Por Hanna Ziady, CNN

Los precios del petróleo subieron el martes después de que los nuevos enfrentamientos nocturnos entre Israel e Irán redujeran las esperanzas de que el fin de la guerra en Medio Oriente, que ya lleva cuatro semanas, fuera inminente.

El crudo Brent, la referencia mundial del petróleo, subió casi un 1,8 % hasta los US$ 101,7 por barril. El WTI, la referencia estadounidense, aumentó un 2,8 % hasta los US$ 90,6 por barril.

El lunes, el precio del Brent superó los US$ 114 por barril ante la preocupación por una posible escalada importante después de que el presidente Donald Trump amenazara con “arrasar” las centrales eléctricas iraníes si Teherán no reabría el estrecho de Ormuz.

El precio del petróleo se desplomó, cerrando en US$ 99,94 al cierre del día, después de que Trump elogiara las “conversaciones muy buenas y productivas” con Irán sobre el fin de la guerra. También pospuso durante cinco días los ataques militares contra las centrales eléctricas iraníes y otras infraestructuras energéticas.

Irán ha negado cualquier diálogo con Washington; sin embargo, fuentes han informado a CNN que otros países, como Turquía y Egipto, están llevando a cabo esfuerzos de mediación. Mientras tanto, Pakistán se ha ofrecido a ser sede de las negociaciones .

Los mercados financieros interpretaron como una excelente noticia las señales de que ambas partes podrían estar dialogando, ya que abrían la posibilidad de una solución mucho más rápida al conflicto, escribió Jim Reid, jefe de investigación macroeconómica global de Deutsche Bank, en una nota el martes. “Obviamente, mucho depende ahora del progreso de las conversaciones y de si la retórica más optimista se traduce en acciones concretas”, añadió.

A pesar de los informes sobre conversaciones entre ambas partes, Irán e Israel, aliado de Estados Unidos, continuaron intercambiando ataques durante la noche. Las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel enviaron equipos de búsqueda y rescate a varios lugares, incluyendo Tel Aviv, en la madrugada del martes, tras un ataque con misiles iraníes. Mientras tanto, la fuerza aérea israelí atacó más de 50 objetivos en Irán durante la noche, según informaron las autoridades israelíes. Los ataques israelíes contra el sur del Líbano también se han intensificado .

Los mercados bursátiles mostraron un comportamiento mixto el martes, mientras los inversores sopesaban las esperanzas de un pronto fin de la guerra frente a las pruebas de los ataques ocurridos durante la noche. Los mercados asiáticos redujeron parte de las pérdidas del lunes y cerraron al alza en Seúl, Tokio y Hong Kong.

En Europa, los mercados cayeron en la sesión matutina, revirtiendo parcialmente las ganancias del día anterior. Los futuros estadounidenses también apuntaban a una apertura a la baja. “El optimismo de ayer fue efímero y no se ha mantenido hoy”, afirmó Neil Wilson, estratega de la plataforma de inversión Saxo, en una nota publicada el martes.

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* WHAT…Temperatures between 86 and 94 expected.

* WHERE…San Luis Obispo County Beaches, San Luis Obispo County
Inland Central Coast, Santa Barbara County Central Coast Beaches,
Santa Barbara County Inland Central Coast, Santa Lucia Mountains,
and Santa Ynez Valley.

* WHEN…Until 8 PM PDT this evening.

* IMPACTS…There is a high risk for heat illness for sensitive
populations including the very young, the very old, those without
air conditioning, and those active outdoors.
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in
shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat
should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an
emergency! Call 9 1 1.

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By Hanna Ziady, CNN

London (CNN) — Oil prices rose Tuesday after fresh fighting overnight between Israel and Iran diminished hopes that an end to the Middle East war, now in its fourth week, might be imminent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed almost 1.8% to $101.7 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, rose 2.8% to $90.6 a barrel.

Brent had reached more than $114 a barrel Monday on worries about a major escalation after US President Donald Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The oil price then plunged, settling at $99.94 for the day, after Trump hailed “very good and productive conversations” with Iran about ending the war. He also postponed for five days military strikes against Iranian power plants and other energy infrastructure.

Iran has denied any dialogue with Washington, however, though sources have told CNN that mediation efforts are underway by other countries, including Turkey and Egypt. Pakistan, meanwhile, has offered to host negotiations.

Financial markets took signs that the two sides might be talking as a “huge positive,” because it opened up the possibility of a “much quicker end to the conflict,” Jim Reid, head of global macroeconomic research at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note Tuesday. “Obviously much now depends on the progress of any talks, and whether the more optimistic rhetoric is followed up by concrete action,” he added.

Despite reports of talks between the two parties, Iran and US ally Israel continued to trade strikes overnight. The Israel Defense Forces sent search and rescue teams to “several sites,” including in Tel Aviv, in the early hours of Tuesday, following a barrage of missiles from Iran. Meanwhile, Israel’s air force struck more than 50 targets in Iran overnight, Israeli authorities said. Israeli strikes against southern Lebanon have also intensified.

Stock markets were mixed Tuesday, as traders weighed hopes for a prompt end to the war against evidence of attacks overnight. Asian markets pared some of Monday’s losses to close higher in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

In Europe, markets fell in morning trade, partly reversing the previous day’s gains. US futures also pointed to a weaker open. “The peak optimism from yesterday didn’t last long and has not really followed through today,” Neil Wilson, a strategist at investment platform Saxo, said in a note Tuesday.

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By Sunlen Serfaty, Betsy Klein, CNN

(CNN) — The new director of the Kennedy Center is a young, well-liked facilities manager who most recently was “in charge of HVAC and toilets” — as one former colleague put it — at the renowned performing arts institution.

Moments after the Kennedy Center board voted to rename the institution the “Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” Matt Floca was outside in the December cold directing the crew installing the letters of Trump’s name on the building’s facade.

Three months later, Floca has been unexpectedly thrust into a pivotal role at the nation’s preeminent arts institution as it prepares to undergo a renovation that will see it close for two years. He is well-liked by Trump, with whom he has bonded over a shared passion for building and construction, according to people familiar with the dynamic.

The president suddenly announced earlier this month that he would replace Ric Grenell, a longtime ally, with Floca, whose background is rooted in facilities and construction.

While Kennedy Center insiders say Floca is a capable hand who can steady the ship in the short term, he is being seen as a “Band-Aid” for the institution’s ills who can oversee renovations but not much else.

“He really will just be overseeing the facility, the renovation, because Matt’s expertise does not lie in marketing, it does not lie in artistic programming, it doesn’t lie in fundraising, it doesn’t lie in literally any other category of arts management other than the facility itself,” a source close to the Kennedy Center told CNN.

“During the two-year renovation there will no doubt need to be a leader in charge of the everything else,” the person added.

“He was in charge of HVAC and toilets. He’s deeply an operations guy, he wants to talk about structural engineering and load capacity,” a former colleague at the Kennedy Center said of Floca.

Still, within the Kennedy Center, Floca is trusted and seen as apolitical. Many see him as a stabilizing force following a tumultuous year with Grenell at the helm, during which the institution saw high-profile performance cancellations and plunging ticket sales.

Floca’s promotion reflected Trump’s urgency to replace Grenell, another source close to the Kennedy Center said. As Trump grew increasingly unhappy with Grenell, having him continue to lead felt untenable, and Floca was put in place as a “stopgap” measure, another person said.

On Monday, Floca penned a “Dear Colleague” letter to Kennedy Center staff. The email, obtained by CNN, acknowledged the changes and promised an open-door policy to answer questions ahead.

“I deeply appreciate the trust placed in me during this pivotal time and am committed to carrying out the physical restoration of the Center with the same care and attention to quality as you bring to work every day,” he said in the email.

CNN asked Floca and the Kennedy Center for

By Rafael Romo, Devon M. Sayers, CNN

(CNN) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to testify Tuesday in the trial of former Florida congressman David Rivera, a close friend and political ally who faces money laundering charges.

Prosecutors say that between 2017 and 2018, Rivera and Esther Nuhfer, Rivera’s former business partner, lobbied US officials including Rubio with the goal of reestablishing diplomatic relations between the United States and Venezuela on behalf of former president Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Relations between the two countries at the time were antagonistic as President Donald Trump, serving his first term in office, had imposed a series of sanctions against Maduro’s socialist regime.

According to the indictment, both Rivera, 60, and Nuhfer, 51, acted as foreign agents without registering with the Department of Justice, a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and to launder funds to conceal and promote his criminal conduct.

Rubio is not named in the indictment and has not been accused of wrongdoing. The State Department has not responded to requests for comments about Rubio’s testimony.

Attorneys for Rivera and Nuhfer declined to comment on the charges, as did the government of Venezuela.

In addition to Rubio, other high profile political figures and former government officials are also listed to testify, including Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, former White House adviser to Trump Kellyanne Conway, and former US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Otto Reich. The trial began Monday in Miami.

Rivera served as a GOP member of Congress between 2011 and 2013, later becoming a lobbyist.

In an interview with CNN-affiliate WFOR in 2022, Rubio acknowledged his close friendship with Rivera.

“The guy and I were roommates in Tallahassee over a decade-and-a-half ago … he’s someone I’ve known for a very long time. We’ve worked closely; but not on this,” Rubio said. “In the end, it’s nothing to do with me … The truth of the matter is that it has nothing to do with me, but people like to ask it because they think it would be interesting if there was something there … nothing to do with me.”

According to the indictment, Rivera was paid millions of dollars for his work by PDV USA, a US subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, to lobby American politicians for improved relations between the two nations and prevent “the United States from imposing additional economic sanctions” against Venezuela’s president and “other members of his regime.”

US officials said Rivera signed a $50 million contract with PDV USA in 2017. Rivera’s attorney and the government of Venezuela declined CNN’s request for comment on the charges. An attorney for Nuhfer also declined to comment on the charges.

“The final contract signed by David Rivera provided for five installments payments of $5,000,000 each and a final payment of $25,000,000, for a total of $50,000,000, over the course of three months,” according to the indictment, alleging that both R