CNN

By Lex Harvey, CNN

(CNN) — Dr. Stephen Kornfeld boarded the MV Hondius in the southern tip of Argentina last month anticipating a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, exploring vast icy expanses and remote islands, seeing wildlife like whales, dolphins and penguins up close.

But a few weeks into his vacation across the Atlantic Ocean, the Oregon doctor jumped into action caring for passengers after a deadly hantavirus outbreak began spreading through the ship, sickening the vessel’s doctor.

“I sort of fell into the role of becoming the ship doctor,” Kornfeld told CNN from aboard the virus-stricken vessel, which is currently making its way to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the southwestern coast of Morocco.

The roughly 146 passengers and crew still on board, including 17 Americans, who spent several days anchored near Praia, Cape Verde off the west African coast, are set to arrive in Tenerife Sunday, where they will disembark and make their way to their respective countries.

The outbreak has prompted a massive global contract tracing effort as health authorities work to identify those who may have been exposed to the rare rodent-borne virus, which can cause severe respiratory failure. But the World Health Organization (WHO) said it does not anticipate an epidemic anywhere similar to Covid, underlining that there is no evidence of widespread transmission risk.

Five hantavirus infections have been identified among people connected to the ship and several more cases are suspected, the WHO said, noting that it expects more cases to emerge. Three people have died, including an elderly Dutch couple who are thought to have caught the virus while sightseeing in Argentina before joining the cruise.

Kornfeld told CNN’s Erin Burnett that he asked if the ship’s doctor needed help after he heard one of Hondius’ passengers had fallen ill. That passenger, a 70-year-old man from the Netherlands, would go on to die on the boat on April 11.

“Over 12 to 24 hours, it became clear that there were a number of people sick and they were getting sicker,” he said.

The wife of the Dutchman who died had “non-specific symptoms,” Kornfeld said, “a lot of confusion, a lot of weakness.” She was evacuated from the ship and died in hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa while attempting to travel home.

Two other patients, including the ship’s doctor, “had a lot of standard viral symptoms,” Kornfeld said. “A lot of fever, fatigue, flushing, some GI (gastrointestinal) issues, some shortness of breath.”

“At the time, neither one of them looked critically ill. But the fear with hantavirus is you can go from seriously ill to critically ill very quickly.”

The ship’s doctor was transferred to a hospital in Johannesburg last month where he remains in intensive care, but his condition is improving, the WHO said.

Three other passengers from the ship have been evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment. One passenger who departed the ship early tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated in Zurich.

The outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare but potentially severe virus that in some cases can spread between humans through close contact.

About 30 passengers departed the ship at the

Análisis por Aaron Blake, CNN

Queda por ver qué resultados, si los hay, se obtienen de las recientes conversaciones de paz sobre la guerra de EE.UU. con Irán, tras el intercambio de disparos entre ambos países el jueves.

El presidente Donald Trump ya había afirmado que un acuerdo era inminente. Y, en cualquier caso, el posible acuerdo sobre la mesa parece ser preliminar.

Sin embargo, lo que parece cada vez está más claro es que Trump no está consiguiendo lo que inicialmente quería de esta guerra.

En su aparente afán por poner fin a un conflicto que ha resultado ser más profundo de lo que predijo y que ha hundido sus índices de popularidad a mínimos históricos, Trump parece haber abandonado muchas de sus exigencias maximalistas iniciales.

Eso no significa que el resultado de las últimas idas y venidas no pueda ser un buen acuerdo. Simplemente, está muy lejos de ser el nivel que Trump estableció hace apenas dos meses.

Las conversaciones parecen girar en torno a la elaboración de un breve memorándum que establezca el proceso para una solución negociada a la guerra, aunque hasta el jueves Estados Unidos seguía esperando la respuesta de Irán a la propuesta.

El memorando daría inicio a un período de negociación de 30 días que se centraría en detener el programa nuclear de Irán durante un período determinado —los funcionarios estadounidenses parecen querer al menos 10 años— e implicaría que Irán entregara sus reservas existentes de uranio altamente enriquecido.

A cambio, Estados Unidos podría hacer concesiones, como la flexibilización de las sanciones y el desbloqueo de miles de millones de dólares en fondos iraníes congelados. Además, ambas partes se comprometerían a poner fin a las restricciones en el estrecho de Ormuz.

Pero desde el principio, Trump ha dicho que su objetivo no era una pausa en el programa nuclear de Irán, sino lograr que Irán “nunca” pueda obtener armas nucleares. Lo ha dicho repetidamente, a menudo usando la palabra “nunca”.

Incluso la posibilidad de un acuerdo negociado es algo que Trump rechazó expresamente en su momento.

“¡No habrá ningún acuerdo con Irán, excepto la RENDICIÓN INCONDICIONAL!”, declaró Trump en las redes sociales una semana después del inicio de la guerra.

Otro objetivo que parece haber quedado en el olvido —y bastante rápido, por cierto— es el cambio de régimen.

En su anuncio en video la noche en que comenzó la guerra a finales de febrero, Trump le dijo al pueblo iraní: “Cuando terminemos, tomaremos el control de su Gobierno”, antes de prometer: “Será suyo para que lo tomen”.

“Ahora es el momento de tomar las riendas de tu destino y desatar el futuro próspero y glorioso que está a tu alcance”, añadió Trump. “Este es el momento de actuar. No lo dejes pasar”.

Y esto no fue solo un comentario al margen del anuncio. Esta fue la sección final de Trump.

Pero este tipo de cambio de régimen ya ni siquiera se debate. Trump ha afirmado que la eliminación de varios líderes iraníes constituyó un cambio de régimen, pero ese no es un argumento muy convincente por varias razones, especialmente cuando el actual líder supremo es hijo del anterior.

Otra prioridad que aparecía con frecuencia en la Read more

The post How to Keep the MAGA Red Hats Out of Governor’s Mansion appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

By Christopher Lamb, CNN

(CNN) — Pope Leo XIV is marking one year since his historic election, making the transition from a low-profile cardinal to one of the most recognizable figures on the planet.

His election led to something previously thought impossible: an American pope. But his pontificate has witnessed an historic period of tension between the White House and the Vatican, with the Augustinian friar taking office just a few months after President Donald Trump’s re-election.

Those who know the pope well say he remains the same person despite the monumental changes of the last 365 days. “We don’t see great differences,” Rev. Joseph Farrell, prior general of the Augustinian Order and friend of the pope, told CNN. “It still is a bit unbelievable to see him (as pope) and yet it makes so much sense. As one of our friars said to me: ‘it looks like he went to pope school.’”

And Leo still has his sense of humor. Another friend and Augustinian friar, Rev. Tom McCarthy, said that after his election he gave Leo a hug, but asked afterward if he should have done that. “They were about to shoot you!” the pope joked.

So, after 12 months in office, what have we learned about the first American pope?

1. He’s unafraid of speaking up – even if it irritates Trump

Leo XIV’s style is measured and deliberate and, as a mathematician, he takes a process-oriented approach to solving problems. He is also more formal in dress and style than his predecessor Pope Francis, who was more of a disruptor willing to break with protocol.

However, Leo does follow Francis when it comes to speaking out on immigration, the environment, poverty and capital punishment. His years in Peru serving among some of its poorest communities have given him a strong sense of social justice. He’s described the treatment of immigrants in the US as “inhuman,” while recently calling for the abolition of the death penalty.

“Pope Leo XIV has managed to ensure that his voice and actions are heard and seen with particular force by not backing down on his call for world peace, his support for migrants, and his appeal against the use of nuclear weapons,” Paola Ugaz, an investigative journalist from Peru who knows the pope well, told CNN.

The Iran war, though, is where the pope has spoken most forcefully, taking the unusual decision to name Trump, and denounce any religious justification of conflict. The pope’s speeches during his recent trip to Africa were bold, with Leo saying in Cameroon that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” and railing against corruption.

“The only thing that I’ve noticed that has been heavy upon him is the tragedy of war, and the suffering that people go through,” Farrell said. “His response has been very clear… that the way towards resolution, of finding solutions, is not with arms, it’s not with weapons, it’s to be disarmed, and disarming, and to dialog.”

Leo’s forthright moves have sparked an unprecedented clash between a US-born pope and US president. And yet in the face of an extraordinary barrage of attacks, Leo appears to been unfazed.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago told CNN that’s because the pontiff “doesn’t see himself as a rival to any head of state” and instead his mission is to bring “a unique perspective, beyond any given nation.”<

Abigahil Padilla

San Luis, RCS ( KYMA).- En San Luis Río Colorado se vive una situación que ha generado gran controversia y preocupación entre la ciudadanía, luego de que tres menores de edad fueran separados de sus Padres, tras la intervención de autoridades de protección infantil por un presunto caso de maltrato. De acuerdo con la versión de los padres, los niños fueron puestos bajo resguardo institucional después de una denuncia anónima presentada ante el sistema estatal de atención familiar, situación que desató un fuerte debate social y múltiples reacciones dentro de la comunidad.

La familia asegura que la separación ocurrió de manera injusta y afirma que actualmente lucha por recuperar la custodia de los menores, mientras solicita transparencia en el proceso y respeto a los derechos de los niños durante las investigaciones. El caso ha provocado inquietud entre habitantes y organizaciones civiles, quienes señalan que el bienestar emocional y psicológico de los menores debe mantenerse como prioridad absoluta, recordando además que cualquier procedimiento relacionado con niños requiere sensibilidad, confidencialidad y estricto apego a la ley.

En medio de la polémica también han surgido rumores y versiones difundidas en redes sociales sobre el posible futuro de uno de los menores; sin embargo, hasta el momento ninguna autoridad ha confirmado oficialmente dicha información.

El presidente municipal de San Luis Río Colorado ya emitió declaraciones públicas asegurando que las instituciones actuarán conforme a derecho y que las investigaciones seguirán su curso legal correspondiente.

Por su parte, los padres de los menores aseguran que continuarán buscando apoyo legal y social con el objetivo de reunirse nuevamente con sus hijos. Mientras tanto, la comunidad permanece dividida entre quienes respaldan la actuación de las autoridades y quienes consideran que debe existir mayor claridad sobre las decisiones tomadas en torno al caso.

Lo cierto es que, más allá de la controversia política y social, la atención pública permanece centrada en la situación de los tres niños, cuyo bienestar y futuro se han convertido en el tema principal de uno de los casos más comentados actualmente en San Luis.

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