By Lex Harvey, CNN

(CNN) — US forces will conduct a multi-day air exercise in the Middle East as Washington bolsters its military presence in the region amid tensions with Iran.

US Central Command said the exercise is “designed to enhance asset and personnel dispersal capability, strengthen regional partnerships and prepare for flexible response execution,” in a statement Tuesday.

The announcement comes after President Donald Trump warned an “armada” is heading toward Iran and threatened possible military action against the regime, which has launched a brutal crackdown on against a wave of anti-government protests.

The first of those ships – the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group – have already arrived, according to a Monday post by Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East and West and Central Asia.

However, Trump is still considering his options and there is no indication any decision has been made on Iran, sources have told CNN.

“We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump said Friday.

The CENTCOM announcement did not specify the exact location or duration of the drills, or what assets would be taking part.

Tensions between the US and Iran have been inflamed in recent weeks over the regime’s bloody crushing of dissent. More than 5,500 protesters have been killed since demonstrations began late last month, according to a Sunday report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which said an additional 17,091 deaths are still under review.

Trump has warned against killing protesters and had repeatedly threatened to intervene if Tehran does not change course. Last week, however, Trump said that Iran “wants to talk,” suggesting a possible diplomatic solution.

On Monday, the administration reiterated it is open to having discussions with the Iranian regime if “they know what the terms are,” a US official said.

Meanwhile, Iran has been escalating its rhetoric against the US, warning that any attack would be met with force capable of destabilizing the entire Middle East. Tehran is “more than capable” of responding to any aggression from the US with a “regretful” response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told journalists Monday.

“The arrival of one or several warships does not impact Iran’s defensive determination,” he said. “Our armed forces are monitoring every development and are not wasting a single second to enhance their capabilities.”

In Tehran a four-story poster in the capital’s Enghelab – or Revolution – Square threatens the destruction of an American aircraft carrier, according to CNN journalists on the ground.

“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” it warns in English and Farsi over an image of the deck of the aircraft carrier strewn with bodies and streaked in blood that trails into the water behind in a shape similar to the stripes of the American flag.

A few blocks away, another government poster shows the 2016 capture of a US Navy boat, its crew of US Marines kneeling in surrender, their hands clasped behind their heads.

According to CENTCOM, the readiness exercises will be conducted with approval from host countries and in “close coordination with civil and military aviation authorities, emphasizing safety, precision and respect for sovereignty.”

Other countries in the region, including US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have recently warned they would not let their airspace be used for any military action against Iran.

The UAE, which hosts Americ

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) - An inspirational group of men and women took part on Tuesday in the 2026 California Blind, Disabled and Adaptive Winter Golf Classic.

Held at the picturesque Sandpiper Golf Course, the tournament drew a few dozen players from around the state for the 18-hole scramble format event.

"This is a gathering of adaptive players paired with PGA professionals and local amateurs to support, champion and celebrate our adaptive golf community," said longtime tournament director Robert Kotowski. "We're gathering golfers from the adaptive golf community, blind, amputees, veterans, disabled vets."

Now in its 28th year, the tournament allows adaptive golfers to showcase their remarkable talents in a competitive environment.

"It's an awesome tournament," said golfer Bill Davis. "It is very rewarding. I enjoy it because the fact that it's a sport the where a blind person who can actually take part of.  I'm just like any other golfer. I'm what they refer to as long hitter, hitting it 250 to 300 yards."

Through the use of an assistant, visually impaired golfers are able to not only play golf, many of them are able to achieve remarkable success.

"I enjoy it," said golfer Carlos Franco, who traveled from Monterey. "Everybody around my town, including my son and lots everybody have has tried to beat me. They beat me one time and they're all happy, but now they don't want to play with me anymore!"

For Kotowski, who has long been the driving force behind this tournament, this year's event was especially meaningful.

"It was a year ago today here at Sandpiper," explained Kotowski, who suffered a heart attack while playing at the seaside course. "Ten days later, I was blessed with an amazing gift of a heart transplant, so this is a significant day and a couple of areas. One of my motivating factors was I wanted to get back, get healthy, work hard. Amazing people I want to thank. How do you thank everybody who has been there for me, the community, friends, all the medical workers. I bet 1,500 different medical workers were involved in my being here right now, so thank you all. It's a chance to say thank you and celebrate these great adaptive athletes."

Players added that no matter the outcome, just being on the course, especially under such ideal weahter conditions on Tuesday, is truly what the nature of adaptive golf is all about.

"It's not the thing about being able to beat people," said Franco. "It's getting out there and having fun and getting to know others. It's really great having just getting out. You get to meet so many people and they're all very helpful. It really feels great."

The post Visually impaired players showcase abilities at annual blind golf tournament in Goleta appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Por Ana María Cañizares, Fernando Ramos y Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español

Las relaciones entre Ecuador y Colombia, en las que se había abierto una puerta al diálogo a finales de la semana pasada, volvieron a tensarse este martes. Esta vez, el diferendo se debió a la decisión de Quito de aumentar en 900% la tarifa por transportar petróleo colombiano, una medida que Bogotá consideró “una nueva agresión” por parte de su vecino.

El incremento de US$ 3 a US$ 30 por el uso del Sistema de Oleoducto Transecuatoriano (SOTE) fue dado a conocer el lunes por la ministra de Ambiente y Energía de Ecuador, Inés Manzano.

Durante una entrevista con la emisora local Radio Sucesos, Manzano dijo que el aumento de la tarifa es una medida “en reciprocidad” a la decisión de Colombia de suspender la venta de energía a Ecuador. A su vez, Colombia había anunciado dicha suspensión en represalia por los aranceles del 30% a sus productos que Ecuador busca imponer a partir del 1 de febrero.

En la conversación, Manzano defendió el argumento del presidente de Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, quien la semana pasada señaló que la imposición de aranceles a Colombia se debe a que, a su juicio, este país no ha hecho lo suficiente para combatir la inseguridad en la zona fronteriza común.

“El tema con Colombia es por la seguridad”, dijo la ministra. “El Ecuador no puede ser el único que esté salvaguardando la frontera”, insistió.

Por la mañana de este martes, el ministro de Energía de Colombia, Edwin Palma, rechazó el incremento anunciado por Ecuador, que consideró perjudicial para la relación bilateral.

“La decisión del Gobierno ecuatoriano es una nueva agresión contra nuestro pueblo, contra el pueblo colombiano, es una medida desproporcionada, utilitaria y que viola acuerdos entre los dos países. Aumentar en un 900% la tarifa de transporte de crudo que sale de nuestro país hacia el Pacífico colombiano, insisto, es una agresión contra el país”, dijo Palma en un video publicado en la cuenta de X del Ministerio.

Este nuevo diferendo se suma a las tensiones que comenzaron el 21 de enero cuando Noboa anunció los aranceles para los productos colombianos, que llamó “tasa de seguridad”.

Después vino la respuesta del Gobierno de Gustavo Petro, que defendió sus acciones contra el crimen y adelantó una suspensión de la venta de energía a Ecuador, que en años recientes se ha visto afectado por desabasto y apagones producto de sequías o falta de mantenimiento en el sistema eléctrico nacional.

En medio de este conflicto político y comercial, ambos gobiernos dieron a conocer a finales de la semana pasada que estaban en negociaciones para una posible reunión en la que se sentaran a hablar para intentar resolver sus diferencias.

La canciller de Colombia, Yolanda Villavicencio, dijo en una rueda de prensa este mismo martes que Bogotá primero propuso el 25 de enero como fecha para un encuentro y después el 27 o el 28, pero hasta ahora la Cancillería de Ecuador no ha respondido.

“Por ahora, y como se ha evidenciado, Colombia continuará llamando al diálogo y al buen entendimiento, como ha sido la costumbre de este Gobierno. Esperamos lograr un diálogo franco, sincero y constructivo con nuestros homólogos del Ecuador esta misma semana, con el fin de evitar la implementación de aranceles con carácter unilateral”, señaló.

Analistas consultados por CNN la semana pasada consideraron probable qu

CNN

By Eric Bradner, Annie Grayer, CNN

(CNN) — Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar ignored staffers’ pleas to end a town hall early and get a medical check Tuesday after a man rushed the podium and sprayed a substance at the Democratic congresswoman.

Omar said after the town hall ended that she has “survived war” and that she is “definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think that they can throw at me because I’m built that way.”

The man who sprayed the substance has been charged with third-degree assault and was booked into Hennepin County Jail, a police incident report said, according to CNN-affiliate KARE. It was not immediately clear what the substance was.

Omar was “uninjured and resumed speaking at the event,” the incident report says. City forensic scientists responded to process the scene, according to the report.

The US Capitol Police said in a statement the incident is “an unacceptable decision that will be met with swift justice” and said it’s working “to see this man faces the most serious charges possible.”

The dramatic moment punctuated a high-profile public appearance for a progressive lawmaker who has been the subject of Republican attacks and scrutiny, as President Donald Trump’s administration focuses its attention on Minneapolis, the city she represents.

Omar condemned federal immigration agents’ “terrorizing” tactics and “reckless and lawless” actions, as she told attendees that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities is antithetical to “the America we love.”

She also called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s abolition and said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should resign or be impeached. And she praised how Minneapolis has responded to immigration agents’ presence and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“Minnesotans are showing up for one another in ways that people didn’t expect. We are showing the country and the world what real solitary looks like. And we should be goddamn proud of ourselves,” she said.

Long a target of Republicans, Omar is now the subject of investigations by Trump’s Justice Department and the House Oversight Committee, after both Trump and the committee’s chairman, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, said this week they were probing her finances.

Omar, 43, is a Somali-born refugee whose family immigrated to the United States when she was 12. She was first elected to the state legislature in 2016 and became one of the first Muslim-American women elected to Congress in 2018, when she won a House seat representing much of the overwhelmingly Democratic city of Minneapolis.

She has been a frequent target of political attacks and at times Read more

Por Aaron Blake, CNN

El Gobierno de Trump tenía poco margen de maniobra después de que un agente federal volviera a disparar y causar la muerte de una persona este fin de semana en Minneapolis.

Quizá la mejor defensa que pudo articular fue señalar que Alex Pretti llevaba un arma, a pesar de que la portaba legalmente, de que no hay indicios de que la haya blandido y de que un video mostró que ya había sido desarmado antes de que perdiera la vida.

Como era de esperarse, eso no cayó bien.

Resulta que la base del partido, integrada en gran parte por defensores de la Segunda Enmienda, no recibió con agrado la idea de que el simple hecho de estar armado pudiera darle al Gobierno más derecho a usar fuerza letal contra una persona. Es comprensible que quienes ven las armas como un baluarte contra la tiranía gubernamental consideren ese criterio como potencialmente problemático.

Así que cuando varios funcionarios del Gobierno de Trump recurrieron a ese argumento, los grupos proarmas reaccionaron.

El tema pudo haberse desvanecido después, mientras la administración adoptaba en general un tono más conciliador sobre el tiroteo en Minnesota. Pero el presidente Donald Trump lo ha devuelto ahora al centro del debate. Y, de hecho, ha ido más allá que los funcionarios que inicialmente encendieron la molestia de los grupos proarmas.

Al hablar con reporteros el martes, Trump dijo que no estaba de acuerdo con la afirmación infundada del asesor de la Casa Blanca Stephen Miller, quien calificó a Pretti como un “aspirante a asesino”. Pero luego continuó.

“Dicho esto, no se puede tener armas”, dijo Trump. “No se puede entrar con armas. Simplemente no se puede”.

Un reportero le preguntó a Trump cómo conciliaba eso con la Segunda Enmienda. Pero Trump no dio marcha atrás.

“No se puede entrar con armas, no se puede hacer eso”, dijo. “Pero es un incidente muy lamentable”.

Trump repitió esos comentarios más tarde esa misma tarde en Iowa.

“Ciertamente, no debería haber estado portando un arma”, dijo Trump.

Y añadió: “No me gusta que tuviera un arma. No me gusta que tuviera dos cargadores completamente llenos. Eso es mucha cosa mala”.

Los comentarios de Trump van más allá de los de otros funcionarios, que en general habían enmarcado sus críticas en torno a las confrontaciones con las fuerzas del orden y a las intenciones de Pretti. Ellos no habían sugerido que fuera incorrecto portar armas en una protesta, punto.

Bill Essayli, fiscal federal en California, provocó inicialmente la indignación de los defensores de las armas al decir: “Si te acercas a las fuerzas del orden con un arma, hay una alta probabilidad de que estén legalmente justificados para dispararte”.

La secretaria de prensa de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, hizo un señalamiento similar sobre ser “confrontado por las fuerzas del orden”. El jefe de la Patrulla Fronteriza, Gregory Bovino, aludió a portar un arma mientras se “obstruye e impide” la labor de los agentes del orden.

Cuando la secretaria de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, y el director del FBI, Kash Patel, mencionaron el arma, sugirieron que era una prueba de las intenciones de Pretti.

“Nadie que quiera ser pacífico llega a una protesta con un arma de fuego cargada con dos cargadores completos”, dijo Patel.

Trump, en cambio, ha descartado ahora la id