First Thing: Epstein cultivated relationship with CBP officer, prompting US investigation | US news

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Federal investigators looked into Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent who worked at the St. Thomas airport to which the late convicted sex offender regularly traveled by private plane before traveling by boat or helicopter to his private island, newly released documents reveal.

As part of that investigation, which did not result in any charges, investigators issued subpoenas for three other CBP officers working at the Cyril E King Airport (STT) in St. Thomas, documents show. The Guardian also identified two other CBP agents in St Thomas and Florida who were in contact with Epstein, based on emails and text messages between Epstein, his team and the agents. It does not appear that the FBI ever investigated these two officers.

• Has anyone ever been charged? No CBP officer has ever been indicted for crimes related to Epstein, and the Guardian has not seen any evidence to suggest that CBP officers had direct knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest sparks calls for justice in US

The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the United Kingdom has sparked calls in the United States demanding accountability for those linked to the late sex offender.

Yesterday, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored legislation with California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to force the Justice Department to release millions of records related to Epstein, called for action in the United States. He then urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel “to act,” adding: “We need JUSTICE in America now. »

Responding to the arrest, Skye Roberts, the brother of the late Virginia Giuffre – who claimed she was trafficked to the UK in 2001 at the age of 17 to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor, an allegation he repeatedly and strongly denied – said: “The reality is the UK is doing much more. »

• How did Epstein survivors react? One, Marijke Chartouni, said: “If only the US Department of Justice had acted so decisively. It took British police less than three weeks after the release of the latest tranche of Epstein files to arrest Andrew, making Pam Bondi and Kash Patel look increasingly incompetent.”

Prospects for Iran deal will be clear within 10 days, Trump says, as military buildup intensifies

Donald Trump said it will be clear within “probably 10 days” whether he can reach a nuclear deal with Iran, as the US military buildup in the Middle East intensifies with the imminent arrival of a second carrier strike group.

The president, speaking at the inaugural meeting of his Peace Council in Washington DC, insisted that Iran could not possess nuclear weapons and stressed that “bad things would happen” if the country continued to “threaten regional stability”.

Giving a possible timetable, Trump said: “Maybe we’ll make a deal, but you’ll probably find out in the next 10 days,” as the United States awaits Iran’s response after talks between the two on Tuesday.

• How significant is the current US military presence around Iran? The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships in a strike group have been in the Arabian Sea for almost a month. A second carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerald R Ford, was last confirmed on Tuesday in the Atlantic, west of Morocco.

In other news…

• Eric Dane, actor of the hit series Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy, has died at the age of 53.less than a year after publicly revealing he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

• Amateur mountaineer found guilty of grossly negligent homicide following girlfriend’s deathwhich he left on Austria’s highest peak after encountering difficulties during an ascent.

• Donald Trump announced that he is ordering the Department of Defense and other agencies to release all records they have on the search for extraterrestrial life. Comments from Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama went viral last weekend after podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen asked the former president if aliens were “real.”

• Six of the eight people who died after a Huge avalanches that swept through the Castle Peak region of the Sierra Nevada this week have been identifiedaccording to several reports. They were part of a close-knit group who frequently went on ski trips together.

• A large banner depicting Donald Trump’s face was hung outside the Justice Department headquarters. yesterday, in a physical demonstration of the president’s efforts to exert power over law enforcement who once investigated him.

Today’s statistic: ‘Al-Aqsa is a detonator’ – six-decade deal on prayer at Jerusalem holy site collapses

A six-decade-old agreement governing Muslim and Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site has “collapsed” under pressure from Jewish extremists backed by the Israeli government, experts have warned.

Culture Choice: We Are All Strangers review – two marriages and a baby in a wonderfully addictive family drama

The warmth, richness and accessibility of this lovely film from Singaporean director Anthony Chen, a graduate of Britain’s National Film and Television School, returns it carefully and knowingly to the family drama style of his 2013 debut, Ilo Ilo.

Don’t miss this: How anxiety over AI could fuel a new labor movement

Amid a worsening affordability crisis and geopolitical instability, the specter of artificial intelligence looms large over the workplace. This new technology particularly scares workers, but does it also create an opening for a resurgence of worker power?

Climate toll: Avalanche risks remain high in California as climate crisis increases threat

Avalanche risks remain high this week in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern California after at least eight people died. The climate crisis has paved the way for more dangerous conditions, with sharper alternations between dry periods and violent storms, according to experts.

Last thing: kyiv Zoo uses wood stoves to keep animals warm in the event of a power outage

Residents of kyiv face a particularly harsh winter with limited access to electricity as Russia targets energy facilities supplying the city. kyiv Zoo staff use stoves and generators to protect lions, camels and Ukraine’s only gorilla from winter and war.

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