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Democrats released emails Wednesday in which Jeffrey Epstein suggested Donald Trump was aware of the disgraced financier’s sexual abuse and had “spent hours” with one of his victims at his house.Trump has denied any knowledge of the sex-trafficking activities of his former friend, who died by suicide in 2019 as he was in prison awaiting trial, and the White House accused Democrats of pushing a “fake narrative” by sharing the mails.But Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the messages “raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes.”The furor around the disgraced financier is still roiling Trump’s administration four months after his Justice Department effectively closed the case, announcing there was no more information to share.Democrats in the House — keen to capitalize on the simmering controversy — have been trying to force a vote that would compel publication of the full Epstein case files. The newly released emails were written to longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein’s death, and the author Michael Wolff. In the messages, Epstein asserts Trump spent significant time with a woman whom Oversight Democrats describe as a victim of Epstein’s sex trafficking.In one email to Wolff shared by Democrats and dated January 31, 2019, Epstein allegedly wrote: “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever… of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.”In another message from April 2011, Epstein told Maxwell: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” He added that an unnamed victim “spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”Maxwell replied: “I have been thinking about that…”Democrats on the House Oversight Committee obtained the emails after subpoenaing Epstein’s estate earlier this year. Trump has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or Maxwell. “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.”These stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction,” she added.- Conspiracy theories -In a July 7 memo, the Justice Department said the Epstein “client list” that Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist, and reaffirmed that he died by suicide in his prison cell. It sparked a furious backlash from Trump’s “MAGA” support base, who have for years been told by their leaders that a “deep state” cover-up was protecting figures in the Democratic Party whom they accused of being Epstein’s clients.Trump’s MAGA lieutenants — including two allies who have since been hired to run the FBI — made careers of fanning the conspiracy theories, including that Epstein’s suicide was actually a murder ordered by his powerful clients.Prominent online influencers and media figures in the movement — as well as ordinary voters — have spoken of feeling betrayed after Trump began publicly castigating them for wanting answers. Trump’s ties to Epstein are extensive. The pair were pictured partying together during a 15-year friendship before they reportedly fell out in 2004 over a property deal, and when Trump subsequently denounced his former ally.Epstein admitted to two state felony prostitution charges in 2008 as part of a plea deal — arranged by a prosecutor who would go on to serve in Trump’s cabinet — that was widely criticized as being too lenient. 

John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg will seek a seat in the US House of Representatives, he said in a social media announcement that highlighted the soaring cost of living while attacking the White House.The former president’s only grandson will seek in midterm elections on November 3, 2026 to replace Jerry Nadler of New York’s solidly Democratic 12th Congressional district, who is retiring.Schlossberg, 32, known for his quirky social media clips, is seen as a progressive on the left of the Democratic Party and has vocally called for it to change, backing leftists like New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, 34. He could face a crowded field to reach the election as the Democratic Party’s anointed candidate depending on potential primary challenges.In the clip posted to Instagram late Tuesday, Schlossberg called out a “crisis at every level,” pointing to cuts to education, health care and social programs, as well as alleged corruption.He announced in September that he had formed an exploratory committee after Nadler said he would step down from representing the district that includes the middle portion of Manhattan. “This district should have a representative who can harness the creativity, energy and drive of this district and translate that into political power in Washington,” he said in his announcement video. “I’m not running because I have all the answers to our problems. I’m running because the people of New York 12 do.”He previously told The New York Times that “if Zohran Mamdani and I have anything in common, it’s that we are both trying to be authentic versions of ourselves.”Schlossberg has also used his significant social media following to attack President Donald Trump.”The President has made almost $1 billion this year. He’s picking winners and losers from inside the Oval Office. It’s cronyism, not capitalism,” he said in his announcement.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics competition schedule was unveiled on Wednesday by organizers, including a showcase spot for the women’s 100 meters and a Super Saturday session.LA28 revealed a detailed schedule earlier than usual. It starts with the opening ceremony on July 14 and ends with the closing ceremony on July 30.The biggest-ever Games will feature 11,200 athletes in 51 sports across 49 venues.Every team sport will feature an equal or greater number of women’s teams compared to men’s teams for the first time with 50.5 percent of total athletes being women.On day one, July 15, the most women’s finals ever held on one day will be contested, starting with women’s triathlon with a spotlight on the women’s 100 meters.”We want to come out in these Games with a bang. We want to start day one with a showcase of the fastest females in the world,” LA28 chief of sport Shana Ferguson said.Doing so will mean women must run three 100m heats in one day.”We did speak at length with athletes. It was a largely positive conversation,” Janet Evans, LA28 chief athlete officer, said.”We’re kicking off the athletic competition with one of the marquee events for women athletes.”When we presented it to the athletes that way, there was excitement. They said let me know early and I’ll train to run three 100s in one day.”Organizers flipped swimming and athletics from the traditional schedule so the opening ceremony venue, SoFi Stadium, could also host swimming in the second week.Track and field events will be held in the first week of the Games, with swimming in the second week.”You move to the second week. You have 38,000 people in the stands,” Evans said. “Having 38,000 fans watch my favorite sport is exciting as well.”Swimmers also have a better chance to attend the opening ceremony without next-morning races to consider.A “Super Saturday” schedule on July 29 includes 26 finals sessions in 23 sports, including 15 gold and bronze medal team matches and finals in 15 individual sports.Among Olympic champions to be crowned on that day are those in athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cricket, golf, football, swimming and tennis.The last Olympic champions will be crowned in swimming just before the closing ceremony.Organizers scheduled the marathons on the final weekend, the women’s race on July 29 and the men’s marathon on July 30.- No dynamic pricing -About 14 million tickets will be available for Olympic events, with pricing details to be announced later, but dynamic pricing is not being considered, Ferguson said.Olympic and sport federation officials have helped create the LA28 schedule.”We don’t do any of this schedule without them,” Ferguson said.Weather considerations went into the plan, with some sessions moved into the evening to have cooler conditions, including for horses at Santa Anita for equestrian events.Baseball and softball will return to the Olympic lineup. Baseball will be played at Dodger Stadium, home of the reigning Major League Baseball champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with medal games July 19.Baseball will begin on July 13, a day ahead of the opening ceremony, with a new competition window to allow MLB players to compete in the Olympics.Cricket rejoins the Olympic lineup after more than a century with the women’s final on July 20 and the men’s final on July 29.Lacrosse, on the 1908 London Olympic calendar and later a demonstration sport, will return with the men’s and women’s finals on July 29.Los Angeles will also introduce American flag football and squash on July 15 for Olympic debuts.Details for the Olympic football tournament, to be staged across the United States, and the Los Angeles Paralympics will be announced later.Ticket registration for the LA Olympics will begin in January.

The effort to end the longest US government shutdown heads toward a final vote Wednesday, as President Donald Trump declared victory in the political face-off and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal.The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the six-week standoff, after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate on Monday to side with Trump’s Republicans.The powerful House Rules Committee, which reviews bills before they are put to the full House, announced on its website early on Wednesday that it had also approved the bill by eight votes to four.That paved the way for the Republican-controlled House to debate and vote on the proposed spending package when it meets on Wednesday.During a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump broke off to praise Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.”Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory,” Trump said as he spotted Johnson in the audience.”We’re opening up our country — it should have never been closed,” added Trump, bucking US presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points.Trump said later he expected the House to approve the bill to fund the government through January. “Only people that hate our country want to see it not open,” he told ESPN.- ‘Serious calculations’ -Top Democrats have vowed to oppose the government funding bill, in large part because it does not directly address the extension of health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.But it is likely to pass the House because it only needs a simple majority, which Republicans narrowly have.From the start, Trump had piled pressure on Democrats by letting the shutdown be as punishing as possible and refusing to negotiate on their demands on health insurance.A million federal workers went unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans came under threat and air travelers faced thousands of cancelations and delays ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that the chaos could get worse by the weekend if the shutdown persists, with air traffic controllers unable to be paid and authorities ordering further slowdowns in flight traffic.”You’re going to have airlines that make serious calculations about whether they continue to fly, full stop,” Duffy told reporters at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Polls have shown that voters increasingly blamed Trump’s party as the shutdown dragged on past its 40th day.But it was the Democrats who caved and gave Republicans the extra votes they needed Monday under Senate rules, without securing the key concessions they wanted.”Health care of people all across this country is on the brink of becoming unaffordable,” top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Tuesday as he vowed to maintain the fight for lower costs.- Democratic rift -The deal has split Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.”Pathetic,” California Governor Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a 2028 Democratic presidential frontrunner, posted on X.Despite opposing the bill vocally and voting against it, Democratic Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls from some lawmakers in his party to step down for failing to corral his senators.For Democrats, the wavering was especially galling as it came just days after election wins that put Trump on the back foot for the first time since his White House return.Democratic wins in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia in particular highlighted the issue of affordability, a weak spot for billionaire Trump and the Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.But Senate Republicans have promised Democrats a vote on health insurance, with millions of Americans set to see their “Obamacare” costs double without an extension of the subsidies.The health care issue has itself threatened to cause a rift in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” coalition.Trump said on Monday one-time ally Marjorie Taylor Greene had “lost her way” after the congresswoman made critical comments, including that she was “disgusted” that premiums could double for her own grown children.

US President Donald Trump said he had an “obligation” to sue the BBC over a misleading speech edit, stopping short of announcing legal action in a Fox News interview aired on Tuesday.Trump’s lawyers threatened the British broadcaster with a billion-dollar lawsuit on Monday, according to a letter seen by AFP, as the BBC apologised for giving the impression the president had urged “violent action” ahead of the 2021 assault on the US Capitol.In the Fox News interview, which was recorded Monday, Trump was asked if he planned to sue the BBC.”I guess I have to, why not?” said the president in his first public comments on the potential for legal action.”I think I have an obligation to do it because you can’t allow people to do that,” Trump said, without confirming whether he had officially begun proceedings to file a defamation lawsuit.”They defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it.”Britain “is supposedly one of our great allies,” and “the government has a chunk of that one,” Trump added, referring to the BBC.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been performing a tightrope act between backing the publicly funded broadcaster’s independence without seeming to take a side against Trump.The BBC director general and the organisation’s top news executive resigned Sunday over the controversy.The BBC has said that it would “review” the letter from Trump’s legal team. BBC chair Samir Shah issued a public apology on Monday for an “error of judgment” made in the editing.Fifty-seven percent of Britons believe the BBC should apologise directly to the American president, according to a YouGov poll published on Tuesday. But a quarter were against such an apology. The row comes at a politically sensitive time for the BBC, which is due to renegotiate the Royal Charter that outlines the corporation’s governance. Its current charter will end in 2027.Trump has been accused of launching a number of lawsuits to stifle criticism in US media since returning to power in January.The BBC documentary featuring the edited Trump speech was aired last year.It appeared he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them and “fight like hell,” but he also told the audience in the intervening period: “We’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

This Sunday, Ecuadorans will vote on whether to allow foreign military bases to return to the country. In Manta, a Pacific city that for a decade hosted an outpost of US forces, opinions are divided. The old US airbase now stands empty — its rooms vacant, windows gone, with dust and weeds taking over.But Ecuadorans — led by President Daniel Noboa — want to return “US Forward Operating Location” Manta to past glories. On Sunday, he will ask voters for their permission, arguing a return of US troops would help fight rampant drug trafficking.Since leftist president Rafael Correa decided to kick US forces out in 2008, Ecuador has gone from being one of the safest countries in Latin America to one of the most dangerous. Noboa sees a direct link: “We’re going after those who’ve had free rein since 2008,” he said after recently touring the site with a top US official. Voters seem receptive. About 61 percent of Ecuadorans plan to vote in favor of repealing a ban on foreign bases, according to the Cedatos polling firm. But support is not universal.- ‘Waste’ and ‘abuse’ -For people like Trinidad Rodriguez, who sells food on Manta’s streets, the idea is misguided. “It’s a waste of time and money,” she told AFP, arguing that resources would be better used to help the poor. “We’re forgotten. We don’t even have water.” Other locals are more resolute in their opposition. They recall disappearances and alleged abuses between 1999 and 2009, when thousands of US personnel passed through the resort city while carrying immunity from prosecution. The base was used to run US intelligence reconnaissance flights, detecting potential drug smuggling. On the water, the US Coast Guard contingent was charged with intercepting any boats spotted and was accused of sinking several fishing boats. In all, more than 5,000 missions took place, according to an Ecuadoran parliament report. In Los Esteros, a fishing neighborhood near the base, Maria Urgiles still mourns her husband, who vanished at sea in 2002.She is in no doubt about his fate: “The Forward Operating Post (US forces) sank the boat. Eighteen men disappeared,” she said. “They weren’t animals who went out to fish; they were fathers, sons, husbands, uncles who went to earn bread for their children.” INREDH, a local human rights group, documented 14 sunk boats over the period, four damaged, and one missing.- Iron fist -A return of US forces at Manta could spell an even more aggressive interdiction strategy this time round. US President Donald Trump’s administraion is leading strikes on alleged cocaine-trafficking boats out of the waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific. Roberto Salazar, president of the International Port of Manta, is hopeful the United States can help.He believes US forces can help weed out drugs from the 1.2 million tons of cargo a year that passes through Manta every year, including a large chunk of Ecuador’s tuna exports. “The involvement or participation of international support, whether through technological or financial resources, will always be important,” he said. “Today we know the crisis our country is facing because of drug trafficking, and it will always be crucial to have that logistical support.” Some locals are not so convinced the base would make much difference. “The base didn’t help much” to secure the city, according to economist Frank Mestanza, who fled Manta in 2022 after threats. “The city was already safe. Things got worse for other reasons,” he said.   Ecuador sits between the world’s two largest producers of cocaine — Colombia and Peru. Its deep-water ports are an excellent way of getting that cocaine to markets in the United States, Europe, and Asia.Neither of those things is likely to change with the arrival of US forces, nor will the fact that Ecuador now has Latin America’s highest homicide rate. “A military base won’t fix this,” says Carla Alvarez of the Institute of Advanced National Studies. 

A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Latin America Tuesday, escalating a military buildup Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict as it announced its own “massive” deployment.The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, entered an area under control of the US Naval Forces Southern Command, which encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean, the command said in a statement.The vessel’s deployment was ordered nearly three weeks ago, with the stated goal of helping to counter drug trafficking in the region.Its presence “will bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.President Donald Trump’s administration is conducting a military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, deploying naval and air forces for an anti-drugs offensive.Caracas fears the deployment, which also includes F-35 stealth warplanes sent to Puerto Rico and six US Navy ships in the Caribbean, is a regime change plot in disguise.President Nicolas Maduro, whose last two reelections were dismissed as fraudulent by Washington and dozens of other countries, has accused the Trump administration of “fabricating a war.””If we as a republic, as a people, go into an armed struggle in order to defend the sacred legacy of the liberators, we’re ready to win,” Maduro said Tuesday.On November 2, Trump played down the prospect of going to war with Venezuela but said the days of Maduro — whom he accuses of being a drug lord — were numbered.US forces have carried out strikes on about 20 vessels in international waters in the region since early September, killing at least 76 people, according to US figures.In response to these strikes, Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the suspension of his country’s intel exchange with Washington on Tuesday, a pause which “will remain in force as long as the missile attacks on boats continue,” he said in a post on X.The Trump administration says the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, which it describes as “terrorist” groups.Washington has not provided any evidence the stricken vessels were used to smuggle drugs, and human rights experts say the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers.- ‘Unacceptable’ -Venezuela announced Tuesday what it called a major, nationwide military deployment to counter the US naval presence off its coast.The defense ministry in Caracas spoke in a statement of a “massive deployment” of land, sea, air, river and missile forces as well as civilian militia to counter “imperial threats.” Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said 200,000 troops participated in an exercise, though no military activity was observed in the capital Caracas.Padrino sought to assure Venezuelans the country was “safeguarded, protected, defended.””They are murdering defenseless people, whether or not they are drug traffickers, executing them without due process,” the minister added of the US operation.Experts have told AFP that Venezuela, with an ill-disciplined fighting force and outdated arsenal, would be at a serious disadvantage in a military standoff with the United States.On Tuesday, Russia denounced US strikes on boats from Venezuela — an ally of Moscow — as “unacceptable.””This is how, in general, lawless countries act, as well as those who consider themselves above the law,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in televised remarks, questioning what he described as a “pretext of fighting drugs.”Maduro relies heavily on the Kremlin for political and economic support. US-Russia relations have soured in recent weeks as Trump has voiced frustration with Moscow over the lack of a resolution to the Ukraine war.The United Kingdom, meanwhile, would not comment Tuesday on a CNN report that it had stopped sharing intelligence with the United States about suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean.A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters in London: “We don’t comment on security or intelligence matters.”He underlined that “the US is our closest partner on defense, security, intelligence,” and would not be drawn on reported UK concerns about the strikes.”Decisions on this are a matter for the US,” the spokesman said.burs-mlr/jgc/sla

After weeks of delay, congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva will be sworn into the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, where the Arizona Democrat is expected to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files.Democrats who have been demanding the release of investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein gained Grijalva’s crucial vote when she won her seat in Arizona on September 23, but she was not sworn in before the federal government shutdown began October 1.On October 9, Grijalva accused House Speaker Mike Johnson — a close ally of US President Donald Trump — of “delaying my swearing in to avoid releasing the Epstein files,” she said in a post on X.”After seven weeks of waiting, I almost can’t believe it’s true,” Grijalva said in a video posted to X on Monday, confirming her plans to travel to DC and join Congress. Once sworn in, Grijalva has pledged to join a bipartisan effort in Congress to force a vote on ordering the US Justice Department to publicly release the investigative files related to Epstein, who died in custody before his trial on new sex trafficking charges.At a news conference Tuesday, US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Grijalva had not been sworn in sooner “because Republicans are running a pedophile protection program. They are intentionally hiding the Jeffrey Epstein files.” Jeffries added that Grijalva’s first act would be to sign a discharge petition to give Americans “the transparency they deserve.”Grijalva beat Republican Daniel Butierez with nearly 69 percent of the vote in Arizona’s 7th congressional district in a special election to fill the seat vacated after her father, congressman Raul Grijalva, died in March 2025.Earlier this year, a congressional panel investigating Epstein’s sex crimes released a lewd birthday letter that Trump allegedly sent to Epstein in 2003, which the president and White House have refuted.Epstein, a wealthy financier with powerful connections including Trump and other international leaders, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls.

President Donald Trump declared victory on Tuesday as an effort to end the longest-ever US government shutdown headed to a final vote and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal.The House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the six-week standoff, after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate on Monday to side with Trump’s Republicans.During a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump broke off to congratulate Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.”Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory,” Trump said as he spotted Johnson in the audience.”We’re opening up our country — it should have never been closed,” added Trump, bucking US presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points.Trump said later he expected the Republican-controlled House to approve the bill to fund the government through January. “Only people that hate our country want to see it not open,” he told ESPN.- ‘Serious calculations’ -Top Democrats have vowed to oppose the bill to fund the government but it is likely to pass the House as it only needs a simple majority, which Republicans narrowly have.From the start, Trump had piled pressure on Democrats by letting the shutdown be as punishing as possible and refusing to negotiate on their demands on health insurance.A million federal workers went unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans came under threat and air travelers faced thousands of cancelations and delays ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that the chaos could get worse by the weekend if the shutdown persists, with air traffic controllers unable to be paid.”You’re going to have airlines that make serious calculations about whether they continue to fly, full stop,” Duffy told reporters at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Polls have showed that voters increasingly blamed Trump’s party as the shutdown dragged on past its 40th day.But it was the Democrats who caved and gave Republicans the extra votes they needed under Senate rules on Monday, without securing the concessions they wanted.- Democrat rift -The deal has split Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.”Pathetic,” California Governor Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a Democratic presidential frontrunner in 2028, posted on X.Despite opposing the bill vocally and voting against it, Democratic Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls from some lawmakers to step down for failing to corral his senators.For Democrats, the wavering was especially galling as it came just days after election wins that put Trump on the back foot for the first time since his return to the White House.Democratic wins in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia in particular highlighted the issue of affordability, a weak spot for billionaire Trump and the Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.But Senate Republicans have promised Democrats a vote on health insurance, with millions of Americans set to see their “Obamacare” costs double without an extension of the subsidies.The healthcare issue has itself threatened to cause a rift in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” coalition.On Monday, Trump said one-time ally Marjorie Taylor Greene had “lost her way” after the lawmaker made critical comments, including that she was “disgusted” that premiums could double for her own grown-up children.