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In the news today: Melania Trump’s extraordinary statement at the White House about Jeffrey Epstein; Vance will lead high-stakes talks aimed at ending the Iran war; and protests against a planned immigration detention facility. Also, the “Frog Patrol” helping migrating amphibians survive a dangerous journey.
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First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters on Thursday in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Melania Trump denies ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his sex crimes
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The first lady said Thursday that the “stories are completely false” and called accusations that she was somehow involved “smears about me.” Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies.” Read more.
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- The seemingly out-of-the-blue message came as President Donald Trump and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than a year of controversy surrounding Epstein. It was not clear what prompted the first lady to revive the issue. Speaking for about five minutes, she did not take any questions, nor go into detail on the accusations against her. Melania Trump said she was not friends with Epstein or his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, but was in overlapping social circles. Melania Trump described an email reply sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence.”
Melania Trump also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes. Former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X, “I am grateful to the First Lady for her brave statement today about Epstein and his victims.” Democrats, meanwhile, jumped on Melania Trump’s comments, saying they agreed with her call for a congressional hearing.
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Vance sets off to Pakistan to lead talks with Iran as war’s ceasefire remains shaky
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Vice President JD Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, will lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Read more.
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It comes as a tenuous, temporary ceasefire appears close to collapse. The chasm between Iran’s public demands and those from the U.S. and its partner Israel seem irreconcilable.
The arrival of Vance for negotiations marks a rare moment of high-level U.S. government engagement with the Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the most direct contact had been when President Barack Obama in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
- This is the highest-stakes moment thus far for Vance, who might run for president. Vance, who served in the Iraq War while in the Marines, spent two years as a U.S. senator and a little more than one as vice president, has little diplomatic experience. He spent much of last year as more of a background player in the Trump White House, especially as others like Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took turns as ever-present advisers for the president.
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Protesters rally against planned Maryland immigration detention facility that’s now paused
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Demonstrators in Washington County were critical of a building in their community being part of a Department of Homeland Security plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants. Read more.
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Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski holds a common toad during a ‘Frog Patrol’ in Otrebusy, Poland, March 30. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)
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Citizen ‘Frog Patrol’ helps amphibians survive a dangerous journey
As warmer weather comes to Poland’s Mlochowski Forest, thousands of toads and frogs travel to marshes for millennia-old mating rituals. In recent years, road construction has made this journey much more dangerous, with thousands of amphibians killed by passing traffic. That’s where the new citizen “Frog Patrol” comes in. Volunteers, wearing reflective yellow vests, fan out to collect frogs, then carry them safely across the road to the marshes.
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Mark
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Mark
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