“I think he thought that we were targeting him, and we weren’t,” she said. “I don’t believe there’s any evidence that he abused any of the survivors. So, it wasn’t a target against him. It was just, you know, a cry for us being fed up and wanting answers.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5485618-lisa-phillips-donald-trump-epstein-files/
Epstein survivor on Trump calling files controversy ‘Democrat hoax’: ‘Shocking and upsetting’

Lisa Phillips, an accuser of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said it was “shocking and upsetting” for her to hear President Trump call their Capitol Hill push for transparency a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.

“For me, personally, it was shocking and upsetting. I just — I couldn’t believe that he said that,” Phillips said on CNN’s “AC360” when asked for her reaction to Trump’s comments.

The former model noted Trump has long supported the effort to release documents related to Epstein, so his response “confused” her.

“Just for so many years, he acknowledged that there were thousands of files, and he was going to release them,” she told CNN. “And so, hearing that today, I was just confused by it.”

Victims of Epstein gathered outside the Capitol on Wednesday in a press conference, where they offered testimony about their experiences, hammered the government for keeping the files under wraps and accused lawmakers who opposed the release of documents of shielding a group of rich and powerful people from accountability.

Phillips also described being taken to Epstein’s private island in 2000.

“We are not asking for pity. We are here demanding accountability, and I’m demanding justice,” Phillips told the crowd. “Congress must choose: Will you continue to protect predators, or will you finally protect survivors?”

She also suggested the accusers could compile a list of clients after the Trump administration determined Epstein did not keep one.

> Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFhwaOiAOKY

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/deadly-cats-stabbing-surveillance-video-to-be-released/275-347a6496-4a0c-4049-a87d-72533fce7e71

> CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CATS has released surveillance video of the deadly stabbing that took the life of a 23-year-old woman on the light rail last month.

> Decarlos Brown is facing first-degree murder in connection with the killing of Iryna Zarutska on Aug. 22. It happened around 10 p.m. near the light rail station along Camden Road where East Boulevard and West Boulevard meet in South End.

> Zarutska's death has ignited conversation over safety on Charlotte's transit system and questions about the mental health system, the suspect's state of mind and if there were any warning signs.

> “I prefer the train mostly because I feel like there’s more security, more cameras, more people," Charlotte resident Jessica Enwesi said. "With the bus, it’s sometimes like, if you’re the only one on the bus, have fun with that."

> Investigators say she was riding the Blue Line when Brown, who didn't know her, stabbed her in the throat three times with a pocket knife. The two had no interaction before the stabbing, according to an affidavit.

> CATS confirmed Brown did not have a ticket to ride the train. There was also no security present in the exact car where the attack happened.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/report_into_the_treatment_of_wom/response/3092273/attach/3/20250722%20FOI2025%2004330%20Response.pdf

A newly released British military document, obtained through a July 2025 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, reveals previously classified details surrounding British culture wars in their military. The report, TO FIGHT AND WIN: A CULTURAL AUDIT OF THE BRITISH ARMY June 2022 by Anthony King, Chair of War Studies at the University of Warwick, provides fresh insight into the UK's internal communications. The Ministry of Defence has acknowledged the release but declined to comment on its implications.

>Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5z63Bi_d1I

https://nypost.com/2025/09/07/us-news/georgia-day-care-worker-who-allegedly-beat-1-year-old-released-on-bail/

> Georgia day care worker who allegedly beat 1-year-old boy black and blue released on bail

> A day care worker in Georgia who was charged last month for allegedly beating a 1-year-old until his face was black-and-blue was released after posting bail — and the judge who released her received a firestorm of threats.

> Yvette Thurston, 54, was let go on a $44,000 bond on Aug. 16 after she was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse and one of first-degree aggravated battery.

> Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Rose-Emmons, the judge overseeing Thurston’s case, was subjected to death threats after granting the alleged abuser bond.

> District Attorney Joe Mulholland, who is with the South Georgia Circuit, was quick to come to Rose-Emmons’ defense and condemned the threats of violence against her.

> “Our office will not tolerate abuse of the children in our community, who are entrusted to others for their safety while their parents work to make a living. Likewise, we will not tolerate threats against our judges, who are carrying out their sworn duty under the laws of the State of Georgia,” he wrote in a statement.

> “Any individual who seeks to undermine the safety of our children or the integrity of our judicial system by making threats will be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

> “The rule of law is the foundation of our community. Our judges deserve to perform their duties without fear for their safety,” Mulholland continued. “You may not like their decisions, but you don’t have the right to threaten them or their families. If you do, you will be prosecuted by my office to the full extent of the law.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5489547-tim-kaines-embarrassing-constitutional-blasphemy/

> Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) this week warned the American people that a Trump nominee for a State Department position was an extremist, cut from the same cloth as the Iranian mullahs and religious extremists.

> Riley Barnes, nominated to serve as assistant secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor, revealed his dangerous proclivities to Kaine in his opening statement when he said that “all men are created equal because our rights come from God, our creator; not from our laws, not from our governments.”

> It was a line that should be familiar to any citizen — virtually ripped from the Declaration of Independence, our founding document that is about to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

> Yet Kaine offered a very surprising response in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

> “The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator — that’s what the Iranian government believes,” he said. “It’s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Shia (sic) law and targets Sunnis, Bahá’ís, Jews, Christians, and other religious minorities. They do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator. So, the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.”

> The idea that laws “come from the government” is the basis of what is called “legal positivism,” which holds that the legitimacy and authority of laws are not based on God or natural law but rather legislation and court decisions.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-childhood-vaccines-mandate-eliminate-desantis-363323dcdd3811ca9ad7def5f9a30fb2

Florida plans to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates, a longtime cornerstone of public health policy for keeping schoolchildren and adults safe from infectious diseases.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who announced the decision Wednesday, cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as “immoral” intrusions on people’s rights that hamper parents’ ability to make health decisions for their children.

“People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,” Ladapo, who has frequently clashed with the medical establishment, said at a news conference in Valrico. “They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.”

Florida’s move, a significant departure from decades of public policy and research that has shown vaccines to be safe and the most effective way to stop the spread of communicable diseases, especially among schoolchildren, is a notable embrace of the Trump administration’s agenda led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

Dr. Rana Alissa, chair of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said removing vaccines puts students and school staff at greater risk.

“When everyone in a school is vaccinated, it is harder for diseases to spread and easier for everyone to continue learning and having fun,” Alissa said in an email. “When children are sick and miss school, caregivers also miss work, which not only impacts those families but also the local economy.”

Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is running for Orlando mayor, said in a social media post that scrapping vaccines “is reckless and dangerous” and could cause outbreaks of preventable disease.

“This is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State,” Eskamani said on the social platform X.

https://www.ft.com/content/f98caaf8-545b-41cb-abdf-d9ea674799fc

Donald Trump’s pledge that he would deliver a booming economy to Americans is being undermined by a stalling labour market, in a warning sign for his party’s prospects at next year’s congressional elections.

Until recently, the US president could argue that his disruptive policy moves — from sweeping import tariffs to an aggressive immigration crackdown — had defied critics with resilient job creation and relatively stable inflation.

But Friday’s figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed jobs growth has been grinding to a halt — US employers created just 22,000 positions in August after a weak summer — puncturing confidence that Trump’s economy will remain unscathed.

Omair Sharif, an analyst at Inflation Insights, said: “Trade policy uncertainty — and policy uncertainty in general — is causing a pullback in hiring, and it is not clear that it will be resolved anytime soon.”

Friday’s data has provided Democrats with fresh ammunition for their claims that Trump’s economic policies were doing more harm than good.

Maggie Hassan, the New Hampshire senator and top Democrat on the joint economic committee, told the Financial Times: “Costs keep going up. Manufacturing here in the US is contracting. Businesses don’t know whether to invest or hire because there’s so much uncertainty in the economy.”

“This is a direct result of the president’s reckless tariffs and the uncertainty that he has created.”

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-reported-violent-failed-seal-team-6-mission/story?id=125300720

President Donald Trump said Friday he didn't know "anything" about what the New York Times reported was a classified 2019 SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea in which unarmed North Korean civilians were killed during an aborted operation.

The Pentagon and U.S. Special Operations Command declined to comment to ABC News about The New York Times report.

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Friday, Trump was asked by a reporter: "Can you confirm that it happened?"

"I don't know anything about it. I'm hearing it now for the first time," he responded.

The account, citing "two dozen people, including civilian government officials, members of the first Trump administration and current and former military personnel with knowledge of the mission" who spoke to the Times anonymously, said Trump had approved the mission.