By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, CNN

(CNN) — When President Donald Trump convenes the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday, he is expected to run it like one of his Cabinet meetings, a US official told CNN.

Instead of his Cabinet officials, however, he will be joined by representatives from countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Hungary and even Belarus, which is a member of the board despite being under US and European sanctions for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, several key allies are staying away.

In addition to Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz; US special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sits on the executive committee for the Board; and High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, who serves as the key link between the board and the Palestinian technocratic committee, are all expected to speak, along with other attendees, according to a senior US official.

Two sources familiar with the matter said the countries attending the meeting as members were told they will have two minutes each to speak, and according to the US official, Trump may ask specific countries for updates or opinions. There are expected to be updates on issues of security, humanitarian efforts and the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to run Gaza, the senior US official said.

Trump has previewed big announcements for the meeting, including billions of dollars to support the reconstruction of Gaza and personnel for the stabilization force there.

But there are lingering questions about the broad mission of the Board of Peace, its effectiveness and the broader future of Gaza.

There is some concern in the international community that Trump has established the body as a counterweight to the United Nations, of which he has been a sharp critic.

In remarks on Monday, Trump confirmed that he thinks the Board is “going to go far beyond Gaza,” but said “we’re working in conjunction with the United Nations.”

Trump, who could serve indefinitely as chair of the board, has been eager to tout his credentials as a peacemaker and has argued he was snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize last year. The meeting is happening at the US Institute of Peace, which Trump has recently renamed for himself.

The meeting – and the board itself – are a clear example of Trump pursuing a foreign policy goal without collective buy-in from America’s closest allies: Most of the US’ traditional European allies have rejected membership. As such, they will not attend or will only send representatives as observers for Thursday’s meeting.

Many Middle Eastern countries will be present after having decided to join the Board, but it is unclear which, if any, of those countries will make the steep fiscal commitment of $1 billion to become permanent members. And many are sending their foreign ministers, rather than their heads of state, in part because the conference coincides with the start of Ramadan.

Iran looms over meeting

The inaugural meeting comes as the US military buildup in the Middle East is growing, and the specter of potential US military action against Iran is expected to loom large over the meeting. Trump has threatened that the US could strike Iran if a nuclear deal is not agreed to in the coming weeks.

“You can’t disassociate Iran from the Middle East or the Middle East from Iran,” one diplomat said.

Countries in attendance are expecting to discuss the Iran situation on the sidelines, with plans to reitera

By Jen Christensen, CNN

(CNN) — The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, will also take on the temporary role of acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an administration official told CNN Wednesday.

Bhattacharya will stay on as head of the NIH and will also serve as the head of the CDC until President Donald Trump can appoint a permanent leader. The head of the CDC job requires Senate confirmation.

Bhattacharya is replacing HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, who had been guiding the CDC as acting director since last August, after US Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ousted Dr. Susan Monarez after she clashed with him over vaccine policy and declined to dismiss top agency leaders. She spent less than a month in that position.

O’Neill left his role last Friday as a part of a broader restructuring. O’Neill had been a controversial figure at the CDC, where he helped amplify anti-vaccine messaging, cheered the United States departure from the World Health Organization, and was considered a poor communicator.

Prior to joining the Trump administration, Bhattacharya worked as a health economist and professor at Stanford University Medical School. He’s best known for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter published two months prior to Covid-19 vaccines being available that opposed certain Covid-19 mitigations.

The Declaration, named for the Massachusetts town where they signed it, drew considerable scrutiny from many doctors and scientists because it argued while the most vulnerable people should be protected, people should otherwise resume a normal life, so the world could gain herd immunity through infection with the virus. At the time, the director-general of the World Health Organization called the idea of allowing a dangerous virus to sweep through unprotected populations “unethical.” Bhattacharya later testified before Congress that it – and he – immediately became targets of suppression and censorship by those leading scientific agencies.

As head of the NIH, Bhattacharya has seen pushback from hundreds of staffers. Last April, hundreds of staffers – including top leaders – were cut from several federal agencies, including at the NIH. In June, some NIH scientists published what they called the Bethesda Declaration, named for the location of the NIH. The letter, signed by more than 300 employees, took issue with what they saw as the politicization of research and destruction of scientific progress under the Trump administration.

The administration had proposed cutting the NIH budget by 40% and thousands of NIH grants have been terminated in just the year and a half Trump has been in office.

As the head of the NIH, Bhattacharya has spoken extens

By Daniel Wine, CNN

Welcome to 5 Things PM! The very first video posted on YouTube — a 19-second clip about elephants called “Me at the Zoo” — has been viewed 382 million times and has received more than 18 million likes. It was just deemed museum-worthy.

Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day.

5 things

1⃣ Abortion access

Dozens of abortion clinics closed after the Supreme Court revoked the federal right to an abortion in 2022 — mostly in states that enacted bans. But the churn has continued, and now states with policies that protect abortion rights are trying to do more with less.

2⃣ Presidential polling

Gallup, one of the country’s best known polling firms, is no longer tracking presidential approval or favorability of political figures. It marks the latest in a long line of shifts in the public opinion landscape.

3⃣ Get motivated

How have you been doing with your New Year’s resolutions? It’s easy to backslide, but experts offer tips to help you move beyond the excuses and exercise more — day in and day out.

4⃣ Adrenaline rush

Skimo — short for ski mountaineering — is the only sport making its debut at this year’s Winter Olympics, but it boasts a long and fascinating history that stretches back decades.

5⃣ There are no leftovers

Each day, a steady stream of customers make their way to a tiny hole-in-the-wall chicken shop. Some are tourists from China who traveled thousands of miles to eat there.

Watch this

Deep dive: A team of shipwreck hunters discovered the Lac La Belle, a luxury steamer that sank more than 150 years ago in Lake Michigan. Take a closer look.

Top headlines

• Mark Zuckerberg grilled on whether Instagram was designed to be addictive
• 8 backcountry skiers killed and 1 missing after deadliest avalanche in California’s recorded history
• Israel raises alert level ahead of potential joint US-Israel attack on Iran, sources say

Check this out

A fresh perspective: The women wear high-collared puffer jackets and billowing sports jerseys in acid yellow and bubblegum pink. Spanish artist Nieves González’s sumptuous paintings make her a rising star.

For C

Por Gareth Harris, CNN

Una nueva exposición en el Museo Victoria and Albert (V&A) de Londres captura el momento en que nació YouTube hace más de 20 años.

“El V&A adquirió una reconstrucción de una página web temprana y el primer video subido a la plataforma por el cofundador Jawed Karim”, dijo un portavoz del V&A.

La reconstrucción de la antigua página de reproducción de YouTube presenta la primera carga titulada “Me at the zoo”, que muestra al entonces cofundador de YouTube, Karim, de 25 años, en el zoológico de San Diego hablando sobre elefantes. El video de 19 segundos ha sido visto 382 millones de veces y ha recibido más de 18 millones de “me gusta” desde que se publicó por primera vez en la plataforma el 23 de abril de 2005.

“Lo genial de estos chicos es que tienen trompas realmente, realmente, realmente largas”, dice Karim en el video.

“Nuestro equipo de conservación digital ha pasado los últimos 18 meses reconstruyendo el diseño y la experiencia de la plataforma desde el 8 de diciembre de 2006, la marca de tiempo más antigua documentada en línea”, agregó el portavoz del V&A. El equipo del V&A colaboró con el equipo de experiencia de usuario de YouTube y el estudio londinense de diseño interactivo oio en el proyecto.

La obra inaugural de YouTube se exhibe en la galería Design 1900-Now en el V&A South Kensington, mientras que el proceso de creación de la reconstrucción se explora en una mini exposición en el V&A East Storehouse en Stratford.

Neal Mohan, CEO de YouTube, dijo en un comunicado: “Al reconstruir una página de reproducción temprana, no solo mostramos un video; estamos invitando al público a retroceder en el tiempo hasta el inicio de un fenómeno cultural global”. Corinna Gardner, curadora principal de diseño y digital en el V&A, añadió: “Esta instantánea de YouTube durante los primeros días de la web 2.0 marca un momento importante en la historia de internet y el diseño digital”.

YouTube sigue siendo una plataforma importante para las artes y la cultura, con contenido original de museos y galerías que a menudo supera a los servicios de streaming.

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By the Associated Press

Puerto Rican artists Residente and Bad Bunny are teaming up to tell the story of their home in an original historical drama.

René Pérez Joglar, the Grammy winner known professionally as Residente, will make his directorial debut with “PORTO RICO,” filmmakers and producers said Wednesday. Bad Bunny, the artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is set to lead a starry cast which currently includes Viggo Mortensen, Javier Bardem and Edward Norton.

“I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy,” Residente said in a statement. “This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”

“PORTO RICO” is being described as an “epic Caribbean Western and historical drama” inspired by true events. Residente co-wrote the script with Alexander Dinelaris, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind “Birdman.”

It will mark the first leading role for Bad Bunny, who has appeared in several supporting roles in movies recently including “Happy Gilmore 2” and “Caught Stealing,” and who recently made waves with his historic Super Bowl halftime performance, which highlighted Puerto Rican culture and history.

The film has a bevy of power players behind it, including Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is executive producing, and backing from Live Nation Entertainment. No details were available about when the film might shoot or be released.

Norton signed on to produce as well, saying in a statement that the film “sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from ‘The Godfather’ to ‘Gangs of New York,’ that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism.”

He added: “Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it.”

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