By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN

(CNN) — He got his first motorcycle at 15, and Steven Barnett, originally from Los Angeles, has ridden across nearly 80 countries in the five decades since.

Now, at 77, he’s preparing for the biggest adventure of his life: an attempt to set the record for the oldest man to motorcycle around the world.

Barnett, who moved from the US to Panama two decades ago, is scheduled to fly to Madrid, Spain, on March 7, before embarking on a trip across 27 countries, including France, Australia and Peru, covering an estimated 50,000 miles.

The retired professor expects the journey to take at least a year. He says he is looking forward to getting on the road and “having no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Though he’s only been planning for a few months, a heart attack last year — which left him requiring stents — convinced him not to delay.

“You never know how long you have,” he tells CNN Travel. “You’ll never be as prepared as you would like to be, but that’s not an excuse for putting things off.”

Incredible challenge

Barnett says he was inspired after reading a CNN article about Bridget McCutchen, who was vying to become the youngest woman to solo circumnavigate the globe by motorcycle.

He reached out and met her in Panama in December 2022, about a year before she successfully completed the journey.

“I said, ‘Wait a minute. If she can do it as the youngest woman, why can’t I do it as the oldest man?,” he says, admitting the idea hadn’t really occurred to him until he learned of her story.

After discovering there was no listed record holder, he contacted Guinness World Records.

“I figure 78 or 79 is far enough up there to set a record,” he adds. Guinness World Records confirmed that this was the case and his application was accepted.

A veteran of long-distance motorbike trips, Barnett says he loves “the freedom to go anywhere” and “connect with people and locations that you just can’t do when you are enclosed in a car.”

In October, he bought a brand new motorcycle, a Suzuki DR650, and spent several months modifying it for the journey, adding a bigger gas tank and stronger suspension.

With medical clearance — including a heart scan — he’s eager to fly to his starting point in Madrid. “Everything’s good,” he says. “Once I get on the plane, it’ll be a big sigh of relief.”

From Spain, Barnett will make his way across Europe, riding through France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.

Physical challenges

In order to meet Guinness World Record requirements, Barnett must ride the same motorcycle for the entire journey, and document this progress. He may use other transport only for sections “otherwise impassable by motorcycle.”

He’s excited about visiting places he’s never been before — especially Central Asia, where his route will take him through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan before heading on to China.

From China, he’ll ride down to Laos, Thailand and Malaysia, then through Indonesia, before flying to Australia, where he hopes to “get in some scuba diving” as well as cross the continent. After that, he’ll ride through Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia on his way back to Panama.

“That’s the plan,” he says, “knowing that plans never work.”

It’s unclear if or how the current Middle East crisis will impact his journey.

While Barnett feels fit enough for the trip, he acknowledges his age will shape

By Lauren Fox, Sarah Ferris, CNN

(CNN) — Rep. Eugene Vindman is among a generation of young Democrats who ran for Congress, in part, because of their experience fighting a forever war in the Middle East.

These Democrats are some of the earliest and most vocal critics of President Donald Trump’s decision to enter the US into war with Iran — a view that puts them at odds with some of the more interventionist members of their party.

“I will not be shedding a tear for the Iranian regime and the Ayatollah. I understand the threat but I also understand that wars are easy to start and hard to finish,” Vindman, a 25-year Army veteran, said Wednesday morning outside the US Capitol, standing shoulder to shoulder with a half-dozen fellow Democratic veterans. “This is a commitment of American blood and treasure to a conflict that we didn’t need to be engaged in.”

“When elites in Washington bang the war drums, pound their chest, talk about the costs of war and act tough, they’re not talking about them doing it,” added Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who served three tours in Iraq.

Party leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are amplifying those voices as Democrats seek to navigate the fallout from the quickly escalating war. While Vindman and his fellow Democratic veterans know they have little chance of blocking Trump’s actions in the GOP-led Congress, they’re trying to speak to a skeptical American public – arguing that the Trump administration has betrayed a core promise with the midterms just months away.

But it’s a difficult line for Democrats to walk. Party leaders are navigating sharp divisions within their ranks, particularly among a pro-Israel bloc that is expected to defy leadership in a key House vote on Thursday that will attempt to curb Trump’s military powers overseas. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, opposed a similar vote in the Senate on Wednesday – the only Democrat to do so.

For now, most Democrats are firmly condemning Trump’s decision to strike Iran without first seeking congressional approval. But the party will also soon be forced to contend with the reality of supporting US troops in the conflict in Iran, including questions about whether to spend billions of dollars more to shore up US operations.

Party leaders are eager not to repeat history and sow divisions that plagued them over the Iraq war more than 20 years ago. They also know it is just the beginning of a conflict that could go on for weeks, if not months or even longer, that will test Democrats’ ability to stay united.

In a closed-door meeting Tuesday night, Jeffries met with a bloc of roughly a half-dozen pro-Israel Democrats to make his case for backing the war powers measure, spending nearly an hour hearing the opposition from his fellow members, according to two people familiar with the meeting

But that meeting ended without a commitment from those members to get in line behind the measure.

“It didn’t change my mind,” Rep. Greg Landsman, who was one of those who attended the meeting, told CNN.

Hours earlier, Landsman offered a surprisingly supportive assessment of the administration’s initial strikes in Iran, and vowed to oppose the bipartisan resolution to curb the president’s use of force in the country absent congressional approval, which he said could hamstring the military’s work abroad.

“I’m more of a country-first guy, so whatever I think is best for the country and for my constituents, for the district, in this case, national security. To me, this was a no brainer. They had a window of opportunity to take out very specific military assets in order to defang the Iranian re

CNN

By Lauren Fox, Sarah Ferris, CNN

(CNN) — Rep. Eugene Vindman is among a generation of young Democrats who ran for Congress, in part, because of their experience fighting a forever war in the Middle East.

These Democrats are some of the earliest and most vocal critics of President Donald Trump’s decision to enter the US into war with Iran — a view that puts them at odds with some of the more interventionist members of their party.

“I will not be shedding a tear for the Iranian regime and the Ayatollah. I understand the threat but I also understand that wars are easy to start and hard to finish,” Vindman, a 25-year Army veteran, said Wednesday morning outside the US Capitol, standing shoulder to shoulder with a half-dozen fellow Democratic veterans. “This is a commitment of American blood and treasure to a conflict that we didn’t need to be engaged in.”

“When elites in Washington bang the war drums, pound their chest, talk about the costs of war and act tough, they’re not talking about them doing it,” added Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who served three tours in Iraq.

Party leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are amplifying those voices as Democrats seek to navigate the fallout from the quickly escalating war. While Vindman and his fellow Democratic veterans know they have little chance of blocking Trump’s actions in the GOP-led Congress, they’re trying to speak to a skeptical American public – arguing that the Trump administration has betrayed a core promise with the midterms just months away.

But it’s a difficult line for Democrats to walk. Party leaders are navigating sharp divisions within their ranks, particularly among a pro-Israel bloc that is expected to defy leadership in a key House vote on Thursday that will attempt to curb Trump’s military powers overseas. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, opposed a similar vote in the Senate on Wednesday – the only Democrat to do so.

For now, most Democrats are firmly condemning Trump’s decision to strike Iran without first seeking congressional approval. But the party will also soon be forced to contend with the reality of supporting US troops in the conflict in Iran, including questions about whether to spend billions of dollars more to shore up US operations.

Party leaders are eager not to repeat history and sow divisions that plagued them over the Iraq war more than 20 years ago. They also know it is just the beginning of a conflict that could go on for weeks, if not months or even longer, that will test Democrats’ ability to stay united.

In a closed-door meeting Tuesday night, Jeffries met with a bloc of roughly a half-dozen pro-Israel Democrats to make his case for backing the war powers measure, spending nearly an hour hearing the opposition from his fellow members, according to two people familiar with the meeting

But that meeting ended without a commitment from those members to get in line behind the measure.

“It didn’t change my mind,” Rep.

Por EFE

España enviará la fragata “Cristóbal Colón” a Chipre en compañía del portaaviones francés “Charles de Gaulle” y de otros navíos de la Armada griega para dar protección y defensa aérea a ese país, que sufrió un ataque como consecuencia de la guerra en Medio Oriente, informó este jueves el Ministerio de Defensa del país.

La fragata se incorporó el pasado martes, día 3 de marzo, al Grupo Naval del “Charles de Gaulle” para realizar labores de escolta, protección y adiestramiento avanzado en el mar Báltico.

Con el despliegue de la fragata, España muestra su compromiso con la defensa de la Unión Europea (UE) y su frontera oriental, después de que un dron de fabricación iraní impactara en la base británica de Akrotiri en Chipre, subrayó el ministerio.

La “Cristóbal Colón” es la fragata de la Armada española tecnológicamente más avanzada y su misión en el Mediterráneo será ofrecer protección y defensa aérea, complementando de esta forma las capacidades de la batería Patriot que España tiene desplegada en Turquía, según Defensa.

También estará preparada para prestar apoyo a cualquier evacuación de personal civil que pudiera resultar afectado por el conflicto.

El grupo naval se dirigirá al Mediterráneo para llegar a las costas de Creta hacia el martes 10 de marzo.

En breve, el buque de aprovisionamiento “Cantabria” saldrá a la mar para suministrar combustible y prestar apoyo logístico durante el tránsito de los barcos por el golfo de Cádiz.

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The post España envía una fragata a Chipre en misión de protección de la frontera oriental de la OTAN appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Por Devan Cole, CNN

Cuando el juez Jeffrey Bryan asumió el cargo el martes en su sala del tribunal en el centro de St. Paul, Minnesota, tenía serias preguntas para la administración Trump: ¿Qué pasó con los bienes personales de unas dos docenas de inmigrantes detenidos y por qué no se debería declarar a los funcionarios en desacato como una forma de garantizar que esos artículos sean devueltos?

Las consultas desencadenaron una audiencia larga y a veces polémica durante la cual Bryan, designado por el entonces presidente Joe Biden, se enfrentó repetidamente con el principal fiscal federal de Minnesota, en lo que se ha convertido en el último punto álgido de una relación tensa entre los jueces federales del Estado de la Estrella del Norte y los funcionarios de la administración.

La tensión comenzó durante la ofensiva inmigratoria del presidente Donald Trump a principios de este año y continuó a medida que los tribunales identificaron en las últimas semanas reiteradas violaciones de sus órdenes en casos presentados por inmigrantes que impugnan su arresto y detención.

A muchos de esos inmigrantes se les ordenó la liberación después de que los jueces, incluido Bryan, concluyeran que se encontraban detenidos ilegalmente.

Sin embargo, al entrar y salir de los centros de detención, los extranjeros, en unas dos docenas de casos anteriores a Bryan, perdieron dinero en efectivo, teléfonos, ropa y documentos importantes como pasaportes, permisos de trabajo y licencias de conducir.

Casi inmediatamente después de comenzar la audiencia, Bryan y Daniel Rosen, fiscal federal del distrito de Minnesota, a quien el juez citó para el procedimiento, se vieron envueltos en una guerra de palabras.

Rosen, designado por Trump, acusó al juez de difamarlo a él y a uno de sus adjuntos al advertirles que podrían ser considerados responsables por comportamiento despectivo.

Pero la situación se intensificó rápidamente cuando Bryan, preocupado por la posibilidad de que Rosen se retirara por completo de la audiencia, planteó la posibilidad de prisión para obligarlo a participar en el proceso.

Esta forma de desacato es distinta del desacato civil que el juez está considerando para garantizar la devolución de las pertenencias de los inmigrantes.

“No he descartado las consecuencias de un encarcelamiento”, indicó Bryan. “Aunque, para ser sincero, señor, creo que es muy, muy improbable”.

Tomar tal decisión, señaló el juez, “sería un punto históricamente bajo para la oficina del Fiscal de Estados Unidos y para este Distrito”.

La audiencia finalmente continuó y, durante varias horas, Rosen y los abogados de algunos inmigrantes informaron a Bryan que, en los últimos días, muchas de sus pertenencias habían sido localizadas y devueltas a los inmigrantes.

Estas resoluciones eliminaron la amenaza de desacato civil, una medida prospectiva destinada a forzar el cumplimiento de una orden judicial.

Los fallos en cuestión se dictaron cuando Bryan ordenó a los funcionarios que liberaran a un inmigrante detenido.

La orden de liberación del juez incluía una disposición estándar que exigía a los funcionarios del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) que también devolvieran todos los bienes confiscados al inmigrante mientras estuvo detenido.

A medida que transcurría la audiencia, se hizo evidente que, en tres casos, las pertenencias no devueltas estaban siendo regresadas a sus dueños, pero que, en dos casos, el Gobierno las había perdido por completo.

Entre esos objetos perdidos se encuentran la licencia de conducir de una mujer y las llaves del auto, el teléfono celular y los auriculares de un hombre.

“Nos tomamos muy en serio su pérdida. La propiedad no debería perderse, pero sí se perdió”, manifestó Rosen a Bryan, argumentando que las autoridades intentaron de buena fe localizar la propiedad y que cualq