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A federal judge on Friday blocked prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in New York in December 2024.The judge dismissed two federal charges against Mangione that could carry the death penalty: murder and using a gun with a silencer.The 27-year-old suspect is still charged with two counts of stalking in his federal case, and separately faces state-level murder charges.Friday’s decision “is solely to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury,” Judge Margaret Garnett wrote in her opinion.Mangione could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted of the stalking charges. The federal trial is to begin with jury selection on September 8.Prosecutors declined to comment on the decision when contacted by AFP. Garnett has given the prosecution until February 27 to file an appeal.Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilotold a press briefing outside the courthouse Friday that the defense team was “very relieved,” hailing an “incredible decision.”The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, captured on surveillance video, quickly captured national attention while exposing public anger with the profit-driven US healthcare system.Mangione was arrested five days after the killing at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, some 230 miles (370 kilometers) from the crime scene, following a tip from a staff member.Friday’s decision comes after Mangione’s legal team already succeeded in having state-level terrorism charges dropped.However, Garnett also dealt the defense a significant blow on Friday — rejecting their efforts to block the use of evidence found during Mangione’s arrest.Officers who arrived at the McDonald’s searched Mangione’s backpack, finding inside a handgun, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a red notebook described as a “manifesto.”The defense had argued that proper protocol had not been followed during the search.Friday’s decision also marks a blow for President Donald Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, who has relaunched efforts to impose the death penalty at the federal level, reversing a moratorium during the administration of Joe Biden.A date for the state trial has not been set.Mangione — who has an avid fan base of mostly women that often attend his hearings — has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

President Donald Trump said Friday he would nominate former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to be the next US central bank chief, a move that has sparked cautious optimism among observers.The decision caps a highly publicized search for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president has repeatedly lambasted for not cutting interest rates more swiftly.Trump told reporters Friday that Warsh “certainly wants to cut rates,” but added that he did not wish to question Warsh on commitments to do so.”I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, announcing his choice.”On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down,” Trump added.Warsh, 55, was the youngest person to serve as a Fed governor, a role he held from 2006 to 2011.Trump considered Warsh for the top Fed job too during his first presidency, but eventually chose Powell — a decision he quickly soured on.Prices of precious metals — seen as safe haven investments — sank Friday in a sign that investors were reassured by Trump’s choice. The dollar pushed higher.”I think markets are broadly happy at the moment,” Atlantic Council international economics chair Josh Lipsky told AFP.”It is a pick that another Republican president may have made,” Lipsky said. “He cares about the history of the Fed, the process of the Fed, central bank independence, he’s talked about this before.”Powell’s chairmanship ends in May, and it remains unclear if he will also step down from the Fed’s board of governors, which would free up another vacancy Trump could fill.- Senate hurdle -Warsh will need to be confirmed by the US Senate, where he will face tough questions from lawmakers amid growing concerns about threats to Fed independence.Trump’s attempt to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and his administration’s investigation into Powell over renovation costs at the bank, have sparked worries about the institution’s insulation from politics.An erosion of Fed independence could have negative ramifications for the economy, experts warn.Warsh must now get through a Senate Banking Committee hearing while “maintaining the confidence of both markets and the president,” said economist Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics.After that, he must pass a confirmation vote in the Senate with a simple majority.But Republican Thom Tillis of the banking committee reiterated Friday his plan to oppose the confirmation of Fed nominees — including the next chairman — until the probe against Powell is resolved.The panel’s top Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren, warned that Warsh’s nomination “is the latest step in Trump’s attempt to seize control of the Fed.”With 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats on the committee, a single Republican’s opposition could trigger an impasse.- Economic challenges -Warsh was once seen as an inflation “hawk” favoring higher interest rates to curb price hikes.But he has stepped up criticism of the Fed recently, endorsing policy positions of the Trump administration.As Trump continues to call for lower rates, analysts are monitoring if Warsh defends the bank’s independence.He will need to convince markets and policymakers that he is upholding the Fed’s dual mandate of stable prices and low unemployment — despite political pressure.Already, the Fed’s job has become increasingly challenging as US tariffs fuel worries of stubborn inflation, while the employment market cools.Policymakers walk a tightrope in deciding if they should keep rates higher to curb inflation or lower them to support the economy.With the labor market likely deteriorating further and inflation expected to ease, the next Fed chief could uncontroversially reduce rates, Tombs said.But it remains to be seen if he will still push for cuts if inflation proves sticky in months ahead.Trump’s selection ends a race that narrowed to four contenders — Warsh; Fed governor Christopher Waller; Rick Rieder of BlackRock; and Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett.

ExxonMobil and Chevron said Friday that they were awaiting signs of greater fiscal and legal stability in Venezuela before significantly shifting their approach to the oil-rich country.ExxonMobil, which has not operated in Venezuela since its assets were expropriated in 2007, aims to help the Trump administration understand the need to “make sure the right legal framework is in place” in Venezuela, said ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods.The comments came in parallel with the first round of oil giant earnings reports since the United States seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in early January and took control of Venezuela’s oil sector. Woods’ cautious message about doing business in Venezuela at a recent White House meeting had drawn jeers from President Donald Trump.Trump told the January 9 White House meeting with executives from ExxonMobil, Chevron and other companies that he wanted them to rapidly rebuild the country’s dilapidated oil industry and boost production by millions of barrels a day.But Woods, recounting how the company had had assets seized twice by Venezuela, told Trump’s meeting that the country was currently “uninvestable.” That comment did not sit well with Trump, who later accused the company of “playing too cute,” and threatened to block ExxonMobil from doing business there.On Friday, Woods said his comments at the White House were meant to communicate the “significant challenges that have to be addressed if we are going to achieve the priorities that the White House has,” he told CNBC. Woods also noted that Venezuela’s unusually heavy crude is costly to develop but said ExxonMobil’s experience producing similar sites in Canada made the company a logical partner in Venezuela.- ‘Stability’ -Chevron, the only US oil company that has continued to operate in Venezuela, believes the country “has the opportunity to become a more sizable part of our portfolio in the future,” said CEO Mike Wirth on an conference call with analysts.”But we also need to see stability in the country. We need to have confidence in the fiscal regime.”Chevron is producing more than 200,000 barrels per day in Venezuela and could grow volumes by up to 50 percent over the next 18-24 months, Wirth said.While the company has been viewed as in pole position to benefit from the developments in Venezuela, Wirth said he would not deviate from weighing risks and opportunity in determining how much to invest.”I try to remind people, like anywhere we invest, (that) fiscal terms, stability, regulatory predictability are important,” said Wirth.He said the company is reviewing a new Venezuela hydrocarbon law.On Thursday, Venezuela’s parliament adopted reforms that offer greater guarantees to private players, relinquishes state control of exploration, and lowers taxes.”With the right changes, we certainly could see our operations and footprint expand in Venezuela,” Wirth said.- Earnings -In terms of earnings, both companies reported lower profits due to lower crude prices, offset somewhat by increased production volumes.ExxonMobil reported profits of $6.5 billion, down 14.6 percent from the same time last year.Revenues were $82.3 billion, down 1.3 percent.Chevron reported profits of $2.8 billion, down 14.5 percent from the year-ago period. Revenues dipped 10.2 percent to $46.9 billion.Shares of ExxonMobil rose 0.6 percent, while Chevron jumped 3.3 percent.

Gold and silver prices dived Friday and European stock markets ended the week up while Wall Street pulled back with investors reassured by US President Donald Trump’s pick to take over as head of the Federal Reserve.The precious metals, viewed as safe-haven investments, had already begun sliding on reports, later confirmed, that Trump had nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the US central bank.Trump announced his choice Friday on social media, saying that Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, “will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best.”Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, said the “interesting pick…may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved.”Trump’s personal attacks on Fed boss Jerome Powell — set to depart in May — have fueled widespread fears among investors that the central bank’s policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the US economy.- A roller-coaster week -Precious metals prices tumbled on Friday after surging in recent days when investors sought a safe haven over doubts about Trump’s policies.Gold fell as much as 12 percent at one point, retreating below $5,000 an ounce after hitting a record high near $5,600 on Thursday.Silver, which Thursday reached an all-time peak above $120 an ounce, shed around 30 percent to about $82 an ounce. Financial markets have endured a roller-coaster ride this week as traders weathered a weaker dollar, Trump’s threats against Tehran, the president’s resumption of tariff threats and a possible US government shutdown.Asian stock markets closed out the week with some hefty losses following Thursday’s tech-led retreat on Wall Street on renewed concerns over vast investments in artificial intelligence.Healthy earnings from Meta, Samsung and SK Hynix provided much cheer early in the week but Microsoft was punished over worries its costly AI program might not result in financial gains.There are fears that firms’ valuations may be a little too stretched and that markets could be in a bubble, having soared in recent years to record highs on the back of a tech-fueled rally.The dollar pushed higher on Warsh’s nomination.”Most currency strategists would argue that his nomination may be good news for the dollar, which can price out some risks of a more dovish pick,” said Forex.com’s Fawad Razaqzada.”However, for as long as policy uncertainty hangs over the US economy with Trump’s tariff theatrics, the dollar debasement narrative is likely to hold back the greenback from making a meaningful comeback.”Among individual companies, Verizon surged 11.8 percent as it reported its highest quarter of mobility and broadband subscription increases since 2019.- Key figures at around 2110 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 48,892.47 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,939.03 (close)New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 23,461.82 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,223.54 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,126.53 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 24,538.81 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 53,322.85 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 27,387.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,117.95 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1856 from $1.1929 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3688 from $1.3772Dollar/yen: UP at 154.64 yen from 153.61 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.63 pence from 86.62 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at $70.69 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $65.21 per barrel

Emmy-winning actress Catherine O’Hara, who starred in “Schitt’s Creek” and “Home Alone,” has died at the age of 71, her management agency said Friday.The Canadian-born performer starred in “Beetlejuice” and recently Apple TV’s Hollywood satire show “The Studio.”Her manager Marc Gurvitz’s office confirmed the actress’s death to AFP, without any further details.Page Six, citing a fire department spokesman, reported that O’Hara was rushed to hospital before dawn from her home in the swanky Brentwood area of Los Angeles.AFP was not immediately able to confirm that.O’Hara was born in Toronto in 1954, where she joined the legendary comedy theater Second City, alongside Eugene Levy, with whom she would collaborate throughout her career, including on the smash TV series “Schitt’s Creek.”Her break into movies came in 1980 with “Double Negative” — also alongside Levy, and John Candy.In 1988, she played Winona Ryder’s stepmother in Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice.” She would later marry the film’s production designer Bo Welch. The couple had two sons, Matthew and Luke.But it was in 1990 that she became widely known to a global audience, as the mother of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin in “Home Alone.””It’s a perfect movie, isn’t it?” she told People in 2024.”You want to be part of something good, and that’s how you go,” she said.She would reprise the role in the film’s sequel — “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” which featured a cameo from Donald Trump, decades before he would become US president.In 1993 she collaborated again with Burton on “The Nightmare before Christmas.” The versatile comedienne also appeared in British filmmaker Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries that revel in silly spectacles of Americana, like zany dog handlers in “Best in Show,” vain folk singers in “A Mighty Wind,” and award-hungry actors in “For Your Consideration.””I am devastated. We have lost one of the comic giants of our age,” Guest wrote in a statement.But she is perhaps best known by modern audiences for her role in “Schitt’s Creek,” created by Eugene Levy’s son, Dan Levy.”I used to mostly get people named Kevin who’d come up to me and ask me to yell ‘Kevin!’ in their faces,” O’Hara told People, in reference to her famous line in “Home Alone.””Now it’s mostly about (her character) Moira and ‘Schitt’s Creek.’ I’ve never gotten this kind of attention in my life. It’s crazy.” The role brought her an Emmy for best lead actress in 2020. She was also awarded a Golden Globe and a SAG Award.As news of her death spread on Friday, fellow performers and other luminaries were quick to react.”Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of the pair of them in “Home Alone.””I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say. I love you.”Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said he and other Canadians were mourning O’Hara’s death.”Over 5 decades of work, Catherine earned her place in the canon of Canadian comedy,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.”Canada has lost a legend. My thoughts are with her family, friends, and all those who loved her work on screen. She will be dearly missed.”

US senators began voting Friday on a deal backed by President Donald Trump to avert the worst impact of an imminent government shutdown, after a Republican holdout lifted his block following tense talks. Even if the Senate clears the package, a shutdown is still set to begin on Saturday because the House of Representatives is out of session until Monday, making a brief funding lapse unavoidable.Senate leaders say advancing the legislation would nonetheless greatly increase the chances that the shutdown ends quickly, potentially within days.The funding impasse has been driven by Democratic anger over aggressive immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal agents.The deaths have become a flashpoint that has hardened opposition to approving new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without changes to how immigration agencies operate.Senate aides said they were confident the package would pass Friday afternoon after Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina ended his blockade of the legislation.Under the deal negotiated between the White House and Senate Democratic leaders, lawmakers would approve five outstanding funding bills to finance most of the federal government through the end of the fiscal year in September.Funding for DHS, which oversees immigration enforcement, would be split off and extended for just two weeks under a stopgap measure intended to give lawmakers time to negotiate changes to the department’s operations.Trump publicly endorsed the deal and urged lawmakers in both parties to support it, signaling his desire to avoid a second shutdown of his second term.Some Democrats and political analysts interpreted the White House’s flexibility as a recognition that it needed to moderate its deportation approach following the Minneapolis killings.- ‘Sanctuary cities’ -Graham had blocked the package Thursday night by withholding the unanimous consent required to fast-track the vote.He cited objections to the DHS stopgap and to House-passed language barring senators from suing the Justice Department if their phone records were seized during past investigations.On Friday morning, however, Graham announced he would allow the funding bill to advance if Senate leaders agreed to hold votes on legislation he is sponsoring to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.”The American people overwhelmingly support ending sanctuary city policies. In my view, sanctuary city policies are the root cause of the problems we face,” he said in a statement.”I also applaud President Trump for trying to lower the temperature, but not abandoning his efforts to clean up the Biden immigration fiasco.”The broader funding fight has left both parties bracing for at least a brief shutdown. Congress has already passed six of the 12 annual appropriations bills, but those measures cover only a minority of discretionary spending.The remaining bills fund large swaths of the government, meaning funding for roughly 78 percent of federal operations is set to lapse over the weekend.The package must still be approved by the House, which is scheduled to convene its Rules Committee on Sunday in an effort to speed the bill through the chamber once lawmakers return on Monday.Speaker Mike Johnson has said the House intends to act quickly, though divisions among Republicans could complicate the process.If enacted, lawmakers would then have just two weeks to negotiate a full-year DHS funding bill — talks that both parties acknowledge will be politically fraught, with Democrats demanding new guardrails on immigration enforcement and conservatives pushing their own policy priorities.

In a Minneapolis church, Laura Christensen was overwhelmed by pallets of canned goods, pasta, fruit and vegetables — among the 45,000 kilos of food being sent each week to thousands of undocumented immigrants confined to their homes.But the retired teacher refused to sit still as the northern US city confronts a huge deployment of federal agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive. “We need to remember what our country’s about,” said Christensen, 62. “The US should be about diversity. That’s kind of what the country was founded on, and people seem to forget that.”She has joined dozens of other volunteers at the Dios Habla Hoy church, which has become a nerve center for locals opposing immigration raids. The Protestant, Latino-American organization currently distributes food to 28,000 families in Minneapolis and its suburbs, according to pastor Sergio Amezcua. He has been astonished by the terror that has gripped the region. Amezcua started the food aid program in early December to support undocumented migrants who were reluctant to do their shopping for fear of encountering immigration agents.He initially thought his church would “help 10 to 20 families, and that’s it”.Yet within a few hours, he told AFP, “we had 2,000 families registered. That’s when we knew that something was really bad.”- Racial profiling – Many people in Minneapolis are furious at the aggressive tactics used by immigration agents. Their operations often see groups of masked and armed officers making heavy-handed arrests at bus stops, shops and other areas where migrants are known to gather. Over recent weeks in Minneapolis, federal agents have also killed two US citizens protesting their actions, shot a Venezuelan man in the leg, and detained an Ecuadorian boy and his father. “They’re arresting five-year-olds, pregnant women. So there’s a lot of abnormal things that happen,” said Amezcua, a US citizen who immigrated here from Mexico.”They racially profile people, so people are scared, even people born here.”Amezcua said that of the 600 Hispanic people in his congregation, half are Americans. But just 80 dared to attend the most recent Sunday service. – ‘Order, but with dignity’ -The pastor now regrets voting for Donald Trump in 2024. He said he truly believed the Republican would focus on deporting “bad hombres” — “criminals, pedophiles, narco people, killers.”Amezcua said he can’t understand how the Trump administration, which includes many officials who profess their Christian faith, can justify the rough immigration policies it has rolled out.”Christians are called to treat people with compassion, to welcome the stranger, to feed the poor, and yes, to have order, but with dignity,” he said.Some of the church’s volunteers voiced concern that Trump was punishing Democrat-run Minneapolis for political sins. The so-called sanctuary city blocks local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration raids — a policy that infuriates the president. “If he was really seeking illegal immigrants, he would send troops in red states like Texas and Florida, where the most illegal immigrants are,” said Kathleen, 66, who was preparing to deliver food aid. “He’s attacking our state because we’re a blue state.”

The Trump administration on Friday charged a prominent journalist with civil rights crimes over coverage of immigration protests in Minneapolis, as the US president branded a nurse shot dead by federal agents in the city an “agitator.”The arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon came as President Donald Trump walked back his conciliatory tone following public outrage over the killings of Alex Pretti and another American citizen in the Minnesota city.Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Lemon and several other people had been arrested “at my direction” in connection with what she called a “coordinated attack” on the Cities Church in St. Paul, the twin city of Minneapolis.Lemon, now an independent journalist, was among reporters who covered a protest at the church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor.The journalist’s lawyer said he was taken into custody in Los Angeles overnight, adding that his work covering the protest “was no different to what he has always done.”He faces two charges of conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with First Amendment rights, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told AFP, referencing the constitutional protection for freedom of expression, including religion.A magistrate judge in Minnesota declined last week to allow prosecutors to charge Lemon.Political figures and media advocates condemned Lemon’s arrest, with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling for his immediate release.”This is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and on journalists’ ability to do their work,” said Committee to Protect Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg.- Civil rights probe -Trump took to Truth Social meanwhile to describe Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse gunned down on Saturday, as an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist.””Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer,” Trump wrote.Footage shared online this week allegedly shows Pretti in a scuffle with federal agents 11 days before he was shot dead.AFP could not immediately verify the footage, in which a man said to be Pretti is seen kicking and breaking the taillight of the agents’ car before they emerge and tackle him to the ground.In Minneapolis, some residents were unstirred by the new video.”So the guy kicked a car’s light, does that mean he deserved to die?” Pedro Wolcott, a Latino sandwich shop owner, told AFP. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Friday. The White House had scrambled to stem widespread criticism over Pretti’s killing, which came weeks after Renee Good, another US citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by agents.- Government shutdown -Trump had claimed he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in the fallout of the killings and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, top immigration adviser Tom Homan.Homan said that “certain improvements could and should be made,” a marked difference in tone from his predecessor on the ground, combative Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino.He also said his staff was “working on a drawdown plan” for some of the more than 3,000 federal agents, if there was greater cooperation from the local authorities in the Democratic-run city.The two agents involved in Pretti’s shooting have been placed on leave, and Homan said any federal agents who breach standards of conduct “will be dealt with.”Backlash over the deaths of Pretti and Good has landed in Congress, just before a government funding deadline.The Senate was edging closer to a vote on Friday to limit the effects of a government shutdown set to begin at midnight.Democrats have drawn a red line around funding for the Department of Homeland Security, demanding it be stripped out and renegotiated to impose new constraints on immigration enforcement agencies.

The US Justice Department began releasing millions of new pages on Friday from the Jeffrey Epstein files along with photos and videos, adding fuel to the politically explosive case that has dogged President Donald Trump.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the White House played no role in the review of the extensive files related to the convicted sex offender, a once close friend of Trump.”They did not tell this department how to do our review, what to look for, what to redact, what to not redact,” Blanche said at a press conference.Some of the documents being released contain “untrue and sensationalist claims” about the 79-year-old Trump submitted to the FBI before the 2020 presidential election, he said.But Blanche — who previously served at Trump’s personal lawyer — dismissed suggestions that potentially embarrassing material about the president had been redacted from the more than three million documents, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos being released on Friday.”We did not protect President Trump,” he said. “We didn’t protect or not protect anybody.”Blanche said all images of girls and women were being redacted aside from those of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.”We did not redact images of any men unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man,” the deputy attorney general said.A wealthy US financier, Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.Previous Justice Department releases have shed light on Epstein’s ties to top business executives, celebrities, academics and politicians, including Trump and former president Bill Clinton.Trump’s right-wing base has long been obsessed by the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories that the financier oversaw a sex trafficking ring for the world’s elite.- ‘We would prosecute them’ -Only one person — Epstein’s former girlfriend Maxwell — has ever been charged in connection with his crimes and Blanche appeared to play down expectations that the latest release of the files would lead to further prosecutions.”If we had information — we meaning the Department of Justice — about men who abused women, we would prosecute them,” he told reporters.”But I don’t think that the public, or you all, are going to uncover men within the Epstein files that abused women, unfortunately.”Trump and Clinton both figure prominently in the records published so far but neither has been accused of wrongdoing.A Republican-led House panel voted recently to launch contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their refusal to testify before its probe into Epstein.Trump, who used to move in the same social circles as Epstein in Florida and New York, fought for months to prevent release of the vast trove of documents about the disgraced financier.But a rebellion inside his Republican Party forced him to sign off on a law mandating release of all the documents.Trump has given varying accounts of why he eventually fell out with Epstein. He has criticized the file dumps, expressing concern that people who “innocently met” Epstein over the years risked having their reputations smeared.The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) called for all of the documents held by the Justice Department to be published by December 19.Blanche said Friday’s release brings the Justice Department in compliance with the act and he blamed the delay on the need to painstakingly carry out redactions that protected the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 alleged victims.Blanche said he did not expect the release of the latest documents would quell public curiosity and conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein.”There’s a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents and there’s nothing I can do about that,” he said.

NASA on Friday pushed back the earliest date that astronauts could fly to the Moon, due to forecasts of freezing temperatures at the Florida launch site.The earliest window for the moonshot will now be February 8, two days later than originally scheduled.NASA was preparing to conduct a key fueling test over the weekend of the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket that is on the Cape Canaveral launch pad in Florida.But large parts of the United States are grappling with severe winter weather, with Arctic air surging across the country following a deadly winter storm.Florida is not immune: the normally sunny state could experience its lowest temperatures in decades that are forecast to hover around freezing.”The expected weather this weekend would violate launch conditions,” NASA said in a statement.Weather permitting, NASA crews now are aiming to conduct their final tests Monday, after which a launch date will be determined.The change narrows the possibility that NASA can launch their Artemis 2 team of four astronauts on their Moon flyby in February — just three days of potential windows remain in that month.The team remains in quarantine in Houston, NASA said.Heaters are atop the Orion capsule to ensure it stays warm, the US space agency said, and purging systems are in place and configured for the colder weather to maintain proper conditions.NASA officials are also preparing to launch a crew to the International Space Station, a mission that is being closely coordinated as it is currently planned to happen within days of a potential Artemis 2 launch.The next NASA crew rotation to the ISS could happen as soon as February 11, but depending on the Artemis plans, it could get delayed.”Our teams have worked very carefully to see how we can keep moving towards launch for both missions, while at the same time making sure we avoid any major conflicts,” said Ken Bowersox, an administrator at NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, during a briefing Friday.There’s a possibility that Crew-12 could get some overlapping space time with the Moon team, a prospect that ISS astronauts said Friday they’d enjoy.”If we do launch before Artemis, we’ll be on board the International Space Station, and part of their flight plan actually involves a call to the ISS,” said Jessica Meir, the crew’s commander who said they’d be “excited” to have some intra-space conversation with their colleagues.”We are all thrilled about the launch of Artemis. We are very excited to see how this will all play out.”The Crew-12 team to ISS also includes Sophie Adenot, who will be the second Frenchwoman to fly to space.In another noteworthy tidbit, the new February 8 window for a potential launch to the Moon falls on the same day as the highly watched Super Bowl, the National Football League championship.That launch window would open at 11:20 pm in Florida (0420 GMT on February 9) — soon after the game would likely wrap.