Jail officers who slept while Epstein died plead guilty, avert trial
MIAMI — Two federal prison officers facing felony charges of falsifying reports and sleeping on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his New York cell have agreed to cooperate with federal investigators in exchange for leniency.
The officers, Michael Thomas and Tova Noel, appeared via video conference in federal court in New York Tuesday to enter their pleas, sparing them a high-profile trial — one that could have revealed more to the public about what happened to Epstein.
Both officers pleaded guilty to falsifying records and conspiracy to defraud the United States as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. They were given six months supervisory release and will have to perform 100 hours of community service. They have also agreed to be interviewed by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, which is investigating Epstein’s death.
Upon successful completion of the terms, all criminal charges will be dropped against them.
Epstein, a politically connected money manager who lived in Manhattan, Palm Beach and the U.S. Virgin Islands, was arrested July 6, 2019, on sex trafficking charges involving minors. The 66-year-old’s body was found one month later, reportedly hanging by bed sheets tied to his upper bunk at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Manhattan. The New York City medical examiner ruled that his death was a suicide.
Epstein’s brother, Mark, Epstein’s lawyers and a noted forensic pathologist present at the autopsy say that the evidence doesn’t support the finding that Epstein killed himself, and the secrecy so far surrounding the Epstein case federal has led to many conspiracy theories.
—Miami Herald
Flight attendant bloodied, loses teeth in assault by rowdy passenger
DALLAS — A Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth and walked away bloodied after she was physically assaulted by a passenger Sunday morning, part of a disturbing uptick in traveler misconduct.
“This past weekend, one of our Flight Attendants was seriously assaulted, resulting in injuries to the face and a loss of two teeth,” TWU Local 556 president Lyn Montgomery wrote in a letter to Southwest Airlines management. “Unfortunately, this is just one of many occurrences.”
Southwest’s flight attendant union said there were 477 passenger misconduct incidents on the carrier’s flights between April 8 and May 15, including an incident Sunday morning on a flight landing at San Diego International Airport.
“Our reports indicate that a passenger physically assaulted a Flight Attendant upon landing on Flight #700 from Sacramento to San Diego Sunday morning,” Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz said in a statement. “The passenger repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing. Law Enforcement Officials (LEOs) were requested to meet the flight upon arrival, and the passenger was taken into custody.”
A woman who shared a video of the aftermath of the incident on Facebook said the flight attendant told a passenger to keep her seat belt fastened while the plane was still moving. A video shows police officers with San Diego Port Authority escorting a woman from the plane.
Southwest Airlines did not have any updates about the flight attendant’s condition. The flight attendant who was allegedly assaulted is a woman.
—The Dallas Morning News
Biden to meet Putin in person during Geneva summit in June
President Joe Biden will meet face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time as president in June, as the two leaders seek to manage escalating tensions in the first months of the new administration.
The Geneva summit will come during Biden’s first overseas trip as president, when he’ll visit Britain for a meeting with the Group of Seven leaders and attend a NATO summit.
Biden first proposed a summit in a call with Putin in April, before his administration imposed fresh sanctions against Russian officials for the second time.
White House officials said earlier this week that they were ironing out details of the summit. National security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed details of the meeting when he met with his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev.
Ties have been strained between the two countries after the massive Russian cyberattack on American institutions, the arrest and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a major military buildup along the border with Western-backed Ukraine.
Biden is likely to warn Putin to stay out of American elections and to signal that he will not hesitate to retaliate against future Kremlin steps. Putin is likely to use the meeting to showcase his durable place of power on the world stage and to feel out Biden’s strength as a geopolitical adversary.
The two men previously met when Biden was vice president under former President Barack Obama.
—New York Daily News
Georgia bans state government from requiring 'vaccine passports'
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday that bans the state government from requiring proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, joining other Republican-led states in restricting the use of so-called "vaccine passports."
"While I continue to urge all Georgians to get vaccinated so we continue our momentum of putting the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview, vaccination is a personal decision between each citizen and a medical professional — not the state government," Kemp said in a statement.
The governor's order applies to state agencies, state service providers and state properties. It also forbids officials from requiring proof of vaccination to travel to Georgia, and states that official immunization records cannot be shared to create a vaccine program.
The order doesn't extend to private businesses or organizations, which could rely on digital passes to make it easier for people to show they've been inoculated in order to travel, attend events and take part in other activities.
The idea has fast become a charged political debate, with Republican officials and lawmakers scrambling to block government officials from requiring a vaccine passport.
The Biden administration has said it won't require Americans to carry a credential, and that there won't be a federal vaccination database or a federal mandate requiring citizens to obtain a proof of vaccination.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
