By Emily R. Condon, CNN

(CNN) — Protesters calling for the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan told CNN they were attacked by security guards protecting the country’s President Ilham Aliyev in Washington, DC on Thursday following President Donald Trumps’s inaugural Board of Peace meeting.

Footage circulated on social media shows protesters being thrown to the ground as a group of suited men physically apprehend them outside the hotel Aliyev was staying in.

The demonstrators had gathered outside of the hotel to advocate for political freedom of political prisoners and journalists. They had intended to be peaceful, according to protester Adil Amrakhly, who spoke to CNN via a translator. The incident happened as the group made its way toward Aliyev’s motorcade, which was returning from the Board of Peace event.

“If his (Aliyev’s) security personnel can attack peaceful protesters in the center of Washington, DC, it raises serious concerns about what happens to opposition members and the more than 400 political prisoners currently detained in Azerbaijan,” Amrakhly said.

Amrakhly told CNN the group was waiting near the hotel’s main entrance for Aliyev’s return and ran toward another entrance when they saw his vehicle approach it instead.

A spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s embassy to the US denied the claims, saying that Aliyev’s guards “had no choice” but to respond when “protesters violently attempted to enter the protected area and took offensive actions against the presidential vehicle.”

They added that the hotel was included in the US Secret Service’s official security perimeter for the event.

Another protester, Rahim Yagublu, whose father, Tofig Yagublu, is imprisoned in Azerbaijan, told CNN, “We did nothing to (the guards.)”

“The videos clearly show that I was only chanting slogans while they were hitting me,” Yagublu said.

The Metropolitan Police Department told CNN it is aware of the incident and no arrests were made. The US Secret Service, which was on the scene, declined to comment and has referred the issue to the State Department, according to MPD.

The State Department did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Amrakhly, who lives in Virginia and is an organizer for the Charter of the American Organization of Azerbaijani Political Refugees, said five people were injured, including one person with a concussion. He said some protesters’ family members, who still live in Azerbaijan, experienced political intimidation on Friday, with questioning at police stations and in their workplaces.

Yagublu told CNN that he is worried about his father now and fears the Azerbaijani government may torture or kill him in response. Last year, Tofig Yagublu was sentenced to nine years in prison for criticizing the government, according to the advocacy group Freedom Now.

Azerbaijan’s embassy did not respond before publication to comments alleging intimidation against the relatives of the protesters.

The incident recalls an incident in 2017 during which security officials for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan beat up protesters outside the country’s embassy in Washington. The US later dropped charges against 11 of the 15 bodyguards who were indicted after the brawl.

CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed to this report.

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The post Protesters say they were attacked by bodyguards for Azerbaijan president after Trump’s Board of Peace meet

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN

(CNN) — A ransomware attack has forced one of Mississippi’s largest health care systems to close clinics across the state on Friday, raising larger concerns about the cybersecurity of medical facilities across the country.

The closure affects all 35 of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s health clinics, which provide a range of care to patients from cancer treatment to chronic-pain management. The attack also caused the cancelation of elective procedures in what health officials said would be a “multi-day event.”

Doctors at UMMC are now using pen and paper as they treat patients because they are cut off from the electronic health records system they normally use to draw up patient information. A top FBI official in the state said the bureau was “surging resources both locally and nationally” in response to the attack.

The digital outage and cancellation of surgeries could strain a medical system whose $2 billion budget, according to its website, accounts for two percent of the state’s economy.

Emergency rooms remain open and UMMC doctors are drilled on delivering services when computers are down.

“We do not know how long this situation may last,” LouAnn Woodward, a vice chancellor at UMMC, said at a press conference Thursday. “As a precaution, all of our IT systems have been taken down, and risk assessment will be conducted before we bring things back up.”

A disruptive ransomware attack like this is familiar to hundreds of health care organizations across the US, which have suffered attacks in recent years. Other ransomware attacks have threatened patient safety, caused delays in crucial medication being distributed and cost the economy billions of dollars in aggregate. The attacks typically involve the hackers locking or stealing data and then demanding payment from victim hospitals.

It was unclear Friday if the hackers had made ransom demands. In general, hospitals can be vulnerable to extortion by hackers because of the pressure hospital executives face to get critical care functions back online, experts have told CNN.

Officials from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services have been closely monitoring the UMMC ransomware attack’s impacts since Thursday, sources familiar with the federal response told CNN.

“The attackers have communicated to us and we’re working with the authorities and the specialists on next steps,” Woodward told reporters.

“Ransomware attacks targeting US hospitals and health care continue to increase at a very concerning rate,” said John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association.

“Any cyberattack which disrupts or delays health care delivery, poses a risk to patient and community safety,” Riggi said, speaking generally rather than on the Mississippi hack specifically. “This is especially so in rural areas where the next nearest available hospital or trauma center may be over 100 miles away.”

There is a broader concern in the US health care sector about potential blowback in cyberspace if the US military strikes Iran in the coming days, which has prepared to do if ordered by President Donald Trump.

Iranian hackers have been linked to numerous cyberattacks on US health organizations in the past decade, and cyber specialists are preparing for a possible uptick in hacks should the US strike, one expert told CNN. There is no indication that Iran is responsible for the attack in Mississippi.

“We are keeping an elevated threat level and watching this Iran situation for potential impacts,” said one cyber expert focused on health care who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they wer

Por Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español

El secretario de Economía de México, Marcelo Ebrard, dijo este viernes que el país toma con “prudencia” el anuncio del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, sobre que impondrá nuevos aranceles globales del 10 %, luego de que la Corte Suprema de EE.UU. determinó que son ilegales los impuestos al comercio mundial que el mandatario había impuesto previamente.

Durante una conferencia de prensa, Ebrard señaló que México revisará tanto el fallo de la Corte de Estados Unidos como el anuncio de nuevos aranceles.

“Primero, lo que aconsejaría es prudencia. ¿Por qué? Porque acaba de haber una conferencia de prensa del presidente de los Estados Unidos. Entonces, lo primero que tenemos que hacer es actuar, como ha dicho la presidenta (Claudia) Sheinbaum, con sangre fría”, dijo el secretario.

“Él acaba de anunciar hace unos momentos que va a imponer otros aranceles en sustitución a los que les quitó la Corte. Entonces, tenemos que ver cómo va a ser eso. Parece que va a ser en los próximos tres días”, agregó.

De acuerdo con Ebrard, el 85 % de lo que México exporta a Estados Unidos, su principal socio comercial, no tiene aranceles.

Ebrard también dijo que la próxima semana viajará a Estados Unidos para revisar en qué situación queda México después del anuncio de Trump de este viernes. Él y otros funcionarios de México se mantienen en comunicación con sus pares de EE.UU. y Canadá de cara a la renegociación del tratado comercial entre los tres países (T-MEC), un proceso que está previsto para este año.

El fallo de la Corte que pone freno a los aranceles que Trump había impuesto el año pasado representa uno de los mayores reveses que ha tenido el mandatario desde que inició su segundo período presidencial el 20 de enero de 2025.

Cuando los anunció, Trump argumentó que eran una medida necesaria porque, desde su perspectiva, Estados Unidos pierde en la mayoría de sus relaciones comerciales con el mundo. Varios países rechazaron la medida.

Este viernes, Trump dijo estar “profundamente decepcionado” con la resolución de la Corte y consideró que esta no actúa en beneficio de los estadounidenses, por lo que ahora su gobierno impondrá nuevos impuestos al comercio.

Luego de que se dio a conocer el fallo contra los anteriores aranceles de Trump, el Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica dijo en un comunicado que se mantendrá monitoreando la situación en busca de posibles afectaciones a las exportaciones del país.

“De igual forma, seguiremos fortaleciendo el diálogo con los Estados Unidos para impulsar un comercio bilateral libre y comprensivo que beneficie a ambas naciones. El Ministerio de Comercio Exterior ha mantenido por varios meses un diálogo prudente y productivo con las autoridades estadounidenses reafirmando el papel de Costa Rica como socio estratégico y como suplidor seguro y resiliente”, dijo.

Hasta ahora, Costa Rica no se ha pronunciado sobre los nuevos aranceles del 10 % anunciados por Trump.

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By Alexandra Skores, Aaron Cooper, CNN

Washington (CNN) — It was not a mistake to close the airspace around El Paso, Texas, last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

He declined to share details about what happened and the subsequent finger pointing, saying he would speak to Congress before addressing it publicly.

“We have a briefing next week on Capitol Hill. We are going to go through that briefing and talk to the members of Congress,” he said.

Last Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration abruptly grounded all flights up to 18,000 feet around the Texas city for 10 days, effectively shutting down El Paso International Airport.

The decision to close the airspace was made without first telling the White House, sources told CNN, and drew intense focus inside the West Wing. The restrictions were reversed about eight hours later.

“I don’t think there was a lack of communication,” Duffy said. “We have good partners. I’m friends with all of the players that are involved. From Marco (Rubio) to Pete (Hegseth) to Kristi (Noem). We all know each other well and we all communicate well.”

Duffy initially posted on social media that the closure was because of the military acting to “address a cartel drone incursion” which had been “neutralized.”

However, sources told CNN the closure came after Customs and Border Protection officials deployed a high-energy counter-drone laser on loan from the Pentagon without having coordinated with the FAA about potential risks to civilian flights.

“I use information that I get,” Duffy said before asking if any questions related to the trucking industry, which was the intended focus of his remarks.

“I appreciate the interest in El Paso… I served on the Hill, as you know, and I think we owe a conversation with the Hill before I have a conversation with you. And so that’s what we will do,” Duffy said. “I’ll take the Hill’s questions before yours and, you know, we’ll go from there.”

CNN’s Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, Natasha Bertrand and Pete Muntean contributed to this report.

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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday, Kevin Dong and Wei Nie, both of Hacienda Heights, have been charged with four felony counts connected to an alleged statewide commercial sex business.

On Feb. 17, Dong and Nie made their first court appearance and pled guilty to all charges. They remain in custody with bail set at $50,000 and are next due in court for an early disposition conference on Feb. 26.

The married couple were arrested earlier this month after a year-long investigation and are alleged to have owned and operated an internet-based commercial sex business as well as set up appointments at multiple residential and hotel locations statewide, including in Ventura County, stated a press release from the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

During the investigation, detectives identified more than 30 residential and hotel brothel locations across the state and over 60 profiles of women on the website believed to be commercial sex workers operating at the advertised locations detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

On Feb. 11 and 12, multiple law enforcement agencies executed search warrants at several suspected brothel locations in Ventura and Los Angeles counties during which multiple women who are suspected to be potential victims of human trafficking were contacted and provided support from victim-service providers explained the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the felony charge of conspiracy to commit a crime and three felony counts of pimping are related to three sex workers contacted earlier this month in Ventura County, but do not capture all of the alleged crimes perpetrated by the Hacienda Heights couple that are still part of a statewide investigation.

Community awareness serves a crucial role in human trafficking noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

If you suspect potential human trafficking anywhere in Ventura County, you are asked to contact the 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-800-636-6738.

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