Good morning everyone. It is Presidents’ Day, but the news does not take a holiday. Today I am covering the Justice Department’s announcement that it is finished releasing Epstein files, even though roughly 3 million documents remain undisclosed. A review of the material that has been released shows that more than ten Trump officials appear in the files. CBS has decided to retain a contributor whose emails with Epstein included vulgar communications. And Trump is standing by a nominee who has openly promoted white nationalist viewpoints.
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Here’s the news:
- After releasing about 3.5 million of an estimated 6 million Epstein-related files, the US Department of Justice has indicated it does not plan to make further disclosures, leaving roughly half of the material still sealed and prompting criticism that key evidence remains unreleased and many questions unanswered.
- An review of more than 3 million newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents found that at least half a dozen current Trump administration officials—including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Howard Lutnick, Mehmet Oz, Stephen Feinberg, John Phelan and others—appear in the files to varying degrees. Here’s a list:Donald Trump (President of the United States)Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Secretary of Health and Human Services)Howard Lutnick (Secretary of Commerce)Mehmet Oz (Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)Stephen Feinberg (Deputy Defense Secretary)John Phelan (Secretary of the Navy)Kevin Warsh (Federal Reserve chair nominee)Elon Musk (Former head of the Department of Government Efficiency)Steve Bannon (Former White House Chief Strategist)Alex Acosta (Former Labor Secretary and former U.S. Attorney)
- Donald Trump (President of the United States)
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Secretary of Health and Human Services)
- Howard Lutnick (Secretary of Commerce)
- Mehmet Oz (Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Stephen Feinberg (Deputy Defense Secretary)
- John Phelan (Secretary of the Navy)
- Kevin Warsh (Federal Reserve chair nominee)
- Elon Musk (Former head of the Department of Government Efficiency)
- Steve Bannon (Former White House Chief Strategist)
- Alex Acosta (Former Labor Secretary and former U.S. Attorney)
- Newly released Justice Department emails show that during Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 Supreme Court confirmation, Jeffrey Epstein closely monitored the proceedings and privately expressed sympathy for Kavanaugh. He disparaged Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations, criticized Republicans’ handling of her Senate testimony, and suggested more aggressive lines of questioning to undermine her credibility. The messages also reveal Epstein was in contact with figures including Kenneth Starr about the nomination, though there is no evidence that Kavanaugh knew or had any interaction with Epstein.
- CBS News has reportedly decided to retain contributor Peter Attia despite newly released Justice Department documents showing extensive mid-2010s email exchanges between him and Jeffrey Epstein, including crude messages, with staffers saying executives have “unofficially” concluded he will stay on; Attia publicly apologized for the “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible” emails, acknowledged visiting Epstein’s Manhattan home, denied any criminal wrongdoing, and stepped down from a corporate role amid the fallout.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced backlash after saying her department would help ensure the “right people” vote to elect the “right leaders” in the midterms, prompting accusations from Democrats that she was implying federal interference in elections; Noem dismissed the criticism as “manufactured outrage,” insisting she was referring to preventing non-citizens from voting, even as opponents warned such rhetoric and proposed measures could intimidate or disenfranchise eligible voters.
- CNN has confirmed that the Trump Justice Department’s push to obtain confidential voter registration data from 25 mostly Democratic states—and require states to remove voters it deems ineligible—has faced resistance not only from Democrats but also from several Republican election officials, who cite state privacy laws, question the DOJ’s intentions, and object to federal overreach into state-run elections, even as the administration continues lawsuits and pressure campaigns tied to Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud.
- Jeremy Carl, President Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for international organizations, faced intense scrutiny at his confirmation hearing over past public statements about race and identity; when pressed on “white identity,” he suggested white food, white music and white worship styles were distinct from Black culture and warned that a loss of dominant white culture is weakening the country.
- He wrote in his 2024 book that “White Americans are increasingly second-class citizens in a country their ancestors founded,” and has accused Democrats of an “all-out assault on the rights of white people” and echoed elements of the Great Replacement Theory by claiming the Democratic Party’s immigration policies show signs of an effort to “replace” white Americans.
- According to NBC, agreements deputizing local police to carry out federal immigration enforcement have surged by roughly 950% in the first year of Trump’s second term, rising to 1,168 participating agencies across 39 states—up from 135 under Biden and 150 at the end of Trump’s first term—as the administration revives and financially incentivizes the controversial “task force” model that allows local officers to make immigration arrests.
- According to The Hill, Senate Republicans are warning that the GOP is not doing enough to address rising costs and affordability ahead of the 2026 midterms, expressing concern that with legislative momentum slowing and President Trump downplaying the need for another major reconciliation bill, the party lacks a strong economic agenda to counter voter frustrations over the cost of living and to improve its electoral prospects.
- At the Munich Security Conference, American politicians from both parties publicly condemned Donald Trump’s attacks on US allies, with Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, Gavin Newsom, Elissa Slotkin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticizing his unpredictability, tariffs and threats over Greenland, while Republican senator Thom Tillis also broke ranks to warn that tariffs would cause economic damage and to defend Greenland’s sovereignty.
- Hillary Clinton clashed with Czech Deputy Prime Minister Petr Macinka after he defended Donald Trump as merely reacting to Western policies he said had gone “too far,” criticizing cancel culture, climate action and LGBTQ rights, and asserting there are “only two genders,” even as Ukraine fights for survival. Clinton forcefully rejected his framing, pushing back against the suggestion that such cultural issues justify or distract from broader threats to democracy and transatlantic unity.
- After saying “They’re real but I haven’t seen them” during a rapid-fire podcast interview, Barack Obama sparked headlines claiming he confirmed aliens exist, but he later clarified in a statement that he was speaking statistically about the likelihood of life elsewhere in the vast universe. He emphasized that he saw no evidence during his presidency that extraterrestrials have visited Earth or made contact, and dismissed longstanding conspiracy theories about aliens being hidden at Area 51.
- Tennis star Coco Gauff said she has been disturbed by events in the United States, including harsh immigration crackdowns and the killing of protesters in Minnesota, stating, “I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing,” while emphasizing that being proud to be American does not mean endorsing current political leadership; drawing on her family’s civil rights legacy, she defended athletes speaking out on social and political issues, saying that if asked, she will “give my honest answer” and will not “stay out of it” when human rights and equality are at stake.
- The documentary Melania, centered on the first lady, suffered a steep 62.3% drop in box office attendance in its third weekend, continuing a sharp decline and putting the film on track for a modest overall gross, signaling waning audience interest shortly after its release.
- According to Politico, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is leading efforts to forge closer economic ties between the European Union and the 12-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in a bid to counter Donald Trump’s tariff threats, promoting talks on aligning “rules of origin” to allow smoother, low-tariff trade and integrated supply chains across nearly 40 countries and 1.5 billion people, though discussions remain preliminary and not yet a top EU priority despite growing business support for what could become one of the world’s largest trade alliances.
- Germany and France are in the very early stages of discussions about closer cooperation on nuclear deterrence, with a German government spokesperson saying the talks are meant to supplement and strengthen—not replace—the US nuclear umbrella within Nato. The spokesperson emphasized that the US remains central to Europe’s nuclear deterrence, even as European leaders explore greater strategic independence amid strained transatlantic relations. While Germany is prohibited from developing its own nuclear weapons, France—now the EU’s only nuclear power after Brexit—would play a key role in any joint European deterrent.
- During a visit to Budapest, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of April elections, saying President Trump is “deeply committed” to Orbán’s success because “your success is our success,” describing U.S.-Hungary ties as entering a “golden era” tied to Orbán’s leadership, and signaling Washington could offer financial assistance if Hungary faces economic strain, even as Orbán confronts economic stagnation and criticism from the EU over democratic backsliding.
Good news:
- More than 90 California groundfish stocks—including species such as rockfish, ocean perch and sea bass—have been largely rebuilt over the past 25 years after being declared a “fisheries disaster” in 2000, thanks to sweeping reforms including a $46 million trawler buyback program, strict catch limits with onboard observers, gear restrictions, bycatch-reduction requirements and near-total bottom-trawling bans in key areas.
- Eight-year-old Maryland singer Aura V. became the youngest Grammy winner ever after taking home Best Children’s Music Album alongside her father, Fyütch, for their uplifting father-daughter project Harmony, a collection of empowering, positivity-focused songs that grew out of Fyütch’s effort to create meaningful educational music and evolved into a multigenerational musical collaboration celebrating love, empathy and unity.
- A hiker filming in Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands captured “magical” footage of a wild red deer stag calmly approaching him, brushing against his camera and fogging the lens with its breath before quietly walking away, an unusually intimate and peaceful encounter with Britain’s largest land mammal that the traveler described as rare, quiet and entirely on the stag’s terms.
- McKinney, Texas, has boosted cardiac arrest survival rates from 10% to 47% in two years by adopting a Seattle-inspired “chain of survival” model that equips all police vehicles with AEDs, strengthens coordination between fire and police, and emphasizes rapid CPR and defibrillation, and is now expanding the effort with 200 neighborhood AEDs to become one of the nation’s first “4-Minute Cities,” where lifesaving equipment is always within four minutes of a cardiac emergency.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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