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Por Kevin Liptak, Tal Shalev, Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen y Sarah Ferris, CNN

En reuniones casi diarias con altos mandos militares en la Casa Blanca, el presidente Donald Trump ha analizado opciones que incluyen el envío de tropas estadounidenses a Irán.

La decisión de seguir adelante con la guerra es quizás la más difícil que ha tenido que tomar desde que comenzaron los ataques estadounidenses el 28 de febrero.

Para muchos aliados de Trump en Washington, el despliegue de miles de soldados estadounidenses en Medio Oriente significaría el fin inmediato de su apoyo público a la guerra y probablemente pondría en peligro la capacidad del Gobierno para conseguir los cientos de miles de millones de dólares en fondos adicionales que la Casa Blanca solicitará próximamente.

Pero para Trump, lograr plenamente sus objetivos y mitigar las consecuencias de la guerra podría requerir el envío de efectivos estadounidenses, una decisión que definirá su legado y que el presidente, si bien no la descartó, intentó minimizar esta semana.

“No voy a enviar tropas a ningún sitio”, dijo Trump el jueves en el Despacho Oval. “Si lo hiciera, desde luego no se lo diría”.

Mientras la guerra de Trump en Irán entra en su cuarta semana, aumenta la presión para obtener una visión más clara de cómo concluirá el conflicto. Las repercusiones económicas han llevado a muchos de los aliados republicanos de Trump, que se enfrentan a un difícil panorama político de cara a las elecciones de mitad de mandato en noviembre, a instarlo a encontrar una salida.

Aún se desconoce en gran medida cómo se logrará esto. El viernes por la noche, Trump pareció reconocer tácitamente las dudas sobre su plan final cuando dijo que consideraría poner fin a la guerra pronto, incluso mientras nuevas unidades de la Infantería de Marina se dirigían a la región.

Según el cronograma que Trump y sus asesores han presentado públicamente, la cuarta semana —que se cumple el próximo sábado— abre la ventana para el punto final previsto de la campaña militar. Trump ha declarado que la misión va “adelantada” y ha sugerido que terminará más rápido de lo que nadie imagina.

Pero a una semana de alcanzar esa meta, los ambiciosos objetivos que se fijó al inicio de la guerra siguen sin concretarse, mientras las consecuencias del conflicto se extienden y su costo —tanto en dólares como en vidas— continúa aumentando.

La decisión de Irán de cerrar el estrecho de Ormuz ha provocado una conmoción económica mundial y ha generado críticas que señalan que la decisión de Trump de atacar a Irán no fue debidamente meditada.

Funcionarios estadounidenses están intentando con ahínco evitar un posible cierre de varios meses. Reconocen en privado que la reapertura de esta vía marítima clave es un problema sin una solución clara, y que depende, al menos en parte, de hasta dónde esté dispuesto a llegar Trump para presionar al régimen iraní, según informaron a CNN varios funcionarios de la administración y de inteligencia.

También existe una creciente divergencia entre los objetivos de Estados Unidos e Israel, lo que plantea interrogantes sobre el desenlace que cada país prevé. En privado, Israel entiende que el calendario político de Trump es considerablemente más corto que el del primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu, para poner fin al conflicto.

“No cabe duda de que su ritmo político es más corto y preciso que el nuestro”, declaró un funcionario israelí a CNN refiriéndose a Trump. “En el momento en que decida detenerse, lo hará, dirá: ‘Ganamos’, y punto”.

El sistema israelí se está preparando para la posibilidad de que “todo pueda terminar en un instante”, añadió el funcionario.

Trump declaró a CNN el viernes que creía que Israel estaría listo para poner fin a la guerra cuando él lo estuviera.

“Creo que sí”, afirmó, y agregó: “Queremos cosas más o menos similares. Ambos q

By Alexandra Skores, CNN

Washington, DC (CNN) — At 20 airports in the United States, security screening is handled not by the Transportation Security Administration, but by private companies — and their checkpoints aren’t seeing long lines.

Airports like San Francisco International, Kansas City International, Orlando Sanford, and 17 smaller facilities participate in TSA’s Screening Partnership Program which uses contractors at the checkpoints.

The private companies have avoided the large-scale absences some airports that use TSA staff are struggling with right now during the partial government shutdown.

“These 20 airports are completely oblivious to the government shutdown,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a founder professor of computer science who analyzes data to improve aviation security.

“Airport lines got you down?” VMD Corp., which runs the checkpoints in Kansas City and Orlando Sanford International, asked on social media. “The professional teams at our SPP (Screening Partnership Programs) airports have less than 3 minute lines.”

Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have both seen wait times exceed two hours this week, as more than a third of TSA employees at each airport didn’t show up to work.

The government-employed screeners have not gotten paid in more than a month as Congress remains locked in a stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security due to immigration reform.

Yet, the logjam has not impacted screeners who work for private companies.

“All operations at the privatized airports are normal because we continue paying our employees during the shutdown,” said Nat Carmack of BOS Security, which screens passengers at Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi. “Our employees have never missed a paycheck during any of the government shutdowns.”

Carmack said while employees are getting paid, the company will have to cover the expense while it waits for the government to reopen and pay its bills.

“As a small business, it’s a burden, but we cover those payrolls until the government reopens and processes our invoices,” Carmack said.

All private airport security operations remain under federal oversight and must comply with the same rules TSA agents follow. The companies do get to decide how many people to hire and what to pay them.

Keith Jeffries is the former TSA federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport and current vice president of K2 Security Screening Group. He said airports always have the choice to use private companies for screening, but what happens at the checkpoint stays the same, no matter who is operating it.

The security screeners with private companies “receive the same type of training as TSA,” Jeffries said.

Not a quick fix for staffing shortages

Airports experiencing problems with TSA staff not showing up during this current shutdown can’t simply call a contractor and bring in private employees within a few days.

For an airport to implement private screening, it must first get permission from TSA. If approved, a contract could be issued within a year. TSA would select the company that could take over within six months, according to BOS Security.

The transition and application process might bar larger airports to opt in, as they might have a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude, Jeffries said.

BOS Security points t

By Joseph Ataman, Isobel Yeung, Brice Laine and Sarah Dadouch, CNN

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) — Lebanon is a nation that’s no stranger to war, but this conflict feels different.

Just 18 months ago, Israeli bombs rained down across the country for weeks. Intent on defanging the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah and uprooting it from its strongholds, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded the country’s south.

Now, the country is wracked by the terror of a new, heavier bombardment, with more than 1,000 dead since March 2, when Hezbollah fired projectiles into Israel to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, sparking Israeli retaliation.

In the capital Beirut, walls bear the scars of conflicts past. Although much of the city lives under an uneasy calm, the conflict is impossible to miss.

“I keep thinking it’s traffic,” one taxi driver told CNN. “And then I remember it’s all the parked cars.”

Along nearly every major road in central Beirut, cars shelter families displaced by war, turning normally gridlocked lanes into impromptu camps for desperate people.

In the southern village of Irkay, CNN attended the funeral of five children aged between six and 13, killed in a single strike on their grandparents’ house.

Both grandparents died in the blast – which flattened the house – as well as two uncles, one of whom was in a house across the street.

The relatives were laid to rest as Israeli strikes blasted in the background. “May God destroy you, Israel!” yelled one woman in the congregation.

There was no sign that the destroyed house had been used for military purposes.

Just over 100 children died in the 2024 conflict, according to UNICEF figures, a number that has already been topped during Israel’s ongoing strikes.

The Israeli military has killed at least 111 children since the war began, according to Lebanese health ministry figures – a death toll that has raised questions about the number of child or other civilian casualties that the IDF is willing to accept when prosecuting airstrikes.

But IDF international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani put the blame for the civilian losses on Hezbollah.

“We have a terror organization who have a strategy to put our civilians in the line of fire and their civilians in the line of fire. We’re doing everything we can to avoid that,” he told CNN.

“We’ve seen it with Gaza, there’s a heavy price of war – it doesn’t mean that one side or the stronger side is conducting it in the wrong way.”

Mohammed Rida Taqi, father of four of the killed children, who was also hurt in the attack, said there was no Hezbollah presence at the home.

“Were there any Hezbollah martyrs?” he asked. “We’re a family.”

“The people of the south do not bow down,” he added. “Not to Israel and not to America, which is supporting them with weapons.”

While strikes are generally preceded by alerts from the IDF, there was no warning for the blast that struck at the heart of Irkay.

“It feels like we’re living our whole lives waiting for that post or that message or that WhatsApp forwarded message that says ‘Alert,’” Kim Moawad, 38, told CNN from Beirut.

“Then you’re all worked up,” she said. “You’re almost disappointed if there’s no strike because you’re just waiting for it.”

“You weirdly feel comforted when they strike because you feel like, okay, it’s over.”

The precision of some assassination strikes in Beirut – often hitting a single window without warning – has added a new psychological terror to the conflict. These strikes have become a staple of this round of fighting, with no apparent limits: central Beirut, Christian neighborhoods, even near IDP tents of displaced people, have all come under fir

By Lisa Courbebaisse and Elina Baudier Kim, CNN

Paris (CNN) — Anyone visiting Paris just over a decade ago would doubtless have been charmed by the city’s timeless attractions — brasseries serving delicious food, museums crammed with famous works of art, boulevards of chic stores — all overlooked by the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.

But despite being home to one of Europe’s busiest metro systems, they would’ve found Paris still very much ruled by la voiture. Back then, the French capital’s central road networks crawled with automobiles. Pedestrians were squeezed onto narrow sidewalks and, on the terraces of the city’s cafés, customers were served exhaust fumes with their coffee and croissant.

Today, Paris is different. Tourists stroll more freely than ever on pedestrianized streets, breathing cleaner air. For those wanting to get around by bike, there are hundreds of miles of cycle lanes to transport them safely across town.

Much of this is down to one woman: Anne Hidalgo, a Spanish immigrant who rose to become the city’s first female mayor, and one of its most dynamic in modern times. She’s now one of Paris’ most globally recognizable leaders, particularly following her symbolic swim in the Seine during the 2024 Olympics, highlighting her years-long campaign to clean up the once-dirty river.

But while tourists may have cause to thank Hidalgo as she bows out of office this month after 12 transformative years, many Parisians are disssatisfied about the state she has left their city in.

Reclaiming the streets

Beyond the pedestrianized streets and bike lanes, the familiar cacophony of drivers honking their frustration is, if anything, louder than ever — as are the grumbles from those who rely on buses now snarled in endless jams.

“Boulevard des Batignolles is constantly jammed,” remarks 73-year-old Katherine, who has experienced decades of life on the wide Parisian thoroughfare during her time as a resident of the surrounding 9th district. “Sometimes seven buses get stuck in a row!”

Addressing gridlocked traffic and getting citizens walking was one of the priorities for Hidalgo, a member of France’s Socialist Party, when she was elected mayor in 2014. Her administration removed parking spaces and banned cars from entire streets and plazas. The number of cars in the city has been drastically reduced.

This has gone down well with many of the millions of tourists who visit Paris each year. “Making it walkable is definitely number one for me” said Leon Crawford, a 23-year-old structural engineer visiting from Virginia with his girlfriend.

“That’s something I appreciate being able to do. The fact that we’re able to come here for a vacation and not have to worry about renting a car.”

Hidalgo’s pedestrianization drive gained some local support from parents, particularly a “Rues aux Ecoles” or “Streets for Schools” campaign that permanently blocked traffic on 100 streets around public schools.

“In a very concrete-heavy neighborhood with few parks, we’ve gained extra outdoor space for kids, or adults,” says Théophile Chamard, a father of three whose home overlooks Rue de la Bienfaisance, where motorized transport has been deprioritized. “The street is an extra soccer field.”

His son, six-year-old Balthazar Chamard, agreed: “It’s so great, because there’s less smoke without the cars.”

Paris has won international praise for its efforts to curb the automobile. The Washington-based Urban Institute cited the city as a model for urban planning and pedest