By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Horses can detect fear in humans by smell, becoming more likely to startle and more wary of people who are scared, a new study has found.

Researchers collected samples of odor compounds from the armpits of human study participants and then observed how the horses behaved when they were exposed to the different odors during standardized tests, according to research published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.

While previous research has found that horses can pick up on human emotions through speech and facial expressions, the idea that they can smell our fear has remained just a theory due to the difficulties of studying smell, said lead study author Plotine Jardat, a researcher at the French Institute for Horse and Riding (IFCE).

“As humans, we are not really aware of all the smells that are around us compared to what other animals apparently perceive, so that’s not so easy to study,” Jardat told CNN.

To overcome this problem, researchers developed a novel method that involved placing cotton pads in the armpits of the human study participants, where odor compounds are released by the sweat glands.

Samples were taken from people while they watched a scary video and a joyful video, as well as a neutral sample, and these pads were later placed on the nostrils of 43 different female horses, held in place by small nets.

The researchers were careful to prevent contamination by other odor compounds by making sure the pads were only handled by the human providing the sample, and the compounds were preserved by freezing the pads, said Jardat.

The horses were then exposed to a series of tests conducted by experimenters familiar to the animals — for example, whether or not they would freely approach a human in their paddock, or startle at the sudden opening of an umbrella.

Researchers observed the horses’ behavior, as well as collecting data on their heart rate and the level of cortisol in their saliva, a key biomarker for stress.

Analysis showed that both the horses’ behavior and physiology were influenced by the human odor compounds.

Researchers observed that the horses exposed to odor compounds produced by volunteers who had watched scary footage were more likely to startle more easily, and less likely to approach people or investigate unfamiliar objects.

“The fearful odors from humans amplify the reactions of horses,” said Jardat.

“The significance is that horses can smell how we feel, even if they can’t hear or see us,” she said.

Study co-author Léa Lansade, research director at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), said the study provides evidence of cross-species “emotional contagion.”

And there are practical implications for those who ride or handle horses, including “acknowledging the importance of handlers’ emotional state and its potential transmission through chemosignals during human-horse interactions,” according to the paper.

Although as humans we cannot control the emotional odors that we emit, Lansade said in a statement to CNN that horseback riders should “focus on relaxing, so you can ride

By Andrew Freedman, CNN

(CNN) — Congress is poised to reject President Donald Trump’s “astounding” proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as NASA’s Earth science programs.

Trump sought to slash spending in scientific research at NOAA and NASA, among other agencies. The administration’s budget request would have eliminated all of NOAA’s research laboratories, including those like the National Severe Storms Laboratory that work to make weather forecasts more accurate. The budget request also sought to cancel weather and climate satellite programs and instruments at NOAA and NASA, including multiple missions that had already been launched.

Instead, the House has passed a funding bill for the Commerce, Justice and State Departments that funds science at NOAA and NASA. The Senate is expected to do the same this week.

Neither NOAA nor NASA would see an overall increase in funding under the congressional budget, but they would be spared from dramatic cuts that scientists and activists have warned would have a devastating effect on climate science, meteorology and other fields of study in the US and around the world.

At NOAA, the bipartisan spending bill would fund the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which the administration proposed eliminating entirely due to its climate change portfolio. This branch of NOAA conducts climate change research, including monitoring greenhouse gas levels around the world. It also operates a network of laboratories across the US that pursue cutting edge weather and climate research programs.

The Trump administration’s budget request called for a nearly 50% cut in spending for NASA’s science mission, including canceling several planned as well as existing Earth-observing satellites, like the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 to track carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The bill, and an accompanying committee report, explicitly calls for maintaining the agency’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which is NASA’s top climate monitoring and computer modeling lab, which the administration sought to eliminate and disperse its functions elsewhere within the agency. Congress also would instruct the agency to seek a new home for the top lab after the administration canceled its lease in New York City last year and forced staff to work virtually, while maneuvering to shut it down entirely.

The bill’s bottom line would cut about 1% of NASA’s science program budget compared to what was enacted in 2025 and provide roughly the same amount of funding to NOAA as it did in 2025, at $6.17 billion.

It is not unusual for Congress to push back against items in the president’s annual budget request, but the bipartisan support for NOAA and NASA’s weather and climate research is noteworthy since these cuts were such a major part of the request itself. For example, Congress is on track to approve $634 million for NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research — compared to the budget proposal, which had zeroed out that office.

The bill would provide a slight increa

Análisis por Brad Lendon

El Gobierno de Trump presentó el bombardeo del año pasado contra instalaciones nucleares iraníes como uno de sus mayores éxitos militares.

Bombarderos B-2 de la Fuerza Aérea estadounidense lanzaron 14 de las bombas más grandes del mundo, impactando dos instalaciones nucleares iraníes sin bajas estadounidenses ni pérdida de aeronaves, incluyendo las docenas de cazas, aviones cisterna y aviones de apoyo que participaron en la misión.

Ahora, el presidente de EE.UU. amenaza con atacar Irán de nuevo, esta vez en solidaridad con los cientos de miles de iraníes que han salido a las calles para oponerse al régimen de línea dura en Teherán.

Sin embargo, es poco probable que un nuevo ataque estadounidense contra la República Islámica sea similar a los ataques puntuales que impactaron tres objetivos nucleares el verano pasado, según analistas.

Un ataque en apoyo de los manifestantes debería enfocarse en una serie de centros de mando y otros objetivos relacionados con el Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica (CGRI) de Irán, sus fuerzas Basij afiliadas y la Policía iraní, que son las principales organizaciones que llevan a cabo la sangrienta represión contra la disidencia.

Pero esos centros de mando se encuentran en zonas pobladas, lo que significa que existe un riesgo considerable de que los ataques estadounidenses maten a los mismos civiles que Trump intenta apoyar, según los analistas.

Y matar civiles podría hacer que salga el tiro por la culata.

“Sea lo que sea que haga Estados Unidos, debe ser muy preciso y sin bajas ajenas al CGRI”, dijo el analista Carl Schuster, con sede en Hawai y excapitán de la Armada estadounidense.

Cualquier ataque que dañe a civiles, “incluso de forma involuntaria”, corre el riesgo de alienar a los “disidentes que solo están unidos por su odio al régimen”, explicó. “Las bajas nos convertirían en una potencia extranjera que intenta reprimir y dominar Irán, no en una influencia liberadora”.

Peter Layton, investigador visitante del Instituto Griffith para Asia en Australia, se hizo eco de la advertencia sobre las posibles bajas civiles, pero afirmó que Washington dispone de una amplia gama de objetivos.

En primer lugar, los altos dirigentes iraníes podrían ser vulnerables, probablemente de forma indirecta, porque Irán ha aprendido la lección de los ataques israelíes, que el año pasado tuvieron como objetivo y acabaron con la vida de altos mandos militares y científicos nucleares iraníes, dijo Layton.

Schuster coincidió.

Los líderes iraníes han comprendido “la necesidad de dispersar y ocultar lo que es importante para ellos”, dijo. “Hemos demostrado que podemos atacar lo que encontramos”.

Aun así, atacar las casas y oficinas de los líderes del régimen enviaría un mensaje, según Layton.

“El valor militar es pequeño, pero sería una acción simbólica para los manifestantes”, dijo.

Washington también podría atacar a los líderes iraníes en sus finanzas, según los analistas.

“Los líderes y la Guardia Revolucionaria tienen una serie de negocios y empresas lucrativas por todo el país. Atacar las instalaciones específicas que son financieramente importantes para ellos como individuos y para sus familias”, dijo Layton.

Hay muchos de ellos, dijo, citando estimaciones del Gobierno australiano según las cuales entre uno y dos tercios del producto interior bruto de Irán están controlados por el CGRI.

Layton añadió que se podían encontrar “puntos débiles” en la lista de empresas del CGRI.

Schuster señaló que existe cierta distancia entre el CGRI y los máximos dirigentes de Irán.

“El objetivo es hacer que los líderes y las bases del CGRI se preocupen más por su propia supervivencia que por la del régi

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN

(CNN) — Italy’s most famous influencer, Chiara Ferragni, has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a 2-million-euro ($2.33 million) fraud case involving Christmas cakes, Easter eggs and children with cancer.

A judge in Milan ruled Wednesday that aggravated fraud charges against Ferragni relating to her alleged promise to donate proceeds from sales of a limited edition, pink-boxed “pandoro” Christmas cake to a children’s cancer charity were not admissible in court.

Prosecutors had requested a 20-month prison sentence for the 38-year-old fashion and make-up influencer.

“Everything we have done, we have done in good faith, none of us has profited,” she told the court at a hearing in November, admitting she had made a “communication error.”

Ferragni partnered with Italian confectioner Balocco to market limited edition Pandoro “Pink Christmas” cakes in Italy for the festive season in 2022 and 2023, and later, fancy “Dolci Preziosi” chocolate Easter eggs. The marketing campaign suggested proceeds would go to the Regina Margherita children’s hospital in Turin to support paediatric cancer research, boosting sales.

Ferragni’s problems began after an investigative journalist revealed that Balocco had made a 50,000-euro ($58,000) donation to the children’s hospital for cancer research prior to entering into the sponsorship agreement with Ferragni’s companies, and that the influencer was paid a commercial stipend of 1 million euros for sponsorship. Before long, it emerged that the proceeds of the cakes would go directly to Ferragni, in addition to the 1 million euros, and not the hospital.

Neither Balocco nor the hospital were charged with fraud, nor was Ferragni’s then-husband, the rapper Federico Lucia, known as Fedez. But the multi-million-euro empire that Ferragni and Fedez had built soon fell apart.

The couple had a reality television program, popular podcasts, fashion brands and even pop-up stores. They pushed progressive politics, including pro-LGBTQ issues, drawing the ire of both the powerful Catholic Church and right-wing politicians, including Giorgia Meloni who came to power in 2022 as the scandal broke.

“The real role models are not influencers who make loads of money promoting expensive panettoni that are supposedly for charity,” Meloni said from the stage at her political party festival in 2023.

The scandal, dubbed “Pandorogate,” captivated the nation and spurred legislation — pushed by Meloni — to reign in influencers.

What started as a simple fraudulent advertising allegation turned into a state affair, with Italy’s attorney general charging Ferragni criminally in 2025, despite the fact that she and her companies paid €3.4 million to the hospital, gave back the sponsorship fee to confectioner Balocco and reimbursed those who‘d bought the cakes and eggs.

As the saga unfolded, Ferragni’s marriage fell apart, and Fedez, once the darling of Italy’s progressive political set, embraced conservatism and now shows up at Meloni’s meetings and on other right-wing political stages.

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By Isobel Yeung, Aida Karimi, Catherine Nicholls, Augusta Anthony, CNN

(CNN) — Fears are growing for the fate of a detained Iranian protester who may soon be executed, according to a family member and the US State Department, amid a brutal and ongoing crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests by Iranian authorities.

In a Tuesday post on X, the US State Department said that Iranian authorities are planning to execute Erfan Soltani, who was arrested at his home last Thursday in connection with protests in Fardis, a city about 25 miles west of Tehran.

“More than 10,600 Iranians have been arrested by the Islamic Republic regime simply for demanding their basic rights. Erfan Soltani, 26, whose death sentence was issued for January 14, is among them,” the State Department said.

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Somayeh, a relative of Soltani who declined to be identified by her full name due to security concerns, said he is an “incredibly kind and warm-hearted young man” who has “always fought for the freedom of Iran.”

Soltani was not allowed a lawyer or an appeal after being sentenced to death, according to Somayeh, who said that his trial was rushed.

Rushed death sentences and sham trials are a common occurrence in Iran, according to regional experts.

“This time, the Islamic Republic regime didn’t even bother with its usual 10-minute sham trial,” the US State Department said in a post on X.

CNN is reaching out to Iranian authorities for comment.

Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad said over the weekend that legal proceedings against protesters, whom he called “terrorists,” will be carried out “without leniency, mercy or appeasement,” according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its intelligence network has received nearly 400,000 public reports, leading in some cases to arrests.

Denied access to case

Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights organization, reported that Soltani was arrested at his home last Thursday. Four days after his arrest, his family was told that his execution had been scheduled, it said.

Soltani’s family has been denied access to any information regarding his case, including the charges against him, Hengaw reported Monday. His sister, a licensed lawyer, has tried to pursue the case, “but authorities have so far prevented her from accessing the case file,” the organization said.

His family has been granted only “a brief opportunity for a final visit” before his execution, according to Hengaw.

The feared execution looms as tensions between the US and Iran further intensify, with US President Donald Trump considering taking military action against Iran.

On Tuesday, Trump warned the regime against executing protesters and said the US would take “strong action” in response.

“If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,” the president told CBS News in an interview, without expanding on what that action would be. Trump told CBS that he had not heard reports about hangings, but he warned that such a development could prompt a fo