By Ray Sanchez, CNN

(CNN) — Days after Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco was arrested by federal officers in Nebraska last summer, government officials branded the Venezuelan delivery driver with incendiary labels: “a criminal illegal alien,” “a known Tren de Aragua terrorist” and even alleged he slammed one agent’s head into the ground and choked her.

But that version of events, reported by some news outlets, began unraveling when bystander videos contradicted accounts painting the immigrant as a villain, the officers as victims.

Then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche called Hurtado-Cariaco a “vicious Tren de Aragua gang member” in a June 2025 Justice Department statement.

“Violent attacks from terrorists against those who serve our communities will be met with swift and decisive justice,” Blanche said. The attorney general at the time, Pamela Bondi, weighed in, announcing a charge of attempted murder.

To his public defender, Hurtado-Cariaco’s case is yet another instance where video footage or other evidence largely undercuts the government’s account of immigration enforcement actions.

“It certainly seems like a pattern to me,” Federal Public Defender Richard McWilliams told CNN, referring to recent immigration arrests where DHS’ narratives were at odds with the evidence or undermined by video footage.

“If no one had recorded it, we’d be going to trial,” McWilliams said of his client’s arrest, underscoring just how crucial such documentation can be in high-stakes cases with pliable narratives.

Narrative travels ‘halfway around the world’

Hurtado-Cariaco, an asylum seeker paroled into the United States in 2024 after deserting the Venezuelan military, was indicted last summer on attempted murder and other charges, according to court documents.

The initial complaint, filed on the day he was apprehended, alleged Hurtado-Cariaco forcibly resisted arrest, according to a pre-sentencing court filing by McWilliams.

In an amended complaint a day later, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent wrote the defendant “violently threw himself” against the officer and caused her head to “smack harshly against the ground.” He later put the officer in a “chokehold” and continued to choke her “rather than simply flee the scene,” the complaint said.

Like in other cases before his, there would be no trial for Hurtado-Cariaco. He agreed to a plea bargain and threw himself at the mercy of the court for sentencing. He had no criminal record before his guilty plea, according to his attorney and court documents.

The difference in his case: the cellphone videos.

McWilliams, in the pre-sentencing filing, said HSI agents saw the videos via social media in mid-July, weeks after the arrest. The Nebraska US Attorney’s Office did not have those videos in han

Por David Mack, CNN

Cuando se celebró en Manhattan el estreno en Nueva York de la versión de Christopher Nolan de “La Odisea”, una estatua de un caballo de casi 12 metros de altura se alzaba sobre la alfombra roja. Otros equinos gigantes han estado recorriendo el país (y el Reino Unido) para promocionar la película, que también utiliza la imagen del icónico caballo de madera de Troya en algunos de sus carteles. Y aunque el poema griego antiguo original no narra con gran detalle los acontecimientos de la famosa estratagema mitológica, sigue siendo un símbolo poderoso para la nueva película de Nolan, algo que los fans que ya la han visto comprenden perfectamente.

En una secuencia visceral y emocionante, Nolan traslada al público al interior del caballo de Troya para una escena extensa y cruda que expone las condiciones agobiantes y aterradoras de quienes se esconden dentro, subrayando su hambre frenética y animal por triunfar en la batalla.

Esta escena, que dura varios minutos, no tiene parangón en las numerosas representaciones previas de este momento mitológico en la cultura popular. Max Nelson, profesor asociado de estudios griegos y romanos que ha impartido cursos sobre las representaciones del mundo antiguo en la pantalla en la Universidad de Windsor (Canadá), afirmó no recordar ninguna otra obra que atrapara al público junto a los griegos en el interior del caballo de una manera tan sombría. “Las duras condiciones que soportaron los griegos al esperar durante días dentro del caballo de Troya no se habían mostrado antes en pantalla”, señaló Nelson.

Lo que resulta especialmente novedoso en la película de Nolan es que invierte la perspectiva a la que el público está más acostumbrado. “Por lo general, el episodio se presenta desde el punto de vista de los troyanos, que deben decidir qué hacer con él”, explicó Nelson.

Es evidente que la escena llevaba tiempo rondando la mente de Nolan. El director británico estuvo vinculado brevemente al proyecto de la película “Troya” (2004), protagonizada por Brad Pitt, antes de que la dirección recayera en Wolfgang Petersen. “Llevaba mucho tiempo dándole vueltas a esto”, declaró el año pasado a la revista Empire. “Ciertas imágenes en particular: cómo quería abordar el caballo de Troya, cosas por el estilo”. Nolan también declaró este mes a The Independent que había dedicado mucho tiempo a pensar cómo representar el caballo de Troya y lograr que resultara “creíble” para el público. “Llevo veinte años con la imagen de ese caballo hundiéndose en la arena grabada en la mente”, afirmó.

De hecho, esta nueva película protagonizada por Matt Damon comienza con una breve escena en la que los troyanos descubren la estatua del caballo, aparentemente abandonada entre las olas a la orilla del mar, tal como Nolan la había imaginado. (El director comentó a Jon Stewart, de The Daily Show, que consideraba necesario que el caballo pareciera haber sido dejado allí, junto al mar, para que resultara “creíble” ante el público que los troyanos no lo vieran como una estratagema). El único griego que permanece allí, Sinón (Elliot Page), explica a los soldados troyanos que el caballo es una ofrenda de despedida a los dioses por parte de su ejército, que al parecer ha desistido del asedio a la ciudad, mantenido durante años.

Entonces, justo cuando creemos que vamos a seguir el regalo-trampa a través de las puertas de Troya, Nolan cambia de escena. No volvemos a ver el caballo hasta unos 45 minutos después, cuando Menelao (Jon Bernthal) relata a Telémaco (Tom Holland) cómo fue esconderse en el interior de la estatua junto al padre de este, Odiseo (Damon), y otros soldados.

La versión de los hechos que vemos en pantalla resulta aterradora, por no decir otra cosa. Se muestra a homb

By Logan Schiciano, CNN

(CNN) — Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina announced on Saturday he will run to replace Lindsey Graham in the Senate.

“For years, Senator Lindsey Graham fought hard to save America and defend South Carolina. Now, President Trump needs another proven America First conservative in the US Senate to deliver on those America First priorities,” Norman said in a news release.

Graham died last Saturday from a tear in his artery, according to preliminary findings from a medical examiner. His younger sister, Darline, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to serve out the remainder of the late senator’s term, which ends in January. The state will hold a special primary election next month to determine the Republican nominee in the general election in November.

President Donald Trump on Friday urged Darline Graham to run in the special primary and pledged his endorsement, though Graham has not yet announced her plans to do so.

Other potential candidates who have been floated include Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Rep. Nancy Mace, who both lost in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary this year.

The filing period for the GOP special primary begins on July 21 and ends on July 28.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with additional information.

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By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — There’s a World Cup match on today and absolutely not one person taking part in it wants to be there.

As we head into the final weekend of this magical 2026 World Cup, we have one of the strangest parts of the schedule to deal with first: The Bronze Final. England and France both lost this week, putting a stop to their summer dreams of World Cup glory, and yet they still aren’t quite allowed to go home.

Let’s get into why this match even exists and look ahead to Sunday’s final a bit more.

The Main Thing: England and France compete for ‘chocolate’ medal

After losing their semifinals just a few days ago, England and France were probably desperate to get out of the USA and heal their wounds in the comfort of their own homes.

But due to what I think is a strange quirk in the World Cup schedule, neither has been able to do so because they’ve got one more match to play.

The teams have flown to Miami to play the Bronze Final (previously the third-place playoff) in a game that no one truly cares about.

Yes, the winner gets $2 million more in prize money but trying to pump yourself up for a match after failing to reach the final is practically impossible.

Even FIFA President Gianni Infantino momentarily forgot about the game yesterday when he was addressing the media at Trump Tower next to the US president.

“There is one more game to go,” he said proudly, before realizing his mistake. “Well, two more games. The bronze medal tomorrow.”

In truth, you can’t blame him for not putting little importance on that match because the players themselves don’t want to be there either.

“None of us wanted to play in this game for third place,” France defender Ibrahima Konaté said. “But we don’t have a choice to play.”

It’s a similar story for England, who missed out on its first World Cup final since 1966 in heartbreaking fashion to Argentina.

“Nobody wants to be, tomorrow, in this game,” England’s manager Thomas Tuchel told reporters Friday. “All of these four teams wanted to be in New York (at the final). But it is an official World Cup game.”

Of course, like every match, there is at least something to play for.

For England, it’s a chance to record its best World Cup finish in 60 years, having lost the third-place playoff to Belgium in 2018. Tuchel says it’s impossible to switch off that competitive mentality and promised that his team would give its all.

For France, it’s an opportunity to give outgoing manager Didier Deschamps a winning send-off in what will be his final game in charge of the national team.

Deschamps had previously announced this tournament would be his last after such a successful spell in charge. He turned Les Bleus into a powerhouse yet again and led his country to the World Cup title back in 2018.

And while he wasn’t able to do it again this summer, his players seem motivated to give him a fitting goodbye.

“We ⁠want to pay back our coach,” Konaté added. “He did so much for the France team. We must be grateful to him for that, and we need to do everything we can to win this game … to get this chocolate medal, this bronze medal.”

Lastly, this game might also mean something more to Kylian Mbappé in the hunt for the Golden Boot. He has currently scored the same amount of goals as Lionel Messi (8), and this will be his last chance to usurp the Argentine in the race for the individual award.

The game will kick off at 5 p.m. ET later today in the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Who knows whether it will be worth a watch…

Quote of the day

These are the words of the inevitable headline-maker, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who addressed reporters at Trump Tower on Friday to reflect on the tournament.

Infantino shared the stage in a love