Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages from its Jeffrey Epstein files

NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages of documents in the latest Jeffrey Epstein disclosure, along with 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The documents were disclosed Friday under a law intended to reveal what the government knew about the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with the rich and powerful. The files include some of the several million pages of records officials said were withheld from an initial release of documents in December. Hundreds of department attorneys have been reviewing files to black out material that could reveal the identities of victims. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Judge bars federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Mangione

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge says federal prosecutors can’t seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Judge Margaret Garnett’s Friday ruling foiled the Trump administration’s bid to see Mangione executed. Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge against Mangione, finding it technically flawed. She left in place stalking charges that could carry a life sentence. In a win for prosecutors, Garnett also ruled prosecutors can use evidence collected from his backpack during his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun and a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive. At a hearing Friday, Garnett says a trial will start Sept. 8 unless the government appeals.

Journalist Don Lemon is charged with federal civil rights crimes in anti-ICE church protest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security says journalist Don Lemon has been charged with federal civil rights crimes in connection with an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church. Attorney Abbe Lowell says Lemon was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards. Lemon was charged Friday with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers during a Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.

Trump’s choice of Warsh to lead Fed could reshape the world’s most influential central bank

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve could bring about sweeping changes at a central bank that dominates the global economy and markets like no other. Warsh, if approved by the Senate, will be under close scrutiny from financial markets and Congress given his appointment by a president who has loudly demanded much lower rates than many economists think are justified by economic conditions. Whether he can maintain the Fed’s long time independence from day-to-day politics while also placating Trump will be a tremendous challenge. Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May.