By Andi Babineau, Nick Watt, CNN

(CNN) — Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, is expected to appear in a Utah court Friday afternoon for what could be a consequential hearing in the case.

Robinson’s defense attorneys allege a conflict of interest exists at the Utah County Attorney’s Office and will be arguing to have the entire office disqualified from prosecuting the case – the latest development on the road to a state trial for the killing of the prominent conservative activist.

The defense team first addressed the potential conflict of interest during an October 24 hearing that was at the time sealed to the public: An attorney’s 18-year-old child was at the September 10 Utah Valley University event where Kirk was shot, according to court documents.

“A family member of one of the attorneys was present at the incident,” defense attorney Richard Novak told the court, according to a redacted transcript from the hearing. “Law enforcement were actually deployed to the area with her safety and status in mind.”

The attorney’s name has been redacted from public documents.

The daughter, a student at the university, was about 85 feet from where Kirk was seated, according to the documents.

The county attorney’s office will argue no conflict of interest exists because the attorney’s daughter, referred to as “adult child (AC)” in court documents, “did not see Charlie get shot,” and “did not see anyone [in the crowd or elsewhere] with a gun.”

The attorney’s office won’t be calling the daughter as a witness in the case because “nearly everything [AC] knows about the actual homicide is hearsay,” a document filed by the attorney’s office says. “And because Mr. [Dpty Atty] has no conflict of interest, the County Attorney’s Office also has no conflict of interest requiring disqualification.”

The defense also implies in its motion to disqualify that the attorney’s office’s decision to pursue the death penalty so quickly in the case may have been related to the alleged conflict of interest.

“The rush to seek death in this case evidences strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution, the motion says.

In Utah, prosecutors have 60 days after an arraignment to file notice of intent to pursue the death penalty against a defendant.

The attorney’s office pushed back on that assertion in their response, saying “there is nothing unusual or untoward about filing a death penalty notice before a preliminary hearing.”

The evidence and circumstances of the case “justify the death penalty,” and a delay “would have been unnecessarily unsettling and painful to Charlie Kirk’s loved ones and does not promote justice for anyone,” the court filing said.

Robinson will not be arraigned until after his preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to begin on May 18 and last three days. He has not yet entered a plea.

The brazen killing – seen by students in person and many more people in videos that spread swiftly online – took place as Kirk was speaking at the Utah university last year and was followed by an intense, 30-plus-hour manhunt for a sniper who authorities said fired the fatal shot from a nearby roof.

Robinson, who surrendered to police a day after the shooting, is facing a flurry of charges, including aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Several of the charges also include victim targeting enhancements and the aggravating factor of having committed a violent offense in the presence of a child.

A charging document laid out the key e

By Jessie Yeung, CNN

(CNN) — When Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado walked into the White House on Thursday, she came bearing the gift US President Donald Trump has long coveted: a Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado, a fierce critic of Venezuela’s former strongman Nicolás Maduro, won the award last year for her campaign for greater democracy. Now she was leaving the medal in the White House, hoping the gesture might buy her something far more valuable: US backing in the fight to lead Venezuela’s post-Maduro future.

But all she appeared to get in return for her audacious move was a Trump-branded swag bag – and little clarity.

Machado is one of two figures vying for the leadership of a post-Maduro Venezuela. Trump has placed Maduro’s ex-Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting president for now, even though she was a longtime regime insider.

“Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The Oslo-based Nobel Peace Center promptly reiterated that the medals cannot be shared or transferred.

“A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot,” the committee said on X.

Machado, meanwhile, gave an optimistic view of her meeting, calling it “historic” and “extraordinary.”

She added the Trump administration understood the need to rebuild institutions and protect human rights and free speech, and for a “new, genuine electoral process” to encourage Venezuelans to return to their country.

She also insisted Venezuela already has a president-elect: Edmundo González, the opposition candidate the US previously recognized after the country’s disputed 2024 election.

Government-appointed electoral authorities had named Maduro the winner, allowing him to cling to power until his abrupt capture by US special forces. But at the time, opposition leaders, as well as the US and international watchdogs, voiced concern about allegations of foul play.

But despite Washington’s earlier support for Machado and González, Trump did not rally behind the opposition after Maduro’s capture. Instead, he threw his support behind Rodriguez – a move that stunned many anti-Maduro figures.

Despite Machado’s upbeat tone, it remains unclear what, if anything, she secured beyond a photo-op and an official gift bag embossed with Trump’s signature.

The Trump administration has indicated several times that it views Rodriguez as a stable, pragmatic choice that the US can work with.

And on Thursday as their meeting kicked off, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s assessment of Machado had not budged.

“I know the president was looking forward to this meeting, and he was expecting it to be a good and positive discussion with Ms. Machado, who is really a remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela,” Leavitt said.

But she added Trump stands by his previous assertion that Machado lacks the necessary support to lead Venezuela. “At this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” she said.

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By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is exerting political pressure on Stars & Stripes, the independent military newspaper that informs US servicemembers worldwide.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced Thursday that the Department of Defense will “modernize” the outlet and “refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members.”

Parnell’s statement came as a shock to staffers at Stars & Stripes, who haven’t heard directly about any changes yet, and who now fear that the news outlet’s independence and credibility is at risk.

The statement also drew swift criticism from several Democratic lawmakers and First Amendment advocates.

“The Pentagon is trying to turn this independent newsroom into a mouthpiece for the administration’s political messaging,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director for PEN America. “This action tramples both the First Amendment and the congressional mandate that the publication remain editorially independent.”

Congress has repeatedly affirmed and sought to protect the newspaper’s unique status.

Stars & Stripes is a product of the US military and is partly funded by the Pentagon, but it models itself after commercial newspapers and covers the news freely, “without news management or censorship,” as Department of Defense policy states.

“By keeping its audience informed, Stars and Stripes enhances military readiness and better enables U.S. military personnel and their families stationed overseas to exercise their responsibilities of citizenship,” the newspaper’s website says.

Parnell, a close ally of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, described a few specific adjustments. “No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints,” he wrote.

Like many papers, Stars & Stripes runs wire stories from The Associated Press and Reuters, but Pentagon officials told right-wing website The Daily Wire that “this will no longer be the case.”

The Daily Wire also reported that all of the paper’s content “will be written by active-duty service members,” which alarmed the civilian staff who currently write stories.

Parnell described Stars & Stripes as being “custom tailored to our warfighters” going forward, prompting some journalists to say that the paper already is.

With no further details about what’s next, “people are obviously concerned about what this means for our ability to produce journalism going forward,” a Stripes staffer told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Richardson, of PEN America, urged Congress to “continue to protect Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence and ensure the administration allows it to serve military members free from political influence.”

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GOLETA, Calif.—At almost 80 years old, Adelaida Ortega is thriving playing the sport she loves.
  
But when she was 45 years old she lost her vision.
 
“You just don't think your life is ever going to be the same once your vision is gone, everything's gone,” said Ortega, who lives in Santa Barbara.
 
It was a dark time and a painful transition.
 
“ When you're depressed, you think about terrible things and you think, well, I should just end it all. I mean what’s my life? It was such a scary experience. Because, you know, before I had a job, I had my son, of course, my family. And we always did things together with the family. But then you can't be doing those things. And that was another thing. I lost my driver's license. Then you have to depend on people to pick you up and take you,” said Ortega.
 
She says it was through the support of her loved ones, a guide dog named Marvel, advancements in technology, and her golf coach that she was able to adjust and thrive.
  
“It's gotten me out of the house for sure, and I enjoy my life more now than when I did then, you know? So it really has just changed to just meeting everybody and talking to people and trying to help other people who are going through the same thing that I did,” said Ortega.
  
“Everybody's a little different. Everybody has their own rhythm and timing and they're set up. We establish five basic fundamentals alignment, grip and holding the club correctly rhythm, timing, ball position and length of swing,” said PGA Golf Professional Instructor Robert Kotowski.

Kotowski is an encouraging voice for the players here at Sandpiper Golf Club.
 
“I got an old saying I made up. Good players don't grunt when they're hitting the golf ball, okay? It's all about finding your own rhythm and being smooth and balanced.”
 
He has begun a new partnership with Blind Fitness, a local nonprofit dedicated to empowering visually impaired people through adaptive fitness and outdoor recreation.
 
Brianna Pettit created the organization during the pandemic.
  
“We have people here today that have flown a plane. There's just all these sports with without vision. So it's always possible if you keep an open mind,” said Pettit.
 
Each blind player enjoys the sport in their own way.
 
“If you can get a swing, that's reasonably consistent, you'll hit the ball. And so it's been a it's been a great challenge. And it's the what if I've met really nice people,” said Bob Resnick, who lives in Santa Barbara.

 “I hit a chip a nice chip, and it goes in the hole. Everybody else yells and I turn around and look back at my coach and say, what happened?
And then he tells me, but by then all the thrills is gone. I still get excited when I do things like that, and hit a nice shot,” said blind Golf Coach Bill Davis.

He says life after blindness can still be rich and beautiful.

“There's a lot of opportunities out there. The only restriction is that they have is their own, confidence. They have to have confidence,” said Davis.
 
A blind, disabled, and adaptive golf classic will be taking place January 27th at Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta.

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Por Brad Lendon

El mundo acaba de alcanzar un hito nuclear histórico. A pesar de la creciente tensión y las amenazas de guerra entre potencias como Rusia y Estados Unidos, el planeta ha logrado su periodo más largo sin detonaciones atómicas desde el inicio de la era nuclear en 1945. Este récord, marcado el pasado miércoles, rompe una racha de décadas y establece una nueva marca de seguridad global que se amplía con cada día que pasa.

Según Dylan Spaulding, científico sénior de la Unión de Científicos Preocupados (UCS, por sus siglas en inglés), la humanidad suma ya más de ocho años y cuatro meses sin realizar una prueba nuclear. Este logro supera cualquier intervalo registrado desde la histórica “Prueba Trinity” en Alamogordo, Nuevo México, el evento que desencadenó los bombardeos de Hiroshima y Nagasaki al final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, así lo escribió en un blog el miércoles.

Corea del Norte realizó la última prueba nuclear del mundo el 3 de septiembre de 2017.

El período anterior más largo sin una prueba fue desde el 30 de mayo de 1998, cuando Pakistán realizó su última prueba, hasta el 3 de octubre de 2006, cuando Corea del Norte realizó la primera.

Spaulding advierte lo frágil que se ha vuelto esta “racha ganadora”, dadas las amenazas del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump de reanudar las pruebas nucleares.

“Reabrir esta caja de Pandora es innecesario y poco sensato”, escribió Spaulding.

“Las pruebas sin control conducen a la competencia, la inestabilidad y un grado de incertidumbre que difícilmente podemos permitirnos, además de la precariedad global existente”, añadió.

Como otra señal de alerta, Trump ha dicho que está dispuesto a permitir la expiración el 5 de febrero de un tratado entre Estados Unidos y Rusia que limita la cantidad de armas nucleares desplegables que tiene cada bando.

Rusia mantiene el mayor arsenal de armas nucleares del mundo, con más de 4.300, según el Instituto Internacional de Investigación para la Paz de Estocolmo. Estados Unidos tiene unas 3.700, y según SIPRI, Moscú y Washington juntos representan el 90 % de las armas nucleares del mundo.

Desde la prueba Trinity, el mundo ha presenciado 2.055 pruebas nucleares por parte de ocho naciones, según la Asociación de Control de Armas.

Estados Unidos ha realizado la mayor cantidad de pruebas —1.030—, seguido por Rusia/URSS, 715; Francia, 210; China y el Reino Unido, 45; Corea del Norte, seis; India, tres; y Pakistán, dos.

Estas pruebas han ocurrido en lugares que van desde atolones del Pacífico hasta desiertos en Estados Unidos y China, pasando por el Ártico ruso, a menudo con graves consecuencias para la salud humana y el medio ambiente.

Las pruebas nucleares generalizadas se detuvieron a finales de la década de 1990, cuando se abrió para firma el Tratado de Prohibición Completa de los Ensayos Nucleares.

Aunque nunca ha entrado en vigor —principalmente porque Estados Unidos lo firmó, pero nunca lo ratificó—, los países en su mayoría han respetado sus condiciones, con la excepción de Corea del Norte, que ha sido considerada un estado rebelde y sancionada por las Naciones Unidas.

Y desde aquella prueba de 2017 en el sitio de pruebas de Punggye-ri en Corea del Norte, gran parte del mundo ha estado pendiente de si Kim Jong Un realizaría otra, dada su enorme inversión en un programa de misiles que le ha dado armas capaces de alcanzar el territorio continental de Estados Unidos.

Pero en los últimos meses, la atención se ha vuelto hacia Washington y Moscú, ya que Trump y posteriormente el líder ruso Vladimir Putin han amenazado con reiniciar las pruebas nucleares en sus respectivos países.

Estados Unidos realizó su última prueba nuclear el 23 de septiembre de 1992. Y la última vez que Rusia de