By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — For the first time in several years, festival season will welcome back shirt-optional crowd-pleaser, Justin Bieber.

His Coachella performance this weekend will mark an important moment in his slow-walked return to the stage following a turbulent few years marked by health struggles and cancelled tours, as well as bright spots like fatherhood and Grammy nominations. The first-time headliner’s performance could be a comeback or so much more than that — a throwback to the best days of Bieber.

He last appeared live in front of tens of thousands of people at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil in 2022, but a lot has happened off the stage since Bieber last performed for an audience this big.

Before last year’s release of a pair of “Swag” albums, his last new effort had been 2021’s “Justice.” He was on the world tour supporting that album in 2023 when he was forced to cancel the remaining tour dates due to health issues, sharing that he had Ramsey Hunt Syndrome, a nerve disorder that caused the singer to experience temporary facial paralysis.

“I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better,” he said in a statement at the time.

Since then, Bieber became a father when his son Jack Blues was born in 2024. He and wife Hailey have been married since 2018.

What could have been a quiet 2025 for Bieber turned out to be anything but thanks to a double-dose of surprise album drops, with “Swag” and “Swag II” coming out within two months of each other. “Swag,” his seventh studio album released in July, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It also produced hits including the viral “Daisies” and “Yukon,” and scored four Grammy nods for the singer.

Just 11 days after the September release of “Swag II”, Bieber was announced as a Coachella headliner.

Even after his comeback kicked off, Bieber’s penchant for candid social media musings raised some concerns that were assuaged by his representative.

After Bieber wrote a post on his verified Instagram in which he said he felt “unworthy” of his life, a representative for the singer said not only was he doing well, but he was undergoing a “transformative” year after ending “several close friendships and business relationships that no longer served him.”

Bieber is no stranger to Coachella. He previously attended as a concertgoer and has made sporadic guest appearances during other artist’s sets, including with Ariana Grande in 2019 and Daniel Caesar and Giveon in 2022. Also, who can forget that sweet moment he shared with fan-turned-Coachella headliner Billie Eilish?

He’s been seemingly warming up for it all year.

In March, Bieber reportedly performed a full set of songs “Swag” and “Swag II” at Los Angeles’s Roxy Theater, presumably in preparation to sing these new songs for the horde of Gen-Zers making their annual migration to the desert this weekend. This came after the Grammys in February, during which he performed “Yukon” wearing only a pair of silverly blue silk boxers.

There was none of the usual fanfare that comes with a Grammys performance — just Bieber, his boxers and a guitar.

Maybe for the Coachella crowd, simply Bieber and all his swag will be enough.

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By Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — Running in a contentious race to keep his seat, Sen. John Cornyn put out an ad vowing to fight “radical Islam.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Cornyn’s opponent in the May 26 runoff, accused his rival of helping “radical Islamic Afghans invade Texas.”

Rep. Chip Roy, running to replace Paxton as attorney general in a runoff next month, has alleged without evidence that parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, home to thousands of Muslims, have become what some Texas women believe to be “no-go zones” in which they are “increasingly feeling uncomfortable, as if they are somehow immersed in the Middle East.”

Certain Republicans in Texas have made anti-Islamic rhetoric part of their primary campaigns, arguing that Muslims have made the state less safe. That’s a notable message in the nation’s largest conservative state and one that’s echoed by a handful of Republicans nationally, including members of Congress.

Border issues have long animated conservatives – particularly in Texas, which has the longest section of US-Mexico border of any state – and were seen as critical to President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.

Vinny Minchillo, a Republican strategist based in Plano, Texas, said that with illegal immigration hitting lows during Trump’s presidency, it made sense for GOP candidates to drive at another immigration-related concern and that opposition to Sharia law, or Islamic religious law, in particular was a winner in primaries.

“It is playing as well as anything I have ever seen with Texas Republican voters,” said Minchillo, who worked on the media team for Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign and Mitt Romney’s 2012 bid. “It’s solid gold.”

Muslim leaders living in Texas argue that the ramp-up of rhetoric endangers their communities and spreads misconceptions about Sharia law and about Islam in general.

“These congressmen and these state representatives live in neighborhoods where Muslims live. They shop at stores where Muslims shop,” said Sameena Karmally, an Indian American Muslim who lives in Collin County and previously ran for the state House in 2014.

Particularly with the outbreak of the war with Iran, Karmally argued, “They need some kind of demon and we’re going to be it.”

The recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas, leaned into the issue, featuring a panel called “Don’t Sharia My Texas,” in which one speaker, former Tarrant County GOP chairman Bo French, denounced what he called the “Islamification of Texas and America.”

And a number of national Republicans, meanwhile, have called for the deportation of all Muslims or their exclusion from public life. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee wrote: “Muslims don’t belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie.” Texas Rep. Brandon Gill said, “We will never stop Sharia law until we stop Muslim immigration.” Rep. Randy Fine of Florida posted: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

Several candidates in Texas have pointed to a deadly shooting in Austin, the state capital, in which the suspect, a natura

Por Jake McGowan, CNN

Por el precio de una cena en París, alguien se llevará pronto a casa un Picasso valorado en más de US$ 1 millón.

El sorteo “1 Picasso por 100 euros” ofrece a los participantes la oportunidad de ganar el gouache (pintura con base al agua) del artista titulado “Tête de Femme”, realizado en 1941. El precio del boleto es —tal como sugiere el nombre del concurso— de 100 euros, es decir, unos US$ 116.

Se han puesto a la venta un total de 120.000 tickets para el sorteo que se celebrará el 14 de abril. La recaudación se donará a la Fundación para la Investigación del Alzheimer, que respalda la investigación clínica sobre esta enfermedad en toda Europa.

Esta es la tercera edición de la campaña. La primera edición de “1 Picasso por 100 euros” se llevó a cabo en 2013, y los fondos se destinaron a la preservación de Tiro, una ciudad histórica situada en el sur del Líbano. Una segunda edición, celebrada en 2020, apoyó programas de acceso a agua potable e higiene durante el punto álgido de la pandemia de covid-19.

Olivier Widmaier Picasso, nieto del legendario artista español, comentó a Paula Newton, de la CNN, que su abuelo creó “Tête de Femme” en el mismo estudio donde pintó su obra maestra, el “Guernica”.

Asimismo, expresó su convicción de que la obra está infravalorada. “Vale mucho más de US$ 1 millón”, afirmó Widmaier Picasso; “por lo tanto, será realmente un gran premio”.

En el pasado, las obras de Picasso han alcanzado sumas asombrosas en las subastas. “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’)” se vendió por más de US$ 179 millones en 2015.

La Opera Gallery, entidad que ha donado la pintura, señala que Pablo Picasso se encontraba en París cuando pintó “Tête de Femme”. La Segunda Guerra Mundial asolaba Europa y gran parte de Francia se hallaba bajo ocupación alemana.

“Tête de Femme” tiene unos 38 cm de alto por 25 cm de ancho. La expresión de la mujer, plasmada en distintas tonalidades de gris, aparece intencionadamente distorsionada, siguiendo el inconfundible estilo cubista de Picasso. Según la Opera Gallery, este gouache refleja un momento de introspección y de intenso trabajo de estudio por parte del artista. Widmaier Picasso cuenta que fue una amiga suya quien ideó la iniciativa “1 Picasso por 100 euros”.

“Ella consideró que se trataba de una visión moderna de la beneficencia, al ofrecer a la gente la oportunidad de adquirir una obra de arte auténtica de mi abuelo y, al mismo tiempo, participar en acciones humanitarias”, afirmó.

Widmaier Picasso cree que su abuelo habría respaldado la iniciativa “1 Picasso por 100 euros”.

“Mi abuelo fue un pionero en muchos aspectos”, señaló. “Creo que siempre mostró un gran interés por involucrarse en proyectos novedosos. Me atrevería a decir que, de vivir hoy, se habría sentido atraído por el video o, tal vez, por la inteligencia artificial”.

Widmaier Picasso explica que quien resulte ganador de la obra “Tête de Femme” tendrá total libertad para hacer con ella lo que desee. El ganador del primer sorteo, por ejemplo, decidió exponer su premio en un museo.

“El ganador puede hacer lo que quiera”, comentó. “Pueden conservarla en el salón de su casa, exhibirla en una exposición o incluso revenderla”.

Widmaier Picasso añadió que su abuelo habría estado de acuerdo en dejar la decisión en manos del ganador, ya que esa era precisamente su forma de actuar.

Relató que su abuela, Marie-Thérèse Walter —quien tenía apenas 17 años cuando Picasso inició una relación sentimental con ella—, fue colmada de obras de arte. En aquel entonces, el artista rondaba la cuarentena, estaba casado y tenía un hijo pequeño.

Los rasgos de Marie-Thérèse Walter quedaron plasmados en la obra de Picasso a lo largo de la década siguiente. Widmaier Picasso afirma que su abuelo le recompensó así por los años de inspiración que ella le brindó.

“Cuando mi abu

Por Christian Edwards, CNN

Un cartel anuncia con orgullo que la rotonda cerca de Zalaegerszeg, en el oeste de Hungría, se construyó con 500 millones de florines (unos US$ 1,5 millones) de fondos de la Unión Europea (UE).

La rotonda se construyó para dar servicio a una terminal de contenedores en una nueva línea ferroviaria que facilitaría a esta zona sin litoral de Europa central un mejor acceso al mar. En lugar de tener que pasar por Budapest, la capital húngara, las mercancías procedentes de la costa adriática transitarían rápidamente por el oeste del país hacia Eslovaquia, la República Checa, Polonia y otros destinos.

Pero hay un problema. Años después de su construcción, la rotonda sigue sin funcionar. En su lugar, permanece abandonada en un campo, a la espera de que el gobierno húngaro construya la vía férrea que la puede hacer útil.

Los críticos del primer ministro Viktor Orbán afirman que proyectos de construcción financiados por la UE, como estos, son un monumento al sistema económico que su gobierno ha construido durante sus 16 años en el poder. El éxito electoral de Orbán, según ellos, se basa en una implacable demonización de la UE —a la que presenta como una fuerza decadente, liberal y corrupta en Hungría—, al tiempo que aceptó con agrado enormes cantidades de dinero procedente de ella.

Gran parte de ese dinero provino de iniciativas destinadas a ayudar a los miembros más pobres y recientes del bloque —muchos de los cuales formaron parte del Pacto de Varsovia— a alcanzar el nivel de desarrollo de sus vecinos más ricos de Occidente. Sin embargo, ante las cruciales elecciones parlamentarias del domingo, los opositores se preguntan qué beneficios ha obtenido Hungría de toda esta inversión, señalando una serie de proyectos que consideran vanidosos y obras de construcción inacabadas o innecesarias.

“Orbán fue el máximo especulador de rentas en la Unión Europea durante la década de 2010. Fue una estrategia deliberada”, declaró a CNN Krisztián Orbán (sin parentesco), fundador de Oriens, una empresa de inversión en la región. También destacó el éxito del gobierno en la utilización de los fondos asignados, en comparación con sus vecinos, y añadió que Orbán “logró obtener una cantidad ingente de dinero de la UE”.

La rotonda cerca de Zalaegerszeg, reportada inicialmente por el sitio web de investigación húngaro Atlatszo, es uno de los miles de proyectos en Hungría que han recibido financiación de la UE desde que Viktor Orbán llegó al poder. Tibor Navracsis, ministro de Desarrollo Regional, declaró ante el Parlamento húngaro el año pasado que la UE había financiado 52.000 proyectos en el país durante el período presupuestario 2014-2020.

István János Tóth, director del Centro de Investigación sobre la Corrupción de Budapest y originario de Zalaegerszeg, afirmó que la rotonda era un claro ejemplo de un “elefante blanco”: un proyecto de construcción costoso, tanto de construir como de mantener, pero que aporta poco valor.

“Sin los fondos europeos, Orbán no habría podido establecer este tipo de sistema”, declaró Tóth a CNN.

La organización Transparencia Internacional, que vela por la lucha contra la corrupción, ha clasificado a Hungría como el país más corrupto de la UE. CNN ha solicitado comentarios al Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y a la oficina del primer ministro húngaros. El gobierno húngaro suele negar las acusaciones de corrupción o acusar a sus oponentes de ser corruptos.

Las obras de la rotonda comenzaron durante el actual período presupuestario de la UE, que se extiende hasta 2027. Tras adquirir un terreno, Metrans, una empresa de logística que opera en la región, planeaba construir una terminal de contenedores que se conectaría con la nueva línea ferroviaria, también prevista para su construcción.

En una ceremonia celebrada en 2021, el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Hungría, Péter Szijjártó, colocó la pr

By Ashley Strickland, Jackie Wattles, Jacopo Prisco, CNN

(CNN) — After months of anticipation, the monumental 10-day Artemis II mission, which sent four astronauts on a record-breaking flyby of the moon, has concluded. It’s a “mission well accomplished,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman just after splashdown.

The Orion spacecraft, carrying NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 8:07 p.m. ET Friday.

The mission has provided unprecedented images of the moon and a special solar eclipse from space — and afforded unique windows into what it’s like to live inside a campervan-size capsule for a week and a half with three of your closest friends.

The crewmates have shared plenty of live views from inside Orion while working out and enjoying their meals, as well as candid thoughts on what they might bring next time, such as warmer sleeping bags and a spare computer (since one of theirs hasn’t been working properly).

Eloquent words of wisdom, as well as “moon joy,” moments of silliness and extreme poignancy, such as naming a lunar crater after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, have also drawn people around the world to connect with this spaceflight in a way that just feels different than any other mission.

As the astronauts often repeated, this was a test flight, and everything they did was an experiment to prepare for future missions. As NASA reviews the data and sets its sights toward Artemis III, here are five takeaways from the 10-day journey that carried Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen farther into space than any other human before.

Orion still needs some fine-tuning

As would be expected, this test flight turned up several issues that need to be addressed — including the unserious and the potentially detrimental.

The toilet has been one sticking point that’s left the astronauts dismayed. Issues getting wastewater to fully vent outside the capsule plagued this mission, and it occasionally left the toilet unusable when the storage tank filled up. The backup option is unglamorous, involving the use of plastic bags.

It’s not yet clear what caused the toilet woes, but NASA has said it plans to amend the issue before the next Orion flight.

Throughout the mission, Orion also set off some warning messages because of faulty sensors. However, mission controllers have said that’s not too big of a concern.

Perhaps more concerning is an issue with Orion’s service module, which is the cylindrical attachment at the base of the crew capsule that provides oxygen, power supplies and propulsion throughout the flight.

The problem stems from a leak in the service module’s propulsion system, which affects the pressurization of propellant tanks.

NASA knew there might be leaks even before Artemis II took flight, though mission controllers were confident the problem was limited and would not hamper the mission. And it didn’t. But the leak appeared to get worse when the service module fired its main engine for the translunar injection burn on Day 2 of the flight, according to Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator.

While there were no major concerns for this mission, Kshatriya said the service module will need to be fixed for future flights.

It will likely require an “extensive redesign” of the valve system that’s causing the issue, he noted, because the leak grew by “an order of magnitude” during the flight versus what was expected.

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