Por Haley Britzky, CNN

El secretario de la Marina, John Phelan, fue destituido de su cargo, dijeron a CNN seis fuentes familiarizadas con el asunto, mientras el portavoz del Pentágono, Sean Parnell, anunciaba la noche del miércoles que Phelan se marcharía “con efecto inmediato”.

Tres de las fuentes dijeron que a Phelan se le dio la opción de renunciar o ser despedido. No estaba claro de inmediato cuál eligió.

La Marina remitió las consultas sobre los detalles de la salida de Phelan a la Oficina del Secretario de Defensa, que no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de comentarios. La Casa Blanca remitió a CNN a una declaración de Parnell.

“En nombre del secretario de Guerra y del subsecretario de Guerra, agradecemos al secretario Phelan su servicio al Departamento y a la Marina de Estados Unidos”, dijo Parnell en una publicación en X. “Le deseamos lo mejor en sus futuros proyectos. El subsecretario Hung Cao se convertirá en secretario interino de la Marina”.

El anuncio ocurre mientras la Marina de Estados Unidos lleva a cabo un bloqueo de puertos iraníes durante un proceso de alto el fuego en la guerra de Irán. Hasta ahora, las fuerzas estadounidenses han redirigido 29 embarcaciones para que regresen a puerto y también han abordado dos barcos.

Phelan es un empresario sin servicio militar previo; él y su esposa recaudaron anteriormente millones de dólares para la campaña del presidente Donald Trump antes de que fuera confirmado como secretario de la Marina en 2025.

“John será una fuerza tremenda para nuestros miembros del servicio naval, y un líder firme en el avance de mi visión de Estados Unidos Primero”, dijo Trump en ese momento. “Pondrá el negocio de la Marina de Estados Unidos por encima de todo”.

No está claro qué llevó a la salida de Phelan, que es la primera entre los secretarios de las ramas militares nominados bajo Trump. Cabe subrayar que el secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, ha destituido a numerosos oficiales militares de alto rango en todas las ramas desde que asumió el mando en el Pentágono.

El anuncio de su salida se produce la misma semana en que se celebraba, a las afueras de Washington, una importante conferencia marítima anual —la Sea Air Space de la Navy League. Phelan y otros altos mandos de la Marina asistieron y hablaron en la conferencia.

CNN informó previamente que el nombre de Phelan apareció en una lista de pasajeros que mostraba queen 2006 voló en el avión del delincuente sexual convicto Jeffrey Epstein. La lista mostraba que Phelan voló con Epstein; varios otros financieros; y un pasajero que parecía ser el agente de modelos francés Jean-Luc Brunel, un asociado cercano de Epstein que enfrentaba cargos de violación a una menor y agresión sexual cuando fue encontrado muerto en su celda de prisión en 2022.

Un amigo cercano de Phelan dijo que fue invitado a volar en el avión por el CEO de Bear Stearns, Jimmy Cayne, quien murió en 2021. Phelan no sabía que estarían volando en el avión de Epstein hasta que llegaron, dijo el amigo cercano, y Phelan no volvió a hablar ni a interactuar con Epstein.

Esta historia ha fue actualizada con reportes adicionales.

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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A School Resource Deputy assigned to Righetti High arrested a student after he was found with a loaded handgun on campus Wednesday.

On April 22, around 11:50 a.m., School Resource Deputy Reynoso alongside officers with the Santa Maria Police Department contacted a student under the authority of a Ramey warrant stated a press release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

The 18-year-old student was taken into custody and it was found that he was in possession of a loaded handgun while on campus detailed the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

The teen was transported to the Northern Branch Jail and booked on a felony charge of possession of a firearm on school grounds and additional charges related to his initial Ramey warrant are expected to be filed as part of the Santa Maria Police Department's ongoing investigation shared the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, the incident was addressed quickly and safely enough to not require a lockdown of the campus.

The post Righetti High student arrested on campus with loaded handgun Wednesday appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Happening today LIVE from TV Hill, Old Spanish Days will be revealing their "Fiesta Forever!" poster for the 2026 Fiesta celebrations.

At 6:00pm, News Channel's John Palminteri will be joined by El Presidente Colin Hayward, El Tesorero David Bolton, and poster artist Pedro De La Cruz to do the grand reveal.

The upcoming warmer months are jam-packed with Fiesta traditions, events, and celebrations ahead of the official week. On May 2nd, Jenna Ramirez and Penelope Hernandez will perform their first dance as Spirits of Fiesta at La Primavera.

Old Spanish Days will also host the first ever dog parade, taking place Saturday, May 18th at De La Guerra Plaza. You can find a complete list of events here.

Old Spanish Days Fiesta 2025 kicks off August 5 - 9.

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

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CNN

By Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, CNN

(CNN) — Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was ousted from his position, six sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced Wednesday evening that Phelan would be departing “effective immediately.”

Three of the sources said that Phelan was given the option to either resign or be fired. It was not immediately clear which he chose.

The Navy directed queries about the details of Phelan’s departure to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House directed CNN to a statement from Parnell.

“On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” Parnell said in a post on X. “We wish him well in his future endeavors. Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.”

The announcement comes while the US Navy is carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports during a ceasefire in the Iran war. Thus far, US forces have redirected 29 vessels to return to port and have also boarded two ships.

Multiple sources told CNN there was tension for months between Phelan and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who believed he was moving too slowly on implementing shipbuilding reforms and was also irked by Phelan’s direct communication with Trump, which Hegseth viewed as an attempt to bypass him. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg also wanted to take control of major responsibilities for shipbuilding and navy acquisitions, a job that would typically be within Phelan’s purview.

Phelan is a businessman with no prior military service; he and his wife previously fundraised millions of dollars for President Donald Trump’s campaign before he was confirmed as Navy secretary in 2025.

“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump said at the time. “He will put the business of the US Navy above all else.”

It’s unclear what led to Phelan’s departure, which is the first among the military service secretaries nominated under Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, however, removed numerous senior military officers across the services since taking the helm at the Pentagon.

The announcement of his departure comes the same week as a major, annual maritime conference — the Navy League’s annual Sea Air Space conference — was being held just outside of Washington, DC. Phelan and other senior Navy leadership attended and spoke at the conference.

CNN previously reported that Phelan’s name appeared on a flight manifest showing that he flew in 2006 on the plane of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The manifest showed Phelan flew with Epstein; several other financiers; and one passenger who appeared to be French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of Epstein who was facing charges of r

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