Por Jack Guy, CNN

Un arqueólogo encontró restos que cree que pertenecen al célebre mosquetero francés D’Artagnan en una iglesia de los Países Bajos, lo que podría resolver el misterio sobre el lugar de descanso final del héroe más de tres siglos después de su muerte.

El esqueleto fue hallado enterrado en una tumba frente al altar de la iglesia de San Pedro y San Pablo en la ciudad neerlandesa de Maastricht, junto a una bala de mosquete y una pequeña moneda de bronce acuñada en 1660, indicó a CNN este jueves el arqueólogo independiente local Wim Dijkman.

Esta evidencia física coincide con los registros históricos que señalan que D’Artagnan, cuyo nombre completo era Charles de Batz de Castelmore, murió tras recibir un disparo en la garganta con una bala de mosquete durante el asedio francés a Maastricht en 1673.

El asedio formó parte de la guerra franco-neerlandesa, una guerra de expansión francesa que buscaba tomar el control de los Países Bajos españoles. D’Artagnan fue inmortalizado posteriormente en la novela de 1844 Los tres mosqueteros, del autor francés Alexandre Dumas, y, en tiempos modernos, en películas y series de televisión.

Dijkman, exarqueólogo de la ciudad de Maastricht, dijo a CNN que llevaba unos 25 años solicitando a las autoridades eclesiásticas permiso para realizar excavaciones en el lugar, desde que conoció a la historiadora francesa Odile Bordaz, especialista en D’Artagnan.

Bordaz sostenía desde hace tiempo que el cuerpo del mosquetero probablemente fue enterrado cerca del campamento francés, en lugar de ser trasladado a Francia para que el rey Luis XIV pudiera asistir personalmente al entierro de su leal servidor.

Cuando Dijkman conoció a Bordaz y le dijo que vivía en Maastricht, ella le pidió que buscara los restos del mosquetero, algo que ahora él cree haber logrado.

“Estoy muy seguro”, dijo Dijkman, quien, no obstante, espera los resultados de pruebas para comparar el ADN del esqueleto con el de dos personas que afirman ser descendientes de D’Artagnan, así como un análisis de isótopos de estroncio que permitirá determinar la región en la que nació la persona a la que pertenecen los restos.

“Soy científico. Soy arqueólogo. Quiero estar lo más seguro posible”, afirmó.

Además, Jos Valke, diácono de la iglesia, señaló que una carta que informaba sobre la muerte de D’Artagnan indicaba que había sido enterrado en tierra consagrada.

“Bueno, bajo un altar… no podría ser mucho más sagrado que eso”, dijo Valke a Reuters.

“Si se suma todo, nos parece plausible. Pero, por supuesto, aún nada es seguro”, añadió.

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By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — A man who has since fled to China was charged with placing an improvised explosive device outside the visitor’s center at a Florida military base housing US Central Command, which is leading the joint US-Israeli war effort against Iran.

During a press conference Thursday, US Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, Gregory W. Kehoe, detailed how investigators believe the man, Alen Zheng, placed the IED at the base and how his sister — Ann Mary Zheng — helped him cover up his crime and flee to China.

Kehoe said investigators do not have evidence that a foreign country is connected to the crime and are still investigating Zheng’s possible motivations.

According to prosecutors, Zheng — as an unnamed caller — made a 911 call minutes after placing the explosive device on March 10, saying there was a bomb at the MacDill Air Force base while not providing a location for the device.

The base was searched but no device was located until March 16, six days later, Kehoe said, when the IED was found in a secluded area near the base’s visitor’s center. Federal law enforcement analyzed the explosive and determined it was viable, officials said during the press conference but did not explain why the bomb never detonated.

By the time they had located the device, Zheng and his sister had fled to China, Kehoe said. Investigators traced the 911 call back to a phone Zheng had purchased at Best Buy and later found explosive material in his home as well as residue from the IED in the car he used to transport the device, Kehoe said.

Zheng has been charged with three counts including making an explosive device and attempt to damage government property. Zheng’s sister traveled back to the US on March 17 and was later arrested and charged with allegedly helping Zheng flee and sell the car authorities say he used.

“Why she came back I don’t know,” Kehoe said. She pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday, according to court records.

The siblings are US citizens, Kehoe said, adding that he didn’t know if they held any dual citizenship. Kehoe said that when officials interviewed Ann Mary Zheng and her mother — who they did not name — the two admitted knowing that Zheng had planted the device.

Zheng’s mother is “in custody for deportation,” Kehoe said, because she overstayed her visa.

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By Camila DeChalus, CNN

(CNN) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick appeared before the House Ethics Committee on Thursday in a rare public hearing to face allegations she stole millions in federal disaster funds and used it to bolster her 2021 campaign.

The “trial” places renewed attention on how Congress polices its own members, and increases pressure on Democrats, who have before seized on the high-profile indictments and ethics proceedings of their Republican colleagues — including pushing to expel then-Rep. George Santos – as they look to win back power in Washington. While separate from criminal proceedings underway against Cherfilus-McCormick, the hearing could ultimately determine what, if any, punishment she may face from her fellow lawmakers.

“The allegations before us are extremely serious. They not only concern an individual member’s conduct, they also implicate the public’s confidence in the house’s integrity as an institution,” said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California, the top Democrat on the committee, acknowledging the severity of the allegations against the Florida congresswoman.

“Today at a time when public confidence in our institution is so low, this committee’s role in enforcing congressional ethics process and defending the integrity the house could not be more important,” he continued.

Cherfilus-McCormick’s legal counsel argued during the public portion of the proceeding that the panel should pause its investigation amid an ongoing federal case, arguing it could risk violating “her constitutional rights to a fair trial.”

“How can she possibly go into court and have a fair trial if her jurors have already heard that she was found guilty by the House of Representative? It’s an impossibility,” attorney William Barzee told lawmakers.

But some lawmakers pushed back.

“We’re not in a court of law. We’re not dealing in a criminal matter. We are a body that’s unique unto itself. We’re dealing with rules. We’re not dealing with any type of criminal adjudication, I want to just push back on that a little bit that we are not violating her constitutional rights,” Republican Rep. Brad Knott of North Carolina said.

In November, the Justice Department indicted Cherfilus-McCormick on charges, with prosecutors accusing her of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency overpayments that her family health care company had received through a federally funded Covid-19 vaccination staffing contract. Prosecutors allege that some of those funds were then used to benefit her campaign through candidate contributions.

The congresswoman, who is serving her second full term in office, pleaded not guilty to those charges last month.

At the time of the indictment, Attorney General Pam Bondi called the alleged conduct “a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” saying that “no one is above the law.”

In a previously issued report, the Office of Congressional Ethics found that Cherfilus-McCormick’s income in 2021 was more than $6 million higher than in 2020, driven by nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received for work for Trinity Healthcare Services. The House Ethics Committee voted unanimously in July to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee for the 119th Congress to examine allegations involving the congresswoman.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the allegations against Cherfilus-McCormick “a very serious matter,” but noted the internal process must play out.

“Expulsion, obviously, is effectively the political death penalty. There are occasions that that me

WASHINGTON D.C. (KEYT) – On Thursday, members of California's Congressional delegation hosted a press conference regarding the impact of the Trump Administration's expansion of oil and natural gas development in previously protected waters.

The U.S. Department of Interior announced its plans to replace the existing offshore leasing program in the outer continental shelf in November of last year with an expansive program that would open up over one billion acres of currently protected ocean environment to leasing and development.

Under Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Secretary of Interior is required to approve a five-year schedule for oil and gas leases in federal waters.

November's announcement would terminate existing restrictions under the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program approved during the Biden Administration and includes at least 34 potential offshore lease sales including six along the Pacific coast.

"Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market," noted Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum back in November.

In total, an area of approximately 1.27 billion acres will be opened to oil and gas lease sales including 21 areas off the coast of Alaska and seven in the Gulf Coast region.

In January of 2025 at the end of the his administration, President Biden approved federal protection for over 600 million acres of open ocean in the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf Coast, and Arctic regions which withdrew those areas from future leasing using two Presidential Memoranda.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law on July 4 of this year by President Trump and required changes to leasing opportunities along the outer continental shelf.

The six proposed leases along the California coast would be the first attempt to develop those areas for oil and gas extraction in over 40 years.

"Despite clear opposition from public officials, environmental experts, and residents across our state, the Administration has proposed to sell California’s coastline to Big Oil," stated Congressman Salud Carbajal in November. "Trump’s plan puts delicate marine ecosystems at risk and threatens the public health of coastal communities across the West Coast – all so oil executives can line their pockets. The Central Coast knows the devastating consequences of oil spills fi