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  • POLICE: Public asked to avoid area due to police investigation in Clermont

    The Clermont Police Department is advising the public to avoid the area near 12th and Lake Minneola Drive on Thursday. An investigation is being conducted in the area known as West Park, CPD said. This may lead to traffic restrictions in the area.>> This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.

    CLERMONT, Fla. —

    The Clermont Police Department is advising the public to avoid the area near 12th and Lake Minneola Drive on Thursday.

    An investigation is being conducted in the area known as West Park, CPD said.

    This may lead to traffic restrictions in the area.

    This content is imported from Facebook.
    You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

    >> This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.

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  • Person barricaded near shopping center in Winters, police say to avoid the area

    Person barricaded near shopping center in Winters, police say to avoid the area

    Updated: 10:25 PM PST Dec 26, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Multiple law enforcement agencies are working to draw a barricaded person outside of a building in Winters, according to police. The Winters Police Department said there is no threat to the public, but is advising people to avoid the area of East Street, Edwards Street, Baker Street and East Abbey Street. The scene is near a shopping center in that area that includes a Round Table Pizza and Dollar General store. It is unclear what led to the person being barricaded or whether they are armed. This is a developing story. Stay with KCRA 3 for the latest. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    Multiple law enforcement agencies are working to draw a barricaded person outside of a building in Winters, according to police.

    The Winters Police Department said there is no threat to the public, but is advising people to avoid the area of East Street, Edwards Street, Baker Street and East Abbey Street. The scene is near a shopping center in that area that includes a Round Table Pizza and Dollar General store.

    It is unclear what led to the person being barricaded or whether they are armed.

    This is a developing story. Stay with KCRA 3 for the latest.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein

    At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.Related video above: Justice Department’s partial release of Epstein files frustrates lawmakersThe missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.The Justice Department didn’t answer questions Saturday about why the files disappeared but said in a post on X that “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”Online, the unexplained missing files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding long-standing intrigue about Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.Scant new insight in the initial disclosuresSome of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.The gaps go further.The records, required to be released under a recent law passed by Congress, hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not, and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountabilityAmong the fresh nuggets: insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to that state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton, but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.Despite a Friday deadline set by Congress to make everything public, the Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress, who fought to pass the law forcing the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them.”I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.Many of the long-anticipated records were redacted or lacked contextFederal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.The documents just made public were a sliver of potentially millions of pages of records in the department’s possession. In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.Many of the records released so far had been made public in court filings, congressional releases, or Freedom of Information Act requests, though, for the first time, they were all in one place and available for the public to search for free.Ones that were new were often lacking necessary context or heavily blacked out. A 119-page document marked “Grand Jury-NY,” likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, including photos of the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions, and no explanation was given for why any of them were together.The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007, yet never charged him.Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.One had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage.Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.”For every girl that I brought to the table, he would give me $200,” she said. They were mostly people she knew from high school, she said. “I also told them that if they are underage, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.”The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers did more than a decade later with the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges.Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.He also said the Justice Department might have been more reluctant to make a federal prosecution out of a case that straddled the legal border between sex trafficking and soliciting prostitution, something more commonly handled by state prosecutors.”I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta added. He also said that the public today would likely view the survivors differently.”There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,” Acosta said.Associated Press journalists Ali Swenson, Christopher L. Keller, Aaron Kessler and Mike Catalini contributed to this report.

    NEW YORK (AP) —

    At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.

    Related video above: Justice Department’s partial release of Epstein files frustrates lawmakers

    The missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

    The Justice Department didn’t answer questions Saturday about why the files disappeared but said in a post on X that “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”

    Online, the unexplained missing files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding long-standing intrigue about Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

    The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.

    Scant new insight in the initial disclosures

    Some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.

    Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.

    The gaps go further.

    The records, required to be released under a recent law passed by Congress, hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not, and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountability

    Among the fresh nuggets: insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to that state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.

    The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.

    There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton, but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.

    Despite a Friday deadline set by Congress to make everything public, the Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.

    That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress, who fought to pass the law forcing the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them.

    “I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.

    Many of the long-anticipated records were redacted or lacked context

    Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

    The documents just made public were a sliver of potentially millions of pages of records in the department’s possession. In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.

    Many of the records released so far had been made public in court filings, congressional releases, or Freedom of Information Act requests, though, for the first time, they were all in one place and available for the public to search for free.

    Ones that were new were often lacking necessary context or heavily blacked out. A 119-page document marked “Grand Jury-NY,” likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.

    Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, including photos of the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions, and no explanation was given for why any of them were together.

    The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007, yet never charged him.

    Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.

    One had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage.

    Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.

    “For every girl that I brought to the table, he would give me $200,” she said. They were mostly people she knew from high school, she said. “I also told them that if they are underage, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.”

    The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers did more than a decade later with the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges.

    Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.

    He also said the Justice Department might have been more reluctant to make a federal prosecution out of a case that straddled the legal border between sex trafficking and soliciting prostitution, something more commonly handled by state prosecutors.

    “I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta added. He also said that the public today would likely view the survivors differently.

    “There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,” Acosta said.

    Associated Press journalists Ali Swenson, Christopher L. Keller, Aaron Kessler and Mike Catalini contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein

    At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.Related video above: Justice Department’s partial release of Epstein files frustrates lawmakersThe missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.The Justice Department didn’t answer questions Saturday about why the files disappeared but said in a post on X that “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”Online, the unexplained missing files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding long-standing intrigue about Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.Scant new insight in the initial disclosuresSome of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.The gaps go further.The records, required to be released under a recent law passed by Congress, hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not, and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountabilityAmong the fresh nuggets: insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to that state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton, but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.Despite a Friday deadline set by Congress to make everything public, the Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress, who fought to pass the law forcing the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them.”I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.Many of the long-anticipated records were redacted or lacked contextFederal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.The documents just made public were a sliver of potentially millions of pages of records in the department’s possession. In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.Many of the records released so far had been made public in court filings, congressional releases, or Freedom of Information Act requests, though, for the first time, they were all in one place and available for the public to search for free.Ones that were new were often lacking necessary context or heavily blacked out. A 119-page document marked “Grand Jury-NY,” likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, including photos of the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions, and no explanation was given for why any of them were together.The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007, yet never charged him.Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.One had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage.Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.”For every girl that I brought to the table, he would give me $200,” she said. They were mostly people she knew from high school, she said. “I also told them that if they are underage, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.”The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers did more than a decade later with the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges.Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.He also said the Justice Department might have been more reluctant to make a federal prosecution out of a case that straddled the legal border between sex trafficking and soliciting prostitution, something more commonly handled by state prosecutors.”I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta added. He also said that the public today would likely view the survivors differently.”There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,” Acosta said.Associated Press journalists Ali Swenson, Christopher L. Keller, Aaron Kessler and Mike Catalini contributed to this report.

    NEW YORK (AP) —

    At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.

    Related video above: Justice Department’s partial release of Epstein files frustrates lawmakers

    The missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

    The Justice Department didn’t answer questions Saturday about why the files disappeared but said in a post on X that “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”

    Online, the unexplained missing files fueled speculation about what was taken down and why the public was not notified, compounding long-standing intrigue about Epstein and the powerful figures who surrounded him. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing image featuring a Trump photo in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

    The episode deepened concerns that had already emerged from the Justice Department’s much-anticipated document release. The tens of thousands of pages made public offered little new insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges for years, while omitting some of the most closely watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal Justice Department memos on charging decisions.

    Scant new insight in the initial disclosures

    Some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found in the Justice Department’s initial disclosures, which span tens of thousands of pages.

    Missing are FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions — records that could have helped explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.

    The gaps go further.

    The records, required to be released under a recent law passed by Congress, hardly reference several powerful figures long associated with Epstein, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew, renewing questions about who was scrutinized, who was not, and how much the disclosures truly advance public accountability

    Among the fresh nuggets: insight into the Justice Department’s decision to abandon an investigation into Epstein in the 2000s, which enabled him to plead guilty to that state-level charge, and a previously unseen 1996 complaint accusing Epstein of stealing photographs of children.

    The releases so far have been heavy on images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with some photos of celebrities and politicians.

    There was a series of never-before-seen photos of former President Bill Clinton, but fleetingly few of Trump. Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships. Neither has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and there was no indication the photos played a role in the criminal cases brought against him.

    Despite a Friday deadline set by Congress to make everything public, the Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. The department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.

    That approach angered some Epstein accusers and members of Congress, who fought to pass the law forcing the department to act. Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them.

    “I feel like again the DOJ, the justice system is failing us,” said Marina Lacerda, who alleges Epstein started sexually abusing her at his New York City mansion when she was 14.

    Many of the long-anticipated records were redacted or lacked context

    Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

    The documents just made public were a sliver of potentially millions of pages of records in the department’s possession. In one example, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many duplicated material already turned over by the FBI.

    Many of the records released so far had been made public in court filings, congressional releases, or Freedom of Information Act requests, though, for the first time, they were all in one place and available for the public to search for free.

    Ones that were new were often lacking necessary context or heavily blacked out. A 119-page document marked “Grand Jury-NY,” likely from one of the federal sex trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein in 2019 or Maxwell in 2021, was entirely blacked out.

    Trump’s Republican allies seized on the Clinton images, including photos of the Democrat with singers Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. There were also photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey, and even Epstein with TV newscaster Walter Cronkite. But none of the photos had captions, and no explanation was given for why any of them were together.

    The meatiest records released so far showed that federal prosecutors had what appeared to be a strong case against Epstein in 2007, yet never charged him.

    Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, released publicly for the first time, included testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein. The youngest was 14 and in ninth grade.

    One had told investigators about being sexually assaulted by Epstein when she initially resisted his advances during a massage.

    Another, then 21, testified before the grand jury about how Epstein had hired her when she was 16 to perform a sexual massage and how she had gone on to recruit other girls to do the same.

    “For every girl that I brought to the table, he would give me $200,” she said. They were mostly people she knew from high school, she said. “I also told them that if they are underage, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18.”

    The documents also contain a transcript of an interview Justice Department lawyers did more than a decade later with the U.S. attorney who oversaw the case, Alexander Acosta, about his ultimate decision not to bring federal charges.

    Acosta, who was labor secretary during Trump’s first term, cited concerns about whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.

    He also said the Justice Department might have been more reluctant to make a federal prosecution out of a case that straddled the legal border between sex trafficking and soliciting prostitution, something more commonly handled by state prosecutors.

    “I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta added. He also said that the public today would likely view the survivors differently.

    “There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming,” Acosta said.

    Associated Press journalists Ali Swenson, Christopher L. Keller, Aaron Kessler and Mike Catalini contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • WATCH: Motorist shows moments military plane crash lands

    A military plane crash-landed in a southeast Oklahoma City field on Thursday, with one motorist capturing the plane on video as he was driving in the area.In the video provided by Matthew Topchian, the plane, identified as an Air Force OA-1K Skyraider II, can be seen coming down just above the tree line before partially landing on a roadway.Oklahoma National Guard officials said the crash happened near Southeast 119th Street and South Sooner Road and that two crew members were on board. One of the crew members was a civilian contractor and the other an active-duty U.S. Air Force member.Neither were injured in the incident.Officials said the plane and the crew were assigned to the 492d Special Operations Wing that operates out of Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. They were on a training mission at the time of the crash-landing.

    OKLAHOMA CITY —

    A military plane crash-landed in a southeast Oklahoma City field on Thursday, with one motorist capturing the plane on video as he was driving in the area.

    In the video provided by Matthew Topchian, the plane, identified as an Air Force OA-1K Skyraider II, can be seen coming down just above the tree line before partially landing on a roadway.

    Oklahoma National Guard officials said the crash happened near Southeast 119th Street and South Sooner Road and that two crew members were on board. One of the crew members was a civilian contractor and the other an active-duty U.S. Air Force member.

    Neither were injured in the incident.

    Officials said the plane and the crew were assigned to the 492d Special Operations Wing that operates out of Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. They were on a training mission at the time of the crash-landing.

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  • This CEO Took His Company Public 2 Years Ago. Here’s His Best Advice for How to IPO

    But how does a company actually go public—and what does a CEO need to do to adapt their leadership style in the aftermath?

    To learn more, Inc. spoke with Marc de Garidel, CEO of the publicly-traded biotech company Abivax, which focuses on developing treatments for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. Abivax went public in 2015 on Europe’s Euronext exchange, then did so again in 2023—after de Garidel came aboard—with an American IPO on the Nasdaq, where its shares have since risen by more than 700 percent despite launching in the midst of a geopolitical crisis. Here’s what de Garidel had to say about his journey.

    You became CEO in May of 2023, and the U.S. IPO came in October. How did that play out?

    When I came in, the board told me, ‘You need to do an IPO as soon as possible, because we don’t have enough money to finish our phase three trials.’ So we built a business plan on how to build a premier company around inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, and how to disrupt the landscape. So there was much more ambition, more long-term thinking, and the intent to raise a large amount of capital in order to execute that strategy. We did basically two months of work, and we laid it out to the board. The board accepted it, and we started the traditional IPO process. We picked a number of banks who could be part of the bank syndicate. We picked the appropriate lawyers; we worked with Cooley to support the legal work. And off we went.

    If you remember, in 2023 the market was starting to really be shaky. Before us, there were only 10 IPOs. We were going to be the 11th. We had meetings with maybe 50 or 60 investors at that time. We were pretty optimistic. Then, in the summer, the index started to further decline, and in October, as we were getting to go out for the IPO, the Gaza invasion occurred. Everything broke loose. Stocks went down. That week, there were three IPOs that were supposed to go, and in the end we were the only one that made it happen. But I can tell you, as the week progressed, we started to see the number of potential orders shrinking.

    What was your approach with your employees and with shareholders during the IPO?

    It’s a process that needs to be taken with a lot of care. Externally, you need three things. One, you need very good lawyers who are very accustomed to the process and have a good relationship with the SEC, because obviously you file your S-1 and need to make sure that the story you tell on the S-1 is okay from a legal standpoint, but also acceptable by the SEC. Two, you need to have a bank syndicate which will try to sell the story to investors, to their network, where you create a lot of demand so that when you do the IPO, you have an excess of demand for buying the shares. And the third piece is your investor base. This is why doing a prior crossover round was essential, because it anchored a set of top-notch U.S. investors who—even if the IPO environment was going to be bad—were ready to cover the financing needs of the company. This gave a lot of confidence to new investors, because one of the first questions they ask as part of the IPO process is how much of the IPO money the current investors would cover. If it’s only 10 or 20 percent, then they say, ‘Oh, it means that all these guys want to get out, and they don’t believe in the future of the company.’ In our case, we knew it would be nearly 100 percent; so there was a very, very strong syndicate through the crossover, ensuring that almost whatever happened, we could do this IPO.

    How did you change your leadership style after you went public? Is it different running a public company versus a private one?

    It requires more rigor. You have this cadence of reporting to investors. There are things you can say; things you cannot say. You need to be very careful about how you convey the information. You have to portray confidence, but what you don’t want is to over-promise and go into a situation where ultimately you don’t deliver what you said—and then you’re dead. What I say often is: “I do what I say, I say what I do.” I tend to not over-promise and not be too rosy, but try to be confident. You don’t want to be too aggressive with investors, but at the same time, you need to show that you still believe in your project and your venture. So it’s a dance.

    The IPO market seems like it’s slowly opening back up, at least in the U.S. What advice would you give entrepreneurs and business leaders who are curious about going public and capitalizing on that opportunity?

    It’s an exaggeration, but in this market, you have only one chance to go. Investors are very, very picky and very tough, because they are very uncertain. They are not doing too well. So if you go, be very, very prepared. Don’t go if you’re not prepared; you need to answer to many people, and you need to have milestones in the short term. If you have to wait two and a half years before you can demonstrate value, don’t go, because you’ll get creamed. In this current environment, you really need to set clear milestones which are tangible elements of value appreciation for the shareholder and for the investors. Otherwise, you’re cooked, and it’s better to continue the private path.

    Brian Contreras

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  • L.A. planners clear $2-billion project in Skid Row neighborhood

    A proposed mega-development in downtown Los Angeles, which would replace a cold storage facility with a $2-billion residential and commercial complex, cleared a major hurdle last week when the city Planning Commission backed it.

    Commissioners unanimously recommended the construction of Fourth & Central in the Skid Row neighborhood.

    The 7.6-acre compound along Central Avenue that would contain apartments, offices, shops and restaurants in 10 distinct buildings of various sizes that would change the city skyline. The City Council will consider final approval later this year.

    The project, which would be built near the neighborhood’s boundary with the Arts District, is being proposed by property owner Larry Rauch, president of Los Angeles Cold Storage. His family has operated food chilling facilities at Fourth Street and Central Avenue since the 1960s and plans to move the business to a new location.

    In its place would be 1,589 rental apartments with 249 affordable units, along with 401,000 square feet of creative office space and 145,748 square feet of retail or restaurant space. The complex was conceived by Long Beach architect Studio One Eleven.

    In response to changing market conditions and reactions from community members, a number of revisions have been made to Fourth & Central since the project was initially proposed in 2021.

    Rendering of Fourth & Central, a $2-billion mixed-use development planned to replace a cold storage facility in downtown Los Angeles.

    (Tomorrow Inc)

    The tallest building, an apartment tower, has been reduced to 30 stories from 44. With housing more in demand than lodging, the hotel originally planned for the project has been replaced by additional residential units, including more affordable housing units.

    The open space design has been changed to create better pedestrian connections to the Little Tokyo Galleria shopping center north of the complex. The 2 acres of open space in the project will be accessible to the public, Rauch said.

    Denver real estate developer Continuum Partners, which initially launched the project with Rauch, is no longer involved, Rauch said.

    “Continuum has chosen to focus its resources elsewhere at this time; the Fourth & Central Project will be moving forward with LA Cold Storage at the lead,” he said in a statement.

    If approved, it would probably take a year to 18 months to complete final plans for the project before starting work. Fourth & Central is moving through its preliminary stages at a time when many other developers have put residential projects in Los Angeles on hold because it’s difficult to find viable construction financing at current interest rates.

    Many equity investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies, are also reluctant to park money in L.A. because the rapidly changing rules make it impossible to predict profits.

    Among investors’ concerns are public policies such as the United to House Los Angeles (Measure ULA) transfer tax on large real estate sales, and also temporary limits on evicting tenants that were enacted during the pandemic.

    “We’ve spent years working on our plan to transform this industrial property into a mixed-use community, which made it so rewarding to hear city decision-makers agree with our vision,” Rauch said after the Planning Commission vote.

    Among the organizations voicing support for the project were the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, the Little Tokyo Business Assn. and the Central City Assn.

    “This project represents a significant stride toward addressing the region’s housing challenges,” said Nella McOsker, president of the Central City Assn. “Plus, the new retail and restaurant space will attract business and people to downtown.”

    Fourth & Central is not the only mega project being planned on the east side of downtown.

    In July, the City Council approved 670 Mequit, a $1.4-billion complex intended to have apartments, offices, a hotel, a charter elementary school, shops and restaurants. It is to replace a cold storage facility on the west side of the Los Angeles River with the mixed-use complex designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels Group.

    Roger Vincent

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  • Deadly rampage at UK synagogue was a terrorist attack, authorities say

    An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue Thursday in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.Officers shot and killed the suspect outside Manchester, police said, though authorities took some time to confirm he was dead because he was wearing a vest that made it appear as if he had explosives. Authorities later said he did not have a bomb.The Metropolitan Police in London, who lead counter-terrorism policing operations, declared the rampage a terrorist attack.Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said two other suspects were arrested, though he provided no further information on the arrests. He said police believe they know the identity of the man who carried out the attack but have not confirmed it.The attack took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue in a suburban neighborhood of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Police said the two people killed were Jewish.Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.More than 1,500 incidents were reported in the first half of the year, the second-highest six-month total reported since the record set over the same period a year earlier.“This is every rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,” said Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of Maidenhead Synagogue and head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain. “Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering.”Witnesses describe a car driving toward the synagogue and then a stabbing attackGreater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue around 9:30 a.m. — shortly after services had begun.Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the man drove directly at pedestrians outside the synagogue and then attacked them with a knife.Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside their house and said there had been a “terrorist attack.”A witness told her that she saw a car driving erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship.“She thought maybe he had a heart attack,” Lewin said. “The second he got out of the car, he started stabbing anyone near him. He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.”Minutes later, police fired shots, hitting the assailant.Video on social media showed police with guns pointed at a person lying on the ground beneath a blue Star of David on the brick wall of the synagogue.A bystander could be heard on the video saying the man had a bomb and was trying to detonate it. When the man tried to stand up, a gunshot rang out and he fell to the ground.On the sidewalk outside the synagogue gate nearby, the body of another person lay in a pool of blood.Watson credited security guards and congregants for their bravery in preventing the assailant from getting inside the prayer service.Police later detonated an explosion to get into the suspect’s car.Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.Authorities declare an emergencyImmediately after the attack, police declared “Plato,” the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.”Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and that additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.He flew back to London early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.“The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened″ to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident, and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,’′ he said on his social media feed.___Pylas and Melley reported from London.

    MANCHESTER, England —

    An assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue Thursday in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said.

    Officers shot and killed the suspect outside Manchester, police said, though authorities took some time to confirm he was dead because he was wearing a vest that made it appear as if he had explosives. Authorities later said he did not have a bomb.

    The Metropolitan Police in London, who lead counter-terrorism policing operations, declared the rampage a terrorist attack.

    Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said two other suspects were arrested, though he provided no further information on the arrests. He said police believe they know the identity of the man who carried out the attack but have not confirmed it.

    The attack took place as people gathered at an Orthodox synagogue in a suburban neighborhood of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. Police said the two people killed were Jewish.

    Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza, according to Community Security Trust, an advocacy group for British Jews that works to eliminate antisemitism.

    More than 1,500 incidents were reported in the first half of the year, the second-highest six-month total reported since the record set over the same period a year earlier.

    “This is every rabbi’s or every Jewish person’s worst nightmare,” said Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of Maidenhead Synagogue and head of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain. “Not only is this a sacred day, the most sacred in the Jewish calendar, but it’s also a time of mass gathering.”

    Witnesses describe a car driving toward the synagogue and then a stabbing attack

    Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue around 9:30 a.m. — shortly after services had begun.

    Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the man drove directly at pedestrians outside the synagogue and then attacked them with a knife.

    Chava Lewin, who lives next to the synagogue, said she heard a bang and thought it might be a firework until her husband ran inside their house and said there had been a “terrorist attack.”

    A witness told her that she saw a car driving erratically crash into the gates of the house of worship.

    “She thought maybe he had a heart attack,” Lewin said. “The second he got out of the car, he started stabbing anyone near him. He went for the security guard and tried to break into the synagogue.”

    Minutes later, police fired shots, hitting the assailant.

    Video on social media showed police with guns pointed at a person lying on the ground beneath a blue Star of David on the brick wall of the synagogue.

    A bystander could be heard on the video saying the man had a bomb and was trying to detonate it. When the man tried to stand up, a gunshot rang out and he fell to the ground.

    On the sidewalk outside the synagogue gate nearby, the body of another person lay in a pool of blood.

    Watson credited security guards and congregants for their bravery in preventing the assailant from getting inside the prayer service.

    Police later detonated an explosion to get into the suspect’s car.

    Manchester was the site of Britain’s deadliest attack in recent years, the 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.

    Authorities declare an emergency

    Immediately after the attack, police declared “Plato,” the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack.”

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and that additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the U.K.

    He flew back to London early from a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.

    “The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific,” Starmer said on the X platform.

    King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened″ to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident, and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,’′ he said on his social media feed.

    ___

    Pylas and Melley reported from London.

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  • Police say four people injured after car ramming and stabbing outside UK synagogue

    Police say four people have been injured after a car was driven at members of the public and a man was stabbed outside a synagogue in the north of the UK city of Manchester.In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public. The caller said he witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.It said that minutes later shots were fired by firearms officers.“One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.It said that four members of the public were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Greater Manchester area, told BBC Radio the “immediate danger appears to be over.”The incident came as members of the Jewish community observe Yom Kippur, which is considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

    MANCHESTER, England —

    Police say four people have been injured after a car was driven at members of the public and a man was stabbed outside a synagogue in the north of the UK city of Manchester.

    In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 a.m. by a member of the public. The caller said he witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.

    It said that minutes later shots were fired by firearms officers.

    “One man has been shot, believed to be the offender,” it added.

    It said that four members of the public were being treated for injuries caused by both the vehicle and stab wounds.

    Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Greater Manchester area, told BBC Radio the “immediate danger appears to be over.”

    The incident came as members of the Jewish community observe Yom Kippur, which is considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

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  • This Beverly Hills haven for the rich has a floating garden for the public. Here’s a sneak peek

    Everyone is now invited to come experience the high life in Beverly Hills.

    New details about a floating public garden, which will be part of a nearly $5-billion luxury housing and hotel complex, were unveiled on Thursday by its London-based developer.

    Cain, which started work on the high-rise One Beverly Hills project more than a year ago, released an updated look at the sprawling botanical gardens that will surround the complex at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, a project that has been in the making for more than two decades.

    City officials agreed to let Cain build by far the two tallest towers in Beverly Hills with the understanding that stacking the condominiums high would leave open space for 8.5 acres of gardens on the 17.5-acre site.

    A rendering of the planned “Ephemeral Pond” in the gardens at the One Beverly Hills.

    (One Beverly Hills)

    “We regard the gardens as the soul of the project,” said Jonathan Goldstein, chief executive of Cain.

    More than half of the gardens will be open to the public.

    One Beverly Hills is one of the biggest real estate developments by cost under construction in North America, Goldstein said.

    It was conceived by London-based architect Foster + Partners. The firm is led by Norman Foster, an English lord perhaps best known for designing a landmark lipstick-like skyscraper in London known as the Gherkin and the hoop-shaped Apple Inc. headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

    Slated to open before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the complex will also house some of the priciest condos and hotel suites in the country, as developers seek to capitalize on the city’s reputation for luxury and celebrity.

    One Beverly Hills will be anchored by the Aman Beverly Hills, a 78-room, all-suite hotel that will be the brand’s first West Coast property.

    The tower residences will also be branded and serviced by Aman, a Swiss company owned by Russian-born real estate developer Vlad Doronin, which Forbes describes as “the world’s most preeminent resort brand,” and attracts affluent guests such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and George and Amal Clooney.

    The two towers — 26 and 32 stories — will have a total of fewer than 200 condos.

    Interspersed among the property will be as many as 45 stores and restaurants, including a Dolce & Gabbana boutique and restaurants Casa Tua Cucina and Los Mochis.

    The most public aspect of One Beverly Hills will be the gardens designed by Los Angeles architecture firm Rios, which also designed the 12-acre Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles and created a new master plan for Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge.

    A rendering of retail and dining outlets

    One Beverly Hills will contain as many as 45 retail and dining outlets, each set within a distinct environment.

    (Foster + Partners)

    One Beverly Hills will feature botanical gardens that reflect the diverse landscape of Southern California, with drought-resistant native plants fed solely on recycled water, including rainfall and the runoff from residents’ sinks and showers. The gardens are designed to have more than 200 species of plants and trees, including palms, oaks, sycamores, succulents and olives.

    Set within the historic grounds of the former Beverly Hills Nurseries, which later became the Robinson-May department store, the gardens will feature two miles of walkways, trails, sitting areas and water features.

    Rios’ design takes inspiration from the state’s distinct ecological zones — from shaded oak ridges to bright meadows and coastal bluffs.

    Species once cultivated by the historic nursery will be reintroduced alongside new plantings. Visitors will encounter pollinator gardens alive with butterflies and hummingbirds, color-themed landscapes, and cascading water features, all designed to reflect the beauty of Southern California’s environment with scents of rosemary, jasmine and chaparral.

    Rendering of One Beverly Hills, a planned $2 billion garden-like residential and hotel complex in Beverly Hills.

    Rendering of One Beverly Hills, a nearly $5-billion complex under construction at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards.

    (Foster + Partners)

    Making the gardens feel natural instead of manicured was a design challenge because they will cover an underground garage for 1,800 vehicles and Merv Griffin Way, which connects Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards. The gardens will link One Beverly Hills with the existing Beverly Hilton hotel and Waldorf Astoria hotel.

    The soil in the gardens can be no more than four feet deep, yet it must nourish trees that are trucked in from other locations and are between 50 and 100 years old so that the garden appears to have been around a long time.

    “This shouldn’t feel like a rooftop garden,” said landscape architect John Pearson of Rios. “We want it to feel like it’s a botanical garden that just happens to be 40 feet in the air.”

    It will also gently connect with sidewalks, which is part of the plan to encourage locals and tourists walking around Beverly Hills to wander in, said Rios founder, Mark Rios.

    “It’d be really nice if the park became something you cut through,” Rios said, “We really want to create a sort of seamless experience where there’s this huge landscaped park in the middle of this urban area.”

    Roger Vincent

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  • Trump administration exploring ways to take over 9/11 memorial in NYC

    President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday that it is exploring whether the federal government can take control of the 9/11 memorial and museum in New York City.The site in lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center’s twin towers were destroyed by hijacked jetliners on Sept. 11, 2001, features two memorial pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets with the names of the dead, and an underground museum. Since opening to the public in 2014, the memorial plaza and museum have been run by a public charity, now chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a frequent Trump critic.The White House confirmed the administration has had “preliminary exploratory discussions” about the idea, but declined to elaborate. The office noted the Republican pledged during his campaign last year to make the site a national monument, protected and maintained by the federal government.But officials at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum say the federal government, under current laws, can’t unilaterally take over the site, which is located on land owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.The U.S. government shouldering costs and management of the site also “makes no sense,” given Trump’s efforts to dramatically pare back the federal bureaucracy, said Beth Hillman, the organization’s president and CEO.“We’re proud that our exhibitions tell stories of bravery and patriotism and are confident that our current operating model has served the public honorably and effectively,” she said, noting the organization has raised $750 million in private funds and welcomed some 90 million visitors since its opening.Last year, the museum generated more than $93 million in revenue and spent roughly $84 million on operating costs, leaving a nearly $9 million surplus when depreciation is factored in, according to museum officials and its most recently available tax filings.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, voiced her own concerns about a federal takeover, citing the Trump administration’s recent efforts to influence how American history is told through its national monuments and museums, including the Smithsonian.The takeover idea also comes just months after the Trump administration briefly cut, but then restored, staffing at a federal program that provides health benefits to people with illnesses that might be linked to toxic dust from the destroyed World Trade Center.“The 9/11 Memorial belongs to New Yorkers — the families, survivors, and first responders who have carried this legacy for more than two decades and ensured we never forget,” Hochul said in a statement. “Before he meddles with this sacred site, the President should start by honoring survivors and supporting the families of victims.”Anthoula Katsimatides, a museum board member who lost her brother, John, in the attack, said she didn’t see any reason to change ownership.“They do an incredible job telling the story of that day without sugarcoating it,” she said. “It’s being run so well, I don’t see why there has to be a change. I don’t see what benefit there would be.”The memorial and museum, however, have also been the target of criticism over the years from some members of the large community of 9/11 victims’ families, some of whom have criticized ticket prices or called for changes in the makeup of the museum’s exhibits.Trump spokespersons declined to respond to the comments.In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed when the hijackers crashed jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in southwest Pennsylvania during the Sept. 11 attacks. More than 2,700 of those victims perished in the fiery collapse of the trade center’s twin towers.

    NEW YORK —

    President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday that it is exploring whether the federal government can take control of the 9/11 memorial and museum in New York City.

    The site in lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center’s twin towers were destroyed by hijacked jetliners on Sept. 11, 2001, features two memorial pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets with the names of the dead, and an underground museum. Since opening to the public in 2014, the memorial plaza and museum have been run by a public charity, now chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a frequent Trump critic.

    The White House confirmed the administration has had “preliminary exploratory discussions” about the idea, but declined to elaborate. The office noted the Republican pledged during his campaign last year to make the site a national monument, protected and maintained by the federal government.

    But officials at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum say the federal government, under current laws, can’t unilaterally take over the site, which is located on land owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

    The U.S. government shouldering costs and management of the site also “makes no sense,” given Trump’s efforts to dramatically pare back the federal bureaucracy, said Beth Hillman, the organization’s president and CEO.

    “We’re proud that our exhibitions tell stories of bravery and patriotism and are confident that our current operating model has served the public honorably and effectively,” she said, noting the organization has raised $750 million in private funds and welcomed some 90 million visitors since its opening.

    Last year, the museum generated more than $93 million in revenue and spent roughly $84 million on operating costs, leaving a nearly $9 million surplus when depreciation is factored in, according to museum officials and its most recently available tax filings.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, voiced her own concerns about a federal takeover, citing the Trump administration’s recent efforts to influence how American history is told through its national monuments and museums, including the Smithsonian.

    The takeover idea also comes just months after the Trump administration briefly cut, but then restored, staffing at a federal program that provides health benefits to people with illnesses that might be linked to toxic dust from the destroyed World Trade Center.

    “The 9/11 Memorial belongs to New Yorkers — the families, survivors, and first responders who have carried this legacy for more than two decades and ensured we never forget,” Hochul said in a statement. “Before he meddles with this sacred site, the President should start by honoring survivors and supporting the families of victims.”

    Anthoula Katsimatides, a museum board member who lost her brother, John, in the attack, said she didn’t see any reason to change ownership.

    “They do an incredible job telling the story of that day without sugarcoating it,” she said. “It’s being run so well, I don’t see why there has to be a change. I don’t see what benefit there would be.”

    The memorial and museum, however, have also been the target of criticism over the years from some members of the large community of 9/11 victims’ families, some of whom have criticized ticket prices or called for changes in the makeup of the museum’s exhibits.

    Trump spokespersons declined to respond to the comments.

    In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed when the hijackers crashed jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in southwest Pennsylvania during the Sept. 11 attacks. More than 2,700 of those victims perished in the fiery collapse of the trade center’s twin towers.

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  • Public Investing App, Get $100 Bonus with CLEAR

    Public Investing App, Get $100 Bonus with CLEAR

    Public Investing App $100 Bonus with CLEAR

    Public Investing App $100 Bonus with CLEAR

    If you are an existing member of CLEAR, you can receive a stock reward of up to $100 when you sign up for a Public brokerage account using “Verify with CLEAR.” Many readers have a CLEAR Plus membership thanks to the Amex Platinum cards which gives you an annul credit for the full price of $199.

    This bonus offer is limited to new customers of Public who have never previously had a Public brokerage account. Here’s how it works:

    1. Sign up for Public using “Verify with CLEAR.”
    2. Open an approved brokerage account with Public Investing.
    3. Deposit at least $20 into your brokerage account and hold it in your brokerage account for 5 or more business days.
    4. Claim your reward from the button on the top right of your home screen. CLEAR Plus members will receive $100 in an asset of their choice while CLEAR Platform members will receive $50 in an asset of their choice.

    To be eligible to claim your reward, you must be an existing CLEAR member, sign up for Public using “Verify with CLEAR,” open an approved Public Investing brokerage account, and successfully deposit and hold at least $20 into that account for five (5) or more business days.

    From the terms it looks like you can stack this bonus with the $20 referral bonus as well.

    DDG

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  • San Diego is cracking down on groups for exercising outside without a permit

    San Diego is cracking down on groups for exercising outside without a permit

    They come in packs. They’re often crunchy. They’re chameleons: a downward-facing dog one moment, a cobra or child the next. (What versatility!) They do handstands and breathe peacefully. And we can’t have any of that. 

    At least, not on public land. By “they,” I’m referring to the world of yogis. And by “we,” I mean the city of San Diego, which revised its municipal code in March to prevent groups of four or more people engaged in commercial recreational activities—yoga, fitness classes, dog training, etc.—from convening in public spaces without a permit.

    Law enforcement officers are zeroing in on rogue gatherings, breaking up beachside classes before they begin and issuing tickets to the teachers. And despite the city’s emphasis on “commercial” activities, park rangers are also busting those groups who meet with no cost of admission. “It’s really tragic that the city would take away the opportunity to come to a class for free, to be outside in a public park, and to enjoy nature,” Amy Baack, a yoga instructor, told San Diego’s KGTV station. And despite what might be the gut reaction here—”Just get a permit!”—it appears the city isn’t making that easy: “We are perfectly willing and ready to get a permit,” Baack added, “if the city would allow it.”

    The law was originally tailored to target permitless food vendors. Reasonable people can and should debate the necessity or utility of preventing people from buying hot dogs from someone without a stamp of approval from government bureaucrats. But it would seem even more questionable to apply that concept to people who voluntarily meet by the water to do some stretching. Conjuring safety concerns there requires an active imagination.

    Indeed, San Diego says the core issue at stake is safety. Officials expanded the code, which went into effect March 29, “to ensure these public spaces remain safe and accessible,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. What danger these groups pose while transitioning from, say, bridge pose to wheel pose remains unclear.

    The idea that the code provision ensures accessibility, meanwhile, is richly ironic, as it explicitly excludes from access those taxpaying San Diegans who have the audacity to work out with other people sans a permit. That they have gathered together as opposed to separately, or to do a specific activity as opposed to something nebulous, should not suddenly necessitate approval from the government.

    Whether or not the rule will survive is up in the air: An attorney for a group of yoga instructors on Friday served a cease-and-desist letter to city officials. Whatever the case, it’s an example of the government implementing a solution in search of a problem, which didn’t actually exist until city leaders created it.

    Billy Binion

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Our 2024 Promise: We will be vigilant for…

    Austin Pets Alive! | Our 2024 Promise: We will be vigilant for…

    Last year was extremely challenging for animal shelters in the US, and Austin was no exception. The Austin of yesteryear found tremendous pride in leading the country in No Kill during a time when shelters struggled the most to save the lives of even half of the pets who entered their care. In this new era of humane struggles, where pets are guaranteed not to be killed while other pets are left on the streets, some living in crates for too long, and people struggle to keep their pets without support, our city must take the lead in progressive, lifesaving solutions. Austin Pets Alive! has been relatively quiet about these issues on public platforms as we wait for the much-needed shelter audit to bear fruit, and I regret that choice. APA! has been given a microphone for pets in our community over the last 15 years, and we need to help be the voice of animals in need both publicly and behind the scenes.

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  • ‘This Is Me … Now: A Love Story’ Trailer, Reneé Rapp’s Public Persona, and Josh Radnor’s Wedding

    ‘This Is Me … Now: A Love Story’ Trailer, Reneé Rapp’s Public Persona, and Josh Radnor’s Wedding

    Juliet and Amanda kick off the week by breaking down their thoughts, feelings, and questions about the Jennifer Lopez documentary coming to Prime Video in February after watching the new trailer (1:00). Then they talk about the new Mean Girls musical movie remake with Reneé Rapp playing Regina George, as well as Reneé Rapp’s unfiltered public persona (14:00), Josh Radnor’s outdoor January wedding (29:53), the 21st Living Legends of Aviation Awards (37:19), and more!

    Hosts: Juliet Litman and Amanda Dobbins
    Producers: Sasha Ashall and Jade Whaley

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher

    Juliet Litman

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  • She was a victim of the 'Happy Face Killer.' Investigators close in on ID but ask public's help

    She was a victim of the 'Happy Face Killer.' Investigators close in on ID but ask public's help

    More than 30 years after a woman died violently at the hands of the “Happy Face Killer,” Riverside County investigators are close to a breakthrough in identifying her — but they’re seeking the public’s help.

    The serial killer, whose name is Keith Hunter Jesperson, boasted of killing the woman and seven other female victims in the early 1990s, sending letters to the press about his exploits that he signed with a smiling face.

    He referred to the woman he killed in Riverside as “Claudia,” but investigators have never been able to confirm her identity, according to the Riverside County district attorney’s office.

    “Our goal is to identify this victim and provide closure to her family, wherever they may be,” Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin said in a statement. “We are hopeful someone hearing any of these details may remember anything that could help us reunite this woman with the family who may have been looking for her for over three decades.”

    Jesperson has been in custody since 1995 and pleaded guilty to murdering this Jane Doe in 2010, according to authorities. In his confession, Jesperson said he met the victim in August 1992 at a brake check area along Highway 15 south of Victorville.

    Jesperson had been working as a long-haul truck driver. The woman hitched a ride with him, saying she was going to Los Angeles, but Jesperson had been headed southeast toward Arizona on his truck route.

    He drove her south to Cabazon and then a rest stop in the Coachella Valley, where Jesperson killed her in his truck after a dispute about money, he said. He then drove seven miles north of Blythe along Highway 95 and disposed of the woman’s body on the side of the road. Her remains were discovered on Aug. 30, 1992.

    The woman was described by Jesperson as in her 20s, about 5-foot-6 and 140 to 150 pounds. She had shaggy blond hair and a tattoo of two dots on the left side of the thumb on her right hand. She was wearing a T-shirt with a motorcycle on it when her body was found.

    Forensic investigators using DNA evidence and genealogists have determined the woman’s biological father, now dead, hailed from Cameron County in Texas. Her mother remains unidentified but could have been from Louisiana or southeastern Texas. Investigators have contacted several people they believe to be half-siblings of the woman, though they told investigators they were not aware of her and could not identify her.

    Anyone with potential leads can contact the Riverside County district attorney’s cold case hotline at (951) 955-5567 or by emailing coldecaseunit@rivcoda.org.

    Jeremy Childs

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  • Vulnerable California Republicans vote for Biden impeachment inquiry

    Vulnerable California Republicans vote for Biden impeachment inquiry

    WASHINGTON — 

    House Republicans on Wednesday voted to formalize an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, intensifying their investigation into unproven allegations that the president benefited from his son’s overseas business dealings.

    The vote is a formality, but it puts the House GOP — including vulnerable California members who face competitive reelection contests next year — on record in support of moving toward impeaching Biden. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, egged on by former President Trump and the most far-right members of his caucus, launched the inquiry without a vote in September.

    The inquiry has yet to produce evidence that proves the GOP’s long-standing, unproven claim that Biden benefited from his son Hunter’s overseas business dealings.

    The U.S. Constitution does not require the chamber to vote to launch an impeachment inquiry, legal experts told The Times. Still, Republicans have sought to portray formalizing the inquiry as a way to aid investigators.

    “Short of declaring war, impeachment is the most serious act Congress can take,” Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), said in a floor speech before the vote. “We owe it to the country to get to the bottom of these allegations. And that requires the House to objectively invoke its full investigatory powers, respect the due process rights of all involved and lay all of the facts before the American people.”

    The 221-212 vote fell along party lines.

    Ahead of the floor vote, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which is leading the inquiry, blasted the investigation, calling it a partisan move that will waste taxpayer dollars to appease the far right.

    “After 11 months nobody can tell you what Joe Biden’s alleged crime is, where it happened, what the motive was or who the victims are,” the Maryland Democrat said at a news conference before the vote.

    He added: Republicans have a “mountain of evidence but all the evidence shows that Joe Biden is not guilty of any presidential offenses.”

    House Republicans have been itching to impeach Biden since Trump left office in 2021. One day after the president’s inauguration, then-freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed the first impeachment articles against Biden. She and other far-right lawmakers and GOP operatives have tried connecting the president with his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings. Though Hunter Biden is under federal indictment for unrelated crimes, House investigators have not yet produced evidence to charge the president with malfeasance.

    It is unclear when the House inquiry will end or whether it will produce charges the lower chamber will vote on. If the House votes to impeach Biden, the Democratic-controlled Senate will hold a trial, which requires a two-thirds majority to convict. The U.S. Senate has never removed an American president from office.

    Republicans in both chambers have expressed deep skepticism about the inquiry. So has the White House, which has been working in overdrive to bash the GOP for what administration officials have characterized as a baseless inquiry designed to appease Trump, who was twice impeached by House Democrats.

    In 2019, the Democrat-controlled House impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstructing Congress’ impeachment inquiry into his threats to withhold military aid from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unless Zelensky launched an investigation of Biden, then a candidate for president. The House in 2021 again impeached Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection. (The Senate twice declined to convict.)

    The Wednesday vote will probably aid Republicans in deep red districts in fending off challenges from far-right candidates by helping them prove their loyalty to Trump. The vote is also likely to aid Democratic challengers in competitive districts who are eager to win over moderates by tying incumbent GOP lawmakers to the former president, who is unpopular among swing voters.

    The vote could come back to haunt swing-district Republican candidates. A majority of voters in competitive districts view the investigation as baseless, according to an early December survey commissioned by Congressional Integrity Project, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit, and conducted by Public Policy Polling. The survey found that 52% of voters saw the impeachment inquiry as designed to damage Biden politically. Most Trump voters — 85% — said the investigation was more about finding the truth. Fifty-six percent of people who declined to back either presidential candidate in 2020 characterized the the inquiry as more of a serious effort to investigate important problems.

    The Congressional Integrity Project recently launched a “seven-figure campaign” in California and other competitive districts targeting Republicans who backed formalizing the inquiry, according to Matthew Herdman, a spokesman for the nonprofit. The group purchased digital ads and mobile billboards targeting vulnerable Republicans, including Reps. John Duarte of Modesto, Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita, Young Kim of Anaheim Hills, Michelle Steel of Seal Beach and David Valadao of Hanford. Their races are rated as competitive by the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan outfit that focuses on congressional races.

    On Monday, the Congressional Integrity Project paid for a mobile ad to circle outside Valadao’s Bakersfield field office. It reads: “Call [Valadao]. Tell him enough is enough.”

    Digital ads going after candidates such as Garcia note that House Republicans have struggled to “pass a budget or desperately needed aid in Ukraine” and have instead focused on formalizing a “bogus impeachment inquiry into President Biden without a single shred of evidence that the president did anything wrong.”

    “Mike Garcia promised to focus on real priorities, not political stunts,” one ad said.

    As part of the inquiry into Biden family members’ business dealings, House investigators subpoenaed Hunter Biden last month to testify Wednesday morning in a private deposition. In advance of the deposition, the younger Biden’s lawyers repeatedly sought to hold the questioning in public, arguing that an open proceeding would prevent selective leaks of his remarks.

    Rather than show up for the scheduled questioning, Hunter Biden defied the subpoena and instead held a news conference outside the Capitol in which he reiterated his desire for a public hearing and attacked Republicans for “distortions, manipulated evidence and lies.”

    “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business — not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma, not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist,” Biden told reporters as he was flanked by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) and his defense attorney, Abbe Lowell.

    “In the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances. But to suggest that is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond the absurd. It’s shameless. There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business, because it did not happen.”

    Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Delaware. In the California case, his lawyers have emphasized that their client had long ago paid his tax debts and that his mishandled financial affairs coincided with the depths of his drug and alcohol addiction.

    Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, blasted Republicans for escalating the inquiry. “They can start an impeachment inquiry, doesn’t mean they should because the evidence isn’t there,” Gomez said in a news conference before the floor vote. “Every time they do that it nips away at the foundation of our democracy. And the public and people lose faith.”

    Erin B. Logan, Matt Hamilton

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  • After 24 days, officials declare Tustin hangar fire 'fully extinguished'

    After 24 days, officials declare Tustin hangar fire 'fully extinguished'

    Officials in Orange County declared Friday that the Tustin hangar fire is “fully extinguished” after 24 days, calling the blaze “one of the most challenging structure fires in the county’s history.”

    “I am pleased to inform the public that the final hotspot at the Navy Hangar Fire has been extinguished,” Steve Dohman, Orange County’s All-Hazards Incident Management Team incident commander, said in a statement. “With all hotspots now declared out, the work to safely lower the hangar doors can begin, and the Navy can start removing debris from its site.”

    The cause of the fire, which began in the early morning hours of Nov. 7 at the now-defunct Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, remains under investigation.

    An 80-year-old relic of Orange County’s military history, the massive 17-story wooden hangar became an environmental nightmare as the fire reignited several times, forcing the closure of nearby schools and shuttering residents inside their homes as the blaze released asbestos, lead and other toxins into the air.

    Fire officials at one point determined the safest option was to allow the blaze to burn itself out, afraid that dropping thousands of gallons of water onto the structure would farther spread the debris and toxic particles.

    As of Friday, officials estimated that cleanup of nearby schools, parks, open space and public rights of way was 90% complete and that more than 50% of residential properties have been inspected with 35% cleared.

    Local officials advised residents who are concerned about debris to contact a certified asbestos contractor and their homeowners insurance company.

    “The residents and businesses in the area who have been impacted by this fire now need the full accountability of the Navy and the support of the Governor’s Office and FEMA to help our City and our community financially recover,” Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard said in a statement.

    The north hangar was one of two massive wooden structures used by the military during World War II and later served as sets for the TV show “Star Trek” and the film “Pearl Harbor.” The hangars once housed military helicopters and blimps armed with machine guns and bombs.

    Taryn Luna

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