← The Headlines
The Headlines
Epstein Victims Outraged Over Unredacted Info, and the Supreme Court Made Itself More Secretive
00:10:27
Plus, big firsts at the Grammy Awards.
Loading summary
Transcript16 lines
- [00:00]
USAA Advertiser
If you, your parent or spouse served in the military, you could join our family. Our members saved an average of $70 a month on auto insurance when they switched. Tap the banner or visit usaa.com join today to check your eligibility. Restrictions apply.
- [00:18]
Will Jarvison
From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Will Jarvison. For Tracy Mumford, today's Monday, February 2nd. Here's what we're covering.
- [00:30]
Justice Department Official
This, this review is, is over. I mean, we reviewed over 6 million pieces of paper, thousands of videos, thousands, tens of thousands of images and which is what the statute required us to do. You know, it's interesting.
- [00:42]
Will Jarvison
The Trump administration is defending its handling of the Epstein files after its release of more than 3 million new pages of documents on Friday was met with outrage from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. The Justice Department had missed a December deadline to release all of its files related to the convicted sex trafficker. And 500 government lawyers and other workers spent the last month scrambling to review and redact the documents. But the redactions appeared to be haphazard, and a group of 18 survivors said in a statement that they exposed names and identifying information of Epstein's victims.
- [01:16]
Justice Department Official
Of course, the nature of this type of review was the volume of materials that were reviewed that there would be times when this happened. And so we're working hard to make sure that we've fixed that.
- [01:26]
Will Jarvison
And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch told ABC News that the DOJ is moving to retroactively scrub sensitive information as it's made aware of it. Over the weekend, Times reporters reviewing the documents flagged dozens of unredacted nude images of young women, possibly teenagers, that the department posted to its website during the release. The photos included both their bodies and their faces. One woman who's testified in court about Epstein's abuse told the Times, quote, it's hard to imagine a more egregious way of not protecting victims than having full nude images of them available for the world to download. Meanwhile, as part of the Times review of Friday's document release, my colleagues found thousands of files that mentioned President Trump, who was a close friend of Epstein's for years. Among the Trump mentions an FBI memo that said the agency had, quote, salacious information about him. Some of that information appeared to be from tips the FBI had received, including accusations of sexual abuse by Trump and Epstein. The memo didn't contain any corroborating information, and the Times was not able to verify the tips. The deputy attorney general said yesterday that the DOJ looked into sexual misconduct allegations against Trump, but did not find credible information. Trump, who's denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein, said the new files, quote, absolved him. And beyond Trump, the files underscore Epstein's deep ties to other leading business and political figures, many of whom tried to publicly distance themselves from Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender in 2008. For example, the documents appear to show that Elon Musk was eager to visit Epstein's private island in 2012, writing to him, quote, what day, night will be the wildest party on your island. That same year, Howard Lutnick, now the secretary of Commerce, emailed Epstein to arrange a trip with his wife and kids to the island. And Richard Branson, the British billionaire, emailed Epstein in 2013 after a meeting saying, quote, anytime you're in the area, would love to see you, as long as you bring your harem. In response to the document's release, a Branson representative said their meeting had been focused on business. Lutnick said he spent zero time with Epstein, and Musk said he'd declined repeated invitations to visit the island. Now three more updates from Washington. In a surprise announcement yesterday, President Trump said that he plans to shut down the Kennedy center for two years, starting this summer for a major reconstruction project. Since taking office, Trump added his name to the building, installed loyalists on the board and worked to reshape its programming. In response, a slate of high profile artists have boycotted the venue, and attendance at the National Symphony Orchestra there has plummeted 50%. Trump says the new construction would mean a, quote, complete rebuilding, though he did not say how much that would cost or where the money would come from.
- [04:31]
Music Artist
Now this man has destroyed the place. He has run it into the ground financially. He's made it a place where performers don't want to perform.
- [04:38]
Will Jarvison
In response, Democratic lawmakers, including one who oversees funding for the center, said they've been kept in the dark about the plan and accused Trump of trying to cover up the, quote, financial disaster he's created there. Also, new reporting has shown that just days before President Trump was inaugurated last year, an investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates purchased nearly half of the Trump family's cryptocurrency company. The UAE tied firm quietly poured around $500 million into World Liberty Financial, a move that was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the Times. The major investment was one of two large transactions last year involving Trump's crypto firm and the Emirati government. And a few months after Trump took office, the UAE secured a deal with the White House to get hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips. Despite national security concerns, both the White House and a spokesman for World Liberty Financial have denied that the chips were explicitly offered in exchange for investments. Still, the new details of blurred lines between the Trump administration and the Trump family's private businesses have set off alarm bells for ethics experts and sparked sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers. In a statement yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren said, quote, this is corruption, plain and simple. And the Times has learned that the Supreme Court's Chief justice has been tightening the court's hold on information by making staff sign non disclosure agreements. The push for greater secrecy, which hasn't been previously reported, started back in November 2024amid news reports that raised ethics questions about the justices. There had also been a series of unusual leaks of internal court documents, including the decision overturning the right to abortion. Court staff have traditionally been expected to keep quiet about what's happening behind the scenes, but the NDAs appear to go further, potentially threatening legal action against staff who reveal confidential information. A spokeswoman for the court declined to comment about the NDAs and did not respond to a question about whether the justices themselves have been asked to sign the contracts. The justices and other high ranking judges say confidentiality is crucial to the court's process, letting them wrestle with big questions without public scrutiny. But critics say that secrecy can undermine trust in the institution. And a Harvard law professor and former Supreme Court clerk told the Times that keeping the court as a kind of black box can also conceal weaknesses in its process. He pointed to the fact that clerks are often closely involved in drafting decisions, saying, quote, if the public were aware of how much of the deliberations affecting millions of people are made by 27 year olds after happy hour, they'd be shocked. Across the western U.S. an unusually warm winter with record low snow cover is threatening water resources for the rest of the year. In places famous for deep natural snow like Park City, Utah and Vail, Colorado, much of the ground has been brown and bare and people across the region are still hiking and biking in 50 to 60 degree weather. Colorado, for example, is having its warmest winter since 1895. A winter snowpack would normally provide natural storage for water that would melt and run off throughout the year. But this year's snow drought is a troubling data point in what is now a decades long dry spell in the west that's led to extremely low water levels in the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado River. 40 million Americans rely on that river for water, and it's crucial for agriculture. What exactly is causing the drought is hard to explain. Scientists say it's not just climate change, but weather models suggest the pattern will continue. Still, some water experts are trying to be optimistic, hoping for spring and summer rain. One researcher in Arizona told the Times, weird things can happen, so let's hope weird things happen. Otherwise it's going to be pretty awful. And finally.
- [08:55]
Music Artist
Yeah, yeah. What's up, what's up, what's up?
- [08:57]
Will Jarvison
At the Grammy Awards last night, one artist after another made history.
- [09:02]
Music Artist
I'm not good at talking about myself, but I express it through the music.
- [09:06]
Will Jarvison
Kendrick Lamar took home five trophies to become the most decorated rapper in Grammy history with 27 total awards. I was a ghost, I was alone, the song golden from the Netflix mega hit K Pop Demon Hunters became the first ever Grammy for the K pop genre. And Bad Bunny became the first Spanish language artist to win the ceremony's top prize, taking the award for album of the year for his mix of native Puerto Rican sounds and booming electronic beats.
- [09:35]
Music Artist
Before I say thanks to God, well, I'm gonna say eyes out.
- [09:45]
Will Jarvison
He was one of a number of performers who made explicit political statements at the awards, joining Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber and others who wore pins criticizing the White House's immigration crackdown.
- [09:56]
Music Artist
We're not savage, we're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.
- [10:05]
Will Jarvison
The awards ceremony also marks the moment Steve Steven Spielberg became a member of one of the rarest clubs in the entertainment industry by winning the Grammy for best music film for the documentary Music by John Williams. Spielberg officially became an EGOT winner, locking in the G part of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. He's one of just 22 people, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jennifer Hudson and Audrey Hepburn, to have ever earned that bragging right. Those are the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis. We'll be back tomorrow.