Por René Marsh y Audrey Ash, CNN

Una propuesta abandonada hacía mucho tiempo en el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional —tan ambiciosa que la agencia nunca la había llevado a cabo— fue reactivada bajo el liderazgo de la entonces secretaria Kristi Noem.

Los funcionarios invirtieron decenas de millones de dólares de los contribuyentes para que el departamento adquiriera su propia flota de aeronaves y comenzaron a sentar las bases para dejar de depender de las compañías chárter para los vuelos de deportación, como lo habían hecho durante décadas.

En última instancia, planeaban crear su propia mini aerolínea para ayudar a cumplir el objetivo del presidente Donald Trump de deportar a un millón de inmigrantes indocumentados al año.

Ahora, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) ha comunicado en exclusiva a CNN que planea comenzar a utilizar los aviones para vuelos de deportación próximamente, contratando a empresas externas para su operación, luego de que el nuevo secretario de Seguridad Nacional, Markwayne Mullin, reevaluara el plan.

Mullin, quien reemplazó a Noem en marzo, había llevado a cabo una revisión exhaustiva de los contratos firmados durante su mandato.

“Prevemos que podremos integrar estos aviones en nuestros esfuerzos de deportación en las próximas semanas”, declaró un portavoz del DHS en un comunicado.

Bajo la dirección de Noem, los funcionarios del DHS argumentaron que la medida ahorraría a los contribuyentes US$ 280 millones, en parte al permitir que el departamento utilizara rutas más eficientes, aunque no especificaron un plazo para esos ahorros.

Sin embargo, algunos funcionarios actuales y anteriores del DHS, así como fuentes de la industria aeronáutica, cuestionan la viabilidad a largo plazo de esta iniciativa sin precedentes y la consecución de los ahorros prometidos.

Algunos críticos señalan datos del sector que sugieren que el departamento podría haber pagado más del valor de mercado por al menos algunos de los aviones.

“Es difícil ver esto como otra cosa que un despilfarro de dinero público”, declaró a CNN un ejecutivo de la industria de la aviación.

Según los registros, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) adquirió 10 aviones entre enero y marzo de este año.

Desde entonces, la flota ha permanecido prácticamente inactiva —en algunos casos, durante meses— en un centro de mantenimiento en Louisiana, según una fuente con conocimiento del asunto y datos públicos de seguimiento de vuelos.

Si bien algunos de los aviones se utilizaron para vuelos de evacuación en los primeros días de la guerra de Irán, ninguno se ha utilizado para deportaciones.

William Walters, CEO de Daedalus Aviation, la empresa que proveyó los aviones al DHS, declaró a CNN que se vendieron a precio de coste más gastos generales, incluido el importe de adaptar los aviones de pasajeros para fines de inmigración.

Walters y el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional se negaron a proporcionar un desglose de los costos de los aviones.

El portavoz del DHS afirmó que los aviones proporcionarán un “apoyo vital” a la aplicación de las leyes de inmigración, pero que “cualquier decisión relacionada con la compra de estos aviones se tomó antes del cambio en la dirección del DHS”.

El departamento añadió que, si bien Mullin y su equipo trabajaron con el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas para “evaluar el plan operativo para la utilización de estas aeronaves”, los aviones han estado “sometidos a mantenimiento y controles de seguridad, así como a cualquier modificación necesaria para satisfacer las necesidades de la misión de deportación”.

“El secretario Mullin está totalmente centrado en garantizar que se satisfagan las necesidades de nuestro Departamento, al tiempo que administra de la mejor manera posible el dinero de los contribuyentes”, declaró el DHS en otro comunicado a CNN.

By Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — “Why would you be sorry? Why would you be sorry, Patience?”

Patience Rousseau, then 26, was shivering on the doorstep of the house she was living in with her two children as the sheriff’s deputy repeated her question.

The Humboldt County, Nevada, sheriff’s deputy was questioning Rousseau about a Facebook post she had made a few weeks earlier that expressed grief about her stillbirth and mentioned the name she gave her baby posthumously, body camera footage shows.

“I’m so sorry, Abel,” Rousseau had written in the post.

The mother was in shock that day in May 2018 as several law enforcement officers, some in tactical gear, stood outside the rural Winnemucca home to serve a search warrant.

“I had a miscarriage, OK? A miscarriage. Why are you guys here over a f**king miscarriage?” Rousseau responded to the deputy.

The single mother, who was already struggling to afford care for her two young boys, was dealing with complicated feelings of ambivalence and guilt about her unplanned pregnancy and stillbirth, her attorney said. Rousseau told the deputies she had been taking large quantities of cinnamon and lifting heavy things while pregnant “to have a miscarriage.”

Deputies walked to a cross that was painted red with Abel’s name written in black on a green plot behind the house, according to the police body camera footage and a police report. They dug up the remains and carried them to a law enforcement vehicle, the report said.

Two days later, Rousseau was arrested and charged with felony manslaughter before she was convicted in Nevada, where abortion is legal, under what legal experts say is a vague and broadly written statute that makes it a crime for any woman to take drugs with the intent to terminate a pregnancy. She was also charged with concealing birth, a misdemeanor, but was not convicted on that charge.

Rousseau’s case fits into an emerging pattern where women are swept up in criminalization – even in states where abortion is legal – by prosecutors reaching for antiquated statutes or laws that were never intended to punish pregnant women and those experiencing pregnancy loss or birth, including abuse of a corpse, child neglect or even homicide, according to several abortion law experts CNN spoke with.

“There’s been a really dedicated effort to criminalize pregnancy outcomes alongside abortion,” said the legal director of nonprofit Pregnancy Justice, Karen Thompson.

There has been a notable uptick in these cases, in a separate but parallel lane to cases linked to stricter anti-abortion laws, since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and stripped the federal constitutional right to abortion, the experts said. The US saw the highest number on record of people criminally charged for conduct related to pregnancy in the first year after the decision, according to data from nonprofit legal advocacy organization Pregnancy Justice.

For Rousseau, the entire ordeal was traumatic, from the stillbirth to being arrested. “I thought I was doing what was right for my circumstances, and then to be told that I was wrong, right after going through all of that alone … and then to be punished for all of it without getting any sort of help mentally has hurt me so much,” she told CNN.

Rousseau served over two years in prison before her conviction was vacated in 2021, with the judge saying her public defender was overworked and ineffectively advised her to enter a guilty plea. She was awarded a $100,000 settlement this February, according to court documents.

Judge Charles McGee wrote in a strongly worded decision that Rousseau’s case “ranks right up there with a thankfully precious few cases involving a total miscarriage of justice.”

‘I didn’t

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN

(CNN) — In our roundup of travel stories this week: the Wyoming monument made famous by “alien encounters,” the rise of solo dining, and the lowdown on the “Schengen Shuffle.”

Rock of ages

The Sicilian village of Gibellina was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968, but its ruins were to be reborn as a spectacular piece of land art.

Artist Alberto Burri poured concrete over 926,000 square feet of hillside, freezing the streets and pathways for eternity, transforming this disaster site into a modern Pompeii.

This year, Gibellina is Italy’s first ever Capital of Contemporary Art and locals hope 2026 will strengthen the legacy of this “magical place.”

Much older stone masterpieces are to be found at the Mount Nemrut UNESCO World Heritage site in southeastern Turkey, where colossal limestone heads guard a 2,000-year-old mystery.

The giant sculptures were commissioned by Antiochus I, king of the region in the first century BCE, and the ruler wished that his tomb would sit among the deities for eternity.

In Uganda, the Kasubi Tombs UNESCO World Heritage site has finally reopened to the public following reconstruction after a devastating fire in 2010.

The giant basket-like thatch structure is the spiritual heart of the Buganda kingdom and, for believers, marks a portal to an ancient, invisible realm.

Movie monoliths

Wyoming’s Devils Tower, a startling 867-foot-tall geological formation, is a spiritual site for Native Americans and in 1906 became the United States’ first national monument.

What really gave it status on the tourist map, however, was its starring role in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

The tower was created by cooling magma, rather than industrious aliens, but its mystique is no less majestic for that. CNN went to visit.

Over in Northern Ireland, the 50-million-year-old mountainous “Kingdom of Mourne” has appeared in movies and TV as everywhere from Westeros in “Game of Thrones” to Transylvania in “Dracula Untold.”

Perhaps the mountains’ grandest claim to fame, though, is that they’re the real-life inspiration for the Narnia books by Belfast-born writer C.S. Lewis.

Fine dining but coarse behavior

When chef René Redzepi stepped down earlier this year from the world-famous Noma restaurant amid abuse allegations, the news made headlines around the world.

But in an era of superstar chefs celebrated for high passion and exacting standards, accusations of toxic behavior will, for many, simply reinforce preconceptions of life in a Michelin-starred kitchen.

Some chefs and industry figures believe the Redzepi moment was a potential turning point — and a long-overdue reckoning is underway.

Another trend to come under scrutiny recently is restaurants discriminating against solo diners.

One noodle eatery in Seoul recently went so far as to tell single diners to bring a friend or order for two, posting a sign saying, “We don’t serve loneliness.”

The fear of dining alone is so real that there is a name for it: solomangarephobia. Yet with solo living on the rise around the world, and likewise solo dining, it’s time to call last orders on the stigma.

Lo

Por Sean Lyngaas, CNN

El USS Gerald R. Ford, el portaaviones más grande y nuevo de Estados Unidos, tiene previsto regresar a puerto en Virginia este sábado después de casi un año en el mar, durante el cual participó en la captura del derrocado presidente de Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, la guerra con Irán, un incendio a bordo y repetidos problemas de fontanería.

Pasará a la historia como el despliegue operativo más largo de un portaaviones desde el final de la Guerra de Vietnam, un viaje en el que el buque ha servido como punto central para una serie de objetivos militares del presidente Donald Trump en el extranjero.

Para las familias de los marineros, supone el tan esperado final de un año lleno de nervios, en el que sus familiares participaron regularmente en operaciones militares que dominaron las noticias.

“Ahora por fin puedo relajarme, respirar y volver a tener un sueño normal”, declaró a CNN Amini Osias, cuya hija es electricista de aviación y sirvió en el portaaviones Ford.

Añadió que planeaba salir a comer con su hija, escuchar su relato del despliegue y simplemente disfrutar de su compañía como padre.

Fue un viaje difícil en algunos momentos. En marzo, se desató un incendio en la lavandería del Ford que la tripulación tardó aproximadamente 30 horas en extinguir, limpiar y evitar que se reavivara.

Unos 600 marineros perdieron el acceso a sus literas debido a los daños, pero ninguno resultó gravemente herido.

Los daños impidieron que el barco pudiera lavar la ropa durante un tiempo, lo que aumentó las dificultades para la tripulación.

El incendio se produjo meses después de que los buques hubieran entrado en servicio, tras haber experimentado ya repetidos problemas con su sistema de inodoros, que provocaron interrupciones parciales intermitentes, un inconveniente para la tripulación que requirió una visita a puerto para realizar reparaciones.

Aunque el Ford es tecnológicamente avanzado y el portaaviones más nuevo de la flota, Osias afirmó que las familias de los marineros “aún tenían dudas de que algo pudiera suceder”. Citó el incendio como motivo de preocupación.

Funcionarios militares, tanto en activo como retirados, afirman que el buque, valorado en US$ 13.000 millones, ha sido indispensable en las operaciones militares estadounidenses en Irán y Venezuela.

En la operación contra Venezuela, el buque lanzó aeronaves que participaron en la misión de captura, y en Irán sirvió como plataforma para desplegar oleada tras oleada de aviones de combate.

El sistema de catapulta electrónica del buque le permite lanzar desde pequeños drones hasta grandes aeronaves, lo que proporciona a los comandantes una amplia gama de opciones de potencia de fuego, declaró anteriormente a CNN Brent Sadler, veterano de la Armada con 26 años de servicio y exoficial de submarinos.

Los otros diez portaaviones estadounidenses no cuentan con esa capacidad, según Sadler.

Tras zarpar de Virginia el pasado junio, el Ford cruzó el Atlántico, dirigiéndose inicialmente al Mediterráneo y luego a Noruega como parte de su viaje programado, antes de ser remolcado al Caribe para la operación de captura de Maduro en enero.

Posteriormente, se le ordenó al buque que se dirigiera rápidamente para brindar apoyo en una posible guerra en Medio Oriente, donde contribuyó a las operaciones bélicas contra Irán, hasta que emprendió el regreso a casa y entró en el Atlántico desde el mar Mediterráneo a principios de este mes.

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By René Marsh, Audrey Ash, CNN

(CNN) — A long-abandoned proposal at the Department of Homeland Security – one so ambitious the agency had never gone through with it before – was revived under the leadership of then-Secretary Kristi Noem.

Officials spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to buy the department its own fleet of aircraft and started laying the groundwork for shifting away from relying on charter airline companies for deportation flights, as it had for decades. Ultimately, they planned to start their own mini airline to help execute President Donald Trump’s aim to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants a year.

Now DHS tells CNN exclusively it plans to start using the planes for deportation flights soon – using contractors to operate the planes – after new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reevaluated the plan. Mullin, who replaced Noem in March, had undertaken an agency-wide review of contracts signed during her tenure.

“We anticipate we will be able to integrate these planes into our deportation efforts in the coming weeks,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

Under Noem, DHS officials argued the move would save taxpayers $280 million, in part by allowing the department to fly more efficient routes, though they didn’t give a timeframe for those savings.

But some current and former DHS officials, as well as aviation industry sources, question whether the unprecedented endeavor will be viable over the long-term and deliver the promised savings. Some critics point to industry data that suggests the department may have paid more than market value for at least some of the planes.

“It’s hard to see this as anything but a waste of public money,” an aviation industry executive told CNN.

DHS purchased 10 planes between January and March of this year, records show. The fleet has largely sat idle since then – in some cases, for months – at a maintenance facility in Louisiana, according to a source with knowledge of the matter and publicly available flight tracking data.

While some of the aircraft were used for evacuation flights in the early days of the Iran war, none have been used for deportations.

William Walters, the CEO of Daedalus Aviation, the company that sold the aircraft to DHS, told CNN they were sold at cost plus overhead, including the cost of retrofitting the passenger planes for immigration purposes.

Walters and DHS declined to provide a breakdown of the costs of the planes.

The DHS spokesperson said the planes will provide “vital support” to immigration enforcement but that “any decisions related to the purchase of these planes were made prior to the change in DHS leadership.”

The department added that while Mullin and his team worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “assess the operation plan for utilizing these aircraft,” the planes have been “undergoing maintenance and safety checks as well as any necessary make-ready modifications to meet the need of the deportation mission.”

“Secretary Mullin is 100% focused on ensuring the needs of our Department are met while being the best possible steward of taxpayer dollars,” DHS said in another statement to CNN.

Building the fleet

From the beginning of this endeavor, several aviation sources said they thought the plan was “crazy” and said it would “never work.” Some of the sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, while others offering an industry perspective wanted to avoid potential fallout from the White House.

“There’s an old saying in aviation: The fastest way to become a millionaire is to be a billionaire who tries to start an airline,” one industry veteran told CNN, citing a joke about the risks and high startup costs.

Last December, as DHS was assessing what it would take to carry out its plan, the agenc