By Laura Paddison, CNN

(CNN) — Only a scattering of light penetrates the deep water, more than 300 feet beneath the ocean surface off the coast of Guam. It’s like twilight to the human eye, even in the middle of the day.

This part of the ocean, known as the upper twilight zone, is one of the least explored ecosystems on Earth because it’s so difficult, expensive and dangerous to reach. It’s only accessible by submarine, remotely-operated vehicle or by specially trained technical divers.

But humans are starting to unravel the mysteries of life here. In November, a group of scientific divers from the California Academy of Sciences successfully navigated a series of perilously deep dives.

Their mission was to fetch monitoring devices lodged in Guam’s deep reefs that have been collecting data on marine life and ocean temperatures for more than eight years.

The divers found a swath of ocean populated by weird and wild creatures, from delicate corals and shimmering worms to spiky sea slugs and hairy crabs. The monitors are also providing an insight into temperature changes, suggesting climate change may be having an impact even in these deep waters.

Diving to the ocean’s upper twilight zone is a treacherous endeavor. Standard gear simply doesn’t cut it at these depths — recreational divers breathing compressed air don’t venture below 130 feet. Instead, trained technical divers need specialized equipment allowing them to breathe a cocktail of helium and air.

The deeper the divers go, the more gas gets dissolved into their bodies, and it needs to come out very slowly to avoid decompression sickness, known as the bends, where bubbles form in the blood causing severe pain and even death.

The only way to avoid this is to ascend very slowly, stopping every 10 feet or so. “If we stay just 10 minutes at 500 feet, it would take us six hours to go up,” said Luiz Rocha, one of the divers and an ichthyology curator at the California Academy of Sciences. It means they rarely get more than 30 minutes to do their work.

But over eight dives in November, Rocha and the team managed to safely collect 13 monitoring devices. These ridged structures are made up of 1-foot-square PVC plates that function as artificial reefs on which animals can settle and grow. They “are essentially small underwater hotels that coral reef organisms colonize over time,” Rocha said.

The retrieved monitors — which look like works of art, splashed with vivid hues of amber, burnt orange, deep blues and pinks — were taken to the surface and rushed to the University of Guam Marine Laboratory for processing.

There, scientists sifted through the encrusted materials and identified, photographed and collected each individual specimen. Everything else was scraped off and sent away for DNA analysis.

After two weeks of processing, the scientists have so far found 2,000 specimens, 100 of which were recorded for the first time in the region and 20 of which are potentially newly discovered species.

They found a possible new species of cardinalfish, a species of orange-clawed crab never before reported in Guam and a new species of sea slug, speckled with yellow and pink.

One of Rocha’s favorite discoveries was a hermit crab that uses clam-like shells as its home. “Every hermit crab I’ve seen before used gastropod (snail-like) shells as homes, but this species has some really interesting adaptations that allow it to use clams instead,” he said.

But as well as the exciting discoveries, there are also fears for the future of the deep reefs. More than half of the species that live here are unknown, “yet these reefs are already being affected by fishing, pollution, and climate change,” Rocha said.

Recent research into plastic pollution on

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Travis Kelce might want to add a special dance moment with his future mother-in-law at his wedding reception with Taylor Swift.

Thanks to the newly dropped episodes of “The End of an Era” docuseries on Disney+ we now know that her mother Andrea Swift was the MVP when it came to the singer meeting, dating and eventually getting engaged to Kelce.

At the beginning of the fourth episode, Swift is chilling with her people in a dressing room so massive that her mom comments on the size.

Taylor Swift responds by making a comparison to football player’s locker rooms and the audience learns that before the couple ever met, Swift’s cousins took a picture in front of Kelce’s locker with the Kansas City’s Chiefs, where his number is 87.

Swift is famously into numerology, so sidebar: two plus 87 equals 89 and she was born December 13, 1989 so we really should’ve seen this engagement coming.

At any rate, in the series, we learn that Swift had no idea who Kelce was. Her mother then tells what she considers to be a “pretty cool story.” After Kelce went on the “New Heights” podcast that he cohosts with his brother Jason Kelce in July 2023 to share that he had tried to get a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to Taylor Swift, her mother got wind of it.

“And so of course I call up my resident expert on Kansas City Chiefs, my cousin Robin, and I go ‘Tell me about this guy named Travis Kelce,’” Andrea Swift recalls in the series. “And she goes ‘Oh my God! He’s the nicest guy and you know what, he really loves his mom!’ I went ‘ding, ding, ding, ding.’”

According to the Swift family matriarch, the challenge then became how to get her famous daughter to meet the tight end.

“I’d been very non athlete,” Taylor Swift explains. “Because I’m not one and I’ve always been like, what would we talk about?”

But Mama Swift took the ball and ran with it, calling her daughter to let her know “hey, there’s a guy” and that Kelce was pretty cute.

“You said something to the effect of like ‘You gotta start doing something different,” the younger Swift shared, silently giggling at the thought.

“Listen it was so earnest,” her mother explains. “I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world that he came to your show. He brought you something from your world. To me that really said a lot.”

Taylor Swift says that on their first date Kelce explained football to her “as if it were like violent chess.”

From there, the pop star says, she became “obsessed” with Kelce and consequently obsessed with learning about the sport he plays, which she says is “the greatest surprise of my life.”

Now, she even clocks who is on the injured reserve list for the different teams, she says.

“I’m like, what does it mean? What’s the extent of the injury,” Swift says. “Like are we dealing with an Achilles thing or is it hamstring?”

Way to score in love and sports knowledge Tay.

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Por Kaanita Iyer y Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional anunció su intención de suspender un programa de visas destinado a permitir la entrada de ciertas personas a Estados Unidos, aunque no está claro si lo ha pausado completamente.

La medida llega después de que el sospechoso del tiroteo en la Universidad de Brown fuera identificado como titular de una green card que llegó al país a través de dicho programa. Se trata del último intento de la administración de endurecer el sistema de inmigración estadounidense tras los recientes incidentes en el país.

“Por orden del presidente (Donald) Trump, ordeno de inmediato al USCIS que suspenda el programa DV1 para garantizar que ningún estadounidense más resulte perjudicado por este programa desastroso”, declaró la secretaria del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, en X el jueves por la noche. El DHS supervisa el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS).

Claudio Neves Valente, el sospechoso del tiroteo del sábado en la Universidad de Brown que también está acusado de matar a un profesor del Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts (MIT) el lunes, fue encontrado muerto el jueves por la noche.

Valente fue identificado como un exalumno de la Universidad de Brown de 48 años y de nacionalidad portuguesa. Noem declaró el jueves que llegó a Estados Unidos en 2017 con una visa DV1 y obtuvo la tarjeta de residencia permanente.

El Departamento de Estado administra el programa de visas de diversidad, conocido como “lotería de visas”, que está diseñado para personas de países que, según una fórmula, tienen un bajo nivel de inmigración a Estados Unidos. Quienes llegan a Estados Unidos a través de este programa también reciben la green card permanente, cuya emisión está a cargo del DHS.

La mayor parte del programa recae en el Departamento de Estado, que presumiblemente sería el encargado de suspenderlo. No está claro qué instrucciones podría dar Noem, aparte de suspender la emisión de tarjetas de residencia permanente para los participantes en el programa.

“Los horribles incidentes de esta semana demuestran la amenaza que el programa de visas de diversidad representa para la seguridad de Estados Unidos, un problema que el presidente Trump lleva tiempo intentando solucionar. El Departamento de Estado está trabajando en estrecha colaboración con el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional para implementar todas las medidas necesarias para proteger a Estados Unidos de esta amenaza”, declaró un portavoz del Departamento de Estado en un comunicado.

CNN también se puso en contacto con el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional para obtener más detalles.

El programa de visas de diversidad ha sido durante mucho tiempo blanco de la ira del presidente Donald Trump, quien lo criticó durante su primer mandato después de que un ciudadano uzbeko, beneficiario de la iniciativa, fuera sospechoso de matar a ocho personas en un ataque terrorista en la ciudad de Nueva York.

En ese momento, Trump respaldó una iniciativa liderada por los republicanos para eliminar la “lotería de visas” y ciertas categorías de tarjetas de residencia basadas en lazos familiares, y luego transformar las visas restantes basadas en el empleo en un sistema de puntos que favoreciera a inmigrantes altamente calificados, con alta formación académica y que hablaran inglés.

El programa de visas de diversidad ofrece tarjetas de residencia a personas “de países con bajas tasas de inmigración a los Estados Unidos”, según el sitio web del Departamento de Estado.

Estados Unidos admite hasta 55.000 inmigrantes cada año como parte del programa mediante selección aleatoria. Las nacionalidades de quienes han participado en el programa han evolucionado a lo largo de los años. Según datos federales, la mayoría de los participantes en el año fiscal 2026 provenían de África, seg

Por Nadeen Ebrahim y Eugenia Yosef, CNN

Ya no hay hambruna en Gaza, anunció este viernes un organismo de monitoreo de la hambruna respaldado por las Naciones Unidas, tras la llegada de ayuda humanitaria al enclave después del alto el fuego acordado en octubre entre Israel y Hamas.

“Tras una reducción significativa del conflicto, una propuesta de plan de paz y una mejora en el acceso para la entrega de alimentos, tanto humanitaria como comercial, las condiciones de seguridad alimentaria han mejorado en Gaza”, declaró la Clasificación Integrada de las Fases de la Seguridad Alimentaria (IPC). “Ninguna zona está clasificada en situación de hambruna”, añadió.

Este organismo de vigilancia internacional había declarado en agosto que algunas zonas de Gaza estaban experimentando oficialmente una hambruna “provocada por el hombre”.

Sin embargo, la organización señaló que, a pesar de estas mejoras, la mayor parte de la población de Gaza se enfrentaba a altos niveles de inseguridad alimentaria aguda.

“Aunque la asistencia humanitaria, incluida la ayuda alimentaria, ha aumentado, solo se están cubriendo las necesidades básicas de supervivencia”, afirmó el IPC.

Si bien la clasificación de Gaza ha cambiado, el IPC advirtió que persiste el riesgo de que el enclave vuelva a sufrir hambruna.

“En el peor de los casos, que implicaría la reanudación de las hostilidades y la interrupción de la entrada de ayuda humanitaria y suministros comerciales, el norte de Gaza, la gobernación de Gaza, Deir al-Balah y Khan Younis se enfrentarían al riesgo de hambruna hasta mediados de abril de 2026”, afirmó.

En agosto, Israel negó rotundamente que hubiera hambruna en Gaza, afirmando que estaba haciendo todo lo posible para permitir la entrada de ayuda humanitaria al enclave.

En respuesta al informe del IPC de este viernes, el embajador de Israel ante la ONU, Danny Danon, declaró: “Ante los hechos, incluso el IPC se ve obligado a admitirlo, no hay hambruna en Gaza”, y añadió que entran “cientos” de camiones de ayuda a diario.

La Coordinación de Actividades Gubernamentales en los Territorios (COGAT), la agencia israelí encargada de facilitar la distribución de ayuda en Gaza, afirmó que entre 600 y 800 camiones de ayuda entran al enclave cada día, de los cuales aproximadamente el 70 % transportan alimentos.

Hamas ha cuestionado anteriormente las cifras de COGAT, afirmando que no llega suficiente ayuda al enclave.

CNN, junto con otros medios de comunicación, ha informado ampliamente sobre el hambre y la inanición en Gaza. Antes del alto el fuego, durante los dos años de guerra, Israel restringió o interrumpió en ocasiones la entrada de ayuda al devastado enclave.

Mientras que algunas personas han muerto de hambre e inanición, otras han fallecido intentando recibir ayuda en los puntos de distribución.

En agosto fue la primera vez que el IPC confirmó la existencia de hambruna en Medio Oriente. Según el sistema del IPC, una escala de cinco fases utilizada para medir la gravedad de la inseguridad alimentaria, solo se puede declarar una hambruna si los datos muestran que se cumplen ciertos umbrales.

Estas condiciones son: al menos el 20 % de todos los hogares deben enfrentar una escasez extrema de alimentos, el 30 % o más de los niños deben padecer desnutrición aguda o el 15 % de los niños deben sufrir desnutrición aguda según las mediciones corporales, y al menos dos de cada 10.000 personas deben morir cada día a causa de la inanición o la interacción de la desnutrición y las enfermedades.

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The post Gaza ya no sufre hambruna tras la llegada de

By Kaanita Iyer, Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security announced its intention to pause a visa program intended to admit certain individuals to the United States, though it’s unclear whether it’s been suspended entirely.

The move comes after the suspect in the Brown University shooting was identified as a green-card holder who immigrated to the country through the program. It’s the latest attempt by the administration to broadly tighten the US immigration system following domestic incidents.

“At President (Donald) Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X late Thursday. DHS oversees the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in Saturday’s shooting at Brown University who is also accused of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor on Monday, was found dead Thursday night.

Valente was identified as a 48-year-old former Brown University student and Portuguese national. Noem said Thursday that he came to the United States in 2017 on a DV1 visa and received a green card.

The State Department runs the diversity visa program, which is designed for individuals in countries that are determined by a formula to have a low enough level of immigration to the US. Those who arrive to the US under the program are also issued green cards. The issuance of those green cards is handled by DHS.

The bulk of the program falls under the State Department, which would presumably be charged with pausing the program. It’s unclear what direction Noem could provide, aside from pausing the issuance of green cards for those in the program.

“The horrific incidents this week demonstrate the threat the diversity visa program poses to American security and safety, which President Trump has long worked to fix. The Department of State is working closely with Department of Homeland Security to put in place all necessary measures to protect America from this threat,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

CNN also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for additional details.

Trump has long sought to end the program

The diversity visa program has long been a target of President Donald Trump’s ire — he took aim at it during his first term after an Uzbek national who was a recipient of the program was suspected of killing eight people in a terrorist attack in New York City.

At the time, Trump backed a Republican-led effort to eliminate the diversity visa program and certain categories of family-based green cards, and then transform the remaining employment-based visas into a point system that favors heavily highly skilled, highly educated, English-speaking immigrants.

The diversity visa program offers green cards for people “from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States,” according to the State Department website.

The US admits up to 55,000 immigra