Donald Trump has said the Kennedy Center will close for two years in plans that are fuelling the growing controversy over the Washington DC arts venue.
The national cultural centre opened in 1971 and was named after President John F. Kennedy by Congress as a “living memorial” to the assassinated president.
Mr Trump angered many, including Kennedy family members, in December when the board he picked to run the venue backed a move to rename it the the Trump-Kennedy Center.
A wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups including the Washington National Opera and composer Philip Glass, followed. Glass announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No 15. ‘Lincoln’ was based on the values of the centre being in “direct conflict” with the message of the piece.
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Now Mr Trump has announced on social media that the historic venue will close on 4 July for construction for two years, subject to board approval, which comes just days after the premiere of his wife’s documentary “Melania” was shown there.
Image: U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for the premiere of the documentary film “Melania” at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, recently renamed to include U.S. President Donald Trump’s name, in Washington, D.C., U.S
“This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Neither Trump nor Kennedy Center president Richard Grennell has provided evidence to back up claims about the building being in disrepair, despite Trump’s pledge in October last year that it would remain open during renovations.
Grennell said he was grateful for Congress for finding $257 million for the building and said it would be a brief closure.
“It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense – it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster,” he said in a post on X.
On Sunday night Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family, posted on social media suggesting the closure of the venue was meant to deflect from the cancellations.
She said that “entertainers are canceling left and right” and the president has determined that “since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer.”
Kerry Kennedy, a niece of John F. Kennedy, has said in a social post on X that she will remove Trump’s name herself with a pickax when his term ends.
An A-list Netflix an HBO star is attached to an upcoming adaptation of one of the best classic novels of all time
A cherished literary masterpiece is set to receive the television treatment, with a prominent Netflix actress leading the cast.
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Deadline has revealed that Aimee Lou Wood, known for her roles in Sex Education and The White Lotus, will headline a fresh adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, first published in 1847.
Wood takes on the role of the eponymous protagonist, a young woman who endures a harsh childhood and education before securing a position as governess at Thornfield Hall, where she becomes captivated by the mysterious Mr Rochester.
British production house Working Title is spearheading the venture, with acclaimed Succession writer Miriam Battye crafting the screenplay.
Additional casting details remain under wraps for now, and the broadcasting platform has yet to be announced, reports the Express.
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Deadline reports that a UK broadcaster is currently in talks to come aboard the production.
Whilst the series remains in early development and won’t arrive on screens until next year at the soonest, the timeless classic boasts a substantial fanbase who will undoubtedly welcome a contemporary interpretation of Brontë’s work.
One enthusiastic Amazon reviewer awarded five stars, writing: “Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece was everything I hoped for and more, a novel rich with depth, passion, and a heroine whose strength still resonates today.”
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Another devotee declared: “How this book has received reviews of less than 5 stars is alien to me; it is, by far, the best book I have ever read!” One devoted reader shared: “I first read Jane Eyre when I was 11 and have read it many many times since. It’s gothic, romantic, heart-rendering, dark, even funny on some occasions (What the deuce!!) and I could not recommend this masterpiece highly enough.”
A final enthusiast declared: “One of the best books ever written, in my humble opinion.”
They elaborated: “You can’t go wrong – it’s got all the stuff that keeps you gripped: Love, insanity, death, spookiness, lies, deception, happiness; and I’m not really a massive ‘classics’ fan. Buy it. You won’t regret it.”
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The most recent significant screen version of Jane Eyre arrived in 2011, featuring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in the lead roles of Jane and Rochester.
Get Netflix free with Sky for Bridgerton Season 4
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‘Dearest gentle reader’, as the fourth season of Bridgerton follows second son Benedict love story, there’s a way to watch this fairytale-like season for less.
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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan. This lets customers watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes the new season of Bridgerton.
Luther actress Ruth Wilson previously brought Jane to life in the 2006 television adaptation, a four-part series which also featured Toby Stephens as her romantic counterpart.
Details regarding episode count for the forthcoming series remain under wraps, though viewers can anticipate an even deeper dive into the novel’s enduring themes and captivating bildungsroman narrative.
Jane Eyre has yet to receive a confirmed release date.
Buying a Fire Stick is a great way to upgrade your TV so you can stream the latest shows, play music and even access games.
But like any technology, over time the device can become sluggish, run slow or even start to buffer.
To solve this, Free Tech Official, a Yorkshire TikToker who specialises in streaming tips, has revealed a ‘super obvious’ trick to try to get your device running like new.
The ‘super obvious’ hack that could fix your Amazon Fire TV Stick buffering issues
When your computer or phone stops working, it is often suggested to turn the gadget off and on again in the hopes this will solve the issue.
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And Free Tech Official claims this same process can be used for your Fire Stick to try to improve its performance.
He claims most people aren’t aware that a Fire Stick doesn’t power off unless you cut the power or unplug it.
By remaining in standby, it’s likely apps used previously on the device are still running in the background which can slow it down.
So this is why restarting the system is an ‘obvious’ yet effective way to try and conquer common issues with the device.
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To turn off your Fire Stick, you can either switch it off directly from the remote or go to My Fire TV in settings and press restart.
Free Tech Official said: “Here’s something on the Firestick that’s super simple but not a lot of people do it.
“Now, if you’re having problems with the Firestick running slow or when you’re navigating around it’s really sluggish, or even buffering at times.
“Something a lot of people don’t do is simply restart the Firestick.
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“Now I know that’s super obvious but a lot of people aren’t aware that the Firestick doesn’t power off unless you cut the power or unplug it.
“It only goes into standby. So when you come to use the Firestick again, it’s likely any apps you’ve been using previously are still running in the background, which can slow the Firestick down.
“Just simply restarting it refreshes it and it should make it that little bit snappier. Obviously, when it comes to restarting a Firestick, it’s very obvious.
“You can unplug it or switch it off directly from the remote or you can go across to settings, go to My Fire TV and then you see an option which says restart.
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“If you want to do it from the remote itself you can long hold the select or enter in the centre and then the play/pause button.
“Press those at the same time and keep holding them down and then it’ll say your Firestick is powering off. Give it a moment and it’ll come back on.”
We asked editors from our Entertainment, Politics, Life, and Parents verticals to share some of the stories from the past week that will actually make a tangible difference to people’s lives, and looked for some ourselves, too.
Politics
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1) Typical electricity bills are set to fall by 7% in April
But because the cost of maintaining and improving various energy neworks has risen, that figure has now been amended to a £117 average yearly cost reduction for the average household regulated by Ofgem.
2) Streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ITVX, and Disney+ will soon have to comply with broadcasting accessibility standards
Video streamers like Netflix will soon have “to meet subtitling, audio description and signing requirements that traditional broadcasters already follow,” the government shared.
Those standards will mean that streamers and video on demand sites will have to ensure that at least 80% of all of their catalogue has subtitles, a minimum of 10% is audio-described, and 5% or more is signed.
It’s expected that this could benefit more than 18 million people across the UK.
5) We’re a matter of days away from a 6pm sunset – and the endless rain may soon go away
This year began with storm after storm, which was partly caused by a southerly jet stream and a stubborn area of high pressure. Combined, these led some miserable conditions to blow up to the UK in what the Met Office called a “conveyor belt” of low pressure with “no end in sight”.
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But, at least for now, the conditions are a little warmer and milder in parts of the UK (except for the northwest). And heading into early March, the Met Office said an area of high pressure will lead to “many places seeing plenty of dry weather with variable cloud amounts and some sunshine”. Add that to the fact that 6pm sunsets are expected by 9 March, and I’m almost feeling optimistic.
6) It turns out that being really, really good at birdwatching might help to prevent dementia
Yep – scientists recently learned that expert “birders” had denser brain tissue, and an increased “cognitive reserve” (seen as a buffer against dementia) than those who were less involved in the hobby. So, if you’re looking for a new way to enjoy the sunshine, why not get your binoculars out?
Parents
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7) New changes to GP contracts will help to protect more children from life-threatening illnesses
The government’s updated GP contracts for 2026-27 could mean that thousands more children, especially those in areas where vaccination rates are low, will be protected from serious illnesses, the government said.
Currently, only GP surgeries with a high rate of vaccination receive additional financial incentives. But this change would mean the government will offer “improvement incentives that recognise those practices making progress”.
The updated contract “includes additional help for GPs to save young lives and shield families from preventable illness by strengthening vaccination delivery where it is needed most”.
A crunch by-election which could decide the future of Keir Starmer will go “down to the wire”, senior Labour figures have admitted as the party faces the prospect of defeat to either the Greens or Reform UK.
Voters in Gorton and Denton go to the polls on Thursday to decide who will replace Andrew Gwynne as their MP.
The former minister, who has quit parliament on health grounds, retained the seat for Labour at the last general election with a majority of nearly 13,500.
But the bookies have made the Green Party odds-on favourites to win, with Reform just behind them in a nail-biting three-way struggle.
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More than 1,000 Labour volunteers are expected to take part in a huge “get out the vote” operation on polling day as the party tries desperately to cling on to the seat.
A defeat for Labour, especially if the party were to come third, would be another huge blow for Starmer, who is already under huge pressure from his MPs to turn around the government’s performance after a miserable first 18 months in power.
“We have had thousands of activists out campaigning and are fighting for every vote,” a senior Labour source said.
“We know from conversations on doors that a lot of undecided voters are coming to Labour. Our promise rate is strong. This is going to go down to the wire.”
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Although Labour claims the contest is a “straight fight” between them and Reform UK, the most recent polling in the seat suggests it is effectively a dead-heat between those parties and the Greens.
“A vote for the Greens or any candidate other than Labour just risks letting Reform’s Tommy Robinson-backed candidate in through the back door,” said a Labour spokesman. “Our message to voters is clear, don’t risk it, vote for unity over division.
“A vote for the Green Party is, in effect, a vote for Reform. In the last by-election in Runcorn, Labour lost by six votes to Reform because of people voting Green. We cannot risk that being repeated.”
However, a Green spokesman hit back: “The polls and independent tactical voting organisations are clear that voting Green is the only way to ensure Reform don’t win.
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“We are confident, and have run a fantastic campaign. The voters in Gorton and Denton have made clear to us that what they what want more than anything is real change.
“Throughout the campaign, voters have tended to see that change as either coming through the Greens or through Reform, but as the campaign has progressed, they have increasingly started to reject Reform’s divisive candidate as just more of the same, and come over to the Greens’ message of hope and change.
“Labour have never been in this since they blocked Andy Burnham. We are in the lead, it is close, but the polls show clearly that if you want to stop Reform, you have to vote Green.”
Labour figures have accused the Greens of “importing the politics of the Indian sub-continent” into the by-election after the party published a campaign video entirely in Urdu aimed at Pakistani-heritage voters.
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It shows the prime minister shaking hands with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, as well as justice secretary David Lammy with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and footage of Gaza.
One Labour MP told HuffPost UK: “The Greens are leaning into sectarian politics. It really worries me about the future of the country that we’ve a large political party campaigning in that way.”
But a Green source said: “I speak Urdu and the Urdu video is actually beautifully translated.
“The message of the cost of living crisis which cuts across all Gorton and Denton communities, and the hopeful vision of bringing those communities together, is a highly recommended watch.
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“When the Greens talk about being inclusive I can see they really mean it – unlike Labour who only care about their ultra-wealthy donors.”
A Reform spokesman said it still was “all to play for” in the three-horse race.
“The fact that we are even competitive in what is Labour’s sixth safest seat is testament to the hard work of all those involved in our by-election campaign,” a spokesman told HuffPost UK.
“The Greens have been more interested in Gaza than the people of Gorton and Denton and have been campaigning in Urdu whilst the Labour Party have been offering food in exchange for political support.
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“They both claim to oppose ‘division’ while organising along communal lines. Only a vote for Reform is a vote to put the people of Gorton and Denton where they belong – first.”
Actress Julia Goulding has made a ‘bring back’ demand as fans share their concerns for her character Shona Platt
Coronation Street star Julia Goulding has made a ‘bring back’ demand as fans share their concerns for her character, Shona Platt, amid the arrival of Jodie Ramsey.
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As viewers of the ITV soap know, the new character arrived in Weatherfield before revealing herself to be the long-lost sister of Shona Platt, and she’s already trying to ruffle feathers for her sibling and her family.
Jodie was actually first seen tied up in the back of a van being driven by Emmerdale returnee Graham Foster as the two long-running shows joined forces for a historic crossover, dubbed Corriedale, back in January, with the episode featuring a horror multi-vehicle crash.
While not directly involved in the horror crash that unfolded between the residents of Weatherfield and the Dales, Jodie did end up injured as she escaped and tried to get away from DC Kit Green, who came across Jodie while trying to locate Emmerdale villain John Sugden.
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It was then, later in the hospital, with Shona and David Platt also among those at the hospital, that Jodie was reunited with her long-lost sister and has since inserted herself into the Platt family, after David invited her to stay at No.8 Coronation Street.
Since then, it’s become clear that Jodie isn’t quite who she’s trying to portray herself to be and it has been suggested that the newcomer is keen to take over her sister’s life and claim it for her own.
Despite Jodie’s seemingly sinister intentions, Shona is buying her sister’s hurt over their past. “Jodie has been invaluable,” Julia said when talking about her latest storyline. “She’s providing Shona with a real sense of safety and a solid grounding during what is an incredibly turbulent time. With Harper being ill, having that sisterly support is exactly what Shona needs right now.”
Asked if Shona’s newfound stability is making her blind to Jodie’s calculated behaviour, the soap star admitted: “I wouldn’t necessarily say the Platt family is the most stable environment! But compared to how she grew up, it definitely is. I think it’s a bit of both.
“She’s so happy to have her sister back and so determined to make amends for leaving her in the past that she’s letting Jodie get away with more than she should. At this stage, she’s either genuinely unaware or just choosing not to see it.”
Corrie spoilers for next week have recently revealed that Jodie will try an impersonate her sister. Shona and her husband David nervously watch as the hospital staff prepare Harper for her operation. At Jodie’s suggestion the Platts arrive to lend their support. Having found out that Harper has suffered a minor bleed, David and Shona panic. As the family tries to rally round, David loses his temper and orders them to leave.
Jodie hugs David before heading out, where she passes a new mum. When she assumes that Jodie is Shona, Harper’s mum, and that David is her husband, will Jodie put her straight? Soon, David and Shona emerge from the hospital to find the family in the car park waiting for news.
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Once back inside the NICU, David and Shona watch over Harper with concern. Later, once back at the hospital the mum from the previous day approaches Jodie and enquires after Harper. As Jodie talks about her daughter’s operation, she’s horrified to realise Shona’s standing right behind her. How will Jodie explain this one?
Speaking about Shona’s reaction, Julia revealed: “Oh, she’s fuming initially! She’s like, “What are you playing at?” But Jodie is so good at talking her way out of things that Shona ends up believing her. It’s hard to get into that headspace sometimes because it feels so risky, but Shona just wants to trust her sister.”
When Jodie’s deception is finally exposed, Julia was asked how would you like to see Shona react, to which Julia admitted: “I’d love to see Shona kick off and bring back that ‘Bad Shona’ energy! She’s been made a lot softer on the street lately. I want to see the hard Shona return – the one people should actually fear!”
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
No matter how hard I try to prepare for it, Mother’s Day (which falls on 15 March this year) always seems to creep up and surprise me.
And if your mum is tricky to buy for (so many of us are), then when you do remember that it’s right around the corner, there’s an extra layer of stress to contend with over choosing the right gift.
In fact, our Parents editor (who also happens to be a mum-of-two) says one of her favourite gifts in recent years was a three-month flower subscription, which really brightened up the rainier days (of which we’ve had many).
Luckily for all of us, family-run florist Bunches has a huge range of gorge flowers to choose from, to suit a range of budgets. What’s more, 10% of profits go to charity, so you’re doing good at the same time.
It also arrives at her door in bud, which means she’ll get to enjoy the sight of it blooming day by day.
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And if you’d like her blooms to last month after month, the bright Meadow Memories Dried Letterbox flowers, for £26, arrive in a letterbox-sized box with wrapping to protect them.
Don’t leave your gift-buying to the last stressful minute – think ahead and pick the flowers you know she’ll love.
Polanski has called for the UK to leave the defence alliance, urged Britain to wean itself off its reliance on the United States and consider expelling American forces from British bases.
Meanwhile prime minister Keir Starmer is trying to hold the alliance together just one month after Nato-sceptic Donald Trump threatened to invade Greenland.
European leaders are also relying on the strength of Nato to deter Vladimir Putin from attacking countries beyond Ukraine, where the alliance’s eastern flank is.
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But Polanski told HuffPost UK: “The prime minister has moved much closer to my position [on Nato].
“In fact, the speech he gave in Munich last week could have easily been a speech I gave six months to a year ago.”
Starmer told the Munich security conference that it was time to “build a stronger Europe and a more European Nato” to combat Russian aggression at a time when Trump is turning away from the alliance.
The PM also used the speech to hit out at “the peddlers of easy answers” who who are “soft on Russia, weak on Nato” – an attack on both the Greens and Reform UK.
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Polanski said Starmer appeared to be “ridiculing me for my Nato position,” even though he wants to set an alternative alliance which has British security “at the heart”.
“It feels he’s accepting the fundamentals of what I was saying but at the same time still trying to use desperate political attacks rather than actually deal with the substance, which is Trump is unpredictable and dangerous,” he said. “He’s not an ally at this point.”
Polanski continued: “Starmer has realised banging on about the special relationship with a president who is so clearly uninterested in the UK and our security was no longer tenable. So I think he’s moved to the right position.”
A Labour spokesperson rejected these claims, calling the remarks “delusional”.
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They said: “Zack Polanski’s claim is delusional and is just further proof that the Greens cannot be trusted with our national security.
“While Putin wages an illegal war in Ukraine, the Green Party wants to take Britain out of Nato and leave our country isolated and exposed.
“Labour will always stand firm with our allies, uphold our commitments to Nato, and defend democracy and the rule of law.”
Polanski also claimed that his previous claims that the UK should negotiate directly with Putin over Russia’s nuclear powers have been “mischaracterised as sitting down and having a friendly chat”.
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Insisting that he does care about national security, he said: “Sanctions are a part of diplomatic relationships. I think there’s still more we could be doing around showing global leadership in terms of the rest of Europe.”
“I think there’s still more we could be doing around sanctions,” Polanski said. “Once you’ve exhausted every possible option, then you ask for the further military question too.”
“I think there’s a principle at stake here that is we should never rush to more war, we should never rush to more weapons, we should never look at saying we’re done with diplomacy, because actually there’s been lots of times in the past where it’s felt like hope has totally been lost with other countries.”
I have watched two sides of the same Democratic party navigate this exact issue (Picture: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
For years, Democrats have leaned on Michelle Obama’s famous line, ‘When they go low, we go high.’
As an ethos, it’s noble and dignified, but it’s also politically nullifying – because in the current climate dynamic, those who live by it may occupy the moral highground, but they don’t control the battlefield.
Thus for so many years now we’ve seen Donald Trump’s Republicans define the narrative, while Democrats take solace from the fact that they’re playing by the rules.
That ‘go high’ mentality confers moral superiority, sure, but it does not confer power. And as we all know, power is basically all that matters in politics.
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For the best part of a decade, I have watched two sides of the same Democratic party navigate this exact issue.
Because what we witnessed on Tuesday was not about a speech, Trump’s strongman leadership, or even the USA.
Last night’s rambling, record-breaking State of the Union Address brought the divide between those two sides into sharp focus (Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
It was about a Democratic party at a crossroads. One side committing to the ‘We go high’ rules. The other embracing the chaotic liberation of ‘When they go low, we raise hell’.
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Treading a well-worn path was Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, applauding at points, rising politely, behaving as though this were just another presidential address.
Except it wasn’t. It really wasn’t.
Because blazing an unrepentantly contrarian trail were Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib refusing to play Trump’s game – choosing instead to respectively boycott, protest, and reject the absurd spectacle.
But parts of the Democratic Party still responded as though this were a serious policy address delivered in good faith.
Vice Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee and senator of almost 16 years, Chris Coons, said he hoped for a ‘brief and unifying speech’.
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To expect brevity and unity from Donald Trump is like expecting to win a gunfight with a bunch of flowers.
He attempted to speak solemnly – for a record-breaking 107 minutes in total – about law and order, and the threat of immigrants poisoning American communities.
It’s pretty galling to hear a man with 34 criminal convictions who’s been found liable for fraud and sexual abuse lecturing the country about morality.
American citizens have been caught up in raids by Trump’s aggressive Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers (Picture: John Moore/Getty Images)
And when he declared that the first duty of the American government is to protect citizens, I could only speculate about who exactly that applied to.
A situation where armed federal agents in tactical gear and balaclavas turn up at homes before dawn, plunging entire communities into paralysing fear and sometimes targeting the wrong people.
More than 68,000 people have been taken into custody. More than 30 have died.
I could go on, but the point is that the gap between his rhetoric and reality is – and always has been – titanic.
What approach should the Democratic Party take to address Donald Trump’s political tactics?
Maintain dignity and the ‘go high’ ethos
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Adopt a more confrontational approach
Combine both strategies for balance
Stay up to date with the stories everybody’s talking about by signing up to Metro’s News Updates newsletter.
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Donald Trump is a political force who thrives on rewriting the rules. The speed at which revered institutions have bent, broken, caved and capitulated in his second term has been breathtaking.
He has never operated within norms, nor does he fear outrage, or retreat when scolded – we have the whole of his first term to know that.
Anyone still clinging to the idea that behaving properly, respecting institutions and demonstrating civility will somehow restore normality are delusional.
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It would be pure folly to think that a strongly worded letter, or a show of bipartisanship, might inspire him to change course.
It hasn’t worked up to this point. It’s not working now. It will never work.
They recognise that Trump is not an irregularity that can be corrected by etiquette and the modelling of good behaviour (Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
That was proven even before Tuesday’s speech, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pleaded with Trump to ‘make his case’ on potentially striking Iran.
We all know that any action in the Middle East will mirror his Venezuela raid, and almost his entire foreign policy – chaotic, violent, and potentially illegal.
So to resort to cliché, it’s crunch time. This Democratic generational divide is undeniable, and it’s necessary. It’s not about style. It is about diagnosis.
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Because while I have deep respect for the older guard of centre-left American politics, from Biden to Warren, who have contributed immeasurably, their time was forged in a different political era.
We need to recognise this cohort of younger Democrats for what it is (Picture: Tyrone Siu/REUTERS)
The younger generation of Democrats is often caricatured as theatrical, unserious and untested, but it instinctively grasps that standing up to applaud, nodding along to platitudes, and expressing disappointment at the lack of unity simply feeds the illusion that any of this is somehow normal.
They recognise that Trump is not an irregularity that can be corrected by etiquette and the modelling of good behaviour.
Instead, they understand that they need to match his force, clarity and narrative, upholding their principles while also getting down in the dirt to fight.
The rest of us have already realised that times have changed. The question has never been about whether Trump will change. It’s whether the Democrats will.
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Don’t get me wrong, I am not arguing for a race to the bottom. Lord knows Trump has already kickstarted that.
But we need to recognise this cohort of younger Democrats for what they are: the only feasible route to success and the only realistic chance of strategic dominance the party so desperately needs.
The Democrats can keep the slogan. But in 2026, ‘when they go low’ cannot mean surrendering power to keep peace. It has to mean getting in the arena.
Bill Gates has apologized to staff at his charitable foundation over his past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, also admitting to two extramarital affairs, according to a report.
“To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said while apologizing to foundation executives for introducing them into Epstein’s orbit.
“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein. I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” he said.
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The tech entrepreneur turned philanthropist explained that he first met the pedophile in 2011, three years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida, but that he had not looked into the financier’s background and was only dimly aware of an “18-month thing” that limited his travel.
Bill Gates has expressed his regret at ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein and says he ended contact with him in 2014 (AP)
He acknowledged that his then-wife, Melinda Gates, had expressed concern about Epstein in 2013, but that he had ignored her caution and continued to see him socially.
“Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates said, according to the WSJ.
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Alluding to his ex-wife, he added: “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.”
Gates continued to map out the course of their relationship, saying he had met with Epstein in 2011, taken trips on his private jet and spent time with him in Germany, France, New York, and Washington, but “never stayed overnight” at his properties or visited Little St James, his now-notorious private Caribbean island.
He said he did not see Epstein again after 2014, although there were “ancillary issues” that Epstein continued to email him about, but Gates said he chose not to respond to them.
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Epstein died in a New York City jail cell in August 2019 (New York State Division of Criminal Justice)
Gates also said the women pictured with him in the files were Epstein’s assistants, whom the billionaire had asked to pose with him.
He said he had been drawn to Epstein initially because he “talked about the kind of intimate relationship he had with a lot of billionaires, particularly Wall Street billionaires,” whom, he said, could help Gates with his fundraising goals, which “made it easier for me to feel like this was a normalized situation.”
“It definitely is the opposite of the values of the foundation and the goals of the foundation,” Gates admitted. “And our work is very reputation-sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us.”
A Gates Foundation spokesperson told The Independent: “This was a scheduled town hall with employees, which Bill does twice a year. In the conversation, Bill answered questions submitted by foundation staff on a range of issues, including the release of the Epstein files, the foundation’s work in AI, and the future of global health.
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“In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions.”
Gates posing for a photograph with a woman whose identity has been redacted, as seen in the recent Department of Justice release of files pertaining to Epstein (DOJ)
During the town hall, the billionaire also admitted to two affairs.
“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” he said.
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Melinda Gates spoke to NPR’s Wild Card podcast earlier this month about the release of the Epstein files and told host Rachel Martin that the scandal “brings back memories of some very, very painful times” in her marriage.
The couple, who have three children, divorced in 2021 after 27 years together.
Martin asked her guest about one of the emails released by the DOJ that suggested her former husband had sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection and planned to supply it to his ex-wife too without her knowledge, asking what her “dominant emotion” was when she first heard about it, to which she answered: “Just unbelievable sadness.”
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Melinda Gates speaking to NPR’s ‘Wild Card’ podcast earlier this month about the Epstein scandal and the end of her 27-year marriage (NPR)
A spokesperson for Bill Gates has vehemently denied the allegations in question and previously told The Independent: “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false.
“The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
Unlike other powerful men linked to Epstein, Gates has shown a commendable willingness to speak frankly about his past mistakes.
“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise that I did that,” he recently told Australia’s 9News, adding that he was “foolish to spend time with him” and is “one of many people who regret ever knowing him.”
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“The more that comes out, the more clear it will be that, although the time was a mistake, it has nothing to do with that kind of behaviour,” he added.
A federal judge reprimanded Donald Trump’s administration for claiming that an immigrant seeking his release from custody was convicted for marijuana possession in 2009 — when he was 4 years old.
To support arguments for the man’s ongoing detention and removal from the country, government lawyers attached a document from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they “indicated” was related to his criminal history.
They submitted the document in court filings “despite the differences in birthdate, birthplace, parents’ names, and immigration status,” West Virginia District Judge Irene Berger noted in her order to release him on Tuesday.
“This sloppiness further validates the Court’s concerns about the procedures utilized by the Respondents depriving people present in the United States of their liberty,” she wrote.
ICE officials submitted a document purporting to show an immigrant seeking his release was convicted for marijuana possession — when he was 4 years old (Getty Images)
Judges within the last week have held at least two government attorneys in civil contempt for failing to follow orders in immigration cases, according to documents reviewed by The Independent.
Last week, Minnesota District Judge Laura M. Provinzino held a federal prosecutor in civil contempt for “flagrant disobedience of court orders” in the case of a noncitizen swept up in Trump’s surge of immigration officers in the state.
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Provinzino ordered Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara to pay $500 a day until the government returned a man’s identification documents after his release. The contempt was purged after his documents were returned.
This week, Trump appointee Judge Eric C. Tostrud of Minnesota found the administration in civil contempt for transferring an ICE detainee to Texas in violation of his order and then releasing him without his belongings.
The judge ordered the administration to refund him $568 for the cost of a plane ticket home.
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Lawyers defending Kristi Noem’s DHS are battling an overwhelming number of immigration lawsuits and failing to keep up with court orders (REUTERS)
The administration’s attempts to arrest and deport tens of thousands of people from the country — without giving them much of a chance to fight their cases before they’re indefinitely jailed in immigration detention centers — have triggered an avalanche of lawsuits that are overwhelming courts and prosecutors.
Dozens of new habeas corpus petitions — the lawsuits immigrants have filed to challenge the constitutionality of their arrest and detention — are hitting court dockets every week. Government attorneys are overwhelmed or quitting in droves under pressure to fight them at an unsustainable pace.
Judges have argued that it’s a crisis of the administration’s own making.
Officials “have chosen to avail themselves of these exact circumstances of which they now complain,” wrote California District Judge Sunshine Sykes, whose order this month commanded the government to let detainees challenge their detentions.
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In New Jersey, government lawyers recently admitted to violating roughly 50 orders stemming from more than 500 cases.
Julie Le, a lawyer for ICE who was drafted to help with the caseload in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, was removed from that detail days after her outburst in court.
The same month, Minnesota’s chief federal judge ripped into the administration after he found ICE violated nearly 100 court orders stemming from the recent surge of officers into the state, or “more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
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“ICE has every right to challenge the orders of this court,” wrote Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. “But, like any litigant, ICE must follow those orders unless and until they are overturned or vacated.”
Officials at the Justice Department and DHS have labeled judges “activists” and “rogue” members of the judiciary in public statements criticizing the decisions but have rarely appealed them.
