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Epstein accomplice Maxwell moved to minimum security Texas prison

Epstein accomplice Maxwell moved to minimum security Texas prison

France 2411 hours ago
No reason was given for Maxwell's transfer but it comes a week after a top Justice Department official met with her to ask questions about Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly sex trafficking underage girls.
"We can confirm Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas," a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, interviewed Maxwell for two days at a Florida courthouse last week in a highly unusual meeting between a convicted felon and high-ranking Justice official.
Blanche has declined so far to say what was discussed but Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, said she answered every question she was asked.
Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress about Epstein if given immunity and has also reportedly been seeking a pardon from Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein.
She had been subpoenaed to give a deposition to the House Oversight Committee on August 11, but Politico reported Friday it had been postponed indefinitely.
The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein.
Two women who said they were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell and the family of another accuser who recently committed suicide condemned the prison transfer.
"It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received," Annie and Maria Farmer and the family of Virginia Giuffre said in a statement Friday.
"Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency," they said.
"Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas," they said. "This move smacks of a cover-up. The victims deserve better."
'Cover-up in real time'
Tim Hogan, a senior Democratic National Committee advisor, also denounced what he alleged was a "government cover-up in real time."
"Donald Trump's FBI, run by loyalist Kash Patel, redacted Trump's name from the Epstein files -- which have still not been released," Hogan said.
"While Trump and his administration try to cover up the heinous crimes included in those files, they're simultaneously doing favors for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell."
Trump is facing mounting demands from Democrats and many of his conspiracy-minded Make America Great Again supporters to be more transparent about the case of the wealthy and well-connected Epstein.
Trump's supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said last month that Epstein had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a "client list."
The president raised further questions this week as he told reporters he fell out with Epstein after the financier "stole" female employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
One of those girls was Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave and committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.
Giuffre's family issued a statement this week appealing to Trump not to consider pardoning Maxwell, who they called a "monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life."
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Jury awards over $240 million in damages against Tesla in Autopilot crash lawsuit
Jury awards over $240 million in damages against Tesla in Autopilot crash lawsuit

France 24

time2 hours ago

  • France 24

Jury awards over $240 million in damages against Tesla in Autopilot crash lawsuit

A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk's car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $240 million in damages. The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service in several cities in the coming months. The decision ends a four-year long case remarkable not just in its outcome but that it even made it to trial. Many similar cases against Tesla have been dismissed and, when that didn't happen, settled by the company to avoid the spotlight of a trial. 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In this case, the plaintiffs showed Tesla had the evidence all along, despite its repeated denials, by hiring a forensic data expert who dug it up. 'Today's verdict is wrong," Tesla said in a statement, 'and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement lifesaving technology,' They said the plaintiffs concocted a story 'blaming the car when the driver – from day one – admitted and accepted responsibility.' In addition to a punitive award of $200 million, the jury said Tesla must also pay $43 million of a total $129 million in compensatory damages for the crash, bringing the total borne by the company to $243 million. 'It's a big number that will send shock waves to others in the industry,' said financial analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. 'It's not a good day for Tesla.' Tesla said it will appeal. Even if that fails, the company says it will end up paying far less than what the jury decided because of a pre-trial agreement that limits punitive damages to three times Tesla's compensatory damages. Translation: $172 million, not $243 million. But the plaintiff says their deal was based on a multiple of all compensatory damages, not just Tesla's, and the figure the jury awarded is the one the company will have to pay. It's not clear how much of a hit to Tesla's reputation for safety the verdict in the Miami case will make. Tesla has vastly improved its technology since the crash on a dark, rural road in Key Largo, Florida, in 2019. But the issue of trust generally in the company came up several times in the case, including in closing arguments Thursday. 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It also left Angulo, who walked into the courtroom Friday with a limp and cushion to sit on, with broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. But Schreiber said Tesla was at fault nonetheless. He said Tesla allowed drivers to act recklessly by not disengaging the Autopilot as soon as they begin to show signs of distraction and by allowing them to use the system on smaller roads that it was not designed for, like the one McGee was driving on. 'I trusted the technology too much,' said McGee at one point in his testimony. 'I believed that if the car saw something in front of it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.' The lead defense lawyer in the Miami case, Joel Smith, countered that Tesla warns drivers that they must keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel yet McGee chose not to do that while he looked for a dropped cellphone, adding to the danger by speeding. 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Academics warn Columbia University deal sets dangerous precedent
Academics warn Columbia University deal sets dangerous precedent

France 24

time6 hours ago

  • France 24

Academics warn Columbia University deal sets dangerous precedent

Academics from Columbia and beyond have expressed concerns that the deal -- which makes broad-ranging concessions and increases government oversight -- will become the blueprint for how Trump brings other universities to heel. The New York institution was the first to be targeted in Trump's war against elite universities, for what the US president claimed was its failure to tackle anti-Semitism on campus in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests. It was stripped of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding and lost its ability to apply for new research grants. Labs saw vital funding frozen, and dozens of researchers were laid off. But Columbia last week agreed to pay the government $200 million, and an additional $21 million to settle an investigation into anti-Semitism. According to Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, the lack of due process -- with the government slashing funding before carrying out a formal investigation -- left Columbia in an "untenable position." Columbia law professor David Pozen agreed, saying the "manner in which the deal was constructed has been unlawful and coercive from the start" and slamming the agreement as giving "legal form to an extortion scheme." Federal oversight The deal goes beyond addressing anti-Semitism and makes concessions on international student admissions, race and ethnicity considerations in admissions and single-sex spaces on campus, among other issues. Columbia also agreed to appoint an independent monitor to implement the deal, share ethnicity admissions data with the government and crack down on campus protests. Many of the provisions "represent significant incursions onto Columbia's autonomy," said Pozen. "What's happened at Columbia is part of a broader authoritarian attack on civil society," he said, pointing to similar pressures on law firms and media organizations to fall in line. According to the law professor, the deal "signals the emergence of a new regulatory regime in which the Trump administration will periodically and unpredictably shake down other schools and demand concessions from them." In the coming weeks, Pozen said he expected the "administration will put a lot of pressure on Harvard and other schools to follow suit." Harvard University has pushed back against the government, filing a lawsuit in a bid to reverse sweeping funding cuts. But Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard, said that "in terms of academic freedom and in terms of democracy, the (Columbia) precedent is devastating." - 'First round' - Education Secretary Linda McMahon said she hoped the Columbia deal would be a "template for other universities around the country." On Wednesday, McMahon announced a deal with Brown University to restore some federal funding and end ongoing investigations after the Ivy League school agreed to end race considerations in admissions and adopt a biological definition of gender. Brown President Christina Paxson admitted "there are other aspects of the agreement that were not part of previous federal reviews of Brown policies" but were "priorities of the federal administration." Harvard is reportedly considering forking out $500 million to settle, according to the New York Times. Others have made smaller concessions to appease the government, with Trump's alma mater the University of Pennsylvania banning transgender women from competing in women's sports, and the University of Virginia's head resigning after scrutiny over its diversity programs. Brendan Cantwell, a professor at Michigan State University who researches the history and governance of higher education, said government interference in universities "has not happened at scale like this, probably ever in American history." While some university staff see striking an agreement as the quickest way to reopen the federal funding spigot, Cantwell warned that concessions such as sharing ethnicity data from admissions could be "weaponized" and provide fodder for future probes. Levitsky agreed, saying: "Extortionists don't stop at the first concession. Extortionists come back for more." "There's a very high likelihood that this is just the first round," he said. Pozen noted that it will be harder for "major research universities to hold the line" compared to smaller colleges which are less reliant on federal funding. But Levitsky still urged Harvard to stand its ground and "fight back," including in the courts. "Fighting an authoritarian regime is costly, but that's what we have to do," he said. "This is an unprecedented assault, and universities need to work together."

US sprint star Richardson out of trials following arrest
US sprint star Richardson out of trials following arrest

France 24

time8 hours ago

  • France 24

US sprint star Richardson out of trials following arrest

Reigning world 100m champion Richardson was held by police at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday after a violent altercation with her partner, 2019 world 100m champion Coleman. An account of Richardson's arrest report emailed to AFP by Port of Seattle Police said security video footage captured Richardson in a verbal altercation with Coleman as the duo exited a security screening. "Richardson is following and getting close to Coleman several times as Coleman appears to be trying to walk away," the report reads. "Richardson then pushes Coleman hard enough that it sends him crashing into a nearby column.... she again pushes Coleman, again hard enough that it sends him flying a few feet away." Richardson is then seen throwing a set of headphones at Coleman, who did not want to participate in the investigation and "declined to be a victim," the officer's report reads. Richardson was detained and released on Monday following the incident. Richardson's management team also did not reply to a request for comment. News of Richardson's arrest came as USA Track and Field confirmed she would play no further part in this week's championships in Eugene after racing in the opening heats of the women's 100m on Thursday. Richardson -- who famously was barred from competing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after testing positive for marijuana use after her victory at the US trials -- gave no clue of fresh controversy in her private life after her heat on Thursday. The Texan star laughed and joked with journalists as she discussed her form and fitness heading into September's World Championships in Tokyo. She did not mention her arrest earlier in the week and was not asked about it. As a defending world champion, Richardson already has a bye into the World Championships in Japan, and was under no obligation to race in Eugene this week. She clocked her fastest 100m of the season in Thursday's heat, with a time of 11.07sec. She had been due to run in this weekend's 200m but a USATF spokesman said she had scratched from both the 100m and 200m. Richardson's name remained on the 200m start list late Friday. A smiling Richardson said on Thursday she had been happy to compete in Eugene knowing that her place on the team for Tokyo was already assured. "USA is one of the hardest teams to make, so it definitely is a kind of a release of pressure knowing I have a bye," she told AFP. "It feels really good to not have that pressure and still be able to go to Tokyo. "Right now I'm cruising under the radar, but when it's time to hit -- it's going to be a bang where y'all see my name," she said. Richardson's exit came as men's 100m world champion Noah Lyles withdrew from the remaining rounds of the short sprint. Lyles, who is also already qualified for Tokyo, will race in the 200m on Sunday. Olympic women's 200m champion Gabby Thomas has also withdrawn from the rest of the 100m, and will focus on the 200m.

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