Por Ivana Kottasová y Svitlana Vlasova, CNN

Rostyslav Lavrov sabía que tenía que escapar. Estaba atrapado en una academia naval rusa en la Crimea ocupada, adonde fue enviado a los 16 años después de que las fuerzas de Moscú tomaran el control de su ciudad natal en la región ucraniana de Jersón. La escuela incluso había intentado darle un nuevo certificado de nacimiento —ruso— para consolidar su transformación en ruso.

Estaba decidido a no permitir que eso ocurriera. Así que, un día de octubre de 2023, Lavrov dijo que salió de su dormitorio y emprendió un viaje secreto de regreso a Ucrania.

Ahora, con 19 años y viviendo en Kyiv, Lavrov es uno de los aproximadamente 2.000 niños y adolescentes ucranianos que han regresado a su país de origen después de haber sido deportados por la fuerza, trasladados ilegalmente o haber quedado varados en Rusia, Bielorrusia o en zonas de Ucrania ocupadas por Rusia.

Muchos de ellos, como Lavrov, tuvieron que salir de manera clandestina porque hacerlo con permiso ruso es casi imposible.

Ucrania ha movilizado al mundo en torno a este tema, construyendo coaliciones internacionales para intentar presionar a Rusia a cooperar. Pero su éxito ha sido limitado. Menos de una cuarta parte de los 2.000 niños que han regresado hasta ahora lo hicieron por canales oficiales: 83 con la ayuda de Qatar y 19 mediante un plan encabezado por la primera dama de Estados Unidos, Melania Trump.

El plan de escape de Lavrov llevaba tres meses en marcha cuando finalmente cruzó por última vez las puertas de la escuela rusa.

Había logrado, en secreto, ponerse en contacto con voluntarios de Save Ukraine, un grupo que rescata a niños atrapados en Rusia y en territorios ocupados por Rusia. Ellos se pusieron manos a la obra, organizando su salida.

“Elegí un día en el que tenía (clases) en otro edificio. Me levanté por la mañana, me puse el uniforme e hice todo con normalidad para que pensaran que iba a estudiar”, dijo Lavrov a CNN, y añadió que voluntarios de Save Ukraine lo estaban esperando para recogerlo en un lugar cercano.

“No me llevé nada conmigo para evitar llamar la atención. Estaba nervioso en los puestos de control, pero traté de mantener la calma y no demostrarlo”. No está seguro de cuánto tiempo tardó exactamente en llegar a territorio controlado por Ucrania, pero calcula que fueron dos días. Más tarde descubrió que el viaje quizá fue incluso más arriesgado de lo que pensaba: las autoridades rusas lo habían declarado “desaparecido y buscado”.

Mykola Kuleba, fundador de Save Ukraine y exdefensor del pueblo para la infancia de Ucrania, dijo que la fuga de Lavrov no era inusual por su naturaleza.

“Es como una operación especial para cada niño”, dijo, pidiendo a CNN que no revele demasiados detalles para no poner a nadie en riesgo. “No trabajamos con las autoridades rusas ni con ningún funcionario en los territorios ocupados, porque es realmente peligroso”, dijo, explicando que, según su experiencia, darles cualquier información conduce a complicaciones. Una vez que Moscú sabe que Ucrania quiere a un niño en particular, hará todo lo que pueda para impedir que regrese, aseguró.

Yulia Dvornychenko vivió de primera mano este tipo de presunta obstrucción rusa.

Fue separada de sus hijos, Danylo, entonces de 17 años, y Mark, de 9, cuando fue arrestada en 2021 en su casa en Torez, una ciudad del este de Ucrania ocupada por separatistas prorrusos desde 2014. Fue acusada de ser una espía ucraniana. Es viuda, y su nueva pareja fue arrestada junto con ella, por lo que le dijeron que sus hijos serían enviados a un orfanato ruso a menos que firmara una confesión falsa, cosa que hizo.

Dieciocho meses después, fue liberada en un intercambio de prisioneros de guerra. Mark seguía en Torez, viviendo con una amiga de

CNN

By Danya Gainor, CNN

(CNN) — As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.

The Trump administration has not clarified what shape ICE agents’ roles would take at airports since they’re not trained to perform security screenings, and TSA screeners are required to undergo months of training. CNN has reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, which includes TSA, for comment.

“The president can have (ICE agents) come there but I don’t see how that helps us in getting through this time period,” Atlanta TSA officer and union steward George Borek told CNN, reiterating the need for proper training.

As leaders in both parties try to work out a deal to fund DHS, which includes 61,000 TSA employees who have been working without paychecks, there are few signs the impasse will break soon on Capitol Hill before a scheduled recess.

Trump’s threat comes as hundreds of TSA agents have quit amid the funding lapse, frustrated travelers are facing dizzying security checkpoint lines at some major airports, and officials are warning it could get worse if the standoff between Republicans and Democrats over federal immigration enforcement continues.

By early Sunday, delays were already mounting. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the TSA wait time stretched beyond two and a half hours, according to a CNN tracker. Meanwhile, travelers at LaGuardia, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental and John F. Kennedy International airports faced waits of more than 40 minutes.

Here’s what lies ahead as chaos and uncertainty continue to cast a shadow over airports across the country:

What’s ahead for travelers

It’s not clear what — if any — relief ICE agents could provide for lengthy security wait times, should the president deploy them. The agents could potentially help in limited roles, like managing lines, directing passengers or helping move people through the checkpoint process, to free up trained TSA officers for critical security functions.

Trump’s announcement also did not specify to which airports ICE agents might be headed.

Bringing in untrained personnel could pose its own problems, Borek said.

“If you bring people in there, they are not trained, they don’t know what they’re looking for, then certainly it could be a problem,” he said. Even trained TSA officers must be recertified after taking medical leave from work for 30 days, Borek said.

And as financial strain and low morale push TSA agents off the job, travelers may expect to see continuing lines weaving through some airports.

For six straight days la

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

(CNN) — We’ve had buzzer-beaters, upsets, top seeds narrowly surviving and national title contenders looking like, well, national title contenders.

It’s been a mad, mad weekend and the Sweet 16 in the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament is starting to take shape.

With eight more games scheduled for Sunday, the men’s tournament will wrap up its first two rounds on Sunday. The women, meanwhile, are just getting started with the Round of 32, finishing up their first weekend action on Monday.

Here’s what you need to know for Sunday’s action.

Iowa State and its injured star

The Midwest No. 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones looked like Final Four contenders on Friday as they eclipsed the century mark with a resounding 108-74 win over the Tennessee State Tigers.

But the joy was tempered by an injury to the Cyclones’ second-team All-American Joshua Jefferson. The senior forward landed awkwardly after a layup and rolled his ankle. Jefferson left the court with assistance from athletic trainers and later returned with a boot on his injured left leg.

The 22-year-old was taken for an x-ray, which came back negative, and was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain, team head coach TJ Otzelberger told reporters after the game.

“We will continue to reevaluate over the next day or two and just see where things are when we get to Sunday and we figure out what time we play,” Otzelberger added.

Iowa State will face the No. 7 seed Kentucky Wildcats in St. Louis, Missouri, in the second round. Kentucky is in the game thanks to the standout moment of the tournament, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that sent their game against Santa Clara into overtime, where they eventually pulled away.

Florida and Arizona look to cruise

The top seeds playing on Sunday barely broke a sweat in their opening games on Friday.

Florida put the hurt on Prairie View A&M on Friday, more than doubling them up with a 114-55 win. Arizona, meanwhile, barely had to get out of second gear against Long Island University, sending the viral 16-seed home after a 92-58 beatdown.

The Gators and Wildcats are Final Four picks for many bracketologists (professional and amateur alike), and it’s likely that they’ll not exactly face huge tests on Sunday. The Gators take on Iowa and Arizona takes on Utah State.

If either the Hawkeyes or the Aggies pull off the major upset, ignore everything you just read.

Bill Self vs. Rick Pitino

What a tasty matchup of coaches we’ll get in the Kansas-St. John’s game.

Two Hall of Fame coaches with multiple national titles going up against each other for a spot in the Sweet 16 – there are few things better.

Self and Kansas have been to 11 Sweet 16s during their time together, which began in 2003, but are looking to get to the second weekend for the first time since winning the 2022 national title. Kansas put together a 24-10 record this year and escaped California Baptist with an eight-point victory on Friday in a game that the Jayhawks would have liked to be a little less stressful.

Pitino and St. John’s, meanwhile, had that stressless experience. The Johnnies – smarting at being chosen as a 5-see despite being the Big East regular season and tournament champions – smacked Northern Iowa 79-53 and are looking to go further than they did in last year’s tournament. In that Round of 32 defeat to Arkansas, Pitino was defeated by another Hall of Fame contemporary, John Calipari and Arkansas.

Pitino has been to the Sweet 16 with th

Por Dan Heching, CNN

Nicholas Brendon, quien interpretó al personaje de Xander en la exitosa serie de televisión de los años 90 “Buffy, la cazavampiros” (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), ha muerto. Tenía 54 años.

La noticia fue confirmada en una publicación del Instagram verificado de Brendon el viernes. En ella se indicó que el actor murió mientras dormía por causas naturales.

“La mayoría de la gente conoce a Nicky por su trabajo como actor y por los personajes a los que dio vida a lo largo de los años. En los últimos años, Nicky encontró su pasión en la pintura y el arte. A Nicky le encantaba compartir su entusiasta talento con su familia, amigos y fans”, decía el comunicado.

“Era apasionado, sensible y estaba impulsado sin descanso a crear. Quienes realmente lo conocían entendían que su arte era uno de los reflejos más puros de quién era”.

Un comunicado posterior compartido con CNN por la representante de Brendon, Rebecca Taylor, en nombre de su familia, añadió: “Aunque no es un secreto que Nicholas tuvo dificultades en el pasado, estaba con medicación y en tratamiento para manejar su diagnóstico, y se mostraba optimista sobre el futuro en el momento de su fallecimiento”.

El comunicado concluyó pidiendo privacidad para la familia.

El actor era más conocido por interpretar a Xander Harris, el mejor amigo de Buffy Summers, en la exitosa serie de WB “Buffy, la cazavampiros”, que se emitió durante siete temporadas desde 1997 hasta 2003. (WB, al igual que CNN, forman parte de Warner Bros. Discovery).

Un año después de que “Buffy” terminara su emisión, el actor ingresó voluntariamente en un centro de rehabilitación debido a un problema con el alcohol, según el Los Angeles Times.

Sus problemas continuaron en 2010, según informó People en ese momento, cuando volvió a ingresar en rehabilitación tras un incidente con la Policía.

En 2014 y 2015, Brendon fue arrestado varias veces más en Florida, Carolina del Sur y Nueva York, y entró en programas por depresión, alcoholismo y abuso de sustancias al menos dos veces, informó la revista.

Fue arrestado nuevamente en 2017 después de que presuntamente atacara a su novia en una habitación de hotel en California.

Los problemas médicos públicos de Brendon comenzaron en 2021, cuando, según se informó, sufrió parálisis en el cuerpo debido a un problema en la columna vertebral, lo que derivó en múltiples cirugías.

Al año siguiente, Brendon sufrió lo que su familia describió entonces como un “incidente cardíaco (taquicardia/arritmia)”.

La actriz Sarah Michelle Gellar, quien interpretó a Buffy en la serie, publicó un homenaje a Brendon a primera hora del sábado.

Haciéndose eco de líneas que él dijo como Xander en la serie, escribió en Instagram: “Nunca sabrán lo duro que es ser el que no es elegido. Vivir tan cerca del foco y no pisarlo nunca. Pero yo lo sé. Veo más de lo que cualquiera se da cuenta, porque nadie me está mirando”. Gellar añadió: “Te vi, Nicky. Sé que estás en paz, en esa gran mecedora en el cielo”.

La actriz Alyson Hannigan, quien interpretó a Willow en “Buffy”,

By Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — The 18-year-old from Pennsylvania had just been arrested for allegedly attempting to detonate two bombs at a New York City protest when he arrived to the NYPD precinct on March 7.

As laid out in a criminal complaint, Emir Balat waived his Miranda rights, took paper and pen, and wrote out a message: “I pledge my allegience (sic) to the Islamic State.”

Just days afterward, a 36-year-old man who had previously served nearly a decade in prison for attempting to aid ISIS opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia. He killed one person and wounded two before he was killed.

With those incidents, the men joined an infamous group of suspected terrorists across the world who have expressed loyalty to and carried out violence in the name of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

But why exactly do they “pledge allegiance” to a “state” that is no longer a state? And what spurs someone to not just attack innocent people, but to then make a statement of loyalty while doing so?

Experts on extremism and jihadist terrorism said this pledge of allegiance is an important aspect of these attacks for the individual terrorist, for the group and for the American legal system.

“In their self-conception, they see themselves as soldiers of Allah fighting on behalf of ISIS,” said Peter Bergen, CNN national security analyst and author of “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists.” “They conceive of themselves as doing something fairly heroic, even though of course it’s kind of the opposite.”

A pledge of allegiance “gives meaning to something that is sort of essentially meaningless, which is attacking innocent strangers. It allows them to frame themselves as heroes when often they’re zeroes.”

‘They want to be a part of something’

In Islamic tradition, pledging allegiance to a leader is formally known as “bay’ah.” But in the case of many terrorist suspects, this pledge of allegiance to ISIS is as simple as saying or writing a few words.

For example, during the 2016 attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the attacker pledged his allegiance to ISIS in a call to 911. In the 2016 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, one of the two attackers posted a message on Facebook declaring allegiance to the former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

For the terrorist suspect, this pledge makes them part of a broader group and gives them a sense of meaning, experts said.

“As long as you pledge allegiance to the group and carry out actions that support the group, you are a soldier of the caliphate and a member of ISIS,” said Lorenzo Vidino, the director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

That’s especially the case for terrorist suspects who became radicalized online by watching propaganda.

“For the individuals who are radicalized, there’s a sense of belonging to a group,” Vidino said. “You are part of ISIS. It doesn’t matter that you’ve never traveled outside of the US or never met anybody who’s in ISIS.”

Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, a nonprofit that works to prevent extremist violence, said this mentality applies to many types of violent actors.

“Very often they’re looking for recognition and association,” he said. “They want to be a part of something. Then (they) end up going on sites that ca