Click on the Manage Content for adding and managing content.
Click on the Rotator Settings and choose what and how it will be displayed.

Iran imposes new rules for Strait of Hormuz in bid to secure wartime gains

Kraig Pakulski 0 26 Article rating: No rating

By Eleni Giokos, Tim Lister, CNN

(CNN) — Iran is trying to force shippers to comply with a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz – or risk attack.

Tehran has laid out a set of new rules for vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to a document seen by CNN, pressing ahead with efforts to formalize control over the waterway in defiance of US warnings.

Entitled “Vessel Information Declaration,” the document is an application form issued by Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) and must be completed by all transiting vessels to ensure safe passage. It was shared with CNN by Lloyds List and another shipping industry source who wished to remain anonymous.

Before the US and Israeli campaign against Iran began at the end of February, the strait was free for any vessel of any origin to navigate. But since the conflict began, Iran has threatened to strike any ship passing through Hormuz without permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy. A number of vessels have come under attack, but the vast majority of ship owners and operators have opted not to take the risk of sending their vessels through in defiance of Iran.

The move to set up an authority for the strait underscores Iran’s determination to cement control over what it sees as a spoil of war, despite repeated US and regional warnings. Dominance of the waterway – through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows – would hand the Islamic Republic immense leverage over its neighbors and the global economy.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz unleashed the biggest oil supply shock in history, sending energy prices sharply higher. On Wednesday, US gas prices rose above $4.5 per gallon for the first time in four years.

‘A new regional and global order’

On Wednesday, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s account on the social media app Telegram posted a message laying out his vision for the Persian Gulf.

The leader called for a “new regional and global order under the strategy of a strong Iran” where there would be no place for foreigners “and their mischief.” He specifically pointed to “using the leverage of closing the strait” as one way to achieve that vision.

At the end of April, a statement attributed to Khamenei indicated Iran would create the mechanism to supervising traffic at the waterway.

Iran would implement “new legal frameworks and management of the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said, which would benefit its neighbors and prove economically fruitful.

“Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away, acting maliciously out of greed, have no place there, except at the bottom of its waters,” it added.

The PGSA document now made available to shippers comprises more than 40 questions, requiring vessels to declare their name and identification number, any “previous name,” country of origin and destination.

It also asks for the nationalities of the registered owners and operators and of the crew on board, plus details of the cargo.

According to the PGSA, the information must be emailed to the authority before a vessel can transit the strait.

An email from PGSA shared with CNN includes a warning that “complete and accurate information is essential” to processing the vessel’s request to transit, and that “further instruct

La nueva candidata de Trump para el cargo de directora de Sanidad profundiza la brecha entre MAHA y MAGA

Kraig Pakulski 0 20 Article rating: No rating

Por Adam Cancryn y Sarah Owermohle, CNN

Cuando el presidente Donald Trump necesitó un nuevo candidato para el cargo de director de Sanidad el pasado mes de mayo, recurrió al secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., en busca de consejo.

“Bobby realmente pensaba que ella era fantástica”, comentó Trump a los periodistas al día siguiente de elegir a Casey Means, una estrecha aliada de Kennedy y una voz destacada dentro del movimiento “Make America Healthy Again” (Hacer que Estados Unidos vuelva a ser saludable). “Yo no la conozco, seguí la recomendación de Bobby”.

Sin embargo, casi un año después —cuando la candidatura de Means se estancó y Trump terminó seleccionando a Nicole Saphier para reemplazarla—, Kennedy apenas tuvo participación en la conversación.

En su lugar, el nombre de Saphier surgió como una de las muchas opciones elaboradas por los funcionarios de la Casa Blanca, indicaron personas familiarizadas con el proceso. La radióloga y colaboradora de Fox News no mantiene ninguna relación previa sustancial con Kennedy y cuenta con un largo historial de críticas hacia él y algunas de sus políticas.

Este es el indicio más reciente de que, tras un año de permitir que Kennedy actuara con total libertad en materia de salud tal como había prometido antes de las elecciones, el presidente y sus principales asesores están buscando un mayor control en el periodo previo a las elecciones de mitad de mandato e imponiendo restricciones políticas más estrictas al secretario del HHS, incluso a riesgo de alienar a la legión de seguidores que este atrajo hacia el Partido Republicano.

Esta dinámica cambiante ha tensado la relación de la Casa Blanca con los votantes del movimiento MAHA, quienes en gran medida se alinearon con Trump durante las elecciones de 2024. Asimismo, ha suscitado nuevas interrogantes dentro del círculo cercano de Trump sobre hasta qué punto debe ceder para complacer a un movimiento del que algunos ahora dudan que haya cumplido su promesa de convertirse en una fuerza política nacional de peso dentro del Partido Republicano.

“Me apena decirlo, pero creo que están un tanto sobrevalorados”, comentó un asesor de Trump. “Hasta cierto punto, el MAHA siempre ha sido un tigre de papel”.

En las últimas semanas, la Casa Blanca ha optado por candidatos con trayectorias sanitarias más convencionales para dirigir los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) y la dirección de Sanidad, apartándose así de los esfuerzos que Kennedy realizó al inicio de su mandato para ocupar los altos cargos del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos (HHS) con aliados cercanos y escépticos del establishment.

Los asesores de Trump también han frenado los controvertidos intentos del HHS de reformular las políticas de vacunación y reestructurar la investigación médica, favoreciendo en su lugar un giro hacia temas de mayor atractivo popular como la reducción de los precios de los medicamentos y la mejora del seguro médico. En un episodio perjudicial, Trump se puso del lado de las grandes corporaciones agrícolas —en detrimento de Kennedy y de los activistas del movimiento MAHA— al intentar acelerar la producción nacional de un controvertido herbicida.

Esta recalibración estratégica, realizada de cara a las elecciones de mitad de mandato, ha suscitado temores entre los aliados cercanos de Kennedy de que este esté siendo marginado dentro de la administración, abriendo así una nueva brecha en el seno de la incipiente alianza MAGA-MAHA.

Por un lado, algunos asesores y consejeros de Trump se han mostrado cada vez más irritados ante las exigencias planteadas por los influencers del movimiento MAHA en lo que respecta a las decisiones de personal y de política pública. Estos aliados sostienen que el movimiento MAHA ha complicado los esfuerzos para cubrir vacantes clave y avanzar en cuestiones de vital i

Tourist wins payout after missing out on sun loungers during family vacation

Kraig Pakulski 0 24 Article rating: No rating

By Charlotte Reck, CNN

(CNN) — A German tourist has been awarded more than 900 euros (about $1,100) by judges after his family was left without sun loungers while on vacation in Greece because other guests had got there first.

While vacationing with his wife and two children on the island of Kos during the summer of 2024, the man, who has not been identified, claims the loungers were unavailable from as early as 6 a.m.

The traveler initially paid 7,186 euros (roughly $8,500) for an 11-day trip at a 384-room hotel, which boasted multiple pools, relaxation spots and access to a beach, according to a ruling from the Hanover District Court.

Despite wooden signs prohibiting people reserving sun loungers with towels and then leaving them, the father-of-two said guests routinely ignored the warning.

Unimpressed by the reservation habits of others, he reported the issue to his tour operator but was informed that it was the hotel’s responsibility to enforce the house rules. When he attempted to contact the hotel staff with his concern that many loungers were rendered useless daily, he said he was unsuccessful.

Although the family woke early every day hoping to relax on loungers by the pool, they were successful just once, according to the ruling. Even on that occasion, the man said, only he and his wife were able to use the sun loungers while his children laid on towels on the ground.

Judges at the district court ruled in the man’s favor against the tour operator, deeming the vacation defective as the family’s needs were repeatedly unmet.

Following his original claim just months after the vacation ended, the man was given a partial refund. Now, judges have ruled the family is entitled to a further 986.70 euros (around $1,160).

Under German law, a travel defect exists if the organized trip fails to provide the agreed-upon characteristics stipulated when the booking was made.

While the court recognized the tour operator and hotel were not obligated to supply a sun lounger to every guest staying at the accommodation, it said the service provider must supply loungers in reasonable proportion to the number of hotel guests.

The court also reflected on the man’s claim that his children did not gain access to a lounger throughout their vacation, saying that even at the ages of nine and 12, the children had both a need and a right to a chair rather than the ground.

But the news of compensation might just put the mind of some sunseekers at ease. Every year, many cave under the pressure of early morning poolside sprints to bag the ideal spot in what has been termed “sunbed wars.”

The fight for loungers has forced some destinations across getaway hotspots Spain and Cyprus to ban the reservation of sun beds entirely

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Claudia Otto contributed reporting.

The post Tourist wins payout after missing out on sun loungers during family vacation appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Karoline Leavitt announces birth of baby girl

Kraig Pakulski 0 33 Article rating: No rating
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in August. Leavitt on May 7 announced the birth of her daughter Viviana

By Aileen Graef, CNN

(CNN) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday announced the birth of her daughter Viviana, saying she is “perfect and healthy.”

“On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” Leavitt said in a post on Instagram.

“She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble,” she added.

This is Leavitt’s second child with husband Nicholas Riccio.

Less than a week before she gave birth, Leavitt was at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and entertainer Oz Pearlman, known as “Oz the Mentalist,” was attempting to guess her baby’s name. During his reveal, when he guessed the name “Vivian,” attendees became aware of a gunman trying to get into the room.

“They were asking the name of Karoline’s child that he didn’t know,” President Donald Trump told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” about the incident.

While Leavitt is on maternity leave, Cabinet members have been asked to help brief the press.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his debut in the press briefing room on Tuesday, with one White House official calling him “a natural” and praising the secretary for his message on Iran.

Vice President JD Vance is also expected to make an appearance. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other “TV thoroughbreds” could be tapped and “maybe even the president himself” could make an appearance, per the official.

This story has been updated with additional context.

Kit Maher contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post Karoline Leavitt announces birth of baby girl appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

RSS
First12771278127912801282128412851286Last