By Zeena Saifi, Mohammed al Sawalhi, Abeer Salman, Oren Liebermann, Tal Shalev, CNN

Jerusalem (CNN) — The first week of the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was marked by confusion, and logistical hurdles, according to Palestinians attempting to cross and multiple sources who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity.

The disorder resulted in far fewer Palestinians traversing the border between Egypt and Gaza than was expected, nearly two years after Israel seized and shut the crossing.

When the partial reopening was announced last week, an Israeli security official told CNN that 150 Palestinians per day would be allowed to leave Gaza, while only 50 would be permitted to enter. But even that detail was unclear, as Egyptian state media reported that only 50 would be allowed to leave and the same number to enter.

In the end, the number of people who crossed during the first week amounted to only a fraction of those figures. On Monday, when the crossing officially reopened, only 12 Palestinians crossed the Rafah border in each direction. On Tuesday, the highest day for which CNN has obtained numbers, 40 crossed each way.

In those first two days, most of the Palestinians who were medically evacuated to Egypt during the war and were due to return to Gaza were barred from re-entering the territory, despite receiving prior approval from Israeli and Egyptian authorities.

It was not immediately clear why the numbers allowed through the crossing have changed each day.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 20,000 people in Gaza have completed medical referrals and are awaiting permission to travel abroad for treatment. Since the war began, about 1,000 Palestinians have died while waiting to be approved for medical evacuation, according to the ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO).

CNN has reached out to Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) for comment but has yet to receive a response.

The few who did manage to pass through from Egypt described an arduous and exhausting journey.

Harsh journey home

To return to Gaza via the Rafah crossing, Palestinians must undergo three security checks – first with Egyptian forces, then with the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Rafah (EUBAM) alongside Palestinian forces, and finally the Israeli military once inside Gaza.

Those who returned on Monday told CNN they reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing at 3 a.m. but did not make it into Gaza until 11:30 p.m. Some described difficulties, mistreatment, and increased scrutiny at both EUBAM and particularly Israeli checkpoints.

Um Omar, frustrated and in tears, said Israeli forces had handcuffed those crossing and questioned them at length.

“The Israelis made everything difficult today. They searched us and they interrogated us about everything – about migration (from Gaza), about Hamas, about the 7th of October, and every topic you can imagine,” she said.

The Egyptians treated them well and tended to their needs, she said, while the Israelis prevented them from having anything on them, including food and drink.

“They made us get rid of all our belongings. They only allowed one bag of clothes per person. Even a little girl was not allowed to take her toy with her. They told her the toy is forbidden and took it from her,” Um Omar said, shouting angrily.

Lamia Rubia, 27, said all of her belongings were searched, and many items were confiscated.

In a statement, the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) reported similar accounts from Palestinians returning to Gaza, alleging “patterns of ill tre

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Por Paula Reid, Hannah Rabinowitz y Evan Perez, CNN

La disputa entre dos de los fiscales favoritos del presidente Donald Trump llegó a su punto álgido a principios de año, cuando el fiscal general adjunto Todd Blanche, exabogado personal del presidente, destituyó al activista de MAGA, Ed Martin, de un puesto clave que investigaba a los enemigos políticos del presidente.

La decisión de dejar en el banquillo a Martin —quizás el funcionario más comprometido públicamente con la persecución de los adversarios políticos de Trump en los tribunales— ha revelado una división entre dos facciones dentro del Gobierno.

Un grupo celebra a Blanche por lo que considera un respeto a las salvaguardias del Estado de derecho. El otro cree que Martin es un mártir del movimiento MAGA y el único dispuesto a hacer lo que sea necesario para cumplir con las prioridades de Trump.

En las últimas semanas, los desacuerdos sobre la agresividad con la que los fiscales persiguen a los adversarios políticos de Trump se han agudizado, ya que el presidente ha dejado claro su descontento con el progreso del Departamento de Justicia en la presentación de procesos penales contra personas que, según él, lo atacaron injustamente en investigaciones que se remontan a 2016.

Durante la primera administración de Trump, las disputas entre funcionarios se desarrollaban regularmente en público y en redes sociales. Pero la actual secretaria general de la Casa Banca, Susie Wiles, se ha esforzado por moderar los desacuerdos y el drama público en su segundo mandato.

“Que estos asuntos se manifiesten públicamente no favorece la agenda del presidente”, declaró a CNN un aliado de Trump que los conoce a ambos. “Se puede comprender la frustración de que la oficina de Blanche sea el lugar donde todo se desmorona, porque todo avanza con mucha lentitud. Pero las estrategias de Ed, en última instancia, no ayudan a conseguir lo que el presidente quiere”.

Blanche y Martin llegaron a trabajar para Trump por caminos diferentes.

Blanche, exprofesor de un gran estudio de abogados en Nueva York, fundó un bufete homónimo en 2023 y representó a Trump en tres de sus cuatro casos penales. Se ganó la reputación de gestionar con destreza la política interna del mundo trumpista y cuando Trump regresó al cargo fue nombrado número dos del Departamento de Justicia.

Martin, expolítico de Missouri, obtuvo el reconocimiento de MAGA como organizador del movimiento “Stop the Steal” (Detengamos el robo), un firme defensor de las acusaciones infundadas de Trump sobre fraude electoral generalizado en las elecciones de 2020 y como abogado de los acusados de los disturbios del Capitolio del 6 de enero de 2021.

Al comienzo del segundo mandato de Trump, fue designado fiscal federal en la ciudad de Washington, y se puso a trabajar de inmediato en la implementación de la agenda de Trump, incluyendo la degradación de los fiscales superiores que trabajaron en casos relacionados con el 6 de enero y la promesa de proteger a los empleados del Departamento de Eficiencia Gubernamental (DOGE).

“Seamos claros: este cambio no es temporal”, escribió Martin sobre la degradación de los fiscales en un memorando obtenido en su momento por CNN.

Tras un mandato de 15 semanas marcado por una gestión caótica y publicaciones en redes sociales que incluían amenazas contra los críticos del presidente, no logró la confirmación.

Su nominación fue retirada en mayo de 2025 y Trump lo nombró entonces en dos nuevos puestos en el Departamento de Justicia, incluyendo el de director del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Armamentización y el de abogado de indultos, todos ellos bajo la cadena de mando de Blanche.

Se espera que Martin deje el Departamento de Justicia en las próximas semanas, según informó CNN anteriormente. Su destitución representó la culminación de una campaña de meses de Blanche para mantener a Martin operando dent

By Alisha Ebrahimji, Meridith Edwards, Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family will have more time to make their case for asylum.

At a Friday court hearing for the family’s asylum case, a judge granted a continuance, which postpones the case to a later date, family attorney Danielle Molliver told CNN.

There is no indication when the next hearing is expected, said Molliver, who added, “We’re grateful for the outpouring from the community and we remain committed to the family and this community.”

Attorneys for the family had asked the court for more time to respond to the motion by the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the family is not slated for expedited removal and the motion is standard procedure.

“There is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws,” she said in a statement to CNN.

Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Liam’s school district, Columbia Heights Public Schools, said Friday’s ruling “provides additional time, and with that, continued uncertainty for a child and his family,” as she stressed the family is asking for privacy.

“Our concern remains centered on Liam and all children who deserve stability, safety and the opportunity to be in school without fear. We will continue to advocate for outcomes that prioritize children,” Stenvik said.

The 5‑year‑old and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were taken from their snowy suburban Minneapolis driveway last month to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, sparking widespread outrage after images of a federal agent clutching the boy’s Spider‑Man backpack as he looked on beneath a cartoon bunny hat circulated.

After more than a week at the Dilley center, the preschooler and his Ecuadorian father are back home in Minneapolis after a judge ordered them to be released, which ended their detention but left their future in the United States in limbo.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, the Texas Democrat who helped escort them back to Minnesota on Sunday, emphasized at a Friday news conference the father and son “don’t have a criminal record” and represent no threat to the community.

“They should leave Liam alone,” Castro told reporters, referring to the federal government.

“His family came in legally through the asylum process,” Castro said. “And when I left the Dilley detention center, one of the ICE officers explained to me that his father was on a one-year parole in place, so they should allow that to continue.”

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By Hannah Keyser, CNN

San Francisco (CNN) — They call it “American football” because, well, “football is football,” says Ian Potter.

And by “football” he means “soccer,” a fact that is underscored by the raucous cheering that periodically punctuates the Mad Dog in the Fog, a Nottingham Forest bar located in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

Potter and seven of his, well, best mates are here at the Mad Dog to watch their hometown team lose to Leeds. But they’re here in San Francisco – more than 5,000 miles and about 14 hours of travel from home – because the Super Bowl is in town. And wherever the Super Bowl goes, so goes a group of Brits who don’t even have tickets to the big game.

It started in Miami in 2019. The group – that year totaling 23 friends – was in town for a “stag do” (British for bachelor party). They didn’t intend to overlap with the Super Bowl, but soon realized that the NFL brought a city-wide sense of celebration. And, come Super Bowl Sunday, a great excuse to drink. Not that they seem to need much of one.

“Just here for the booze and partying,” said Alex Bowles. And because it’s a chance to get the friend group together once a year.

For most of the group, Miami was their introduction to American football. They were shocked at how long an hour of gameplay can take and by the magnitude of cheers for that year’s halftime performer, Jennifer Lopez. And they had so much fun they decided to make it an annual tradition. Covid-19 nixed the trip a couple times but this year marks their fifth time going to the Super Bowl city and just soaking up the American atmosphere.

Some quick reviews of past locations: LA was great. Las Vegas was the worst because, instead of dive bars, it was all casinos and you could hardly feel the Super Bowl-ness over the intensity of Sin City. “No locals,” says Andy Albone. “Vegas is about Vegas,” Potter says.

And last year in New Orleans was the best – even though two of the guys got robbed that week.

Their experiences have made most of them into Kansas City Chiefs fans (and they agreed with this CNN reporter that Taylor Swift would make for a very fun halftime performance) – all except Adam Martin, who was already a San Francisco 49ers fan when this tradition started. His phone background is a picture of Brock Purdy and he’s been trying to teach the others the rules of American football. Or at least whether a particular play was good or bad for the team they’re rooting for.

“I’m still trying to understand it,” says Ian Taylor.

“There’s about 19,000 players,” says Josef Gaylor.

And it’s not just football, these trips have become a foray into the wider world of American sports. In Vegas, they went to an NHL game and on Monday, they’re going to a Golden State Warriors NBA game.

But they haven’t quite mastered the finer points of the American sports cultural landscape. Martin bought a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey to wear here in California, and quickly learned the locals in SF are not Dodgers fans.

He just has to save it for next year, when the Super Bowl is in Los Angeles. They’re already planning to be there.

“Minute we get back, I’ll book it,” Potter says.

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