By Tim Lister and Svitlana Vlasova, CNN

(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered retaliation to a deadly Ukrainian attack on what he said was a college dormitory in an occupied town.

Putin accused Ukraine of a “terrorist” act after Ukrainian drones struck the dormitory in Starobilsk, an occupied town in eastern Luhansk on Friday.

The Russian president added that he had ordered the defense ministry to come up with proposals for a response to the Ukrainian strike.

The Russian state news agency Tass said Saturday that the death toll has risen to 10, with 38 people injured, citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Ukraine’s military rejected Putin’s claim and accused Russian media of circulating “manipulative information” on the attack. It reiterated that it strikes “military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes.”

The Ukrainian military said that among targets struck early Friday was “one of the headquarters of the ‘Rubicon’ unit in the Starobilsk area.”

The elite Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies has pioneered Russian drone technology and targeting since it was formed in 2024.

Ukraine has stepped up longer-range drone attacks in recent weeks. It claimed two attacks earlier this week on Russian military facilities in occupied territory earlier this week.

One wave of strikes hit a Russian drone pilot training camp in the occupied town of Snizhne, killing at least 65 cadets and an instructor on Wednesday night, according to the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, claimed the strike targeted a 2,484-square-meter complex, which housed drones and explosives as well as a command post.

Footage posted on social media Wednesday night also showed a building ablaze in Snizhne, which CNN has geolocated to the same area as the drone training camp.

Another set of strikes hit a Russian security service headquarters and an air defense system in the Kherson region in occupied Ukraine, killing and wounding almost 100 Russians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Thursday.

Ukrainian claims of such high casualty figures are unusual, and CNN cannot independently verify them. CNN approached Russian authorities for comment.

Ukraine has developed an arsenal of mid- and long-range drones capable of deep strikes on Russian military and energy infrastructure.

Zelensky said Saturday that the security services had struck “one of Russia’s important military-industrial enterprises” 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) inside Russia.

The target was a chemical plant in Perm Krai, Zelensky said, that provides a range of products to Russia’s military. He posted video purporting to show smoke rising from the facility.

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Por Adam Cancryn, CNN

La relación del presidente Donald Trump con los republicanos del Senado ha tocado fondo tras una revuelta en torno a su fondo de US$ 1.800 millones para la “antiinstrumentalización”, que puso de manifiesto profundas divisiones sobre la dirección del partido y sus prioridades.

Trump y sus aliados cercanos estaban furiosos por la reprimenda del viernes, mientras que en el Capitolio, los senadores y asesores republicanos criticaron duramente el fondo, calificándolo como el último de una serie de errores perjudiciales de la Casa Blanca que, según cinco personas familiarizadas con las conversaciones, temen cada vez más que les cuesten el control de la cámara.

“El presidente lo está haciendo tan difícil como humanamente posible”, comentó un alto asesor republicano del Senado. “Esto es un verdadero frente unido. Los 53 senadores republicanos no están contentos en este momento”.

Y a seis meses de las elecciones de mitad de mandato, los republicanos, exasperados por las luchas internas, advierten que la situación podría empeorar aún más.

El enfrentamiento en torno al fondo “contra la instrumentalización” puso fin a un período desastroso que frustró el intento de los republicanos de aprobar un importante paquete de inmigración antes del 1 de junio, como había exigido Trump, dejando su agenda en un punto muerto.

Esto también puso de relieve los temores que los legisladores venían sintiendo desde hacía tiempo: que, en lugar de ayudar a reforzar su posición política centrándose en cuestiones económicas y destacando logros políticos clave, Trump estaba debilitando sus posibilidades en noviembre debido a su preocupación por proyectos personales y una amplia campaña de represalias.

“Esto es como decir ‘Nerón tocaba la lira mientras Roma ardía’”, declaró el estratega republicano Barrett Marson. “Los temas en los que Trump, y en cierta medida el Congreso, se están centrando ahora mismo no benefician a los estadounidenses, y el tiempo se acaba para cambiar la situación”.

La semana pasada, Trump celebró la derrota del senador republicano Bill Cassidy, a quien sus aliados habían apoyado económicamente en las primarias como venganza por haber votado a favor de su destitución en el juicio político de hace cinco años.

Posteriormente, el presidente rechazó al popular senador texano John Cornyn en la segunda vuelta de las primarias republicanas de la próxima semana, optando en cambio por respaldar a Ken Paxton, un aspirante al que los senadores habían advertido abiertamente que podría costarles la victoria a los republicanos.

Mientras tanto, la Casa Blanca presionaba a los senadores republicanos para que autorizaran US$ 1.000 millones para el nuevo salón de baile de Trump y el Servicio Secreto, dando mayor importancia a un proyecto personal que muchos legisladores temen que solo esté reforzando la percepción de los votantes de que el Partido Republicano está desconectado de la realidad, comentaron asesores del Senado y otras personas familiarizadas con el asunto.

Cuando la parlamentaria del Senado dictaminó que el dinero no podía incluirse en el paquete legislativo más amplio de los republicanos, Trump pidió públicamente su despido, una medida que muchos senadores consideraron inapropiada e imprudente, según fuentes cercanas al caso.

“Incluso los temas de aprobación obligatoria están empezando a verse eclipsados ​​

By Jeremy Herb, Zachary Cohen, Kristen Holmes, Sean Lyngaas, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump selected Tulsi Gabbard as his top intelligence official thanks to her non-interventionist, “America First” ideology that had pushed her away from the Democratic Party and into the MAGA fold.

But as Trump’s director of national intelligence, Gabbard’s isolationist tendencies quickly put her at odds with his military actions in Iran and Venezuela. Months before announcing her resignation Friday, citing her husband’s diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer, Gabbard was routinely sidelined from some of the administration’s biggest foreign policy decisions of Trump’s second term.

When Trump’s national security team gathered at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Day to watch the US operation in Venezuela unfold, Gabbard was thousands of miles away posting pictures on social media from a beach in her home state of Hawaii.

Ahead of Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites last summer, Gabbard posted a video warning that the world is “closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before,” which angered Trump and the White House and put her on the sidelines.

And in February, when Trump launched joint strikes on Iran with Israel, Gabbard was in Washington with Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet members. Trump was in Mar-a-Lago with top national security officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine.

Before the strikes, Trump and Gabbard had a conversation about his potential military action in Iran, and he asked if the rumors about her resigning over it were true — whether she would leave if he decided to go forward, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. She said that the rumors were not true and she would not resign if he took military action, the source said.

While Gabbard was sidelined when it came to international deliberations, she shared Trump’s suspicions of the so-called “deep state.” Rooting out those perceived as being against Trump’s interests in the intelligence community became a main focus of her time as DNI.

“It’s scorched earth for anyone who they feel crossed Trump,” a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Friction with CIA

Gabbard quickly became isolated inside even her own office, the source said, surrounding herself with a small circle of advisers and — in a move many viewed as a symptom of paranoia — objecting to CIA officers serving as a part of her security detail because she did not trust that agency.

Another source pushed back on this notion and said Gabbard only removed one member of her detail for incompetence and lack of professionalism.

“She is extremely grateful for her protective team and trusts them with her life,” a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told CNN.

Gabbard and CIA director Ratcliffe have had a fraught relationship, according to multiple sources. Gabbard felt Ratcliffe at times was going around her directly to the president, despite the agencies traditionally working hand in hand. This prompted Gabbard to begin talking to the president directly about various issues, something one source speculated saved her job.

Gabbard met with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday to present him with her resignation letter. A source close to Gabbard told CNN on Friday that despite her turbulent tenure at DNI, a key reason she stayed in the job as long as she did was simply that the president still likes her personally.

Another source close to Gabbard said she had been wrestling with the d

By Kasha Patel, CNN

(CNN) — In southern Georgia, fast-moving flames destroyed a record number of homes; across the Plains in Nebraska, the largest fire in state history killed one person and wiped out more than 600,000 acres of cattle country; and outside Los Angeles, an unusually early blaze spurred evacuation alerts for thousands.

Wildfire season has been far from mild this spring.

Across the United States, wildfire activity has hit historic levels this spring and is likely to worsen in the coming months, experts say. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 30,000 fires have ignited across the country — the most in almost two decades. More than 2 million acres have burned, which is twice the previous 10-year average and the highest loss in 14 years.

The Southeast has tallied the highest number of fires across the country so far, with blazes closer to populated areas than usual. But the largest have occurred in the Great Plains, where strong winds pushed flames across towns. The West has already experienced uncharacteristically early and destructive events, bringing concerns for a perilous fire season.

“Here we are in May, and we’re talking about people losing their houses and lives,” said Morgan Varner, research director at Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, Florida. Several factors “all point to a really bad year” in many regions, he said.

That includes low snowpack, plenty of vegetation, drought and expected changes to weather patterns from a developing “Super” El Niño, all on top of an underlying warming climate that’s intensifying the hot, dry conditions that help fires ignite and spread.

Region by region, these are the most notable US wildfires so far and the biggest concerns heading into summer.

Dry conditions light up Southeast

Fires in Georgia are common from March to May, but this year is one for the history books.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 3,000 fires have burned 83,000 acres in the state, according to data from the Georgia Forestry Commission. That’s almost double the fires and eight times as many burned acres by this time of the year compared to the last five years.

“We’ve been in a drought, and it’s been building since late summer of 2025,” said Thomas Barrett, forest protection chief with the Georgia Forestry Commission. “It’s taken this long to finally get about as bad as it could get.”

On top of that, he said weather systems brought more dry air and strong winds to the region, creating a perfect storm of fire conditions this season. Forecasts from the National Interagency Fire Center expect high fire activity through July until summer thunderstorms bring relief.

“I keep my fingers crossed that we’re peaking about now, and that we’ll start going down in a couple of months,” said Barrett. “Everybody in the southeast part of the country has kind of been in the same shape this spring.”

Unlike previous years, the fires are also hitting closer to populated

By Kristen Holmes, Betsy Klein, CNN

(CNN) — Palm Beach socialite and model Bettina Anderson will celebrate her marriage to President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. on a tropical island today. It won’t be the affair the bride had originally envisioned.

Anderson had initially expressed interest in getting married at the White House, multiple sources told CNN. But the groom didn’t think it was appropriate, particularly given the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran, one of the sources said. President Donald Trump also told allies he didn’t think it was a good idea.

The couple settled instead on a small, exclusive ceremony on an island in the Bahamas where Anderson has previously posted images of crystal blue waters and secluded beaches. There could also be a follow-up celebration at the White House later this year, a source familiar with the matter said.

Friends of Trump Jr. told CNN they have never seen the groom so happy.

Technically, Trump Jr. and Anderson are already married; a marriage certificate filed in Palm Beach County shows they legally tied the knot Thursday. That’s not uncommon for couples who opt for international destination weddings.

For Trump Jr., it was a short engagement that followed a considerably longer one. After quietly splitting with Kimberly Guilfoyle, his fiancee of roughly four years, after the 2024 election, he was spotted around Palm Beach, and then at Mar-a-Lago, hand-in-hand with Anderson.

Their hard launch came at the president’s inauguration, Anderson by Trump Jr.’s side in the Capitol, dancing with him at the inaugural balls, eating McDonald’s aboard the family plane in a designer dress with matching Dior handbag. The public courtship spurred some backbiting that played out through anonymous sources on the front pages of tabloids.

After a year together, including an appearance on a presidential trip to Scotland, Trump Jr. proposed – the move revealed by the president to a White House holiday party crowd.

“This has really been the most unforgettable weekend of my life, and I get to marry the love of my life, and I feel just, like, the luckiest girl in the world,” Anderson said in impromptu remarks in the Cross Hall at the White House.

This weekend, Trump Jr. and Anderson will officially celebrate tying the knot on a small island in the Bahamas. The president said Friday he will not attend.

“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time. Congratulations to Don and Bettina!” Trump said on Truth Social.

The wedding is being kept small by design, according to two people familiar with the plans, with family and the couple’s closest friends making up the less-than-50-person guest list.

Extra security precautions are also being put in place after the wedding’s location was leaked earlier this week, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The couple had already been concerned about security ahead of the event, and those worries are now amplified.

The groom’s siblings, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are expected to attend with their spouses, as will Trump Jr.’s five children: Kai, Donald III, Tristan, Spencer, and Chloe, ranging from 11 to 19 years old.

Trump has been married before, to Vanessa Trump, who announced this week that she is battling breast cancer. Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump remained close after their divorce, celebrating daughter Kai ahead of her senior prom, at a 19th birthday party, and at her graduation in recent days.

Anderson, 39, has styled herself as an influencer on social media, posting links to her designer wardrobe selections and fav