By Devan Cole, CNN

(CNN) — A federal appeals court appeared ready Thursday to reject Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over his call to US service members to refuse illegal orders.

A majority of judges on a three-member panel at the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals spent more than an hour and a half throwing cold water on arguments pushed by the Justice Department to revive Hegseth’s plans, which were shut down earlier this year by a federal judge who said they were unconstitutionally retaliatory.

“That is something that is taught at Annapolis to every cadet,” Judge Nina Pillard, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said of Kelly’s comments last year.

“These are people who served their country – many put their lives on the line,” said Judge Florence Pan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. “And you’re saying that they have to give up their retired status in order to say something that is a textbook example – taught at West Point and the Naval Academy – that you can disobey illegal orders.”

The third member of the panel – Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of former President George H. W. Bush – seemed at least somewhat sympathetic to the administration’s arguments.

Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut who represents Arizona, sued Hegseth in January after the secretary announced the Pentagon would pursue administrative action against the senator, including reducing his last military rank, which would lower the pay he receives as a retired Navy captain, and issuing a letter of censure.

Both Hegseth and President Donald Trump have attacked Kelly over a video posted in November by the Arizona lawmaker and five other Democrats with a history of military or intelligence service that urged service members not to obey unlawful orders that could be issued by the Trump administration.

In the video, the lawmakers don’t specify which orders service members have received, or might receive, that could be illegal. But it was released as US military officials, including the commander of US Southern Command, and US allies, including the UK, questioned the legality of a series of military strikes targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and as the Trump administration faced multiple court challenges to Trump’s decision last year to send scores of federalized state National Guard members to Democratic-led cities.

Federal prosecutors in Washington, DC, also attempted to indict the lawmakers over the video, but were rebuffed by a grand jury in a remarkable push back that is rarely seen.

Outside the courthouse after the hearing, Kelly issued a warning about the purpose of the censure effort: “If you say something that the president and this administration does not like, they’re going to come after you.”

The administration, he said, argued in court that “any time a retired veteran says something the secretary of Defense doesn’t like, they can be punished.”

“The people who have given the most in service to this country wouldn’t be free to say what they believe,” Kelly added.

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By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration has classified left-wing networks like Antifa among “three major types of terror groups” the US faces, according to a counter-terrorism plan released Thursday.

“In addition to cartels and Islamist terror groups,” the plan says, “our national (counter terrorism) activities will also prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.”

In recent months, as Trump administration officials have ramped up the rhetoric around investigating and prosecuting people who it says are part of groups like Antifa, they have struggled to answer basic questions about the organizations.

During a congressional hearing late last year, Michael Glasheen, operations director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, could not answer questions about Antifa’s group size, location or other details.

“Investigations are active,” Glasheen said after declaring Antifa as the “primary concern” of the FBI. The FBI official said the situation was “very fluid.”

The White House counterterrorism plan says the federal government will “use all the tools constitutionally available to us to map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations like Antifa.”

The US has faced several violent attacks from individuals opposing the administration and its allies, including the recent attempted attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the murder of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk and several violent attacks on immigration facilities.

Organized terrorism from left-wing groups, however, is far more rare.

In July, a group of nearly a dozen people set off fireworks and spray-painted vehicles and buildings at a Department of Homeland Security facility in Texas before some from the group opened fire on a police officer and employees at the building.

The case was the first federal terrorism case in the Trump administration’s promised fight against left-wing groups.

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By Eleni Giokos, Tim Lister, CNN

(CNN) — Iran is trying to force shippers to comply with a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz – or risk attack.

Tehran has laid out a set of new rules for vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to a document seen by CNN, pressing ahead with efforts to formalize control over the waterway in defiance of US warnings.

Entitled “Vessel Information Declaration,” the document is an application form issued by Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) and must be completed by all transiting vessels to ensure safe passage. It was shared with CNN by Lloyds List and another shipping industry source who wished to remain anonymous.

Before the US and Israeli campaign against Iran began at the end of February, the strait was free for any vessel of any origin to navigate. But since the conflict began, Iran has threatened to strike any ship passing through Hormuz without permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy. A number of vessels have come under attack, but the vast majority of ship owners and operators have opted not to take the risk of sending their vessels through in defiance of Iran.

The move to set up an authority for the strait underscores Iran’s determination to cement control over what it sees as a spoil of war, despite repeated US and regional warnings. Dominance of the waterway – through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows – would hand the Islamic Republic immense leverage over its neighbors and the global economy.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz unleashed the biggest oil supply shock in history, sending energy prices sharply higher. On Wednesday, US gas prices rose above $4.5 per gallon for the first time in four years.

‘A new regional and global order’

On Wednesday, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s account on the social media app Telegram posted a message laying out his vision for the Persian Gulf.

The leader called for a “new regional and global order under the strategy of a strong Iran” where there would be no place for foreigners “and their mischief.” He specifically pointed to “using the leverage of closing the strait” as one way to achieve that vision.

At the end of April, a statement attributed to Khamenei indicated Iran would create the mechanism to supervising traffic at the waterway.

Iran would implement “new legal frameworks and management of the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said, which would benefit its neighbors and prove economically fruitful.

“Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away, acting maliciously out of greed, have no place there, except at the bottom of its waters,” it added.

The PGSA document now made available to shippers comprises more than 40 questions, requiring vessels to declare their name and identification number, any “previous name,” country of origin and destination.

It also asks for the nationalities of the registered owners and operators and of the crew on board, plus details of the cargo.

According to the PGSA, the information must be emailed to the authority before a vessel can transit the strait.

An email from PGSA shared with CNN includes a warning that “complete and accurate information is essential” to processing the vessel’s request to transit, and that “further instruct

Por Adam Cancryn y Sarah Owermohle, CNN

Cuando el presidente Donald Trump necesitó un nuevo candidato para el cargo de director de Sanidad el pasado mes de mayo, recurrió al secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., en busca de consejo.

“Bobby realmente pensaba que ella era fantástica”, comentó Trump a los periodistas al día siguiente de elegir a Casey Means, una estrecha aliada de Kennedy y una voz destacada dentro del movimiento “Make America Healthy Again” (Hacer que Estados Unidos vuelva a ser saludable). “Yo no la conozco, seguí la recomendación de Bobby”.

Sin embargo, casi un año después —cuando la candidatura de Means se estancó y Trump terminó seleccionando a Nicole Saphier para reemplazarla—, Kennedy apenas tuvo participación en la conversación.

En su lugar, el nombre de Saphier surgió como una de las muchas opciones elaboradas por los funcionarios de la Casa Blanca, indicaron personas familiarizadas con el proceso. La radióloga y colaboradora de Fox News no mantiene ninguna relación previa sustancial con Kennedy y cuenta con un largo historial de críticas hacia él y algunas de sus políticas.

Este es el indicio más reciente de que, tras un año de permitir que Kennedy actuara con total libertad en materia de salud tal como había prometido antes de las elecciones, el presidente y sus principales asesores están buscando un mayor control en el periodo previo a las elecciones de mitad de mandato e imponiendo restricciones políticas más estrictas al secretario del HHS, incluso a riesgo de alienar a la legión de seguidores que este atrajo hacia el Partido Republicano.

Esta dinámica cambiante ha tensado la relación de la Casa Blanca con los votantes del movimiento MAHA, quienes en gran medida se alinearon con Trump durante las elecciones de 2024. Asimismo, ha suscitado nuevas interrogantes dentro del círculo cercano de Trump sobre hasta qué punto debe ceder para complacer a un movimiento del que algunos ahora dudan que haya cumplido su promesa de convertirse en una fuerza política nacional de peso dentro del Partido Republicano.

“Me apena decirlo, pero creo que están un tanto sobrevalorados”, comentó un asesor de Trump. “Hasta cierto punto, el MAHA siempre ha sido un tigre de papel”.

En las últimas semanas, la Casa Blanca ha optado por candidatos con trayectorias sanitarias más convencionales para dirigir los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) y la dirección de Sanidad, apartándose así de los esfuerzos que Kennedy realizó al inicio de su mandato para ocupar los altos cargos del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos (HHS) con aliados cercanos y escépticos del establishment.

Los asesores de Trump también han frenado los controvertidos intentos del HHS de reformular las políticas de vacunación y reestructurar la investigación médica, favoreciendo en su lugar un giro hacia temas de mayor atractivo popular como la reducción de los precios de los medicamentos y la mejora del seguro médico. En un episodio perjudicial, Trump se puso del lado de las grandes corporaciones agrícolas —en detrimento de Kennedy y de los activistas del movimiento MAHA— al intentar acelerar la producción nacional de un controvertido herbicida.

Esta recalibración estratégica, realizada de cara a las elecciones de mitad de mandato, ha suscitado temores entre los aliados cercanos de Kennedy de que este esté siendo marginado dentro de la administración, abriendo así una nueva brecha en el seno de la incipiente alianza MAGA-MAHA.

Por un lado, algunos asesores y consejeros de Trump se han mostrado cada vez más irritados ante las exigencias planteadas por los influencers del movimiento MAHA en lo que respecta a las decisiones de personal y de política pública. Estos aliados sostienen que el movimiento MAHA ha complicado los esfuerzos para cubrir vacantes clave y avanzar en cuestiones de vital i

By Charlotte Reck, CNN

(CNN) — A German tourist has been awarded more than 900 euros (about $1,100) by judges after his family was left without sun loungers while on vacation in Greece because other guests had got there first.

While vacationing with his wife and two children on the island of Kos during the summer of 2024, the man, who has not been identified, claims the loungers were unavailable from as early as 6 a.m.

The traveler initially paid 7,186 euros (roughly $8,500) for an 11-day trip at a 384-room hotel, which boasted multiple pools, relaxation spots and access to a beach, according to a ruling from the Hanover District Court.

Despite wooden signs prohibiting people reserving sun loungers with towels and then leaving them, the father-of-two said guests routinely ignored the warning.

Unimpressed by the reservation habits of others, he reported the issue to his tour operator but was informed that it was the hotel’s responsibility to enforce the house rules. When he attempted to contact the hotel staff with his concern that many loungers were rendered useless daily, he said he was unsuccessful.

Although the family woke early every day hoping to relax on loungers by the pool, they were successful just once, according to the ruling. Even on that occasion, the man said, only he and his wife were able to use the sun loungers while his children laid on towels on the ground.

Judges at the district court ruled in the man’s favor against the tour operator, deeming the vacation defective as the family’s needs were repeatedly unmet.

Following his original claim just months after the vacation ended, the man was given a partial refund. Now, judges have ruled the family is entitled to a further 986.70 euros (around $1,160).

Under German law, a travel defect exists if the organized trip fails to provide the agreed-upon characteristics stipulated when the booking was made.

While the court recognized the tour operator and hotel were not obligated to supply a sun lounger to every guest staying at the accommodation, it said the service provider must supply loungers in reasonable proportion to the number of hotel guests.

The court also reflected on the man’s claim that his children did not gain access to a lounger throughout their vacation, saying that even at the ages of nine and 12, the children had both a need and a right to a chair rather than the ground.

But the news of compensation might just put the mind of some sunseekers at ease. Every year, many cave under the pressure of early morning poolside sprints to bag the ideal spot in what has been termed “sunbed wars.”

The fight for loungers has forced some destinations across getaway hotspots Spain and Cyprus to ban the reservation of sun beds entirely

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CNN’s Claudia Otto contributed reporting.

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