By Chris Lau, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN) — With the Year of the Horse galloping into view, an unexpected face has emerged in China as a symbol of fortune: a villain from Harry Potter’s wizarding world.

Draco Malfoy, Potter’s privileged teen nemesis in J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful book series, is popping up in festive displays in the country ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The good fortune is in the name: “Malfoy” is transliterated as “Ma Er Fu” in Mandarin. The first word “Ma” means “horse” (马), while the third refers to good fortune (福). Read together, it sounds like horses are bringing good luck.

Videos on Chinese social media show people adorning their homes with red posters carrying well-wishing phrases, known as fai chun or chunlian, in an annual festive ritual.

Only this time, alongside messages wishing for wealth and health is the signature grin of the blond bully from Hogwarts school.

The Year of the Horse begins on February 17 with the end of the Year of the Snake (an animal equally apt for Malfoy, as the symbol of Slytherin, his house at Hogwarts).

The Harry Potter franchise has been a hit in China. Nearly 10 million translated copies of books were sold even before the last instalment was released in 2007, its Chinese publisher told state broadcaster CCTV that year.

When the re-mastered version of the first Harry Potter movie was released again in 2020, the film raked in $27.6 million at China’s box office, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Tom Felton, who played Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series for a decade from 2001, marked his most famous role’s unlikely crossover.

He posted a picture on his Instagram of a giant banner hanging at the atrium of a Chinese shopping mall, featuring the character in a wizard costume.

A short clip on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, shows someone sticking their Malfoy-faced fai chun on their fridge. The video garnered more than 60,000 likes, with another user commenting: “You’re genius.”

Some in China have spotted an opportunity to make a few bucks, selling the posters on Chinese e-commerce platforms.

“The fu has arrived,” one customer wrote on Pinduoduo, another e-commerce platform.

“Bring me some fortune in 2026, young master,” they said.

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Por Jack Guy, CNN

Un adolescente de 13 años que fue arrastrado al mar junto con su madre y dos hermanos salvó a su familia nadando cuatro kilómetros (2,5 millas) hasta la orilla en busca de ayuda “en condiciones adversas”, según informó la policía australiana.

El grupo practicaba kayak y paddleboard frente a la costa de Quindalup, en Australia Occidental, el viernes por la tarde cuando fueron arrastrados mar adentro, informó la Policía de Australia Occidental (WA Police Force) en un comunicado publicado el lunes en Facebook.

El joven “decidió regresar a la orilla cuando la luz empezaba a desvanecerse” y remó una corta distancia en su kayak antes de que este comenzara a llenarse de agua, lo que lo obligó a nadar de regreso para alertar a las autoridades alrededor de las 6 p.m., hora local (5 a.m. hora de Miami), explicaron los policías.

Se puso en marcha entonces un operativo de búsqueda y rescate, y una mujer de 47 años, un niño de 12 y una niña de ocho fueron “localizados por un helicóptero de rescate aferrados a una tabla de paddleboard”, según el comunicado.

“Se envió una embarcación de rescate marítimo voluntaria a su ubicación y los tres fueron rescatados con éxito y devueltos a la orilla”, añadieron las autoridades.

El adolescente, Austin Appelbee, dijo a la cadena 9News, afiliada a CNN, que pensar en su familia lo impulsó a seguir nadando.

“Solo me dije: ‘Está bien. Hoy no, hoy no, hoy no’”, contó. “Tenía que seguir adelante”.

“Las olas eran enormes. Nadé pecho, estilo libre y de espalda para sobrevivir”, declaró Austin al medio de comunicación.

“Llegué a la orilla de la playa y me derrumbé, y después tuve que correr dos kilómetros para llegar al teléfono”, añadió.

La hazaña del joven fue un “esfuerzo sobrehumano”, declaró el comandante de Rescate Marítimo Paul Bresland a 9News.

“Dos horas sin chaleco salvavidas y sí, lo logró”, dijo Bresland.

La madre de Austin, Joanne Appelbee, dijo que todos sus hijos han nadado desde muy pequeños.

“Estoy sin palabras por su esfuerzo, pero al mismo tiempo sabía que podía hacerlo”, comentó a 9News.

Marine Rescue Busselton dijo que fue “un gran resultado” en un comunicado independiente publicado el sábado en Facebook.

“Fantástico esfuerzo de todos los involucrados en condiciones difíciles”, decía el comunicado.

“Por favor, tengan en cuenta los fuertes vientos marinos que pueden producirse en esta época del año”, añadió.

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VENTURA, Calif. (KEYT) A Ventura dog has plenty of wags his tail about.

The Kooikerhondje, known as Fergus at home and "Carousel Ticket to Ride" in the ring, competed in the 150th Westminster Dog Show early Tuesday morning.

It was the second time Nicole and Tom Scurrah's dog took part in the prestigious show in New York City.

Scurrah posted on social media that they were "heading home with another rosette and medallion."

Fergus has already won countless ribbons, including some at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.

Due to stricter airline rules the Scurrahs didn't have a chance to buy Fergus an airline seat, so they drove to New York and will now drive back with some stops along the way to ski.

A condition of adopting Fergus from the breeder was to show him at least once and to breed him.

Scurrah got hooked on showing him even thought she said she never pictured herself showing at Westminster, not once, but twice.

Your News Channel will have more on Fergus and the Scurrah's adventure when they arrive home to Ventura later this month.

The post “Carousel Ticket to Ride” heading home from Westminster Dog Show appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Paula Reid, CNN

(CNN) — A Justice Department review found that Ed Martin improperly handled grand jury materials that were part of an investigation targeting Donald Trump’s political enemies, at least two sources familiar with the review told CNN. It was at least part of the reason Martin was pushed out of DOJ headquarters early this year.

The review, which was overseen by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office, focused on whether grand jury material gathered in the department’s mortgage fraud inquiries into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James had been illegally shared with people not authorized to possess that information, multiple people briefed on the matter told CNN.

The department found that Martin had shared the secret grand jury material in the Schiff case, one of the sources said. The person said Martin initially denied sharing the material with unauthorized people when asked by department leaders, but emails soon surfaced showing that Martin had in fact shared the grand jury material.

A second person told CNN a finding of misconduct gave the deputy attorney general a reason to further ostracize Martin. Martin was removed as the head of the so-called Weaponization Working Group on the first day of 2026 and he was relocated out of department headquarters to a building across town that houses the pardon attorney — Martin’s one remaining role.

“President Trump ordered Ed Martin to fight weaponization wherever it’s found,” a person close to Martin said. “As a member of the Deputy Attorney General’s staff, Ed handled hundreds of cases and matters directed by the DAG. Ed, his co-chair Colin McDonald, and the members of the Weaponization Working Group followed DOJ standards and procedures at all times.”

Martin is expected to leave the department in coming weeks.

He has not been charged with a crime, and the Justice Department hasn’t determined whether any law was broken.

In a statement to CNN, Blanche said, “there are no misconduct investigations into Ed Martin. Ed is doing a great job as Pardon Attorney.”

The statement did not address whether there was ever a review of Martin’s handling of grand jury material.

Martin has been a main figurehead in the president’s campaign to investigate or prosecute his political foes, including the investigation into Schiff and the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and James. A judge dismissed the Comey and James prosecutions in November, finding that the prosecutor who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.

In January 2025, Trump appointed Martin as the interim US attorney for Washington, DC. He immediately started working on Trump’s agenda, including demoting and pushing out senior prosecutors who worked on cases related to January 6 and vowing to protect employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He ultimately failed to receive enough support from the Senate, and Trump pulled his nomination for the position in May 2025.

The review of Martin’s handling of materials burst into public view in December after a witness who received a subpoena showed up at the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, seeking to testify.

The witness, a Republican woman from California named Christine Bish, told CNN that investigators asked her about two people who claimed to be working on fraud cases alongside Martin and Federal Housing Finance Agency Dire

By Marshall Cohen, Michael Williams, CNN

Washington, DC (CNN) — A wide array of election experts say President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to “nationalize the voting” is an alarming and potentially dangerous escalation of his continued efforts to transform how US elections are administered.

Trump’s remarks were notable both for their ambiguity and for what they could mean if interpreted literally – especially coming from a president who already tried to overturn one election and is now trying to exert powers that are unprecedented in American history, nearly a dozen election officials, lawyers and nonpartisan experts told CNN.

The executive branch has some powers with elections, like sending Justice Department voting-rights monitors to polling places, which it did last year in California and New Jersey. But Trump’s comments Monday that Republicans “should take over the voting” and “nationalize the voting” would bring the federal government’s role to a level never seen before in this country, which experts said usurps powers the Constitution grants to the states.

“There is one small problem – the Constitution prevents federalizing elections,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, told CNN. “It’s very alarming that Trump continues to use his platform to undermine American elections. These attacks are largely failing, but we need to take these comments seriously.”

The White House has since sought to downplay Trump’s remarks by claiming Tuesday that he was merely expressing support for the SAVE Act, pending legislation that would require people to prove their citizenship before registering to vote. (The bill is meant to combat illegal voting by undocumented immigrants, which studies have found occurs on a microscopic level.)

The timing of Trump’s comments was also jarring to election professionals. They came two days after Democrats flipped a ruby-red Texas state Senate seat; five days after the FBI used a search warrant to seize 2020 election records in Fulton County, Georgia; and amid multiple Justice Department lawsuits seeking to obtain voter rolls from Democratic states.

“We all need to be very, very sober about this,” said Lori Ringhand, a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who teaches constitutional and election law. “There are few things we do as a country as important as peacefully transferring power through the electoral process, and nobody should be kneecapping that lightly.”

What did Trump say?

The president started off on a familiar tangent in an interview that aired Monday with right-wing podcaster Dan Bongino, who until recently was serving as Trump’s FBI deputy director.

Trump said he inherited a porous border from former President Joe Biden, who allowed “millions” of undocumented immigrants into the country, including many murderers, drug addicts and people from mental institutions. (Aspects of these claims are disputed.)

“If we don’t get them out, Republicans wil