Controversy in the U.K. amid claims that sensitive government documents were leaked to Jeffrey Epstein. Some of Trump’s attempts to gut science funding have been reversed. And Republicans grill Netflix’s co-CEO over the streamer’s “woke” programming.
Here’s what to know today.
How the Epstein files prompted resignations and allegations of leaked government intel
The release of 3 million documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein has provoked outrage in Europe over ties between prominent figures and the late sex offender.
Norway’s royal family has found itself at the center of a storm and in Britain, the former Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, have faced renewed pressure.
This time, however, the focus in the United Kingdom is not on the palace but on the country’s former Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, who stepped down as a member of the House of Lords yesterday after emails appeared to show that he leaked sensitive political and market information to Epstein.
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Mandelson, a former Labour Party “spin doctor” and Business Secretary, said he wanted to “repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said that it had “launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offences.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S., former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee over their relationship with Epstein.
Read more on the latest Epstein file dump.
Trump has tried to gut science funding. Courts and Congress have rebuffed him.
About a year ago, it seemed the sky was falling for American scientific research.
President Donald Trump’s administration cut thousands of workers at federal science agencies, squeezed the flow of grant money to universities and tried to slash funding for the overhead costs of research.
Officials also targeted elite universities, clawed back grants on diverse topics and proposed drastic cuts to agencies like NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
But, a year later, science, education and civil rights organizations have beaten back some of the most significant policy changes in court, preserving billions in science funding.
And the House followed the Senate in passing a funding package that includes a modest increase for research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), rebuffing Trump’s request to slash its funding by more than 40%.
Read more about how the White House’s cuts did — and did not — affect science funding.
More politics news:
- As discussions about election integrity circulate again, Trump says Congress should “nationalize” elections. The Senate majority leader disagrees.
- Democrats are hopeful they can retain the Michigan governorship in November. But a longtime party member now running as an independent is complicating those plans.
- Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn launches another run for Congress in Maryland.
- Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell was hospitalized Monday after experiencing “flu-like symptoms.”
- Renee Good’s brothers and a woman shot five times by Border Patrol officers decried the Homeland Security Department’s tactics in a public forum on the Hill.
Netflix’s co-CEO went to an antitrust hearing — and a culture war broke out
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos tried to reassure lawmakers in the Senate yesterday over the streaming giant’s $72 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. and HBO.
Instead, he ended up pushing back against accusations from Republicans that the streamer has a political agenda.
Sen. Eric Schmitt grilled Sarandos over what he described as Netflix’s “overwhelming woke” programming, and Sen. Josh Hawley accused the streamer of having content that “promotes a transgender ideology.”
During the hearing, Democrats raised concerns that the deal could mean fewer jobs and less choice for consumers.
Sarandos tried to reassure lawmakers, saying the merger would “create more economic growth” in the United States.
President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism over the deal, telling reporters in December that it “could be a problem” because of the amount of market share the resulting company would have.
A month earlier, Sarandos had visited the president to discuss the potential acquisition, and Trump bought at least $1 million worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, per a White House financial disclosure report.
Read more on the controversy surrounding the deal.
Read All About It
- An Israeli fire in Gaza killed at least 17 Palestinians, most of them women and children, hospital officials said Wednesday.
- “Pink noise” is supposed to help people fall asleep — but new research suggests it may worsen your rest.
- Terry Rozier’s attorney said he must be paid his full $26.6 million salary this season after being placed on unpaid leave by the NBA for his alleged involvement in a sports gambling scheme.
- Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani, coming off his third consecutive MVP season, talked to Tom Llamas about his upcoming children’s book.
- Skier Lindsey Vonn plans to compete in the Winter Olympics after rupturing her ACL in a crash last week.
Staff Pick: This Minneapolis family has been in hiding for weeks, fearful of being deported
A Minnesota family are living in fear of being deported amid the immigration crackdown in the city.
The daughter featured in this piece already had her eighth-grade graduation canceled because of the Covid pandemic.
Four years later, her parents settled for a livestreamed high school graduation because both lack U.S. citizenship, and they were too afraid to leave home.
The story highlights the regular anxieties some households face — taking out the trash, stepping into their own backyard, walking the dog — as they shelter in their homes house for months, fearful of being deported.
Even among the family members, there’s friction: the two eldest children support Trump’s immigration crackdown, leading to strained relationships with their parents.
Their story exemplifies the many complexities mixed-status households experience in the U.S.
— Marissa Martinez, platforms and newsletter editor
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