GINGER MAG

Russia Ukraine War Anniversary

Thefighting enters its fifth yearon Tuesday, and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

The U.S. hasbrokered talkswith delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as part of the Trump administration's yearlongpush for peace. But reconcilingkey differences, such as the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian land and postwar security for Ukraine, has thwarted progress.

Meanwhile, thousands of each countries' troops havedied on the battlefield, and Ukrainian civilians have been battered byRussian aerial strikesthat have brought years of power outages and water cuts.

Here's a look at the conflict, by the numbers, since the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

1.8 million

The upper end of the estimated number of soldierskilled, wounded or missingon both sides, according to a report last month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.

It estimated that Russia suffered 1.2 million casualties, including up to 325,000 troop deaths, between February 2022 and December 2025 — what it said was the largest number of troop deaths for any major power in any conflict since World War II.

Russia has not released figures on battlefield deaths since January 2023, when it said more than 80 soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian strike, bringing the total military deaths Moscow has confirmed to just over 6,000.

CSIS estimated that Ukraine has seen 500,000 to 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that 55,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war. Many are missing, he said.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses. Independent verification is not possible.

14,999

The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission's count for civilian deaths in Ukraine since Russia's all-out invasion, though it says that is likely an underestimate. More than 40,600 civilians were injured over the same period, it said in a December report.

The war has killed at least 763 children, according to the U.N.

Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022. The conflict killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in the country in 2025 — a 31% increase in civilian casualties over 2024, it said.

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19.4%

The percentage of Ukrainian land occupied by Russia, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Over the past year, Russia has gained just 0.79% of Ukraine's territory in the grinding war of attrition, the Washington-based think tank said in calculations provided earlier this month to The Associated Press, underscoring the little progress Moscow's forces have made despite huge costs in troops and armor.

Before Russia's all-out invasion, it controlled nearly 7% of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, as Moscow-backed separatists fought the Ukrainian army, according to Ukrainian officials and Western analysts.

The percentage drop in foreign military aid to Kyiv last year compared with the annual average between 2022 and 2024, according to Germany's Kiel Institute, which tracks assistance to Kyiv.

U.S. President Donald Trump stopped sending American weapons paid for by the U.S. to Ukraine after he took office just over a year ago. European countries, striving to make up the difference, increased their military aid last year by 67% compared with the 2022-2024 period, the institute said in a report this month.

Foreign humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine fell by 5% last year in comparison with the average in the previous three years, it said.

5.9 million

The number of Ukrainian civilians who have left their country.

Some 5.3 million of those people have found refuge in Europe, according to a report this month from the U.N. office in Ukraine.

Additionally, around 3.7 million Ukrainians forced out of their homes have moved elsewhere within the country, the U.N. said in December.

Ukraine's prewar population was more than 40 million.

2,851

The number of Russian attacks that affected the provision of medical care in Ukraine, according to the World Health Organization. The figure covers the period from the full-scale invasion through Feb. 11.

The attacks include 2,347 strikes on health care facilities, as well as ones that damaged vehicles and the storage of medical supplies.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Once a police officer, Oseguera went on to become one of the world's most wanted fugitives, with the United States alone offering a $15 million bounty for information leading to his arrest.

Oseguera, who formed and led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was an elusive figure who had been considered Mexico's most powerful cartel boss since Sinaloa kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was arrested last decade.

Born in July 1966 in the western state of Michoacán, Oseguera later moved to the US and was deeply involved in drug trafficking from the 1990s, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In 1994, he was convicted in California for conspiracy to distribute heroin and served three years in a US prison.

After he returned to Mexico, he worked as a police officer in the western state of Jalisco but soon resumed his criminal activities, building his influence in the shadowy world of narcotics and rising to become the head of one of the country's most powerful and ruthless criminal empires.

Wanted by authorities in Mexico and the US, Oseguera or "El Mencho" kept a low profile – so much so that only a handful of photographs of him exist.

His death on Sundayin a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, in the western coastal state of Jalisco, has triggered widespread unrest across parts of the country.

On the most-wanted list

Oseguera had a long career in brutality before forming CJNG. For a time, he served as chief of hitmen, or key enforcer, for the Milenio Cartel, before overseeing security and operational violence for the famed Sinaloa Cartel, whose former leader Guzmán is serving a life sentence in a US prison.

According to the DEA, CJNG emerged in the 2010s from the remnants of the Milenio Cartel, which splintered amid a power vacuum after its leader Óscar Nava Valencia was captured in 2009.

Oseguera built the group with Abigael González Valencia, leader of Los Cuinis – a family-based cartel operating in Michoacán, which served as the financial and logistical arm of CJNG and oversaw its "diverse network of money laundering operations," according to the DEA.

But it was only through marriage to Abigael's sister, Rosalinda González Valencia, that Oseguera gained real influence in the new entity.

"In reality, El Mencho reached the cartel's leadership through a strategy of diplomacy via marriage," public security analyst David Saucedo told CNN en Español. "He was indeed the chief of hitmen for 'Nacho' Coronel (a Sinaloa Cartel leader), but he lacked the lineage that Rosalinda, his wife, possessed," Saucedo added.

The burgeoning cartel quickly grew its sphere of influence to claim a significant presence across Mexico and became a key player in the global drug trade.

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It is a brutally violent operation responsible for assassination attempts on Mexican government officials and homicides against rival trafficking groups and Mexican law enforcement officers, according to the US State Department.

The cartel demonstrated its firepower in May 2015, when it responded to a security operation with simultaneous roadblocks across several municipalities and shot down a military helicopter. Three soldiers were killed in the clashes.

The following year, the gang was credited with abrazen kidnapping of Guzman's sonfrom a trendy restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. He was released a week later.

It wasn't long before the DEA added El Mencho to its most wanted list.

Sweeping drug network

CJNG is heavily involved in the production and trafficking of methamphetamine and fentanyl, with links to suppliers of chemical precursors in China, and controls several seaports for importing chemicals, according to US authorities.

The cartel is "a key supplier of illicit fentanyl" to the US, reaping "billions of dollars in profit," as well being one of the main suppliers of cocaine, according to the DEA.

The group has contacts in over 40 countries, including the Americas, as well as in Australia, China and Southeast Asia, according to the US State Department.

Mexico had been under pressure from US President Donald Trump to do more to limit the flow of drugs to the US.

The US designated CJNG as a terrorist organization in February 2025, and Oseguera had already been indicted multiple times in the United States, including being charged in 2022 with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl for importation into the United States.

The death of "El Mencho" on Sunday has created turmoil across the country. But it won't necessarily cripple the JNGC's multi-billion drug trade.

The DEA says the gang is structured like a franchise business, and according to Eduardo Guerrero, director of Mexican consulting group Lantia Intelligence, it is composed of around 90 organizations.

"This fragmentation has meant that you'll need a more complex, more sophisticated strategy to weaken and dismember them," Guerrero told CNN earlier this year.

The Mexican military and police, backed by US intelligence and equipment have tried taking out kingpins before. But others emerged to take their place, and tons of drugs continued to flow over the US border.

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Here's a look at those who've been affected to date by the information released under theEpstein Files Transparency Act, the law that shone a light on the surprisingly wide network of rich and powerful people who interacted with the politically connected convicted sex offender, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking charges.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

The former Prince Andrew was officially stripped of his royal titles in late 2025 as a result of his ties with Epstein, given new scrutiny after the House Oversight Committee released a trove of files last year. His reputational collapse plunged to lower depths on Thursday, when authorities saidhe was arrestedon suspicion of misconduct while in office.

The arrest came after the Thames Valley Police said this month that the department was looking into a claim that the then-prince had shared confidential documents with Epstein while he was serving as U.K. trade envoy in 2010.

The claim emerged from an email chain in the latest Epstein files release. Mountbatten-Windsorappears to have forwarded Epstein"visit reports for Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shenzhen" in relation to a trip he'd made to Southeast Asia.

Trade envoys are typically barred from sharing sensitive or commercial documents under confidentiality rules.

Mountbatten-Windsor has denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but has not commented on the latest batch of files or his arrest.He was released approximately11 hours after being attested, meaning he has been neither charged nor cleared of wrongdoing, the Thames Valley Police said in a statement.

In a statement Thursday,King Charles III vowedto cooperate with any investigation and said that "the law must take its course."

Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the U.S.

Peter Mandelson wasfired as British ambassadorto the U.S. last year after documents released by the House Oversight Committee showed he had a much closer relationship with Epstein than was previously known.

Documents released by the Justice Department in January, however, touched off an investigation byLondon's Metropolitan Police"for misconduct in public office offences." As was the case with the former prince, the documents showed exchanges he had with Epstein where heappeared to sharesensitive government information.

In one 2010 exchange, while Mandelson was business secretary, he notified Epstein in advance thatPrime Minister Gordon Brownwas going to resign following his loss in the general election, writing, "finally got him to go today."

Mandelson stepped down from the governing Labour Party on Feb. 1 and as amember of the House of Lordson Feb. 3. On Feb. 6, his former lobbying company announced it had severed all ties with him.

Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. In an interview thatThe Times of London published Feb. 2, Mandelson said the new release showed a "handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending" and compared Epstein to "muck that you can't get off your shoe."

Thorbjørn Jagland, former prime minister of Norway

Thorbjørn Jagland, who was prime minister of Norway in the 1990s and went on to head the Nobel Committee and the Council of Europe, wascharged last weekwith "aggravated corruption" following searches of his home in Norway in connection with Epstein file disclosures.

Emails in the files show Jagland taking repeated trips to Epstein's properties, including stays at his island. Epstein paid for Jagland and his family's travel there in 2014, according toone of the emails.

After the emails became public, Jagland was stripped of his diplomatic immunity and three of his properties were searched by Norwegian authorities.

"As a consequence of the search, Jagland has now been charged with gross corruption," the police said in a statement.

Jagland hasdenied any wrongdoing.He told the Norwegian paper Aftenposten he is "very glad that the matter is being clarified" and plans to fully cooperate with the authorities.

Thomas Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt Hotels

Billionaire Tom Pritzker announced this week he wasstepping downfrom his role as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp. because of revelations in the files about his long associations with Epstein and Epstein's co-conspiratorGhislaine Maxwell.Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges.

Emailsreleased by the Justice Departmentshow Pritzker and Epstein socializingfor yearsafter his 2008 conviction.

"Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret. I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner," Pritzker said in a statement announcing his resignation as chair, a post he'd held since 2004.

"I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims."

He has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement.

Kathy Ruemmler, former chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs

Kathy Ruemmler, a former White House counsel in the Obama administration, announced last week she wasresigning from her jobas chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs after newly released emails showed she and Epstein had had a friendly relationship.

Ruemmler told theFinancial Times, "I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defense attorney, was becoming a distraction."

Ruemmler's name appears in the files in scores of email exchanges with Epstein and his assistant, some of which show her offering public relations and legal advice and others showing he bought herlavish gifts, including a Fendi bag and an Apple Watch.

"I adore him. It's like having another older brother!" Ruemmler told Epstein's assistant in a 2015 email.

Ruemmler said in a statement this month that "I got to know him as a lawyer and that was the foundation of my relationship with him. One of his clients became my client too, we regularly worked together, and he asked me for advice as many people do."

"I had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct on his part, and I did not know him as the monster he has been revealed to be," the statement said. She has not been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing.

Brad Karp, former chairman of Paul, Weiss

Brad Karp, who was head of the prestigious law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, announced on Feb. 4 that he wasstepping down as chairmanin the wake of newly disclosed emails between him and Epstein.

"Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm," Karp said in a statement released by the firm.

A separate statement from the firm indicated he wasn't going far. "Mr. Karp will continue to focus his full-time attention to client service at the firm," the statement said.

Documents posted by the Justice Department's website show dozens of email exchanges between Karp and Epstein or Karp and Epstein's assistant spanning multiple years, including 2015 through 2019.

In one 2015 email, he thanked Epstein for "an evening I'll never forget."

"It was truly 'once in a lifetime' in every way," Karp wrote, calling Epstein "an extraordinary host." More details about the event were not known.

Karp has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement. His firm toldThe New York Timesthis month, "Mr. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets."

George J. Mitchell, former U.S. senator

George J. Mitchell, the 92-year-old formerDemocratic senatorfrom Maine and envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration, resigned from his position as honorary chair of the Mitchell Institute this month.

The institute, which provides scholarships for college students in Maine, announced its founder's resignation after his name appeared over 300 times in the files. Many of the mentions showed Epstein trying to meet with him, and it's unclear if the meetings happened.

The file also includesan interviewthe FBI conducted with a woman in 2020 who said Epstein had trafficked her to Mitchell in the early 2000s.

A spokesman for Mitchell could not be reached, but one toldThe Irish Timesthis month that he never had "any contact of any kind" with "any underage women," and "at no time did Senator Mitchell observe, suspect, or have any knowledge of Epstein engaging in illegal or inappropriate conduct with underage women."

"He learned of Epstein's criminal activity only through media reports related to Epstein's Florida prosecution," the statement said, and "to the best of Senator Mitchell's recollection, during the 12-year period between Epstein's conviction and his death, members of Epstein's staff extended a small number of invitations to the Senator, all of which he declined or deflected."

The senator "profoundly regrets ever having known Jeffrey Epstein and condemns, without reservation, the horrific harm Epstein inflicted on so many women," the statement said.

The Mitchell Institutestatementsaid it had accepted Mitchell's resignation, adding: "We also agree that this is an appropriate time to initiate a thoughtful, responsible process to consider a potential name change."

Authorities have not accused him of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an influentialEmirati businessman, was replaced as chair of one of the world's largest logistics companies days after his name appeared in the files.

Some ofthe emailsbetween the sultan and Epstein referenced porn, sexual massages and escorts. Epstein wrote him in 2009 saying, "I loved the torture video." The email included no other context and it's unclear what video he was referring to.

A representative for bin Sulayem's company, DP World, did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News last week. The statement announcing the sultan's replacement did not mention Epstein or the sultan himself. Authorities have not accused bin Sulayem of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Media Group

Hollywood mogul Casey Wasserman last week informed staff members at his talent agency that he was putting the companyup for salein the wake of backlash from his previous correspondence with Epstein co-conspirator Maxwell.

In a memo to Wasserman Media Group staff obtained by NBC News, Wasserman wrote he believed he had "become a distraction" at the firm, which represents high-profile musicians and athletes.

"I'm deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort," Wasserman wrote.

Wasserman exchanged emails with Maxwell back in 2003, saying in one, "I think of you all the time."

Singer Chappell Roan announced she was cutting ties with the firm after the emails were released, as did former U.S. women's soccer star Abby Wambach.

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Wasserman has said the correspondence with Maxwell "took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light," and he did not have a "personal or business relationship" with Epstein.

Authorities have not accused him of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. The LA28 Olympic Committee, which Wasserman leads as chairman,has dismissed calls for his resignation.

Peter Attia, wellness influencer

Wellness influencer Peter Attia lost two positions after it emerged that he'd been in regular correspondence with Epstein, sometimes discussing Epstein's medical results with him and sometimes discussing women incrude terms.

"The biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can't tell a soul," Attia wrote in one June 2015 email.

After the messages became public, Attiaparted wayswith a company called AG1, where he had been a scientific adviser, and another company called David, where he had been chief science officer.

Attia acknowledged his relationship with Epstein in alengthy post on X butasserted he wasn't involved in criminal activity. "I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me," he wrote on Feb. 2.

Authorities have not accused him of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Sarah Ferguson, former duchess

Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife, announced she was shutting down her U.K.-based charity Sarah's Trust this month after emails shed more light on her already well-known ties to Epstein.

"Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future," a spokesperson for the trust said this month.

Previous releases had shown that Ferguson had taken money from Epstein because she said she was in financial distress, and that she also sent him an apology for having distanced herself from him in a 2011 interview.

The newly released emails show her gushing over Epstein, including one2010 emailwhere she told him, "Just marry me."

A spokesperson for Ferguson said last year she was "taken in" by Epstein's lies. "As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly," the spokesperson said.

She has not been accused by law enforcement of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Mona Juul, Norway's former ambassador to Jordan and Iraq

Mona Juul resigned as Norway's ambassador to Jordan and Iraq this month after the DOJ files revealed she and her husband, politician Terje Rød-Larsen, had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known.

"This is the right and necessary decision. It follows discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week. Juul's contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein revealed a serious lapse in judgment. The situation makes it difficult to restore the trust that the role requires," said Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

Norway's National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime is investigating the couple on allegations of corruption,The Associated Pressreported. Rød-Larsen is a former president of the International Peace Institute, "and his contacts with Epstein are extensive and deeply troubling. There is no doubt that Rød-Larsen exhibited poor judgment in this matter," Eide said.

Juul said in a statement to Norwegian news agency NTB last week that it had been "imprecise" to describe her contact with Epstein as minimal, but that the contact originated via her husband's relationship with Epstein and she had no independent social or professional relationship with him. A lawyer for Rød-Larsen toldThe Guardianhis client is "confident" he would be cleared of wrongdoing.

Miroslav Lajčák, former Slovakia national security adviser

Miroslav Lajčák, the national security adviser to Slovakia's prime minister, resigned after his relationship with Epstein was exposed through the release of the files. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a Facebook video that he accepted Lajčák's resignation.

Documents show Lajčák and Epstein texting each other in 2018, with Epstein talking about women who were with him. "Why don't you invite me for these games?" he asked Epstein.

In an interview with Euronews, Lajčák said, "When I read those messages today, I feel like a fool. It was a private conversation. Let's be honest, who would be happy if the whole nation were reading their messages? At the very least, I exercised poor judgment."

Authorities have not accused Lajčák of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Jack Lang, former French culture minister

Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang is under investigation in France andresigned this monthas president of the Arab World Institute because of his ties to Epstein.

Lang, 86, is being investigated by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office in connection with suspected "laundering of the proceeds of tax evasion" following reporting from French investigative outlet Mediapart, which cited DOJ records, about a company set up jointly by Epstein and Lang's daughter in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Caroline Langtold France TVthat she was friendly with Epstein and knew him as an art collector. She said Epstein suggested she start a fund to sponsor young artists and that his associates set up the offshore company, Prytanee. She said she was aware of his 2008 arrest but that he told her he regretted it and she believed he had moved past it. She said she never saw him behave improperly.

"In 2019, when Jeffrey Epstein was arrested, and I learned who he really was, of course, I was beside myself," she said. "I was horrified."

She resigned aspresident of the Independent Production Union this month.

"The accusations leveled against me are baseless, and I will demonstrate this, beyond the sound and fury of the media and digital courts," Jack Lang said in a Feb. 7statement on X.

Mohamed Waheed Hassan, former president of the Maldives

Mohamed Waheed Hassan, a former president of the Maldives, resigned his post as special envoy to the current president after the latest files release showed him trading emails andseeking financial guidancefrom Epstein numerous times between 2012 and2015.

Hassan was the Maldives' president in 2012 and 2013.

Days after the additional emails were released, showing Hassan was mentioned over 600 times, the current president's office announced Hassan would no longer serve as a special envoy to the president.

"Mohamed Waheed Hassan has tendered his resignation today. President Dr Mohamed Muizzu received Dr Waheed's letter of resignation earlier this morning," the president's office said in aFeb. 3 statement.

In an email to NBC News, Hassan said he'd been unaware of Epstein's 2008 conviction. "Though I only ever sought advice on professional and finance matters, I regret not only any association, but any legitimacy I may have inadvertently afforded him through my engagement with him," he wrote, adding: "I never witnessed any illicit activity and was only ever cordial with him in the context of a professional relationship."

"During my time with UNICEF, in Yemen and Afghanistan especially, I operated in active war zones, and knowingly engaged with tribal leaders in service of my respective mandates," he said. "I would have never guessed it would be a purported New York City financier that I would be most ashamed of engaging with."

He has not been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement.

David A. Ross, School of Visual Arts

David A. Ross resigned from his post as chair of the MFA art practice program at New York's School of Visual Arts after the release of emails showing him offering his support to Epstein for a number of years.

"It is depressing to see how you are once again being dragged through the mud. I'm still proud to call you a friend," Ross emailed him in 2015.

In 2009, weeks after Epstein was released from jail on charges he solicited a minor for prostitution, heemailed Rossto say, "I might want to fund an exhibition entitled statutory.. girls and boys ages 14 — 25..where they look nothing like their true ages. Juvenile mug shots. ,photo shop, make up. some people go to prison because they can't tell true age. controversial . fun."

Ross responded, "You are incredible."

In a statement this month, the school said it was "aware of the correspondence" and "accepted Mr. Ross's resignation on February 3."

Ross said in an email toArtNewsthat Epstein "told me that he had been the subject of a political frame-up because of his support of former President Clinton. At the time, I believed he was telling me the truth."

"When the reality of his crimes became clear, I was mortified and remain ashamed that I fell for his lies. Like many he supported with arts and education patronage, I profoundly regret that I was taken in by his story. I continue to be appalled by his crimes and remain deeply concerned for its many victims," he said.

Authorities have not accused Ross of any wrongdoing.

Larry Summers, former Harvard University president

Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard University who served as treasury secretary during the Clinton administration and head of the National Economic Council in the Obama administration, was revealed in anearlier release of documentsfrom the House Oversight Committee to have had closer ties to Epstein than previously known.

The documents, which were released in November, showed years of emails betweenSummers and Epstein,including the day before Epstein's 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.

In oneMarch 2019 exchange, Summers and Epstein had a conversation about a woman Summers was interested in.

"I said what are you up to. She said 'I'm busy'. I said awfully coy u are," Summers wrote to Epstein. He responded, "shes smart. making you pay for past errors."

Summers announced in November that he wouldstep awayfrom his teaching duties at Harvard while the school investigated, and he stepped down from the board of directors at OpenAI. He also resigned his membership with theAmerican Economic Association, which hit him with a lifetime ban.

Trump in Novemberdirected the Justice Departmentto investigate Summers after the emails' release. The status of that investigation is unclear.

Summers has denied any wrongdoing and said he feels regret for "my past associations with Mr. Epstein."

Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays

The newly released emails include thousands of mentions of Jes Staley, who stepped down asBarclays CEOin November 2021 after the release of preliminary results of a regulatory probe in the U.K. into his relationship with Epstein.

The probe began after regulators received emails from JPMorgan, where Staley had previously worked, showing that he and Epstein were much closer than Staley had claimed, according toThe Financial Times.

JPMorgansued Staleyin 2023, alleging he'd "thwarted" the bank's efforts to cut ties with Epstein. Staley argued the bank was using him as a "public relations shield" in lawsuits it was facing for allegedly enabling Epstein's trafficking.

JPMorgan settled one of the suits in September 2023, agreeing topay $75 millionto the U.S. Virgin Islands for victim assistance while not admitting liability. The bank said at the same time it had reached a confidential agreement with Staley. Staley has denied wrongdoing and said he regrets his association with Epstein.

Leon Black, former head of Apollo Global Management

LOS ANGELES, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Nick Reiner, the troubled younger son of slain Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, was due back in court on Monday, after two postponements and a change from one defense ‌team to another, for arraignment on murder charges stemming from the fatal stabbing of his parents.

He is expected to ‌plead not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the fatal knife attack on actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer-producer Michele Reiner, 70, whose ​bodies were found on December 14 inside their West Los Angeles mansion.

Nick Reiner, 32, who has acknowledged a years-long struggle with substance abuse, has remained jailed without bond since his arrest in the hours after his parents were slain in one of the most shocking celebrity homicide cases in Los Angeles history.

The killings stirred an outpouring of dismay from Hollywood luminaries who had worked with Rob ‌Reiner for decades as an actor, director and ⁠screenwriter, first gaining fame by co-starring in the 1970s hit television comedy "All in the Family."

Reiner went on to become a prominent Democratic Party activist and donor. He and his wife, married for ⁠nearly 37 years, had planned to attend an evening gathering with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on the day of the murders.

Nick Reiner was widely reported to have quarreled with his parents while the three were attending a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan ​O'Brien ​the night before the couple were slain.

If convicted as charged, Nick Reiner ​would face life in prison without the possibility ‌of parole. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether they would seek a death sentence.

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Authorities have disclosed few details about the circumstances of the crime and offered no explanation for what may have precipitated the killings. Autopsies found both victims died of "multiple sharp force injuries."

High-profile defense lawyer Alan Jackson, initially retained to represent Nick Reiner, abruptly withdrew from the case without explanation on January 7, resulting in the arraignment being postponed for a second time in three weeks. Jackson was replaced by lawyers from the public ‌defender's office.

Neither of Nick Reiner's siblings - older brother Jake Reiner, 34, ​and younger sister Romy, 28, who reportedly was the first to find her ​father's body - was present in court for their brother's ​first two hearings.

Following his initial court appearance in December, the siblings issued a joint statement expressing ‌the "unimaginable pain" they were experiencing following the "horrific and devastating ​loss of our parents."

It remained to ​be seen how Nick Reiner's history of drug addiction, rehab and periodic homelessness - struggles that inspired the movie "Being Charlie," which he co-wrote with his father, might factor into the murder case.

The New York Times reported last week that he ​was placed in 2020 under a court-approved ‌mental health conservatorship that had allowed for involuntary psychiatric treatment, but that the legal arrangement ended in 2021.

The ​Times said that both the public defender's office and the district attorney's office declined to comment on the ​matter.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio)

Davidson is the subject of the BAFTA-nominated biopic "I Swear" and was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome at the age of 25. His symptoms include tics and uncontrollable outbursts, which often involve cursing and using expletive language.

"You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette's syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience," Cumming said, per Variety. "Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone."

Sitting in the Royal Festival Hall audience, Davidson's tics were picked up by the microphones in the room and audible on the BBC television broadcast.

According toVarietyandDeadline, several outbursts were heard in the room, including "boring" and "shut the (expletive) up" when BAFTA chair Sara Putt gave an introductory speech during the awards show ceremony, and another expletive was shouted when directors of "Boong" accepted the award for best children's and family film.

In another instance, Davidson was heard shouting a racial slur when "Sinners" actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for best visual effects to "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

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USA TODAY reviewed screen-recorded clips of the ceremony that were circulating online. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Jordan and Lindo for comment.

Variety adds that later on in the BAFTAs ceremony, Cumming made another statement: "Tourette's Syndrome is a disability and the tics you've heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette's Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight."

Oscar hopefuls including Emma Stone ("Bugonia") are stepping out on the red carpet at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, Feb. 22, where "Sinners" and "Once Battle After Another" are vying for best film honors.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Emma Stone

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Timothée Chalamet

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Leonardo DiCaprio

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Michael B. Jordan

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kate Hudson

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Teyana Taylor

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jessie Buckley

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Benicio Del Toro

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Hannah Waddingham

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Cillian Murphy

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Carey Mulligan

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kathryn Hahn

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Alicia Vikander

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Maggie Gyllenhaal

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

See Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet walk 2026 BAFTAs red carpet

Oscar hopefuls including Emma Stone ("Bugonia") are stepping out on the red carpet at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, Feb. 22, where "Sinners" and "Once Battle After Another" are vying for best film honors.

Davidson allegedly left the awards show ceremony and was not present during the second half of the ceremony, according to Deadline and Variety.

Before this year's ceremony began, Variety reports, the floor manager for the BAFTAs introduced Davidson to the audience acknowlding his Tourette's syndrome and to "please be aware you might hear some involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony."

Davidson went public with his diagnosis four decades ago in 1989.

"Tourette's is such an awful condition that most of the time I don't want to be the center of attention,"Davidson said in an interview with BBC News last year. "I want to be able to walk down the street and not be noticed because I'm shouting or swearing."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:John Davidson uses a racial slur during tic outburst at BAFTAs

Key Points

• Rider Strong is looking back on his initially frosty feeling toward Boy Meets World costar Matthew Lawrence.

• On a recent episode of the Lawrence brothers podcast Brotherly Love, Strong revealed that he felt like the comparatively much more famous Matthew was "being imposed on us" by ABC, so he was at first "against" his casting.

• Strong then recalled that once the cast "talked to you, hung out, we were like, 'Oh no, this is fine.'"

Rider Strong's biggest fear on theBoy Meets Worldset wasn't fear itself, but a Lawrence brothers invasion.

The actor who played soft-hearted rebel Shawn Hunter joined his former costarMatthew Lawrenceand his brothers, Andrew and Joey Lawrence, on Friday's episode of theirBrotherly Lovepodcast. After a lengthy discussion on the ins and outs of Hollywood stardom and professional life in the entertainment industry, Matthew asked Strong point-blank about what he "thought about me when I came on toBoy Meets World."

Matthew confessed to being "much shyer and kind of introverted than people quite understand," but recalled those qualities being frequently confused for his being "kind of an ass." Strong responded with equal candor.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

"I feel like we figured that out about you within the first year," Strong at first reassured his former costar. But then ventured, "I would say all three of you guys were very intimidating" for theBoy Meets Worldcast, "because you guys were like the established Hollywood people. You were the very successful set of brothers who had become superstars and done all this stuff. So for us, I think there was a sense of like, 'Oh God, the Lawrences are coming.'"

At that admission, the Lawrence brothers dissolved into pained, but not altogether surprised laughter. It's true that when Matthew joined the ABC sitcom in 1997 as Jack Hunter, Shawn's estranged half-brother, he and his brothers were at the height of their fame.

Their sitcom, also calledBrotherly Love, premiered on NBC in 1995. It aimed to cash in on Matthew, Joey, and Andrew's already blinding levels of collective adoration from fans. Joey was beloved for playing Joey Russo onBlossom; Andrew also appeared onBlossom, but scored his own series withTomthe year before; and Matthew had already starred in films and series likeDynasty,Mrs. Doubtfire, and John Hughes'Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Strong explained that when Matthew "came on set, I think there was this like, 'What is he doing here? Does he even need to do this?' It sort of felt like you were being imposed on us.' It was like [the] network wants a Lawrence on our show, and we were like, 'But we don't need him.'"

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The Lawrence brothers laughed once more when Strong mentioned that he thought he'd never "understand this world that these guys are so comfortable in." Matthew cried out that "lo and behold," they were "so uncomfortable in it" the whole time.

Strong finally recalled how, when Matthew finally "showed up and you were shy," things began to change.

"I was against it, but once we talked to you, hung out, we were like, 'Oh no, this is fine' [I] totally got to know you, but yeah, it was more about your reputation as a family," Strong said.

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

Ironically, Strong and the middle Lawrence brother would have to play family for three seasons onBoy Meets World. Their journey from a fractious dynamic and rocky road to fraternal camaraderie was rooted in the fact that Shawn grew up in poverty, facing constant adversity, while Jack grew up in a stable household without wants. It also proved one of the most compelling of the series, leading to Matthew remaining a core part of the cast untilBoy Meets Worldaired its finale in 2000.

Strong and Lawrence also reprised their roles on several episodes of the sequel series,Girl Meets Worldin the 2010s.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Dana Taylor:

America needs affordable energy and that demand sits at the crossroads of creating economic stability while balancing environmental responsibility. Green energy solutions like wind and solar farms hold promise, but there's been strong pushback over safety and land use. As the country weighs questions about infrastructure and affordability, what kind of energy future should we invest in?

Hello and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Monday, February 23rd, 2026. Here to explore those questions and to share the perspective of farmers who've grappled with the issue of land use as USA TODAY Reporter Elizabeth Weise. It's wonderful to have you back on the excerpt, Beth.

Elizabeth Weise:

Happy as always to be here.

Dana Taylor:

When we spoke about this topic two years ago, you told me that as a country, we've made a commitment to getting to 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2035. PresidentDonald Trumphas now reversed that. Is this goal now just dead in the water? Did we make any meaningful progress before Trump took office?

Elizabeth Weise:

Well, as a goal, the US has walked back from that and we no longer have that as a goal. That said, wind and solar are just so cheap to build and quick to build that we're already up to 17% of US electricity coming from wind and solar power at this point. So that while it's slowing, that number continues to increase. And we had hoped, well, under the Biden administration, the plan had been that we would get to a hundred percent solar, that's not going to happen. But it does continue to increase because it just makes sense in a lot of places.

Dana Taylor:

Let's head to some of the places that have seen their economies reinvigorated by renewable energy money. How have wind and solar farms helped shape Randolph County, Indiana?

Elizabeth Weise:

So we went there and it's a wonderful farming county. When they got wind and solar power and specifically wind, they were able to spend a lot of money building up their infrastructure. They redid the county fairground, which if you've spent any time in rural America, 4H is huge. They were able to work on the 4H sites. It ended up being a $2.8 million investment just in the county fairground, which is always important for an ag community. Money went into school districts, infrastructure, ambulances. You know, all the things that make a community vibrant and viable so that people stay there. And that's one of the concerns is as population has lowered. I mean, we're seeing a contraction in the number of farms in the United States as they're consolidating. Counties really need the infrastructure to keep people in place because if there aren't good schools, if there aren't programs, they'll go someplace where they can get access to that.

Dana Taylor:

Tell me about Chris Redder, fifth generation farmer in Randolph County. How have he and his family balanced farming and working with renewable companies?

Elizabeth Weise:

So he's an interesting character because his family's been there for forever. They grow corn, wheat, soy. But in 2011, they got an offer from a company that wanted to put in a wind farm. And they talked about it a lot amongst the whole family, the dad, all the siblings. And in the end, they decided to do it because they were concerned that they weren't going to bring in enough money to keep the farm in perpetuity, which is what they want. And the thing about wind, especially, is that it takes up about 5% of acreage. So you can farm around it. I mean, I've been in a lot of fields where there's a wind turbine right there and then there's corn or soy or wheat or sorghum all around it. And so they made that decision. And according to him, it's allowed them to know that they will be able to keep that farm and pass it down through the generations and to make the money that they're getting from it, the leases, and to make some upgrades that help them be more profitable.

Dana Taylor:

But not everyone is on board with having wind and solar farms in their communities. What's the verdict on green energy for people living in Randolph?

Elizabeth Weise:

I've spent a lot of time in these communities, and it is hard because if you are from a beautiful rural agricultural place, it can be a little disconcerting to suddenly see a turbine or suddenly drive past a solar farm. When you talk to farmers, I mean, farmers, they make their money from what they can do with their soil. That is what they're about. At the end, it's all about how much money can I make from the ground that I own or that I have access to. So farmers are often like, "Hey, this is just another way for me to make money." I talked to a rancher who said, "I can make money off cattle. I can make money off wind turbines. Actually, I can do both because they can coexist on my land." So for many farmers, it's not an issue. But for a lot of people, they don't want to see these things.

They are there because it's this beautiful, bucolic, lovely fields and waving grain, and they don't want to see them. There's a lot of misinformation out about them. Sometimes when you go to these areas, you hear from people that maybe the farmers aren't the ones as opposed, but it's folks who've moved from cities and towns who came specifically to be in a rural, beautiful area, but they are not actually making their living from that ground. And so there can be a little bit of tension there between folks who maybe they have five acres, but they don't have 400 acres and they don't want their viewscape destroyed in their words. And the farmers are like, "Hey, it's my land. I'll do what I want with it." So there's a lot of tensions.

Dana Taylor:

President Donald Trump has called green energy a scam, but why is the Trump administration opposed to green energy and how has that impacted the flow of money?

Elizabeth Weise:

Well, President Trump has been strongly anti-wind since at least 2011 when it was proposed to build wind turbines off the Scottish coast, which you could see from one of his golf courses. And he fought that all the way to the Supreme Court over there and he ended up losing. So he has long had a extreme dislike of wind turbines. Solar more recently, the argument that the administration has made is that these forms of energy are unreliable, that they don't make sense because they're heavily subsidized. And if they're not subsidized, then they economically don't make sense, which isn't actually true. And the Trump administration has really doubled down on fossil fuels. So coal, oil, natural gas, and wants to put America's efforts behind those as opposed to wind and solar, which unsubsidized wind and solar is still among the cheapest ways to generate electricity.

Dana Taylor:

The story of wind and solar is playing out in rural America, places I'd be correct in calling Trump country, right?

Elizabeth Weise:

They are. And people have a lot of conflicting feelings sometimes. There's a really interesting group, Conservatives For Clean Power. I mean, there's actually a bunch of conservative groups that are, they say, "We're all of the above. We don't just want coal or fossil fuels. We want anything that we can to make energy because without energy, America can't function and America can't be great." So there are contradictions there. And the Republican Party has really become very, especially in rural America, very much the party of being opposed to wind and solar in many places. There are conservative groups that would tell you that's a contradiction. It brings up a lot of strong feelings.

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One of the places that we visited was Utah. And Utah is, the county I was in, 70% Trump voters it was very strong. And yet they were very rational about it. And they just sat down and they said, "Hey, this solar is going to bring in this much money. It's going to allow us to do this with their schools." They have an amazing wrestling team. This is in Juab County. And they decided, "This is what we want." And for them, I mean, they had a lot of discussions, but it ended up being a financial decision for their community apart from any political feelings they might've had.

Dana Taylor:

Well, roughly how many counties have impediments to new wind and solar? What are some of the hurdles that farmers who want wind or solar farms are facing?

Elizabeth Weise:

Yeah, so that's what's really interesting. So we have spent three years now doing an in depth analysis of every county in the United States to see if they had either a ban or a block or a moratorium on new... And we're only looking at utility scale solar. This isn't what you stick on your roof. These are solar farms that can power tens and thousands of houses at a time. And what we found when we looked at 2023, at that point, 15% of US counties made it difficult or impossible to build new wind or solar. When we redid those numbers for 2024 and 2025, we are now up to 24%, almost 25% of US counties where you can either not build new wind or solar, or there are so many hurdles to building it that it becomes financially... It's a disincentive to developers.

Dana Taylor:

You wrote that companies have to negotiate complex contracts. How difficult is it for companies to get these green initiatives off the ground?

Elizabeth Weise:

It's a process that can take years. I was just updating the California numbers. And I mean, there are counties in California that have been trying to build wind or solar for 12, 13, 18 years, and reasonably so. There are a lot of hurdles. You have to get the leases from the farmers, and then you have to go to the county commission. And often the county planning commission, you have to get sign off from various federal and state oversight institutions. You have to make sure that there's no significant environmental impact. I mean, it is a long slog. What we're seeing is that counties are putting in place requirements that make it longer and maybe even impossible. I mean, there's a county in Michigan that requires their local county health department to sign off on whether a new wind project is healthy for the people in the community.

And the people at the health department are like, "That is not our expertise. How can we do this?" So people are coming up with new ways for counties to block without actually banning these. Because if you just ban it, I mean, you might be subject to a lawsuit, like what's your basis? And counties sometimes just come up with rules that can be so difficult or onerous or expensive that developers just say, "Okay, this county doesn't really make sense."

Dana Taylor:

Let's dive into some of the safety questions people have regarding renewable energy. We have birds, and if they're impacted by wind turbines and solar farms. If solar panels are toxic, do they leach toxins into the earth? What reporting did you do on that, Beth?

Elizabeth Weise:

So the toxins is one you see a lot where a county will have a regulation that says, "You have to go out and test the groundwater to make sure these are not contaminating our groundwater." And you hear that a lot in the meetings where everybody shows up. The truth is that a solar panel does contain metals that if you were to ingest them would be bad for you. However, those metals are part of the silicon. They're part of the glass that make up the solar panel. And so when I talk to scientists, MIT and other places, what the scientists have told me is really the only way that could work is you would have to grind up the solar panel and then put the resulting dust into a strong acid bath, and then you might get those metals to leach out. But otherwise, I mean, it's glass. Things don't melt out of glass.

Birds are an interesting question because yes, when especially wind turbines can kill birds, and the number is between 140,000 to maybe as many as 700,000 a year can be harmed by wind turbines, and birds and bats both actually. But when you talk to people about this, and even like the Audubon Society, they say the important thing is to remember that, I mean, that seems like a lot of birds, but it's nothing compared to the number of birds in the United States that are killed by outdoor cats every year. And that number is estimated between 1.3 and 4 billion a year and also buildings because birds fly into buildings and that's probably more than 900 million a year. So yes, turbines can kill birds, but really if you're concerned about birds, it's not the least of your worries, but it really shouldn't be high on your list.

Dana Taylor:

We've discussed some of the financial benefits here, but are homeowners at risk of declining property values?

Elizabeth Weise:

Yeah, that's a really interesting one. And there's been a fair amount of research done by that by, actually, federal labs. So what they've found is typically your property value does dip, and especially it's very dependent on how close you are to win turbine or a solar plant. I mean, if you're a mile away, there's very little impact. I mean, if you're 200 yards away, perhaps.

However, they also found that they dip, but they tend to go back up. What they think is happening is that when you get wind turbines or a solar farm in your county or in your area, that brings in a lot of tax revenue, which means your infrastructure increases. So your schools get better, your roads get better. I mean, I've been in counties where they didn't have ambulance service because they couldn't afford it. And then when they got wind or solar, there was enough tax revenue that they could get it.

And so those things have meant that overall, property values tend to increase over time. So they can dip, they tend to come back, and it's really only people who live right next to the farms. Being far away is not a big deal, though they may not like how they look, but it's unlikely to impact their property values.

Dana Taylor:

Beth, you've reported on this topic for years. We're now at the end of your series on wind and solar. What struck you the most as you researched the story?

Elizabeth Weise:

I mean, a couple of things. I have spent now a lot of time in the Midwest and on a lot of farms, and I really could feel the struggle that people have because these are their homes. So they love this landscape and they don't want it messed up. And so that is real and there's really no way... I mean, some people can look at a wind turbine and see soaring beauty and amazing engineering, and some people can look at it and see it as a blight on the landscape. That's a hard one. But what I say more broadly, and especially what we're seeing now in the Trump administration, is that wind and solar power is inexpensive. We need more power. When you go to these counties, I mean, they're like, "It's a windfall." I mean, one guy said, "It has been a goldmine for our school district. I mean, it makes tremendous difference."

And so to see increasing amounts of the United States turning away from that possibility and just cutting it off like this will never happen in this county, it feels shortsighted. And then the broader issue, and we've certainly seen this under the Trump administration, is that the United States is turning away from wind and solar power and geothermal. The geothermal they're less concerned about and really doubling down on fossil fuels. And the rest of the world is doing exactly the opposite. I mean, China is building out wind and solar and when I speak to people about this, they're concerned that the United States is going to be left behind in this major, important transition. And at some point, if we try and play catch up, it's going to be a lot more expensive.

Dana Taylor:

Beth Weise is a reporter for USA TODAY. Thank you so much for joining me, Beth.

Elizabeth Weise:

As always, I am thrilled to be here. Thanks so much.

Dana Taylor:

Thanks to our senior producer, Kaely Monahan, for her production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcast@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. I'll be back tomorrow morning with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Will farmers decide the future of green energy? | The Excerpt