News From Around the Web
#1 Trump Administration Officials Race to Meet Friday Deadline for Epstein Files - Reuters/MSN, Greggo1685, Bo, CC (concerned citizen), The Global Monitor, and Thomas Massie on X
President Donald Trump's Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to release a massive trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Congress overwhelmingly approved a new law forcing their disclosure last month. That legislation followed months of political wrangling as well as rebellion by some of Trump's staunchest supporters over his administration's months-long reluctance to make the records public. It remains unclear how, or when, the files will be released on Friday, but they will likely not represent all unclassified records held by the agency. The law allowed the Justice Department to withhold personal information about Epstein's victims as well as any material that would jeopardize an active investigation. Attorneys in the Justice Department's National Security Division were ordered to review the materials and redact them in preparation for their release, two sources briefed on the matter said....#2 Pam Bondi Issued Impeachment Ultimatum Ahead of Epstein Files Deadline - Anna Commander for Newsweek, Paul Riberal, WION, Kingsley Chukwuka, and TN on X
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California said that Attorney General Pam Bondi could be “held in inherent contempt of Congress” or would be “subject to impeachment” if files related to Jeffrey Epstein are not released by this week’s deadline. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) via online form on Thursday for comment. The anticipated imminent release of documents related to the late sex offender Epstein, compelled by bipartisan congressional action and signed into law by President Donald Trump, has reignited debate over transparency in high-profile federal investigations.
#3 Brown University and MIT Shooting Suspect Found Dead; Identified as Former Grad Student - ABC News, WeAreUCFamily, Ma'at, Ideastream News, Scott Wong, and Politiko on X
The suspect in last weekend's mass shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others wounded was found dead Thursday -- and authorities said he is the same man who gunned down an MIT professor two days after the Rhode Island campus shooting. During a news conference Thursday, authorities identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old former Brown graduate student, who attended the school some 25 years ago. Officials said he took his own life. His body was discovered in a New Hampshire storage unit following an intense, multi-state manhunt that had stretched on for days...
#4 Noem Says Brown Shooting Suspect Got U.S. Visa Through Diversity Lottery, Announces Pause to Program - Joe Walsh for CBS News, Nick Sorter, U.S. Tech Workers, Secretary Kristi Noem, Gregory Vanderlaan, and Jon Holloway on X
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced late Thursday that the Trump administration will pause the diversity visa lottery program, which she said was used eight years ago by the now-deceased man accused of killing two Brown University students and an MIT professor."This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," Noem said on X. "At President Trump's direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program." Noem said the suspected shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, entered the United States through the program in 2017 and was issued a green card...
#5 Milwaukee County Judge Found Guilty of Obstructing Federal Immigration Agents in Courthouse Incident - Michael Sinkewicz for Fox News, Shawn Farash, Nick Sortor/Eri Deimos, William Tyroler, Patriotic Conservative, and Deni on X
A jury found Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstructing federal immigration agents during an attempt to serve a warrant at a courthouse earlier this year. She faces up to five years in prison on the felony obstruction count. Dugan was arrested in April after helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz avoid plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who were trying to serve him a warrant. Prosecutors said Dugan helped Flores-Ruiz and his attorney exit her courtroom through a back door on April 18, after learning that ICE agents were in the building to arrest him...
#6 Trump Signs Executive Order Reclassifying Cannabis, Opening Door to Broader Weed Access - Luke Fountain and Brandon Gomez for CNBC, WBEN NewsRadio 930AM, Rolly Hui, Rob Levine, Chudi/Eric Daugherty, Lyons & Muir, and Howard Koolman on X
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana, loosening long-standing restrictions on the drug and marking the most consequential shift in U.S. cannabis policy in more than half a century. The order, once finalized by the Drug Enforcement Administration, moves cannabis out of Schedule I classification — the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin and LSD — to a Schedule III classification, which encompasses substances with accepted medical use and a lower potential for abuse, such as ketamine and Tylenol with codeine...
#7 JFK’s Family Erupts Over “Trump-Kennedy Center” Renaming Plan - Rebecca Falconer for Axios, Skip Murray, DSP, TTS, Chef Brad Peters, Lucifer ଲୁସିଫର୍, and Dan Eggen on X
Kennedy family members on Thursday denounced a plan to rename the Kennedy Center so it includes President Trump's surname. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the "Trump-Kennedy Center" name change earlier Thursday after a board that the president handpicked earlier this year voted unanimously to rename the performing arts venue. Democrats have vowed to fight the plan, saying the name change can't happen without an act of Congress...
#8 PFAS by Any Other Name: The EPA’s Definition Doesn’t Let Nature Off the Hook - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, UncoverDC, Professor Erwin Loh, Minnesota News Network, E&E News, Val Siger and CA Safe Schools on X
Unwelcome words like “forever chemicals,” “new pesticides on our food,” along with “EPA approval,” have once again appeared in the headlines, with the EPA accused of playing chemist. In today’s toxic world, this phrasing is concerning and necessitates scrutiny. One recent article reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had approved ten pesticides containing dangerous PFAS, the notorious per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances that environmental scientists and concerned citizens have long cautioned against because of their persistence, toxicity, and tendency to accumulate in ecosystems and the human body. The article pointed to proven known long‑term risks, such as reproductive and liver toxicity and ecological toxicity to bees and pollinators, arguing that this recent EPA move ignores the real dangers and compounds a sad legacy of chemical contamination in our soil and water...#9 2 Men Arrested for Allegedly Trafficking Nearly $7 Million Worth of Snap Benefits - Aaron Katersky for ABC News, Eric Daugherty, MatrixMysteries, Stephen Miller (community note), Oilfield Rando/Breaking 911, and U.S. Attorney Massachusetts on X
Two Massachusetts men trafficked nearly $7 million worth of benefits intended for people who cannot afford food, federal prosecutors in Boston said Wednesday. Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan, and Saul Alisme, 21, of Hyde Park, were arrested Wednesday morning and charged with one count of food stamp fraud in a scheme that U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said "turned a program to feed families into a multimillion dollar criminal enterprise." Assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, became a focal point during the most recent government shutdown. According to federal prosecutors, the defendants operated small retail stores that, despite their limited size, inventory, and food offerings, exhibited extraordinarily high SNAP redemption volumes far in excess of what could reasonably be supported by legitimate sales...
#10 Top Mamdani Appointee Dramatically Quits After Antisemitic Posts Resurface - Emma Bussey and Alexis McAdams for Fox News, StopAntisemitism, New York Post, Viral News NYC, Timmy Facciola, and Penny Ringel/ADL New York/New Jersey on X
Zohran Mamdani’s newly named director of appointments abruptly resigned Thursday after resurfaced social media posts showed she made antisemitic remarks, according to reports. Catherine Almonte Da Costa, tapped to serve in the incoming New York City mayoral administration, stepped down after the Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey raised concerns about her past online activity. The posts, reportedly made between 2011 and 2012 on a now-deleted X account, included references to "money hungry Jews" and "rich Jewish peeps" and called a Far Rockaway train "the Jew train."
