
The ripple effects of the pioneering budget airline that reshaped low-cost travel coming to an end after 34 years in operation have been swift: All of its bright-yellow flights were canceled, customer service was halted and travelers who were set to fly were told not to come to the airport.
Here’s everything you need to know about Spirit’s shutdown:
Why did Spirit Airlines shut down?
The budget carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in the last two years, most recently in August.
But the airline’s financial troubles stem back to the Covid-19 pandemic. It hasn’t been profitable since then and said repeatedly in recent years there was “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue flying.
While the company said in February it had reached a deal with creditors to emerge from its latest bankruptcy and stay in operation, the war in Iran started just three days later, causing the cost of jet fuel to soar and as well as airfares.
After labor, jet fuel is the second-biggest cost for airlines. Larger airlines have been able to mitigate the impact by increasing some fees and fares and cutting flights, but business for smaller airlines like Spirit suffers when they increase their ultra-low fares intended to attract customers.
While a glimmer of hope for Spirit’s future came from an airline attorney who told a bankruptcy court last week it was in “very advanced discussions” with the Trump administration on a rescue package, a key group of creditors rejected that plan, according to a source familiar with negotiations. It would have given the government control of the overwhelming majority of Spirit’s shares, a prospect that sparked backlash from the airline industry and Republicans in Congress.
President Donald Trump signaled his approval last week but acknowledged Friday a deal may not be possible.
What should you do if you booked a Spirit flight?
An average of 300 flights and 60,000 potential passengers a day just in the next month will be impacted by Spirit’s collapse.<
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- Esto es lo que hay que saber sobre el cierre de Spirit Airlines y qué hacer si tenías un vuelo con la aerolínea
Esto es lo que hay que saber sobre el cierre de Spirit Airlines y qué hacer si tenías un vuelo con la aerolínea
Por Emma Tucker y Alaa Elassar, CNN
Chris Dell ya había pagado para ir el próximo mes a un crucero con sus dos hijas cuando se despertó, conmocionada, el sábado al enterarse de que Spirit Airlines —con la que tenían previsto volar para el viaje— había cerrado sin previo aviso.
Corrió al aeropuerto más cercano, el Aeropuerto Internacional Hartsfield-Jackson de Atlanta, para buscar vuelos alternativos, pero sin un reembolso por sus boletos de Spirit hasta el momento, tendría que pagar más dinero de su bolsillo, dijo.
Cuando Dell llamó al servicio al cliente de Spirit, la línea “se corta de inmediato… no puedes hablar con nadie”, contó.
“Estoy molesta”, dijo Dell. “Y además me pone nerviosa porque ya pagué dinero para ir a un crucero… no puedo dejar que eso se desperdicie. Y tampoco quiero manejar hasta Miami. Son como diez horas. Solo estamos yo y mis dos hijos. Por eso estamos volando”.
Dell es una de miles de personas frustradas que han tenido que cambiar sus planes de viaje —o quedaron varadas— después de que la aerolínea cesara operaciones a nivel mundial, marcando la primera vez en 25 años que una gran aerolínea estadounidense quiebra por problemas financieros. El colapso se produce después de que la compañía cayera en su segunda bancarrota tras años de dificultades y no lograra asegurar un acuerdo de rescate de último minuto con la administración Trump.
Los efectos dominó del fin de la aerolínea pionera de bajo costo, que transformó los viajes económicos, tras 34 años de operación, han sido rápidos: se cancelaron todos sus vuelos de color amarillo brillante, se suspendió el servicio al cliente y se les dijo a los viajeros que tenían previsto volar que no fueran al aeropuerto.
Aquí está todo lo que necesitas saber sobre el cierre de Spirit:
La aerolínea de bajo costo se acogió dos veces al Capítulo 11 de bancarrota en los últimos dos años, la más reciente en agosto.
Pero los problemas financieros de la aerolínea se remontan a la pandemia de covid-19. Desde entonces no ha sido rentable y, en los últimos años, dijo repetidamente que había “dudas sustanciales” sobre su capacidad para seguir volando.
Aunque la compañía dijo en febrero que había alcanzado un acuerdo con los acreedores para salir de su más reciente bancarrota y continuar operando, la guerra en Irán comenzó apenas tres días después, lo que hizo que el costo del combustible para aviones se disparara, al igual que las tarifas aéreas.
Después de la mano de obra, el combustible para aviones es el segundo mayor costo para las aerolíneas. Las aerolíneas más grandes han podido mitigar el impacto aumentando algunas tarifas y precios y recortando vuelos, pero el negocio de aerolíneas más pequeñas como Spirit se resiente cuando aumentan sus tarifas ultrabajas destinadas a atraer clientes.
Aunque una luz de esperanza para el futuro de Spirit llegó de un abogado de aerolíneas que dijo la semana pasada ante un tribunal de bancarrota que estaba en “conversaciones muy avanzadas” con la administración Trump sobre un paquete de rescate, un grupo clave de acreedores rechazó ese plan, según una fuente familiarizada con las negociaciones. El plan habría dado al Gobierno el control de la gran mayoría de las acciones de Spirit, una perspectiva que provocó rechazo por parte de la industria aérea y de republicanos en el Congreso.
El presidente Donald Trump dio señales de aprobación la semana pasada, pero el viernes reconoció que quizá no sea posible llegar a un acuerdo.
Un promedio de 300 vuelos y 60.000 pasajeros potenciales al día, solo en el próximo mes, se verán afectados por el colapso de Spirit.
Los pasajeros que estén en medio de un viaje ahora deben volver a reservar con otra aerolínea, probablemente enfrentando tarifas más altas mientras se apresuran a encontrar nuevos boletos a última hora. Spirit dijo que no puede ayudar a reprogramar vuelo
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| 4- Mariel Hemingway leads women’s panel at Santa Barbara Literary Festival
Mariel Hemingway leads women’s panel at Santa Barbara Literary Festival
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Actor and author Mariel Hemingway led a panel discussion on the final day of the first Santa Barbara Literary Festival.
The panel entitled "Women's Health, Wealth and Happiness" got personal.
Hemingway's panel featured " A Boob's Life" author Leslie Lehr and "What's Up with Women and Money" author Alison Kosik.
Hemingway looks forward to its continuing success.
"Just the brilliance of bringing like-minds together, but slightly different and different perspectives on the world, I think it is always going to be a positive and wonderful thing, I think it absolutely has to happen every single year," said Hemingway.
Other panels on Sunday included the Art of the script at the Karpeles Museum and a CrimeTime panel at the Alhecama Theatre and the Bespoke Print Faire at the Pico Adobe.
Readers had a chance to buy books and get autographs after each discussion.
SBLF founders Leslie Zemeckis and Larissa Rinehart plan to make it an annual event.
For more information visit http://www.santabarbaraliteraryfestival.org
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- El Kremlin refuerza la seguridad en torno a Putin ante temores de asesinatos y de un golpe de Estado, según un informe
El Kremlin refuerza la seguridad en torno a Putin ante temores de asesinatos y de un golpe de Estado, según un informe
Por Nick Paton Walsh, CNN
El Kremlin incrementó drásticamente la seguridad personal alrededor del presidente Vladimir Putin, instalando sistemas de vigilancia en las casas de sus colaboradores cercanos como parte de nuevas medidas motivadas por una ola de asesinatos de altos mandos militares rusos y temores de un golpe de Estado, según un informe de una agencia de inteligencia europea obtenido por CNN.
Cocineros, guardaespaldas y fotógrafos que trabajan con el presidente también tienen prohibido viajar en transporte público, señala el dossier. Los visitantes del jefe del Kremlin deben ser registrados dos veces, y quienes trabajan cerca de él solo pueden usar teléfonos sin acceso a internet, añade.
Algunas de las medidas se implementaron en los últimos meses tras el asesinato de un general de alto rango en diciembre, que provocó una disputa en las filas superiores del establecimiento de seguridad ruso, indica el informe. Estas medidas sugieren una creciente inquietud dentro del Kremlin ante los problemas crecientes en el país y en el extranjero, incluyendo dificultades económicas, señales cada vez mayores de disidencia y reveses en el campo de batalla en Ucrania.
Funcionarios de seguridad rusos han reducido drásticamente el número de lugares que Putin visita regularmente, señala el informe. Él y su familia han dejado de acudir a sus residencias habituales en la región de Moscú y en Valdai, la propiedad veraniega aislada del presidente que se encuentra entre San Petersburgo y la capital.
No ha visitado ninguna instalación militar este año hasta ahora, dice el informe, a pesar de los viajes regulares en 2025. Para sortear estas restricciones, el Kremlin difunde imágenes pregrabadas de él al público, añade el informe.
Desde la invasión de Ucrania en 2022, Putin también pasa semanas enteras en búnkeres mejorados, a menudo en Krasnodar, una región costera que limita con el Mar Negro a varias horas de Moscú, señala el informe.
El dossier, divulgado a CNN y otros medios por una fuente cercana a una agencia de inteligencia europea, llega en un momento de creciente percepción de crisis alrededor del Kremlin, cuatro años después de su brutal y desastrosa guerra.
Las pérdidas rusas, estimadas por naciones occidentales en alrededor de 30.000 muertos y heridos cada mes, sumadas a las limitadas ganancias territoriales en el frente y a los repetidos ataques con drones de Ucrania en lo profundo de Rusia, han llevado el costo del conflicto a un nivel que muchos creen insostenible.
El costo económico de la guerra ahora es palpable: las interrupciones de datos de telefonía móvil que con frecuencia afectan a las principales ciudades están enfureciendo incluso a la burguesía pro-Putin, lo que aumenta la sensación de que la guerra empieza a golpear a la élite urbana, que hasta ahora había estado mayormente aislada del impacto de la invasión.
El informe ofrece detalles poco comunes sobre las preocupaciones de Moscú por el deterioro de la seguridad interna. También expone detalles potencialmente embarazosos de un enfrentamiento dentro del mando de seguridad y militar ruso sobre quién era responsable de la protección de los altos mandos, algo que, según el informe, motivó la revisión de los protocolos de Putin y la ampliación de un nivel más alto de seguridad personal a otros 10 comandantes de alto rango.
El informe señala que, desde comienzos de marzo de 2026, “el Kremlin y el propio Vladimir Putin han estado preocupados por posibles filtraciones de información sensible, así como por el riesgo de una conspiración o intento de golpe de Estado dirigido contra el presidente ruso. Le preocupa especialmente el uso de drones para un posible intento de asesinato por parte de miembros de la élite política rusa
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- Flight data bolsters claim China Eastern plane was deliberately crashed in 2022
Flight data bolsters claim China Eastern plane was deliberately crashed in 2022
By Helen Regan, CNN
(CNN) — More than four years after a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet plunged 29,000 feet and crashed into a mountain in southern China, killing all 132 people on board, newly released data appears to indicate that someone in the cockpit may have intentionally switched off the fuel supply to the engines.
It was China’s deadliest air disaster in decades, but the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has not addressed the crucial question of what had prompted the deadly nosedive of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 in March 2022 in remote Guangxi region.
Data released by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in response to a freedom of information request, shows that the fuel switches to both engines were shut off simultaneously before the Boeing 737-800 jet dropped out of the sky.
The data was taken from the plane’s flight data recorder — one of two so-called “black boxes” that record all relevant operational information — which was recovered from the wreckage and sent to the NTSB’s laboratory in Washington DC for analysis (with the agency’s involvement stemming from Boeing being a US aircraft manufacturer).
“It was found that while cruising at 29,000 feet, the fuel switches on both engines moved from the run position to the cutoff position. Engine speeds decreased after the fuel switch movement,” the NTSB report said.
Fuel switches on commercial planes are physical controls that regulate the flow of fuel to the engines. On the 737, a pilot must pull the switch up before moving it from the run to cutoff position.
“This data clearly shows that the fuel switches were manually placed in the off position just prior to the crash,” said David Soucie, CNN aviation safety analyst.
“There is no indication the switches were placed back to the on position. That indicates there was no attempt to restart the engines,” he added. “If the switches were turned off in error the pilots would have made an attempt to turn them back on.”
The flight data recorder stopped recording when the plane’s generators lost power at 26,000 feet and did not capture the final moments of the crash, according to the report. The cockpit voice recorder – the plane’s other “black box” – continued recording via a battery backup.
US investigators managed to obtain four voice recordings from the damaged cockpit recorder and sent them to the CAAC, but the NTSB said it did not retain a copy of the audio files.
CNN has reached out to the CAAC and China Eastern Airlines for comment. The CAAC has previously denied the crash was intentional.
Aviation expert Tony Stanton of Australian consultancy Strategic Air cautioned the NTSB document should not be treated as a final accident report.
“The released material does not by itself prove motive, intent, or who moved the switches,” Stanton said.
He added, however, that the sequence of events is “very difficult to reconcile with a conventional dual-engine mechanical failure and is much more consistent with (human) commanded fuel shutoff.”
But any movement of the cockpit controls in “an extreme upset and high-speed descent” needs to be interpreted together with “full validated data, CVR (cockpit voice recorder) evidence, aircraft state, and the investigating authority’s final analysis,” Stanton said.
Speculation surrounds the crash
Previous reports have indicated that someone in the cockpit deliberately crashed the plane.
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- Trump and GOP push for aggressive voter roll purges up until Election Day, testing precedent
Trump and GOP push for aggressive voter roll purges up until Election Day, testing precedent
By Tierney Sneed, CNN
(CNN) — For decades, it’s generally been assumed that any mass purges of voter rolls had to be completed at least 90 days out from an election.
But Republicans and the Trump administration are now testing the scope of the federal law that imposes that ban on “systematic” removal programs within three months of an election, as President Donald Trump pushes for more aggressive reviews of voter rolls for non-citizens and other ineligible voters.
The Justice Department has launched a sprawling effort to obtain nearly every state’s voter registration file and to review those files for suspected non-citizens. For its review, the DOJ is using a federal immigration database tool known as SAVE – or the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements – which has shown itself prone to produce false positives.
Some state election officials have indicated they want the freedom to remove names in the months or weeks before an election, but other election officials – along with voter advocates – are concerned that eligible voters are at risk of being disenfranchised with the ramp up in the purge programs, especially as Trump tries to get more involved. They say that the so-called “quiet period” is needed to give eligible voters who are mistakenly caught up in such removals adequate time to get back on the rolls.
Trump and top officials in his administration been relentless in their claims that a flood of foreigners on the voter rolls have polluted elections, even though studies have shown non-citizen voting to be very rare.
That the Trump administration is attempting to insert the federal government more directly in the voting process makes the Republicans’ legal arguments about the quiet period “more concerning,” said Brent Ferguson, the senior director of strategic litigation at Campaign Legal Center, which has successfully sued states for violating the National Voter Registration Act’s 90-day “quiet period.”
“It sets up a situation where the federal government itself is the actor trying to purge voters from the rolls in the days before the election, which is clearly illegal,” Ferguson said.
An appeals court ruled in 2014 that Florida could not use the SAVE data system to purge its rolls within 90 days of the election because of the quiet period provision in the NVRA.
The Trump administration and Republicans argue that the ban does not apply to purges aimed at non-citizens and other people who should have never been registered in the first place.
Another appeals court rejected that argument when it was made by Republican state officials in Virginia. But the Supreme Court in 2024 issued an emergency order in that case that let then-Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin restart a voter removal program just days before the election that used state records to identify alleged non-citizens. (Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger formally ended the program when she took office this year and the lawsuit was settled.)
Now the Republican National Committee is asking the Supreme Court to take up the question on the merits in a case arising from Arizona. The Justice Department has claimed in the litigation over its demands for state registration files that the quiet period doesn’t apply to voter roll rev
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| 5- Explosión en la capital mundial de los fuegos artificiales deja al menos 26 muertos y decenas de heridos
Explosión en la capital mundial de los fuegos artificiales deja al menos 26 muertos y decenas de heridos
Por James Legge, Yong Xiong y Joyce Jiang, CNN
Una explosión en una fábrica de fuegos artificiales en el centro de China dejó al menos 26 personas muertas y 61 heridas, informaron el martes medios estatales chinos.
La explosión ocurrió alrededor de las 5 p. m. hora local del lunes en un taller en una zona rural de Liuyang, una pequeña ciudad en la provincia de Hunan, según la agencia estatal Xinhua.
Liuyang es conocida como el principal centro mundial de fuegos artificiales. La televisora estatal china CGTN informó en 2025 que representaba el 60 % del suministro mundial.
Imágenes en redes sociales geolocalizadas por CNN muestran una enorme columna de humo elevándose al cielo tras la explosión. La onda expansiva impactó edificios cercanos, dejando algunos con ventanas destrozadas, según la televisora estatal china CCTV.
“Todas las empresas fabricantes de fuegos artificiales en la ciudad han recibido la orden de suspender la producción para una rectificación integral” desde las 7 p. m. hora local del lunes, dijo Dai Shuiwen, alcalde de la ciudad de Liuyang, en una conferencia de prensa el martes.
La causa del accidente sigue bajo investigación, según medios estatales.
El líder de China, Xi Jinping, instó a realizar “todos los esfuerzos posibles” para buscar a las personas que aún no han sido localizadas, informó Xinhua.
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- Precios del petróleo se dispararon el primer día del plan “Proyecto Libertad” de Trump para desbloquear el estrecho de Ormuz
Precios del petróleo se dispararon el primer día del plan “Proyecto Libertad” de Trump para desbloquear el estrecho de Ormuz
Por John Liu, CNN
El petróleo alcanzó su precio de cierre más alto del año el primer día de la operación del presidente Donald Trump para guiar a los barcos varados a través del bloqueado estrecho de Ormuz, lo que subraya la intensa incertidumbre que aún aqueja el comercio mundial de energía.
Los futuros del crudo Brent, la referencia mundial del petróleo, cayeron un 1,1 % hasta los US$ 113,4 por barril a la 1:58 a.m. (hora de Miami) del martes, tras haber subido un 5,8 % hasta los US$ 114,4 el lunes, el cierre más alto de 2026.
El West Texas Intermediate (WTI), la referencia estadounidense, bajó un 2,1 % hasta los US$ 104,3 por barril.
El petróleo se negocia mediante contratos de futuros, lo que implica un acuerdo para comprar o vender a un precio determinado en una fecha futura. El precio del WTI del martes refleja el petróleo para entrega en junio, mientras que el Brent refleja el petróleo para entrega en julio.
Ser el mayor productor de petróleo del mundo no ha eximido a Estados Unidos de una crisis energética, que ha elevado el precio de la gasolina a US$ 4,46 por galón el lunes, desde un promedio de US$ 2,98 por galón antes de que comenzara la guerra, según la AAA.
Según Andy Lipow, presidente de la consultora Lipow Oil Associates, el precio de la gasolina en Estados Unidos podría alcanzar los US$ 5 por galón si el estrecho de Ormuz permanece cerrado el próximo mes.
Este repunte casi igualaría el máximo histórico de US$ 5,02 por galón registrado en junio de 2022 tras la invasión rusa de Ucrania.
Los recientes precios elevados se produjeron cuando Trump intentó liberar el flujo de petroleros a través del estrecho de Ormuz, que ha permanecido prácticamente cerrado por Irán desde que fue atacado por Estados Unidos e Israel, estrangulando alrededor del 20 % del suministro mundial de petróleo antes de la guerra.
La nueva iniciativa del presidente, denominada “Proyecto Libertad”, comenzó el lunes con el objetivo de “guiar” a los buques a través del crucial canal de transporte de petróleo y gas.
Sin embargo, no se registró un aumento significativo en el tráfico marítimo: solo cuatro buques cruzaron el estrecho ayer, según S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Antes de la guerra, un promedio de más de 120 barcos al día transitaban por esta vital vía fluvial.
Varios buques mercantes y un importante puerto petrolero en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos también fueron atacados el lunes, cuando Estados Unidos destruyó algunas embarcaciones iraníes, la mayor escalada desde que comenzó el alto el fuego temporal hace cuatro semanas.
El intercambio de disparos entre Estados Unidos e Irán puso a prueba el frágil alto el fuego entre ambos países, mientras Trump se negaba a decir si la tregua seguía vigente.
La decisión de Estados Unidos e Israel de ir a la guerra con Irán ha desencadenado una crisis petrolera histórica, y países de todo el mundo, incluidos muchos aliados clave de Estados Unidos en Europa y Asia, se enfrentan ahora a precios del combustible disparados y costes crecientes.
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- Child safety lab launching ‘independent crash testing’ for AI tools
Child safety lab launching ‘independent crash testing’ for AI tools
By Clare Duffy, CNN
New York (CNN) — Since independent vehicle crash testing began in the mid-1990s, automakers have been incentivized to make safety changes that have saved thousands of lives each year.
Now, a new group is hoping to take a similar approach to artificial intelligence.
Nonprofit media watchdog Common Sense Media is launching the Youth AI Safety Institute, an industry-backed, independent research and testing lab to study the risks AI tools may pose to children and teens. It will aim to provide information to parents and families about various AI tools and set safety benchmarks for tech firms.
AI companies are locked in a race to build the most powerful, widely used models, and that sometimes means speed is prioritized over safety testing. Because AI tools are complex systems with a range of different uses, ranking their safety will likely be far trickier than judging how a car responds in a crash.
But Common Sense Media and the board of top AI, education and health leaders it recruited to oversee the Youth AI Safety Institute believe that solely relying on AI firms to self-police on safety isn’t enough to protect young people. Existing third-party AI safety organizations largely focus on societal-level and existential risks, such as job loss or even human extinction, rather than consumer-friendly safety ratings aimed at everyday use.
The goal is for the public spotlight and third-party standards to spark what Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer called a “race to the top” for tech firms to make safety fixes to improve their standing.
Leading AI firms invest in safety research to “make their models as good as they possibly can, but there’s no independent measure of that,” John Giannandrea, Apple’s former AI strategy chief who joined the institute’s advisory board, told CNN. “We don’t really know which models are more appropriate for kids at a certain age than others, and I think the only real way to do that is to have an independent set of public standards.”
The launch comes as multiple families have sued AI companies alleging that chatbots encouraged their children’s suicides. A recent CNN investigation found that AI chatbots advised teen test accounts on how to commit violence. Grok, xAI’s chatbot, came under fire earlier this year for sharing sexualized images of women and children in response to users’ “digital undressing” prompts. And growing AI adoption in classrooms has raised questions about whether the technology could stunt learning.
“I think many parents and educators and citizens feel we’re at a catastrophic moment as AI is reshaping the lives of children and families and schools and, quite frankly, all of society,” Steyer told CNN exclusively ahead of announcing the group on Tuesday.
Independent youth safety benchmarks
The Institute will start with a $20 million annual budget, backed by OpenAI, Anthropic and Pinterest, as well as the Walton Family Foundation, Goldman Sachs Managing Director Gene Sykes and other philanthropists. Funders will have no say in the group’s operation or research, according to Common Sense.
The group’s advisory board will also include Mehran Sahami, chair of Stanford University School of Engineering’s computer science department; Dr. Jenny Radesky, director of University of Michigan Medical School’s developmental behavioral pediatrics division; and Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who served as California’s first-ever surgeon general — bringing together expertise in research, standards settin
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- What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and Ohio
What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and Ohio
By Eric Bradner, CNN
(CNN) — A set of May primaries will test the strength of Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party and the role the president intends to play as GOP voters pick their candidates knowing he’ll never again appear on the ballot.
In Indiana on Tuesday, Trump is intervening in seven ordinarily sleepy state Senate races, seeking to purge a GOP old guard that rejected his demands to redistrict the state’s US House map.
It’s the first of several primaries in which Trump could play a dominant role this month — with a US House race in Kentucky, where Trump is seeking to oust one of his foremost conservative challengers, Rep. Thomas Massie, and a Senate runoff in Texas, where Trump has stayed out of the race despite GOP leaders’ hopes he would back Sen. John Cornyn over Attorney General Ken Paxton, also being closely watched.
Ohio will also hold its primary on Tuesday. Here’s what to watch in Indiana and Ohio:
Trump’s revenge campaign
Indiana’s Senate Republican supermajority embarrassed the president in December, when it ignored his months of lobbying and voted down a new congressional map that would have likely allowed the party to win the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats in November’s midterms.
Now, Trump is looking for payback — endorsing primary challengers to seven of the eight Republican state senators who voted against redistricting and who are up for reelection this year.
The outcome of those typically low-profile races will have outsize ramifications for a GOP that will soon be forced to grapple with what the post-Trump political landscape will look like. These races will test whether voters are willing to ignore Trump’s wishes and give their elected officials room to go in another direction.
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray — who has drawn Trump’s ire over redistricting but is not on the ballot himself Tuesday — told CNN’s Dana Bash that such primary contests are usually fought over “home-grown issues.”
“That’s not what this is,” Bray said. “This is really driven from outside the state of Indiana, mostly in Washington, DC, and the money’s coming from outside Indiana as well.”
These are the Indiana state Senate Republican primary races to watch:
- District 1: Sen. Dan Dernulc faces Trump-backed Trevor De Vries.
- District 11: Sen. Linda Rogers faces Trump-endorsed Brian Schmutzler.
- District 19: Sen. Travis Holdman faces Trump-endorsed Bluffton City Councilman Blake Fiechter.
- District 21: Sen. Jim Buck faces Trump-backed Tracey Powell, a Tipton County commissioner.
- District 23: Sen. Spencer Deery faces Trump-backed Paula Copenhaver, an aide to the Trump-aligned Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.
- District 38: Sen. Greg Goode faces Vigo County Councilwoman Brenda Wilson, whom Trump endorsed.
- District 41: Sen. Greg Walker faces Trump-endorsed state Rep. Michelle Davis.
Turning Point’s test
Twenty-three days before Charlie Kirk was killed, the conservative activist took up Trump’s push for redistricting in In
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| 6- Momentos clave del debate en CNN de las primarias para gobernador de California
Momentos clave del debate en CNN de las primarias para gobernador de California
Por Patrick Svitek y Arit John, CNN
Los siete candidatos a gobernador de California proyectaron decisión este martes durante el debate de las primarias de CNN para intentar marcar diferencias, a poco menos de un mes de las elecciones, mientras algunos votantes ya han enviado sus papeletas.
Con creciente urgencia por dar un vuelco a una contienda largamente estancada, muchos de los presentes en el escenario se declararon como el “único candidato” que poseía ciertas características distintivas.
Los aspirantes retomaron la confrontación entre sí, y en particular con el exsecretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos, Xavier Becerra, tras debates previos que habían sido más civilizados.
“No puedo creer que en un escenario con 30 minutos de interrupciones, discusiones, insultos, gritos y faltas de respeto… alguien quiera hablar de mi temperamento”, declaró en un momento la excongresista demócrata Katie Porter, aludiendo al escrutinio al que se ha enfrentado por los videos en los que reprende a su personal y a un periodista.
En el debate participaron dos republicanos —el sheriff del condado de Riverside, Chad Bianco, y el comentarista conservador Steve Hilton, respaldado por Trump— y cinco demócratas: Porter, Becerra, el inversor multimillonario Tom Steyer, el alcalde de San José, Matt Mahan, y el exalcalde de Los Ángeles, Antonio Villaraigosa.
Los demócratas dominan California, pero los dos candidatos más votados, independientemente de su partido, avanzarán en las primarias no partidistas del 2 de junio. Esto ha obligado a los demócratas a competir no solo entre ellos, sino también con los republicanos, en su intento por destacar y figurar en la boleta electoral de noviembre.
Estas son las conclusiones del debate del martes por la noche:
Se preguntó a los candidatos por qué los demócratas deberían recibir otros cuatro años al frente de California después de cuatro mandatos en la mansión del gobernador, incluso cuando el estado tiene una de las tasas de desempleo más altas del país y los precios promedio de la gasolina más altos de Estados Unidos.
Los demócratas en el escenario tuvieron dificultades para articular qué es lo que está funcionando bien en California.
Becerra atribuyó los problemas del estado a Trump, afirmando que el aumento del precio de la gasolina se debe a la guerra en Irán y el de los alimentos a los aranceles.
Steyer declaró que se enfrentaría a los “intereses particulares” para reducir el costo de la atención médica, la vivienda y la energía.
Porter afirmó que California “necesita hacer cambios”, y Mahan opinó que el estado merece algo mejor.
“Soy el único demócrata en esta contienda que ha desafiado al establishment dentro de mi propio partido para exigir mejores resultados”, manifestó Mahan, un moderado que ha criticado al gobernador de California, Gavin Newsom.
Los dos republicanos que compiten en la contienda no tardaron en señalar la falta de descripciones positivas del estado por parte de sus rivales.
“¿Por qué se lo merecen los demócratas? Acaban de escuchar probablemente entre 10 y 15 minutos de razones por las que no se lo merecen”, indicó Bianco. “No vamos a obtener nada más que lo mismo de ellos. Ellos nos trajeron hasta aquí”.
Una candidata que se ha esforzado especialmente por abrirse paso en la recta final es Porter.
La demócrata fue una de las favoritas al principio, pero perdió terreno el año pasado después de que saliera a la luz un video en el que se la veía gritándole a un miembro de su e
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- How difficult terrain and military training could complicate the manhunt for a Tennessee suspect
How difficult terrain and military training could complicate the manhunt for a Tennessee suspect
By Emma Tucker, Dianne Gallagher, Holly Yan, CNN
(CNN) — A terrain of steep hills and deep ravines — and a suspect with extensive Army survival training — are complicating a manhunt in Tennessee for a man accused of shooting his wife.
Craig Berry, 53, has been on the run since early Friday after investigators say he shot his wife in Dover, Tennessee, near the Kentucky border. He was last seen wearing camouflage clothing in footage captured by a trail camera before he fled into the woods near the couple’s residence, armed with a rifle and believed to have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff Frankie Gray said.
A warrant has been issued accusing Berry of second-degree attempted murder, the sheriff’s office said.
Gray, who advised his community to “remain vigilant” and keep their doors locked, said the manhunt for Berry will be challenging, as he’s trained to survive in the outdoors and is in good physical shape.
“This guy is not just going to pop out on the side of the road,” said Gray. “He’s probably in it for the long haul.”
The manhunt has so far been contained to Stewart County, where search crews are up against an immediate terrain of steep hills with deep ravines or hollows, the sheriff said.
But after the area is cleared, the search will likely be expanded 30 miles from Dover to the sprawling Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, the sheriff said, which has more than 170,000 acres of forests, wetlands and open lands and represents one of the largest areas of undeveloped forest in the eastern US.
What we know about the shooting
The incident took place around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, when Berry is accused of beating his wife and shooting her as she fled into her car, the sheriff said. Berry also got into his vehicle and drove behind her but crashed the car before he got out of the driveway, he added.
Berry’s wife said during an interview at the hospital that an argument with her husband turned violent when he hit her in the head repeatedly and strangled her, according to an arrest warrant.
She has since been released from the hospital and is expected to recover, according to the sheriff. She suffered one gunshot wound to the neck, an arrest warrant affidavit said.
Police found Berry’s vehicle, along with personal items inside, wrecked in the driveway – but Berry was not at the home, the warrant says.
“We know that he went back to his house after that crash and he did get some more ammo” while also changing into camouflage clothing, Gray told CNN. The only sighting of Berry since the incident was captured on a trail camera, or hunting camera, located behind his house about 45 minutes after the shooting, the sheriff said.
Investigators also recovered Berry’s phone from behind the home, he said. Berry made at least one phone call after the incident to his parents, who have been cooperative, the sheriff said.
“We’ve had the one sighting … We had a bloodhound that trailed him to a road and kind of lost it there,” the sheriff said.
Manhunt will be harder because of his training
Berry was an infantryman and a special forces medical sergeant in the Army from 1992 to 2016, leaving the Army as a sergeant first class, according to Christopher Surridge, a US Army spokesperson. He was deployed to Iraq four times, Surridge said.
The sheriff’s office said Berry has “extensive training in survival tactics,” in addition to being an “excellent swimmer and diver.”
Gray said the search for Berry is a “lot harder because of this guy’s training.” His training “taught him to get as far aw
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- La ONU advierte de una crisis “sin precedentes” para los marineros de tripulaciones varadas en el golfo Pérsico por la guerra
La ONU advierte de una crisis “sin precedentes” para los marineros de tripulaciones varadas en el golfo Pérsico por la guerra
Por Adam Pourahmadi y Magdalena Vitores Moreno, CNN
Un organismo de la ONU ha advertido que se está desarrollando una crisis “sin precedentes” para 20.000 marineros varados en el golfo Pérsico, ya que el cierre del estrecho de Ormuz deja a las tripulaciones atrapadas en los barcos sin una salida clara.
A medida que se prolonga el estancamiento en el Golfo, los trabajadores marítimos, muchos de ellos procedentes de países pobres en desarrollo, se encuentran varados en el mar, atrapados entre la presión comercial de los armadores, las amenazas a la seguridad que suponen los drones y las minas marinas, y la limitada protección jurídica.
“Es una situación sin precedentes”, declaró Damien Chevallier, director de la División de Seguridad Marítima de la Organización Marítima Internacional (OMI) de la ONU, en una entrevista con CNN. “Tenemos cerca de 20.000 marineros en el Golfo desde hace casi ocho semanas. Es una crisis humanitaria. Nunca nos habíamos enfrentado a una situación así”.
La advertencia pone de manifiesto la gravedad de la situación a la que se enfrentan las tripulaciones.
Muchas no pueden atracar en ninguno de los dos lados del golfo Pérsico: los puertos iraníes representan riesgos propios de una zona de guerra, mientras que las restricciones de visado y los obstáculos logísticos en los estados árabes que bordean las costas meridionales del golfo dificultan que muchos marineros abandonen sus buques.
La salida marítima —a través del estrecho de Ormuz— permanece prácticamente cerrada.
Desde que comenzó la guerra, Irán ha intentado imponer nuevas normas de navegación en el golfo Pérsico, permitiendo que los buques de los llamados países “amigos” atraviesen el estrecho a cambio del pago de tasas.
En respuesta, la administración Trump ha tomado medidas para imponer un bloqueo naval contra los barcos que entran o salen de los puertos iraníes y ha advertido a las empresas navieras que podrían enfrentarse a sanciones si pagan esos peajes.
Las medidas contrapuestas han creado un punto muerto que ha paralizado prácticamente el tráfico a través de este punto estratégico, con solo un puñado de embarcaciones transitando por la vía fluvial cada día, en comparación con más de cien en condiciones normales.
Cientos de embarcaciones buscan ahora una forma de salir de la zona devastada por la guerra.
“Entre 800 y 1.000 embarcaciones quisieran navegar a través del estrecho de Ormuz para evacuar la zona”, declaró Chevallier.
Un ejemplo de ello es el Aurora, un petrolero sancionado vinculado a la flota clandestina de Irán, utilizada para transportar petróleo desafiando las sanciones estadounidenses.
Los miembros de la tripulación declararon a CNN en una entrevista el mes pasado que habían permanecido varados a bordo durante semanas tras el estallido de la guerra, y solicitaron la repatriación después de que, según afirman, el propietario del barco los presionara para navegar hacia Irán a recoger petróleo a pesar de los crecientes riesgos.
La tripulación del buque, todos ciudadanos indios, describió el empeoramiento de las condiciones a bordo, incluyendo la escasez de alimentos y agua potable.
Manoj Yadav, organizador sindical del Sindicato de Marineros de Primera Línea de la India, afirmó que la situación era crítica.
“La tripulación se enfrenta a la escasez de suministros básicos”, declaró a CNN en aquel momento. “Quieren volver a casa. La situación en este barco no es buena”.
Según la Federación Internacional de Trabajadores del Transporte (ITF), un sindicato mundial que representa a los marineros de todo el mundo, e
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- Antisemitic assaults reached a record high in the US last year, Anti-Defamation League report says
Antisemitic assaults reached a record high in the US last year, Anti-Defamation League report says
By Cindy Von Quednow, CNN
(CNN) — Antisemitic physical assaults in the United States reached record highs in 2025, and included Jewish fatalities on American soil for the first time since 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual report.
It was the first time there were fatalities in the US that resulted from antisemitic attacks since 2022, the report found.
Two Israeli Embassy staff members were fatally shot last May outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Just a month later, a man in Colorado firebombed an event organized by members of the Jewish community to bring attention to the Israeli hostages still in Gaza. An 82-year-old woman later died from her injuries.
Antisemitic physical assaults increased by 4% and assaults involving a deadly weapon went up by 39%, the ADL said.
“The surge in physical assaults is a stark reminder that a historically high level of antisemitism puts Jewish lives at risk,” Oren Segal, ADL’s senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence, said in the news release.
Overall antisemitic incidents had a 33-percent decrease from 2024, but remain “considerably higher than the total in years prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel,” a news release from the ADL about the report said.
There were a total of 6,274 incidents of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism in 2025, an average of 17 incidents per day, according to the report. That’s up from an average of 8 incidents per day between 2020 and 2022.
Last April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was broken into and set ablaze, forcing the governor and his family to flee. Hours before, Shapiro and his family had been celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover.
“Behind every one of these incidents is a real person: a family threatened at their synagogue, a rabbi attacked on the street, a student harassed on campus,” Segal said.
An annual report that collects incidents around the world found violent antisemitic attacks in 2025 killed the highest number of Jews in 30 years.
In a survey early last year, the ADL found that 46% of adults around the world harbor “deeply entrenched” antisemitic attitudes. The number of people who hold antisemitic beliefs more than doubled across the past decade, the ADL found.
Vandalism and harassment incidents decrease
A total of 203 incidents were described as assaults, with 32 involving a deadly weapon. At least 300 people were victimized by assaults, the ADL found.
Instances of vandalism decreased by 21%, while incidents of harassment also decreased by 39%, according to the report.
Incidents on college and university campuses saw the steepest drop of any location type, according to the ADL. In 2025, the ADL recorded 583 antisemitic
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- Market rebound: Why some stocks are looking past the Iran war
Market rebound: Why some stocks are looking past the Iran war
By John Towfighi, CNN
(CNN) — The US stock market isn’t the only market that’s rebounded to record highs.
Stock indexes in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan have clinched fresh records in recent trading sessions, bouncing back after tumbling in March.
Asian countries are heavily reliant on oil imports from the Middle East that have largely stalled since the Iran war. But the hit to their economies hasn’t stopped their stock markets from surging in recent weeks.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index and Taiwan’s Taiex index both hit a record high on Wednesday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 hit a record high last week. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite in the US also both clinched record highs on Wednesday.
The enthusiasm in Asian and US markets is largely thanks to the global AI boom. The AI-driven rally has overshadowed some of the risks from the war with Iran. Semiconductor chips are in high demand because of the push to build AI infrastructure, which has particularly benefited markets in Asia.
By comparison, markets in countries that don’t have the same level of exposure to AI – like Europe – haven’t seen these gains.
“Different regions have different potential tailwinds, but like the US, much of Asia is poised to benefit from the AI capex cycle,” said Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management market research and strategy team.
South Korea and Taiwan shine
The United States is a net-energy exporter, while countries like Japan and South Korea are net-energy importers. This means economies in Asia have felt more of the pain of higher oil prices.
But in markets, the AI hype is lifting stocks despite concerns about higher energy costs and potential hits to consumer spending and economic growth.
South Korea is a global leader in semiconductor chips, and its stock market has surged: The Kospi gained nearly 76% in 2025, its best year since 1999, and is already up 75% so far this year. On Thursday, the surge sent the Korean equity market past Canada’s to the world’s seventh largest.
Samsung Electronics soared this week to surpass $1 trillion in market value, the second Asian company after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, known as TSMC, to hit the milestone.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Taiex is up 16% since the war began. The Taiex is up 42% this year. Taiwan in April became home to the world’s sixth-largest stock market, also surpassing Canada’s market.
“Asian markets are reacting well to the latest peace efforts and the chipmaker momentum,” Jim Reid, head of global macro research at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.
The Strait of Hormuz effectively closed at the start of March, choking off a fifth of the global oil supply. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down a swift 13% by March 31.
But the index rebounded sharply just like US stocks, erasing its war-related losses and hitting a record high on April 16. The Nikkei is up 1% since the war with Iran began and up 18% so far this year.
Investors have leaned into optimism about an end to hostilities, but the swift rally also underscores the significance of the global AI rally. Artificial intelligence, semiconductor companies and data center-related companies account for about 50% of the weight of Japan’s Nikkei 225, according to JPMorgan Chase.
“Investors have gone back to the comfort of where they’re seeing earnings being delivered, and where are earnings being delivered? It’s US tech, it’s the AI ecosystem,” said Arun Sai, senior multi-asset strategist at Pictet Asset Management.
Mixed bag for other global stocks
While markets in Asia continue to hit records, markets in Eur
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| 8- What the numbers tell us about hantavirus
What the numbers tell us about hantavirus
By Jen Christensen, CNN
(CNN) — Health authorities across several countries are racing to trace and contain an outbreak of hantavirus after the World Health Organization said Thursday that five confirmed infections had been identified among people connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius.
The virus is typically associated with rodents, but it may have passed from human to human aboard the vessel, according to WHO. Since April 11, three people from the ship have died, while a handful of others are sick.
The outbreak was first reported to WHO on May 2 and remains a low risk to the general public, the organization says. Spanish authorities will conduct a full epidemiological investigation and disinfect the ship after it docks in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where WHO believes the port has the right conditions for passengers to safely disembark.
Here are the details by the numbers so far.
How many people are potentially exposed?
- There were 147 people – 88 passengers and 59 crew members – aboard the MV Hondius, according to the World Health Organization.
- Those on board represent 23 nationalities, including 17 Americans.
- Authorities are completing additional contact tracing of 82 passengers and six crew members from an April 25 Airlink flight to Johannesburg from Saint Helena that a Dutch woman who had been on the ship took before she died.
- KLM said authorities in the Netherlands have also reached out to an undisclosed number of passengers on a second flight that the Dutch woman briefly boarded in Johannesburg. She left the 11:15 p.m. flight, KL592, before it took off because she was too sick to fly.
- Swiss authorities are carrying out additional contact tracing for people who came into contact with a passenger who left the MV Hondius in late April and is being treated at a Swiss hospital, according to Switzerland’s health ministry. The patient’s wife, who was also on the trip, has not reported symptoms and is isolating as a precaution, the Swiss health ministry said.
- In the US, the Department of State is in direct contact with passengers, and state departments of health are also involved. The Georgia Department of Public Health says it is monitoring two Georgia residents who returned home from the ship but have shown no signs of infection. An Arizona resident who was a passenger on the ship has not had symptoms and is being monitored by public health workers, according to the Arizona Department of Health. California, Texas, and Virginia are also monitoring passengers. None is exhibiting signs of the illness.
- Governments are also tracking at least 30 passengers who disembarked at the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in late April, and others who went through other ports, leaving for a variety of countries, all before the outbreak was fully understood.
How many people have gotten sick?
- As of Thursday, there were five confirmed cases, and others are considered suspected cases, according to WHO.
What do we know about
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- David Attenborough at 100: Key moments from an extraordinary life
David Attenborough at 100: Key moments from an extraordinary life
By Amarachi Orie, CNN
(CNN) — David Attenborough has now lived on Earth for a century.
In that stretch of time, he’s journeyed through forests and oceans, bonded with a family of gorillas, collected fossils, visited hidden tribes, overseen the first color TV broadcasts in Europe, narrated inspiring documentaries to hundreds of millions of viewers, collected numerous accolades, had dozens of species named after him and sounded the alarm on climate change.
Here are some key highlights from the renowned environmental broadcaster’s busy and extraordinary life, which he has spent with humans, animals and plants alike.
Prince, princess and a parrot
The TV personality developed his hallmark charismatic style of gentle humor, warmth and curiosity in his famous 1954 “Zoo Quest” series, which made him a recognizable figure. In 1958, Attenborough introduced a 3-year-old cockatoo, named Cocky, which he captured during his last “Zoo Quest” expedition, to child members of the British royal family – a young Prince Charles and Anne, Princess Royal.
Recounting the experience in an interview with the BBC ahead of Charles’ coronation in 2023, Attenborough said that the cockatoo was sitting on the prince’s hand and the animal had a “very powerful beak and a very powerful bite. And, although I was fairly confident about Cocky, it could actually have removed Charles’ little finger.”
Attenborough’s career at the BBC only catapulted from there, and he became controller of the BBC’s newly-launched second channel, BBC 2, in 1965. He launched a range of innovative productions, even introducing audiences to the unconventional comedy series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.”
The broadcaster then served as director of television programming from 1968 to 1972, later resigning to make his own television programs.
First contact with Biami tribe
During an expedition in a remote part of New Guinea, aired in 1971, Attenborough and his BBC crew made contact with the previously unknown Biami tribe. Attenborough communicated with the tribe using gestures, looked at their personal ornaments and enquired about the pegs in the ritual punctures in the nose of one of the men.
Reflecting on that moment in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in 2016, Attenborough said, “It is a remarkable thing. Surprisingly, how eloquent you can be to somebody who doesn’t know a single word of your language, or indeed hasn’t met your kind before.”
Bonding with a ‘special little gorilla’
The personable presenter not only got on with people but managed to befriend a family of gorillas in the forests of Rwanda’s Virunga Mountains. While filming “Life on Earth” in 1978, a 3-year-old Gorilla named Pablo took a liking to Attenborough and playfully laid on him.
The scene captured hearts globally, later leading to “one of the greatest conservation success stories that I’ve witnessed,” Attenborough said in the April 2026 film “A Gorilla Story,” in which he tells the story of the same group of gorillas from the 1970s to the present day. He added that his connection with gorillas is “a connection that has stayed with me my whole life. And it all began with one special little gorilla.”
Chat with baby rhino
The naturalist’s keenness to engage with the animals he observes is also evident in his interaction with a blind baby rhino at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya in episode six of the 2013 B
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- Multiple people dead, rescue mission launched after volcano erupts in Indonesia
Multiple people dead, rescue mission launched after volcano erupts in Indonesia
By Helen Regan, Masrur Jamaluddin, CNN
(CNN) — A rescue operation is underway to locate 20 missing hikers after a deadly volcanic eruption in Indonesia, local officials said Friday.
Three Singaporean nationals were killed when Mount Dukono, on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, erupted Friday morning, Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency (BASARNAS) said.
Photos show a huge column of smoke and ash rising into the air. Rescue teams can also be seen on the mountain and carrying at least one injured person on a stretcher through the forest, in photos from Indonesia’s rescue agency.
Indonesia has around 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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- Mueren tres personas y se pone en marcha una operación de rescate tras la erupción de un volcán en Indonesia
Mueren tres personas y se pone en marcha una operación de rescate tras la erupción de un volcán en Indonesia
Por Helen Regan Masrur Jamaluddin, CNN
Se ha puesto en marcha un operativo de rescate para localizar a 20 excursionistas desaparecidos tras una erupción volcánica mortal en Indonesia, según informaron el viernes las autoridades locales.
Tres ciudadanos singapurenses murieron cuando el monte Dukono, en la isla de Halmahera, en la provincia de Maluku Septentrional, entró en erupción el viernes por la mañana, según informó la agencia nacional de búsqueda y rescate de Indonesia (BASARNAS).
Las fotografías muestran una enorme columna de humo y ceniza elevándose hacia el cielo. En imágenes de la agencia de rescate de Indonesia, también se puede ver a equipos de rescate en la montaña, transportando al menos a una persona herida en una camilla a través del bosque.
Indonesia cuenta con alrededor de 120 volcanes activos y se encuentra a lo largo del “Anillo de Fuego”, una serie de fallas sísmicas en forma de herradura que rodean la cuenca del Pacífico.
Esta noticia está en desarrollo y se actualizará.
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| 9- Why Utah residents are protesting a massive AI data center project backed by Kevin O’Leary
Why Utah residents are protesting a massive AI data center project backed by Kevin O’Leary
By Clare Duffy, CNN
New York (CNN) — A group of rural Utah residents wants a chance to vote in November to oppose a massive AI data center development — the latest example of Americans resisting new data center projects over fears they’ll disrupt the environment and their communities.
The Utah project was approved by Box Elder County commissioners on Monday, despite protests from community members. Developers hope to begin early work on the site in the fall.
Backers of the data center, including Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, say that the project will boost the local economy and that increasing America’s computing and energy production capacity is crucial for national security. But residents are calling for more time and more information to evaluate its impact on the already fragile local ecosystem.
The conflict is, in some ways, a microcosm of the larger AI debate. While wealthy builders make lofty promises about the technology’s benefits, many individuals worry about the consequences of the race to build a world-changing technology they may not want and have little say in.
“I love what technology can give us, but Big Tech has shown us that they are not accountable,” said Caroline Gleich, an environmental advocate and resident of nearby Park City, Utah. “It’s very concerning and difficult to be a proponent of this, with the amount of land, energy and the impacts to our communities, without guardrails, accountability and transparency.”
A group of Box Elder voters this week applied to add a referendum to the local ballot in November to overturn the county commission’s approval of the project, County Clerk Marla Young confirmed to CNN. The application, earlier reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, is now undergoing legal review and would need more than 5,000 signatures for the referendum to appear on the ballot.
Similar protests are occurring around the country, with some communities seeking to ban data centers. Developers are now scrambling to address those public concerns, fearing that a slowdown in progress could dent America’s competitiveness in AI.
“The potential of what we’re creating is so important for defense, for the economy,” O’Leary told CNN on Friday. “It should be, for everybody, a mission. We can’t let the Chinese beat us.”
Stratos Data Center Project
While development of the “Stratos Project” is expected to take place in phases over several years, the plan is to construct a 9-gigawatt AI data center and a natural gas plant to power it, as well as other potential facilities on the site.
The facilities will be built on a planned 40,000-acre campus on unincorporated land in northwest Utah dominated by ranching, farming and picturesque open space. Sitting just north of the already shrinking Great Salt Lake, the area is also a sanctuary for migratory birds. The county’s population is just over 65,000.
The project area comprises privately owned land — the owners of which have signed onto the project — as well as military and state-owned land, according to documents released by local officials. The project is backed by Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, created by the Utah legislature to develop land in the state to support defense-related infrastructure.
Building a plant to power the data center is intended to ensure the project won’t str
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- Rusia celebra desfile del Día de la Victoria más sobrio al tiempo que entra en vigor alto el fuego temporal con Ucrania
Rusia celebra desfile del Día de la Victoria más sobrio al tiempo que entra en vigor alto el fuego temporal con Ucrania
Por Zahra Ullah, CNN
El presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, preside este sábdo un desfile del Día de la Victoria en la Plaza Roja de Moscú más sobrio que otros años, tras la entrada en vigor de un alto el fuego de tres días con Ucrania.
El desfile anual del 9 de mayo en Rusia conmemora la victoria de la Unión Soviética sobre Alemania en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Bajo el mandato de Putin, se ha convertido en un símbolo del poderío militar del país.
Sin embargo, en un cambio significativo este año, las autoridades rusas anunciaron que no habría exhibición de armamento militar pesado, renunciando a la tradicional demostración de fuerza en favor de la seguridad.
El desfile tiene lugar en medio de la intensificación de los ataques ucranianos en territorio ruso, particularmente contra refinerías de petróleo, mientras el Gobierno de Ucrania acusa al Kremlin de continuar los ataques contra Kyiv y otros lugares.
El viernes, víspera del desfile, el presidente Donald Trump anunció que Rusia y Ucrania acordaron un alto el fuego de tres días, del 9 al 11 de mayo, que incluirá la suspensión de los combates y un intercambio de prisioneros a gran escala.
La noticia fue confirmada tanto por el Kremlin como por el presidente ucraniano Volodymyr Zelensky, quien afirmó que el intercambio de prisioneros se realizaría “en la proporción de 1.000 por 1.000”.
El Ministerio de Defensa ruso anunció que el desfile incluirá un sobrevuelo de aviones de combate y que los soldados marcharán por la Plaza Roja, frente al mausoleo de Lenin.
En la Unión Soviética murieron alrededor de 27 millones de personas durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, más que en cualquier otro país.
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- Teen takeovers: The chaotic gatherings that are spurring curfews and crackdowns
Teen takeovers: The chaotic gatherings that are spurring curfews and crackdowns
By Eric Levenson, CNN
(CNN) — In Orlando, around 1,000 teenagers showed up to the Icon Park area on a Saturday night last month, spurring fights and a substantial police response that led to nine arrests on charges including battery on an officer, resisting arrest and trespassing.
In Washington, DC, a group of about 200 teens gathered at a park in the Navy Yard neighborhood this spring, leading to gunfire, disorderly conduct and robbery.
And in New York, hundreds of teens flooded a mall in the Bronx in February, trashing stores and berating mall employees.
The incidents are just a few examples of what’s become known as “teen takeovers,” the term for a mass gathering of rowdy youngsters in a public space like a mall or park. Spread by social media flyers or mass messages beforehand, the takeovers have on occasion spiraled into chaos, with reports of fights, robberies, gunshots and general disruption.
The takeovers seen in Orlando, Washington, New York, and across the US show how social media has supercharged these gatherings into something more significant.
“It’s a new form, but it’s not a new substance,” said Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice think tank, comparing teen takeovers to the flash mobs of a decade ago. “What’s new is the scale and how these things are networked.”
Of course, large gatherings of teens have long caused consternation and fear among the olds. In general, juvenile crimes are more often committed with others, and images of roaming throngs of teens has an outsized presence in media and in the public’s amygdala.
The ultimate fear is something like what happened in Oklahoma last weekend, when a “Sunday Funday” party promoted on social media drew young revelers to a lakeside picnic pavilion outside Oklahoma City. There, an argument among attendees escalated into a shootout between rival gang members, leaving one person dead and more than 20 wounded, according to police.
With summer on the horizon – when school is out and crime typically increases – police and officials have taken steps to crack down on large gatherings of teens.
Some police departments have begun scouring social media for teen takeover plans and are treating these events more like civil unrest.
“Once we see these large gatherings, we put eyes on them and officers on them,” DC Metro Police Assistant Chief Ramey Kyle told the Police Executive Research Forum, a national police research and policy organization.
“If the kids try to break off a little bit, we try to have an officer within sight of them. When we do that, we have a lot fewer fights, robberies, and shootings.”
Teen takeovers around the country
DC officials have taken several notable steps in their crackdown, including an April public emergency declaration after “several weeks of disorderly behavior.”
The DC Council approved a measure this week giving police
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- Frontier plane reportedly strikes pedestrian on Denver airport runway
Frontier plane reportedly strikes pedestrian on Denver airport runway
By Karina Tsui, Martin Goillandeau, CNN
(CNN) — A Frontier Airlines plane reportedly struck a pedestrian on a runway at Denver International Airport late Friday, forcing it to abort its takeoff, a spokesperson for the carrier told CNN.
Flight 4345, an Airbus A321, was departing from Denver en route to Los Angeles and carried 224 passengers and 7 crew members, Frontier Airlines said in a statement. It was scheduled to depart at 10:39 p.m. local time.
As the plane was departing, “the aircraft reportedly struck a pedestrian on the runway during takeoff,” the airline said. “Smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff. Passengers were then safely evacuated via slides as a matter of precaution.”
The Denver airport said the Frontier flight “reported striking a pedestrian” at approximately 11:19 p.m. local time. There was a brief engine fire that was quickly extinguished by the Denver Fire Department, the airport said in a statement early Saturday.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and passengers were taken to the terminal, the airport added.
CNN has reached out to the Denver Fire Department and Denver Sheriff’s Department for more information.
Air traffic control audio, shared by the ATC.com app, captured the moment a pilot from the Frontier flight told controllers the plane “hit somebody.” Seconds later, a controller said emergency vehicles were being dispatched. “There was an individual walking across the runway,” the pilot can be heard saying.
The pilot told controllers there were 231 people and more than 21,000 pounds of fuel on board, according to the audio clip.
Data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed the plane was accelerating at about 146 miles an hour at roughly 11:15 p.m. local time, before it aborted takeoff.
“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” Frontier said. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”
Runway 17L will remain closed while the investigation is conducted, the airport said.
This is a developing story.
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CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury contributed to this report.
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10- AI isn’t actually ‘taking’ your job. Here’s what’s happening instead
AI isn’t actually ‘taking’ your job. Here’s what’s happening instead
By Lisa Eadicicco, CNN
New York (CNN) — AI probably won’t take your job anytime soon. At least not all of it.
Concerns about artificial intelligence replacing human workers have simmered over the past year as companies slash headcounts, AI models grow more capable of office work and businesses integrate AI more deeply into their operations. AI was the top reason companies cited for job cuts in April for the second month in a row, the executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday.
“The anxiety around AI at work is real—from fears of job loss to the pressure to keep up with rapidly evolving technology,” Microsoft wrote in a report about how AI is changing jobs released last week.
But the reality of AI in the workplace isn’t so black-and-white, experts say. Companies are using AI to automate certain parts of jobs rather than replace entire positions.
Business leaders are figuring out what AI can and can’t do, recalibrating existing jobs around responsibilities that can only be done by a human. And thousands of jobs have been cut in the process, with web infrastructure company Cloudflare and cryptocurrency firm Coinbase among the latest to announce staff cuts.
“It’s very few jobs that are actually entirely automated away by the current AI and robotics technology that’s out there,” said Alexis Krivkovich, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company who helps lead the company’s People and Organizational Performance Practice.
AI is technically capable of automating 57% of work-related activities, Krivkovich said, citing McKinsey research. But that percentage is spread across “pieces and parts” of various jobs and responsibilities across an organization.
Nitin Seth, the cofounder of digital services and consulting firm Incedo, claims his company helps clients boost productivity using AI by at least 20% to 25% without reducing staff at the same scale. That’s because AI only handles certain parts of different roles.
“You can’t take one quarter of Lisa, one quarter of Jessica, one quarter of Nitin and one quarter of somebody else and make it one person,” Seth said.
The fear that AI will take jobs has disrupted the tech industry the most. Software engineers have increasingly embraced the tech to help write code, with 90% of tech workers using AI in their jobs, according to a September survey from Google’s research arm. Stack Overflow, a popular question-and-answer forum for developers, found that 84% of respondents either use AI tools in the software development process or plan to.
But a software engineer’s job involves much more than just coding: It entails reviewing the code, designing systems, troubleshooting problems and deciding what to build. Companies may adjust job titles to reflect that, says Boris Cherny, head of Claude Code at Anthropic.
“I think by the end of the year, we’re going to start to see the idea of software engineering go away,” he told CNN in March. He thinks the term “builder” might be a more fitting title as the job expands, and writing lines of code becomes a smaller part of it.
Sujata Sridharan, who most recently worked at the fintech firm Bolt and has spent roughly a decade as a software engineer, is one of the many engineers living through that transition.
Although she uses AI, her work still requires problem solving and critical thinking, s
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- La experiencia de EE.UU. combatiendo a Irán ofrece lecciones para China, dicen expertos
La experiencia de EE.UU. combatiendo a Irán ofrece lecciones para China, dicen expertos
Por Brad Lendon, Sylvie Zhuang y Wayne Chang, CNN
A medida que la guerra en Irán entra en su tercer mes, está proporcionando a China una ventana para observar cómo funcionan las capacidades militares de Estados Unidos bajo fuego, y un recordatorio útil de que, en cualquier campo de batalla, el adversario siempre tiene un papel importante en el resultado.
CNN habló con una variedad de expertos en China, Taiwán y otros lugares sobre cómo los últimos dos meses de combates en y alrededor del golfo Pérsico pueden informar sobre lo que podría suceder en cualquier posible conflicto que enfrente a Beijing contra Washington.
Advirtieron sobre el riesgo de que China malinterprete sus propias fortalezas, su falta de experiencia y el hecho de mantener una visión demasiado limitada del conflicto y sus consecuencias.
Fu Qianshao, un excoronel de la fuerza aérea de China, dijo que su principal conclusión de los combates hasta ahora es que el Ejército Popular de Liberación (EPL) no puede olvidarse de sus defensas, señalando cómo Irán ha encontrado formas de eludir sistemas antimisiles estadounidenses como el Patriot o el Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
“Necesitamos dedicar esfuerzos significativos para identificar debilidades en nuestro lado defensivo para asegurarnos de que sigamos siendo invencibles en futuras guerras”, dijo Fu a CNN.
El EPL ha ampliado rápidamente su capacidad de poder ofensivo en los últimos años, añadiendo misiles con vehículos planeadores hipersónicos que pueden evadir interceptores y las plataformas que pueden lanzarlos.
La Fuerza Aérea del EPL está incorporando cazas furtivos de quinta generación a un ritmo acelerado y, según el grupo de expertos británico RUSI, contará con alrededor de 1.000 aviones J-20 —el equivalente aproximado de los F-35 estadounidenses— cuando operen en modo de ataque de precisión de largo alcance.
China tiene en desarrollo un bombardero furtivo de largo alcance, similar al B-2 o al B-21 de Estados Unidos.
Pero sus defensas son otro asunto.
Los analistas señalan que Irán pudo penetrar las defensas aéreas de Estados Unidos en el golfo Pérsico con tecnología relativamente primitiva, incluidos drones Shahed de bajo costo y misiles balísticos aún más baratos.
Mientras tanto, Estados Unidos desató una campaña aérea contra Irán con armamento mucho más sofisticado, como los F-35 y los B-2, y la combinó con municiones guiadas más baratas y menos avanzadas tecnológicamente lanzadas desde B-1, B-52 y F-15. Han destruido de todo, desde lanzadores de misiles hasta embarcaciones navales y puentes.
Es una combinación para la que Beijing debe prepararse, dijo Fu.
“Tenemos que profundizar más para proteger eficazmente nuestros sitios clave, aeródromos y puertos contra ataques y asaltos”, dijo.
Cuando se trata de un posible conflicto entre Estados Unidos y China, Taiwán suele considerarse un posible punto crítico.
El Partido Comunista gobernante de China ha prometido “reunificarse” con la democracia autónoma, a pesar de nunca haber controlado Taiwán. El líder chino Xi Jinping no ha descartado el uso de la fuerza militar para lograrlo.
En Taiwán, los analistas reconocen que China ha reunido unas fuerzas armadas capaces de igualar tanto a Estados Unidos en armamento de precisión de alta tecnología como a Irán en guerra de drones de bajo costo y gran volumen.
“Los cohetes de largo alcance y los enjambres de drones definitivamente jugarán un papel clave en las operaciones militares conjuntas de China contra Taiwán”, dijo Chieh Chung, investigador asociado del Instituto de Investigación de Defensa Nacional y Seguridad de Taiwán, a C
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- How discarded chewing gum helped convict a serial rapist of two cold case murders
How discarded chewing gum helped convict a serial rapist of two cold case murders
By Nina Giraldo, CNN
(CNN) — Susan Logothetti and two colleagues stood outside the yellow home in Everett, Washington, donning T-shirts and holding flyers promoting a chewing gum company.
Mitchell Gaff opened the door wearing pajama pants, welcomed the trio into his house and agreed to a taste test, sampling different sticks of gum with enthusiasm, Logothetti recalled of the January 2024 encounter.
When the time came for Gaff to try a new flavor, one colleague held out a small dish, Logothetti said.
“I remember watching him spit the first piece of gum into the ramekin and seeing the saliva, and it was very hard for me to contain my excitement,” Logothetti told CNN.
Gaff had unknowingly given three undercover detectives the DNA they needed to confirm his connection to a 1984 rape and murder, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in March. The “gum ruse” is cited in the affidavit.
Gaff, 68, a convicted rapist, admitted April 16 to the killing of Judy Weaver and also of Susan Vesey four years earlier, according to court documents. He faces up to life in prison at his scheduled sentencing on Wednesday.
The investigations into the murders of the two Washington state women in 1980 and 1984 – back then regarded as unrelated – led to persons of interest in each case but no prosecutions.
Four decades after Weaver’s murder, forensic scientists found the DNA extracted from the gum was consistent with evidence found on her body, court documents stated. The discovery, and the eventual connection between the two murders, marked a breakthrough in the investigations and showed how crucial modern DNA technology is in solving cold cases.
Beyond that, the identification of the killer also has allowed families who lived for so long under the dark cloud of suspicion to heal and brought some relief to a woman Gaff attacked before the murders.
For closure to ultimately happen, the Weaver and Vesey cases “just needed science to catch up,” Logothetti said.
DNA profiling helped catch killer
Vesey was 21 and a married mother of two children, both less than 2 years old, when she was murdered in July 1980.
Gaff was “trying random doors and found the victim’s door unlocked” and proceeded to tie up, beat, rape and strangle Vesey, he admitted in his guilty plea statement. Four years later, Gaff attacked Weaver, a 42-year-old mother, in her bedroom, which he then set fire to in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence, according to the statement.
“Before leaving I wrapped cords around her neck and lit the corner of the bedspread in an attempt to cover up my crime and with the intention of killing her,” Gaff said. “Ms. Weaver died because of my actions.”
Gaff said in his statement he did not know either woman prior to each attack. Heather Wolfenbarger, Gaff’s defense attorney, declined to comment.
At the time of the murders, DNA profiling had yet to become a useful forensic tool. In Weaver’s case, however, law enforcement “had the foresight” to call the lab about obtaining vaginal swabs, which led them to submit the evidence a few hours after her death, according to court documents.
The case file on Weaver’s murder that Logothetti ultimately inherited from her predecessors at the Everett Police Department brimmed with outlandish theories around her death involving money laundering and cocaine. Weaver’s boyfriend at the time of her murder died in 1994 as the main suspect in her case, Logothetti said.
The emergence of DNA profiling ultimately led law enforcement to revisit Weaver’s murder in 2020, court documents said.
Lisa Collins, a forensic scientist at Washington State Patrol,
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- Iran’s two-tier internet access fuels anger and exposes cracks in the regime
Iran’s two-tier internet access fuels anger and exposes cracks in the regime
By Tim Lister, Aida Karimi, CNN
(CNN) — The internet blackout in Iran is more than two months old, the longest on record. For millions who rely on being online to make a living, the void has been devastating.
But some have privileged access through what’s called “Internet Pro” – and that’s causing widespread public criticism. The program, launched earlier this year, appears to be another weapon enabling hardliners and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to exert control in Iran.
Iran’s state media boasts of the unity of the government and the people in the face of what it calls an “imposed war” by the United States and Israel, but arguments over who gets what internet access have spilled into the media and embroiled the highest levels of government.
Iranians speak of mounting frustration about being cut off or spending what little money they have in occasionally getting a glimpse of the outside world.
“Imagine dealing with unemployment and crazy inflation, and somehow managing to scrape together 500,000 or a million tomans (about $13), only to spend it on a couple of gigabytes of VPN just so you can get on X or other platforms, check the news, and have a voice,” said Faraz, a 38-year old resident of Tehran. The average monthly wage in Iran is between 20 million and 35 million tomans ($240 to $420).
“And then, in the middle of all this stress and frustration, when you finally manage to open X or Telegram, you see people with unrestricted access acting like everything is normal, it honestly feels like a punch to the gut,” Faraz told CNN.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) service is a tool that hides a user’s location online, and many people in Iran use it via the black market to get around internet blocks.
The sale of Internet Pro began in February through the Mobile Communications Company of Iran (MCI), after businesses complained that they had been hurt by heavily restricted access during nationwide protests in January. MCI is owned by a consortium with close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Internet Pro emphasizes connection stability and less restricted access to international sites. Essentially it provides the same level of access to a fortunate few that was once available to everyone. Users must pass a verification process and have a business, academic or scientific role.
But many Iranians complain it widens the already huge gap between rich and poor.
It has “divided Iranian society into two distinct classes: a digital elite who enjoy fast, unfiltered channels for business, education, and communication, and digital subjects who are confined within heavy filtering, restricted speeds, and the high costs of the black-market VPN economy,” according to the independent publication Khabar Online.
“The main issue is no longer just filtering or shutdowns; rather, it is the redefinition of the right to access the internet,” Mohammad-Hamid Shahrivar, a lawyer, said in an interview with the Shargh news outlet.
The price of black-market VPN apps has skyrocketed, and losing internet access has cost Iranians about $1.8 billion over the past two months, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), which is based outside the country. That tallies with an estimate from Iran’s Chamber of Commerce.
“The internet shutdown, which by itself was the source of livelihood for a very large number of virtual businesses – ha
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| 11- Pasajeros estadounidenses del crucero afectado por hantavirus llegan a Nebraska para ser evaluados
Pasajeros estadounidenses del crucero afectado por hantavirus llegan a Nebraska para ser evaluados
Por Chris Boyette, CNN
Pasajeros estadounidenses del crucero en el centro del brote de hantavirus, incluyendo al menos un caso presuntamente positivo, llegaron a Nebraska temprano este lunes para ser evaluados en una unidad de cuarentena altamente especializada antes de continuar finalmente hacia sus hogares, donde serán monitoreados durante semanas por posibles síntomas de infección.
El virus, típicamente asociado con roedores, podría haberse transmitido de persona a persona a bordo del crucero MV Hondius, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Desde el 11 de abril, tres personas del barco han fallecido y un pequeño grupo más está enfermo.
Después de anclar el domingo cerca de Tenerife, en las islas Canarias de España, decenas de pasajeros han sido evacuados. Hay 17 ciudadanos estadounidenses y un ciudadano británico que reside en Estados Unidos en el avión hacia Omaha, informó la ministra de Salud del Gobierno de España, Mónica García.
Esto es lo que sabemos sobre el viaje de regreso de los pasajeros estadounidenses a Estados Unidos y lo que sucederá una vez que estén en casa:
Uno de los estadounidenses ha dado positivo al virus y otro presenta síntomas leves, informó el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE.UU. el domingo por la noche. Ambos viajaban en unidades de biocontención en el avión “por precaución”, indicó el HHS en una publicación en X.
El pasajero que dio positivo no presenta síntomas, pero será llevado directamente a la unidad de biocontención en el Centro Médico de la Universidad de Nebraska en Omaha, informó la institución el domingo por la noche. Los demás pasajeros irán a la Unidad Nacional de Cuarentena del centro para su evaluación y monitoreo.
Personal de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de EE.UU. ha estado monitoreando a los pasajeros desde que desembarcaron en Tenerife, según un funcionario de los CDC.
CNN se ha puesto en contacto con el HHS para obtener más información sobre los pasajeros.
La instalación de Omaha es “la única unidad de cuarentena financiada federalmente en Estados Unidos, diseñada específicamente para alojar y monitorear de manera segura a personas que puedan haber estado expuestas a enfermedades infecciosas de alto riesgo”, según Nebraska Medicine.
Hay 20 habitaciones individuales de 28 metros cuadrados, equipadas con sistemas de presión negativa para contener posibles virus. Los médicos las describen como habitaciones de hotel, diseñadas con baños privados, equipo de ejercicio, servicio de comida y Wi-Fi para pacientes que deban permanecer largos periodos.
Un funcionario de los CDC dijo anteriormente que la agencia no estaba considerando esto como una cuarentena para los pasajeros del crucero, sino más bien como una breve visita para monitorear su salud.
Una vez en la instalación, se revisará a los pasajeros en busca de síntomas que indiquen las primeras etapas del hantavirus, incluyendo fiebre, dolores musculares y diarrea, dijo a CNN el rector interino del hospital, el Dr. H. Dele Davis.
La unidad de biocontención del sitio, que es donde serán llevados el paciente positivo y cualquier otra persona que pueda enfermarse, es una unidad especializada que anteriormente trató a pacientes durante el brote de ébola en 2014 y a algunos de los primeros pacientes de covid-19 del crucero Diamond Princess en 2020, según funcionarios de Nebraska Medicine.
El puente aéreo continuará tran
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- A death on Denver airport’s runway highlights the challenge of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan
A death on Denver airport’s runway highlights the challenge of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — Denver International Airport is conducting a safety analysis after a person who jumped over a fence into a runway was struck and killed by a plane during takeoff late Friday.
The fatal incident has drawn scrutiny to the airport’s security protocols – and highlighted the challenges of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan.
The pedestrian, who has not been identified, was killed just two minutes after they jumped a perimeter fence and crossed a runway at the airport. The pilots of the Frontier Airlines Airbus, which was headed to Los Angeles, quickly aborted takeoff. Twelve people were injured during the incident.
Surveillance video taken before the collision shows a blurry figure – tiny in comparison to the jet and the expanse of land around them – standing on the runway.
Then the figure is overtaken by the plane, engulfed in flames.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” a pilot said, according to audio from ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The airport said it would “perform an incident analysis and after action in the coming days which will include reviewing the ongoing investigation, including our perimeter security program.”
There are 36 miles of perimeter fence at the airport, according to its statement, and staff perform continuous inspections.
Denver International Airport is the nation’s third busiest by passengers, behind only Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth.
And it’s massive: At 53 square miles, the airport is larger than San Francisco, according to its website.
That makes securing its facilities a challenge, according to experts.
“The more expansive the land area of an airport, the more perimeter to defend, the more remote areas, and the more complex terrain, all of which provide more opportunities for unauthorized entry,” explained William Rankin, an adjunct professor at Florida Institute of Technology who researches airport management and safety.
Still, pedestrian incursions are extremely rare, Rankin said. Publicly available data shows there are just a handful of pedestrian incursions – between zero to five – each year on average, he said.
Fatal pedestrian-aircraft collisions like Friday night’s are even rarer, happening less than once per year on average, he said.
The incident “was an extremely rare event and should not make the public less confident in the security of the major US airports,” Rankin said.
Past security breaches
As rare as pedestrian incursions are, this isn’t the first time someone has breached a perimeter fence at the Denver airport.
Eight people – including both pedestrians and drivers – breached the fence between 2004 and 2015, an investigation by The Associated Press found.
At the time, an airport spokesperson said, “We believe many folks do not realize they are even on airport property — it looks like farmland and a breach may be miles and miles away from a runway or the terminal.”
The AP found 268 perimeter breaches across the country during the same period. They span from intentional stowaways to seemingly accidental trespassing. The Denver incidents included a drunk 28-year-old who drove through a perimeter fence and a man who climbed the fence and said he was on his way to work, according to the Denver Post.
FAA dat
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- A death on Denver airport’s runway highlights the challenge of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan
A death on Denver airport’s runway highlights the challenge of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan
CNN, KABC, KCNC, KEVIN CARTAS, CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, LUIS
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — Denver International Airport is conducting a safety analysis after a person who jumped over a fence into a runway was struck and killed by a plane during takeoff late Friday.
The fatal incident has drawn scrutiny to the airport’s security protocols – and highlighted the challenges of securing a facility twice the size of Manhattan.
The pedestrian, who has not been identified, was killed just two minutes after they jumped a perimeter fence and crossed a runway at the airport. The pilots of the Frontier Airlines Airbus, which was headed to Los Angeles, quickly aborted takeoff. Twelve people were injured during the incident.
Surveillance video taken before the collision shows a blurry figure – tiny in comparison to the jet and the expanse of land around them – standing on the runway.
Then the figure is overtaken by the plane, engulfed in flames.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” a pilot said, according to audio from ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The airport said it would “perform an incident analysis and after action in the coming days which will include reviewing the ongoing investigation, including our perimeter security program.”
There are 36 miles of perimeter fence at the airport, according to its statement, and staff perform continuous inspections.
Denver International Airport is the nation’s third busiest by passengers, behind only Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth.
And it’s massive: At 53 square miles, the airport is larger than San Francisco, according to its website.
That makes securing its facilities a challenge, according to experts.
“The more expansive the land area of an airport, the more perimeter to defend, the more remote areas, and the more complex terrain, all of which provide more opportunities for unauthorized entry,” explained William Rankin, an adjunct professor at Florida Institute of Technology who researches airport management and safety.
Still, pedestrian incursions are extremely rare, Rankin said. Publicly available data shows there are just a handful of pedestrian incursions – between zero to five – each year on average, he said.
Fatal pedestrian-aircraft collisions like Friday night’s are even rarer, happening less than once per year on average, he said.
The incident “was an extremely rare event and should not make the public less confident in the security of the major US airports,” Rankin said.
Past security breaches
As rare as pedestrian incursions are, this isn’t the first time someone has breached a perimeter fence at the Denver airport.
Eight people – including both pedestrians and drivers – breached the fence between 2004 and 2015, an investigation by The Associated Press found.
At the time, Read more
- It’s not just drivers who hate high gas prices. So do gas station owners
It’s not just drivers who hate high gas prices. So do gas station owners
By Chris Isidore, CNN
(CNN) — Chris Bambury’s family has been selling gas in Sonoma Valley, California, for more than 100 years, but never at prices like this.
The price at his two stations was $6.29 for a gallon of regular gas last week, which is actually cheap for his part of California — AAA put the average price in his county at $6.36.
Gas station owners are struggling with rising gas prices just as much as their customers. The overwhelming majority of gas stations are small businesses — not the big oil companies whose brands they sell — and the rise in the wholesale gas price they pay has cut deeply into their already thin profit margins.
Wholesale gas prices aren’t the only rising cost putting the squeeze on station owners. Credit card fees and delivery charges for fuel are both higher than earlier this year. Labor costs are still up from the last gas spike in 2022.
Bambury’s great-grandfather, August Bonneau, started selling gas back in 1922, before there were even paved roads in his part of California. Bambury started in the family business as a teenager doing entry-level jobs — such as pumping gas and cleaning bathrooms. Today, he has 37 employees between the two stores and a third location that doesn’t sell gas.
However, to remember a time when gas was a lot cheaper, Bambury only has to think back to before the war in Iran started in late February. He was selling gas for $4.79.
“We don’t want to move up (prices too fast) and drive customers away,” he said. “We always prefer prices to be lower. The market thrives better. Our customers are happier.”
But for the most part, customers haven’t blamed him or his staff for the prices.
“They hear all about the war and the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
But as much as he wants to keep prices low, Bambury needs to make at least a profit on gas sales.
“We can’t survive losing on fuel (sales),” he said.
Across the country, another gas station owner told CNN he is considering shutting down his fuel sales.
Harry Singh has owned a gas station in Nutley, New Jersey, since 2009, but now he’s thinking of closing up and just keeping open the attached car repair garage.
“If (prices) stay like this another two or three months, I’m going to start losing money (on fuel sales),” he said.
While his station sells below the local market price, he said he is losing customers to a nearby Costco that sells gas for even cheaper. Even his regular customers aren’t buying as much as before the Iran war.
“They used to fill it up, now they say give me $20, $30,” he said.
The average gap between wholesale and retail prices is about 22 cents a gallon, according to Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association for Convenience Stores. Those stores sell about 80% of fuel nationwide.
That might sound healthy, but that 22 cents have to cover all the other costs, so a station owner is only likely to break-even, Lenard said. The average gross margin over the last five years was 38.3 cents a gallon.
“There are likely many members losing money on fuel sales currently, and others making only a few cents a gallon,” Lenard said.
Even once wholesale gas prices start to fall, it can take some time for retail prices to follow, Lenard said. That’s because owners will need to lower prices slowly to recoup the profits lost during the run up in prices.
Bambury said even when they learn of falling wholesale prices, station owners paid more for the gas they have on hand. That delays how fast they can cut their retail prices even when they start to see some relief on wholesale prices.
In Minneapolis, gas station owner Lonnie McQuirter saw a decline in sales when increased enforcement by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the city caused a drop in driving. That caused a major hit to his bottom line.
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| 12- They were on the trip of a lifetime. Now they’re quarantined as health officials work to contain a hantavirus outbreak
They were on the trip of a lifetime. Now they’re quarantined as health officials work to contain a hantavirus outbreak
By Lex Harvey, CNN
(CNN) — They boarded a cruise ship in Argentina last month for a once-in-a-lifetime expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to see unique wildlife and remote islands. Six weeks later, most of the American passengers who were aboard the MV Hondius are now in a small and spartan room with a bed and an exercise bike at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, and face potential weeks of isolation.
“Hopping back on for a second to let everyone know I’m okay and feeling well,” passenger Jake Rosmarin wrote in a post to Instagram Monday, alongside a smiling selfie in the room where he is quarantining.
“The repatriation flight was smooth, and I safely made it to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha. It’s been a very long few days, but hopefully I can start giving more updates again soon.”
A little over a week since the World Health Organization reported an outbreak of the rare hantavirus aboard the Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, a global repatriation effort is still underway for the passengers and crew who were aboard the infected ship.
As of Tuesday morning, 122 people — 87 passengers and 35 crew members — had been evacuated, and most had returned to their home countries. Five Australians and one New Zealander are in the Netherlands and set to be repatriated later this week, according to authorities.
The remaining 27 people aboard the ship — 25 crew members and 2 medical professionals — are now sailing to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where the ship will be disinfected. They are expected to arrive Sunday evening, according to Oceanwide.
Three passengers have died since April 11 and there are several other confirmed or probable cases, according to the WHO, which has reiterated that the risk to the general public is low.
Weeks of monitoring ahead
The next few weeks will be mired in uncertainty for those who were onboard the ship, where human-to-human transmission of the Andes variant of the hantavirus is believed by the WHO to have occurred.
In the US, 17 Americans and one British dual-national are being monitored in medical facilities like the one Rosmarin posted from. The ages of the passengers range from late 20s to early 80s, with older people and those with medical comorbidities at higher risk for severe outcomes.
Sixteen of those individuals are the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). One is in the biocontainment unit after testing positive for the virus and 15 are in the quarantine unit. All are asymptomatic.
Two other people — a couple — were transferred to Atlanta’s Emory University, where they are being held in a biocontainment unit, because of capacity limitations at UNMC. At least one person at Emory is showing symptoms.
After assessing the passengers for a few days, authorities will decide if each individual should complete their 42-day monitoring period at home or in the medical facilities.
In addition to these 18 people, at least 11 others are being monitored across seven states. Passengers in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia had previously disembarked from the ship and individuals in New Jersey and Maryland were exposed to a
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- Bishop Diego sweeps Athlete of the Week awards in final SBART luncheon of school year
Bishop Diego sweeps Athlete of the Week awards in final SBART luncheon of school year
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The final Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon of the school year honored two Bishop Diego High School student-athletes.
Senior John Michael Flint is the Boys Athlete of the Week and junior Tierney Clark is the Girls Athlete of the Week.
John Michael Flint led the Cardinals volleyball team into the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 championship match with a 20 kills in a four-set semifinal win over El Dorado. Earlier in the week he had a match-high 30 kills in a quarterfinal comeback victory at Brea Olinda.
The Cardinals will host St. Anthony for the D5 championship on Friday at 6 p.m.
Tierney Clark is a double CIF champion in swimming. She won the CIF-SS Individual Division 4 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle with times of 53.05 and 1:56.81 respectively.
Also at the luncheon the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for UCSB is women's soccer player Sofie Rodriguez who carries a 3.4 GPA.
This was the final luncheon as president for Bryan Cornet who finished his two-year term.
Gabe Grandcolas is the incoming president.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table finished its's 57th year of hosting luncheons at Harry's.
The post Bishop Diego sweeps Athlete of the Week awards in final SBART luncheon of school year appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
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- Gauchos shut down by former Westmont ace Bryan Peck
Gauchos shut down by former Westmont ace Bryan Peck
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Bryan Peck had a dominant return to the Santa Barbara area.
The former Westmont College standout pitcher who is now a graduate student at Cal Baptist, fired six innings of one-hit shutout ball as the Lancers snapped the Gauchos 7-game win streak 8-3. He improved to 7-1 on the season.
UCSB managed just 3 hits for the game and scored all 3 of their runs in the bottom of the eighth inning well after the game was decided.
Conner Ross homered twice and drove in 4 runs for the Lancers who improved to 40-13 on the season.
The Gauchos (34-16) used seven pitchers in this nonleague game with five of them allowing runs. San Marcos High School alum Chase Hoover pitched well in relief for UCSB with 2 2/3 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.
UCSB will play for a Big West regular season title with three home games against UC Riverside starting on Thursday 4:35 p.m.
The Gauchos are tied for first place in league with Cal Poly who finish with 3 home games against Long Beach State.
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- CIF-SS Boys Tennis quarterfinal resuts: Dos Pueblos and San Marcos both advance
| 13- Kouri Richins set to be sentenced for her husband’s murder on what would have been his 44th birthday
Kouri Richins set to be sentenced for her husband’s murder on what would have been his 44th birthday
By Nicki Brown, CNN
(CNN) — Eric Richins, a Utah father of three, would have turned 44 years old on Wednesday. Instead, his wife will be sentenced for his murder.
After a weekslong trial earlier this year, an eight-person jury convicted Kouri Richins, 36, of aggravated murder for fatally poisoning her husband in March 2022. She was also found guilty of attempted aggravated murder for trying to kill him weeks before his death, on Valentine’s Day, and insurance fraud and forgery related to his life insurance coverage.
Kouri Richins – who published a children’s book about coping with grief following Eric Richins’ death – could be sentenced to 25 years to life or life in prison without parole for her aggravated murder conviction when she appears in court in Park City, Utah.
Family members and other witnesses are expected to address the court before Judge Richard Mrazik hands down the sentence.
In a court filing this week, the Summit County Attorney’s Office invoked the Richins’ three young sons while urging Mrazik to sentence Kouri Richins to life without parole, the maximum sentence for the aggravated murder charge.
“The boys deserve finality and should not have to revisit their father’s murder at future hearings or worry about the Defendant’s potential parole,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum. “Given the tremendous trauma and upheaval that the Defendant inflicted upon their childhood, this Court should ensure that she does not harm their adulthood.”
Prosecutors are asking the judge to issue a protective order that would prohibit Kouri Richins from initiating contact with her sons and other members of her late husband’s family.
The couple’s eldest son – a 13-year-old identified in the filing as “C.R.” – said he misses his father but not his mother.
“I’m afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family,” C.R. said, according to the memorandum. “I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us.”
During the trial, members of Eric Richins’ tight-knit family tearfully remembered him as a skilled outdoorsman, hardworking businessman and dedicated father to his three young sons.
“Eric was their coach, their father, but most important, was their very, very best friend,” his father, Eugene Richins, said on the stand.
Eric Richins would do anything for his children, one of his sisters testified, recalling how he often arrived early at their sporting events to hang up signs cheering them on.
“My dad can’t be my coach anymore and can’t be at any of my games,” the Richins’ middle son said in the state’s filing. “He won’t be at my birthdays. He can’t teach me how to drive. He won’t be at my graduation.”
How the trial unfolded
Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in the couple’s home in Kamas, Utah, during the early morning hours of March 4, 2022.
Earlier that night, Eric and Kouri Richins had a drink to celebrate a successful transaction with her real estate business, according to a statement she gave law enforcement. One of their sons was having nightmares, so Kouri Richins went to sleep in his room around 9:30 p.m., she told police.
When she returned to the master bedroom about six hours later, she said, she found her husband dead in their bed.
The autopsy revealed Eric Richins died of a fentanyl overdose, with roughly five times a lethal dose in his blood. Prosecutors argued Kouri Richins slipped the drugs into her husband’s drinks the night of his death, although they did not present evidence supporting this theory at trial.
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- Fue una de las mujeres más poderosas del mundo del arte. Tres obras de su colección podrían venderse por US$ 150 millones
Fue una de las mujeres más poderosas del mundo del arte. Tres obras de su colección podrían venderse por US$ 150 millones
Por Jacqui Palumbo, CNN
Fue presidenta del Museo de Arte Moderno de Nueva York durante más de una década, donó más de 1.800 obras de arte a diversas instituciones a lo largo de su vida y, en una ocasión, vendió su cuadro más preciado de Lichtenstein por US$ 165 millones para financiar una importante iniciativa contra el encarcelamiento.
Siete años antes de la muerte de la mecenas y líder artística Agnes Gund —a los 87 años, en otoño de 2025—, The New York Times publicó un artículo sobre su trayectoria filantrópica con el titular “¿Es Agnes Gund la última persona rica y bondadosa?”.
Es muy posible que así sea, ya que el artículo señalaba que, para entonces, ella había dedicado décadas a donar su fortuna a las artes, así como a la investigación del SIDA y a grupos defensores de los derechos reproductivos.
La generosidad a esa escala se ha convertido en una rareza, dado que la riqueza se ha concentrado cada vez más en la cima, y los multimillonarios tecnológicos que construyen búnkeres parecen menos interesados en las artes y la cultura que las generaciones adineradas anteriores, a menos que sea para comprar la Met Gala.
La colección de arte de Gund, al igual que su flujo de caja, era muy variable.
En sus últimos años, gran parte de su colección había sido prometida a museos. Pero la próxima semana, tres obras de Cy Twombly, Joseph Cornell y Mark Rothko que colgaban en su casa del Upper East Side —esta última expuesta al público solo una vez— podrían venderse por casi US$ 150 millones en conjunto.
La colección de Agnes Gund se subastará el 18 de mayo como parte de la subasta nocturna de arte de los siglos XX y XXI que Christie’s celebra en Nueva York.
“Ella daba prioridad a los artistas”, declaró Sara Friedlander, quien preside el departamento de “Arte de posguerra y contemporáneo en las Américas” de Christie’s. “Sus relaciones con los artistas eran fundamentales para ella, y así fue como pudo adquirir obras tan increíbles”.
Rothko creó “N.º 15 (Dos verdes y raya roja)”, una monumental obra de negro intenso y verde oscuro con vetas rojas, en 1964. Ese mismo año, comenzó los 14 paneles oscurecidos de la Capilla Rothko en Houston, su última obra antes de su muerte en 1970.
Según Christie’s, Gund la compró directamente al artista en su estudio; aunque ella buscaba una composición más clara, él le propuso otra.
Tras adquirir la obra, esta permaneció en su apartamento, salvo por un breve préstamo de un mes en 1972 al Museo de Arte de Cleveland, que ella había visitado con frecuencia de niña en Ohio.
Adquirió la pintura sin título de Twombly, realizada en 1961 durante su período en Roma, en 1988, y el Cornell, un ensamblaje de cajas de madera de su serie “Médicos”, en 1980.
“Estos eran los cuadros y los objetos con los que ella simplemente quería convivir a diario”, declaró Friedlander. “Cuando entrabas en su sala de estar, te sentabas en el sofá y veías el Rothko a tu derecha y el Twombly justo enfrente, sobre la chimenea”.
Las estimaciones más altas se sitúan en el extremo superior de las ventas en subasta pública de cada artista.
La obra de Twombly podría venderse por hasta US$ 60 millones (récord: US$ 70,5 millones), mientras que la de Cornell podría alcanzar los US$ 5 millones (récord: US$ 7,8 millones).
El cuadro de Rothko, con una estimación de US$ 80 millones, podría vivir una noche histórica si supera la espectacular venta de 2012 de “Orange, Red, Yellow”, que, con US$ 86,8 millones, se convirtió en la obra de arte contemporáneo más cara jamás vendida en subasta pública. (Sin embargo, en ventas privadas, el récord de Rothko asciende a la asombrosa cifra de Read more
- Pomp and pageantry: for Chinese officials preparing for a Trump visit, every second counts
Pomp and pageantry: for Chinese officials preparing for a Trump visit, every second counts
By Sylvie Zhuang, CNN
Hong Kong (CNN) — With brisk strides, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will descend 39 red-carpeted steps outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a political landmark at the very heart of the Chinese capital.
Each step is timed so that he walks past top officials from the Chinese and US delegations, reaching a discreet point on the red carpet within seconds of the arrival of his guest, US President Donald Trump. On cue, ceremonial music begins.
This level of precise, by-the-second planning, demonstrated during Trump’s first visit to Beijing in 2017, will be on show again from Thursday, with the US president expected to visit to the Temple of Heaven, an ancient place of worship where emperors once prayed for good harvests, and Zhongnanhai, the secretive headquarters of the ruling Communist Party – about which little is publicly revealed.
“The Chinese are very, very meticulous. They want to plan everything very exactly,” said William Klein, a retired US diplomat who helped arrange Trump’s 2017 visit and is now a senior partner at strategic communications consultancy FGS Global.
Talks with a president as unpredictable as Trump present a huge logistical challenge for people obsessed with precision; diplomats need only to look at the US leader’s recent meeting with his Japanese counterpart where he joked about Japan’s WWII attack on Pearl Harbor.
“I think the spontaneity will be what the president says during the meetings and there is no way to control that,” said Sarah Beran, a former senior US diplomat who helped arrange Trump’s previous visit to China in 2017 and Xi’s meeting with Biden in 2023. Beran predicted Beijing would limit media access to avoid any off-script remarks being widely reported.
Behind the scenes, lower-level and senior officials from both countries have been working for months to craft deliverables and refine political messages.
On the Chinese side, nothing is left to chance; nothing can go wrong – especially during the highly choreographed public events.
The ultimate aim of Chinese officials is to present their leader in the best possible light, while making their guest feel suitably respected. During Trump’s previous visit in 2017, he was feted with an exceptionally rare private tour of the the Forbidden City, cultural displays – including a Peking opera performance, and a welcoming ceremony featuring dozens of cheering children.
This time around, Trump’s very presence in China during a time of global turmoil — created by his decision to launch attacks on Iran — is itself something of a win for Beijing.
“Having Trump being here and the two leaders could have face to face time with each other is already a significant deliverable and a success,” said a Chinese source familiar with the matter.
“Always an amazing show”
The global political landscape has changed markedly since 2017, when Beijing famously threw a “state plus” visit uniquely crafted for Trump.
“Every detail reflected painstaking craftsmanship and preparation” to create a warm atmosphere and “dilute suspicion, build trust, and encourage Washington to take China’s interests into greater consideration when shaping policy,” Chinese state media reported at the time.
Xi personally showed Trump around the Forbidden City, closing the vast palace complex to the public, so Trump and First Lady Melania could enjoy a private Peking opera performance and admire the restoration work being carried out on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Xi later hosted Trump at
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- The country where you don’t wear a rolex — you eat it
The country where you don’t wear a rolex — you eat it
By Griffin Shea, CNN
Kampala (CNN) — When Emmanuel Jonathan Okello decided to open a restaurant, he knew exactly what the menu would include: Rolexes.
“There’s a common saying; in Uganda, we don’t wear the Rolex. We eat the rolex,” he said.
Now a national dish in the East African country, and beyond, the humble street food takes its name, says Okello, from the simple way it was constructed from eggs and Indian chapati bread.
“Rolex is mainly a word that was coined from rolled egg,” he said. “The first people to make it, they picked up the chapati that was originally made by the Indians and then began to put the omelet in. But they rolled it whenever they served it. So, for lack of a better word, many people call it rolex — you know, rolled eggs.”
The chapatis arrived with Indians, brought in by the British to build the railways at the turn of the last century. Indian food became especially popular in Busoga, near the Kenyan border. As Ugandans adopted the chapati as their own, they made it slightly softer, with a crispier edge.
Some would argue that it’s closer to paratha — an Indian flatbread — but the essentials are the same: wheat flour, salt, warm water, and a little oil. The dough is rolled into a ball and then flattened on a round griddle like a crepe pan.
What started as cheap eats for laborers in the east of the country has found its way into every market in Uganda, and migrated onto trendy café plates and even into rooftop fine dining in other countries.
The leap from regional street food to national dish was largely driven by students. Rolexes on the street cost about 20 US cents, perfect for a university student budget and filling enough to get them through the day.
That’s how Okello discovered rolexes and fell in love with them.
‘We could do anything’
In their most basic and traditional form, the eggs are scrambled and then cooked into a thin omelet, almost like a crepe in thickness. The omelet gets flipped onto the chapati, some cabbage and tomatoes are sprinkled over it, and then it’s all rolled together in a wrap.
Okello’s revelation came on a trip to Jinja, a tourist town near the source of the Nile, where he met a street vendor who added fried tripe to the fillings.
“And it tasted very well for me,” he said. “That’s when I thought we could do anything with the rolex. So, I sat down and began writing down what we would have in a rolex.”
Before long, he’d scribbled down a couple dozen combinations: rolex with beef sausage, chicken gravy, curry, bacon, avocados, minced beef — every possible combination.
Can’t decide? His restaurant offers a Chef’s Special, basically an everything-rolex.
“There was a moment we even had a rolex with fruits in it,” he said. “It didn’t settle well with many people because Ugandans are not really experimental with food and so we took it off. But we had some people who liked it.”
His restaurant, aptly named The Rolex Guy, fills a gap in the market. A step up from street vendors, but not as pricey as the white tablecloth restaurants. His top-of-the-line everything rolex goes for about $5.50. Now he has two branches, one in Uganda’s capital Kampala, and one in Entebbe, a city to the south. A delivery service covers everywhere in between.
National passion
Author Jonathan Kabugo has written an entire cookbook called, “How to Rolex,” in which he offers his own variations.
For him, the rolex brought enormous innovation to Ugandan cuisine. Traditionally, most Ugandan food involved a meat or vegetable cooked in a sauce and then served with a heap of carbs like tubers or plantains. Regional food within the country offers exquisite variety.
The north adds a peanut sauce to bring out the smokiness of their meats. Luwombo stews are cooked inside banana leaves over an open fla
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| 14- DP and SM boys tennis serve up CIF semifinal wins
DP and SM boys tennis serve up CIF semifinal wins
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Channel League rivals Dos Pueblos and San Marcos will each play for a CIF-Southern Section boys tennis championship in their respective divisions this Friday at the Claremont Club.
CIF-SS Division 4 Semifinals: Dos Pueblos 11, El Segundo 7: Chargers #1 singles player Cieran Tober-Bridges went 2-1 in his matches with both of his victories finishing 6-love.
(Cieran Tober-Bridges dominated two of his opponents. Entenza Design).
The Chargers will play Westlake in the finals at 12:15 p.m.
CIF-SS Division 5 Semifinals: San Marcos 12, Aliso Niguel 6: The Royals three singles players each went 2-1 on the day.
(Royals #1 singles player Braden Stewart won his last two matches. Entenza Design).
(Royals #2 singles player Hudson Chossek continued his strong season. Entenza Design).
The San Marcos doubles team of Jacob Cantrell/Eliot Gray went 3-0.
The Royals play San Clemente in the finals at 1:30 p.m.
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- Home with a Small-Town Feel
- Adam’s Angels launches PB&J program
Adam’s Angels launches PB&J program
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Adam's Angels volunteers made hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Monday.
That's the day volunteers are known to pack non-perishable meals, but this week they added sack lunches to their offerings.
They put the PB&Js in ziplocks bags and then brown paper bags to create ready-to-eat meals for the most vulnerable members of the community.
It is part of a new Adam's Angels program.
Volunteers said each simple meal is made with love and served with care.
They plan to distribute them around the community each week.
For more information visit https://www.adamsangels-sb.org
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- Un diente de 59.000 años de antigüedad ofrece una visión excepcional de cómo los neandertales abordaban un problema médico
Un diente de 59.000 años de antigüedad ofrece una visión excepcional de cómo los neandertales abordaban un problema médico
Por Ashley Strickland, CNN
Un diente inusual hallado en una cueva ofrece una visión excepcional de un procedimiento sorprendente que los humanos prehistóricos podrían haber realizado para reparar caries hace 59.000 años.
Investigadores descubrieron el molar inferior de un neandertal adulto en la cueva de Chagryskaya, en lo que hoy es Rusia, ubicada en las montañas Altai del suroeste de Siberia, un lugar donde vivieron poblaciones de estos primeros humanos hace entre 49.000 y 70.000 años aproximadamente.
El diente, bautizado como Chagyrskaya 64, destacaba entre las docenas de otros hallados en la cueva porque su corona presentaba un orificio profundo e irregular que se extendía hasta la cámara pulpar, la cavidad interna que contiene nervios y vasos sanguíneos.
La perforación parecía una cavidad dolorosa que ocupaba la mayor parte de la superficie masticatoria del diente.
Los científicos quedaron aún más intrigados al descubrir arañazos en el diente alrededor del orificio, lo que sugería manipulación con algún tipo de herramienta. Las herramientas de piedra de punta fina halladas en la cueva también proporcionaron posibles pistas sobre qué produjo las marcas.
Múltiples escaneos del diente neandertal, así como experimentos con herramientas en dientes humanos modernos, sugieren que alguien perforó la cavidad.
Esta evidencia apunta al primer caso conocido de intervención en una cavidad dental en la historia evolutiva humana, según un estudio publicado el miércoles en la revista PLOS One.
Este comportamiento indica que los neandertales podían identificar una infección y fabricar y seleccionar las herramientas y técnicas adecuadas para aliviar el dolor que causaba, además de soportar un procedimiento doloroso.
Los patrones de desgaste en el diente también muestran que el individuo podía seguir usándolo después del procedimiento.
“Lo que me asombró fue la intuición con la que la persona dueña de este diente comprendió exactamente de dónde provenía el dolor y se dio cuenta de que su origen podía eliminarse”, declaró la autora principal del estudio, Alisa Zubova, investigadora sénior del Museo de Antropología y Etnografía Pedro el Grande de la Academia Rusa de Ciencias en San Petersburgo. “Nunca habíamos encontrado nada parecido, ni entre los neandertales ni entre los humanos modernos de épocas mucho posteriores”.
Estos hallazgos se suman a un creciente conjunto de pruebas que sugieren que los neandertales, nuestros parientes humanos extintos más cercanos, eran cognitiva y psicológicamente más similares a los humanos modernos de lo que se pensaba, en lugar de los cavernícolas brutos y simplones de los estereotipos anteriores.
“Esto nos indica que las partes emocionales y conscientes de la mente neandertal funcionaban de forma independiente, tal como lo hacen en los humanos modernos”, comentó Zubova.
Los primates no humanos, como los chimpancés, han demostrado la capacidad de tratarse a sí mismos o a otros miembros de su comunidad con plantas medicinales, un comportamiento que, según los expertos, es instintivo.
Los neandertales parecen haber hecho lo mismo, ayudando a los miembros de su especie que sufrían lesiones o pérdida de audición compartiendo comida o protegiéndolos como una forma de cuidado social, señaló la coautora del estudio, Ksenia Kolobova, jefa del Laboratorio de Arqueología Digital del Instituto de Arqueología y Etnografía de la Rama Siberiana de la Academia Rusa de Ciencias en Novosibirsk, Rusia.
Sin embargo, los investigadores llevan mucho tiempo intentando determinar si los primeros humanos, como los neandertales, eran capaces de llevar ese cuidado un paso más allá mediante la implementación de estrategias médicas deliberadas.
Cuand
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| 15- Explosive device safely detonated after being found in critical Alabama reservoir
Explosive device safely detonated after being found in critical Alabama reservoir
By Diego Mendoza, CNN
A “grenade-type” explosive device was safely detonated after being found in an Alabama reservoir that supplies drinking water to the city of Mobile and its surrounding area, officials said.
The device was discovered Wednesday by divers surveying the Converse Reservoir dam in Mobile County for routine repair and maintenance, prompting a notification to the sheriff’s office and a multi-agency response, including the FBI, according to the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS).
It is unclear where the device originated, how it ended up in the reservoir and whether it was intentionally placed there or mistakenly discarded.
“Our top priority is keeping your drinking water safe,” said MAWSS Director Bud McCrory in a statement. “This is an unprecedented threat, and we are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage to our water supply or harm to individuals.”
Officials have notified the Department of Homeland Security about the incident because the reservoir and dam are federally designated critical infrastructure, according to MAWSS.
CNN has reached out to MAWSS and DHS for more information.
The Converse Reservoir, also known as Big Creek Lake, is a 3,600-acre manmade watershed providing drinking water to 350,000 people in the city of Mobile and surrounding areas, according to the MAWSS website.
Parts of the reservoir are accessible for recreational activities, such as fishing, boat rentals and picnics, its website says.
The agencies involved in Wednesday’s response included the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, FBI Bomb Squad, Mobile Police Department Explosive Ordinance Detail, ALEA Bomb Squad, and the Daphne Search and Rescue Team, MAWSS said.
In response to the discovery, MAWSS said it would work with relevant law enforcement to enhance security at the reservoir and dam.
At least two federal officials have expressed gratitude to authorities for their work safely removing the device.
“We are thankful for the diligent work that led to identifying this device and for the multi-agency response team that was able to detonate the device,” Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama wrote on X. “Ensuring that our reservoirs remain secure is critical.”
“My team and I have been in contact with state and local officials. We are thankful no one was harmed,” Britt added.
Alabama Republican Rep. Barry Moore also posted on X: “Thankful for local, state, and federal law enforcements quick response to this matter and that no one was hurt.”
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- CIF-SS Baseball & Softball results: San Marcos loses first round home game
CIF-SS Baseball & Softball results: San Marcos loses first round home game
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -
CIF-Southern Section Baseball Division 4 First Round:
Grand Terrace 8, San Marcos 4: The home Royals fell behind 5-0 after two innings and could not climb out of that early hole as their season ends at 16-12. San Marcos got RBI singles from Landon Johnson and Quinn Melton.
(Sophomore Quinn Melton drove in a run in the final inning for the Royals. Entenza Design).
Rio Mesa 6, Hesperia 0: Spartans play at Claremont in second round on Tuesday, May 19th.
Palm Desert 11, Pacifica 7
CIF-SS Division 6 First Round:
Foothill Tech 3, Bloomington 2: Dragons host Canyon Springs in second round on Tuesday, May 19th.
Calvary Chapel/SA 8, Hueneme 2
CIF-SS Division 8 First Round:
Nordhoff 3, Bishop Diego 1: Jaxson Middough had a 2-run triple in the bottom of the third for the Rangers who play at Nuview Bridge in second round on Tuesday, May 19th. The Cardinals RBI was from Zach Fisher.
Rio Hondo Prep 14, Beacon Hill 1
CIF-SS Softball Division 2 First Round:
Camarillo 4, South Hills 3: Scorpions hosts Huntington Beach in second round on Saturday, May 16th.
CIF-SS Division 4 First Round:
St. Bonaventure 11, Valencia/V 4: Seraphs play at Harvard-Westlake in second round on Saturday, May 16th.
Oxnard 14, Pasadena Poly 0: Yellowjackets hosts Apple Valley in second round on Saturday, May 16th.
Rio Mesa 9, Segerstrom 6: Spartans at Mission Viejo in second round on Saturday, May 16th.
CIF-SS Division 6 First Round:
El Monte 11, Santa Paula 10
CIF-SS Division 8 First Round:
San Bernardino 17, Channel Islands 9
Workman 18, Valley Christian Academy 3
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- Trump administration rushes to steady Kennedy’s HHS, with an eye on the midterms
Trump administration rushes to steady Kennedy’s HHS, with an eye on the midterms
By Adam Cancryn, CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration is racing to fill a widening leadership vacuum within the US Department of Health and Human Services, amid months of upheaval that have shaken Americans’ trust and stoked GOP fears of a backlash at the ballot box in November.
Senior health officials plan to settle on a new nominee to run the Food and Drug Administration within the next few weeks, in hopes of rapidly stabilizing an agency whose prior leader had alienated several elements of President Donald Trump’s political coalition, a senior administration official told CNN.
They are also plotting a broader shakeup of senior FDA staff meant to reset the agency’s strained relationship with its vast workforce and ease deepening concerns across the health care industry, two senior officials said.
And as it works to contain the hantavirus outbreak, the White House is also pushing for the quick confirmation of more conventional picks to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and serve as surgeon general, after failing repeatedly to advance candidates closely aligned with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
“It needs a lot of sorting out,” GOP pollster Whit Ayres said of the turmoil across HHS. “It’s not exactly a well-oiled machine.”
The fresh urgency surrounding the health department comes as Trump tries to shore up key political weaknesses ahead of midterm elections that could cost him control of Congress, stall his agenda and open his administration up to a raft of Democratic investigations.
White House officials earlier this year decided that HHS under Kennedy required an overhaul following a tumultuous period marked by controversial vaccine policies, constant personnel problems and messaging missteps that had dented its standing with voters and a swath of frustrated GOP lawmakers.
The White House since then has grown more deeply involved in the department’s decisionmaking, Trump officials and others familiar with the matter said, working with Kennedy to shift away from controversial issues like vaccines and toward more mainstream affordability issues like drug pricing and health insurance.
It’s a move that has irked many in Kennedy’s MAHA movement, who aligned with Trump in hopes he would embrace radical changes to the nation’s health system. Some prominent MAHA influencers have cautioned in recent weeks that Republicans are at risk of alienating their voters ahead of November — a warning that only grew louder after FDA commissioner Marty Makary resigned earlier this week under pressure from Trump and his close aides and allies.
“Marty Makary was one of the few people inside Washington willing to challenge the corporate capture of our health agencies,” Vani Hari, a wellness influencer known for her “Food Babe” blog, wrote on X. “If reformers who challenge the system keep getting pushed out, it only proves how deeply entrenched these special interests really are.”
But Trump officials have largely brushed aside those concerns in favor of refocusing HHS and its leadership, overseeing a restructuring of Kennedy’s senior staff in February that set the stage for a broader revamp.
Top White House and HHS officials subsequently spent several weeks assembling new leadership at the CDC, which had been mired in crisis since Kennedy’s abrupt ouster last August of then-Director Susan Monarez over vaccine disagreements. Trump’s new CDC nominee, Erica Schwartz, is a public health veteran and former deputy US surgeon general.
The White House then abandoned an effort to install Read more
- Eurovision finalists to take the stage amid boycott from Spain, Ireland and others over Israel’s presence
Eurovision finalists to take the stage amid boycott from Spain, Ireland and others over Israel’s presence
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Despite Eurovision’s insistence it is apolitical, politics has always been part of the continent-wide song contest, as much a feature as whatever constellation of pyrotechnics and power ballads are on display that year.
But where, previously, politics was somewhat of a punchline, a useful indicator for cynical fans to guess which country might award points to another, this year it is threatening to overshadow the entire contest.
Five countries – Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland – are boycotting this year’s event over Israel’s continued participation in it, marking the biggest crisis in the contest’s 70-year history.
The furor has dampened the festivities of the normally high-camp, joyful, gaudy extravaganza, in which acts representing different, mostly European countries each perform a song, competing to be crowned the winner after a public and jury vote.
It was watched by 166 million people on TV last year and has become a key cultural touchstone for the LGBTQ+ community. But only 35 countries traveled to Vienna, Austria for this year’s contest, which culminates in Saturday’s grand final, representing the lowest number of competitors since 2004. Visiting fan numbers may also be down.
“We can see that there are tickets still available for the final on Saturday, which is kind of unheard of,” Frank Dermody, president of the Irish Eurovision Fanclub, told CNN from Vienna. Where around 800 Irish fans will normally travel to the host city, this year only about 40 have made the trip, he said.
“There’s a lot of people from other countries who are not coming as well. They just don’t feel comfortable. They might get FOMO in the coming days and just turn up to the city itself but right now I would say there’s a smaller than average crowd,” he said.
Rule changes after claims of influence effort
Israel’s participation in the contest has proven controversial for the past two years due to its war in Gaza, sparking some protests and boycotts from fans.
In December, divisions between the countries who make up the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes Eurovision, burst into the open when they met to discuss the matter.
They ended up not holding a vote on Israel’s participation in the contest but introduced “targeted changes” to “reinforce trust, transparency and the neutrality of the event,” the EBU said in December. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia promptly announced their boycott, and Iceland joined a week later. At the time, Israel’s foreign minister said he was “ashamed” of the countries boycotting the contest.
That all came after rumors and accusations that the Israeli government had influenced the results of the last two competitions by promoting a mass voting campaign.
The EBU has never commented publicly on such allegations, but a New York Times investigation published Monday described a “well-organized campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that embraced Eurovision as a soft power tool, and a secretive contest organizer that was ill-equipped to respond.”
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment to CNN. Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs, said in a statement that his ministry “has identified a sharp and coordinated surge in antisemitic and anti-Israel discourse surrounding Eurovision 2026.”
Under the contest’s previous rules, one person could vote up to 20 times, meaning that a few hundred people could sway the public vote, the Times found. Eurovision director Martin Gree
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| 16- El trato indulgente de Trump hacia China evidencia un marcado contraste
El trato indulgente de Trump hacia China evidencia un marcado contraste
Análisis por Aaron Blake, CNN
El presidente Donald Trump lleva mucho tiempo intentando presentarse como una especie de hombre fuerte frente a China, pero su retórica dura y sus guerras comerciales a menudo se ven socavadas por su notable actitud conciliadora hacia Xi Jinping.
Y ese enfoque más conciliador quedó plenamente de manifiesto durante la visita de Trump a Beijing esta semana.
El viaje de Trump —y sus comentarios al final del mismo— incluyen algunas concesiones, tanto retóricas como reales, al Gobierno chino.
Además, el presidente se retractó explícitamente de promesas de campaña anteriores de adoptar una postura firme contra China.
Taiwán fue quizás el tema más destacado. Es un asunto delicado para cualquier presidente, dadas las políticas estadounidenses tan matizadas respecto a su independencia (la política de “una sola China”) y su defensa frente a China (“ambigüedad estratégica”).
Durante gran parte del viaje, Trump evitó pronunciarse al respecto. Sorprendentemente, Sean Hannity, de Fox News, ni siquiera mencionó el tema en la entrevista que le realizó a Trump, emitida el jueves por la noche.
Luego, Trump ofreció una rueda de prensa informal a bordo del Air Force One durante el viaje de regreso a casa, donde dijo que había hablado con Xi sobre una venta de armas pendiente a Taiwán por valor de US$ 14.000 millones, y que “tomaría una decisión en el próximo período relativamente corto”.
Incluso esa respuesta evasiva representa una victoria bastante significativa para China, como señala Jim Sciutto de CNN.
La administración Trump ya ha enviado armas a Taiwán por valor de US$ 11.000 millones.
Trump también se hizo eco de los argumentos de Xi sobre cómo Taiwán ha formado parte de China durante miles de años.
Y el mero hecho de consultar a China sobre el tema es notable. Ronald Reagan declaró en 1982 que Estados Unidos no solicitaría la opinión de China sobre este tipo de ventas de armas.
“¿Qué voy a hacer, decir que no quiero hablar de eso?”, declaró Trump cuando le preguntaron sobre el documento de 1982. “¿Porque tenemos un acuerdo firmado en 1982? No, hablamos de venta de armas”.
Esa no fue la única concesión retórica que China logró, a pesar de que Trump aparentemente ha obtenido relativamente pocos acuerdos importantes, al menos hasta ahora.
El presidente de EE.UU. también indicó que estaba considerando levantar las sanciones contra las empresas chinas que han estado comprando petróleo iraní.
Y se negó repetidamente a juzgar a China por sus actividades de espionaje. Cuando se le preguntó sobre los ciberataques chinos, Trump restó importancia al asunto, calificándolo como un problema que afectaba a ambas partes.
“Ya sabes, lo que ellos hacen, nosotros también lo hacemos”, manifestó Trump en el Air Force One. “También los espiamos sin piedad. Le dije: ‘Te hacemos muchas cosas de las que no te enteras’”.
Trump repitió la misma frase cuando Hannity le preguntó sobre las intenciones “nefastas” de China, diciendo: “Sinceramente, ya sabes, ellos nos hacen cosas y nosotro
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- High Wind Warning issued May 16 at 12:17AM PDT until May 17 at 9:00AM PDT by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
- High Wind Warning issued May 16 at 12:17AM PDT until May 17 at 9:00AM PDT by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
- Wind Advisory issued May 16 at 12:17AM PDT until May 16 at 9:00PM PDT by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
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17- Ukraine attack ‘largest in over a year’ on Moscow, Russian state media reports
Ukraine attack ‘largest in over a year’ on Moscow, Russian state media reports
By Kosta Gak, Chris Lau, Yong Xiong, Lucas Lilieholm, CNN
(CNN) — At least three people were killed near Moscow after Ukraine targeted Russia with more than 500 drones overnight, Russian state news agency TASS reported Sunday, citing local and military officials.
The attack on Moscow is “the largest in over a year,” according to TASS, citing information released by the city’s mayor, and follows a huge wave of Russian strikes earlier in the week targeting Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Those attacks killed at least 25 people and injured dozens of others, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Overnight into Sunday, a woman was killed after a drone hit a private home in Khimki, a town to the northwest of the Russian capital, mayor Sergey Sobyanin said, adding that another person was trapped under the rubble.
Two men were killed in Mytishchi, to Moscow’s northeast, when drone debris fell on a house under construction, Sobyanin said, adding that a total of 12 people were injured in Moscow, including construction workers at an oil refinery.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 556 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Sobyanin said air defences shot down more than 120 drones heading for Moscow and its environs.
Fallen debris also caused a house in the village of Subbotino to catch fire, while four people were injured when drones damaged several residential blocks in the western town of Istra, TASS reported.
Some drone fragments fell on the grounds of Sheremetyevo Airport, Russia’s busiest air hub, though no injuries or damage were reported, according to the facility.
The state news agency posted images of a house engulfed in a fireball and several damaged apartment blocks on Telegram, without specifying their locations.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 287 drones overnight, injuring at least nine people in the Dnipropetrovsk region and Zaporizhzhia district. It shot down all but eight of those drones across seven locations, it added.
Just a little more than a week ago, Russia held a scaled-down version of its traditionally dazzling Victory Day military parade following intensified Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory, particularly against oil refineries.
As the attack unfolded on Sunday morning, Ukraine’s commander of the Unmanned System Forces posted a message on his official Telegram account, addressed to the residents of Patriarchy, one of Moscow’s elite residential districts.
“The one-way ticket to a peaceful life in Patriarchy and the surrounding areas has been canceled.”
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- Ucrania efectúa el “mayor ataque en más de un año” a Moscú, informan los medios estatales rusos
Ucrania efectúa el “mayor ataque en más de un año” a Moscú, informan los medios estatales rusos
Por Chris Lau, Yong Xiong, Kosta Gak y Lucas Lilieholm, CNN
Al menos tres personas murieron cerca de Moscú después de que Ucrania atacara Rusia con más de 500 drones durante la noche, informó este domingo la agencia estatal de noticias rusa TASS, citando a funcionarios locales y militares.
El ataque a Moscú es “el más grande en más de un año”, según TASS, citando información difundida por el alcalde de la ciudad, y sigue a una gran oleada de ataques rusos a principios de la semana que tuvieron como objetivo la capital de Ucrania, Kyiv. Esos ataques mataron al menos a 25 personas e hirieron a decenas más, según las autoridades ucranianas.
Durante la noche del sábado al domingo, una mujer murió después de que un dron impactara una vivienda privada en Khimki, una ciudad al noroeste de la capital rusa, dijo el alcalde Sergey Sobyanin, quien añadió que otra persona quedó atrapada bajo los escombros.
Dos hombres murieron en Mytishchi, al noreste de Moscú, cuando los restos de un dron cayeron sobre una casa en construcción, dijo Sobyanin, añadiendo que un total de 12 personas resultaron heridas en Moscú, incluidos trabajadores de la construcción en una refinería de petróleo.
El Ministerio de Defensa de Rusia dijo que interceptó 556 drones ucranianos durante la noche, mientras que Sobyanin afirmó que las defensas aéreas derribaron más de 120 drones que se dirigían a Moscú y sus alrededores.
Los restos caídos también provocaron que una casa en la aldea de Subbotino se incendiara, mientras que cuatro personas resultaron heridas cuando los drones dañaron varios bloques residenciales en la ciudad occidental de Istra, informó TASS.
Algunos fragmentos de drones cayeron en los terrenos del aeropuerto de Sheremetyevo, el centro aéreo más concurrido de Rusia, aunque no se reportaron heridos ni daños, según la instalación.
La agencia estatal de noticias publicó imágenes de una casa envuelta en una bola de fuego y varios bloques de apartamentos dañados en Telegram, sin especificar sus ubicaciones.
La Fuerza Aérea de Ucrania informó que Rusia lanzó 287 drones durante la noche, hiriendo al menos a nueve personas en la región de Dnipropetrovsk y el distrito de Zaporiyia. Añadió que derribó todos los drones excepto ocho en siete ubicaciones diferentes.
Hace poco más de una semana, Rusia celebró una versión reducida de su tradicional y deslumbrante desfile militar del Día de la Victoria, tras intensificados ataques ucranianos en el interior del territorio ruso, especialmente contra refinerías de petróleo.
Mientras se desarrollaba el ataque la mañana de este domingo, el comandante de las Fuerzas de Sistemas No Tripulados de Ucrania publicó un mensaje en su cuenta oficial de Telegram, dirigido a los residentes de Patriarchy, uno de los distritos residenciales de élite de Moscú.
“El billete de ida a una vida pacífica en Patriarchy y las zonas circundantes ha sido cancelado”.
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- Soccer players become first North Korean athletes to visit the South in more than 7 years
Soccer players become first North Korean athletes to visit the South in more than 7 years
By Gawon Bae, Yoonjung Seo, Brad Lendon, CNN
Incheon, South Korea (CNN) — South Korea received North Korean athletes for the first time in more than seven years on Sunday, when a women’s soccer team arrived to contest the Asian club championship.
Thirty-nine players and staff from Pyongyang’s Naegohyang Women’s Football Club rushed past a crowd of media and security at Incheon International Airport after the team arrived on a flight from Beijing.
Arriving smartly dressed in matching blazers and skirts, the North Korean players walked straight to their bus, without glancing at the gathered pro-unification groups cheering, “Welcome.”
The players and staff remained silent and emotionless until the door of their bus closed and left for Suwon under police escort.
The team’s visit doesn’t come at a time of particularly warm inter-Korean ties. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has cemented the division of the Korean Peninsula in the past month, revising the reclusive nation’s constitution to define each country as distinct territories, while removing a clause related to reunification.
All the while, North Korea has been promoting a long list of military developments, from new missile, rocket and artillery systems to new warships and submarines.
Despite North Korea’s hard-line approach, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has tried to improve relations across the demilitarized zone and decrease tensions that were prevalent under his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Seoul seems to be taking a low-key approach to Wednesday’s semi-final in the AFC Women’s Champions League, for which more than 7,000 tickets quickly sold out last week.
The match against Suwon Football Club Women will be played in the city of the same name, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the capital.
The 39 North Koreans, including 27 players, are permitted to stay in South Korea for a week, in case they advance to the finals scheduled for Saturday at the same stadium.
The other teams competing in the final four this week in South Korea are Australia’s Melbourne City and Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza.
North Korean athletes last came to the South in December 2018, when a joint North-South team competed in the International Table Tennis Federation World Grand Finals. Earlier that year, the Koreas fielded a unified women’s ice hockey team at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South.
For Wednesday’s game, about 3,000 seats were purchased by civil organizations forming the “joint supporters group.”
The North Korean women’s soccer program is enjoying remarkable success, something which is believed to please Kim.
In North Korea, sports are seen not just as a competition but as a source of national pride. State media often reports extensively on sporting successes.
When the soccer team won the Under-20 Women’s World Cup two years ago, Kim toasted the “patriotic celebration.”
Some of Naegohyang’s players were in the squad that lifted that trophy, while others have shone at the U-17 World Cup, of which North Korea has won the previous two editions.
The club is no stranger to games outside of North Korea, having played in Myanmar and Laos in the current competition.
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- Futbolistas se convierten en los primeros atletas norcoreanos en visitar Corea del Sur en más de 7 años
Futbolistas se convierten en los primeros atletas norcoreanos en visitar Corea del Sur en más de 7 años
Por Gawon Bae, Yoonjung Seo y Brad Lendon, CNN
Corea del Sur recibió este domingo a atletas norcoreanos por primera vez en más de siete años, cuando un equipo femenino de fútbol llegó para disputar el campeonato de clubes asiático.
Treinta y nueve jugadoras y miembros del personal del Club de Fútbol Femenino Naegohyang de Pyongyang pasaron rápidamente entre una multitud de medios y seguridad en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Incheon después de que el equipo llegara en un vuelo desde Beijing.
Vestidas elegantemente con blazers y faldas a juego, las jugadoras norcoreanas caminaron directamente hacia su autobús, sin mirar a los grupos pro-unificación reunidos que aclamaban: “Bienvenidas”.
Las jugadoras y el personal permanecieron en silencio y sin mostrar emoción hasta que se cerró la puerta del autobús y partieron hacia Suwon escoltados por la Policía.
La visita del equipo no llega en un momento de relaciones particularmente cálidas entre las dos Coreas. El líder norcoreano, Kim Jong Un, ha afianzado la división de la península coreana en el último mes, revisando la Constitución de la hermética nación para definir a cada país como territorios distintos, mientras elimina una cláusula relacionada con la reunificación.
Mientras tanto, Corea del Norte ha estado promoviendo una larga lista de desarrollos militares, desde nuevos sistemas de misiles, cohetes y artillería hasta nuevos buques de guerra y submarinos.
A pesar del enfoque de línea dura de Corea del Norte, el presidente de Corea del Sur, Lee Jae Myung, ha intentado mejorar las relaciones a través de la zona desmilitarizada y disminuir las tensiones que prevalecieron bajo su predecesor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Seúl parece estar adoptando un enfoque discreto ante la semifinal del miércoles en la Liga de Campeones Femenina de la AFC, para la cual más de 7.000 entradas se agotaron rápidamente la semana pasada.
El partido contra el Suwon Football Club Women se jugará en la ciudad del mismo nombre, a unos 40 kilómetros al sur de la capital.
A los 39 norcoreanos, incluidos 27 jugadoras, se les permite permanecer en Corea del Sur durante una semana, en caso de que avancen a la final programada para este sábado en el mismo estadio.
Los otros equipos que compiten en las semifinales esta semana en Corea del Sur son el Melbourne City de Australia y el Tokyo Verdy Beleza de Japón.
Los atletas norcoreanos visitaron por última vez el sur en diciembre de 2018, cuando un equipo conjunto Norte-Sur compitió en las Finales Mundiales de la Federación Internacional de Tenis de Mesa. A principios de ese año, las Coreas formaron un equipo unificado de hockey sobre hielo femenino en los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de Pyeongchang, en el sur.
Para el partido del miércoles, unas 3.000 entradas fueron compradas por organizaciones civiles que forman el “grupo conjunto de aficionados”.
El programa de fútbol femenino de Corea del Norte está disfrutando de un éxito notable, algo que se cree que complace a Kim.
En Corea del Norte, los deportes no se ven solo como una competencia, sino como una fuente de orgullo nacional. Los medios estatales suelen informar extensamente sobre los éxitos deportivos.
Cuando el equipo de fútbol ganó la Copa Mundial Femenina Sub-20 hace dos años, Kim brindó por la “celebración patriótica”.
Algunas de las jugadoras de Naegohyang estaban en el equipo que levantó ese trofeo, mientras que otras han brillado en la Copa Mundial Sub-17, de la cual Corea del Norte ha ganado las dos ediciones anteriores.
El club no es ajeno a los partidos fuera de Corea del Norte, ya que ha jugado en Myanmar y Laos en la competición actual.
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| 18- Las venganzas de Trump rinden frutos, pero ¿a qué costo para el Partido Republicano?
Las venganzas de Trump rinden frutos, pero ¿a qué costo para el Partido Republicano?
Análisis por Stephen Collinson, CNN
El presidente Donald Trump intensifica su campaña de represalias tras derribar a otro crítico republicano en una campaña que le resulta profundamente satisfactoria, pero que conlleva crecientes riesgos políticos para su partido.
Trump destruyó las esperanzas de reelección del senador de Louisiana Bill Cassidy en las primarias republicanas del estado el sábado, y este lunes enviará a Pete Hegseth a Kentucky como parte de un esfuerzo para hacer caer al representante Thomas Massie, una incursión rara y controvertida para un secretario de Defensa en tiempos de guerra.
Massie, quien coescribió una ley que exige la publicación de los archivos de Jeffrey Epstein y que se opone a la guerra con Irán, se enfrentará a los votantes eSTE martes. Pero dijo el domingo que no le preocupan los ataques de Trump. “Se nota que voy adelante en las encuestas y están desesperados”, dijo a “This Week” de ABC News.
Trump también amenazó eL fin de semana con retirar su respaldo a la representante republicana Lauren Boebert de Colorado después de que ella hiciera campaña a favor de Massie.
La derrota de Cassidy, cinco años después de que votara a favor de condenar a Trump en un juicio político en el Senado por el asalto al Capitolio del 6 de enero, amplía la lista de grandes figuras del Partido Republicano, incluyendo a Liz Cheney y Mitt Romney, que ya han sido apartados de los principales puestos del partido por enfrentarse a un presidente autoritario.
La jugada dura de Trump en Louisiana fue otra impresionante demostración de su poder sobre su propio partido y de su capacidad para aprovechar el apoyo de sus seguidores más comprometidos, incluso como presidente de segundo mandato que nunca ha sido tan impopular a nivel nacional. Este superpoder político explica por qué el presidente no ha emulado a anteriores mandatarios impopulares al perder la capacidad de moldear la política interna. A principios de este mes, Trump descalificó a varios legisladores estatales en Indiana que se resistieron a sus demandas de redibujar los mapas electorales del Congreso.
Pero la persecución de Trump de sus vendettas políticas en una presidencia que gira cada vez más en torno a objetivos personales, proyectos de legado costosos y mensajes económicos sordos va a causar un dolor de cabeza para el Partido Republicano.
Trump siempre ha sido una figura política única. Construyó un movimiento que lo hizo presidente dos veces al convertir sus propias obsesiones —como la inmigración, los aranceles o el gasto en la OTAN— en objetivos políticos. Pero sus últimas payasadas llegan mientras los republicanos lidian con las primeras consecuencias de su turbulento segundo mandato antes de unas difíciles elecciones de mitad de período.
Mientras actúa en función de sus propios objetivos, Trump no se está enfocando en temas que son, posiblemente, mucho más vitales para el país; como poner fin a su guerra contra Irán y las consecuencias económicas del conflicto, que están agravando aún más una crisis de asequibilidad ya de por sí grave.
Las intervenciones de Trump están profundizando el dilema central de los candidatos republicanos a las elecciones de mitad de mandato: ¿Cómo pueden atraer a un electorado más amplio que desprecia al presidente sin incurrir en su ira? Romper públicamente con Trump, por otro lado, podría alienar a los votantes de la base, que no son suficientes para lograr victorias en distritos indecisos, pero cuya presencia masiva es necesaria para mantener viables a los candidatos del partido.
El afán de venganza de Trump y su enfoque en proyectos personales, como el nuevo salón de baile de la Casa Blanca y
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- Armas en la televisión y en las calles de Irán mientras Trump renueva las amenazas de guerra
Armas en la televisión y en las calles de Irán mientras Trump renueva las amenazas de guerra
Matthew Chance
Al caer la noche sobre la extensa capital de Irán, y mientras los picos nevados de las montañas Alborz se desvanecen en la oscuridad, miles de iraníes han salido habitualmente a las calles para participar en manifestaciones patrocinadas por el Estado, destinadas a movilizar a sus partidarios contra Estados Unidos.
Cerca de la plaza Tajrish, un barrio elegante de Teherán, el inevitable cántico de “Muerte a Estados Unidos” resuena entre un mar de banderas iraníes, mientras los vendedores ambulantes ofrecen té y recuerdos, como gorras de béisbol y parches patrióticos, a la multitud entusiasta.
“Estoy dispuesta a sacrificar mi vida por mi país y por mi gente”, me dijo una joven llamada Tiana, que llevaba gafas con los colores de la bandera iraní, por encima de los ensordecedores cánticos.
“Toda la gente, todo el Ejército, todos los comandantes que tenemos, están listos para sacrificar sus vidas también, y listos para luchar con todo su corazón y alma”, agregó, desestimando la última amenaza del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump en las redes sociales de reanudar la acción militar.
“Para Irán, el tiempo se acaba y más les vale darse prisa, o no quedará nada de ellos”, publicó Trump el domingo en su plataforma Truth Social , aumentando aún más las tensiones a medida que las estancadas conversaciones de paz socavan un frágil alto el fuego.
Un anciano que portaba un cartel improvisado se ofreció a traducir su letrero, escrito a mano en persa. “La tecnología nuclear y de misiles es tan importante como nuestras fronteras, por lo que las protegeremos”, decía.
“Necesitamos energía nuclear, energía limpia, no una bomba”, me dijo, en referencia a la negativa de Irán a poner fin a su controvertido programa nuclear, que Trump ha puesto como condición para terminar la guerra.
“Trump sabe que no tenemos una bomba, pero aun así nos ataca”, añadió.
A medida que aumentan los rumores y los temores sobre inminentes ataques estadounidenses-israelíes, crece entre muchos iraníes la sensación de que la reanudación de las hostilidades es inevitable.
“Sabemos que esta guerra no ha terminado. Sabemos que Trump no va a negociar realmente”, dijo Fátima, quien afirmó haber crecido en Londres y Dubái.
“Él simplemente nos dirá: ‘Haz lo que te digo o te mato’. Y luego nos atacará aunque hagamos lo que él diga”, añadió.
Las concentraciones, o “reuniones nocturnas”, se han estado celebrando en todo el país todas las noches durante casi tres meses, prácticamente desde el comienzo de la guerra.
Pero en los últimos días se ha observado la inquietante aparición de puestos públicos de venta de armas, donde se ofrecen a los civiles lecciones básicas sobre el uso de armas, una señal de cómo las autoridades iraníes, cada vez más intransigentes, están preparando a la población para un mayor conflicto.
En un quiosco de la plaza Vanak, vimos a una mujer vestida con un chador negro aprendiendo a manejar un fusil de asalto AK-47, mientras un hombre enmascarado con uniforme militar le mostraba cómo desmontar y ensamblar el arma.
A pocos metros de distancia, una niña pequeña jugaba con un Kalashnikov descargado, apuntando el arma al aire antes de apretar el gatillo y devolverle el arma a su instructor sonriente.
El llamamiento general a las armas también se está reiterando en la televisión estatal, y varios canales emiten imágenes de sus presentadores blandiendo fusiles de asalto.
Un presentador, Hossein Hosseini, del canal estatal Ofogh, disparó su rifle, en directo por televisión, contra el techo del estudio tras recibir una lección de un miembro enmascarado del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica (CGRI).
“Me enviaron un arma desde la pl
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- Ron Howard’s new film on famed photographer Richard Avedon, explained in four remarkable shots
Ron Howard’s new film on famed photographer Richard Avedon, explained in four remarkable shots
By Sheena McKenzie, CNN
(CNN) — Like many of us, director Ron Howard had come across Richard Avedon’s photos all his life, without realizing it. There’s the iconic portrait of Marilyn Monroe looking off-camera, deflated. Charlie Chaplin mimicking devil horns. Brooke Shields in a provocative Calvin Klein ad. As Howard dug through the archives and interviewed subjects for his new documentary on the renowned American photographer, the bolt of recognition hit him more than once.
“It was stunning,” Howard said of going into the vault and seeing the range of subjects who had sat for him. Speaking via video call, trademark cap on, warm wood paneling all around, the actor and director of the Oscar-winning film, “A Beautiful Mind,” took inspiration from Avedon: “He’s braver,” he said, comparing himself. “He took more leaps, took more risks.”
In the second half of the 20th century, everyone who was anyone in American culture – from Hollywood icons to presidents and revolutionaries – had their portrait taken by Avedon. Against an often stark white backdrop, he expertly peeled away the veneer to reveal their truest selves.
Howard’s documentary — simply titled, “Avedon” — which premiered at Cannes Film Festival over the weekend, draws on both archive footage of the photographer (who died in 2004, aged 81), and revealing interviews with those closest to him. His son, John, recalls an intensively driven father who, though loving, was often away from home. While top art dealer Larry Gagosian remembers with a chuckle going to Avedon’s home for brunch and being served hardboiled eggs and champagne. “I thought it was super elegant,” he said.
We asked Howard to pick his four favorite Avedon photos. “That’s a challenge,” he said, of narrowing it down from many thousands of images. A challenge the director was game for.
Below are Howard’s top Avedon photos.
Charlie Chaplin’s devilish mischief
The year is 1952 and Charlie Chaplin, a global celebrity and political progressive, is feeling the heat from American authorities in the McCarthy era. The English film icon had by that time lived in the US for decades, though had never become a US citizen, and was now the target of hostile politicians and right-wing press.
Chaplin agrees to a portrait with Avedon. “Avedon was nervous and anxious,” said Howard. “He knew he didn’t have very much time with Charlie Chaplin.” They went through the sitting, it was rather formal. And while Avedon was “thrilled to have this opportunity,” said Howard, “I don’t think he felt like he was getting the essence of the man, which was always Avedon’s aim.”
In the documentary, Avedon in archive footage recalled what happened next: “When I was finished, (Chaplin) said, ‘now can I do one for you?’ And he put his head down and he came up frowning furiously with these horns. And then he said, ‘no, no, I want to do it again.’ And he came up smiling.”
The next day, Chaplin and his family set sail for London, never to live in the US again. Avedon was evidently tickled by newspaper speculation Chaplin had “hid out in my studio… and it turns out this photograph was his last message to the US.”
Beyond the image’s cheeky two fingers up at authorities, there’s also Avedon’s “discipline and professionalism,” said Howard. “He only had one crack at this. And look, it’s sharp, his eyes are perfect. Of course, Chaplin probably knew to stay right on his mark also. But those two nailed it in this moment.”
Marilyn Monroe’s mask slips
In 1957 Marilyn Monroe was at a crossroads. The previous year she had married the playwright Arthur Miller, and was increasingly pushing against her blonde bombshell image. She hired Avedon to photograph her for a new film, “The Prince and the Showgirl.”
In some ways, Monroe was the ultimate challenge to Avedon’s methodology of capturing th
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- ‘It’s not supposed to look like you’re going to dive in’: Historians criticize Trump’s Reflecting Pool makeover as group sues
‘It’s not supposed to look like you’re going to dive in’: Historians criticize Trump’s Reflecting Pool makeover as group sues
By Sunlen Serfaty, Devan Cole, Dugald McConnell, CNN
(CNN) — Workers with boots dyed an “American Flag Blue” have painted over about two-thirds of the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, covering the dull gray with bright azure following a directive by President Donald Trump to expedite the pace of the project.
Trump earlier this month laid out a timeline that put the project on track to be done this week. However, workers on the ground told CNN recently that they need another month until they are finished, and Trump said Saturday it “should be completed” by July 4, ahead of the US’ 250th birthday.
Time has quickly become one of the most essential factors in this project — one of many in Washington, DC, where Trump is racing to put his stamp on the nation’s capital.
As Trump is charging forward with overhauling the Reflecting Pool, controversy and derision have intensified, bringing a lawsuit that threatens to stop the project mid-paint job, potentially leaving the 2,800-foot pool on the National Mall only partially painted in the blue color he chose.
That court fight is coming to a head this week, when a judge will decide whether to issue an injunction sought by a DC nonprofit.
Trump has disparaged the state of the Reflecting Pool, saying it is feces-infested and in disrepair. He has zeroed in on the color, which he claims no one likes. And he contends that previous administrations failed to repair leaks and other problems.
But critics fear the Reflecting Pool will look more like a swimming pool, with the shine of a country club, like the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. They also contend the administration is skipping required reviews that must be completed before work gets underway — and that the pool will actually be less reflective.
Trump posted images Saturday of a “sample test” at the Reflecting Pool, showing the painted pool with a small amount of water.
Critics: Trump is painting over history
For historians, the new blue paint is more than just a bold aesthetic choice they are simply not fond of — many view the move as Trump painting over history. They note the storied national landmark was the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the Vietnam War protests.
“It’s not supposed to look like you’re going to dive in and swim; it is intended to reflect the great geometry of the classical temple that is the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument,” said Judy Scott Feldman, of the National Mall Coalition, a nonprofit that helps protect the area’s legacy.
“It wasn’t intended as a place that looks jolly like your local golf course,” she added. “The intention is to create both beauty but also to symbolically link the father of the country with the preserver of the country.”
Feldman, of course, is referring first to George Washington, whose monument stands at the other end of the Reflecting Pool, and then to Abraham Lincoln.
Trump has also been intentional about his color choice, a vibrant shade of dark blue that he calls “American Flag Blue.”
“It’s much more beautiful than it was new because it never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” Trump said earlier this month, as he drove in his presidential motorcade across the drained pool to survey the work.
The Interior Department told CNN in a statement that the color choice will “enhance the visitor experience” and improve reflection over the existing gray concrete.
Charles Birnbaum, president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the nonprofit that’s challenging the project in court, couldn’t disagree more and insists visitors would miss out on seeing themselves in the water as “part of the commemorative landscape.”
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| 19- What previous Super El Niños can tell us about the next one
What previous Super El Niños can tell us about the next one
By Andrew Freedman, CNN
(CNN) — The coming “Super” El Niño is poised to affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide as it strengthens through the year into the winter season. It may also alter ecosystems for decades to come, judging from the repercussions of past intense El Niños.
The last Super El Niño reshaped weather and economies around the world, leaving disruptions that lingered long after the Pacific cooled. Now, as another powerful El Niño builds, we’re looking for clues about what hundreds of millions of people — and the planet’s most fragile ecosystems — may face next.
El Niño is a naturally occurring weather cycle in the Pacific Ocean characterized by unusually hot waters near the equator, which changes the circulation of air in the atmosphere. But the effects of El Niño do not stay limited to that part of the Pacific; they ricochet outward to affect weather and climate patterns around the globe.
Past Super El Niños are an imperfect guide to this upcoming one, since no two El Niños are alike in their impact. But in many ways, we will be simultaneously more and less resilient to effects of this super El Niño compared to events in 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16.
Most notably, some computer models show the upcoming El Niño exceeding the intensity of all those events to become the most intense since at least 1950. It’s not the most likely scenario, but that’s the biggest point of uncertainty in its impacts: We aren’t going to know its peak strength until it happens.
Our modern resilience comes from being able to see El Niño coming well before its worst effects hit. But there are some concerns that countries and aid groups may have a harder time mounting a response to El Niño-linked extreme weather events because of cuts to aid budgets and other political developments. These have especially affected some of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
The effects of a strong El Niño can include flooding in some areas while drought, heat waves and wildfires plague other regions. Crop losses are common in some countries during an El Niño, as is coral bleaching and mortality due to unusually hot ocean temperatures.
Because El Niño features a large area of unusually hot ocean waters, with much of that heat transferred to the atmosphere, the global climate is almost certain to see a record warm year during an intense El Niño, climate scientists say.
Takeaway 1: It will be costly
Studies of historical El Niño events, particularly the “El Niño of the Century” in 1997-98, have shown that their economic damage can run into the trillions globally, though some countries can benefit economically from the milder winters it brings or other weather pattern shifts.
A study published in the journal Science in 2023 found that El Niño can cut country-level economic growth for several years after the warm waters have subsided.
Researchers attributed $4.1 trillion in global income losses to the 1982-83 El Niño and $5.7 trillion in global income losses to the 1997-98 event, which, based on its intensity, may be a useful analog for the upcoming El Niño. These losses played out in countries across a five-year period during and following the El Niño.
Takeaway 2: El Niño isn’t the only game in town
During El Niño, and especially a Super El Niño, it can be tempting to blame each extreme weather event on the phenomenon. However, El Niño does not instigate individual weather systems so much as dial up or down the odds for particular conditions to prevail at a certain time of the year.
To put it plainly, there is no foreboding El N
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- Starbucks Korea CEO fired after ‘Tank Day’ promo evokes brutal crackdown on democracy
Starbucks Korea CEO fired after ‘Tank Day’ promo evokes brutal crackdown on democracy
Reuters
Seoul (Reuters) — The head of Starbucks Korea has been fired after a marketing campaign sparked public outrage for evoking painful memories of a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.
Shinsegae Group, the retail conglomerate that licenses and manages the US coffee chain in South Korea, said it had sacked Sohn Jeong-hyun, the head of Starbucks Korea, for carrying out “inappropriate marketing.”
Sohn’s dismissal came hours after Starbucks launched its “Tank Day” campaign on Monday promoting what it called its “Tank” line of tumblers with the tagline “put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!’”
Monday also marked Democratisation Movement Day, which commemorates the student-led Gwangju Uprising of May 1980, and the campaign drew strong criticism in South Korea.
Hundreds of people are estimated to have died or gone missing when the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan deployed troops and tanks to crack down on the protests. Many details remain unconfirmed, including who gave the order to open fire on the protesters. Chun finally stepped down in 1988 amid growing calls for democracy.
Critics also questioned the use of the phrase “tak” for echoing explanations by South Korean police in 1987 for the death of a student protester, who was found to have been tortured. At the time, police said the student died after investigators struck a desk making a “tak” sound, according to local media reports.
Reuters was unable to reach Sohn for comment and Starbucks Korea declined to make him available for comment, saying he had already left the company. The company has withdrawn the campaign.
Companies apologize
Writing on X on Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he was “enraged” by Starbucks’ campaign and demanded it apologize to families of people killed during the uprising.
The campaign “tarnished the bloody protests of Gwangju citizens and the victims of the protests,” Lee said, calling it the act of a “degenerate peddler.”
Starbucks Korea posted a statement on its website apologizing for the promotion while Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin also issued a public apology.
“I deeply bow in apology as the representative of the group,” Chung said. The marketing “deeply hurt the public, the bereaved families, and the victims of the May 18 demonstration.”
Shares of Shinsegae’s discount retail chain E-Mart 139480.KS, which owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea that is now called SCK Company, ended down 5.5% at the close of trade in Seoul.
Starbucks Global also issued a statement on Tuesday, saying it was sorry about what had happened and that an investigation had begun.
“We sincerely apologize to the people of Gwangju, to those impacted by this tragedy, and to our customers and communities,” a spokesperson at Starbucks Global said in an email to Reuters.
“Leadership accountability actions have been taken, and a thorough investigation is underway,” the spokesperson said. “We are implementing stronger internal controls, review standards, and company-wide training to ensure this does not happen again.”
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- Removing poison — and stigma — from the world’s most dangerous bowl of soup
Removing poison — and stigma — from the world’s most dangerous bowl of soup
By Lilit Marcus, Erica Hwang, CNN
Busan, South Korea (CNN) — In a 1991 episode of “The Simpsons,” Homer goes to a Japanese restaurant and eats fugu, or poisonous pufferfish. He becomes convinced that he’s going to die, so he crosses off as many of the items on his bucket list as possible.
There’s one wrinkle — the skillful chef managed to remove all the poison, so Homer’s totally fine and has to keep living his life.
Pufferfish, though, still has a dangerous reputation.
Yes, it’s poisonous. Even a tiny amount of the tetrodotoxin it contains can be lethal.
However, the fish can be prepared in a way where the poison is safely removed. In Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city and a major seaside destination, pufferfish restaurants abound.
While seafood is popular all across South Korea, pufferfish is a Busan specialty. The fishermen who have long lived in this part of the country easily catch them in the surrounding waters. The seaside Mipo neighborhood in Busan is known locally as “Pufferfish Village.” Several of Busan’s pufferfish restaurants have been recognized by Michelin, which debuted its Busan guide in 2024.
Pufferfish chefs require special training and need to pass an exam before they’re licensed by a national government department. Nervous diners can ask to see these certificates, which are usually hanging on the wall inside the restaurant, to be sure they’re in safe hands.
One of the most famous pufferfish restaurants in Busan is Chowon Bokguk — bokguk means pufferfish soup in Korean.
Although the restaurant is in an unassuming brick building on a typical side street, it comes with significant prestige: founder Kim Dong-sik was the first licensed pufferfish chef in Busan.
At lunchtime, visitors can order a set menu where the fish is prepared in a soup. The rich broth contains vegetables like bean sprouts, white radishes and water parsley, while deep-fried pufferfish fritters are served as an appetizer.
The meal arrives with a full set of banchan, Korean side dishes, that include two different kinds of kimchi, water spinach and rice. The most basic of these sets costs 18,000 won (about $12).
Soup with a side of scandal
Chowon Bokguk’s reputation, though, goes well beyond its menu offerings. Ask any local Busanite about it, and they’ll tell you that the restaurant was the site of a significant political scandal decades ago.
A group of Busan political officials, including the city’s mayor and police chief, were having a meal at the restaurant in 1992. Unbeknownst to both them and the restaurant’s owners, Chowon Bokguk had been bugged.
It was a classic case of political espionage. Figures linked to the Unification People’s Party eavesdropped on high-ranking government rivals from the Democratic Liberal Party as they plotted to influence presidential elections.
The tapes dropped like a bombshell just three days before the election, causing a major scandal. The “Chowon Bokguk incident” led to a landmark legal case that, ironically, saw members of the Unification Party convicted of trespassing for planting bugs without permission.
Today, Chowon Bokguk is to Busan what Watergate is to Washington D.C., and these days the restaurant prefers to keep a low profile, letting its food do the talking.
The restaurant is popular for workday lunches, with an attendant helping cars maneuver in and out of the small lot in front of the building.
‘A sense of comfortable beauty’
Pufferfish consumption has long roots in South Korea. It was a specialty food for the Joseon dynasty, Korea’s final dynasty, which spanned from the 14th through the early 20th century, but Korean food historian Park Sung-bae believes it was eaten well before that.
Althoug
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- Juez dictamina que los escritos del cuaderno de Luigi Mangione y el arma incautada en su mochila serán admitidos como prueba
Juez dictamina que los escritos del cuaderno de Luigi Mangione y el arma incautada en su mochila serán admitidos como prueba
Por Nicki Brown y Kara Scannell, CNN
Un juez de Nueva York dictaminó este lunes que algunas pruebas encontradas en la mochila de Luigi Mangione en el momento de su detención serán excluidas de su próximo juicio, aunque sí serán admitidos otros elementos clave, como una pistola impresa en 3D y escritos que expresan frustración con el sector sanitario.
Aunque algunas de las pertenencias de Mangione fueron excluidas del caso, el fallo mixto representa en gran medida una victoria para los fiscales, quienes podrán mostrar al jurado el llamado “manifiesto” y el arma de fuego que, según afirman, se utilizó para matar al CEO de UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson.
Los abogados de Mangione argumentaron que la policía local registró ilegalmente su mochila cuando fue arrestado en un McDonald’s de Pensilvania en diciembre de 2024, días después de que Thompson fuera asesinado a tiros en una acera de Manhattan.
Los agentes continuaron registrando la mochila en la comisaría de Altoona antes de solicitar una orden de registro ese mismo día.
El juez Gregory Carro dictaminó que la fiscalía puede usar el arma y una libreta roja con anotaciones manuscritas en el juicio.
Estos objetos, entre otros, fueron recuperados como parte de un registro válido según el protocolo del Departamento de Policía de Altoona, escribió Carro en su resolución.
Sin embargo, los objetos encontrados durante el registro inicial en el McDonald’s —entre ellos un cargador, un pasaporte, una cartera, un teléfono celular y un chip de computadora— serán excluidos.
Si bien los agentes de policía afirmaron que registraron la bolsa en parte por temor a que contuviera un arma, Carro determinó que dicha justificación no se sostenía tras un análisis minucioso.
“Sin embargo, si bien las imágenes de las cámaras corporales mostraron que los agentes expresaron su preocupación en el lugar de los hechos de que la mochila pudiera contener una bomba, no había pruebas de que existiera un arma de fuego ni de que esta fuera la razón del registro”, escribió el juez. “Pero incluso si hubiera sido una preocupación legítima, en el momento del registro no existía la posibilidad de que el acusado sacara un arma de la mochila, y por lo tanto, no había ninguna urgencia”.
Los abogados defensores de Mangione habían presionado para que el contenido de la mochila fuera excluido del caso por la fiscalía, alegando que fue registrada ilegalmente, sin una orden judicial.
Los fiscales de la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito de Manhattan negaron las alegaciones de la defensa e insistieron en que los registros fueron legales y apropiados.
El fallo de Carro se produce meses después de una audiencia de supresión de pruebas que duró nueve días e incluyó horas de grabaciones de las cámaras corporales de la policía que mostraban cómo se desarrolló el arresto y el testimonio de varios agentes del orden sobre los registros.
La audiencia de supresión de pruebas permitió al público vislumbrar algunas de las “pruebas muy contundentes” que los fiscales tienen en este caso, según declaró el analista legal de CNN, Joey Jackson.
“Los miembros del jurado podrán escuchar todo sobre ese cuaderno y todas las pruebas que demuestran su intención, cómo identificó lo que estaba haciendo, por qué lo hacía, etcétera”, declaró Jackson. “Verán el arma, el silenciador, y creo que eso les preocupará mucho”.
El caso ha generado un debate nacional y ha puesto de relieve la opinión pública sobre el sistema de salud estadounidense.
Mangione ha recibido numerosas muestras de apoyo
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| 20- What the numbers tell us about the Ebola outbreak
What the numbers tell us about the Ebola outbreak
By Jen Christensen, CNN
(CNN) — An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda is spreading fast, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. Tests show that a strain called Bundibugyo — which has no specific treatment or vaccine – is behind the outbreak.
The World Health Organization has officially declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”
At least one American who was working in the DRC has tested positive for the virus, the international charity Serge reported. The CDC said Tuesday that the American who tested positive was being transferred to Germany for care. The US is also working to move six close high-risk contacts out of the region for monitoring and care.
How many people have died or gotten sick in the DRC?
It’s difficult to know exactly how many people are sick with Ebola. Dr. Anne Ancia, WHO’s representative in the DRC, said Tuesday that there are more than 500 suspected cases, including 130 deaths, but only 30 cases have officially been confirmed.
“We have significant uncertainty about the number of infections and how far the virus has spread,” Ancia said. On Tuesday, the director-general of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is “deeply concerned about the scale and speed” of the deadly outbreak.
How many Americans have been directly affected by the Ebola outbreak?
One American has tested positive for Ebola and has symptoms, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Six high-risk contacts of that American will be taken to Europe from the affected region, the CDC said Tuesday. Six people – the patient and five others – will be sent to Germany, and another will be cared for in the Czech Republic, according to the CDC.
The symptomatic patient, Dr. Peter Stafford, is a general surgeon who specializes in burn care who was helping patients in the city of Bunia, according to Serge.
Serge says two other doctors – Stafford’s wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and Dr. Patrick LaRochelle – may have been exposed to the virus but remain asymptomatic and continue to follow established quarantine and monitoring protocols.
How does the disease spread?
Ebola spreads through direct contact with fluids from an infected person, such as blood or vomit. It can also spread via objects or surfaces contaminated with an infected person’s fluids or through fecal matter. People are not usually infectious until they show symptoms of the disease.
The incubation period, the time between exposure and the onset of symptoms, ranges from two to 21 days.
Has the outbreak spread to other countries?
In Uganda, there are two confirmed cases as of Tuesday, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. The first was a patient from the DRC who was treated at a Ugandan health facility but later died. The second case is also considered imported from the DRC.
Ugandan health authorities say they have activated outbreak control measures, including disease surveillance, screening and response readiness.
When did this outbreak start?
On May 5, WHO received an alert regarding an unknown illness with high mortality in Mongbwalu, in the DRC’s Ituri province, including four h
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- Bishop Diego makes a successful debut in CIF-State Tournament
Bishop Diego makes a successful debut in CIF-State Tournament
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The moment has not been too big for the Bishop Diego High School boys volleyball team who keep on making lasting memories.
Fresh off of their first ever CIF-Southern Section championship, the Cardinals are a winner in their CIF-State Tournament debut as they sweep Edison of Fresno in a Division 3 first round match at the Brick House (25-21, 25-23, 25-18).
The Cardinals will play at top-seed Central East of Fresno on Thursday in a regional semifinal. The Bengals outlasted Foothill Tech of Ventura in five sets.
Damien Krautmann led the Cardinals with a match-high 16 kills while fellow senior John Michael Flint added 15 kills for the Cardinals who improved to 29-9 in their school record-setting season.
(Luke Walter stuffed the stat sheet with 36 assists and team-high 4 blocks. Entenza Design).
The post Bishop Diego makes a successful debut in CIF-State Tournament appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
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- Xi Jinping recibe a Putin con alfombra roja y lanza una indirecta velada a EE.UU.
Xi Jinping recibe a Putin con alfombra roja y lanza una indirecta velada a EE.UU.
Por Simone McCarthy, CNN
El líder de China, Xi Jinping, elogió los lazos con Rusia como una fuerza de “calma en medio del caos” durante una reunión con Vladimir Putin en Beijing el miércoles, días después de que Xi recibiera al presidente Donald Trump para una cumbre histórica entre Estados Unidos y China.
Xi aludió a una situación internacional cada vez más conflictiva —y lanzó una velada crítica a Estados Unidos— al reunirse con Putin en el Gran Salón del Pueblo para dar inicio a la visita de Estado de aproximadamente 24 horas del líder de Rusia a la capital china.
“La situación internacional está marcada por una turbulencia y una transformación entrelazadas, mientras que las corrientes hegemónicas unilaterales campan a sus anchas”, dijo Xi, utilizando el lenguaje típico de Beijing para criticar lo que considera una extralimitación de la política exterior de Estados Unidos.
Ante esta situación, China y Rusia deberían reforzar su “coordinación estratégica integral”, declaró Xi, según informaron los medios estatales chinos.
El líder de China se refirió directamente a la guerra entre Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán, afirmando que su “pronta finalización” ayudará a reducir las interrupciones en el suministro de energía, las cadenas de suministro y el comercio.
“El cese total de la guerra no admite demoras, la reanudación de las hostilidades es aún menos deseable, y persistir en las negociaciones es particularmente importante”, dijo Xi.
Putin, cuyas fuerzas continúan librando la guerra en Ucrania, realiza su vigésima quinta visita oficial a China durante su cuarto de siglo como líder de Rusia y la primera desde el estallido de un nuevo conflicto en Medio Oriente.
En los últimos años, Xi y Putin han intensificado significativamente la coordinación entre sus países en materia de comercio, diplomacia y seguridad, impulsados conjuntamente por las fricciones compartidas con Estados Unidos y el objetivo de reformar un orden mundial que consideran injustamente dominado por Occidente.
En su discurso de apertura, Putin afirmó que las relaciones entre China y Rusia habían alcanzado un “nivel sin precedentes” y que se encontraban entre los “principales factores estabilizadores en el escenario internacional”.
En su discurso de apertura, también aludió a los estrechos lazos personales que lo unen al líder de China, con quien se ha reunido en más de 40 ocasiones. Utilizó un proverbio chino que se traduce como “Un día separados se siente como tres otoños”, para enfatizar la tristeza de la separación.
Se espera que la jornada de reuniones entre Putin y Xi se centre en ampliar aún más su asociación “sin límites”, al tiempo que les brinda la oportunidad de hablar sobre la visita de Trump y las guerras en Ucrania e Irán.
Putin sugirió que la energía, la industria, la agricultura, el transporte y la alta tecnología serían otros temas en la agenda.
“En medio de la crisis en Medio Oriente, Rusia sigue manteniendo su papel como proveedor fiable de recursos, mientras que China continúa siendo un consumidor responsable de estos recursos”, le dijo a Xi.
Para Xi, recibir en el espacio de pocos días a los líderes de Estados Unidos y Rusia, dos naciones sumidas en conflictos, supone una gran ventaja, ya que pretende consolidar la reputación de China como actor clave en los asuntos mundiales.
La bienvenida que Putin ofreció el miércoles por la mañana a las afueras del monumental Gran Salón tuvo todos los elementos propios de una típica bienvenida a una visita de Estado, similar a la que Beijing brindó a Trump la semana pasada.
Xi y un grupo de sus principales funcionarios estrecharon la mano del presidente de Rusia, antes de que los líderes, con aspecto relajado, se colocaran hombro con hombro durante una salva de cañones, mientras una banda militar tocaba y las banderas rusa y china ondeaban al fondo.
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- Gauchos and Mustangs each have 11 players honored by Big West
Gauchos and Mustangs each have 11 players honored by Big West
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Big West regular season co-champions UCSB and Cal Poly each received major Big West honors.
UCSB Gauchos: It was hardly a straight path, but the UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (37-16, 22-8 Big West) is where they expected to be at the beginning of the season: top of the pile in The Big West and the no. 1 seed for the conference tournament. On Tuesday, the conference honored 11 of the men who helped them get there, with head coach Andrew Checketts named The Big West Co-Coach of the Year and ace right-hander Jackson Flora named The Big West Pitcher of the Year. Flora is one of three All-Big West First Team members in Santa Barbara, joined by second baseman William Vasseur and outfielder Rowan Kelly. Catcher Nate Vargas and shortstop Corey Nunez were named to the All-Big West Second Team, as were Santa Barbara natives Kellan Montgomery and Chase Hoover. Pitchers Nathan Aceves and Cole Tryba earned All-Big West Honorable Mention, alongside outfielder Liam Barrett.
(San Marcos High School alum Chase Hoover has a 2.98 ERA out of the bullpen Entenza Design).
(Dos Pueblos High School alum Kellan Montgomery is 8-3 as a starter. Entenza Design).
The newly well-decorated Gauchos will open their Big West Championship pursuit on Thursday, May 21 at 1 p.m. against either no. 4 seed Hawai'i or no. 5 seed Cal State Fullerton, who will meet in a single-elimination play-in game on Wednesday, with the winner moving on to face Santa Barbara.
ALL-BIG WEST HONOREES
For leading his team to the conference's top seed, Checketts earned his fourth career Big West Coach of the Year honor, this time sharing the award with his counterpart in San Luis Obispo, Larry Lee. Checketts, already UC Santa Barbara Baseball's leader in career wins and career winning percentage, surpassed 500 wins leading the Gauchos this season and has his team in a position to reach the NCAA Tournament for a 16th time. A big part of his success? The young man he has sent to the mound to open each of Santa Barbara's 14 series this season: The Big West Pitcher of the Year, Flora. The flame-throwing righty was lauded as the top pitcher in this year's Major League Baseball Draft class even before the season began, but he has spent the last 14 weeks backing up that claim. With an ERA of 1.03, Flora leads all qualified Division I pitchers and is on track to set the Gauchos' new single-season D-I ERA record. He is the crown jewel in a Santa Barbara pitching staff that ranks fourth nationally in team ERA and seventh in both hits allowed per nine innings and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).
Joining Flora on the All-Big West First Team are the top two hitters in the Gaucho offense that has supported that elite pitching staff: Vasseur and Kelly. For Kelly, 2026 has been confirmation that his stellar 2025, when he hit .355 in 29 starts, was not a fluke. The sophomore has started every game for the Gauchos this season and is hitting .348 w
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| 21- A year on from Washington museum attack, two women battle with survivor’s guilt
A year on from Washington museum attack, two women battle with survivor’s guilt
By Lianne Kolirin, CNN
(CNN) — Two young women who hid under a car as a gunman launched a murderous assault in Washington, DC, last year have described how speaking to survivors of the Holocaust and other terrorist attacks has helped them confront their trauma.
Catherine Szkop, now 29, and Abbie Talmoud, now 25, were just feet away from their colleagues Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim when they were killed. Now, on the first anniversary of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025, they have spoken to CNN about what unfolded that evening and their efforts to come to terms with it.
The four, who worked together in the Israeli embassy, had shared a ride in Talmoud’s car to an event for young professionals at the museum that evening. They left the museum around 9 p.m. and walked toward the car, which was parked close by, according to Szkop.
Szkop recalled Lischinsky, 30 and Milgrim, 26, who were dating, being just steps behind her and Talmoud. “Abbie was directly on my left and said: ‘Where’s my car?’ I said: ‘Straight ahead, by the Italian church.’”
“The moment I said that I suddenly heard a loud noise like a pop. I heard that a few times and noticed it was echoing off the buildings. I thought, ‘What if those aren’t fireworks?’”
She recalled running over the crosswalk, spotting a parked SUV and diving beneath it.
“I don’t remember hitting the ground, but I remember crawling under the car and still hearing the popping noises,” she said. “Then it got quiet and that’s when Abbie slammed into me. Then the popping continued.”
“Abbie told me breathlessly under the car that Yaron got shot.”
She and Talmoud were “within a meter or two” of their friends, although at that point they were unaware of the full extent of what had happened. “I thought it was a drive-by shooting,” said Szkop, adding that she only learned her colleagues had died hours later.
The Justice Department last week formally notified DC federal court that it intends to seek the death penalty in the case of the suspect in the shooting, Elias Rodriguez. He has been charged with multiple terrorism-related offenses, including counts of premeditated murder and hate crimes resulting in death. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty.
‘Such a different life’
Szkop, Talmoud and Milgrim worked on the same team in the public diplomacy department at the embassy and were “close friends,” according to Szkop. As they left the museum event, they posed smiling and arm-in-arm for a picture. Eight minutes later, the gunman attacked.
“I could stare at that photo for hours,” Szkop told CNN. “Such a different life and we didn’t even know it.”
Talmoud described her late friends as the “sweetest” people. “They loved animals, they loved dancing, they loved music. They were such a happy couple. They’re really, really missed,” she said.
On top of coping with their bereavement, Szkop and Talmoud have struggled to make sense of the hand fate dealt them.
“That first month I kept saying, ‘I don’t understand why I didn’t at least walk away with one bullet,’” said Talmoud. “When it was over, I was put in a cop car and sat there for hours, no medical assistance, no nothing, and I went home. That survivor’s guilt, it really does sit with me.”
Both women recently returned from the International March of the Living, an annual remembrance event held at Auschwitz-Birkenau,
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- Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel
Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel
By Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, CNN
(CNN) — Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded by US-Israeli strikes, according to two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments. Four sources told CNN that US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is reconstituting much faster than initially estimated.
The rebuilding of military capabilities, including replacing missile sites, launchers and production capacity for key weapons systems destroyed during the current conflict, means that Iran remains a significant threat to regional allies should President Donald Trump restart the bombing campaign, according to the four sources familiar with the intelligence. It also calls into question claims about the extent to which US-Israeli strikes have degraded Iran’s military in the long term.
While the time to restart production of different weapons components varies, some US intelligence estimates indicate Iran could fully reconstitute its drone attack capability in as soon as six months, one of the sources, a US official, told CNN.
“The Iranians have exceeded all timelines the IC had for reconstitution,” the US official said.
Drone attacks are a particular concern for regional allies. If hostilities resume, Iran could augment its missile production capability — which has been significantly degraded — with more drone launches, to continue firing at Israel and Gulf countries that are well within range of both weapons systems.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume combat operations against Iran if the two countries fail to reach a deal to end the war, including saying publicly on Tuesday that he’d been an hour from restarting bombing, meaning these military capabilities could come into play.
Iran has been able to rebuild much faster than expected due to a combination of factors, ranging from support it is receiving from Russia and China to the fact that the US and Israel did not inflict as much damage as the two countries had hoped, one of the sources told CNN. For example, China has continued to provide Iran with components during the conflict that can be used to build missiles, two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments told CNN, though that has likely been curtailed by the ongoing US blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS last week that China is giving Iran “components of missile manufacturing” but declined to elaborate further.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denied the allegation during a press conference, calling it “not based on facts.”
Meanwhile, Iran also still maintains ballistic-missile, drone-attack and anti-air capability despite the serious damage inflicted by US-Israeli strikes, according to recent US intelligence assessments, meaning the quick rebuilding of military production capacity isn’t starting from scratch.
A spokesperson for US Central Command declined to comment, saying the command does not discuss matters related to intelligence.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CNN in a statement that “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”
“We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell added.
CNN reported in April that US intelligence assessed that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers had survived US strikes. A recent report increased that figure to two thirds partially due to the ongoing ceasefire providing Iran with time to dig out l
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- Trump says he’s willing to talk to Taiwan’s leader, a major departure from diplomatic norms
Trump says he’s willing to talk to Taiwan’s leader, a major departure from diplomatic norms
By Helen Regan, Wayne Chang, CNN
(CNN) — US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of speaking to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, in what would be an unprecedented move for a US leader and a major departure from diplomatic norms.
US and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since 1979, when Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei.
“I’ll speak to him,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday when asked whether he would call Lai before making a decision on whether he will sign off on a major Congress-approved arms sale to the island.
“I speak to everybody. We have that situation very well in hand,” he said before boarding Air Force One, adding, “we’ll work on that Taiwan problem.”
It is not clear whether the Trump administration has moved forward with any plans for a call.
Trump’s comments on potentially speaking to Taiwan’s Lai came days after he returned from his a closely watched visit to Beijing. During that trip, China’s leader Xi Jinping warned Trump directly that Taiwan could become a “very dangerous situation” if mishandled.
China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it — and has long vowed to “reunify” the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.
Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China but has never officially recognized the Communist Party’s claim to the island.
Washington maintains robust unofficial relations with Taiwan and is bound by law under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide the self-governing island with defensive weapons. A 1982 US assurance to Taiwan says Washington does not have a policy of consulting with Beijing on arms sales.
How the US handles its unofficial relationship with Taiwan has long been a major point for contention for Beijing, which is now watching closely whether Trump will advance a $14 billion arms deal with the island. Congress approved the deal back in January.
Following his visit to China last week, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed arms sales to Taiwan “in great detail” and that he would make a decision about arms sales “over the next early short period of time.”
On Wednesday, Trump described his meeting with Xi in Beijing as “amazing,” before describing Taiwan as a “problem.”
A senior US official last week noted the US administration’s record of arms sales to Taiwan, which included more than $11 billion in sales last December – one of the largest in history – as a sign of the US commitment to the self-governing island.
Taiwan has been ramping up military purchases in recent years as it comes under increasing pressure from Beijing, with Chinese aircraft and ships present almost daily around Taiwan as well as regular large-scale exercises in and over the surrounding waters.
Any call between Trump and Taiwan’s leader would likely anger Beijing and could risk potentially driving a diplomatic wedge between the US and China.
As President-elect in 2016, Trump had a phone call with Taiwan’s then President Tsai Ing-wen, which overturned decades of diplomatic protocol. China’s foreign ministry lodged a complaint and urged the US to adhere to the ‘one China’ policy.
Taiwan President Lai, who marked two years in office on Wednesday, said communication channels between Taipei and Washington “were always open” and if given the opportunity to speak directly to T
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- Gobernador de Colorado fue censurado por los demócratas por su decisión de liberar a Tina Peters, negacionista electoral
Gobernador de Colorado fue censurado por los demócratas por su decisión de liberar a Tina Peters, negacionista electoral
Por María Kay Mallonee, CNN
El gobernador demócrata de Colorado, Jared Polis, fue censurado por su propio partido este miércoles por su decisión de conceder el indulto a Tina Peters, negacionista de las elecciones.
El Partido Demócrata de Colorado votó a favor de reprender al gobernador por su decisión de liberar a Peters.
“Reducir su condena ahora, bajo la presión de Donald Trump, no es justicia”, declaró el partido estatal en un comunicado. “Envía un mensaje a futuros infractores de que la manipulación electoral tiene consecuencias, a menos que seas amigo del presidente. Es un precedente peligroso y lamentable”.
La exsecretaria del condado de Mesa saldrá de prisión estatal el 1 de junio, luego de que la jueza Polis redujera su condena a la mitad. Un jurado declaró culpable a Peters de conspirar con aliados del presidente Donald Trump para manipular los sistemas de votación de su condado en 2021, con la esperanza de demostrar sus acusaciones de fraude electoral de 2020.
Los demócratas estatales declararon que censuraron formalmente al gobernador “por una conducta incompatible con el compromiso del Partido Demócrata de Colorado con las instituciones democráticas, la integridad electoral y la rendición de cuentas pública”.
El partido añadió: “Hasta que el Comité Central Estatal o el Comité Ejecutivo tomen nuevas medidas, el gobernador Jared Polis no participará como invitado de honor, orador principal ni representante oficialmente reconocido del Partido Demócrata de Colorado en eventos y funciones patrocinados por el partido, incluyendo, entre otros, la Gala Obama y el DemFest”.
Un portavoz de Polis declaró el miércoles que el gobernador actuó según su criterio, basándose en los hechos del caso, y añadió: “A veces, lo correcto no es lo más popular. La democracia se fortalece cuando el desacuerdo se aborda con debate y diálogo, no con censura”.
La inminente liberación de Peters representa una victoria para Trump y el movimiento negacionista de las elecciones de derecha, que la considera una heroína procesada injustamente.
Trump ha ejercido una intensa presión sobre Colorado a raíz del encarcelamiento de Peters. Ella es la última aliada del presidente que permanece en prisión por delitos relacionados con las elecciones de 2020.
La decisión de Polis de liberar a Peters provocó la condena bipartidista de funcionarios de Colorado. Su decisión se produjo después de que ella reconociera, por primera vez desde su condena en 2024, que “cometió un error” y “engañó” a los funcionarios electorales de Colorado.
En el juicio de Peters, varios testigos declararon que, en 2021, ella otorgó acceso no autorizado a las oficinas electorales del condado de Mesa, donde ejercía como secretaria, a personas vinculadas al teórico de la conspiración pro-Trump Mike Lindell.
Los testigos afirmaron que estas personas hicieron copias de datos electorales confidenciales para poder auditar los resultados de 2020.
El mes pasado, un tribunal de apelaciones estatal confirmó las condenas penales de Peters.
Sin embargo, ordenó al juez de primera instancia que dictara una nueva sentencia, al considerar que basó indebidamente parte del castigo en la libertad de expresión de Peters sobre las elecciones, un derecho protegido por la ley, violando así sus derechos
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| 22- How influencer-led events like The Sidemen Charity Match are rewriting the sports playbook
How influencer-led events like The Sidemen Charity Match are rewriting the sports playbook
By Emile Nuh, CNN
London (CNN) — An intense soccer match is being played at a packed out Wembley Stadium.
Barely a minute into the second half, the 90,000-strong crowd has already seen eight goals in a 4-4 match when a player receives the ball just inside his own half and starts striding off.
About 15 yards into the opponents’ half, he’s flattened by a two-armed tackle that would have earned rapturous applause on a rugby or NFL field. Predictably though, the challenge earns a yellow card from former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg.
As Clattenburg brandishes the card, the booked player snatches it from his hands, holds it aloft, and sets fire to it in a surreal scene for a soccer game.
The player who pulled off this stunt wasn’t a professional soccer player, though, but rather English Youtuber and comedian Max Fosh.
And the player he tackled? Swedish streamer and internet personality Marlon Lundgren García – better known as Marlon.
Welcome to The 2026 Sidemen Charity Match.
The Met Gala of content creation
Founded in 2016 by British YouTube content group the Sidemen, the annual event pits teams of creators and influencers against each other in a friendly match for charity.
This year, a team of YouTube Allstars beat Sidemen FC on penalties following an action-packed 10-10 draw that raised a record $8.3 million (£6.2 million) for charities Brightside and M7 Education.
Tickets sold out in under three hours, 2.2 million live viewers tuned into the livestream, and English rapper Tinie Tempah delivered a surprise halftime performance. Hate it or love it, the scale of the Sidemen Charity Match is impossible to ignore.
“I’ve said a couple of times that I refer to it almost as the Met Gala, where a bunch of people from different forms of content creation come together,” Victor Bengtsson, CEO of Sidemen Entertainment, told CNN Sports.
“Gen Z have grown up in quite a harsh world, and there’s something incredibly wholesome about a bunch of friends coming together on a pitch to play football.
“In a world that is so digital, we have the most physical form of an event at a stadium for the fans to come together once a year to celebrate all the content you get watch online.”
Two of those creators were Ethan Leigh Payne – who goes by Behzinga – and Vikram Singh Barn – known as Vikkstar123 – who treated the crowd to a DJ set shortly before kick-off.
Both form part of the Sidemen, and their combined YouTube channels command a staggering 19 million subscribers and 4.8 billion views.
When you pull back the curtain and see the sheer reach of the Sidemen’s platforms and content, you quickly understand why the Charity Match has scaled to such magnitude.
“I’ve grown up watching football my whole entire life, so to get to pretend to be a professional every year is just insane,” Behzinga told CNN Sports at Wembley.
“Every year it just gets more and more exciting, (and) you get such a spectrum of characters – whether they’re from America, Europe, Australia – wherever the case is. To watch them get a great experience from it, and to have the benefit for the world at the end of it, is just great.”
Vikkstar123 shared similar sentiments.
“We never grew up expecting to be able to ha
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- Trump enviará 5.000 soldados a Polonia y alimenta confusión sobre despliegues militares de EE.UU. en Europa
Trump enviará 5.000 soldados a Polonia y alimenta confusión sobre despliegues militares de EE.UU. en Europa
Por Lex Harvey, Kit Maher y Haley Britzky, CNN
El presidente Donald Trump declaró este jueves que Estados Unidos enviará 5.000 soldados adicionales a Polonia, lo que supone un aparente cambio de postura tras las recientes medidas adoptadas por su administración para reducir el número de tropas estadounidenses en Europa.
El anuncio se produce una semana después de que el secretario de Defensa Pete Hegseth detuviera el despliegue previsto de un equipo de combate que debía rotar por Polonia, una decisión que, según su departamento, se basó en la frustración con las naciones europeas que “no han estado a la altura de las circunstancias cuando Estados Unidos las ha necesitado”.
Esto se produce tras el anuncio de Trump a principios de este mes de que retiraría 5.000 soldados de Alemania. La decisión se tomó después de que el canciller Friedrich Merz afirmó que Estados Unidos estaba siendo “humillado” en su guerra con Irán, lo que enfureció a Trump.
En cambio, Trump afirmó que el despliegue en Polonia, un canal clave para la ayuda europea a la vecina Ucrania, se basaba en su buena relación con el presidente populista de derecha Karol Nawrocki.
“Tras la exitosa elección del actual presidente de Polonia, Karol Nawrocki, a quien tuve el honor de respaldar, y gracias a nuestra relación con él, me complace anunciar que Estados Unidos enviará 5.000 soldados adicionales a Polonia”, publicó Trump.
No está claro de dónde provendrán los 5.000 soldados que mencionó Trump ni cómo afectará esto al número de tropas estadounidenses en Europa.
El anuncio sorpresa genera aún más incertidumbre sobre la postura de Estados Unidos en Europa, después de que Trump se distanciara de los aliados de la OTAN que se pronunciaron en contra de la guerra con Irán o que no proporcionaron la ayuda que el presidente considera suficiente.
El secretario de Estado de EE.UU., Marco Rubio, asiste este viernes a la reunión de ministros de Asuntos Exteriores de la OTAN en Suecia, donde “discutirá la necesidad de aumentar la inversión en defensa y de compartir más la carga en la Alianza”, según un portavoz del departamento.
En declaraciones a la prensa antes de la reunión, el jefe de la OTAN, Mark Rutte, afirmó que acogía con satisfacción el anuncio de Trump, pero que la trayectoria de la OTAN apunta hacia una “Europa más fuerte y una OTAN más fuerte” que “dependa menos de un solo aliado”, informó Reuters.
Polonia es miembro de la OTAN y ha servido como principal centro de distribución de la ayuda militar occidental que llega a Ucrania desde la invasión rusa en 2022.
En 2023, Estados Unidos estableció la guarnición militar estadounidense en Polonia, consolidando así su presencia militar en el país. Estados Unidos suele tener unos 10.000 soldados estacionados en Polonia.
El Pentágono remitió las preguntas a la Casa Blanca. La Casa Blanca no respondió de inmediato a la solicitud de comentarios de CNN.
Nawrocki agradeció a Trump en una publicación el jueves X, calificando la alianza entre Estados Unidos y Polonia como “un pilar vital de seguridad para cada hogar polaco y para toda Europa”.
“Las buenas alianzas son aquellas que se basan en la cooperación, el respeto mutuo y el compromiso con nuestra seguridad compartida”, afirmó Nawrocki.
Nawrocki fue elegido en junio de 2025 y visitó el Despacho Oval para reunirse con Trump en septiembre, donde le agradeció su apoyo.
La semana pasada, Hegseth canceló abruptamente dos despliegues militares estadounidenses en Europa y ordenó la retirada de otro personal del continente, reduciendo el número de tropas del Pentágono en Europa en aproximadamente 5.000 efectivos.
Se
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- ‘Defund then abolish’: A leading Democrat in Wisconsin governor’s race urged abolishing police
‘Defund then abolish’: A leading Democrat in Wisconsin governor’s race urged abolishing police
By Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, CNN
(CNN) — Years after mayors from Democratic cities reversed course on calls to defund police departments, one of the leading Democratic candidates for governor of Wisconsin is running with a starkly different record: she didn’t just back defunding police — she called to abolish them. And unlike many in her party, she has neither deleted those posts nor renounced them.
Francesca Hong has repeatedly called for abolishing police departments, according to a CNN KFile review of her social media posts, interviews and statements.
Hong, a 37-year-old state representative and democratic socialist, wrote on X in 2020 she supported “defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police.” She later argued in 2021 that “police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.”
She is competing in a crowded Democratic primary field that includes Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and state Sen. Kelda Roys for the right to face Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany in the closely watched battleground state.
Hong and Barnes are the only candidates in double digits, 14% and 11% respectively, according to a Marquette Law School poll released in March. A significant share of potential Democratic primary voters – 65% – were still undecided.
Barnes himself saw his 2022 race for Senate bogged down for past comments, first reported by CNN, in which he signaled support for removing police funding. Barnes’ campaign told CNN then that he “does not support abolishing ICE or defunding the police.”
In a statement to CNN, Hong did not disavow her past support for abolishing police departments, calling it part of a “wider conversation around police abolition” rooted in her belief that “the current system is not working.” While she said she does not support “arbitrary cuts” to public safety budgets and would not pursue them as governor, she also questioned whether current police spending levels are an “optimal or efficient” use of resources.
Asked directly if she still supported police abolition, Hong said in a statement, “While I envision a world where public safety is not synonymous with law enforcement, I recognize that this paradigm shift is a very long term vision and my focus is building systems of care for now and for our future.”
Democrats reckon with ‘defund’ rhetoric
Democrats’ reckoning with the defund the police movement came to a head after the 2020 election, when the party underperformed in House races and lost seats. In 2022, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared, quoting a fellow member of Congress, that “defund the police is dead.” Democratic candidates across the country have walked back their support for defunding the police, including Abdul El-Sayed, a leading candidate for Senate in Michigan who purged posts advocating the defund police movement.
Even past supporters and fellow democratic socialists in deep-blue cities have headed for the exits on the “abolish” and “defund” rhetoric. In Los Angeles, mayoral challenger Nithya Raman recently declared the city shouldn’t lose more cops, while in New Y
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- “Tuvimos suerte”: el programa “Late Show” de Stephen Colbert se despide en su última emisión en CBS
“Tuvimos suerte”: el programa “Late Show” de Stephen Colbert se despide en su última emisión en CBS
Por Brian Stelter, CNN
Stephen Colbert ofreció este jueves un emotivo y existencial episodio final de “The Late Show”, agradeciendo a su equipo, al público presente en el estudio y a los telespectadores por once años de risas.
Colbert subió al escenario en medio de una ovación ensordecedora en el Teatro Ed Sullivan, donde amigos de toda la vida y personalidades importantes llenaban las filas de asientos.
“Si solo estás viendo ‘The Late Show’, te has perdido mucho”, bromeó, aludiendo a la controvertida y políticamente delicada decisión de Paramount, la empresa matriz de CBS, de cancelar el programa.
Paramount alegó presiones financieras, pero muchos seguidores de Colbert culparon a presiones políticas, concretamente al desprecio de Donald Trump por las frecuentes críticas de Colbert hacia el presidente.
Paramount buscaba urgentemente la aprobación de la administración Trump para una fusión de medios cuando Colbert fue despedido el verano pasado.
Trump celebró el último programa de Colbert en una publicación de Truth Social, escribiendo: “¡Es increíble que haya durado tanto! Sin talento, sin audiencia, sin vida… ¡Menos mal que por fin se fue!”.
Es notable que Colbert no mencionara a Trump en absoluto durante el final del jueves. Tampoco se detuvo en el simbolismo de que su programa fuera retirado del aire.
En cambio, expresó su agradecimiento por los años que pasó en CBS, prefiriendo estar agradecido por el tiempo que tuvo, en lugar de enfadarse por su finalización.
Cuando Colbert anunció que estaba comenzando el último episodio y sus fans lo abuchearon, levantó el dedo y dijo: “No, no, tuvimos la suerte de estar aquí durante los últimos 11 años. No pueden dar esto por sentado”.
El monólogo fue interrumpido por amigos famosos como Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd y Tim Meadows, quienes competían por ser el último invitado de Colbert. Finalmente, fue Paul McCartney quien se sentó con Colbert para una entrevista en profundidad.
“¿Qué podría ser más representativo que una multitud vitoreando a Paul McCartney en el Teatro Ed Sullivan?”, preguntaba la cuenta de TikTok del programa en una publicación.
Eso se debe a que McCartney y The Beatles actuaron juntos en el programa “The Ed Sullivan Show” en el mismo escenario, en 1964.
El jueves por la noche, McCartney bromeó sobre su resistencia al cambio. Tomó como ejemplo el iPhone, con sus constantes actualizaciones de software: “Yo te compré. No quiero que cambies”.
Colbert se mostró comprensivo, pero parecía dispuesto a adaptarse a las circunstancias cambiantes de su carrera.
En su monólogo, bromeó: “Mucha gente me ha estado preguntando qué pienso hacer después de esta noche, y la respuesta es… drogas”.
Pero Colbert, fiel a su estilo, también tuvo algunas cosas sinceras que decir sobre su relación con la audiencia del programa nocturno.
Recordó la forma en que se presentó como un personaje fanfarrón en el programa “The Colbert Report” de Comedy Central en 2005: “Cualquiera puede leerte las noticias. Yo prometo hacerte sentir las noticias ‘en’ ti”.
Una vez que pasó de Comedy Central al escenario mucho más grande de CBS en 2015, “me di cuenta muy pronto… de que nuestro trabajo aquí era diferente”, señaló. “Estábamos aquí para sentir las noticias con ustedes. Y no sé ustedes, pero yo sí que las he sentido”.
Los monólogos y entrevistas de Colbert intentaban dar sentido a las noticias y al revuelo mediático. “No estás loco”, les decía a veces a los espectadores al analizar historias especialmente impactantes.
Hacia el final del último episodio del jueves, el programa de Colbert imaginó que se había abierto un “agujero de
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| 23- Santo engaño: el “sacerdote sexy”, estrella del calendario romano, nunca puso un pie en un seminario
Santo engaño: el “sacerdote sexy”, estrella del calendario romano, nunca puso un pie en un seminario
Por Associated Press
Un calendario con primeros planos de hombres jóvenes y apuestos vestidos de sacerdotes ha sido un recuerdo típico de Roma durante las últimas dos décadas, pero, al parecer, pocos son realmente clérigos.
Giovanni Galizia ha sido la imagen de portada del llamado calendario del sacerdote sexy en muchas de las últimas 23 ediciones.
En la misma fotografía, utilizada año tras año, Galizia luce un alzacuellos y esboza una sonrisa enigmática digna de la Mona Lisa contra el muro de granito de una iglesia en su Palermo natal.
“Era la sonrisa de un niño avergonzado, porque vi a todos mis amigos delante de mí riéndose a carcajadas porque iba vestido como un sacerdote”, declaró Galizia a Associated Press durante una entrevista el miércoles en el salón de su casa en Verona.
Para Galizia, la sesión de fotos fue una broma que no dejó huella en su vida, hasta que un artículo publicado esta semana en el diario romano La Repubblica reveló que el “calendario del sacerdote sexy” podría llamarse con más precisión “el calendario del sacerdote falso”, lo que atrajo la atención de todo el país.
El calendario no está afiliado al Vaticano, que declinó hacer comentarios.
Galizia, que ahora tiene 39 años y trabaja como auxiliar de vuelo para una aerolínea española, tenía solo 17 años cuando unos amigos en común le pusieron en contacto con el fotógrafo Piero Pazzi, quien también ha creado un calendario con gondoleros venecianos y ha fundado museos en Budapest y Montenegro sobre la historia de los gatos.
Oficialmente llamado Calendario Romano, cada edición presenta 12 retratos en blanco y negro de hombres, en su mayoría con vestimenta clerical, muchos de los cuales se reutilizan año tras año.
Galizia solo conocía a uno de los otros retratados, un francés que tampoco era sacerdote.
Pazzi declaró a la AP que al menos un tercio de las personas que aparecen en el calendario de 2027, ya publicado, son en realidad sacerdotes, pero no proporcionó más detalles.
Galizia comentó que nunca lo han parado por la calle, aunque sus primos una vez le regalaron el calendario a su abuela, “y todos se murieron de risa”.
Galizia considera que las fotografías que representan a sacerdotes forman parte de una tradición artística, y señala que nadie que vea un drama televisivo en el que aparezcan sacerdotes cree que realmente sean interpretados por clérigos.
“Por supuesto, alude un poco a la dinámica entre lo sagrado y lo profano, porque es evidente que ver un mundo tan distante y, en cierto modo, tan elevado como el mundo eclesiástico, con un joven de rostro tan inocente, crea una especie de disonancia”, indicó.
Pero también apuntó que no entiende por qué los primeros planos en blanco y negro se han interpretado como sensuales. Pazzi añadió que ese no era el objetivo.
“Existe la tendencia a confundir lo bello con lo sensual, porque hoy en día, especialmente en el mundo actual, que está bastante sexualizado, la belleza se expresa únicamente a través de la sensualidad”, manifestó Galizia.
Dicho esto, agradezco la observación y la tomo como un cumplido, porque lograr ser sexy con un alzacuellos no es tarea fácil.
Pazzi no quiso revelar cuántos calendarios romanos se han vendido, pero estima que varios miles al año.
Si bien Pazzi afirma recibir regalías, Galizia, quien firmó un formulario de autorización cuando se tomó la fotografía, aseguró que nunca le ha exigido ningún pago.
El calendario se vende por unos unos US$ 9,30 en las tiendas que rodean el Vaticano y abarrotan el centro histórico de Roma. Un dependiente, Hassam Mohammad, comentó que vende unos cuantos al día.
Pazzi incluye una página de información sobre el Vaticano en el calendario, pero su producción es independiente y no guarda relación con la Santa Sede.
Un s
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- These unassuming wedding photos poke holes in the patriarchy
These unassuming wedding photos poke holes in the patriarchy
By Leah Dolan, CNN
(CNN) — Vibeke Tandberg met her husband at the bar. And the next one. And the husband after that. In fact, she met all 11 of her husbands at a bar in Bergen, Norway.
She became a bride in the summer of 1993, with a puff-sleeved gown trimmed in lace in the style popularized by Princess Diana. There was no ceremony, no priest and no guests — just a professional photography studio, a purple backdrop and almost a dozen different grooms.
Tandberg, a prominent Norwegian artist and the subject of a newly opened exhibition at Kode Bergen Art Museum, wasn’t an early pioneer of polyandry. In reality her multiple husbands, although lovely, were fake. She had poached them from the bartop stools of her favorite student drinking hole for a photography series she was working on in her second year at Bergen Academy of Art and Design.
“Bride” began as an exploration of the wedding photography tradition; a genre that tends to flatten female identity neatly into the shape of a white dress. By contrast, Tandberg wanted her version of performed matrimony to be more empowering to women. “I was choosing the men, I was the center of the photograph,” she said during a video call from her home in Bergen. A rotating roster of different men emphasized her “stage position” as the photo’s only constant, she said. Brides were expected, in most cultures at various points in history, to be virginal, pure and dedicated to their husbands. Through her 11 portraits, Tandberg created an inherently subversive character: the promiscuous bride.
The images were captured over a two-day shoot. Tandberg’s dress was borrowed from a local bridal shop, under the proviso they could use the images as adverts, and her bouquets were made from flowers she picked out of the city’s public flower beds. Meeting her husbands was easy. “It was my student years,” Tandberg said wryly. “I spent six days a week at the bar in Bergen.” The collaborative nature of “Bride” was a welcome shift to Tandberg’s previously solitary way of working. “I always worked alone, so I thought: ‘Let’s make, like, a party out of it.’”
Despite photography being Tandberg’s artistic medium of choice, she enlisted a commercial studio to take the pictures. “It was so fun for me to not be behind the camera,” she said. “Not controlling lighting, anything.” She wanted to enter the photographic tradition earnestly — not just imitate its specificities. The professional photographer who shot the images choreographed every pose as he would a typical paying newly-wed couple. “For him, it was business as usual,” she said. “I just got the exact pictures he would do of anyone else getting married.”
“Bride” was originally exhibited at Fotogalleriet in Oslo in 1993, but Tandberg wanted her images to go one step further in the cycle of realism. She submitted a different couple photo to several regional Norwegian newspapers, pretending they were sincere portraits for the wedding section. 23 newspapers published them with a formal announcement, many of them on the same day or the day after. “The meaning of it was to have it confirmed, verified,” she said. “Real photographs, real events becoming truth through media.” The Swedish photography magazine Index the first to expose the stunt, then the national press followed. “When the press is fooled, they really want to get on top of it,” Tandberg said. “So I got a lot of press on it.” Seemingly overnight, she was launched to national fame.
But behind the feminist statement and clever subversion, something else happened. “When I first saw myself in this wedding outfit, I thought, ‘Oh
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- Fact check: 28 separate false claims Trump made this week
Fact check: 28 separate false claims Trump made this week
By Daniel Dale, CNN
(CNN) — There is so much going on in the news that it can be easy to overlook the fact that the president continues to tell a whole lot of lies.
President Donald Trump delivered a dizzying variety of false claims in his public remarks over the past week. They included inaccurately rosy assertions about the US economy and the war with Iran, baseless attacks against Democrats, and his familiar egregious lies about American elections.
Below is a fact check of 28 separate false claims Trump uttered between Monday and Friday. This is not intended as a comprehensive list, and it doesn’t include multiple Trump claims that are unproven but not definitively debunkable.
Inflation and the economy
1) The inflation Trump inherited: Trump falsely claimed, “When we inherited, when we started, we had the highest inflation in the history of our country.” They didn’t. The year-over-year inflation rate was 2.9% in former President Joe Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and it was 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump took over; those figures are lower than the most recent rate, 3.8% in April 2026, and unremarkable by historical standards. Peak inflation under the Biden administration, 9.1% in June 2022, was the highest in more than 40 years – but even that 9.1% rate was far from the all-time high of 23.7%, which was reached in 1920, or the highest point of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, 14.8%, which was reached in 1980.
2) The state of inflation: Trump falsely claimed, “We had inflation, but we’ve got that down.” Trump has not brought inflation down. The most recent inflation rate, 3.8% in April, is the highest since May 2023. Again, it was 3.0% in the month Trump returned to office in 2025.
3) Prices before the war: Trump falsely claimed that, before the war with Iran began at the end of February, “We got the prices down and we got them down to numbers that in some cases people have not seen before.” Overall consumer prices were rising, not falling, before the war; through February 2026, average prices were up 2.9% overall since the beginning of Trump’s second term. Trump could have fairly said that some products have gotten cheaper since the beginning of his second presidency, but even prior to the war, far more products had gotten more expensive.
4) The pre-war inflation rate: Trump falsely claimed that “inflation was at 1.6% for the last three months just prior to the war.” Nope. It was 2.7% in November 2025, 2.7% in December 2025 and 2.4% in January 2026; it was Read more
- Kyle Busch’s death shattered the racing world. The story of his legacy is still being written
Kyle Busch’s death shattered the racing world. The story of his legacy is still being written
By Dianne Gallagher, Kyle Feldscher, CNN
Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) — The shock and devastation of Kyle Busch’s sudden death at just 41 years old has shattered the racing world as it heads into one of its premier weekends of the year.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s family announced on Thursday that he would not be taking part in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to a severe illness. Just hours later, Busch was dead.
It’s a stunning turn of events that has left the world of NASCAR stunned.
“To me, Kyle Busch just defines what it means to be a racer in NASCAR, everything about it – the fire, the greatness, the heart that sometimes you rarely saw. The sport was truly lucky to have him, and I believe I can speak for everybody in the sport, and I’ll just say this for me personally, the family reunions week to week are just not going to be the same without him, but we’re going to do our damn best to continue his legacy and support his family,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said in a press conference Friday afternoon.
The winningest driver in NASCAR history, with 234 victories across the sport’s top three series, Busch was a polarizing figure. He often loved to play the role of the villain, but he had legions of passionate fans as well. In the wake of his death, many of his peers pointed to that polarizing personality as one of the things that makes racing great – people loved Busch and they loved to hate him.
But that hate – which was always tinged with admiration for his undeniable driving ability – melted in the face of his sudden death.
Tributes at Charlotte Motor Speedway quickly popped up and memories from his fellow competitors came fast as the emotions caught up with much of the racing world. His team, Richard Childress Racing, announced on Friday that it will suspend the use of Busch’s No. 8 car and will instead run the No. 33 car.
“Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8 and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry,” the team wrote in a statement.
“No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”
Brexton is Busch’s 11-year-old son who has already begun following in his father’s footsteps and has racked up numerous wins in races around the country.
A heartbreaking week
As the racing world tried to comprehend what had happened to Busch, attention was quickly turned to an exchange the driver had with his team over the radio while competing in Watkins Glen, New York, during the May 10 NASCAR Cup Series race.
During that race, Busch asked his team to have a doctor waiting for him after the race because he was “going to need a shot.” The broadcast mentioned he had been battling a severe sinus cold and Busch told reporters last week in Dover that he had been suffering from a substantial cough during the race.
Busch appeared to have recovered – he won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Dover on May 17 – though he was spotted coughing during a post-victory interview. But things took a turn on Wednesday.
According to a 911 call obtained by CNN on Friday, Busch required medical attention on Wednesday after coughing up some blood and experiencing shortness of breath while getting ready for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.
According to a call obtained by CNN in response to a request for recordings related to Busch’s medical emergency, a caller – whose name is redacted in the recording – asks for an ambulance to come to a training facility in Concord, North Carolina.
“I’ve got an individual that’s (experiencing) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out and producing a little bit of blood – coughing up some blood,” the c
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24- Radicalization concerns, seized guns and 911 calls: San Diego shooting prompts questions about parental awareness, gun access
Radicalization concerns, seized guns and 911 calls: San Diego shooting prompts questions about parental awareness, gun access
By Emma Tucker, CNN
(CNN) — The mother’s calls to police Monday morning painted an alarming picture: Her 17-year-old son was missing, along with several of her weapons and his car.
The boy had left a possible suicide note before vanishing with a man he met online whom she had never seen before – both dressed in camouflage, she told police.
Police were still searching for the woman’s son two hours later when they received reports of an active shooter at the city’s largest mosque, the Islamic Center of San Diego, and found the bodies of three men killed in an attack: Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad.
Just a few blocks away, her son Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez, were found dead inside a car with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. The two teenagers would later be identified by officials as the shooters who carried out the attack.
Vazquez was already known to police. Last year, law enforcement filed a gun violence emergency protective order, after he was placed on a psychiatric hold, to seize firearms in his parents’ home amid concerns about the teenager’s “suspicious behavior idolizing Nazis and mass shooters,” court documents show.
He had been in a mental health program up until the day before the shooting, a federal law enforcement official told CNN. The reasons for Vazquez’s release from the mental health facility that day were not disclosed, and the facility declined to provide any details to CNN due to the ongoing investigation and medical privacy laws.
While Clark had not been on law enforcement radar, the firearms used in the attack were taken from Clark’s family home, a law enforcement official close to the investigation said.
Authorities are “still looking into” whether they will recommend charges against Clark’s parents, and it’s unclear how the shooters obtained the weapons, the police chief said Tuesday.
Police have not provided any information on whether Clark’s parents told law enforcement how the firearms were stored, nor have they answered questions about how the guns were accessed.
The case raises serious questions about what, if any, warning signs might have been missed by those closest to the shooters in the days leading up to the attack and highlights how even when red flags are reported by parents and law enforcement – such as in Vazquez’s case – there are challenges in ensuring the child won’t commit a future act of violence, according to gun violence and legal experts CNN spoke with.
There is greater potential parental liability for Clark – who was a minor at the time of the attack – but it will ultimately depend on their prior knowledge of his risk, what steps were or were not taken and whether firearms were secured, according to the experts.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office declined to share any information regarding potential charges due to the ongoing investigation. San Diego police also declined to comment, citing a “very extensive and sensitive investigation.”
It would not be unprecedented for a parent to be alleged to be legally responsible for a shooting their child carried out. There have been two notable cases in the past two years in which the parents were convicted: the first involving the parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, the second, the parents of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray.
Police previously ordered shooter’s parents to surrender guns
Vazquez
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- CNN verifica: 28 afirmaciones falsas distintas que Trump hizo esta semana
CNN verifica: 28 afirmaciones falsas distintas que Trump hizo esta semana
Por Daniel Dale, CNN
Hay tantas cosas sucediendo en las noticias que puede ser fácil pasar por alto el hecho de que el presidente sigue diciendo una gran cantidad de mentiras.
El presidente Donald Trump hizo una asombrosa variedad de afirmaciones falsas en sus declaraciones públicas durante la semana pasada. Estas incluyeron afirmaciones inexactamente optimistas sobre la economía de Estados Unidos y la guerra con Irán, ataques infundados contra los demócratas y sus ya conocidas mentiras flagrantes sobre las elecciones estadounidenses.
A continuación se presenta una verificación de hechos de 28 afirmaciones falsas distintas que Trump pronunció entre el lunes y el viernes. Esto no pretende ser una lista exhaustiva, y no incluye múltiples afirmaciones de Trump que no han sido probadas pero tampoco pueden ser refutadas de manera definitiva
- 1) La inflación que heredó Trump: Trump afirmó falsamente: “Cuando heredamos, cuando comenzamos, teníamos la inflación más alta en la historia de nuestro país”. No fue así. La tasa de inflación interanual era del 2,9 % en el último mes completo de mandato del expresidente Joe Biden, en diciembre de 2024, y fue del 3,0 % en enero de 2025, cuando Trump asumió el cargo; esas cifras son más bajas que la tasa más reciente, 3,8 % en abril de 2026, y no son destacables según los estándares históricos. El pico de inflación bajo la administración Biden, 9,1 % en junio de 2022, fue el más alto en más de 40 años, pero incluso esa tasa del 9,1 % estuvo lejos del máximo histórico de 23,7 %, alcanzado en 1920, o del punto más alto de la presidencia de Jimmy Carter, 14,8 %, alcanzado en 1980.
- 2) El estado de la inflación: Trump afirmó falsamente: “Tuvimos inflación, pero la hemos reducido”. Trump no ha reducido la inflación. La tasa de inflación más reciente, 3,8 % en abril, es la más alta desde mayo de 2023. Nuevamente, era del 3,0 % en el mes en que Trump regresó a la presidencia en 2025.
- 3) Precios antes de la guerra: Trump afirmó falsamente que, antes de que comenzara la guerra con Irán a finales de febrero, “bajamos los precios y los bajamos a cifras que en algunos casos la gente no había visto antes”. En general, los precios al consumidor estaban subiendo, no bajando, antes de la guerra; hasta febrero de 2026, los precios promedio habían subido un 2,9 % en general desde el inicio del segundo mandato de Trump. Trump podría haber dicho con justicia que algunos productos se han abaratado desde el comienzo de su segunda presidencia, pero incluso antes de la guerra, muchos más productos se habían encarecido.
- 4) La tasa de inflación previa a la guerra: Trump afirmó falsamente que “la inflación fue del 1,6 % durante los últimos tres meses justo antes de la guerra”. No es cierto. Fue del 2,7 % en noviembre de 2025, 2,7 % en diciembre de 2025 y 2,4 % en enero de 2026; fue nuevamente del 2,4 % en febrero de 2026, mes para el cual casi todos los datos se recopilaron antes de que comenzara la guerra el último día del mes.
- 5) Precios de la gasolina antes de la guerra: hablando sobre los precios de la gasolina, Trump afirmó falsamente que, antes de la guerra, “yo tenía, en muchos casos, menos de US$ 2 por barril – por galón”. Cuatro noches antes de la guerra, el 24 de febrero, la empresa GasBuddy le dijo a CNN que solo cuatro estaciones en todo el país, de unas 150.000 que monitorea, vendían gasolina por menos de US$ 2 por galón (aparte de descuentos especiales). Patrick De Haan, jefe de análisis de petróleo de GasBuddy, dijo a CNN el miércoles que habría habido “la misma cantidad o menos estaciones” por debajo de US$ 2 el 28 de febrero, ya que los precios estaban en tendencia ascendente. El promedio nacional de la AAA para un galón de gasolina regular el 28 de febrero, el día que comenzó la guerra, era de US$ 2,98 por galón, y el promedio esta
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- Gas and airfare prices have jumped. Americans are traveling this weekend anyway
Gas and airfare prices have jumped. Americans are traveling this weekend anyway
By Chris Isidore, CNN
(CNN) — Americans are packing the highways and airports this holiday weekend – even with gas and airfares significantly more expensive than last year.
AAA projected that a record number of Americans are traveling this weekend, with 45 million either flying or driving at least 50 miles from home, up from last year’s record of 44.8 million .
“When it comes to travel, it’s one of the only things I’ll treat myself on,” James Smith, who’s flying this weekend, told CNN. Smith spent $550 to fly from New Mexico to Newark, New Jersey, for a holiday weekend with friends at the Jersey shore.
Airfares are up more than 20% compared with last year, according to an estimate from travel booking site Kayak as well as data from major airlines. And gas prices nationally averaged $4.55 a gallon as of the Friday heading into the weekend, up $1.38 from last year and up 53% since the start of the Iran war.
The fact that travel isn’t letting up despite the higher costs isn’t a surprise, said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics consulting company.
“Survey data is indicating there’s a lot of concern about gas prices,” he told CNN. “But there’s a disconnect between how people feel and how they act.”
Historically, gas spikes, like in 2022, haven’t dropped leisure or business travel without other factors also weighing in. That’s partly because the people who struggle the most with higher gas prices or airfares weren’t traveling much to begin with.
“More than half of leisure hotel spending is by people making $150,000 or more,” Sacks said.
But some hotel bookings appear to be softening. Laura Lee Blake told CNN more travelers could be skipping the hotel portion of their stay. Blake is CEO of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, whose 20,000 members, mostly of South Asian descent, own about 60% of US hotels.
“Travelers maybe skip an overnight stay to save money,” she said. “Maybe they visit family members along the way, or they stay with friends instead of booking a hotel.”
Frantz Simon and his family planned to do just that this weekend.
At a Jersey Turnpike rest stop on Thursday, Frantz, his wife, Mildred, and their two children were packed into a rented SUV to make a 12-hour drive from Long Island to Georgia for his grandson’s high school graduation. He said he wouldn’t consider missing the event: “It’s a family outing,” he said.
But to save money, they’re driving straight through in one day and staying with family in Georgia.
In June Lake, California, near the entrance of Yosemite National Park, Connie Lear manages rental reservations for 42 units, mostly condos and private homes. She said many of her regular renters are cutting back, even if they’re still coming.
“Instead of doing seven days, they’re doing five or four,” she said.
And some people are finding ways to travel without spending more. John Mercagliano, who lives in a Philadelphia suburb, nixed plans to vacation in London with friends next week because of the cost. Instead, he is using his miles on American Airlines to fly to Arizona to vacation with the same friends, who live there.
“I considered it (not traveling at all), but I wanted to see them, and I didn’t want to do nothing at all,” he said.
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- Gas and airfare prices have jumped. Americans are traveling this weekend anyway
Gas and airfare prices have jumped. Americans are traveling this weekend anyway
By Chris Isidore, CNN
(CNN) — Americans are packing the highways and airports this holiday weekend – even with gas and airfares significantly more expensive than last year.
AAA projected that a record number of Americans are traveling this weekend, with 45 million either flying or driving at least 50 miles from home, up from last year’s record of 44.8 million .
“When it comes to travel, it’s one of the only things I’ll treat myself on,” James Smith, who’s flying this weekend, told CNN. Smith spent $550 to fly from New Mexico to Newark, New Jersey, for a holiday weekend with friends at the Jersey shore.
Airfares are up more than 20% compared with last year, according to an estimate from travel booking site Kayak as well as data from major airlines. And gas prices nationally averaged $4.55 a gallon as of the Friday heading into the weekend, up $1.38 from last year and up 53% since the start of the Iran war.
The fact that travel isn’t letting up despite the higher costs isn’t a surprise, said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics consulting company.
“Survey data is indicating there’s a lot of concern about gas prices,” he told CNN. “But there’s a disconnect between how people feel and how they act.”
Historically, gas spikes, like in 2022, haven’t dropped leisure or business travel without other factors also weighing in. That’s partly because the people who struggle the most with higher gas prices or airfares weren’t traveling much to begin with.
“More than half of leisure hotel spending is by people making $150,000 or more,” Sacks said.
But some hotel bookings appear to be softening. Laura Lee Blake told CNN more travelers could be skipping the hotel portion of their stay. Blake is CEO of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, whose 20,000 members, mostly of South Asian descent, own about 60% of US hotels.
“Travelers maybe skip an overnight stay to save money,” she said. “Maybe they visit family members along the way, or they stay with friends instead of booking a hotel.”
Frantz Simon and his family planned to do just that this weekend.
At a Jersey Turnpike rest stop on Thursday, Frantz, his wife, Mildred, and their two children were packed into a rented SUV to make a 12-hour drive from Long Island to Georgia for his grandson’s high school graduation. He said he wouldn’t consider missing the event: “It’s a family outing,” he said.
But to save money, they’re driving straight through in one day and staying with family in Georgia.
In June Lake, California, near the entrance of Yosemite National Park, Connie Lear manages rental reservations for 42 units, mostly condos and private homes. She said many of her regular renters are cutting back, even if they’re still coming.
“Instead of doing seven days, they’re doing five or four,” she said.
And some people are finding ways to travel without spending more. John Mercagliano, who lives in a Philadelphia suburb, nixed plans to vacation in London with friends next week because of the cost. Instead, he is using his miles on American Airlines to fly to Arizona to vacation with the same friends, who live there.
“I considered it (not traveling at all), but I wanted to see them, and I didn’t want to do nothing at all,” he said.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Di
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| 25- 13 US service members have died in the war with Iran. Here are their stories
13 US service members have died in the war with Iran. Here are their stories
By Alaa Elassar, Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN
(CNN) — Some of Mary Ellen Klinner’s happiest memories were of watching her son outdoors — camping, hiking and spending long days beside his father — and later seeing him become a devoted dad to three young children of his own.
But since her son Maj. John ‘Alex’ Klinner was killed in the Iran war, those memories have become both a comfort and a painful reminder of the “nightmare” her life has felt like in the past couple of months.
John Klinner is one of the 13 US troops killed in connection with Operation Epic Fury, the name the Pentagon has given to the war with Iran. He died alongside five other crew members who were aboard a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft when it crashed on March 12 in western Iraq.
Earlier that month, six other service members were killed on March 1 after an Iranian strike in Kuwait’s Shuaiba port. A service member died March 8 following an attack by Iran on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
“If any of their deaths mean anything – then please, do not look away,” Klinner’s aunt Jean Marie Dillon wrote on Facebook. “Military lives are not expendable. The people who decide when and where we go to war answer to us.”
President Donald Trump has said meeting with some of the fallen soldiers’ families did not give him pause about the war. He and senior officials have made clear there would likely be more casualties.
Approximately 400 service members have been wounded in action during Operation Epic Fury, Capt. Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesperson, told CNN. The vast majority of injuries suffered were minor and 90% of service members returned to duty, Hawkins said.
At least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran since the US and Israel began strikes on the country, according to state media Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. One strike killed at least 168 children.
As families of service members still deployed overseas wait anxiously for the war to end, the loved ones of the 13 who were killed are mourning not only the soldiers lost but the vibrant, deeply loved people they were beyond the uniform.
Maj. John ‘Alex’ Klinner
When asked if he has a favorite memory of his son — a beloved husband and father of a 2-year-old and 7-month-old twins — John Klinner pauses.
“Gosh, there’s so many,” he told CNN. “Alex and I did a lot of camping trips. He loved the outdoors, and so we would go up to North Carolina every summer for years and just camped at this beautiful place. I’ve got a lot of good memories from those trips.”
Klinner was “the perfect son, the perfect child,” Mary Ellen says quietly in a classic Southern twang as the pair sit in their Alabama home.
Just a day ago, they visited their grandchildren, who will now grow up without a father. “We’re heartbroken that he won’t be there for them,” John Klinner says. “He loved those children.”
His loss “has left an immeasurable voi
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- Winning gold is ‘way less important than having a chance to save a life’: Michael Phelps on finding purpose beyond the pool
Winning gold is ‘way less important than having a chance to save a life’: Michael Phelps on finding purpose beyond the pool
By Emile Nuh, CNN
(CNN) — Almost a decade has passed since Michael Phelps set the world alight on the Olympic stage at Rio 2016, when he took home the most medals of any athlete with five golds and one silver.
And when he called time on his legendary career after those Games as the most decorated Olympian of all time – with an astounding 28 medals across four Olympics – it seemed unthinkable that his name would ever be synonymous with anything other than swimming.
But the 40-year-old has found a new calling since stepping out of the pool, becoming one of the most prominent and outspoken advocates for mental health and well-being in sports and beyond.
“Water safety but also mental health – those two things are who I am,” Phelps told CNN Sports’ Coy Wire.
Those are also the key focuses of the Michael Phelps Foundation.
The organization, which launched in 2008, was initially set up to help young people by promoting healthy living and water safety – as the retired swimmer was himself scared of the water when he first took up the sport at seven years old.
However, as Phelps evolved, so did the purpose of his foundation. And in 2020, it formally expanded its mission to include mental wellness and emotional resilience support for children.
“Being able to implement mental health into my foundation along with swimming, it kind of gives me that purpose again I had when I was competing,” the 23-time Olympic gold medalist said.
Finding purpose beyond the pool
Phelps’ foundation is just one of the many ways in which he’s now diving into his newfound mission.
In 2023, he partnered with online therapy company Talkspace and fronted its “Start from the Top” campaign, an initiative focused on building sustainable mental wellness habits through five key pillars.
He’s also delivered several keynote speeches around the world in recent years, detailing his struggles with depression and the lessons he’s learned through his many trials and tribulations.
The man who spent nearly two decades relentlessly chasing perfection in the pool has now made it his life mission to help others by openly speaking about the treacherous journey it took to achieve it.
And for Phelps, there was one defining, lightbulb moment that changed everything.
“I honestly think it’s really when I got to that point of not wanting to be alive,” he explained. “Once I got to that point, I was like, ‘OK, something is wrong. I need to ask for help.’
“That was the first time that I ever asked for help because I just didn’t know what to do, (and) I’m very thankful that I got the help that I needed because I wanted change.
“And then, at that point, (it was about) just being able to find that ground to stand on and be OK sharing the stories that I talk about.”
Saving lives trumps everything
For many athletes, especially those who have reached the absolute pinnacle of their sport like Phelps did, retirement normally signals the end of an arduous journey and a time for nostalgic reflection.
But for Phelps, when he jumped out of the pool professionally for the final time in Rio 2016, his work was far from finished.
There was still another race to run. One that, according to the Olympic icon himself, has a far greater reach than any of his sporting achievements.
“I remember after the 2016 Olympics, I was at Microsoft and this kid … I say ‘kid,’ he was probably 25 years old, stood up and he was like, ‘I have my dream job. Everything I’ve ever wanted to do has happened. And I don’t want to be alive anymore.’
“And
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- Rising seas will swallow New Orleans. People need to start relocating now, scientists say
Rising seas will swallow New Orleans. People need to start relocating now, scientists say
By Laura Paddison, CNN
(CNN) — New Orleans is locked into a watery future which could see it surrounded by ocean as early as this century, according to a new expert analysis, which says the city must start the relocation process now to avoid chaos.
The paper’s conclusions are stark, but it’s no secret that New Orleans is highly vulnerable to rising seas as the planet warms. Coastal Louisiana is one of the lowest lying regions in the world, and New Orleans, a city of 360,000 people, is particularly exposed. It sits in a bowl-shaped basin, mostly below sea level, in the middle of a rapidly shrinking delta.
The city is almost entirely surrounded by wetlands, which act as a buffer against hurricanes and storm surges. These are fast disappearing, however, as humans drain them for development, dredge canals in them for the oil and gas industry and construct river levees, depriving them of the sediments that stop them being submerged. Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost around 2,000 square miles of wetlands.
Coastal Louisiana faces sea level rise of around 10 to 23 feet, according to the analysis published in May in the journal Nature Sustainability. The impacts will be bleak: around 75% of its remaining wetlands are set to be lost and its shoreline could retreat inland by up to 62 miles, the scientists found.
The region has “crossed the point of no return,” the paper’s authors wrote, adding New Orleans “may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century.” They argue the city must seize the opportunity to develop strategies for relocation that could make it a model for places facing a similar fate.
Rising seas are coming for coastal towns and cities all over the world, from New York and London to Bangkok and Shanghai. “The main questions are how soon those futures will come, and how they will play out,” said Benjamin Strauss, CEO and chief scientist at Climate Central, a climate research nonprofit.
To map Louisiana’s future, the report’s scientists looked into its past. One of the authors identified an ancient shoreline roughly 30 miles north of New Orleans, which formed around 125,000 years ago when temperatures were similar to today, but the oceans were at least 10 feet higher.
“It’s very likely that sea level will rise to that elevation in the future,” said Torbjörn Törnqvist, a report author and a geology professor at Tulane University. The question is what should be done and when.
People are already leaving coastal Louisiana and have been for decades, said Brianna Castro, a study author and assistant professor of urban sustainability at Yale School of the Environment.
Since Hurricane Katrina — which slammed into Louisiana in 2005, killing nearly 1,400 people — New Orleans has lost around 25% of its population. The retreat has been a “pulse-like” process, where every major storm or flood prompts a spike in departures, Castro said.
The storms the city faces are only likely to get harder to endure. Approximately 99% of the population in New Orleans is at high flood risk, according to a recent study. “When another Katrina-like hurricane strikes the city, almost everyone would experience flood damages,” said Wanyun Shao, an author of that study and associate professor of geography at the University of Alabama.
Failing to implement a carefully managed relocation process risks a “chaotic” retreat which will come at a high cost, especially for the city’s poorest, the paper’s authors argue. As the popu
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- Crews urgently try to prevent leak or explosion of chemical tank in California, where thousands are evacuated
Crews urgently try to prevent leak or explosion of chemical tank in California, where thousands are evacuated
CNN, KABC, KCAL, KCBS, @OCFIREAUTHORITY, X, GKN AEROSPACE, MIGUEL LOO, KCAL/KCBS, @OCFireAuthority/X
By Nina Giraldo, Taylor Romine, Emma Tucker, Alaa Elassar, CNN
(CNN) — Crews in Southern California are again working through the night to stop a massive tank filled with a toxic chemical from leaking or causing a catastrophic explosion as tens of thousands of residents remain evacuated due to possible health risks and the prospect of damage from a blast.
About 50,000 people in the roughly 9-square-mile potential blast radius in Orange County were told to leave their homes last week, with many spending the Memorial Day weekend in shelters, hotels or with friends and family outside the danger zone. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared an emergency for the area.
After discovering a crack in the tank at the GKN Aerospace facility Saturday night, crews returned to the structure late Sunday for an “all-night mission” to determine whether the fissure goes all the way through the exterior – a key step in confirming whether dangerous internal pressure has been released.
If the crack does not extend all the way, pressure could still be trapped inside, leaving the possibility of a “catastrophic worst-case scenario,” Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern told CNN’s Rosemary Church.
Since the tank began showing signs of trouble Thursday – with heat and pressure building inside – officials in the Garden Grove area have warned of two possible scenarios: an explosion that would send debris flying into the homes and businesses that surround the site or a leak that would send 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate into the soil and air.
Methyl methacrylate, or MMA, can cause respiratory issues and irritation to the skin and eyes upon exposure, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
McGovern reaffirmed Sunday there is currently no leak, telling CNN that authorities are doing continuous air monitoring in the vicinity.
Officials plan to vet findings from the overnight mission Monday morning and provide an update on the explosion threat.
If pressure has been released, officials can start looking at reducing the size of the evacuation zones, “and that’s kind of a step that we’re really looking forward to,” McGovern said.
Busy tourist destinations like Disneyland and another theme park, Knott’s Berry Farm, are nearby but are not included in the evacuation zone.
“At this time, there is no impact to Disneyland Resort due to this situation and the resort remains open to guests,” the Disneyland website said Sunday, adding the theme park is actively monitoring the situation and working with local authorities.
Here’s what we know about the tank and what authorities are doing to prevent a potential disaster:
Tank began to overheat Thursday
Authorities first responded to GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove on Thursday for a vapor release from the tank, McGovern said Fri
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| 26- DRC is no stranger to Ebola outbreaks. Why isn’t there a vaccine or treatment to help now?
DRC is no stranger to Ebola outbreaks. Why isn’t there a vaccine or treatment to help now?
By Meg Tirrell, CNN
(CNN) — The fast-growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo came to the world’s attention only a little more than a week ago and is already the third-largest on record. But it’s the 17th outbreak the country has dealt with since the virus was discovered there in 1976.
Ebola can be fatal in as many as 25% to 90% of people who get infected. Scientists are now racing to develop new potential vaccines and treatments that could help stop this outbreak, but authorities emphasize that, currently, there are none approved. Why?
A less-common virus
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which was also associated with two previous outbreaks. One in 2012 in the DRC had 38 laboratory-confirmed cases and 13 deaths, and one in 2007 along the DRC-Uganda border had 131 reported cases and 42 deaths.
Ebola infections are much more commonly caused by the Zaire strain, which drove the biggest outbreaks in history: one in 2014 to 2016 in West Africa and another in the DRC from 2018 to 2020. Those killed more than 11,000 and more than 3,000 people, respectively.
A vaccine was developed during the West Africa outbreak and trialed successfully there in 2015. Called Ervebo, it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019 and has been cleared in several countries in Europe and Africa.
But that work didn’t extend to other types of Ebola.
Could the existing vaccine be used for this outbreak?
That’s been under consideration, according to Dr. Anne Ancia, the World Health Organization representative in the DRC. But there’s limited information about how well the Zaire-targeted vaccine would protect against the Bundibugyo strain, as well as unknowns about its safety.
“I’m glad I’m not a clinician that has to make that decision,” said Dr. Thomas Geisbert, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch who researches interventions for Ebola and similar viruses.
He and others showed in 2011 that a vaccine similar to Ervebo did provide protection against Bundibugyo in monkeys, but it was a small test using just four animals for both ethical and financial reasons, he told CNN.
They gave the monkeys the Zaire-targeted vaccine and 28 days later challenged them with the Bundibugyo virus. Three of four were protected.
“It’s encouraging,” Geisbert said. But models suggest that the Bundibugyo virus can be less lethal than Zaire, and in monkeys, 25% might survive without vaccination. So he estimates that the limited data available suggests the Zaire-targeted vaccine could provide perhaps 50% protection against the Bundibugyo virus, but bigger studies are needed.
And the safety of using this vaccine in the current outbreak is “the $64,000 question. You’re darned if you do and darned if you don’t, right?” Geisbert said.
One concern is that a vaccine that diverts the immune system’s attention to a different type of Ebola could interfere with its response if it was already exposed to Bundibugyo, he said. “You don’t want to make something worse.”
WHO chief scientist Dr. Sylvie Briand said Friday that because it has “very little evidence of cross protection for Bundibugyo,” Ervebo isn’t considered a top choice for a vaccine
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- Toxic Wild Mushroom Poisonings Reach Record Levels Across California, Officials Warn
- La industria cinematográfica de Corea del Sur está adoptando la IA. ¿Perderá el cine coreano su magia?
La industria cinematográfica de Corea del Sur está adoptando la IA. ¿Perderá el cine coreano su magia?
Por Rebecca Cairns, CNN
A nivel mundial, el contenido coreano está en auge. Las exportaciones de películas y series de televisión coreanas se duplicaron entre 2019 y 2024, y el año pasado, el sector audiovisual del país aportó US$ 16.400 millones a la economía, generando 291.100 puestos de trabajo.
Pero, en el fondo, la industria cinematográfica surcoreana se enfrenta a enormes dificultades de financiación.
La recaudación en taquilla nacional ha disminuido un 45 % con respecto a la situación prepandémica, en parte debido al auge del streaming.
Como consecuencia, las productoras están reduciendo la inversión: el año pasado, solo se realizaron 20 películas con un presupuesto superior a los US$ 2,15 millones, en comparación con las 40 o 50 anuales previas a la pandemia, según el Consejo Cinematográfico Coreano.
“Los costes de producción coreanos han aumentado significativamente en los últimos años”, afirma Hyun-jung Baek, directora de innovación de contenidos de CJ ENM, la mayor empresa de entretenimiento y producción de contenidos de Corea del Sur. “Por lo tanto, aunque el contenido coreano se está expandiendo a nivel mundial, los beneficios que genera no son muy elevados”.
Muchas productoras, entre ellas CJ ENM, están recurriendo a la inteligencia artificial (IA) para reducir costes y acelerar los plazos de entrega.
Quienes la defienden afirman que podría reactivar la competitividad de Corea del Sur, mientras que los críticos temen que sustituya puestos de trabajo y diluya el carácter único del cine coreano.
“Existe un amplio abanico de opiniones al respecto”, afirma Darcy Paquet, crítico de cine residente en Seúl. Si bien la tecnología puede hacer que el trabajo humano sea “más eficaz”, también puede utilizarse para “recortar gastos, ahorrar costes y acelerar el proceso sin comprometer la calidad”, añade Paquet.
Si bien Corea del Sur lleva varios años adoptando el contenido generado por IA —con cortometrajes totalmente generados por IA como “It’s Me, Moon-hee” y, más recientemente, con la serie webtoon “Cat Biggie” de CJ ENM—, ahora esta tecnología está apareciendo de forma destacada en largometrajes.
“Run to the West”, presentada como el “primer largometraje de inteligencia artificial” de Corea del Sur en su estreno en octubre, utilizó una amplia tecnología de IA para recrear criaturas míticas, escenarios fantásticos, explosiones y secuencias de efectos especiales.
En comparación con las técnicas tradicionales de imágenes generadas por ordenador, las herramientas de IA fueron 10 veces más rápidas y redujeron los costes a la mitad, afirma el director de IA de la película, Hansl Kwon, fundador y CEO de cine de IA Freewillusion, con sede en Seúl.
Según afirma, el estudio ha contratado recientemente a 60 nuevos artistas de IA, cuadruplicando así su plantilla y creando nuevas oportunidades profesionales a la vanguardia de la producción cinematográfica.
El mes pasado, CJ ENM estrenó su propia película híbrida de IA, “The House”, un thriller de terror de 60 minutos producido en colaboración con Google Cloud Korea por tan solo alrededor de US$ 336.000.
Corea del Sur ha transformado la cultura pop mundial con sus películas y series, muchas de las cuales se filman en la capital del país.
Filmado en tan solo cuatro días en un único estudio interior, se utilizaron las herramientas de IA de Google Imagen, Nano Banana 2 y Veo para generar los fondos y los efectos visuales.
“Aunque la IA generativa ha avanzado significativamente, la mayoría de las IA entrenadas se basan en gráficos occidentales”, dice Baek, y añade que, para crear imágenes realistas, CJ ENM ha estado creando una biblioteca de recursos de contenido
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- ‘Wasians’ are embracing the spotlight. But not everyone feels seen
‘Wasians’ are embracing the spotlight. But not everyone feels seen
By Jessie Yeung, CNN
(CNN) — When Icelandic Chinese musician Laufey dropped her latest music video last month, starring a cast of mixed white and Asian celebrities, the internet went wild.
“Laufey collecting wasians like pokemon,” read one social media comment, using a portmanteau to describe people of mixed white and Asian descent. “WASIAN AVENGERS,” another comment cheered.
The term “Wasian” has been used since the early 2000s, but it has recently blown up on social media thanks to the emergence of several high-profile figures — many of whom starred in Laufey’s music video, including Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, “Heated Rivalry” actor Hudson Williams and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” actress Lola Tung.
“Wasian” is just the latest among many attempts to shorthand biracial groups; elder millennials may be more familiar with reclaimed terms like mestizo in the Philippines and the Hawaiian hapa haole which are more broadly applied to any mix including Asian and Pacific Islander ancestries.
In Laufey’s video for the song “Madwoman,” the stars wear 1960s mod fashion, complete with go-go boots and colorful geometric prints, while enjoying dim sum and playing mahjong — a nod to both sides of the singer’s heritage.
She is among those who have publicly embraced the Wasian label — which has helped many people who self-identify as such to feel more seen, though not everyone feels the same way. Laufey said she “felt a general lack of representation for people who looked like me in music and media” when growing up.
“Madwoman” is “what younger Laufey would have loved to see,” she said; when Liu posted a photo from the shoot, the Olympian captioned it, “Shoutout Wasiaaaa,” to which the Laufey responded, “long live wasia long live alysa liu.”
Williams, too, has spoken about his mixed-race identity – saying in multiple interviews that his Korean mother had worried he would have trouble landing roles as a half-Asian. “I wanna represent my Wasians out there,” he said in an interview with audio app Quinn. “I’ve been declared … the princess or prince of Wasia.”
This heightened attention coincides with a growing fascination in the West around Asian entertainment and culture (think the Netflix smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters,” the recent Chinamaxxing trend, K-beauty products, and even Labubus).
And the increased visibility of Wasians has crossed from the screen into the real world, with large crowds gathering at “Wasian meetups” earlier this May in San Francisco and New York City. Music blared as attendees held lookalike contests for Wasian stars; some brought giant cutout posters of famous biracial celebrity faces, including pop princess Olivia Rodrigo and actor Henry Golding.
For some, it was a powerful and positive experience to see themselves represented and to connect with others.
“It felt very validating — I felt very visible for the first time in my life,” said Annabelle Oaklie, a stand-up and improv comedian who attended the New York meetup. Born in Texas to a white father and Korean mother, she says there were only a few other Wasians at school, and she and her siblings didn’t look like their cousins from either side of the family.
Standing in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow, surrounded by more than 3,000 people was “almost like a family reunion of sorts,” she said, adding that she could “look across and feel like you vaguely know everyone around you.”
But the meetups have also triggered a heated debate about race and identity that has reached
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| 27- Cave divers race to free 7 trapped underground in Laos as conditions worsen. What to know
Cave divers race to free 7 trapped underground in Laos as conditions worsen. What to know
CNN
By Kocha Olarn, Chris Lau, Charlotte Reck, CNN
(CNN) — A dangerous operation to rescue seven villagers trapped in a flooded cave for a week continues to unfold in a mountainous region of Laos, where experts are trying to beat bad weather and deteriorating conditions that are putting multiple lives at risk.
Specialist cave divers, who’ve been squeezing through narrow, muddy tunnels at the site in the central Laotian province of Xaisomboun, say they’re getting closer to the villagers, who are believed to be inside an underground cavern.
Rescuers told CNN that more than 100 people had joined the risky operation – including 15 experienced divers and experts who helped in the dramatic 2018 cave rescue of a young soccer team in Thailand.
Here’s what to know:
What happened?
The villagers went into the cave last Wednesday in search of gold, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding which blocked the exit, the Associated Press reported, citing Laos and Thai rescue teams.
The villagers are believed to be trapped on “an elevated ledge inside the cave that benefits from continuous airflow,” state-run Lao News Agency reported Tuesday.
Thai diver Kengkad Bongkawong told CNN that rescuers are working with a map that they believe is highly accurate, and that the villagers are in the “safest spot” inside the cave.
“That’s why I believe, given the geography and the living conditions of the victims, if they are in that specific area, their chances of survival are very high – very high,” said Bongkawong, who also took part in the operation to rescue the Thai soccer team in 2018.
What are the risks?
Finnish diver Mikko Paasi is among the team of divers navigating the Laos tunnel and posted video to social media of himself squeezing between jagged rocks.
“We are still in high spirits that we will find the miners alive as they entered the mine with resources to stay sub-terrain for several days,” he wrote on Facebook Wednesday.
But he also spoke of the treacherous conditions he had encountered so far, starting with a four kilometer jungle hike to even get to the site.
“Inside the mine, you have to navigate hundreds of meters of constant restrictions, flood waters, collapse hazards and high risk of contaminated air quality,” said Paasi, who was also involved in the rescue of the Thai boys in 2018.
Arnold Dix, a geologist and disaster rescuer who led the operation to save 41 Indian miners from a collapsed tunnel in 2023, warned that rescues of this kind are inherently risky.
He said after seven days inside the cave, the risk of illness among those trapped is rising. Conditions are also very difficult for rescuers, who would be wary of becoming caught out by a rush of water inside the tunnels, he said.
“For the rescuers there at the moment, there in Laos, my heart goes out to them. I hope they succeed, but I also hope they don’t get killed in the process,” Dix told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Wednesday.
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- At least 1 dead and 9 missing after a chemical tank rupture at a paper plant in Washington state
At least 1 dead and 9 missing after a chemical tank rupture at a paper plant in Washington state
CNN
By Emma Tucker, Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN
(CNN) — At least one person has died, nine people were injured and nine employees remain unaccounted for after a large tank of chemical treatment product, including hazardous materials, ruptured at a paper and packaging facility in Washington state, fire officials said.
The incident took place around 7:30 a.m. local time at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility in Longview, Washington. The ruptured tank contained white liquor, a chemical mixture used in the paper making process, the Longview Fire Department said. Officials previously said the tank imploded.
There is no threat to the surrounding community, the department said, while advising people to avoid the area. The scene remains active but recovery and stabilization efforts remain “extremely complex” due to ongoing safety hazards, said Scott Goldstein, fire chief of Cowlitz 2 Fire Rescue at a news conference Tuesday night.
The injured include eight employees and one firefighter, who has since been treated and released, fire officials said. At a news conference earlier in the day, they said “there were fatalities” related to the implosion.
CNN has reached out to the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility for comment on the incident.
While officials originally said the tank had capacity to hold 80,000 gallons and was roughly 60% full, they later said the tank held over 10 times that amount of white liquor – approximately 900,000 gallons. Roughly 90,000 gallons of material may remain inside the damaged tank, they said.
The accident is the latest in a spate of incidents at industrial facilities, mills and plants in recent months, some of which have also been deadly.
Just this past week, officials raced to prevent an overheating chemical tank in California from exploding, prompting tens of thousands of residents to evacuate until pressure in the tank was reduced, eliminating the risk of a catastrophic blast. In April, a chemical leak involving nitric acid and another substance at a West Virginia plant killed two people and injured over a dozen others, The Associated Press reported.
In October of last year, more than 24,000 pounds of explosives detonated at a Tennessee explosives plant, killing 16 employees and making a blast so intense it registered as a 1.6 magnitude earthquake. And two months earlier, an explosion at a US Steel plant in Pennsylvania killed two workers and injured more than 10 others, one of whom was trapped in rubble, the AP reported.
A spokesperson for PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center told CNN the hospital initially received nine patients, including one person who died in Longview incident. Two people were transferred to other facilities and six others were in “fair condition,” according to Jim Murez, the hospital’s commun
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- Trump culmina su mes de venganza republicana, y otras conclusiones de la segunda vuelta electoral en Texas
Trump culmina su mes de venganza republicana, y otras conclusiones de la segunda vuelta electoral en Texas
Por Eric Bradner, CNN
El presidente Donald Trump concluyó este martes por la noche su gira de venganza de un mes de duración en Texas.
Los índices de aprobación nacional del presidente podrían estar cerca de su nivel más bajo. Sin embargo, una serie de primarias celebradas en estados tradicionalmente republicanos en mayo han demostrado que los votantes conservadores siguen apoyando fervientemente a Trump y están dispuestos a volverse contra aquellos a quienes él considera desleales.
Tras derrotar a los titulares en Indiana, Kentucky y Louisiana, Trump consiguió lo que quería en Texas cuando Ken Paxton, el controvertido fiscal general del estado, venció al senador John Cornyn, que llevaba cuatro mandatos en el cargo.
Ahora, los republicanos se enfrentan a la perspectiva de tener que desembolsar una gran cantidad de dinero para defender un escaño en un estado tradicionalmente republicano en una contienda contra el representante estatal demócrata James Talarico, que podría convertirse en la elección más cara de la historia.
Los senadores republicanos y sus principales estrategas creían que Cornyn tenía la reelección asegurada si lograba superar las primarias, y que Paxton era un candidato más débil para las elecciones generales.
Sin embargo, Trump decidió ignorar meses de presión por parte de la dirección del Senado para que el presidente apoyara a Cornyn o se mantuviera al margen de la segunda vuelta, y emitió un respaldo tardío a Paxton.
La decisión de Trump selló, en la práctica, el destino político de Cornyn.
En su discurso de victoria, Paxton calificó el respaldo de Trump como “la fuerza más poderosa en la política”.
Estas son las conclusiones de la segunda vuelta de las primarias de Texas:
Trump ha destituido a los senadores republicanos titulares del estado de Indiana que se negaron a apoyar su iniciativa de redistribución de distritos, ha derrotado a un crítico frecuente como el representante de Kentucky, Thomas Massie, y ha desbancado al senador de Louisiana, Bill Cassidy , quien votó a favor de condenar a Trump tras su segundo juicio político después del ataque al Capitolio de Estados Unidos el 6 de enero de 2021.
Cornyn votó a favor de absolver a Trump en aquel entonces, pero tardó en respaldarlo en su tercer intento por llegar a la Casa Blanca. En 2023, afirmó que Trump tenía “una capacidad única para movilizar a sus seguidores, pero no para expandir su base, lo cual es un problema”.
Sin embargo, si bien el respaldo de Trump es poderoso en las primarias republicanas, también tiene un largo historial de apoyar a candidatos que alienaron al electorado en general y perdieron elecciones generales que podrían haber ganado.
Los republicanos intentarán impedir que Paxton se sume a la lista de candidatos respaldados por Trump que están condenados al fracaso, entre los que se incluyen Herschel Walker en Georgia, Kari Lake y Blake Masters en Arizona, y Mehmet Oz en Pensilvania.
Mientras tanto, Trump también se enfrentará a siete meses más de mayorías republicanas en el Capitolio, donde legisladores como Massie, Cassi
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- Jefa de agencia de inteligencia de comunicaciones del Reino Unido denuncia ataques sin descanso de Rusia en el ciberespacio
Jefa de agencia de inteligencia de comunicaciones del Reino Unido denuncia ataques sin descanso de Rusia en el ciberespacio
Por Associated Press
El Reino Unido y sus aliados corren el riesgo de perder un conflicto en el ciberespacio contra adversarios como Rusia a menos que los ciudadanos, las empresas y los Gobiernos traten la ciberseguridad con mucha mayor urgencia, advierte una jefa de los servicios de inteligencia británicos.
Anne Keast-Butler, directora de la agencia de inteligencia de comunicaciones GCHQ, advertirá este miércoles que Moscú está atacando sin tregua la infraestructura crítica, los procesos democráticos, las cadenas de suministro y la confianza pública en el Reino Unido y Europa.
En un discurso pronunciado en un centro de descifrado de códigos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial cerca de Londres, acusará a Rusia de robar tecnología y de planear sabotajes e intentos de asesinato.
Keast-Butler tiene previsto afirmar que los rápidos avances en inteligencia artificial significan que “el terreno bajo nuestros pies está cambiando” y que existe una “ventana cada vez más estrecha para que el Reino Unido y sus aliados se mantengan por delante” de países como China, una “superpotencia” científica y tecnológica.
Según extractos publicados con antelación por GCHQ, siglas de Government Communications Headquarters, su intención es argumentar que debe haber un esfuerzo “desde las salas de juntas hasta los hogares” para que la ciberseguridad sea “diez veces más urgente”.
Se trata de la última de una serie de advertencias de espías y expertos en inteligencia occidentales que señalan que Rusia está intensificando su actividad hostil en una “zona gris” que se sitúa justo por debajo del umbral de la guerra.
En los últimos meses, las autoridades de países como Suecia, Polonia, Dinamarca y Noruega han denunciado que piratas informáticos vinculados a Rusia atacaron su infraestructura crítica, incluidas centrales eléctricas y represas.
El director del Centro Nacional de Ciberseguridad del Reino Unido, Richard Horne, advirtió el mes pasado que estados hostiles como Rusia, China e Irán están detrás de los ciberataques más graves que enfrenta el país.
Añadió que estos ataques podrían aumentar drásticamente si el Reino Unido se ve involucrada en un conflicto internacional.
Keast-Butler planea destacar la importancia de las alianzas internacionales, ya que la política exterior de “Estados Unidos primero” del presidente Donald Trump y su desprecio por los aliados de larga data tensan la relación entre Londres y Washington.
Significativamente, el discurso anual de la directora del GCHQ en Bletchley Park tiene lugar en una mansión situada a 72 kilómetros al noroeste de Londres, donde cientos de matemáticos, criptógrafos, aficionados a los crucigramas, maestros de ajedrez y otros expertos trabajaron para descifrar los códigos secretos supuestamente indescifrables de la Alemania nazi.
Su trabajo contribuyó a acortar la guerra y a acelerar el nacimiento de la informática moderna.
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| 28- Clean Electricity Outpaces Global Demand
- The Glorious Gardens of Santa Barbara and Montecito — on Full Display 100 Years Ago
- Rescatistas confían en poder sacar pronto a cinco aldeanos de una cueva inundada en Laos
Rescatistas confían en poder sacar pronto a cinco aldeanos de una cueva inundada en Laos
Por Kocha Olarn, Sophie Tanno, Chris Lau, Helen Regan, CNN
Buzos especializados en cuevas, que se apresuran a rescatar a un grupo de aldeanos atrapados en una cueva inundada en una zona remota de Laos, se muestran cautelosamente optimistas de que pronto podrán comenzar a sacar a los hombres atrapados.
Cinco de los siete aldeanos desaparecidos fueron localizados el miércoles en una cámara subterránea en Xaisomboun, una provincia central de este país del sudeste asiático sin salida al mar, una semana después de que quedaran atrapados cuando las fuertes lluvias provocaron inundaciones repentinas que les bloquearon la salida.
Un grupo de rescate laosiano, Rescue Volunteer for People, informó que cinco de los hombres encontrados estaban “vivos y a salvo”. Los rescatistas creen que dos hombres siguen desaparecidos en algún lugar dentro del complejo de cuevas.
Un video difundido por el grupo de rescate captó el momento en que los buzos llegaron hasta los aldeanos atrapados tras emerger del agua.
En las imágenes se puede ver a los hombres sentados en una cornisa rocosa rodeada por el agua de la inundación y con linternas frontales.
En escenas publicadas en las redes sociales, se puede ver a los equipos de rescate trabajando en la superficie saltando de alegría, abrazándose y llorando al enterarse de que cinco personas habían sido encontradas con vida.
Por ahora, permanecen atrapados en una caverna subterránea, mientras los rescatistas continúan la búsqueda de las dos personas restantes y, simultáneamente, elaboran un plan para extraer a los supervivientes.
La angustiosa misión para rescatar a los hombres atrapados recuerda el dramático rescate de jóvenes futbolistas en la vecina Tailandia en 2018. Algunos de los miembros internacionales de la misión actual son veteranos de aquella operación.
“Cinco personas han sido encontradas con vida y están a salvo. Ya han recibido atención médica básica y alimentos blandos siguiendo las recomendaciones de los médicos”, escribió el buzo de rescate tailandés Kengkad Bongkawong en Facebook a las 23:30 hora local.
“Si se logra facilitar el acceso, los rescatistas creen que los supervivientes tienen la fuerza física suficiente para salir por sí mismos con la ayuda de los equipos”, agregó.
El buzo finlandés Mikko Paasi, que forma parte de la operación de rescate, expresó su alegría por haber localizado a cinco de las personas atrapadas. “La tarea hasta ahora ha sido de todo menos fácil y todos los implicados han hecho un trabajo increíble”, escribió en Instagram.
Sin embargo, añadió que fue “solo un breve alivio”, ya que los supervivientes siguen atrapados en la caverna. “Todos están sanos y de buen ánimo, pero la extracción aún está por delante y no va a ser fácil”, afirmó.
En un video grabado por Paasi se ve a los aldeanos siendo interrogados sobre sus nombres y si padecían alguna enfermedad. Respondieron que no estaban enfermos, pero que se sentían débiles y con mucha hambre.
Es probable que la extracción resulte complicada.
Algunas zonas del túnel, completamente a oscuras y parcialmente inundado, parecen muy estrechas, con un ancho de aproximadamente 58 centímetros. Uno de los rescatistas contó que en un momento dado se vio obligado a quitarse el equipo para poder pasar a duras penas y llegar a la siguiente zona de la cueva.
Según Kengkad, los aldeanos, que al parecer son todos hombres, entraron en la cueva el miércoles pasado en busca de oro, pero las fuertes lluvias provocaron inundaciones repentinas que bloquearon la salida.
La peligrosa operación de rescate se puso en marcha en medio del deterioro de las condiciones y de retrasos imprevistos, entre los que se incluyen el hallazgo por parte de los rescatistas de gas tóxico de sulfuro de hidrógeno y problemas para
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- Everything you thought you knew about Kate Moss’ infamous ‘party era’ photo is wrong
Everything you thought you knew about Kate Moss’ infamous ‘party era’ photo is wrong
By Oscar Holland, CNN
(CNN) — When photographer Greg Brennan spotted Kate Moss in a fur coat at the bottom of a fire exit, cigarette in hand, he knew he’d stumbled across something special. The year was 2007, and what he didn’t realize is that one of the resulting photos — not even his favorite from the night — would become an emblem of the supermodel’s “party era” and the best-known image of his near-four-decade career.
The mid-aughts photo’s enduring appeal is, partly, its mundanity. In that quiet, unguarded moment, Moss was just like any other 30-something having a night out on the town. And yet she is perhaps the only person who could appear that put-together while being ambushed in a stairwell. “It’s kind of a mixture between a ballerina and Janice Joplin,” Brennan said in a video call from his home in London. “It’s very rock ‘n’ roll.”
Moss had developed a reputation for enjoying a night out during the “heroin chic” party girl era of the ’90s, as the press did its best (or, perhaps, worst?) to document her every move.
Not all was as it seemed, though. For one thing, Brennan believes Moss was completely sober when he took the shot. “I read all sorts of nonsense,” added the now-53-year-old photographer, saying that his most famous image is also among the most misunderstood. “I read that she tripped on her dress, that she fell down the stairs, that it was 4 a.m. — none of that was accurate. None.”
Brennan’s new book, “The Big Shot,” intends to set the record straight. It also details the combination of seasoned experience and blind luck that led the British photographer to the back door of a London theater on the model’s 33rd birthday. (Moss’ representatives, meanwhile, did not respond to CNN’s request for her her own version of events.)
In 2007, Moss was at the height of her powers. It was the year Time magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people and Forbes listed her as the world’s second highest-earning model (behind only Gisele Bündchen). Wedding rumors swirled around her relationship with Babyshambles frontman, Pete Doherty. Against a backdrop of intense tabloid attention, Brennan was assigned to The Dorchester hotel in London to photograph the model’s birthday party, which had become “a kind of annual media event,” he said.
Soon after Brennan’s arrival, word spread among the waiting press that Moss and Doherty were still over a mile away at Donmar Warehouse, a theater in London’s West End. He rushed across town only to find a mob of photographers and curious onlookers clogging the entrance.
Then, a stroke of luck — or bad luck, as it seemed at the time: The batteries of Brennan’s flash unit were nearly flat. Returning to his car a few streets away, he remembered the theater had a fire escape that doubled as a back door. (Here, experience paid off: In the late 1990s, he had captured Nicole Kidman leaving the building via the very same exit.)
The photographer made a quick detour, “just to check,” he recalled. “She was just sitting there on the stairs, smoking. I walked past the door, took one look and knew I had a few seconds, if that, to act.”
Poking his camera through the ajar door, Brennan fired off a series of 10 images. As the shutter clicked, he heard a vehicle pull up outside. It was only then that he realized what was happening: The couple had sent another car to the front entrance as a decoy while they snuck out the back. Moss and Dohert
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| 29- How do US arms sales to Taiwan work and why are they such a sore point for China?
How do US arms sales to Taiwan work and why are they such a sore point for China?
By Brad Lendon, CNN
(CNN) — After US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this month, much focus has been put on Washington’s support for Taiwan and US arms sales to its government.
On the first day of those talks Xi delivered a stark warning to his US counterpart – that Taiwan, the most important outstanding issue between the US and China, could become a “very dangerous situation” if mishandled.
Trump has delayed signing a $14 billion arms deal for Taiwan that was recently approved by Congress, calling it a “very good negotiating chip” in his dealings with Xi.
Meanwhile, acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the deal was being delayed as the Pentagon made sure it has enough weapons for the war with Iran.
But Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said last week it has not been notified by the US of any delay in arms sales.
With the confusion and conflicting statements around the issue, here’s a look at the process and law regarding US military sales to Taiwan, the democratically governed island of 23 million that Beijing claims to be its own.
Xi has not ruled out the use of force to one day gain control of Taiwan.
The law
The US is bound by an act of Congress to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
In 1979, US President Jimmy Carter’s administration switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei — whose government was and still is formally called the Republic of China (ROC) — to Beijing, known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The move ended a mutual defense treaty between Washington and Taipei, much to the dismay at the time of the US Congress, which quickly passed the Taiwan Relations Act to assert its role in relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Congress thought Carter made a “bad bargain,” according to the Brookings Institution think tank.
“They felt that by giving into Chinese demands that he terminate diplomatic relations with Taiwan and end the mutual defense treaty, Carter had left the island profoundly vulnerable,” Brookings says.
The Taiwan Relations Act states that the future of Taiwan must be decided by “peaceful means” and that the US “shall provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character” that will enable it to “maintain a sufficient self-defense capacity.
Last week, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said “Our Taiwan policy remains unchanged, and the US continues to adhere to long-standing commitments consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act.”
While a US-China joint communique issued in 1982 mentioned Washington’s intention of a gradual and eventual reduction in its arms sales to Taiwan pending a peaceful resolution, Beijing has interpreted the text as a binding commitment while US officials have long disputed the notion — stressing that Washington had never agreed to set a date for ending such sales nor would it consult Beijing beforehand
The weapons pipeline
Since 1979, Taiwan has purchased tens of billions of dollars in US military systems, from big-ticket items like destroyers, frigates, jet fighters and main battle tanks, to smaller items like anti-aircraft, anti-tank missiles, computer systems and logistical support.
But few have made it to the island quickly.
“It is not unusual for defense sales to take years to complete, sometimes never actually meeting full delivery,” said Jeff Abramson, senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy (CIP).
“Typically, arms are not already manuf
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- Meet the man creating bespoke art for the world’s best athletes
Meet the man creating bespoke art for the world’s best athletes
By Ben Church, CNN
London (CNN) — On a boiling hot day in England, Jordan Dawson walks into a London pub with a tote bag by his side. He plonks it on the floor, its contents rattling around inside, before he digs inside and places a pair of soccer cleats (or boots in the UK) on the table.
“These are for Antoine Semenyo,” the 31-year-old tells CNN Sports. “These will be going to the World Cup.”
On request, Dawson then takes out more goodies from the bag, each boot adorned in a unique design that makes the otherwise plain white shoes pop with an authentic flash of personality.
These examples, like the hundreds of others he has designed over the years, make up a portfolio of work that has endeared him to the world of professional sports and has taken him to places he never dreamed of when starting his artistic career from his bedroom.
Now, though, Dawson is a man in demand, designing custom footwear for the top athletes on the planet. Much of his best work has come in the world of soccer, with Dawson creating personalised designs for the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Rashford, Enzo Fernández and Gigi Donnarumma – to name just a few.
This weekend, the designer will be in Budapest for the Champions League final, creating a pair of boots in collaboration with PlayStation. But it will also be a full-circle moment for Dawson, who will get the chance to watch a player who was his first client many years ago, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice.
How it all began
A life mixing with the stars wasn’t necessarily on the cards when Dawson fell in love with art as a child.
“I drew since I was a kid,” Dawson says. “I remember sitting in my grandma’s conservatory drawing cartoons, and then you would always find me in the art classroom. I studied art at school and I always put my extra hours into it, whether that was in lunchtimes or after school.”
Over the years, he developed and fostered his obvious talent, experimenting with several techniques – from animation to painting and multiple avenues in between.
He went on to study at London’s Chelsea College of Arts, focusing on fine art. While there he learned how to create hyper-realistic portraits, which initially seemed like his calling, but getting a job in that field isn’t straightforward.
There just wasn’t a well-trodden path to employment with a fine art qualification, leaving Dawson wondering where he would channel his passion. To make ends meet, he started working in retail at the Nike Store in central London.
It wasn’t a job that scratched his creative itch, but it did at least get him close to his other passion: sneakers. He would take some of the spare shoes home with him and use them as a canvas for his designs, quickly putting together a small portfolio of work which combined his passions for shoes and art.
Catching a break
From that point, he slowly built up the courage to show his work to organizations, pitching around 30 different companies for collaborations.
“There’s definitely been a lot of knocks along the way, but I guess it’s taking that risk and putting yourself out there, making sure that at least you try, I guess,” Dawson says, reflecting on his journey.
Eventually, he did catch a break, and from a source very close to home. While still working at Nike, he pitched to his own company and was invited to be a designer for a London Air Force 1 campaign in 2018. It was a pivotal moment that triggered a wave of other work.
It was duri
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- Iran’s nuclear stockpile — a key part of negotiations to end the war and a focus of Trump’s — explained
Iran’s nuclear stockpile — a key part of negotiations to end the war and a focus of Trump’s — explained
By Davis Winkie, CNN
(CNN) — What happens to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, including the 970 pounds that it has highly concentrated to near-weapons grade, is one of the primary sticking points as the US and Iran have trudged through weeks of negotiations to potentially end the Iran war.
President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran must hand over what he calls its “nuclear dust.” Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the country has a right to a non-weapons nuclear program.
But what is in Iran’s stockpile, and what does it mean for Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon?
With the right equipment, the highly enriched uranium that Iran has could reach weapons-grade purity within weeks or even days, according to nuclear experts. And it’s enough for 10 nuclear weapons, international inspectors say.
Iran and the US are reportedly close to an agreement to formalize a ceasefire and open the Strait of Hormuz. But the question of what happens to the uranium would remain unsettled and a key part of subsequent negotiations, according to CNN’s reporting.
Those talks would likely focus on the nearly 1000 pounds of uranium purified to 60%.
“The US shouldn’t take a deal that doesn’t include removing the [highly enriched uranium],” said Eric Brewer, a nuclear materials expert for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) nonprofit who previously oversaw counterproliferation at the National Security Council during Trump’s first administration and led Iran intelligence analysis for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Building a nuclear weapon requires a significant amount of radioactive heavy elements, or what experts call fissile material. One such radioactive isotope, uranium-235, occurs in nature, but it makes up less than one percent of raw uranium ore that’s mined.
Enrichment concentrates the uranium-235 from raw ore and prepares it for conversion into weapons-usable fissile material. Iran enriched its uranium by converting it into a gas — uranium hexafluoride — and spinning it in a series of centrifuge machines in underground plants primarily at the country’s Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear complexes.
Iran’s near-half ton of 60% enriched uranium (and its estimated 405.9 pounds of 20% U-235) is believed to remain in gas form, as it was at the time of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s last verification in June 2025. Iran shut out international nuclear inspectors the following month in the wake of joint US-Israel airstrikes on its facilities.
Further enrichment to 90% purity, considered the threshold for weapons-grade uranium, would “only take days to weeks” if Iran has an operational enrichment facility, Brewer said.
The June 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, what the Pentagon termed Operation Midnight Hammer, was assessed by US intelligence to have buried much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile at Isfahan, but didn’t destroy it, despite administration statements that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated.”
Earlier this month Trump threatened “to go in” with force and retrieve the uranium should negotiations fail. CNN reported in March that military planners had reviewed options for such an effort at the Isfahan complex, assessing that it could require hundreds if not thousands of troops and risk a high number of casualties. In addition to bringing in specialized forces and equipment to handle the material itself, creating a security perimeter to allow those troops to work w
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- Mullin plan to punish sanctuary jurisdictions by targeting their airports faces fierce headwinds
Mullin plan to punish sanctuary jurisdictions by targeting their airports faces fierce headwinds
By Michael Williams, Alayna Treene, Alexandra Skores, CNN
(CNN) — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has become preoccupied with an idea to punish cities and states that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — cutting customs staffing at their airports and possibly stopping the processing of international travelers all together.
But the ambitious plan is hitting turbulence: It has sent the travel industry and local officials reeling because of its disruptive potential, has been publicly opposed by a fellow Cabinet secretary, and has not yet been greenlit by the White House.
If “radical left Democrats” aren’t allowing federal authorities to enforce immigration laws in their communities, Mullin told Fox News earlier this week, “then we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either.”
“They don’t want us to enforce immigration but they want us to process immigration at their facilities? Nothing about that makes sense to me,” the secretary said.
Airlines, for their part, have not commented on the plan or how close they believe it is to being implemented. If enacted, it would have huge implications for trade and tourism within the US, even if the administration decided to wait until after the upcoming World Cup matches. Cascading disruptions could affect large and small American airports in red states and blue states.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized Mullin’s plan during a recent congressional hearing: “We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,” he said last week.
And while Mullin keeps mentioning the idea in media interviews, there are not imminent plans for such a move, two Trump officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
The push is seen internally as more of a personal desire of Mullin’s than one coming from inside the West Wing. One of the officials said Mullin has been “obsessed” with the idea since being sworn in as Homeland Security secretary in March to replace his ousted predecessor, Kristi Noem, bringing it up unprompted during meetings at the White House.
“The President loves having a team that is constantly coming up with new ideas but ultimately any policy decisions will be up to him,” a White House official said.
While Mullin has been widely viewed as a stabilizing force atop DHS after a chaotic year under Noem’s control, and has built up a lot of goodwill with the president, his airport plan could have significant and wide-ranging consequences.
Some Trump officials have privately acknowledged the havoc the plan could wreak on international travel, and the industry has made the same point publicly.
“Reducing [Customs and Border Protection] staffing at major airports would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries, causing a significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers and the flow of international cargo,” Airlines for America, a trade association that lobbies for several major American carriers, said in a statement.
The US Travel Association, a national organization that advocates for all aspects of the country’s travel industry, said its representatives recently met with Mullin. The secretary “confirmed his previous comments that the administration is considering a withdrawal” of customs agents at some major international airports, the association said in a statement.
“U.S. Travel believes such a move would have devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation,” the statement said.
While Mullin has pitched th
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| 30- El médico de Trump le recomienda que baje de peso y haga más ejercicio, pero afirma que goza de “excelente salud”
El médico de Trump le recomienda que baje de peso y haga más ejercicio, pero afirma que goza de “excelente salud”
Por Donald Judd, CNN
La Casa Blanca dio a conocer a última hora del viernes los resultados del examen físico que le realizaron al presidente Donald Trump en mayo y compartió un informe de su médico en el que le recomendaba perder peso y hacer más ejercicio, al tiempo que señalaba que gozaba de excelente salud.
“El presidente Trump se mantiene en excelente estado de salud, demostrando una sólida función cardíaca, pulmonar, neurológica y física en general”, escribió el Dr. Sean Barbabella, médico de la Casa Blanca, en una carta. “Su desempeño cognitivo y físico es excelente. Está plenamente capacitado para desempeñar todas las funciones de Comandante en Jefe y Jefe de Estado”.
Barbabella apuntó: “Durante el examen se brindó asesoramiento preventivo, que incluyó orientación sobre la dieta, la recomendación de tomar una aspirina de baja dosis, aumentar la actividad física y continuar perdiendo peso”.
El médico señaló que el presidente mide 1,90 metros de altura y pesa 108 kilos.
En su examen físico del pasado mes de abril, Trump pesaba 224 libras.
Su visita al Centro Médico Militar Nacional Walter Reed el martes marcó la tercera vez que visita las instalaciones para un examen médico desde que se convirtió el año pasado en el presidente de mayor edad jamás investido.
Antes de la visita, la Casa Blanca declaró que el chequeo incluiría “evaluaciones dentales y médicas anuales de rutina”, a pesar de que ya había visitado a un dentista en Florida dos veces este año.
Inmediatamente después de la visita, Trump ofreció escasos detalles sobre Truth Social, escribiendo: “Todo salió PERFECTAMENTE”.
Desde su regreso a la Casa Blanca en 2025, las dolencias visibles y las especulaciones sobre su salud han llevado a la Casa Blanca a revelar nuevos detalles sobre el estado físico del presidente.
La Casa Blanca afirmó que la hinchazón en sus piernas y tobillos, que se reveló el verano pasado, era consecuencia de una insuficiencia venosa crónica, una afección en la que las válvulas dentro de ciertas venas no funcionan correctamente, lo que puede provocar que la sangre se acumule en ellas.
Trump intentó usar medias de compresión, pero le resultaron incómodas.
En la carta del viernes, el médico del presidente escribió que, durante el examen físico del martes, “se observó una ligera hinchazón en la parte inferior de las piernas, con una mejoría respecto al año pasado”.
Durante su segundo mandato, el presidente también ha desarrollado hematomas notables en las manos, que la Casa Blanca ha atribuido a los frecuentes apretones de manos y ha intentado disimular con corrector en las fotografías.
Según el informe médico, Trump también se sometió a un “examen neurológico completo”, que mostró “estado mental normal, nervios craneales intactos, fuerza motora, sensibilidad, reflejos, marcha y equilibrio normales”.
En cuanto a la salud cardíaca de Trump, el médico dijo: “El análisis del electrocardiograma (ECG) mejorado con IA estimó que su edad cardíaca… es aproximadamente 14 años menor que su edad cronológica”.
La carta de Barbabella señalaba que Trump toma aspirina, pero no especificaba la dosis. Cuando se usa con fines preventivos, los médicos suelen recomendar tomar 81 miligramos de aspirina al día, pero Trump declaró al Wall Street Journal en enero que toma 325 miligramos, una dosis que puede aumentar el riesgo de hemorragia.
“Dicen que la aspirina es buena para diluir la sangre, y no quiero que la sangre espesa circule por mi corazón”, declaró Trump al WSJ. “Quiero que la sangre fluya fluida por mi corazón. … Prefieren que tome la más pequeña. Tomo
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- What it’s like to have your nude body auctioned for tens of millions
What it’s like to have your nude body auctioned for tens of millions
By Leah Dolan, CNN
London (CNN) — It took four men to heave the 200-pound painting on the wall. Once mounted, the voluptuous nude body stands tall like a mountain against the pale wash of Sotheby’s London gallery. There are five or six people in the room, including the hangers and the auction house press team, who coo and aw over the sleeping woman on the canvas, her blue-tinged flesh erupting in folds. Suddenly, a jolly voice with an east London twang cuts through the mesmerized whispers: “Hello,” says a much smaller woman at the back of the room: “I’m here in real life!”
Sue Tilley, the 60-something retired benefits supervisor and subject of British artist Lucian Freud’s monumental painting “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet” (1996), has travelled from her home in St Leonards-on-sea on the south coast of England for an uncanny meeting with the oil-on-canvas work before it heads to auction next month. The portrait, which Sotheby’s Europe chairman Olivier Barker says is “the magnum opus of Lucian’s work,” is estimated to fetch between £25-35 million ($33-45 million) at the Lewis Collection sale on 24 June.
Tilley is well aware of these lofty price tags, of course, though that’s about as far as it goes. “It feels very weird, because I never really got any money,” she said while sitting across from her imposing portrait. “I think sometimes I’m probably worth about £100 million,” she laughed. “How shocking is that!”
She posed for the seminal painter, who died in 2011, numerous times in the 1990s and was paid a modest day rate. (“People think I walked in the room and went ‘Wow, let’s work on the most expensive painting in the world.’ It wasn’t like that at all.”) Together, they created four portraits: “Evening in the Studio” (1993), “Benefits Supervisor Resting” (1994), “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” (1995) and “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet.” Two have broken records with their sale price: First the 1995 portrait, which sold in 2008 at Christie’s in New York for $33.6 million and became the most expensive work by a living artist. Then in 2015 the proverbial yardstick was thrown like a javelin, after the 1994 painting sold, also at Christie’s in New York, for $56.2 million.
Freud and Tilley were first introduced by a mutual friend, Leigh Bowery — the trailblazing Australian performance artist, costume designer and club kid who moved to London as a teenager hellbent on experiencing the nightlife and culture he read about in magazines. Tilley was a close friend of Bowery’s after meeting while out clubbing, and in 2025 wrote his biography. “He made a name for himself as being very outrageous,” she said. “But deep down he was a very normal person.” Freud meanwhile was interested in staying close to London’s avant-garde scene, “the ticking heart of what was really going on in London at that particular moment in time,” said Barker. He painted Bowery, Tilley and a legion of their nightclub crew. Tilley in particular, “completed something that (Freud) needed of his models,” Barker added.
It was “a fantastic experience,” Tilley said, as they chewed the fat on everything from life and friendly gossip to horse racing. But sitting for the master painter wasn’t without complication or discomfort. For one, she had never posed nude before. Nervous about what to expect from the first session, Bowery came over to her place and “made me strip my clothes off so I could practice.” Bowery’s instructions (“you have to do this, you have to do that,”) put “the fear of God” in Tilley. But when she met Freud she instinctively did her own thing. “I think that’s why he liked me,” she said. “I disobeyed him the whole time.” Still, the schedule was strict. Tilley would arrive around 7:30am, be given breakfast, and then the painting began. Freud rarely
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- A Paralympian and ‘prairie populist’: How this Iowa Senate candidate is trying to spark a rural revival for Democrats
A Paralympian and ‘prairie populist’: How this Iowa Senate candidate is trying to spark a rural revival for Democrats
By Jeff Zeleny, CNN
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Theresa Weeks was making spaghetti when a Senate candidate came knocking on her door.
“I was just watching your commercial,” Weeks said, extending her arms to give Josh Turek a hug on her front steps. “I’m delighted to see you.”
Turek is not only running to replace Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who is retiring after two terms. He is also testing whether Democrats can still win a Senate seat in Iowa – for the first time since 2008. The party is seeking to capitalize on voter discontent and economic anxieties that are also coursing through races for governor and Congress.
Weeks has lived in Iowa for 40 years, so she well remembers when sending a Democrat and Republican to the Senate was commonplace. The midterm election may signal whether Iowa has slipped deeply into the column of a red state, she believes, or whether Democrats can stage a revival.
“I’m hopeful there is this quiet sentiment of change that will erupt and we will see that change come to fruition,” Weeks said, standing outside in her stocking feet, as Turek’s visit came without warning. “I’m on a tightrope. I’m on pins and needles as to what our future holds.”
As she talked, Turek listened from his wheelchair on a recent afternoon he spent navigating sidewalks in her leafy neighborhood, climbing up stairs and knocking on doors. He’s intent on showcasing a physical disability, which he believes can be a political strength.
“There’s nothing like face-to-face interaction,” said Turek, 47, who was elected to the state legislature after winning two gold medals for the US men’s wheelchair basketball team. “You’ve got a guy in a wheelchair that crawls up the stairs to get your vote. It means a lot.”
In the primary election on Tuesday, Turek faces state Sen. Zach Wahls, 34, in a fight to become the Democratic nominee for US Senate. The winner is expected to challenge Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
‘Ready for change’
The fall election will measure whether voters in Iowa – and a handful of states across the country – have an appetite to elect Democrats in places that have repeatedly sided with Trump over the last decade and trended Republican at most levels of government.
“We’ve been in one-party rule for the better part of a decade,” said Josh Ladd of Des Moines, who called himself a moderate Democrat, eager for a new direction. “It feels different right now. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but your gut says it’s different.”
The president’s name is not on the November ballot, but Democrats are trying to make the election a referendum on his policies. Voter anxieties over inflation, the cost of gas, Medicaid cuts and tariffs are among issues contributing to a low approval rating for Trump.
“I think people are ready for change,” Wahls told CNN. “People want fighters who are going to go to bat for people that, you know, the establishment in Washington has written off.”
The spirited contest between Turek and Wahls is the latest in a series of Democratic primaries across the country in which the party’s voters are trying to find the most electable candidate for a general election. In Iowa, the fight is less ideological, given the rivals have similar records, but more about biography and geography.
Turek is from Council Bluffs, a working-class city in along the Missouri River in western Iowa and Wahls is from Johnson County, a deep-blue region home to the University of Iowa. Wahls first gained national attention when he spoke out against a proposed ban on sa
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- A Paralympian and ‘prairie populist’: How this Iowa Senate candidate is trying to spark a rural revival for Democrats
A Paralympian and ‘prairie populist’: How this Iowa Senate candidate is trying to spark a rural revival for Democrats
By Jeff Zeleny, CNN
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Theresa Weeks was making spaghetti when a Senate candidate came knocking on her door.
“I was just watching your commercial,” Weeks said, extending her arms to give Josh Turek a hug on her front steps. “I’m delighted to see you.”
Turek is not only running to replace Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who is retiring after two terms. He is also testing whether Democrats can still win a Senate seat in Iowa – for the first time since 2008. The party is seeking to capitalize on voter discontent and economic anxieties that are also coursing through races for governor and Congress.
Weeks has lived in Iowa for 40 years, so she well remembers when sending a Democrat and Republican to the Senate was commonplace. The midterm election may signal whether Iowa has slipped deeply into the column of a red state, she believes, or whether Democrats can stage a revival.
“I’m hopeful there is this quiet sentiment of change that will erupt and we will see that change come to fruition,” Weeks said, standing outside in her stocking feet, as Turek’s visit came without warning. “I’m on a tightrope. I’m on pins and needles as to what our future holds.”
As she talked, Turek listened from his wheelchair on a recent afternoon he spent navigating sidewalks in her leafy neighborhood, climbing up stairs and knocking on doors. He’s intent on showcasing a physical disability, which he believes can be a political strength.
“There’s nothing like face-to-face interaction,” said Turek, 47, who was elected to the state legislature after winning two gold medals for the US men’s wheelchair basketball team. “You’ve got a guy in a wheelchair that crawls up the stairs to get your vote. It means a lot.”
In the primary election on Tuesday, Turek faces state Sen. Zach Wahls, 34, in a fight to become the Democratic nominee for US Senate. The winner is expected to challenge Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
‘Ready for change’
The fall election will measure whether voters in Iowa – and a handful of states across the country – have an appetite to elect Democrats in places that have repeatedly sided with Trump over the last decade and trended Republican at most levels of government.
“We’ve been in one-party rule for the better part of a decade,” said Josh Ladd of Des Moines, who called himself a moderate Democrat, eager for a new direction. “It feels different right now. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but your gut says it’s different.”
The president’s name is not on the November ballot, but Democrats are trying to make the election a referendum on his policies. Voter anxieties over inflation, the cost of gas, Medicaid cuts and tariffs are among issues contributing to a low approval rating for Trump.
“I think people are ready for change,” Wahls told CNN. “People want fighters who are going to go to bat for people that, you know, the establishment in Washington has written off.”
The spirited contest between Turek and Wahls is the latest in a series of Democratic primaries across the country in which the party’s voters are trying to find the most electable candidate for a general election. In Iowa, the fight is less ideological, given the rivals have similar records, but more about biography and geography.
Turek is from Council Bluffs, a working-class city in along the Missouri River in western Iowa and Wahls is from Johnson County, a deep-blue region home to the University of Iowa. Wahls first gained national attention when he spoke out against a proposed ban on sa
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31- La esposa de Graham Platner dice que se siente “herida” por las revelaciones de los mensajes extramatrimoniales de su esposo
La esposa de Graham Platner dice que se siente “herida” por las revelaciones de los mensajes extramatrimoniales de su esposo
Por Michael Williams y Andrew Kaczynski, CNN
La esposa del candidato demócrata al Senado por Maine, Graham Platner, dijo que se sentía “profundamente herida” después de que el sábado se hicieran públicos detalles sobre los mensajes sexuales extramatrimoniales de su esposo, acusando a una exfuncionaria de campaña y confidente de traicionar su confianza.
La declaración de la esposa de Platner, Amy Gertner, se produjo después de que tanto The New York Times como The Wall Street Journal informaran que, poco después de que Platner anunciara su campaña al Senado el año pasado, Gertner alertó al personal de campaña sobre mensajes de texto sexuales que su esposo había intercambiado con otras mujeres.
“Sé quién es Graham”, dijo Gertner en una declaración difundida a través de la campaña de Platner. “Conozco al hombre con el que me casé y al esposo que ha sido para mí en los mejores y peores días de mi vida. Eso no ha cambiado, y no cambiará”.
Genevieve McDonald, la exdirectora política de la campaña de Platner, confirmó a CNN el sábado que Gertner le reveló el año pasado que Platner había estado enviando mensajes sexuales a varias mujeres y que la campaña evaluó el asunto como una posible responsabilidad política.
Según tanto The New York Times como The Wall Street Journal, Gertner informó a la campaña de Platner en agosto pasado sobre mensajes de texto que había encontrado en la primavera de 2025 entre su esposo y otras mujeres, al inicio de su matrimonio. Las publicaciones informaron que ella señaló los mensajes mientras la campaña de Platner evaluaba internamente al candidato.
CNN no ha confirmado de manera independiente la existencia de los mensajes de texto. CNN sí verificó que una cuenta en la aplicación de mensajería Kik parece pertenecer a Platner. La cuenta, bajo el nombre de usuario “phustle0331”, presenta una foto de perfil en la que Platner aparece sin camisa en un baño con una toalla en la cintura y utiliza un identificador similar a los de su cuenta de Reddit, ya eliminada, y una cuenta de Instagram también eliminada.
Según The New York Times, Gertner informó sobre los mensajes de su esposo con otras mujeres a la entonces directora política de la campaña, McDonald, a quien Gertner pareció referirse en la declaración del sábado.
“Confié detalles profundamente personales sobre mi matrimonio a alguien que consideraba una amiga”, decía la declaración de Gertner.
“Confié en esta persona el capítulo más privado de nuestras vidas —los primeros días de nuestro matrimonio, antes de que cualquier campaña estuviera en nuestra mente— y estoy profundamente herida por su traición y la invasión a nuestra privacidad”, dijo.
Platner, un veterano del Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina sin experiencia política previa, se ha convertido en un foco de controversia desde que anunció su campaña insurgente para desafiar a la senadora republicana titular Susan Collins.
Recibió fuertes críticas al inicio de su campaña después de que se revelara que tenía un tatuaje en el pecho que se asemejaba a un símbolo nazi. Platner dijo que se hizo el tatuaje cuando tenía 20 años y estaba en las fuerzas armadas, y que no se dio cuenta de su significado hasta hace poco. Desde entonces, ha dicho que ha cubierto el tatuaje.
Pero un reportaje de KFile de CNN posteriormente puso en duda su afirmación de ignorancia sobre el simbolismo del tatuaje. En un hilo de redes sociales de 2019, Platner discutió el emblema —una calavera con huesos cruzados “Totenkopf”— mientras señalaba que muchos miembros de las fuerzas armadas estadouni
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- Israel captures strategic Crusader-built castle as incursion into southern Lebanon deepens
Israel captures strategic Crusader-built castle as incursion into southern Lebanon deepens
By Kareem El Damanhoury, Todd Symons, CNN
(CNN) — The Israeli military has captured the Crasader-era Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, a site it hasn’t held for 26 years, as it expands its incursion deeper into its neighbor’s territory.
The capture of the castle, near the city of Nabatiyeh and roughly 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) from the Israeli border, comes after days of fierce fighting in the area.
“The operation is focused on establishing operational control of the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said Sunday, adding that it sought to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure in both areas.
The castle, which was built by the Crusaders on a high cliff overlooking the Litani River some 900 years ago, has long been considered a strategic site in southern Lebanon and has been occupied by Israeli forces during previous conflicts.
“The operation began several days ago, during which a significant number of IDF ground soldiers commenced offensive operations aimed at expanding the Forward Defense Line,” the IDF said.
“From Beaufort Ridge, Hezbollah terrorists managed military and combat activities and carried out numerous attacks,” it said.
On Saturday, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported Israeli air raids and “intense bombardment” in the area surrounding the castle. Hezbollah also claimed to have destroyed an Israeli tank near the castle.
Three days ago, the Arnoun Municipality denounced Israeli bombing in the area and urged international organizations to protect the castle, NNA reported.
“This is a clear message to our enemies: anyone who threatens Israeli civilians will lose their strategic assets one by one,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday.
And Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would “continue to demand and advance a doctrine of permanent territorial control and exceptional military aggressiveness…For every explosive drone, ten buildings in Beirut must fall.”
The Beaufort Castle has been described by UNESCO as “as one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the Near East.” It was also one of 34 Lebanese cultural properties that UNESCO granted provisional enhanced protection—the highest level of immunity against any attack or usage for military purposes—in late 2024, after Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon.
The castle was the site of intense fighting between the Israeli military and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982 when Israel occupied southern Lebanon. It sustained “significant damage” during the 18-year occupation before the Israeli military withdrew in 2000, according to UNESCO.
Despite the US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments in April, clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have intensified.
Israel has in recent days expanded its operation, pushing deeper into Lebanese territory, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israeli forces have crossed the Litani River, which runs around 15-20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Israel’s border.
The IDF said it had “expanded its operations against Hezbollah targets north of the river” and in “additional areas,” in its statement on Sunday. It has issued a series of evacuation orders for villages north of the Litani in recent days.
The intensifying combat between Israel and Hezbollah may put at risk any agreement between the United States and Iran, which is insisting that it include a ceasefire in Lebanon. US President Donald Trump told Netanyahu last week that he supported its “freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon,” an Israeli official told CNN.
CNN’s Eugenia Yosef, Eyad Kourdi and Tim Lister c
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- Pete Buttigieg is becoming a prolific endorser of Democrats, with some clues to his future
Pete Buttigieg is becoming a prolific endorser of Democrats, with some clues to his future
By Patrick Svitek, CNN
(CNN) — Shawn Harris is aware of the political bind he faces in northwest Georgia.
“Because I live in a ruby-red district, I can’t have every nationally known Democrat come here and support me because it doesn’t fit what we’re trying to do,” said Harris, who is running for a congressional district formerly represented by Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene. President Donald Trump carried the district by more than 30 percentage points in 2024.
But after Pete Buttigieg reached out to Harris ahead of a March special election runoff for the seat, Harris made an exception and welcomed the former transportation secretary to the district. Harris lost in the runoff but significantly overperformed past Democratic margins there. He hopes Buttigieg will return this fall for the general election.
Unlike many potential 2028 contenders, Buttigieg doesn’t hold a government position. He’s instead become one of the most prolific midterm campaigners among possible presidential candidates, backing candidates in more than 30 races and traveling to over a dozen states.
Those endorsements give Buttigieg a record to tout on a potential future debate stage, especially as the party looks for leaders who can break through in Republican territory. Buttigieg is also quietly building a network of allies and working to address a key weakness that ultimately doomed his 2020 White House bid.
In a statement to CNN, Buttigieg said that he wants “to be useful to citizens organizing to fix broken systems, and candidates who represent a better version of our politics.”
He appears to be looking to help Black Democrats in particular, a constituency with whom he struggled mightily in his 2020 presidential campaign. His dearth of support among Black voters was a glaring weakness as he otherwise rose from the mayorship of South Bend, Indiana, to become a top-tier candidate in the 2020 Democratic nominating fight.
Now, he is supporting up-and-coming Black Democrats in the midterms such as Harris, Aaron Ford for Nevada governor and Jasmine Clark for an open House seat east of Atlanta. Buttigieg also supported another Black Democrat, Chedrick Greene, who won a hard-fought special election for Michigan state Senate earlier this month where the party’s majority in the chamber was on the line.
Buttigieg, who passed on a US Senate run last year from Michigan — where he now resides — enjoys more political freedom than most other possible 2028 contenders. Some have focused on the midterms in more targeted ways, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who led the redrawing of his state’s congressional map to favor Democrats. Others must balance their national ambitions with reelection campaigns in November.
Buttigieg has his own political group, Win the Era, that grew out of his 2020 campaign, but several of his midterm endorsements are also aligning with The Bench, a new group run by some of his former aides, including top 2020 campaign spokesman Andrew Mamo, that says it is “recruiting and supporting the next generation of Democratic leaders.”
Buttigieg has appeared with candidates in more traditionally competitive states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio. But he’s also gone to Republican strongholds like Montana and Oklahoma.
Jaime Harrison, a former Democratic National Committee chairman from South Carolina, said Buttigieg has been “extremely active and I think that’s a good thing.” But he also name-checked other potential contenders who he said have be
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- How Costco sells such cheap gas
How Costco sells such cheap gas
By David Goldman, CNN
(CNN) — In its 50-year history, Costco has never seen such demand for gas.
Many of its stations have been so overwhelmed that they’ve had to call in tanker trucks multiple times a day to avoid running dry, Costco said this week during its quarterly earnings call. A growing number of customers are buying just enough to top up their tanks, concerned about what tomorrow’s prices may be.
As prices have surged above $4 nationwide – and above $6 along the West Coast – Costco has become America’s destination for cheap gas. Well, relatively. Costco routinely undercuts local gas stations by around 30 cents a gallon.
That’s an enticing bargain at any time, although long lines sometimes dissuade customers, especially when gas is inexpensive. Not now: A significant number of Costco members filled up for the very first time over the past three months, Costco said on that earnings call.
How – and why – does Costco sell gas for so cheap? It’s all about chickens. Well, kinda.
Not a ‘loss leader’
Costco actually makes a profit on gas – a few cents per gallon. That’s substantially lower than the 25- to 35-cent markup that most gas stations take.
Unlike most gas stations, which are small, independently owned and operated businesses – maybe with an attached convenience store or a repair shop – Costco can rely on its massive scale and membership model to drive profit.
Last year, membership fees accounted for roughly two-thirds of the company’s profit. Costco sells most of its products the same way it sells gasoline: at or just above cost – and sometimes below, like its famous $1.50 hot dog and soda deal.
Competing gas stations need the markup to pay for overhead and repairs. When gas prices rise, customers buy less of it, keeping a relative cap on the amount they’re able to charge.
That’s why, ironically, when gas prices are high, most gas stations struggle to make money.
Costco has a different problem: When gas prices are high, Costco sells more gas. But, because gas is among its lowest-margin products, the company’s overall profit margin gets squeezed. The opposite is true when prices are low.
Last year, when prices spent a considerable amount of time under $3 a gallon on average, gas added about a tenth of a percentage point to the company’s gross margin. Last quarter, gas subtracted two tenths of a point.
Nevertheless, it’s a good problem to have. Costco said it brought in $2.3 billion less in gas sales in 2025 than the year before because prices got cheaper.
Costco has 747 gas stations, which brought in 10% of its overall sales last year.
A chicken driver
Where do the chickens come in?
Costco says about half of its filler-uppers end up walking into a warehouse. As a record number of members visit Costco’s gas stations, foot traffic at stores increased around 5%. And customers are buying more when they shop, too.
“We believe this will drive even greater loyalty with these members in the future as members who use our gas stations typically spend more with us in the warehouse,” said Costco CEO Roland Vachris on a conference call with analysts Thursday, during which gas was mentioned 72 times.
Vachris said customers were stretched this past quarter, because they were allocating a higher percentage of their paychecks to gas. But that gave Costco an advantage: iIts competitive prices.
Among its best-selling how-can-they-sell-it-this-cheap products: rotisserie chickens, which Costco sells for $4.99 – way undercutting local supermarkets. And the
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| 1- Laos cave rescuers investigating ‘knocking response’ as focus shifts to newly discovered cave shaft
Laos cave rescuers investigating ‘knocking response’ as focus shifts to newly discovered cave shaft
By Rebecca Wright, Kocha Olarn, Angie Puranasamriddhi, June Jeong, Laura Sharman, CNN
Vientiane, Laos (CNN) — Rescuers in Laos say they are investigating a possible “knocking response” deep inside a flooded cave network where two men are believed to remain trapped days after one was rescued and four others crawled to freedom.
The development could indicate possible signs of life but rescuers stress they need to investigate further before saying for sure whether the knocks are from the stranded men.
The response sounds came as rescuers rappelled down a newly discovered vertical shaft that may provide a safer entry into a flooded cave and lead to a chamber where the men could be.
“We still cannot confirm that the knocking sounds came from trapped victims. However, we can confirm that there were definite knocking sounds in response to the signals,” Thai specialist cave diver Kengkard Bongkawong told CNN by phone on Monday.
Rescuers have now heard knocking responses on at least two occasions in the last 24 hours.
Thai rescue technician Manat Artmongkron said that the response was heard 70 meters (230 feet) down the shaft.
“The sounds appeared to come from just 5 meters away, raising hopes that the missing individuals may be nearby,” he wrote Monday on Facebook.
The villagers’ ordeal began on May 20 when eight men entered a cave in central Laos in search of gold, but became trapped when heavy rain blocked the exit.
A survivor managed to raise the alarm, triggering a complex operation involving experts who were summoned from around the world to the country’s central Xaisomboun province.
Five men emerged alive from the tunnel on Friday and Saturday, leaving rescuers searching for the remaining two, who entered separately via a different route.
What’s next in the Laos cave rescue?
Attention turned Monday to the vertical cave shaft that plunges more than 100 meters into a dark chamber that rescuers hope will provide a safer entry into a flooded cave.
“It was an amazing find,” Australian diver Josh Richards said in a video clip late Sunday. “It’s also directly in the area we need to be connecting to.”
Rescuers are working with a map drawn with the aid of the five survivors and they hope the shaft will connect to another passage beyond the chamber where they were found.
“From what we know, there is a significant air pocket that is considerably further on – another 100 meters or so, through fairly lethal passage,” Richards said.
He described this stretch as an “even tighter and more unpleasant” passage than anything the divers have traversed so far, and the “only place” where the missing two could be.
Conditions at the cave entrance remain challenging, with the latest rainfall causing flash flooding.
Bounkham Luanglath, president of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association, said Monday that work continues to “pump water out to drain the cave as quickly as possible.”
Other methods include blocking water sources in the area and building more water retention ponds, on top of the existing one, to prevent further flooding.
Of the survivors, one was guided to safety on Friday, while the other four managed to escape unaided the next day after extensive efforts to drain the floodwater from the area.
All five are recovering in hospital after surviving for more than a week on water and sleep to preserve their strength before help arrived.
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- EE.UU. e Irán reanudan el intercambio de fuego mientras Trump pide cambios al acuerdo propuesto para poner fin a la guerra
EE.UU. e Irán reanudan el intercambio de fuego mientras Trump pide cambios al acuerdo propuesto para poner fin a la guerra
Por Kevin Liptak, Logan Schiciano y Kathleen Magramo, CNN
Estados Unidos llevó a cabo ataques en “defensa propia” en Irán durante el fin de semana, mientras el presidente Donald Trump devolvía cambios a una propuesta de acuerdo para extender el alto el fuego existente en la región y reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz.
Los ataques del fin de semana en Irán tuvieron como objetivo radares iraníes y sitios de mando y control, y fueron una respuesta a “acciones agresivas iraníes que incluyeron el derribo de un dron estadounidense MQ-1 que operaba sobre aguas internacionales”, informó el Comando Central de Estados Unidos la noche del domingo.
“Aviones de combate estadounidenses respondieron rápidamente eliminando defensas aéreas iraníes, una estación de control terrestre y dos drones de ataque unidireccionales que representaban amenazas claras para los barcos que transitaban por aguas regionales”, señaló el Comando Central.
Mientras tanto, el Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica de Irán (IRGC, por sus siglas en inglés) afirmó que atacó una base aérea estadounidense presuntamente utilizada para lanzar un ataque contra una torre de telecomunicaciones en la isla Sirik de Irán, según un comunicado difundido por varios medios estatales iraníes.
El comunicado no especificó qué base aérea habría sido atacada, pero el anuncio se produjo después de que Kuwait informara que repelió ataques con drones y misiles.
Irán y Estados Unidos han intercambiado fuego en repetidas ocasiones desde que entró en vigor su frágil alto el fuego a principios de abril, incluyendo la semana pasada, cuando Kuwait también afirmó haber sido atacado por misiles y drones iraníes. Estos enfrentamientos han sacudido a la región, pero hasta ahora no han provocado el colapso del alto el fuego.
En el centro de las conversaciones en curso para poner fin a las hostilidades se encuentra un memorando de entendimiento entre Estados Unidos e Irán que pondría fin a las hostilidades y sentaría las bases para futuras conversaciones sobre cuestiones clave pendientes.
Los últimos cambios propuestos por Trump, que realizó después de reunirse con sus asesores el viernes, ya habían extendido las conversaciones de ida y vuelta por otra semana.
“Irán realmente quiere llegar a un acuerdo, y será bueno para EE.UU. y para quienes están con nosotros”, escribió Trump en una publicación en Truth Social después de que el Comando Central confirmara los últimos ataques.
Los cambios exactos que Trump solicitó no estaban claros de inmediato, pero los funcionarios dijeron que el presidente ha insistido en un lenguaje más estricto en torno a los compromisos nucleares de Irán y su promesa de reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz. Los aliados estadounidenses en el Golfo han sido informados sobre las discusiones. Un funcionario extranjero familiarizado con el asunto dijo a CNN que los cambios no son sustantivos y se centran principalmente en el deseo de Estados Unidos de obtener garantías sobre esos temas.
Trump también ha expresado su preocupación por el alivio financiero que podría proporcionarse a Irán como parte del acuerdo, receloso de las comparaciones con los “palés de dinero en efectivo” que se entregaron bajo el acuerdo nuclear de la era Obama, al que él califica de débil.
Antes de que se anunciaran los últimos ataques en Irán, un funcionario estadounidense dijo a CNN que es poco probable que haya más ataques militares si el acuerdo está cerca, y que los aliados regionales no quieren que se reanuden las operaciones de combate.
La última serie de cambios propuestos llega una semana después de que Trump declarara que el acuerdo estaba “en gran parte finalizado” y señalara que el fin de la guerra era inminente.
Desde entonces, funcionarios estadounidenses han dado señales de avances para alcanzar un acuerdo que pondría fin a las hostilidades, reabriría el estrecho y daría inici
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- Rescatistas de cueva de Laos investigan “respuesta a golpes” mientras centran su atención en pozo recientemente descubierto
Rescatistas de cueva de Laos investigan “respuesta a golpes” mientras centran su atención en pozo recientemente descubierto
Por Junio Jeong y Angie Puranasamriddhi
Los equipos de rescate en Laos afirman estar investigando una posible “respuesta a golpes” en el interior de una red de cuevas inundadas donde se cree que dos hombres permanecen atrapados.
Este suceso podría indicar posibles señales de vida, pero los rescatistas recalcan que necesitan investigar más a fondo antes de poder afirmar con seguridad si los golpes provienen de los hombres atrapados.
Los sonidos de respuesta se produjeron cuando los rescatistas descendieron en rápel por un pozo vertical recién descubierto que podría proporcionar una entrada más segura a una cueva inundada y conducir a una cámara donde podrían encontrarse los hombres.
“Aún no podemos confirmar que los golpes provinieran de víctimas atrapadas. Sin embargo, sí podemos confirmar que se escucharon golpes en respuesta a las señales”, declaró el lunes a CNN por teléfono el buceador tailandés especializado en cuevas, Kengkard Bongkawong.
Los equipos de rescate han escuchado golpes en la puerta en al menos dos ocasiones en las últimas 24 horas.
El técnico de rescate tailandés Manat Artmongkron publicó en Facebook que la respuesta se escuchó a 70 metros (230 pies) de profundidad en el pozo.
“La respuesta se escuchó a tan solo 5 metros de distancia, lo cual es una buena noticia. Pronto les informaremos”, escribió.
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- What we know about the UFC fight at the White House
What we know about the UFC fight at the White House
By Kit Maher, CNN
(CNN) — When President Donald Trump first presented the idea of a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, some people thought he was joking.
“We’re going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House,” Trump said in Iowa last July, teasing special events honoring America’s 250th anniversary.
Fast forward about a year, and the idea is becoming a reality.
Construction crews are building a fight cage on the South Lawn for the June 14 fight, and the White House is now dwarfed by a massive arched lighting grid, which the Ultimate Fighting Championship calls “The Claw.”
When the fighters strap on their gloves and climb into the cage, more than 90,000 people will descend on the White House grounds to watch them battle it out.
‘The Claw’
Construction on “The Claw” came into view in late May over the top of the White House briefing room, where reporters began taking notice. The massive structure is now nearly impossible to miss, even blocks from the White House.
CEO Dana White told “The Jim Rome Show” that UFC found a place in Belgium to create the structure.
“It’s a lighting grid that almost looks like a spaceship, and it goes over the Octagon,” White said, referring to UFC’s signature eight-sided fenced-in fighting arena. “Shipped it from Belgium to Philly. Built it in Philly and tested it. Tore it back down and put it on trucks and shipped it to DC.”
The lead-up to the fight
Several events are programmed in the days leading up to the fight — which falls on Flag Day and Trump’s 80th birthday — including meet and greets with current and former UFC athletes; a Zac Brown Band concert; and a ceremonial weigh-in, all culminating with a watch party on the Ellipse.
Who’s fighting?
The fight card includes the main events between American Justin Gaethje vs. Georgian Ilia Topuria in the lightweight title bout and Brazilian Alex Pereira vs. France’s Ciryl Gane in the heavyweight interim title bout. All the matches are listed on the UFC website with further information about the fighters. There are eight American fighters on the UFC Freedom 250 fight card.
Tickets
All events are free and ticketed. However, the cutoff to request tickets for the “UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest” was May 22, according to a “last chance” email UFC sent out.
A White House official told CNN last month that people are vying for tickets to the event, a third of which are reserved for military members and their families, a third for White House staff and their familes and another third for VIPs. UFC also has 200 tickets to give out on the South Lawn. White told Fox News in an interview that 4,300 people will be on the actual South lawn for the fight and “most of them will be military.”
Senior Pentagon leaders are putting together lists of uniformed service members who will be offered the chance to attend the fight, but tickets will only be given to those who meet military body composition standards, according to guidance memos reviewed by CNN and sources familiar with the process.
There are about 85,000 tickets allotted for the general public at the Ellipse watch party, as well.
White told TIME magazine in a recent interview that he has invited several professional athletes and celebrities including Tom Brad
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| 2- Restrictions on prediction market bets by US troops part of draft defense bill
Restrictions on prediction market bets by US troops part of draft defense bill
By Davis Winkie, Marshall Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — Members of the US military may soon be barred from using prediction markets to bet on global events if a draft defense policy bill passes Congress and becomes law. The proposal comes after a high-profile case where a US special forces soldier is accused of using classified information to place bets tied to the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
Draft bill text released last week by the House Armed Services Committee includes a requirement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issue regulations banning members of the armed forces and Pentagon civilian employees from trading on prediction markets where the person has relevant “nonpublic information” or “may reasonably obtain” such info. The provision would also require Hegseth to develop a “range of punishments” for violating the rule.
Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have exploded in popularity over the past year. They’re treated like commodity futures and regulated by the federal government, but many lawmakers and state officials say the rules haven’t caught up to the realities of the massively growing industry.
Under current federal law, prediction sites for US-based users aren’t allowed to offer markets on war. But Polymarket has a popular offshore site, that Americans can easily access with a virtual private network, with dozens of war-related markets available for trading.
The Maduro trades led in April to the first known federal prosecution for alleged insider trading on prediction markets, with the soldier allegedly making $400,000 on Polymarket. The soldier has pleaded not guilty, and Polymarket issued a statement saying it had “referred the matter to the DOJ” after the platform “identified a user trading on classified government information.”
CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events, but CNN editorial employees aren’t allowed to use prediction markets.
The provision barring troop betting may not survive the monthslong road ahead for the annual defense policy bill, a perennial platform for legislative politicking, but it would mark a change that could trigger stiff penalties for service members who leverage insider information.
Eugene Fidell, a Coast Guard veteran who co-founded the National Institute of Military Justice and teaches military law at Yale Law School, told CNN that the bill “clearly contemplates” criminal punishment under military law for violators. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, disobeying orders or regulations can be prosecuted as a federal crime.
Fidell said that the federal government should address prediction market insider trading issues “as part of an overall strategy rather than piecemeal,” as opposed to singling out service members for more intensive regulation.
Insider trading is already illegal under federal law in situations where the trader had a pre-existing duty to keep the information private, such as military members and classified mission details. But the draft defense bill provision expands on that framework by proscribing trading on “nonpublic information,” a broad category that includes even unclassified info that isn’t publicly available. Trading on unclassified nonpublic information, for example, could include betting on the winner of a major defense contract befor
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- Hackers acceden a la cuenta de Instagram de un alto funcionario de la Fuerza Espacial de EE.UU. y publican propaganda iraní
Hackers acceden a la cuenta de Instagram de un alto funcionario de la Fuerza Espacial de EE.UU. y publican propaganda iraní
Por Sean Lyngaas y Zachary Cohen, CNN
Unos piratas informáticos accedieron este domingo ilegalmente a la cuenta de Instagram de un alto funcionario de la Fuerza Espacial de Estados Unidos y publicaron temporalmente una serie de mensajes de propaganda a favor de Irán y en contra de Estados Unidos, algunos de los cuales hacían referencia a la guerra de Vietnam.
Un video revisado por CNN utilizó audio de “Hanoi Hannah”, una infame propagandista de la guerra de Vietnam, en el que se decía a los soldados estadounidenses que “abandonaran un barco que se hunde”.
El video también incluía imágenes del fallecido funcionario de seguridad iraní Ali Larijani, quien murió semanas después del inicio de la guerra entre Estados Unidos, Israel e Irán.
En una publicación de Facebook el domingo por la noche, el sargento mayor John Bentivegna, el suboficial de mayor rango en la Fuerza Espacial, aconsejó a sus colegas que no hicieran clic en ningún enlace ni interactuaran con los videos que publicaba su cuenta.
“Estamos trabajando con los equipos correspondientes para recuperar el acceso y resolver el problema lo antes posible”, declaró Bentivegna.
Un portavoz de la Fuerza Espacial confirmó el ataque, pero se negó a responder preguntas sobre cuánto tiempo estuvo visible el contenido pirateado en la cuenta de Bentivegna o quién fue el responsable del incidente.
La Fuerza Espacial ha desempeñado un papel importante en las operaciones militares estadounidenses contra Irán.
El jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto, el general Dan Caine, reconoció que la Fuerza Espacial utilizó “efectos no cinéticos” para obstaculizar las defensas de Irán cuando Estados Unidos comenzó a bombardear el país el 28 de febrero.
Los líderes militares estadounidenses han advertido repetidamente a sus tropas que sus teléfonos y cuentas en línea podrían ser objetivos durante la guerra.
El Comando Central de Estados Unidos, que abarca Medio Oriente y más allá y dirige la guerra estadounidense en Irán, informó recientemente a los legisladores que había recibido múltiples informes de amenazas sobre la explotación por parte del adversario de datos de localización comerciales para atacar o vigilar al personal estadounidense en la zona de operaciones.
A finales de abril, varios miembros del Cuerpo de Marines de EE.UU., empleados civiles y sus familias recibieron amenazas, según la Armada, “sin fundamento” a través de mensajes de texto de un grupo de presuntos hackers iraníes.
Uno de los mensajes amenazantes, revisado por CNN, decía: “Nuestras unidades de misiles conocen perfectamente sus identidades y cada uno de sus movimientos está bajo nuestra vigilancia”.
El hackeo de la cuenta de Instagram de Bentivegna es solo el último frente en las batallas propagandísticas que han caracterizado la guerra de Estados Unidos contra Irán.
En marzo, piratas informáticos iraníes accedieron a la cuenta de correo electrónico personal del director del FBI, Kash Patel, y filtraron algunas de sus fotos y correos electrónicos antiguos.
Jóvenes iraníes también han utilizado inteligencia artificial para crear videos virales con temática de Lego que se burlan del presidente Donald Trump, del secretario de Defensa Pete Hegseth y del esfuerzo bélico estadounidense.
Por su parte, la Casa Blanca y el Comando Central de Estados Unidos han publicado videos de ataques militares editados con gran maestría que, para muchos observadores, han Read more
- 94 days of paralysis: The Strait of Hormuz remains choked off
94 days of paralysis: The Strait of Hormuz remains choked off
By Vanessa Yurkevich, Chris Isidore, Matt Egan, CNN
(CNN) — The most powerful shipping executives in the world are gathered in Athens this week for the annual International Shipping Exhibition. The hot topic: the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump has said the strait’s reopening is imminent. Administration officials tout ships getting through the vital chokepoint.
Yet most shipping executives remain unwilling to send their cargo ships through the 21-mile channel until the United States and Iran strike a definitive peace agreement that includes the safe reopening of the strait.
The strait’s closure continues to cut off 20% of the world’s oil supply from global markets, along with liquid natural gas and fertilizer needed for a functioning global economy. After oil prices fell last week on hopes of an agreement to reopen the strait, oil futures shot up Monday following a weekend of renewed fighting in the region and reports Iran had broken off peace negotiations.
According to research firm Kpler, only seven ships on Friday passed through the strait — five entering and two exiting. Over the weekend, just four additional ships left the strait. One hundred cargo-carrying vessels typically move through the waterway daily, according to shipping-data provider Lloyd’s List.
“Traffic still remains exceptionally depleted,” Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNN. “Barring a handful of tankers crossing each day, the strait remains essentially closed.”
Since current traffic is only a trickle compared to normal, industry officials do not believe it will make a significant difference to global markets.
It will take more than a “limited number of successful transits” to restore confidence, Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, who spent half a decade working for American President Lines in the Middle East, told CNN.
“The larger issue is whether carriers, insurers and vessel operators have enough confidence in the long-term security environment to resume regular service patterns,” said Seroka.
Efforts last month to have the US military guide commercial vessels out of the strait through “Project Freedom” proved to be short-lived.
Despite reports of new naval escorts in recent days, a spokesperson for US Central Command said that had not happened.
“Though US forces are not escorting, we continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial ships seeking to freely and safely transit the Strait of Hormuz,” said Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the command.
Industry sources confirm it’ll take time for normal traffic to resume.
“Our general sense is that the threat to ships crossing the Strait is still significant, and we will not see a full resumption of traffic through the strait until there is a stronger guarantee of safe passage,” an oil industry source told CNN on Monday.
On Monday, a cargo vessel traveling in the northern Persian Gulf was struck by an unknown projectile, according to a British military-run maritime security organization. There have been 39 vessel strikes in the region and 11 deaths since the war began, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Container ships that typically deliver much of the food and other goods to Gulf states have also been trapped by the strait’s closure. Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipping firms, has not had a ship leave since mid-May. Six Maersk ships are still trapped in the Gulf.
Shipping industry sources said it is critical that no restrictions or fees be imposed on ships once the strait reopens.
“As shipping comes under increasing pressure from geopolitical events, we must do all we can to work together to always put the safety of seafarers first,” Arseni
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- Here’s why Harry Potter might take some of the credit if the US has a magical World Cup run
Here’s why Harry Potter might take some of the credit if the US has a magical World Cup run
By Don Riddell, CNN
(CNN) — The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) won’t be able to use magic to win the FIFA World Cup, but if they could, Weston McKennie says he’s got a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
“Avada Kedavra – because there would be no more opponents,” McKennie told CNN Sports, referencing one of the darkest spells from the world of Harry Potter. He quickly realizes that might be a little too dark – “Just playing,” he smiles.
“I’d probably say Expecto Patronum because it’s a shielding spell. Someone (an opponent) shoots on goal, I just hit that spell real quick. Doesn’t mean I don’t believe in goalkeepers… just can never be too sure!”
The 27-year-old McKennie says he used to feel like the odd man out. When the American midfield soccer star arrived at Italian giant Juventus in Turin, he was surrounded by world-class players who all had their own unique goal celebrations.
There was Cristiano Ronaldo with his iconic ‘Siu’ – a leap towards the corner flag, a half turn in the air, sticking the landing with a puffed-out chest and his arms thrust down by his sides. Paulo Dybala would put his hand over his face, mimicking a Roman Gladiator style mask, and Leonardo Bonucci would point to his face in celebration.
“I was never a player that really scored a lot,” McKennie told CNN, but whenever he did find the back of the net, “I would just run back to midfield and line up to go again.”
And then the goals started flowing. “I was like, ‘OK, let me try and create a signature celebration for myself. What’s unique for me? What do I really like?’” he said. “I loved Harry Potter since I was young, so I was like, ‘OK, let me just cast a spell.’”
How big a Potter fan is McKennie? “Big enough to have a tattoo of his scar on my finger!”
In January 2021, McKennie scored for Juve in Italy’s Serie A against Bologna, and the first spell was cast, a celebration that featured him rotating his right wrist three times and leaning forward with a pretend wand in his hand.
“I don’t think they really knew what it was or what I was referencing,” he recalled of his teammates’ reactions. “But then, obviously, it stuck – and it was ‘Magic McKennie.’”
Five years later, McKennie says that his celebration has become so iconic that he sees fans doing it in the crowd, and he’s stopped by people in the street, asking to perform the celebration with them in videos.
His foundation, which focuses on the underserved community and in particular children in orphanages, is called McKennie’s Magical Youth Mission, and his Pottermania has also led to a partnership with Harry Potter franchise owner Warner Bros. (like CNN, Warner Bros. is part of the wider Warner Bros. Discovery family).
A normal person with special powers
His bewitching celebration was the very first scene to be featured in the new Tubi documentary series, “Destination World Cup.” McKennie said that he agreed to be featured in the show because he wants to be seen as more than just a soccer player, and he also wanted to dispel some myths about him.
“I think a lot of people forget that we’re just normal people that just happen to be good at playing a sport,” he told CNN Sports. “I feel like it was a good opportunity for me to be able to show everyone that I do like normal things that everyone else likes as well.
“But the one thing I did tell them was, ‘Nothing’s scripted, I’ll give you guys the raw stuff. I’m gonna be myself.’”
McKennie says that after being criticized at times
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| 3- Why the count will go on in California
Why the count will go on in California
By Fredreka Schouten, CNN
(CNN) — California’s elections are never quite over on Election Day, and this year is no different.
The state’s big population and its universal vote-by-mail system add to the time it takes to count the large volume of ballots counties will receive.
In the 2024 general election, for instance, mail ballots accounted for a little more than 80% of the 16.1 million ballots cast that November. Typically, county election officials first process ballots received before Election Day as they roll in and post those results quickly.
But, under state law, mail ballots can be received at local election offices up to seven days after the election, as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day. And officials must verify ballots before they can be counted.
It’s typical for mail ballots counted in the days after the election to skew Democratic.
And in this election, Democratic voters appeared to be returning their ballots at a slower pace than in past elections, according to data from Political Data, Inc., a Democratic-aligned data firm, suggesting that the trend could be even more pronounced.
Where things stand
In the California governor’s race, Democratic former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is in strong position to get one of the two slots in the November election given how votes counted after Election Day in California are typically more Democratic. The other slot is likely to go either Republican former Fox News host Steve Hilton or Democratic billionaire investor Tom Steyer.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to the November election. Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt landed in second place behind Bass in the first reports, but later updates found him losing ground to progressive city councilmember Nithya Raman. That trend, coupled with the expected Democratic shift from ballots counted after Election Day, means the second spot remains too early to call.
Gubernatorial candidates have told their supporters to prepare for slow results and less-than-typical trends as the count goes on.
Steyer’s campaign said a larger share of Democratic votes are expected to be counted later in the process than in previous elections. Meanwhile, the Trump-endorsed Hilton said he hasn’t “seen anything” that would raise concerns about the validity of the results but criticized the slow process in California.
In an interview with CNN, Hilton called it “ridiculous” that the state has “a system where it could take days or even weeks to get election results.”
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CNN’s Arlette Saenz and David Wright contributed to this report.
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- Ucrania pone la mira en San Petersburgo mientras comienza el “Davos de Putin”
Ucrania pone la mira en San Petersburgo mientras comienza el “Davos de Putin”
Por Kosta Gak, Anna Chernova y Helen Regan, CNN
Rusia afirmó haber derribado cientos de drones sobre su territorio, incluidos unos 60 sobre la región de San Petersburgo durante la madrugada de este miércoles, en un ataque lanzado por Ucrania mientras se inauguraba un importante foro económico.
El gobernador de San Petersburgo, Aleksandr Beglov, declaró que tres distritos fueron atacados durante un bombardeo nocturno con drones ucranianos que dejó varias personas heridas y daños en infraestructuras.
Según el Ministerio de Defensa ruso, las defensas aéreas interceptaron y destruyeron más de 350 drones ucranianos en territorios cercanos a la frontera, pero también en zonas más alejadas como Moscú, San Petersburgo y Novgorod, en el oeste del país.
En Smolensk, ciudad situada en el oeste de Rusia, cerca de la frontera con Bielorrusia, Ucrania lanzó ataques contra “instalaciones de infraestructura crítica”, declaró el gobernador de Smolensk, Vasiliy Anokhin.
Anokhin declaró que dos bomberos murieron “mientras combatían un incendio provocado por los restos de un dron enemigo derribado”, y añadió que otros dos bomberos y un civil sufrieron heridas leves.
El presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, afirmó que los “ataques de largo alcance” alcanzaron “objetivos clave”, entre ellos la terminal petrolera de San Petersburgo, uno de los mayores complejos de transbordo de petróleo del noroeste de Rusia.
Otros objetivos incluían “objetivos militares en la base de Kronstadt”, un puerto naval insular cerca de San Petersburgo, y una instalación en la región de Tambov que, según Ucrania, estaba involucrada en la producción de armas rusas, añadió Zelensky.
Zelensky también publicó imágenes que mostraban explosiones y varios incendios en una instalación rusa, así como una enorme columna de humo negro y denso que se elevaba detrás de un rascacielos.
Ucrania ha desarrollado rápidamente este año sus drones de medio y largo alcance para atacar objetivos rusos, incluidas las instalaciones petroleras de Moscú y otros lugares mucho más allá de las líneas del frente.
“El plan de Ucrania para realizar ataques de largo alcance se está llevando a cabo exactamente como es necesario para acercar la paz”, dijo Zelensky.
Los ataques se produjeron cuando el Foro Económico Internacional de San Petersburgo, o SPIEF, un importante evento empresarial conocido como la versión rusa del Foro de Davos del presidente Vladimir Putin, daba comienzo en la ciudad el miércoles.
El espacio aéreo alrededor del aeropuerto internacional de San Petersburgo fue restringido el miércoles por la mañana, lo que provocó retrasos en alrededor de dos docenas de vuelos, según informó el aeropuerto en un comunicado.
Esto ocurre además un día después de que Rusia lanzara una ofensiva letal contra Ucrania a primera hora del martes, atacando la capital, Kyiv, y la ciudad central de Dnipro en una ofensiva de amplio alcance que infligió uno de los ataques más mortíferos de los últimos meses.
Según las autoridades ucranianas, al menos 23 personas murieron en el ataque nocturno, siete de ellas en Kyiv y otras 16 en Dnipro.
El secretario general de las Naciones Unidas, António Guterres, declaró que condenaba “enérgicamente” los ataques, en los que, según los militares, se dispararon más de 600 drones y decenas de misiles contra Ucrania, alcanzando infraestructuras civiles clave.
Esta noticia está en desarrollo y se actualizará.
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- Supreme Court turns toward an explosive final month with Trump’s priorities at stake
Supreme Court turns toward an explosive final month with Trump’s priorities at stake
By John Fritze, CNN
(CNN) — The Supreme Court is facing an extraordinary showdown with Donald Trump as the justices scramble to finish more than two dozen opinions before the end of the month — with a president who will lash out if any decisions don’t go his way.
Pending decisions on executive power, immigration, mail ballots and the Second Amendment could all have an outsize influence on the next two years of Trump’s presidency. Of the 26 cases the high court is expected to decide before the end of June, the Trump administration took an active role in all but one.
Topping the list is a series of appeals dealing with Trump’s power to fire officials within the executive branch that Congress tried to insulate from presidential control. The court must also rule on the president’s attempt, via an executive order, to end birthright citizenship as it has been understood in the United States for more than a century.
All of it will play out amid an odd political dynamic with the president, who has made clear he will use his bully pulpit to strike out at the court in unusually harsh terms if he loses. When the court tossed out Trump’s emergency global tariffs in February, the president quickly convened a press conference at the White House to claim the justices who voted against him were an “embarrassment to their families.”
Trump is already reacting to an expected loss on birthright citizenship, after making history as the first siting president to attend an oral argument.
“They will be ruling against us on Birthright Citizenship, making us the only Country in the World that practices this unsustainable, unsafe, and incredibly costly DISASTER,” Trump posted on social media in mid-May. “I don’t want loyalty, but I do want and expect it for our Country.”
At the same time, Trump recently invited the court’s conservatives to a state dinner with King Charles III and boasted in May that “two great justices” turned out for the swearing-in of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh. Justice Clarence Thomas swore in Warsh and Justice Brett Kavanaugh attended.
The final month of the term will represent a test of the court’s spine in dealing with the new administration, but it may also underscore that some of the appeals the president has served up are in line with where the court’s 6-3 conservative majority was moving long before Trump returned to the White House.
“This court has a long-term ideological project and some of these cases are squarely within it,” said Ben Wizner, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is opposing the administration in several cases. “But I do think the court has lines. And I think we’ve seen some of those already.”
‘You’re fired’
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that “The Apprentice” president made firings a central theme of the Supreme Court’s final weeks before recessing for its summer break.
Trump is attempting to fire Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, over allegations that she committed fraud by claiming two properties as her principal residence. Cook has denied wrongdoing.
When the court heard arguments in January, the justices signaled they
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- Por qué toma tiempo el recuento de votos en California
Por qué toma tiempo el recuento de votos en California
Por Fredreka Schouten, CNN
Las elecciones en California nunca terminan del todo el día de las elecciones, y este año no es diferente.
La gran población del estado y su sistema universal de voto por correo aumentan el tiempo necesario para contar el gran volumen de papeletas que recibirán los condados.
En las elecciones generales de 2024, por ejemplo, los votos por correo representaron algo más del 80 % de los 16,1 millones de papeletas contadas ese noviembre.
Normalmente, los funcionarios electorales de los condados procesan primero los votos recibidos antes del día de las elecciones a medida que llegan y publican los resultados rápidamente.
Sin embargo, según la ley estatal, las papeletas de voto por correo pueden recibirse en las oficinas electorales locales hasta siete días después de las elecciones, siempre y cuando tengan el matasellos del día de las elecciones o anterior.
Además, los funcionarios deben verificar las papeletas antes de que puedan ser contabilizadas.
Es habitual que los votos por correo que se cuentan en los días posteriores a las elecciones tiendan a favorecer al Partido Demócrata.
En estas elecciones, los votantes demócratas parecían estar devolviendo sus papeletas a un ritmo más lento que en elecciones anteriores, según datos de Political Data, Inc., una empresa de análisis de datos alineada con el Partido Demócrata, lo que sugiere que la tendencia podría ser aún más pronunciada.
En la contienda por la gobernación de California, el demócrata Xavier Becerra, exsecretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE.UU., se encuentra en una posición ventajosa para obtener uno de los dos puestos en las elecciones de noviembre, dado que los votos contabilizados después del día de las elecciones en California suelen favorecer a los demócratas.
El otro puesto probablemente será para el republicano Steve Hilton, expresentador de Fox News, o para el multimillonario inversor demócrata Tom Steyer.
La alcaldesa de Los Ángeles, Karen Bass, avanzó a las elecciones de noviembre. El republicano Spencer Pratt, exestrella de telerrealidad, se ubicó en segundo lugar detrás de Bass en los primeros informes, pero actualizaciones posteriores mostraron que estaba perdiendo terreno frente a la concejala progresista Nithya Raman.
Esta tendencia, sumada al esperado cambio a favor de los demócratas tras el recuento de votos posterior al día de las elecciones, significa que aún es demasiado pronto para determinar el resultado final.
Los candidatos a gobernador han advertido a sus seguidores que se preparen para resultados lentos y tendencias atípicas a medida que avance el recuento.
La campaña de Steyer afirmó que se espera que un mayor porcentaje de votos demócratas se contabilicen más tarde que en elecciones anteriores.
Por su parte, Hilton, respaldado por Trump, declaró no haber visto nada que suscite dudas sobre la validez de los resultados, pero criticó la lentitud del proceso en California.
En una entrevista con CNN, Hilton calificó de “ridículo” que el estado tenga “un sistema en el que se pueden tardar días o incluso semanas en obtener los resultados de las elecciones”.
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| 4- Food for Thought
- US Marine Corps retires the first fighter jet that didn’t need a runway
US Marine Corps retires the first fighter jet that didn’t need a runway
By Brad Lendon, CNN
(CNN) — Farewell to the “jump jet.”
The United States Marine Corps on Wednesday celebrated the end of service for the AV-8B Harrier II, the vertical takeoff and landing jet that’s been an icon of Marine aviation for 55 years, a favorite of air show spectators and, once, the subject of a controversial Pepsi TV commercial.
“As a platform that has continuously forward deployed across the globe, the Harrier will be remembered for its distinguished combat legacy, legendary Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing (V/STOL) capability, and the Marines and sailors that made the community special,” Lt. Col. John B. Cumbie, commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 223, said at a “sundown” ceremony for the last US unit to fly the Harrier.
About 5,000 people at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina watched as the jets showed off the capabilities that made them famous, including the ability to hover, to take off and land vertically.
Harriers are powered by a single turbofan engine, thrust from which is vectored out through four nozzles that can rotate from horizontal to vertical.
That ability enabled the jets to operate from places without runways or from the decks of US Navy amphibious assault ships, meaning they could stay closer to actual combat than other fighter jets operating from air bases or airports with full runways.
“The Harrier didn’t need an airfield,” retired Marine Lt. Col. Mike Rountree, a former Harrier pilot, told the website Task & Purpose.
“All it needed was a Marine flying it” and a few support crew to fill it with gas and load weapons at primitive landing sites, he said.
The jets have six underwing mounts for bombs or rockets as well as a 25-millimeter cannon that can fire 300 rounds, according to the Wings Over the Rockies aviation museum.
“Fully loaded, a Harrier carries more firepower than a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress bomber,” the museum’s website says.
During the 1991 Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, US commander Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf praised the Harrier as one of the seven most critical weapons of the campaign, according to the museum.
The Harrier has seen action in conflicts including Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; the 1999 NATO campaign against the former Yugoslavia; the war in Afghanistan; the war in Iraq; the 2011 intervention in Libya; the fight against ISIS across the Middle East; and most recently in the Caribbean Sea as part of the US flotilla that was operating off Venezuela before the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.
“Time and again, the Harrier distinguished itself as a lethal, capable and versatile tactical air platform,” a Marine Corps release says.
British design
The AV-8B is the second version of the jump jet.
The first versions, the AV-8A, were developed by Britain’s Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s. The Marines began using the jets in 1971, and had an upgraded version, the AV-8B, built by McDonnell Douglas, beginning 1985, according to a Marines press release.
The jets cost around $23.6 million each in the 1990s, according to a 1996 General Accounting Office report. That’s about $50 million today when adjusted for inflation. The corps once operated around 280 Harriers, according to aviation analysts.
The Harriers are giving way to the F-35B, the vertical takeoff and landing version of the stealth fighter jet, which cost around $110 million each.
F-35Bs are already operating off US amphibious assault ships and have been deployed on the USS Tripoli as it participates in the current war with Iran.
Though Wednesday marked the last uni
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- Pros and Cons: The 30-Year Mortgage
- Teen killed, 3 wounded in shooting at California high school graduation ceremony
Teen killed, 3 wounded in shooting at California high school graduation ceremony
By Laura Sharman, Diego Mendoza, CNN
(CNN) — A teenager was killed and three people wounded in a shooting following a California high school graduation ceremony Wednesday evening, according to authorities.
Police responded around 7:15 p.m. local time to the shooting in the parking lot of Fairfield High School, around 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, Michelle Belyea, an officer at Fairfield Police Department, told CNN affiliate KCRA.
The youngest of the three wounded was just 11 years old, along with two adults aged 20 and 25, Belyea said.
“There was one additional victim, an 18-year-old, who did succumb to their injuries sustained during this incident,” she said.
“This is a very active incident,” Belyea said, adding an investigation is underway and they have no information to suggest there is “any ongoing threat to the community at this time.”
Authorities have not released any details on the suspect.
CNN has reached out to police and the Solano County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District told CNN law enforcement responded to the shooting at the graduation ceremony for Sem Yeto High School, which shares a campus with Fairfield, according to KCRA.
A man who attended the ceremony told KCRA he heard shots fired as photographs were being taken in the school parking lot.
Amanda Prieto, who lives near the school, said she was on the phone in her backyard when she heard the shots.
“I looked over the fence and people were just screaming and running through the parking lot. It was horrific,” Prieto told KCRA.
Prieto, whose 17-year-old son is a student at the school, said she was “immediately terrified.” Her husband, Luis Prieto, told KCRA emergency services acted swiftly, with patrol vehicles and ambulances on site.
Ilana Israel Samuels, of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, said in a statement to CNN, “Our thoughts are with the individuals affected and as soon as we have more details we will share that with you.”
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| 5- Brendan Banfield, convicted of wife’s murder amid affair with family’s au pair, expected to be sentenced to life in prison
Brendan Banfield, convicted of wife’s murder amid affair with family’s au pair, expected to be sentenced to life in prison
By Nicki Brown, CNN
(CNN) — Brendan Banfield, the Virginia man convicted of murdering his wife and a stranger as part of an elaborate plot with the family’s au pair, is expected to be sentenced Friday after facing his victims’ loved ones in court.
Banfield and the au pair – who were having an affair – lured Joseph Ryan into the family’s home in February 2023 under the pretense of a sexual encounter to frame him for the killing of Banfield’s wife, Christine, prosecutors argued.
Brendan Banfield and the 26-year-old au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, both took the stand during the double-murder trial and offered conflicting accounts about the killings. Banfield maintained his innocence and insisted he shot Ryan after finding the man attacking his wife.
Banfield, 41, is expected to be sentenced to life in prison, the mandatory penalty for aggravated murder in Virginia. He was also convicted of a firearms offense and child endangerment. The latter charge was related to his young daughter, who was in the Herndon, Virginia, home at the time of the murders.
Loved ones of the victims are expected to address the court before Judge Penney S. Azcarate hands down the sentence.
A lifelong friend of Christine Banfield, 37, remembered her as a dedicated pediatric nurse, an advocate for rape victims and a loving mother to her daughter.
“She always carried everything with the most respect and, again, it was just all about helping people and being a person who somebody could go to and trust,” Lucille Priolo told CNN Trial Correspondent Jean Casarez.
Priolo, who grew up with Christine Banfield on Long Island, New York, described her as “one of the kindest people I have ever been in contact with.”
“Through life, every chapter, we were together, we were friends, and she just always made sure she was that person who was at the door, even without being asked,” Priolo said.
Peres Magalhães pleaded guilty in October 2024 to involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting Ryan as part of a plea deal in which she agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against her former paramour.
At her sentencing in February, members of Ryan’s family mourned their beloved “Joe,” who they said loved painting, martial arts and caring for neglected animals.
“What I do hope is that even for a moment, that the world, and you, judge, will say Joe meant more than nothing,” his mother, Deirdre Fisher, said. “That he was someone worthy of dignity and life who didn’t deserved to be used and thrown away, treated as utterly disposable.”
Au pair described the plot to ‘get rid’ of Christine Banfield
Over five days, Fairfax County prosecutors called more than 20 witnesses including Peres Magalhães, who testified for three days about the scheme to “get rid” of Christine Banfield.
The Brazilian au pair said she started living with the Banfields in October 2021 and began having an affair with the defendant the following August.
Banfield wanted to be with her but did not want to pay for a divorce or share custody of the couple’s daughter, Peres Magalhães said, so he hatched a plan to kill his wife.
Using Christine Banfield’s laptop, the pair created a fake email address and an account on a fetish website to find a man willing to carry out a rape fantasy so they could frame him for her murder, the au pair testified.
Posing as his wife online, Brendan Banfield
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- GPS-Guided Robot Helps UCSB Prepare Soccer Fields for Austrian National Team
GPS-Guided Robot Helps UCSB Prepare Soccer Fields for Austrian National Team
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A small GPS-guided robot is helping transform soccer field maintenance at UC Santa Barbara, offering a glimpse into how technology is changing sports operations.
The robot, made by Turf Tank, is currently being used to paint soccer fields on the UCSB campus with precision and efficiency. Roughly the size of a large microwave, the autonomous machine follows GPS coordinates and paints crisp field lines without requiring a groundskeeper to push a traditional paint cart.
"It's super easy to use," said Jayson Simpson, UCSB's assistant athletic director. "I show up, press a few buttons, and it paints the fields for us."
The robot is controlled through a tablet, allowing staff to customize field layouts and dimensions. Simpson said he can adjust settings based on the specific field and location.
"For the most part, it was preprogrammed with all the zeros and ones," Simpson explained. "But I can add the field onto this location, Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, and then change the dimensions of the field on the tablet."
The technology significantly reduces the amount of labor required to prepare athletic fields. According to Turf Tank, the robot can paint an entire soccer field in about 23 minutes — a task that can otherwise take several hours of work.
"Sometimes I can paint six fields in a day," Simpson said.
The timing is especially important as UCSB prepares to host the Austrian National Team during its World Cup training camp. While the robot already maintains fields for Gauchos athletics, it will now help ensure training surfaces are ready for some of the world's top soccer players.
UCSB first-year student Logan Smith said the technology has proven reliable.
"Man, it's amazing," Smith said. "The problems there are very few. And when there are, you can fix them super quick."
In addition to saving time, the robot uses less paint than traditional field-marking methods and operates using rechargeable batteries.
"It actually requires a lot of batteries," Simpson joked. "There's batteries for this, batteries for the iPad, batteries for the satellite over there."
As automation becomes more common across industries, some may wonder whether technology like this could eventually replace workers. Turf Tank says the goal is not to eliminate jobs but to allow grounds crews to focus on other maintenance tasks.
When asked whether he was concerned that robots could someday replace his role, Simpson laughed.
"We're always going to need a Jason," he said. "In some way, technology is kind of taking over in a lot of ways, but for me personally, right now, this is making my life very easy."
The GPS-guided robot is one of several technological tools being adopted by athletic programs nationwide as schools look for ways to improve efficiency while maintaining professional-quality playing surfaces.
The post GPS-Guided Robot Helps UCSB Prepare Soccer Fields for Austrian National Team appeared first on News Channel 3-12.
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- Miraculous story of survival high on Everest as Sherpa guide missing for a week found alive
Miraculous story of survival high on Everest as Sherpa guide missing for a week found alive
By Helen Regan, CNN
(CNN) — A Sherpa climbing guide who was believed to have died high on Mount Everest was found crawling back to Base Camp after spending almost a week on the mountain with no food or bottled oxygen.
For six days, there had been no radio contact or sign of Hillary Dawa Sherpa, 52, who was last seen on May 29 resting above Camp 3, which sits at 7,060 meters (23,163 feet).
He became separated from his client and climbing team, who had already descended and were among the last group on Everest before it closed for the season. The ladders across the Khumbu Icefall, which are carefully fixed by Sherpas to help climbers navigate the most treacherous section of the climb, had already been dismantled, according to one mountaineering company.
With Hillary Dawa alone on the world’s tallest mountain in perilous conditions for so long, his family had already begun funeral rites for him.
But tragedy turned to joy on Thursday when a cleaning crew spotted him crawling through the icefall, exhausted and frostbitten, but alive.
“When we first heard about it (the rescue), we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father,” Hillary Dawa’s daughter, Mendo Lhamu, told the Associated Press. “So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.”
He was given food and water, and airlifted to hospital in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, where he was treated for frostbite and other complications, according to Reuters news agency.
Video posted on social media shows Hillary Dawa being carried on the back of another climber as they descended through the rocky terrain. Still in his yellow-and-blue climbing jacket, he can be seen in later video being wheeled on a trolley from the helipad at HAMS hospital in Kathmandu.
Many in the mountaineering community have hailed Hillary Dawa’s survival as miraculous.
“This is nothing short of a miracle surviving so many days on the mountains facing such harsh condition,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, a leading figure in the community, told AP.
The rescue caps off the busiest season ever on Everest with more than 1,000 climbers summiting the mountain’s south side, including a record 274 in a single day on May 20.
Videos of climbers waiting in long queues in an area known as the death zone – where the air is too thin to breathe unaided for long – on their way to the summit have once again made headlines, alongside record-breaking ascents from both Nepali and foreign climbers.
A miraculous story of survival
Hillary Dawa’s remarkable self-rescue has raised questions about why a search team had not been assembled when he was reported missing a week ago.
When search helicopters went looking for him this week, they found no sign of the climber, hiking company Nepal Mount Everest said in a social media post.
Those who found Hillary Dawa were members of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), which sets the routes, ropes and ladders through the Khumbu Icefall at the start of the season, and is in charge of removing waste from the mountain once climbers have left.
Lama Kazi Sherpa, of the SPCC, told Reuters that his team located Hillary Dawa above Base Camp near the icefall and brought him down to safety.
In video posted after his rescue, Hillary Dawa said he had slipped and fallen into a crevasse near Camp 1 at around 6,000 meters (19,800 feet) and spent two days inside the icy fissure before managing to free himself, according to local media.
Hillary Dawa, a high-altitude guide for a small Kathmandu-based company called Himalayan Traverse, and his Polish client were descending Ev
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- Trump administration escalates legal push for medical records of trans minors
Trump administration escalates legal push for medical records of trans minors
By Devan Cole, CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration’s demands for sensitive medical records of transgender minors are facing fresh scrutiny in court as it ramps up its efforts by using a grand jury in Texas to force providers of gender-affirming care to comply.
The initial use of so-called administrative subpoenas to get the information was shut down in case after case over the last year by jurists appointed by presidents from both parties who said the administration is conducting a baseless fishing expedition into gender-affirming care.
In an apparent bid to overcome those roadblocks, prosecutors in Texas, where a sprawling criminal investigation into gender-affirming treatments has sprung up in recent months, are now seeking some of the records through grand jury subpoenas. In doing so, they’re using a tool that’s historically difficult to challenge to get hold of information that observers say is not necessary for the kind of probe being carried out – alarming advocates and minors who receive the treatments, which is not illegal on the federal level but has been heavily restricted in a slew of GOP-led states.
The only federal judge in Fort Worth, where the probe is being carried out, is Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee whose conservative bona fides have been especially on display in cases over LGBTQ rights.
“This is unusual,” said Abbe Smith, a longtime criminal defense attorney and a professor at Georgetown Law. “I can’t think of an analogous situation.”
Smith said that officials appeared to be using their prosecutorial powers to “coerce people into complying with the Trump administration’s hostility toward trans people.”
Parents of several children who are asking a New York court to block their information from being turned from a hospital said in court papers they’re worried that having their records disclosed could expose them to retaliation by the Trump administration.
“I am afraid about what may result from releasing my child’s identity to an administration that is hostile to the transgender community. I fear that his name may go on a list of transgender people and that he will be investigated simply for receiving medical care,” one parent – identified as Riley Roe – said in their declaration.
President Donald Trump and his administration have made stamping out such care a priority since the earliest days of his second term. When the Justice Department first began issuing more than 20 administrative subpoenas to doctors and clinics last summer, it said its probes were centered around health care fraud and false statements, among other things.
At least two hospitals have said publicly that they’ve received a grand jury subpoena from the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas: NYU Langone Hospitals and Stanford University’s Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital, both of which have operated programs to provide such care to young people. In announcing its subpoena in early May, NYU said it was among several that had received one.
The subpoena against NYU sought a slew of detailed records from the past six years related to the gender-affirming treatments provided by the institution. Among them are billing records, insurance claims and diagnostic codes.
It asked the hospital to turn over more sensitive information: documents “sufficient to identify every patient who underwent sex-rejecting procedures” and all the records related to those individuals “from initial consultation to the most recent treatment provided.” It also compelled the hospital to produce records pe
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| 6- CNN Sports picks its players to watch at this year’s World Cup
CNN Sports picks its players to watch at this year’s World Cup
By Ben Church, Patrick Sung Cuadrado, Aleks Klosok, Emile Nuh, CNN
(CNN) — With less than a week to go until this year’s World Cup, it’s time to start taking a closer look at those who are set to play.
Each of the 48 teams can take a squad of up to 26 players with them, meaning there’ll be well over 1,000 stars hoping to get minutes on the pitch across North America.
In every World Cup, there is always one player who shines brighter than the rest. Think Lionel Messi in 2022, Ronaldo Nazario in 1998 and Diego Maradona in 1986 – tournaments defined by a single player.
With so many to consider for this year’s tournament, we’ve enlisted the help of some CNN Sports’ colleagues who have all chosen their player to watch.
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Ben Church – International Sports Writer
My choice is none other than Norway’s Erling Haaland.
Now, I know this isn’t a niche pick. If Haaland isn’t already the best striker in the world, then I’d argue he’s a very close second. But he’s set to take to the World Cup stage for the first time in his career and I think he might steal the show.
I’ll couch this by saying that I don’t think Norway will win the World Cup; I actually don’t think the Røde, Hvite, Blå will come close, despite winning all eight of their qualification games. But I think they’ve got enough to get out of a difficult group and cause an upset in the knockout rounds. And if they do that, Haaland will almost certainly be at the center of it.
The Manchester City striker is just a pure goal machine. Even if he doesn’t play well, he’ll normally walk off the pitch having scored at least once. Yet again this season, the 25-year-old picked up the Premier League’s Golden Boot award for top goalscorer – the third time he’s won it in the last four years.
And while his size, speed and shooting ability are incredible, I think his personality is what sets him apart. While taking his career super seriously, Haaland is still able to see it in perspective. It’s why he’s able to have fun on the pitch, goading defenders and stamping his personality on a match.
I just feel like he’ll flourish in his debut on the biggest stage and Norway can only benefit from that.
Honorable mention: Nico O’Reilly – The 21-year-old was one of Manchester City’s best players this season and the left-back could have a huge impact on England’s chances this summer. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a defender so comfortable under pressure and he’s such a goal threat as well.
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil)
Patrick Sung – International Sports Editor
Brazil hasn’t done much in the World Cup since winning in 2002. The Seleção has been knocked out in the quarterfinals in four of the last five tournaments and finished fourth in 2014, which featured an obscene 7-1 drubbing against Germany in the semifinal. But you can never count Brazil out, and that is especially true this year because of one man: Vinícius Jr.
Many might say the Real Madrid talisman had a relatively down year compared to his lofty standards. But trust me, as someone who has suffered through countless Madrid matches this year, he has actually been the steady force of a star-laden squad the last few years, even with Kylian Mbappé on his team.
For Los
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- Jóvenes trans y sus padres luchan contra los intentos del Gobierno de Trump de obtener sus historiales médicos detallados
Jóvenes trans y sus padres luchan contra los intentos del Gobierno de Trump de obtener sus historiales médicos detallados
Por Devan Cole, CNN
Las exigencias de la adminstración Trump de obtener historiales médicos confidenciales de menores transgénero están siendo objeto de un nuevo escrutinio en los tribunales, a medida que el Gobierno intensifica sus esfuerzos utilizando un jurado investigador en Texas para obligar a los proveedores de atención de afirmación de género a cumplir con dichas exigencias.
El uso inicial de las llamadas citaciones administrativas para obtener la información fue rechazado caso tras caso durante el último año por juristas designados por presidentes de ambos partidos, quienes afirmaron que la administración está llevando a cabo una investigación infundada sobre la atención de afirmación de género.
En un aparente intento por superar esos obstáculos, los fiscales de Texas, donde en los últimos meses ha surgido una extensa investigación criminal sobre tratamientos de afirmación de género, están solicitando algunos de los registros mediante citaciones del jurado investigador.
Al hacerlo, están utilizando una herramienta históricamente difícil de impugnar para obtener información que, según observadores, no es necesaria para el tipo de investigación que se está llevando a cabo, lo que alarma a los defensores y a los menores que reciben estos tratamientos, que no son ilegales a nivel federal, pero que han sido fuertemente restringidos en varios estados gobernados por republicanos.
El único juez federal en Fort Worth, donde se está llevando a cabo la investigación, es Reed O’Connor, nombrado por George W. Bush, cuyas credenciales conservadoras se han puesto especialmente de manifiesto en casos relacionados con los derechos LGBTQ.
“Esto es inusual”, declaró Abbe Smith, abogada penalista con larga trayectoria y profesora de la Facultad de Derecho de Georgetown. “No se me ocurre ninguna situación similar”.
Smith afirmó que los funcionarios parecían estar utilizando sus poderes procesales para “coaccionar a la gente a acatar la hostilidad de la administración Trump hacia las personas transgénero”.
Los padres de varios niños que han solicitado a un tribunal de Nueva York que impida que un hospital divulgue su información personal afirman en documentos judiciales que les preocupa que la divulgación de sus expedientes pueda exponerlos a represalias por parte de la administración Trump.
“Me preocupa lo que pueda resultar de revelar la identidad de mi hijo a una administración hostil hacia la comunidad transgénero. Temo que su nombre aparezca en una lista de personas transgénero y que sea investigado simplemente por recibir atención médica”, declaró uno de los padres, identificado como Riley Roe.
El presidente Donald Trump y su administración han priorizado la erradicación de este tipo de prácticas desde los primeros días de su segundo mandato.
Cuando el Departamento de Justicia comenzó a emitir más de 20 citaciones administrativas a médicos y clínicas el verano pasado, declaró que sus investigaciones se centraban en el fraude en la atención médica y las declaraciones falsas, entre otras cosas.
Al menos dos hospitales han declarado públicamente haber recibido una citación del gran jurado de la Fiscalía del Distrito Norte de Texas: los hospitales NYU Langone y el Hospital Infantil Lucile Salter Packard de la Universidad de Stanford, ambos con programas para brindar este tipo de atención a jóvenes.
Al anunciar su citación a principios de mayo, NYU indicó que figuraba entre varios hospitales que la habían recibido.
La cita
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- Why sky-high ticket prices have sent fans searching for alternative ways to get a World Cup experience
Why sky-high ticket prices have sent fans searching for alternative ways to get a World Cup experience
By Kyle Feldscher, Dianne Gallagher, CNN
Charlotte (CNN) — The World Cup officially kicks off in Mexico on Thursday, but thousands of fans across North America will have already gotten their opportunity to enjoy the world’s biggest sporting festival before a minute of the tournament is played.
With ticket prices – not to mention travel expenses – having been at extreme levels for months, the series of international friendlies (exhibition matches, for the American reader) – played before the tournament begins have become big-time moments for families all around the United States. The accessibility of the games – coming to markets where no World Cup matches will be played, such as Saturday’s match between the USA and Germany in Chicago – and the relative affordability of those tickets has turned meaningless games into priceless memories.
Jay Jhaveri traveled from Long Island outside New York City to North Carolina last weekend to see the US take on Senegal in Charlotte. Jhaveri said he explored going to matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, but for his family of five, it made more financial sense to fly to Charlotte, buy fifth-row tickets at Bank of America Stadium and enjoy a weekend away than it did to purchase tickets for the actual tournament a short(er) trip from home.
“It was 10-fold, to be honest with you,” he told CNN Sports, describing how much more expensive it would be to go to a game at MetLife. “With a family of five, it would have been 20-fold. I did the math and I was also planning to go to a New York Knicks championship game, which is also on the schedule, however the cost of that was competing with it.”
He added traveling to Charlotte “was still considerably cheaper because I saw the World Cup ticket prices for the final in New Jersey in the Meadowlands, they start – start – at $15,000 or $20,000 each. And then by the field, it’s about $90k. I mean, that’s a cool three hours, but $90,000 for three hours is like $30,000 an hour. I do that math, I’m just like, ‘Wow, $500 a minute is kind of a lot.’”
That’s made the scene at friendlies around the country so vibrant this week as national teams from around the world flock to North America for warm-up matches.
On Saturday, high-profile friendly matches around the country are expected to fill stadiums. The US and Germany will face off at Soldier Field in Chicago, England and New Zealand face off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, while Argentina and Honduras play at the 102,000-seat Kyle Field at Texas A&M’s campus in College Station, Texas. On Tuesday, Argentina and Iceland play at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, which holds more than 88,000 fans.
The scene at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on May 31 was full of color and noise as the red, white and blue of the US matched up against the green of the Senegalese fans that flocked to North Carolina’s biggest city.
The noise from both fan bases echoed around the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers throughout the game as many East Coast fans got a chance to see their teams for perhaps the only time during the monthlong festival of soccer. In addition to prices keeping many fans away, many USA fans on the eastern seaboard will be thousands of miles away from Team USA’s three group games in Los Angeles (where the Americans play twice) and Seattle.
“It was so close to home and I think it’s a great opportunity for all of the fans who aren’t able to go to the World Cup games to support the team,” said Kim, who lives in Elizabeth City near North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Mo Ndiaye, a Senegal fan, said he and thousands of other Senegalese fans who live within drivi
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- Why sky-high ticket prices have sent fans searching for alternative ways to get a World Cup experience
Why sky-high ticket prices have sent fans searching for alternative ways to get a World Cup experience
CNN
By Kyle Feldscher, Dianne Gallagher, CNN
Charlotte (CNN) — The World Cup officially kicks off in Mexico on Thursday, but thousands of fans across North America will have already gotten their opportunity to enjoy the world’s biggest sporting festival before a minute of the tournament is played.
With ticket prices – not to mention travel expenses – having been at extreme levels for months, the series of international friendlies (exhibition matches, for the American reader) – played before the tournament begins have become big-time moments for families all around the United States. The accessibility of the games – coming to markets where no World Cup matches will be played, such as Saturday’s match between the USA and Germany in Chicago – and the relative affordability of those tickets has turned meaningless games into priceless memories.
Jay Jhaveri traveled from Long Island outside New York City to North Carolina last weekend to see the US take on Senegal in Charlotte. Jhaveri said he explored going to matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, but for his family of five, it made more financial sense to fly to Charlotte, buy fifth-row tickets at Bank of America Stadium and enjoy a weekend away than it did to purchase tickets for the actual tournament a short(er) trip from home.
“It was 10-fold, to be honest with you,” he told CNN Sports, describing how much more expensive it would be to go to a game at MetLife. “With a family of five, it would have been 20-fold. I did the math and I was also planning to go to a New York Knicks championship game, which is also on the schedule, however the cost of that was competing with it.”
He added traveling to Charlotte “was still considerably cheaper because I saw the World Cup ticket prices for the final in New Jersey in the Meadowlands, they start – start – at $15,000 or $20,000 each. And then by the field, it’s about $90k. I mean, that’s a cool three hours, but $90,000 for three hours is like $30,000 an hour. I do that math, I’m just like, ‘Wow, $500 a minute is kind of a lot.’”
That’s made the scene at friendlies around the country so vibrant this week as national teams from around the world flock to North America for warm-up matches.
On Saturday, high-profile friendly matches around the country are expected to fill stadiums. The US and Germany will face off at Soldier Field in Chicago, England and New Zealand face off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, while Argentina and Honduras play at the 102,000-seat Kyle Field at Texas A&M’s campus in College Station, Texas. On Tuesday, Argentina and Iceland play at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, which holds more than 88,000 fans.
The scene at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on May 31 was full of color and noise as the red, white and blue of the US matched up against the green of the Senegalese fans that flocked to North Carolina’s biggest city.
The noise from both fan bases echoed around the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers throughout the game as many East Coast fans got a chance to see their teams for perhaps the only time during the monthlong festival of soccer. In addition to prices keeping many fans away, many USA fans on the eastern seaboard will be thousands of miles away from Team USA’s three group games in Los Angeles (where the Americans play twice) and Seattle.
“It was so close t
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