Can't win the argument...

Popes have spoken out on politics before. But with Trump and Pope Leo it's different

By Ava Berger

The ongoing war of words between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV is unparalleled in modern history. It's not new for popes to speak out on political issues, historians of religion say, but Trump's insults toward the pope are without precedent.

The direct nature of Pope Leo's responses as well as him being the first American pope are also playing a role in how the exchange is being interpreted by the public.

The recent back and forth started with Leo's calling for peace in response to the war in Iran, and continued with him warning of the "delusion of omnipotence" and writing that "God does not bless any conflict."

It escalated this past weekend when Trump accused Leo of being "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," a potential response to Catholic leaders' calling for more humanity in the Trump administration's immigration policies. Trump also claimed Leo was in favor of Iran having nuclear weapons. Trump continued his attacks Tuesday night with another social media post, saying, "Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months."

"I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message in the Gospel," Leo told reporters on Monday at the start of an 11-day Africa tour.

Middle East conflict

Pope Leo brushes off Trump criticism amid growing Vatican–U.S. tensions over Iran war

Vice President Vance, who is Catholic, also weighed in on the controversy on Tuesday night, saying the pope should "be careful when he talks about matters of theology."

"What we saw ... is an unprecedented, unhinged attack by the president of the United States on the pope," said Christopher White, associate director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. "It was clearly meant to intimidate the pope," but, he added, "the pope's response shows he is undeterred by the president's broadside and won't be distracted from his efforts to push for peace."

The charged nature of the exchange is new, but many popes have been known for their political critiques. Here's a brief overview of times when modern popes spoke out on politics, and how Pope Leo is different.

Modern popes have never shied away from voicing political opinions, sometimes running contrary to world leaders.

"When the pope speaks, it's not that he's taking sides. He's really pointing out the objective moral law," said Michele Dillon, a professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire whose research focuses on the Catholic Church.

But prior interactions were much more diplomatic.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI was the first pope to speak before the United Nations, urging an end to the Vietnam War and famously saying, "No more war, war never again." Paul VI pushed President Lyndon Johnson to "increase even more your noble effort" to negotiate for peace in Vietnam in 1967. Later that year, Johnson released a cordial statement after meeting the pope, saying "I deeply appreciate the full and free manner" of the pope's opinions.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II spoke before the United Nations, focusing on human rights and peace. He advocated an end to conflicts in the Middle East, with a "just settlement of the Palestinian question" and the "territorial integrity of Lebanon." John Paul II visited President Jimmy Carter in the White House, where they talked about the Philippines, China, Europe, South Korea, and the Middle East, according to Carter's notes.

John Paul II, a Polish pope, was also involved in less-public political influence. He supported Polish opposition to the Soviet Union and has been credited with helping to bring down the Berlin Wall in 1989. Later, in 2003, he spoke against the U.S. invasion of Iraq and also sent representatives to Washington and Baghdad to make appeals to avoid the war. Those appeals were ignored, but he correctly predicted decades of unrest in the Middle East, according to White.

John Paul II also voiced opinions on social issues with presidents — disagreeing with Bill Clinton on abortion and pushing George W. Bush to reject stem cell research — but neither president escalated the situation and both remained respectful.

More recently, in 2013, Pope Francis called an impromptu vigil to plead for peace in the civil war in Syria and wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin to oppose military intervention there. Francis responded to a chemical attack that left some 70 people dead in Syria in 2017, saying he was "horrified," and he appealed "to the conscience of those who have political responsibility" to end the violence.

In 2015, Francis released a document saying the church accepted the scientific consensus on climate change and urged world leaders to act.

"Many of the world's leading climate activists have said that no one has done more to shape public opinion on [climate change] than Pope Francis," White said.

Francis was also a tireless advocate for peace in Gaza, and would call Gaza's Church of the Holy Family nightly during the war between Hamas and Israel.

Francis also went head to head with Trump in 2016 before Trump's first election. When Francis visited the U.S.-Mexico border, he said a person "who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian." Trump called the pope's comments "disgraceful," but he quickly smoothed over the situation and called Francis a "wonderful guy."

Popes have been reluctant to name names before now

Popes have historically been hesitant to name the person their criticism is directed at outright. A hotly contested example is Pope Pius XII's decision to not directly name and denounce Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Pope Francis also faced criticism for his ambiguous references to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This makes Leo's directness all the more relevant, according to White, who is also the author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy. Leo referring to Trump by name, though still a rare occurrence, was a "new tact" for the papacy, he said.

"There's just kind of a reflex on the Vatican's behalf to want to be perceived as neutral as possible in a conflict," he said. Leo, however, "appealed to [Trump] directly and in a sense, pointed the finger to say: 'You started this war, you have the power to end this war.'"

The pope does not want to get involved in a political back and forth, said Dillon, the UNH professor, but his job is to preach the Catholic teachings.

"That's the last thing any pope wants to do, because they do want to be a pope for the universal church and for all people," Dillon said. "A pope of peace."

The Trump administration is frequently invoking religion 

Another reason for Leo's outspokenness may be the Trump administration's continued religious rhetoric and imagery, experts said.

On Sunday, Trump shared an AI-generated image that depicts him as a Jesus-like figure, wearing a white robe and red sash and laying his hands on a sick, bedridden man as light appeared to radiate from his hands. The post was later deleted and Trump claimed the image was of him as a doctor.

Robert Orsi, a professor of religious studies and history at Northwestern University, said he was alarmed by the post's connotations. He called the whole exchange with Leo "unprecedented," and "never in U.S. history has this happened."

On Wednesday, Trump shared a post on social media with an image of him being embraced by Jesus. Trump told reporters last week that he believes God supports the U.S. military action in Iran because "God is good and God wants to see people taken care of." Last year, the White House posted an image of Trump as the pope.

"We have an administration, not just a president, but an administration that is speaking out in more overtly religious terms than even somebody like Jimmy Carter," said Margaret Thompson, a professor of history and political science at Syracuse University. Carter was an evangelical Christian.

Dillon, the UNH professor, said that because of this, Leo may have felt a duty to personally reference and respond to Trump's attacks, because he recognizes that "appeasement has a moral price."

Jesuit priest and author James Martin told Morning Edition that "pretty much every Catholic I spoke to, from progressive Catholics to traditional Catholics, were appalled," at Trump's words toward the pope. "The pope is, you know, the representative of the whole church. So it's an attack on the church."

Pope Leo is the first American pope, but he does not think of himself as just an American. "He's the Holy Father for everyone," said Peter Martin, a former U.S. diplomat accredited to the Holy See.

Still, that doesn't stop people from looking at the saga from an American angle.

Dillon said the fact that the pope is American could allow him to have greater influence. Americans may have seen popes such as Francis, who were "pointed in their criticism of a great power like America," as just "anti-America," she said.

"But if you have a pope who was born and raised in Chicago and really a true out-and-out American criticizing in pointed terms, I actually think that carries more weight," Dillon said.

Religion

Jesuit priest shares how Catholics are reacting to Trump's criticism of Pope Leo

In early April, Leo appealed to the American people "to seek ways to communicate. Perhaps with congressmen, with authorities, saying that we don't want war, we want peace."

"It doesn't get more American than that," White said. "I mean, I don't think there's any precedent for a pope saying, 'call your congressman.'"

If you could pile shit so high.....

Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch

Chloe Veltman

President Trump on Friday unveiled official architectural renderings for the triumphal arch he plans to add to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The proposed monument would stand at one end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge next to the Arlington National Cemetery.

In addition to the president's post on Truth Social, the plans were released by the Commission on Fine Arts, a federal agency that has review authority over the design and aesthetics of construction within Washington, D.C., and produced by Harrison Design, an architecture, interior and landscape design firm with offices in six U.S. cities, including D.C. The mockup shows a structure very similar to the 3D model that Trump touted at a fundraising dinner at the White House last October.

At 250 feet tall, the overall height of the structure is intended to serve as, "a fitting recognition of America's 250th birthday," the White House said in an email to NPR.

A monument aimed at honoring what and whom?

The proposed arch bears a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris — though would stand almost 100 feet taller — and is topped with two golden eagles and a winged, crowned figure reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty (which was gifted to the U.S. by France in 1884.) On one side, the words "One nation under God" appear, with the phrase "Liberty and justice for all" on the other.

The structure would also loom over the nearby Lincoln Memorial — at more than twice the height.

"The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world," said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in an email to NPR. "It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today. President Trump will continue to honor our veterans and give the greatest Nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves."

When asked by CBS political correspondent Ed O'Keefe whom the monument was intended to honor after Trump initially unveiled his plans in October, Trump responded: "Me." The exchange was captured in a social media video.

A group of Vietnam War veterans launched a lawsuit in February seeking to bar the Trump administration from constructing the arch. The plaintiffs argued the project violates statutes requiring express congressional authorization for the erection of commemorative works or any "building or structure" on federal park grounds in D.C., among other issues.

"It's textbook Trump," said Sue Mobley, director of research at Monument Lab, of the proposed plans for the arch, in an interview with NPR. The nonprofit design studio based in Philadelphia reimagines public art and structures. "It has to be the biggest. That's the authoritarian impulse." Trump has repeatedly pushed back on accusations of authoritarianism, rejecting the label of dictator.

Mobley added that she doesn't think the plans will come to fruition. "It will likely get tied up in court," she said.

Approval process

The White House said it will "follow all legal requirements" in constructing the triumphal arch. As part of that process, it mentioned the National Park Service's recent request to present potential designs to the Commission on Fine Arts. The plans are scheduled to be reviewed next week. At this point, that commission is composed entirely of members appointed by Trump. (In October 2025, Trump took the unusual step of firing six sitting members of the commission.) The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government's central planning agency for the National Capital Region, is also expected to weigh in on the plans.

The White House said the estimated cost of the project, which it anticipates will draw on a combination of public and private funds, is still being calculated. Harrison Design, the architecture firm behind the plans, did not immediately respond to NPR's request for information about the price tag.

Multiple D.C. makeover projects

The arch plans are the latest in a series of current and potential architectural interventions from the White House in and around Washington, D.C.

Most dramatically, the administration is pushing for the creation of a $400 million neoclassical ballroom at the White House. A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily allowed the construction of the ballroom to move forward while the administration challenges a March ruling that it required congressional approval. Whatever the outcome, the historic East Wing has already been demolished to make room for the new structure.

Trump has converted the White House Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio. He aims to shut down The Kennedy Center for two years to facilitate a major renovation (a coalition of groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and the D.C. Preservation League, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March opposing the plans.) And he has proposed architectural changes to the Washington Dulles International airport through an initiative the Department of Transportation launched late last year to overhaul the Northern Virginia airport. Several prominent architecture firms including Zaha Hadid Architects and Adjaye Associates have submitted proposals.

In August, the president also signed an executive order requiring that new federal buildings with construction budgets of more than $50 million be designed in "classical" or "traditional" styles.

Wonderful....

Official says travelers in Europe may soon face flight cancellations due to lack of fuel

By Olesya Dmitracova

If oil supplies remain trapped because of the war with Iran, some upcoming flights in Europe may be canceled, the head of the International Energy Agency told the Associated Press today.

Europe has “maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” Fatih Birol said, echoing his warning on an April 1 podcast that jet fuel and diesel shortages were likely in Europe this month or by early May.

Speaking today, he said that for Europe, if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened, “soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.”

Birol’s forecast of a looming jet fuel shortage is slightly more upbeat than another recent warning: On April 9, ACI Europe, which represents European airports, said Europe was only three weeks away from such a shortage.

Airlines have already been dropping some less profitable flights as jet fuel prices have soared since the start of the war.

Prepared to blockade Iran? I thought they were?????

US rearming and prepared to blockade Iran "as long as it takes," warn top military leaders

By Kit Maher, Lauren Chadwick, Aileen Graef and Kaanita Iyer

In the Pentagon briefing that wrapped up a short while ago, top US military leadership warned Iranian leaders the blockade of the country’s ports and economic pressures would continue unless they “choose wisely” and that US troops in the Middle East are “rearming” during the ceasefire.

Here’s a look at what we learned from the briefing:

• Troops rearming: The US are using this pause in fighting to rearm, retool and adjust their “tactics, techniques and procedures,” said US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees US forces in the region.
• “Choose wisely:” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US would impose a blockade on Iranian ports for “as long as it takes” and called on Iran to “choose wisely.” He threatened to target infrastructure and energy sites “if Iran chooses poorly.”
• Underneath Iran: Hegseth added that Iran is “digging out” missiles and launchers from bombed facilities, arguing that it can’t “replenish” its military capabilities. CNN has previously reported on satellite images showing earth-moving equipment digging for missile launchers trapped underground.
• Blockade enforcement: Joint Chiefs chairman Dan Caine warned that the US could board or use force against ships not complying with the blockade. He said 13 ships have turned around so far but, as of this morning, the US has not had to board “any particular ships.”
• Third parties: Hegseth also responded to reporting that China is planning to send weapons to Iran, saying the US has been assured that won’t happen. Separately, Caine said the US military will pursue vessels from any country that may be providing “material support” to Iran in other regions.

Strikes ambulance crews

Israel strikes ambulance crews multiple times, Lebanese authorities say, killing 4 medics

By Charbel Mallo, Ibrahim Dahman and Sana Noor Haq

The Israeli military launched three successive attacks on emergency crews handling a relief mission in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities, killing four paramedics and wounding several others.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

Israel struck rescue teams “three consecutive times” in the town of Mayfadoun, southern Lebanon, on Wednesday, the Lebanese Public Ministry of Health said. At least three paramedics were killed and six others injured, the health ministry added.

That death toll rose to at least four paramedics killed, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Thursday. The crew were “on a relief mission following a raid that targeted the town,” NNA said.

“While they were in the area, they were targeted by a drone strike, which led to the martyrdom of the four paramedics,” the news agency added.

One of the slain paramedics — Mahdi Abu Zaid — was injured in an initial Israeli strike before he returned to try and rescue others and was killed, according to a senior colleague.

“Despite his injury, he (Mahdi Abu Zaid) went and moved the car back, and he refused to leave any martyr or wounded person on the ground,” Mohamed Suleiman, a chief paramedic in Nabatieh, told Reuters.

“What Mahdi did embodies the kind of heroism offered by Nabatieh paramedics,” Suleiman added.

The UN’s human rights office (OHCHR) condemned the attack.

Death toll: Israeli bombing on Lebanon after the Iran-backed group Hezbollah fired projectiles into Israel on March 2 has flattened neigborhoods and displaced 1.2 million people. Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,196 people in Lebanon, including 172 children and 93 health workers, the Lebanese health ministry reported on Wednesday. In the last 24 hours alone, at least 29 people were killed in Lebanon, the ministry said.

CNN’s Dana Karni and Tamara Qiblawi contributed reporting.

Trump Fed clash

Tillis holds the cards in Trump Fed clash — and won’t fold

The outgoing North Carolina Republican isn't relinquishing his leverage as he pushes the DOJ to drop its investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

By Jordain Carney and Jasper Goodman

Donald Trump has a growing Thom Tillis problem. The administration’s actions this week are doing nothing to solve it.

As the president flirts with trying to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and dismisses Tillis as “no longer a senator,” the retiring North Carolina Republican shot back with his own message to the administration Wednesday: “I’m not dead yet.”

“I’m not very tauntable,” he told reporters. “That’s part of growing up in a trailer park — you kind of get used to this stuff.”

Tillis is blocking Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, until the Justice Department drops an investigation into Powell. And the stalemate is leaving him in limbo with no clear off-ramp in sight.

The Senate Banking Committee, where Tillis holds a deciding vote, is holding Warsh’s nomination hearing next Tuesday. And Tillis is leaving the door open to using even more of his leverage, including his Senate Judiciary vote in the event the panel considers a successor to former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Some of Tillis’ fellow Republicans privately acknowledged Wednesday they don’t understand the White House’s current strategy, which they believe risks antagonizing Tillis and empowering Powell. And publicly, a growing chorus of Republicans are calling on the DOJ to end its investigation into whether Powell lied to Congress about cost overruns at the Fed’s Washington headquarters. Powell, who denies wrongdoing, has said the investigation is a pretext to target him for not lowering interest rates as aggressively as Trump wants.

“[Tillis has] made it very clear, his position on it,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who sits next to Tillis on Senate Banking. “This is easily resolvable.”

Tillis denied any personal bad blood between himself and the president Wednesday, noting they’ve spoken in recent days about other issues. But he didn’t pull his punches when asked about Trump’s threat to fire Powell or a visit that officials from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office made to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters this week.

“It’s kind of like, guys, what are you doing?” he said. “You’re watching too many cop shows thinking that that’s cute — go up there intimidating a witness. For goodness sake — that’s so bush league. … They’re upping the pressure, but they have nowhere to go.”

He suggested that DOJ officials are only digging themselves into a deeper hole and advised them to “take the shovel out of their hands.”

Trump has shown little interest in seeing the DOJ end its probe, which focuses on statements Powell made to the Senate Banking Committee during testimony last year.

“Whether it’s incompetence, corruption, or both, I think you have to find out,” the president said on Fox Business Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump is ratcheting up his conflict with Powell, saying he would seek to oust the Fed chief if he stays on after his term as chair ends next month — a growing possibility as Warsh’s confirmation remains stalled amid the Tillis stalemate. Any move to fire Powell would kick off a major legal clash, and the Supreme Court has signaled opposition to the president exerting control over the Fed.

“I’ll have to fire him, OK? If he’s not leaving on time,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business.

Tillis is warning that moving to fire Powell would ultimately backfire.

“He won’t have the right to terminate him, and all we’ve done is wasted time that could have otherwise resulted in a new chair and a new Fed board member under this president,” he said.

Even as the administration digs in over the Powell probe, Senate Republicans are making clear that they don’t expect Tillis to fold.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday that he believed the administration should wrap up its investigation. He said Republicans are “excited” about Warsh, but he’s basically stuck until they resolve the standoff with Tillis over Powell.

“I think at some point they’re going to have to deal with the committee, and they’re going to have to deal with Tillis,” Thune said of the administration.

It’s not the only committee where Tillis has leverage. Over on Judiciary, he’s warned that he will block any attorney general nominee who has dismissed the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters at the Capitol violently interrupted the formal counting of the electoral college results. And he’s not completely ruling out making the Fed probe a litmus test for AG nominees if it continues.

“If we keep letting this go on, I have to consider other options for really amplifying my concern,” Tillis said of his Fed fight. “I don’t see myself tying it to it now.”

Revive clash

Epstein files revive clash over Trump’s college sexual misconduct rule

Epstein’s messages offer a rare window into how powerful figures viewed President Donald Trump’s Title IX regulation as leverage in defending against sexual harassment claims.

By Bianca Quilantan

When a celebrity physicist found himself embroiled in a sexual harassment probe on his college campus, he turned to Jeffrey Epstein for help.

As Epstein looked for ways to help, he saw an opportunity with the Trump administration when he heard it was drafting a new rule for how sexual misconduct gets investigated by schools.

The late sex offender was trying to help Lawrence Krauss, then a professor at Arizona State University facing a sexual harassment complaint at the height of the #MeToo movement. In 2018, according to files released by the Justice Department this year, Epstein fielded texts, phone calls and emails from Krauss and helped bolster the professor’s legal defense.

Krauss has denied wrongdoing. But their exchange reveals how much Epstein believed the first Trump administration’s work to establish more protections for people accused of wrongdoing under Title IX — the federal education law that bars sex-based discrimination — could limit the university’s probe into Krauss and let him keep his job.

“My friends in the White House HATE the title ix c--ts,” Epstein wrote to Krauss in April 2018.

“Ironic but he might be your out,” Epstein added, without being clear about who “he” was.

“Ironic indeed!” Krauss, a vocal Trump critic, replied. “But I will take it.”

Trump has said he and Epstein, who was once a frequent guest at Mar-a-Lago, had a falling out years before Epstein died in 2019. While Epstein’s relationship with Krauss has been well known, the newly released correspondence remains resonant eight years later in part because advocates for sexual assault survivors say the messages back up their calls to stop the second Trump administration from officially resurrecting its Title IX rule.

“The emails really offered what was a very rare thing in public life: a paper trail showing exactly how men with power talk about the laws designed to hold them accountable,” said Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit women’s rights organization.

The public attention to the Epstein files “is a powerful cultural zeitgeist on the broader issue of sex abuse that I think we should leverage in this moment as we approach rulemaking,” Farrell said.

The Biden administration tried to scrap the 2020 regulation, but its efforts were ultimately stymied in court over its inclusion of discrimination protections for transgender students.

Last year, the new Trump administration used that legal status to ditch Biden’s version altogether as it seeks to codify its rule through regulation, a process that may begin as soon as this fall but can take years to finalize.

“This Epstein email and essentially his blessing and support of the Trump 2020 rule, it just really affirms what we’ve been saying all along,” said Shiwali Patel, senior director of Education Justice at the National Women’s Law Center.

“It’s meant to be an anti-survivor rule,” she said. “I don’t know if it could be made any more clear after the Epstein files revealed his role in support of it.”

The White House declined to comment. Krauss did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The Trump administration has been enforcing the first-term Title IX requirements through guidance — policies advocacy groups say have chilled reporting of incidents on campus and added hurdles for them in the complaint process.

Those organizations point out that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights did not resolve any sexual harassment or violence complaints last year when the Trump administration began enforcing its rule again.

They argue that the public’s fervor around Epstein’s crimes — combined with the department’s inaction on those complaints — could help them garner enough public support to make reimposing the rule politically unpopular.

Epstein wrote about how he believed the pending Title IX regulation meant the university and faculty investigating Krauss “are now on notice that the rules they have been operating under , will be changed.”

“DUE PROCESS,” Epstein wrote.

Title IX lawyer Justin Dillon, who represented Krauss in the university’s probe as well as dozens of students accused of misconduct, remains a proponent of the 2020 rule. He has argued the Trump rule is more protective of due process rights for those accused of misconduct compared to previous federal guidance.

Dillon said Epstein’s views about the policy shouldn’t hold weight.

“Just because a monster like Jeffrey Epstein thought more due process was a good idea does not make more due process bad, and I cannot imagine why anyone would possibly care what he thought about this issue,” Dillon said in a statement. “‘Bad person liked thing I do not like’ is not much of an argument.’”

Krauss’ outreach to Epstein began six months before Arizona State University relaunched an investigation under Title IX into Krauss after misconduct allegations emerged in a February 2018 Buzzfeed article and a complaint was filed. The ASU report detailed unwelcome sexual comments and touching, sexist comments and unprofessional and sexually inappropriate interactions with students and employees of the Origins Project, an initiative that explores the origins of life and the universe that was partially funded by Epstein and his associates.

“IF being silly , socially unaware is a crime. under title 9, , half of the great scientists would be out of work,” Epstein told Krauss.

Epstein paid at least $15,000 for Krauss’ legal fees, vetted lawyers and consulted high-profile allies including Ken Starr, who investigated former President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, according to the Epstein documents. Starr lost his job as president of Baylor University in 2016 over the school’s handling of sexual assault allegations.

Epstein also told Krauss that Trump’s Education Department had a new view on how colleges should handle sexual harassment complaints. These views sharply diverged from Obama administration policies directing schools to quickly investigate and resolve sexual harassment complaints or lose their federal funding.

Epstein made a point of noting the university’s financial ties to the federal government, which included receiving Pell Grants, funding that helps low-income students pay for college.

“I’m told they should be reminded that there is [a] new sheriff in dc,” Epstein wrote.

Krauss knew of Epstein’s supposed ties to the White House. In emails with Dillon — which he often forwarded to Epstein — Krauss touted Epstein’s list of friends with influence as a reason why Dillon needed to consult Epstein.

“Bottom line is that Jeffrey is not only friends with most of the famous people from finance, to business, to Hollywood, who have either been brought down during #metoo,” Krauss wrote to Dillon, ”he also speaks regularly with people ranging from the awful white house people, who he is friends with, to ken starr etc.”

The Title IX final rule that took effect in August 2020 was a key part of Betsy DeVos’ legacy as Education secretary during Trump’s first term. She scrapped Obama-era guidance that called on schools to take immediate action on any unwelcome sexual misconduct and developed a formal process schools must undertake in investigating such accusations.

That included requiring colleges to respond to formal complaints with courtroom-like hearings and allowing representatives for alleged offenders and survivors to call witnesses and challenge their credibility and assess evidence. The rule also changed the government’s definition of sexual harassment and allowed schools to use a higher standard of proof in campus disciplinary proceedings compared to the Obama-era guidance.

DeVos has said the rule officially codifies protections to hold schools accountable by ensuring sexual assault survivors aren’t brushed aside and no accused student’s guilt is predetermined.

“We can and must continue to fight sexual misconduct in our nation’s schools, and this rule makes certain that fight continues,” DeVos said at the time. A DeVos spokesperson declined to comment for this report.

Education Department spokesperson Amelia Joy said the Trump administration’s rule “provides a balanced legal approach that protects both survivors and the constitutional right to due process.”

“On the other hand, the Obama and Biden Administrations distorted the law, including by using it to suspend and expel students with no notice, giving no opportunity for evidence to be reviewed, and providing no right to a hearing,” Joy said in a statement. “The Trump Administration remains committed to upholding Title IX, restoring commonsense safeguards against sexual assault, and vigorously protecting all students.”

The rule has also helped standardize the process for all schools across the country, said KC Johnson, a Brooklyn College professor whose 2019 research showed the number of legal challenges over the campus adjudication processes were climbing.

“The DeVos regulations were designed to deal with this problem, which is that these lawsuits had exposed the often glaringly unfair processes,” he said, adding that since the regulations have been in effect “there’s been a dramatic decrease in litigation against schools because schools that actually adhere to these regulations are forced to do the process in a fair way.”

Epstein appeared to be watching the rulemaking closely.

As discussions about the rule advanced in 2018, he advised Krauss to ask the university “which title 9 rules are they applying.” He told Krauss to tell the school, “as you know the title 9 rules are being modified. I assume we will operate under the proposed regs. as you are on notice. of the changes. ??”

“If they say no, you might suggest , waiting until they are finalized as after a hearing you will fly a court action. that will by definition. have the new rules in place by that time,” Epstein added.

Ultimately, Krauss didn’t benefit from the Trump rule because it took several years to finalize after drawing more than 124,000 public comments and several legal challenges.

Arizona State University’s investigation determined that most of the complaint against the professor was valid. Krauss was put on paid leave by the university and was later ousted from the leading post of the prestigious science program that he founded. The university found that Krauss breached the school’s sexual harassment policy and senior university officials recommended his firing. But the professor ended up retiring instead.

“To be clear, I have never harassed or assaulted anyone and have most certainly not exhibited gender discrimination in my professional dealings at the University or elsewhere,” Krauss wrote in a statement at the time.

Krauss has also said none of his correspondence with Epstein “relate in any way to the horrendous crimes he was accused of in 2019.”

The Trump Title IX rule was not finalized until 2020, but advocates who tried to crush the regulation argue the documents prove their view that it would give the advantage to those accused of misconduct.

“When Betsy DeVos was the secretary of Education, the public talking points were about male students being falsely accused and that the Obama administration had gone too far and the result was these really unfair sexual assault misconduct processes,” said Amanda Walsh, a spokesperson for the Victim Rights Law Center, which provides free legal services for sexual assault survivors.

“But when you look at these emails, it reads as if this is a group of just well connected guys looking out for each other,” she said.

Some argue, however, that many provisions in Trump’s version of the rule may prove popular.

“How do you argue against letting people see the evidence against them or question and bring up their witnesses?” said Robert Shibley, who is special counsel for campus advocacy at FIRE, a free speech group advocating for the due process protections in the regulation. “It’s shocking that that wasn’t routinely part of the Title IX process before.”

Getting rid of the Trump rule was a key priority for former President Joe Biden, who said the policy “gives colleges a green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their rights.”

Catherine Lhamon, who led the Education Department’s civil rights office under both Biden and Obama, said she found the Epstein correspondence stunning.

“When I saw that text in the Epstein files, my jaw dropped,” said Lhamon, who now leads UC Berkeley Law’s Edley Center on Law and Democracy. “It is very surprising to me to see the crass and dismissive terminology, as reported, from the White House about survivors of discrimination … and the ugliness of the explicit planning and strategizing and which of our kids in school our federal government disdains.”

The National Women’s Law Center is still fighting in court to uphold the Biden administration’s sexual misconduct portions of the regulation. But Trump administration officials have said they are already enforcing the 2020 regulation.

Still, the Education Department has to go through another rulemaking process to officially strip the Biden regulation off the books to ensure a future administration can’t quickly unravel its efforts.

The Trump administration’s enforcement of its own rule is also being criticized.

Dozens of groups that advocate for students who have experienced sexual harassment or violence say the department is “neglecting” its mandate to address campus Title IX complaints.

In late February, the groups said the agency had “resolved zero complaints of sexual harassment or violence in 2025” and opened fewer than 10 sexual violence investigations since March 2025. About 90 percent of overall complaints to the office from March to September 2025 were also dismissed.

Johnson said there are accused students who file these OCR complaints as well.

“The issue of OCR not resolving things, that’s a much more serious line of argument to me than the Epstein stuff,” he said.

The Education Department did not respond to a question about the cases. By contrast, Lhamon said her office addressed 11 sexual harassment cases in just the three weeks leading up to Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

“I know what cases were pending, what cases we were trying to get resolved, what cases were in negotiations when I walked out the door on the last day of the Biden administration,” Lhamon said. “I am sick about those cases still sitting and the affected students not receiving the relief that the law entitles them to.”

Kills wife, self in murder-suicide

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax kills wife, self in murder-suicide, police say

Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, was elected lieutenant governor in 2017, despite never previously having held public office.

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

Former Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina, were found dead in their Fairfax County home in an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Thursday.

“It’s high profile in nature, it’s tragic in nature, certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going in their favor,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told reporters in a press conference.

Fairfax, Davis said, shot his wife “multiple times” in the basement of their home just after midnight, before firing a gun at himself in a room upstairs. One of the couple’s two teenage children alerted the police. The two were in the midst of divorce proceedings, Davis told reporters.

The two were pronounced dead on the scene when police arrived at their home, “within minutes of the 911 call,” Davis said.

Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, was elected lieutenant governor in 2017, despite never previously having held public office. He served alongside Gov. Ralph Northam, also a Democrat.

But both Fairfax and Northam soon found themselves embroiled in scandal. In 2019, multiple women accused Fairfax of sexual assault, leading to calls from nearly the entire state’s congressional delegation and a variety of presidential candidates that he resign.

The accusations came as Northam also faced calls to leave office after he admitted to previously wearing blackface.

Fairfax denied the accusations, which came to light as conversation swirled around him potentially taking on the governor’s post.

“Does anybody think it’s any coincidence, that on the eve of potentially my being elevated, that that’s when this uncorroborated smear comes out?” he said in February 2019.

Despite the allegations, Fairfax ran for governor in 2021 and finished in a distant fourth in the Democratic primary. He left the state capital in January 2022 and started his own legal practice.

 

Golden Arches...