Joe Rogan has once again ripped into the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files and the president’s repeated assertions that they are a “hoax,” following the latest batch of released documents by the Department of Justice.

“None of this is good for this administration. It looks f****** terrible,” the podcaster and MMA commentator said during Thursday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “It looks terrible for Trump, when he was saying that none of this was real, this is all a hoax. This is not a hoax.”

Rogan’s comments follow the latest document dump by the DOJ, which delivered over three million files, including 180,000 pictures and 2,000 videos on January 30. But many details of potential co-conspirators of the convicted sex offender remained redacted.

Under pressure from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna the DOJ unredacted the names of at least six “wealthy, powerful men,” including Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.

Thee files revealed Epstein and the Emirati billionaire had shared years of correspondence, discussing sex and sharing links to fetish websites, including one particularly disturbing email in which Epstein told bin Sulayem he “loved the torture video.”

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Being named in the files does not suggest wrongdoing and Sulayem has not been charged with a crime in connection with Epstein. Searches suggest his name is included more than 5,000 times in the files.

“What the f*** man?” Rogan said, in response to the particular exchange with bin Sulayem. “And why is his name redacted? Why would your name be redacted if you’re not a victim? Like, this is what’s crazy about all this.

“How come you redact some people and you don’t redact other people? Like, what is this? This is not good.”

Rogan, whose podcast has 14.5 million followers on Spotify, has been both critical and supportive of Trump, even inviting him onto the show during the 2024 presidential election campaign. But in recent months the podcaster has been more vocal in his disapproval of certain policy areas including the heavy crackdown on immigration by federal authorities.

Appearing to give the president the benefit of the doubt, Rogan continued: “Maybe he didn’t know, if you want to be charitable, but this is definitely not a hoax.

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“And if you’ve redacted people’s names and these people aren’t victims, you’re not protecting the victim. So what are you doing? And how come all this s*** is not released?”

The significant redactions have sparked huge outrage on both sides of the political aisle.

As a result the DOJ announced that members of Congress would be allowed to view the fully unredacted files in-person. Lawmakers from both parties have been reviewing the unredacted files since they became available Monday.

Democratic Congressmen Jamie Raskin as well as Khanna and Massie were among those to visit the DOJ on to review the remaining files via a secure terminal.

One of Epstein’s victims was just nine years old, according to Raskin, while Massie said that files he had viewed suggested that a senior official in a foreign government was allegedly involved in his sex trafficking network.

Lord Sugar didn’t hold back in another brutal boardroom showdown as one The Apprentice candidate was forced to leave.

Another contestant has been fired from The Apprentice after a chaotic third task.

Lord Sugar’s BBC competition is well underway, with a shock double firing in the first episode after the candidates were flown out to Hong Kong.

Among those hoping for a £250,000 investment into their business are a Geordie Shore star and the owner of a photobooth company.

In tonight’s episode, a fourth candidate was eliminated from the boardroom after a chaotic challenge.

The contestants had been tasked with a plan to turn poultry into profit, as one team were given 25 kilos of chicken and the other given 25 kilos of eggs. Both teams were asked to create a dish to serve to the public, as well as meet a corporate client looking to place a bespoke order of canapes which the candidates had to prepare and serve at an event.

READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star’s ‘personal beef’ with Britain’s Got Talent exposedREAD MORE: Channel 4 999 What Happened Next mum emotional as she forgives daughter’s killer

In teaser clips for the episode ahead of it airing, one team caused chaos in the kitchen as they attempted to cook a carbonara sauce without being able to taste eggs, cheese and pork, leaving them all grimacing at the taste. Another saw the same team fail at simple mathematics, confusing 5g of flour for 1.5kg.

However, despite their kitchen antics, it was a negotiation with a corporate client that left a team failing.

Tanmay, Megan and Carrington found themselves in the firing line, with team leader Carrington blaming the loss on low negotiation, and Tanmay and Megan battling it out for another week.

After securing the low deal, Tanmay became the fourth candidate to leave the competition, later admitting his firing was “unfair”.

He shared: “Ultimately, I am disappointed for it to end this way. When we went into the negotiation, I was looking forward to it, I see negotiation as an art form, but that negotiation didn’t become a very nice piece of art. Karishma started with a monologue which set the tempo and then Megan came through and set the price ceiling by saying £12, and I shook the hand on £11.80 trying to salvage it.

“I did take the bullet in the boardroom and I do think it was unfair. But you win some and you lose some and I can’t do much about it now!”

He went on to say he didn’t believe he deserved being fired, adding: “I think at the time, sitting in the boardroom, it was a lot closer and I remember in the moment thinking it could probably go either way between myself, Megan and Carrington.

“You could have even put an argument forward for Karishma and Andrea but in the boardroom, I was there, and I tried to keep composed but I do think it was unfair.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website

Speaking of his experience on the show, Tanmay added: “I have learnt that I can probably do anything now. I think I was already confident, but it has given me more confidence that I can do anything I want to do. I can put my mind to it and do it. It has also given me the confidence in my ability to work with people of different backgrounds and temperaments, as you know, some are fierier than others. It was good to handle big personalities.

“I also learnt that I am good at reading people and building rapport. Although the process taught me that there are moments where leadership means pausing the room when momentum is moving too fast, especially when decisions affect value.”

The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursdays at 21:00, with The Apprentice: Unfinished Business airing straight after on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

The passenger was declared dead after landing.

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Cabin crew working on an Emirates flight found a passenger had become “unresponsive” moments before landing in the UK and despite their best efforts, was later declared dead.

Doctors and staff on the the Emirates flight EK067 raced to the aid of the man, just as the jet was preparing to make its landing at Stansted Airport on February 8, reports The Mirror.

The flight had departed Dubai for the UK but it wasn’t until the end of the journey that the man was found in an apparent medical emergency.

Flight attendants and other medical professionals on board the flight attempted to provide emergency medical attention to the passenger, Emirates confirmed in a statement. However, despite their best efforts, he remained “unresponsive”.

After the plane landed at Stansted, it was confirmed by authorities that the man had died. An Emirates spokesperson said that the airline offered its “deepest condolences” to the passenger’s loved ones.

A statement from the airline read: “On Emirates flight EK067 from Dubai to London Stansted on February 8, cabin crew found a passenger unconscious as the aircraft was preparing for descent. Our crew, assisted by doctors on board, provided immediate emergency support; however, the passenger remained unresponsive.

“Upon arrival, local medical authorities met the aircraft and confirmed that the passenger had sadly passed away. Emirates offers its deepest condolences to the passenger’s family and loved ones.”

It has been alleged that the 23-year-old fell from the fifth floor of the apartment block after a “railing gave way” as he looked over a ledge to see if a pizza delivery had arrived

The Prime Minister has written to the grieving parents of Joshua Robbins as they continue their call for answers surrounding his death.

Joshua Robbins from Claudy died suddenly on Thursday, January 29, at Thurston Dwellings on Newton Street in the city, breaking the hearts of his family and friends. He has been described as a “happy, go lucky young man” who had a love for life.

It has been alleged that the 23-year-old fell from the fifth floor of the apartment block after a “railing gave way” as he looked over a ledge to see if a pizza delivery had arrived.

READ MORE: “Joshua’s death must not be treated as an isolated tragedy”, says charity backing grieving parentsREAD MORE: Parents demand answers after NI man’s tragic death from fifth floor of London apartment

His parents called for answers surrounding her son’s death and have contacted the MP for Holborn and St Pancras where Joshua lived, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has written to the couple offering his condolences and saying that he will keep in contact with them.

In the letter, the Prime Minster said: “I am very sorry to learn of the death of your son, Joshua.

“I cannot begin to imagine how you both must be feeling. Please accept my condolences for your terrible loss.

“At a time wher you wish above all else to grieve, you will of course want to know the truth of exactly how this could have happened. Following your contact with my constituency office, enquiries have been made, and we will continue to do all we can to help you get answers to the questions that you have rightly asked about the circumstances of Joshua’s death.

“We will remain in regular contact with you, and I hope that you will feel able to do the same during this unspeakably difficult time.”

Joshua’s mother Fiona took to social media to thank the Prime Minister for his response, along with NI Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood.

She said: “Two weeks ago today my 23-year-old son was killed when a railing failed at his apartment block. Two days later I was in London, writing to the Prime Minister.

“I was also contacted by Sorcha Eastwood MP who had seen what happened to our family and wanted to help and today I received a letter from Sir Keir Starmer MP KC – Prime Minister Josh’s MP for Holborn and St.Pancras.

“In your darkest hour, you learn who acts, not just who speaks. I will always judge people by how they treat you when you are broken. Today, I am grateful for the action, support and the willingness to help us get answers.

“Thank you Keir Starmer this means a lot.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here

A yellow warning is in force for snow and ice overnight on Thursday and into Friday for Scotland. Snow amounts of a few centimetres even on lower roads could be in store by Friday morning.

On hills above 300m there could be up to 2 to 5cm, with 10cm possible in places.

In addition to the snow, ice will also be a hazard.

A second yellow warning for snow and ice is also in force for northern England and the north Midlands. Here snow will fall at low levels but is not likely to settle below 200 metres. These higher levels could see 2 to 5cm and it’s expected that a few locations above 300m may see as much as 10 cm.

This is likely to cause disruption on routes across the Pennines and for Derbyshire and Cumbria. With temperatures plummeting below freezing overnight, the combination of snow and ice could lead to treacherous conditions on untreated roads and pavements.

Saturday will start cold and frosty with the whole of the UK seeing some sunshine and should be the driest day for a good while.

However Saturday night and Sunday brings a renewed risk of snow, quite widely and even at low levels. Keep checking the BBC Weather website and app for all the latest details.

And the hour-by-hour forecast for your area is always available on the BBC Weather website and app.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has claimed victory in the country’s first election since the Gen Z-driven uprising of 2024.

The BNP’s media unit said in a social media post that it had secured enough seats in parliament to govern on its own.

Final results have not yet been confirmed by the Election Commission, although several local media outlets have reported the party’s win.

The BNP is headed by Tarique Rahman, its prime ministerial candidate, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London.

The 60-year-old is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December.

The vote took place on Thursday amid tight security and concerns of democratic backsliding and rising political violence.

A clear outcome in the vote is widely seen as crucial for restoring political stability in the Muslim-majority country of 175 million people.

The bloody student-led revolt of July 2024 led to the downfall of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, sending her to exile in India.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

The actor is understood to have passed away at his Connecticut residence.

Bud Cort has passed away aged 77. The performer achieved iconic status through his role alongside Ruth Gordon in the 1971 picture Harold and Maude, which subsequently became a beloved cult favourite.

Writer and producer Dorian Hannaway, a dear companion of the star, confirmed he died following “a long illness,” the BBC reports. The actor is understood to have passed away at his Connecticut residence, whilst a memorial gathering is expected to take place in Los Angeles.

Throughout his distinguished career, which saw him receive numerous accolades and nominations, he also featured in Ugly Betty, the hit noughties programme that launched America Ferrera to stardom, alongside the 2001 comedy Coyote Ugly, starring Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia.

Bud leaves behind his brother Joseph Cox and sister-in-law Vickie, as well as his nieces. Actress Roslyn Kind, sibling of entertainment icon Barbra Streisand, was amongst the first to honour her late friend.

In her tribute, she reminisced about their shared passion for the arts which flourished during their school years, reports the Mirror.

She reflected: “I was only fourteen when I met Bud at the backstage door at my sister’s play. He was majoring in art at the time in high school. We became close friends who shared our interest in entertainment.

“When I got married, Bud and our songwriter friend, Bruce Roberts, wrote a special song that was performed at the ceremony. His unique spirit will always be with me!” Born Walter Edward Cox, he adopted the stage name Cort upon entering showbusiness to prevent any mix-up with Wally Cox, an actor then famous for working alongside his close companion Marlon Brando. Director Robert Altman spotted Cort’s potential in 1970, casting him in M*A*S*H before handing him the lead in Brewster McCloud.

The following year brought his defining performance as a death-fixated young man in Harold and Maude, whose outlook transforms through an unlikely friendship with an ageing Holocaust survivor. Whilst initial reception proved lukewarm, Cort confessed in 2012 that he’d always recognised its destiny as a cinematic landmark.

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Speaking to TrainWreckdSociety, he recalled: “As I was reading the script, I immediately knew it was going to be a classic film for the ages. There was no denying it.

“The studio was stumped on how to publicise it. The art for newspapers and theatre posters was plain black, block lettering on an empty background; it was more appropriate for The Ten Commandments!”.

“Truthfully, its success came from the people. The ground swell of word of mouth dropkicked it over so many goalposts both here and abroad- that Paramount had to re-release it.”

Cort subsequently secured a guest spot in Criminal Minds, before landing a supporting role in Eagleheart during 2012. His final professional appearance was a voice performance as The King in The Little Prince, sharing the cast with Paul Rudd, Ricky Gervais and Mean Girls actress Rachel McAdams alongside numerous other stars.

Surgery patients have left been unprotected against ‘abuse’, and others are so used to delays that they have stopped asking for help at one of the country’s biggest NHS trusts, shocking inspection findings have revealed. Helena Vesty reports.

Patients have been left in pain, while others stopped asking for help after facing delays to their care amid shocking staffing shortages at one of Greater Manchester’s major hospitals.

Surgical services at Salford Royal Hospital have been served with a warning notice by health inspectors after they found patients were at risk of abuse and that bottles and bed pans of urine were left to accumulate in ward bathrooms, with staff short on time to clear them.

Surgical services have now been rated as ‘requires improvement’ by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It follows an inspection from September 23 to 25. The visit was carried out ‘due to concerns regarding how gynaecology, spinal and neurosurgery services are managed, as well as to look at their safety processes’.

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The latest review came after the CQC found regulatory breaches at a previous inspection. ‘Most of these remained a concern at this latest inspection’, inspectors said.

In shocking findings, inspectors discovered that ‘some aspects of the service were not always safe’, and ‘there was an increased risk that people could be harmed’.

Inspectors said staff didn’t always make sure patients weren’t protected ‘from abuse or improper treatment’; patients weren’t told about their rights around consent didn’t have their rights respected during care and treatment; and that ‘staff didn’t always complete risk assessments or appropriately manage people’s deteriorating health to keep people safe’.

There were also concerns that patients were left waiting for pain relief and support with their personal care. During the inspection, four people on one ward told the watchdog that they ‘experienced extended pain symptoms and had experienced delays in receiving pain relief medicines’. Staff told the CQC that multiple patients had experienced delays in receiving post-operative pain relief.

Staff told inspectors patients ‘would leave their individually-labelled bed pans or bottles in the bathroom for staff to collect when they had time’. That leads to a ‘risk this could lead to inaccurate recording of fluids as the bed pans and bottles absorbed some of the liquid’, the watchdog said.

Results published today (Friday, February 13) show the CQC has issued a warning notice to the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA), which runs Salford Royal. The warning notice highlights the areas where ‘rapid and significant improvements’ are needed.

The official warning means the CQC can take further action if improvements aren’t made within a short period of time, including recommending that the services be taken over by another body, called ‘special administration’.

Major improvements being urged in the warning notice include ‘staffing levels, as well as systems and processes used to identify and manage risks, which were affecting quality and safety on the wards’, the watchdog said.

Have you been affected by this story? Email helena.vesty@reachplc.com

Inspectors found wards did not have enough staff with the right qualifications to deal with patients. Patients ‘felt staffing shortages had impacted their emotional well-being and they didn’t always feel comfortable asking for help when they needed it, due to experiencing previous delays, especially during the night’, the CQC has said.

The report reads: “Most people told us the surgical wards did not have enough nursing and support staff… We spoke with people on some surgical wards who experienced delays in receiving pain relief and support with their personal care needs.

“People who used the service were not always safeguarded in the surgical wards. Formal duty of candour was not always undertaken in a timely way in accordance with trust policies.”

In addition to the concerns in the warning notice, inspectors found some 11 regulatory breaches relating to safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment, as well as duty of candour.

These breaches were also regarding ‘person-centred care, safe care and treatment, good management of the service and staffing’, which had already been identified as problems at the last inspection in December 2022.

Inspectors found that surgical staff are supposed to formally identify a patient’s loved one if and when things go wrong within 27 hours, but no later than 10 days after the incident. Records showed that staff only told the relevant contact within 10 days just over two-thirds (68 per cent) of the time in one division of the surgical services.

The report continues: “The general environment in some surgical wards was aged and worn…

“Staff were not always trained to provide safe care. The surgical services reported that only 18.3 per cent of eligible staff had completed dementia awareness training during the past three years. The proportion of staff that had completed life support training was below trust targets.

“The services did not always manage infection prevention and control risks well. Staff compliance with hand hygiene standards and admission screening processes was consistently below trust standards. The services did not always make sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.”

The trust responded to the report saying improvements are now underway, including increasing staffing across surgical wards, with nine additional working-time equivalent registered nurses in post between September and January, and strengthened senior nursing presence during late, weekend and twilight shifts.

NCA chief nursing officer, Juliette Cosgrove said: “We know we haven’t always got things right and still have work to do to improve. We have been working closely with the CQC since their inspection in September 2025, alongside NHS England and our partner organisations to make improvements as quickly and openly as possible.

“Our colleagues are crucial to this process, and we’ve spent time listening and making sure they have the chance to share their views on what we can do to make things better.”

Inspectors identified that there were plans to improve equipment servicing and maintenance, and that staff understood how to identify and manage sepsis.

The watchdog also found that leaders engaged with partners and the wider community to plan and improve services, and that the service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduced their future needs for care and support.

Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust covers a population of one million across its four hospitals – Salford Royal, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, and Rochdale Infirmary.

The hospital is also the regional centre for major trauma, neurosurgery, and upper gastrointestinal and bariatric care. It is also a centre for complex spinal care and intestinal failure. The surgical services had 15,400 attendances between October 2024 and September 2025.

After the latest inspection, the CQC has again rated how safe, effective, responsive and well-led the surgery services are as requiring improvement. How caring the service is has declined from good to requires improvement. The overall rating for Salford Royal Hospital and the NCA has not changed, and stands at requires improvement.

Kathy Ruemmler, a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and a former White House counsel to Barack Obama, announced her resignation on Thursday. The move follows the emergence of emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which reportedly showed a close relationship where she described him as an “older brother” and appeared to downplay his sex crimes.

Ruemmler confirmed she would “step down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs as of June 30, 2026.”

She had previously attempted to distance herself from the correspondence, having been defiant about not resigning from the senior legal post she held since 2020.

While Ruemmler has recently called Epstein a “monster,” her relationship with him was markedly different before his 2019 arrest for sex crimes and subsequent death by suicide. Emails reveal she referred to Epstein as “Uncle Jeffrey” and stated she adored him.

In a statement before her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Ruemmler “regrets ever knowing him.”

During her time in private practice after she left the White House in 2014, Ruemmler received several expensive gifts from Epstein, including luxury handbags and a fur coat. The gifts were given after Epstein had already been convicted of sex crimes in 2008 and was registered as a sex offender.

“So lovely and thoughtful! Thank you to Uncle Jeffrey!!!” Ruemmler wrote to Epstein in 2018.

Historically, Wall Street frowns on gift-giving between clients and bankers or Wall Street lawyers, particularly high-end gifts that could pose a conflict of interest. Goldman Sachs requires its employees to get preapproval before receiving or giving gifts from clients, according to the company’s code of conduct, partly in order to not run afoul of anti-bribery laws.

As late as December, Goldman CEO David Solomon described Ruemmler as an “excellent lawyer” and said she had his full faith and backing.

This article was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.

Before he sent his war machine into Ukraine nearly four years ago, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, talked of the need to rid the country of the “neo-Nazi cabal” which was holding it hostage and perpetrating a “genocide” of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.

Putin has doubled down on this regularly during the conflict, refusing to recognise Ukraine’s sitting president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a legitimate negotiating partner and repeatedly calling for elections. He seems to have found a receptive ear in Donald Trump, who has repeated this call several times, usually after a phone chat with the Russian leader.

Now it’s being reported that Zelensky is planning for elections and a referendum on the Trump peace proposal, after the US insisted he do both by May 15 or lose US security guarantees. Zelensky has repeatedly pointed out that the Ukrainian constitution bars elections while martial law is in effect.

It’s easy to see why. As it stands, 20% of Ukraine’s territory is occupied by Russia. Do the people living on that land get a vote? How about the millions of displaced people – either in Ukraine or in the enforced diaspora? How to organise ballots for the hundreds of thousands of troops on active duty? The logistics are mind-boggling.

But it’s not just logistics. Stefan Wolff, an expert in international security at the University of Birmingham, and Tetyana Malyarenko of the University of Odesa present five reasons why holding a poll and referendum are a problem, given the present circumstances.

On the face of it, they argue, it feels as if the US president is once again coming up with a plan that favours Russia over Ukraine. But given the impossibility of organising these votes under the present circumstances, let alone providing for what would happen if, as seems likely, the people vote for Zelensky and against the Trump peace deal, this might actually play into the hands of Kyiv and its allies. Apart from anything else, the process will buy them some time to come up with a new strategy that will take into account Washington’s role as the most unreliable of partners.

À lire aussi :
Five reasons Trump’s plan for Ukrainian elections and a peace referendum will only prolong the war

Having said that, the phrase “if the people vote for Zelensky” is doing some heavy lifting here. The fact is that, four years into an existential struggle, Ukrainians are exhausted and morale is taking a beating in the face of relentless Russian bombardment. Zelensky, who was voted into power with 74% of the vote in 2019 on a platform of fighting corruption has seen some of his closest political allies embroiled in massive corruption scandals.

The fact that the most recent scandal, which saw his chief of staff resign, related to allegations of graft involving Ukraine’s biggest energy supplier was particularly damaging, given that many Ukrainians are living without power in the coldest winter in a decade, thanks to Russian bombing.

So Zelensky’s reelection is not a foregone conclusion. In fact, two of his close associates – Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former chief of Ukraine’s armed forces and now ambassador to the US, and Kyrylo Budanov, who the Ukrainian president recently appointed as his chief of staff – would both be popular candidates. Neither has said they would run for office, but what politician ever does say that – until they do?

Jennifer Mathers, an expert in Russian and eastern European politics at Aberystwyth University, takes us through the possible challengers.

À lire aussi :
Ukraine: if elections are held this spring, who might be the next president?

The Epstein files

To Washington, where members of Congress have started to sift through some of the 3 million documents from the “Epstein files” released by the Department of Justice at the end of January. Observers have commented that, unlike in Europe, where the fallout has included considerable political splashback for some important people, reaction in the US – so far at least – has been comparatively muted.

Of course, the unredacted files have only just been made available to US lawmakers. So it’s hard to gauge how people are going to react when big names begin to be linked with sleazy acts – whether that might be sexual, political or business-related.

Releasing the files is a gamble for the US Department of Justice and the attorney-general, Pam Bondi, writes Katie Pruszynski, an analyst of US politics at the University of Sheffield. While the potential for scandal is huge, the US public is having to digest so many other stories. This year alone, the US has conducted a raid on Venezuela and abducted its president. There have been threats against Greenland and Canada. The activities of ICE and other immigration agencies in US cities, particularly in Minneapolis where two people have been shot dead, have also rightly dominated headlines.

On top of that, millions of people have seen their health insurance premiums skyrocket after the subsidies established under Obamacare lapsed on January 1. People may simply not have the mental bandwidth to take it all in.

But all this might change once the unredacted files are made public. The key thing Republicans will be hoping for is that any furore surrounding the Epstein scandal will die down before the midterm elections in November.

Meanwhile, as Pruszynski notes, Epstein’s victims – many of whose names were not redacted, despite the US Congress passing a law to that effect – are still waiting for justice.

À lire aussi :
Epstein files: why the Trump administration is taking a big gamble by releasing millions of documents

The release of victims’ names raises an interesting side issue: who decides what information is released and what is redacted? Matthew Mokhefi-Ashton explains the competing legal principles which balance the public’s right to know with people’s right to privacy.

À lire aussi :
Epstein files: who decides what information is released to the public?

Hard times in Havana

When the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, was taking questions after the raid on Caracas on January 3, he appeared to relish the idea of the US turning its attention to Cuba, commenting that: “If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I’d be concerned – at least a little bit.” His boss appeared to rule out direct intervention, at least for now, saying: “Cuba is ready to fall … I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count.”

He may not be far off the mark, given that Cuba is fast running out of oil. The situation there is so parlous that at least one air carrier, Air Canada, has cancelled all flights to Cuba because it can’t be sure that its aircraft would be able to refuel. This is a disaster. Cuba is heavily dependent on tourism for the foreign currency is so desperately needs.

Since Trump returned to power a year ago, the US has made it nigh on impossible for Cuba to source enough fuel to meet its energy needs. Now he is essentially saying the communist government of Miguel Díaz-Canel must negotiate a deal (on American terms) or else.

But whatever Rubio, who has nursed a career-long obsession with his parents’ home country of Cuba, may want to see, achieving regime change on the Caribbean island will not be easy, writes Nicolas Forsans of University of Essex. Forsans sketches out what a US deal with Cuba that falls short of replacing the government might look like.

À lire aussi :
The US is starving Cuba of fuel – here’s what a deal between them could look like

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