WASHINGTON — A dozen U.S. senators are calling on the Justice Department’s watchdog to examine the department’s failure to release all records pertaining to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by last Friday’s congressionally mandated deadline, saying victims “deserve full disclosure” and the “peace of mind” of an independent audit.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined 11 Democrats in signing a letter Wednesday urging Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume to audit the Justice Department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.
“Given the [Trump] Administration’s historic hostility to releasing the files, politicization of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential,” the senators wrote. Full transparency, they said, “is essential in identifying members of our society who enabled and participated in Epstein’s crimes.”
Murkowski and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) led the letter-writing group. Others included Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Adam Schiff of California, Dick Durbin of Illinois, both Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey, Gary Peters of Michigan, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a co-sponsor of the transparency act, posted Wednesday on X: “DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline.”
Despite the deadline, the Justice Department has said it plans to release records on a rolling basis. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and other identifying information. More batches of records were posted over the weekend and on Tuesday. The department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.
“The reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that to protect victims,” Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “So the same individuals that are out there complaining about the lack of documents that were produced on Friday are the same individuals who apparently don’t want us to protect victims.”
Records that have been released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context. Records that hadn’t been seen before include transcripts of grand jury testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein.
Other records made public in recent days include a note from a federal prosecutor from January 2020 that said Trump had flown on the financier’s private plane more often than had been previously known and emails between Maxwell and someone who signs off with the initial “A.” They contain other references that suggest the writer was Britain’s former Prince Andrew. In one, “A” writes: “How’s LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”
The senators’ call Wednesday for an inspector general audit comes days after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the disclosure and deadline requirements. In a statement, he called the staggered, heavily redacted release “a blatant cover-up.”
NEW YORK — The Senate’s top Democrat urged his colleagues Monday to take legal action over the Justice Department’s incremental and heavily redacted release of records pertaining to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that required disclosure of records by last Friday.
“Instead of transparency, the Trump administration released a tiny fraction of the files and blacked out massive portions of what little they provided,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “This is a blatant cover-up.”
In lieu of Republican support, Schumer’s resolution is largely symbolic. The Senate is off until Jan. 5, more than two weeks after the deadline. Even then, the resolution will likely face an uphill battle for passage. But it allows Democrats to continue a pressure campaign for disclosure that Republicans had hoped to put behind them.
The Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis by the end of the year. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring victims’ names and other identifying information. So far, the department hasn’t given any notice when new records arrive.
That approach angered some accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act. Records that were released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.
There were few revelations in the tens of thousands of pages of records that have been released so far. Some of the most eagerly awaited records, such as FBI victim interviews and internal memos shedding light on charging decisions, weren’t there.
Nor were there any mentions of some powerful figures who’ve been in Epstein’s orbit, like Britain’s former Prince Andrew.
Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice Department’s decision to release just a fraction of the files by the deadline as necessary to protect survivors of sexual abuse by the disgraced financier.
Blanche pledged that the Trump administration would meet its obligation required by law. But he stressed that the department was obligated to act with caution as it goes about making public thousands of documents that can include sensitive information.
Blanche, the Justice Department’s second-in-command, also defended its decision to remove several files related to the case from its public webpage, including a photograph showing Donald Trump, less than a day after they were posted.
The missing files, which were available Friday but no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one of a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Blanche said the documents were removed because they also showed victims of Epstein. Blanche said the Trump photo and the other documents will be reposted once redactions are made to protect survivors.
“We are not redacting information around President Trump, around any other individual involved with Mr. Epstein, and that narrative, which is not based on fact at all, is completely false,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Blanche said Trump, a Republican, has labeled the Epstein matter “a hoax” because “there’s this narrative out there that the Department of Justice is hiding and protecting information about him, which is completely false.”
“The Epstein files existed for years and years and years and you did not hear a peep out of a single Democrat for the past four years and yet … lo and behold, all of a sudden, out of the blue, Senator Schumer suddenly cares about the Epstein files,” Blanche said. “That’s the hoax.”
Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press. AP reporter Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
Egyptian fisherman Issam al-Shazly was executed on Tuesday after being convicted of drug-related charges
Saudi Arabia has surpassed its record for the number of executions carried out annually for a second year in a row.
At least 347 people have now been put to death this year, up from a total of 345 in 2024, according to the UK-based campaign group Reprieve, which tracks executions in Saudi Arabia and has clients on death row.
It said this was the “bloodiest year of executions in the kingdom since monitoring began”.
The latest prisoners to be executed were two Pakistani nationals convicted of drug-related offences.
Others put death this year include a journalist and two young men who were children at the time of their alleged protest-related crimes. Five were women.
But, according to Reprieve, most – around two thirds – were convicted of non-lethal drug-related offences, which the UN says is “incompatible with international norms and standards”.
More than half of them were foreign nationals who appear to have been put to death as part of a “war on drugs” in the kingdom.
The Saudi authorities have not responded to the BBC’s request for comment on the rise in executions.
“Saudi Arabia is operating with complete impunity now,” said Jeed Basyouni, Reprieve’s head of death penalty for the Middle East and North Africa. “It’s almost making a mockery of the human rights system.”
She described torture and forced confessions as “endemic” within the Saudi criminal justice system.
Ms Basyouni called it a “brutal and arbitrary crackdown” in which innocent people and those on the margins of society have been caught up.
Tuesday saw the execution of a young Egyptian fisherman, Issam al-Shazly, who was arrested in 2021 in Saudi territorial waters and said he had been coerced into smuggling drugs.
Reprieve says that 96 of the executions were solely linked to hashish.
“It almost seems that it doesn’t matter to them who they execute, as long as they send a message to society that there’s a zero-tolerance policy on whatever issue they’re talking about – whether it’s protests, freedom of expression, or drugs,” said Ms Basyouni.
There has been a surge of drug-related executions since the Saudi authorities ended an unofficial moratorium in late 2022 – a step described as “deeply regrettable” by the UN human rights office.
Speaking anonymously to the BBC, relatives of men on death row on drugs charges have spoken of the “terror” they’re now living in.
One told the BBC: “The only time of the week that I sleep is on Friday and Saturday because there are no executions on those days.”
Cellmates witness people they have shared prison life with for years being dragged kicking and screaming to their death, according to Reprieve.
Reuters
Prince Mohammed bin Salman has loosened social restrictions while simultaneously silencing criticism
The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman – who became crown prince in 2017 – has changed the country profoundly over the past few years, loosening social restrictions while simultaneously silencing criticism.
In a bid to diversify its economy away from oil, he has opened Saudi Arabia up to the outside world, taken the religious police off the streets, and allowed women to drive.
But the kingdom’s human rights record remains “abysmal”, according to the US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch, with the high level of executions a major concern. In recent years, only China and Iran have put more people to death, according to human rights activists.
“There’s been no cost for Mohammed bin Salman and his authorities for going ahead with these executions,” said Joey Shea, who researches Saudi Arabia for Human Rights Watch. “The entertainment events, the sporting events, all of it is continuing to happen with no repercussions, really.”
According to Reprieve, the families of those executed are usually not informed in advance, or given the body, or informed where they have been buried.
The Saudi authorities do not reveal the method of execution, although it is believed to be either beheading or firing squad.
In a statement sent to the BBC, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Dr Morris Tidball-Binz, called for an immediate moratorium on executions in Saudi Arabia with a view to abolition, as well as “full compliance with international safeguards (including effective legal assistance and consular access for foreign nationals), prompt notification of families, the return of remains without delay and the publication of comprehensive execution data to enable independent scrutiny”.
Amnesty International
Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal al-Labbad were executed in October and August respectively after being convicted of crimes they allegedly committed as minors
Among the Saudi nationals executed this year were Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal al-Labbad, who were both minors at the time of their arrest.
They had protested against the government’s treatment of the Shia Muslim minority in 2011 and 2012, and participated in the funerals of people killed by security forces. They were convicted of terrorism-related charges and sentenced to death after what Amnesty International said were grossly unfair trials that relied on torture-tainted “confessions”. UN human rights experts had called for their release.
The UN also condemned the execution in June of the journalist, Turki al-Jasser, who had been arrested in 2018 and sentenced to death on charges of terrorism and high treason based on writings he was accused of authoring.
“Capital punishment against journalists is a chilling attack on freedom of expression and press freedom,” said Unesco’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay.
Reporters Without Borders said he was the first journalist to be executed in Saudi Arabia since Mohammed bin Salman came to power, although another journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered by Saudi agents at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Human Rights Watch
Journalist Turki al-Jasser was executed in June after seven years in detention
Last December, UN experts wrote to the Saudi authorities to express concern over a group of 32 Egyptians and one Jordanian national who had been sentenced to death on drugs charges, and their “alleged absence of legal representation”. Since then, most of the group have been executed.
A relative of one man put to death earlier this year said that he had told her that people were being “taken like goats” to be killed.
The BBC has approached the Saudi authorities for a response to the allegations but has not received one.
But in a letter dated January 2025 – in reply to concerns raised by UN special rapporteurs – they said that Saudi Arabia “protects and upholds” human rights and that its laws “prohibit and punish torture”.
“The death penalty is imposed only for the most serious crimes and in extremely limited circumstances,” the letter stated. “It is not handed down or carried out until judicial proceedings in courts of all levels have been completed.”
Real Madrid star forward scores his 59th goal in a calendar year to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s record tally at the club.
Published On 21 Dec 202521 Dec 2025
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Kylian Mbappe has equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s club record of 59 goals in a calendar year for Real Madrid with a late penalty in his side’s 2-0 home win over Sevilla in La Liga, with the French forward celebrating his 27th birthday in style.
Mbappe missed several earlier chances before getting his opportunity from the spot four minutes from time on Saturday, and he made no mistake to net his 59th goal in as many games across all competitions in 2025 to level Ronaldo’s 2013 haul.
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“Today, and because of the record, it’s incredible, in my first year to be able to do what Cristiano did,” Mbappe told RMTV.
“My idol, the best player in the history of Real Madrid and a reference in world football. It’s an honour for me.”
Jude Bellingham put Real in front in the opening half, and Sevilla went down to 10 men with 22 minutes remaining after Marcao received a second booking, but the hosts had goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to thank for keeping them ahead.
Real are second in the La Liga standings on 42 points, one behind Barcelona, who are away to third-placed Villarreal on Sunday, while Sevilla are ninth on 20 points.
Xabi Alonso’s side were looking to end the year on a high note after losing top spot in November with three consecutive draws, and they saw out 2025 with three successive wins in all competitions, but it was far from a straightforward success.
Sevilla created plenty of problems early on, with Isaac Romero chipping a shot narrowly wide when sent through on goal, bringing whistles from the home crowd with Real under pressure.
Mbappe sent a snap shot wide, as the hosts struggled to find a clear-cut chance, and Sevilla’s Lucien Agoume put another strike wide for the visitors before Real went in front seven minutes before the break.
Rodrygo put a free kick into the box, and Bellingham rose to power a header into the far corner to settle Real’s nerves at the break.
Mbappe scores Real’s second goal in the 86th minute, equalling Ronaldo’s record of 59 goals in a calendar year [Oscar Del Pozo/AFP]
Mbappe made to wait
Mbappe sent an effort straight at the keeper and dragged another shot wide, while at the other end, Courtois twice denied Alexis Sanchez and Romero with Real all too easy to open up at the back.
From a corner, Mbappe hit the crossbar with a header, and after Marcao’s sending off, Rodrygo struck a beautiful shot on the turn, but Sevilla keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos touched it onto the bar.
Real were hanging on for the win with Mbappe still labouring to find the net when Juanlu Sanchez fouled Rodrygo in the box and the birthday boy stepped up to score before pulling out Ronaldo’s celebration.
“I wanted to give him a little nod because he has always been affectionate with me,” Mbappe added.
“Normally, I have my own celebration, but I wanted to share that with him, and like I said, he’s been my idol since I was a kid. I have a very good relationship with him; he’s a friend now.”
Mbappe thought he had been gifted the perfect chance to score again when the referee pointed to the spot two minutes later, but the official changed his mind after a VAR check, and the Frenchman had to settle for a share of the record.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department released a library of files on Friday related to Jeffrey Epstein, partially complying with a new federal law compelling their release, while acknowledging that hundreds of thousands of files remain sealed.
The portal, on the department’s website, includes videos, photos and documents from the years-long investigation of the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, who died in federal prison in 2019. But upon an initial survey of the files, several of the documents were heavily redacted, and much of the database was unsearchable, in spite of a provision of the new law requiring a more accessible system.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, unequivocally required the department to release its full trove of files by midnight Friday, marking 30 days since passage.
But a top official said earlier Friday that the department would miss the legal deadline Friday to release all files, protracting a scandal that has come to plague the Trump administration. Hundreds of thousands more were still under review and would take weeks more to release, said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general.
“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche told Fox News on Friday.
The delay drew immediate condemnation from Democrats in key oversight roles.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, accused President Trump and his administration in a statement Friday of “violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring,” and said they were “examining all legal options.”
The delay also drew criticism from some Republicans.
“My goodness, what is in the Epstein files?” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is leaving Congress next month, wrote on X. “Release all the files. It’s literally the law.”
“Time’s up. Release the files,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote on X.
Already, congressional efforts to force the release of documents from the FBI’s investigations into Epstein have produced a trove of the disgraced financier’s emails and other records from his estate.
Some made reference to Trump and added to a long-evolving portrait of the social relationship that Epstein and Trump shared for years, before what Trump has described as a falling out.
In one email in early 2019, during Trump’s first term in the White House, Epstein wrote to author and journalist Michael Wolff that Trump “knew about the girls.”
In a 2011 email to Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of conspiring with Epstein to help him sexually abuse young girls, Epstein wrote, “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is trump. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him … he has never once been mentioned.”
Maxwell responded: “I have been thinking about that…”
Trump has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and downplayed the importance of the files. He has also intermittently worked to block their release, even while suggesting publicly that he would not be opposed to it.
His administration’s resistance to releasing all of the FBI’s files, and fumbling with their reasons for withholding documents, was overcome only after Republican lawmakers broke off and joined Democrats in passing the transparency measure.
The resistance has also riled many in the president’s base, with their intrigue and anger over the files remaining stickier and harder to shake for Trump than any other political vulnerability.
It remained unclear Friday afternoon what additional revelations would come from the anticipated dump. Among the files that were released, extensive redactions were expected to shield victims, as well as references to individuals and entities that could be the subject of ongoing investigations or matters of national security.
That could include mentions of Trump, experts said, who was a private citizen over the course of his infamous friendship with Epstein through the mid-2000s.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution in Florida, but served only 13 months in custody in what was considered a sweetheart plea deal that saved him a potential life sentence. He was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking, and died in federal custody at a Manhattan jail awaiting trial. Epstein was alleged to have abused over 200 women and girls.
Many of his victims argued in support of the release of documents, but administration officials have cited their privacy as a primary excuse for delaying the release — something Blanche reiterated Friday.
“There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim,” Blanche said, noting that Trump had signed the law just 30 days prior.
“And we have been working tirelessly since that day to make sure that we get every single document that we have within the Department of Justice, review it and get it to the American public,” he said.
Trump had lobbied aggressively against the Epstein Files Transparency Act, unsuccessfully pressuring House Republican lawmakers not to join a discharge petition that would force a vote on the matter over the wishes of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). He ultimately signed the bill into law after it passed both chambers with veto-proof majorities.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), who introduced the House bill requiring the release of the files, warned that the Justice Department under future administrations could pursue legal action against current officials who work to obstruct the release of any of the files, contravening the letter of the new law.
“Let me be very clear, we need a full release,” Khanna said. “Anyone who tampers with these documents, or conceals documents, or engages in excessive redaction, will be prosecuted because of obstruction of justice.”
Given Democrats’ desire to keep the issue alive politically, and the intense interest in the matter from voters on both ends of the political spectrum, the fact that the Justice Department failed to meet the Friday deadline in full was likely to stoke continued agitation for the documents’ release in coming days.
In their statement Friday, Garcia and Raskin hammered on Trump administration officials — including Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi — for allegedly interfering in the release of records.
“For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoena,” they said. “The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself.”
Among other things, they called out the Justice Department’s decision to move Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, to a minimum security prison after she met with Blanche in July.
“The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from DOJ,” Garcia and Raskin said.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), in response to Blanche saying all the files wouldn’t be released Friday, said the transparency act “is clear: while protecting survivors, ALL of these records are required to be released today. Not just some.”
“The Trump administration can’t move the goalposts,” Schiff wrote on X. “They’re cemented in law.”
After steadily gaining power and influence for more than a decade, the watchdogs that provide civilian oversight of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department face an uncertain future.
A recent leadership exodus has left behind gaps in experience and knowledge, and a succession of legal challenges and funding cuts by the county have left some concerned that long-fought gains in transparency are slipping away.
“It is beginning to look like the idea of effective oversight of the Sheriff’s Department is a pipe dream,” said Robert Bonner, former chairman of the Civilian Oversight Commission, who announced in June that he was being pushed into “involuntarily leaving” before he completed pending work.
Current and former oversight officials have argued that the office of county counsel, the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff’s Department have repeatedly undermined efforts to rein in law enforcement misconduct.
The cumulative effect, some advocates worry, is that the public will know less about law enforcement activity, and that there will be fewer independent investigations into deputies and department leaders alike.
“The Sheriff is committed to transparency in law enforcement,” the department said via email. “As we move forward it is essential to strengthen collaboration with the [Civilian Oversight Commission] while ensuring that the rights and safety of our personnel are protected.”
In recent years, oversight bodies have uncovered information about so-called deputy gangs, published reports on inhumane jail conditions and issued subpoenas for records related to on-duty use of force incidents.
Inspector General Max Huntsman’s sudden announcement last week that he was retiring from the position he’s held since its creation more than a decade ago completed a trifecta of departures of top law enforcement oversight officials this year.
In addition to Bonner’s departure, former Civilian Oversight Commission chairman Sean Kennedy stepped down from the body in February in response to what he described as improper county interference in the commission’s activities.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, right, talks with Sean Kennedy during an event on April 5 in Baker. Kennedy left his position on the Civilian Oversight Commission earlier this year.
(William Liang / For The Times)
Kennedy and others have said the Sheriff’s Department has refused to comply with multiple subpoenas by the commission for personnel files and records related to deputy misconduct.
“The attack on integrity and on oversight capacity is threatening all of us in Los Angeles County,” Hans Johnson, who took over as chairman of the Civilian Oversight Commission following Bonner’s departure, said at a recent public meeting. “We look forward to making sure that oversight is preserved and protected and not muzzled and not unplugged or sabotaged.”
The Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors said in a statement that it maintains a “long-standing commitment to strong oversight.”
The Sheriff’s Department said only one request it has received from oversight officials this year remains pending.
“The Department remains committed to working cooperatively to provide all requested information as required by law,” the statement said.
On the state level, reform advocates recently scored what they described as a victory for transparency.
In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill known as AB 847, which granted civilian oversight bodies across California the ability to view confidential law enforcement records in private sessions. L.A. County officials had previously balked at sharing certain sensitive files on sheriff’s deputies, and some reformers worry the new law may not go far enough.
Dara Williams, chief deputy of the Office of the Inspector General, said at a July public meeting that the Sheriff’s Department has a history of being “painfully slow” to respond to requests for records related to homicides by deputies. In one instance, she said, Huntsman’s office served the department with a subpoena in October 2024 “and we are still waiting for documents and answers.”
The Sheriff’s Department said it has hired an outside attorney who is “conducting an independent review” of its records to determine if “those materials actually exist and can be found.”
The department’s statement said it will abide by the law and that protecting confidential information “remains of the utmost importance.”
Some involved in oversight have also become the subject of probes themselves.
In June, the Office of the County Counsel said it was investigating Kennedy for alleged retaliation against a sergeant who had worked for a unit that had been accused of pursuing cases for political reasons during Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s tenure.
Kennedy has denied the allegations, telling The Times in June, “I was just doing my job as an oversight official.”
Budget cuts — some already instituted, others threatened — are also a concern.
Huntsman said earlier this year that the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors was reassigning or eliminating a third of his staff.
Former L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman listens during a hearing at Loyola Law School’s Advocacy Center on Jan. 12, 2024.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
He too left amid acrimony with county officials.
“The County has made it very clear over the past couple of years that they are not going to enforce the state oversight laws,” Huntsman told The Times. “Instead the county supports the sheriff limiting the flow of information so as to restrict meaningful oversight.”
The Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors said the changes implemented this year have had a “minimal” impact that “neither limits OIG’s responsibility nor their capacity.”
The possibility of eliminating the Sybil Brand Commission, which monitors L.A. County jails, was discussed in an August report to the Board of Supervisors. County officials said it would save about $40,000 annually.
Sybil Brand commissioner Eric Miller told The Times in September that he believes “the county is attempting to limit oversight of the Sheriff’s Department … to avoid lawsuits.” The department, he said, “is a powerful constituency within the county.”
In September, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta launched a state lawsuit over what he described as a “humanitarian crisis” inside L.A. County jails.
There are even concerns that the Sheriff’s Department is seeking greater control over local groups that facilitate conversations between deputies and members of the public — often some of the only opportunities for community concerns to be heard.
In the Antelope Valley, the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station Community Advisory Committee has been roiled by allegations that a local Sheriff’s Department captain appointed a new member without other members’ approval.
The chair of the committee, Georgia Halliman, resigned in October and committee member Sylvia Williams has alleged that the Sheriff’s Department captain tried to force her out.
“I was going to leave, but they need someone who’s real in there,” Williams told The Times. “You have to have an overseer.”
The department said it is reviewing the situation.
Melissa Camacho, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California, said the county is at a crossroads.
“The main question right now is what is the county going to do?” she said. “Is this going to be a moment when the Board of Supervisors decides to actually invest in oversight?”
A daunting rainfall forecast isn’t expected to stop Californians or the rest of the U.S. from traveling in record numbers over the end-of-year holiday season.
An estimated 122.4 million people — more than a third of the entire national population — will travel at least 50 miles from home between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1, according to the American Automobile Assn.
That would represent a 2.2% increase over last year, when a record 119.7 million travelers hit the road or took to the skies for the holidays.
“Year-end travel is a mix of family road trips, friend getaways and tropical vacations,” Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement.
Holiday festivities are different for everyone, but “a common thread is the desire to travel, whether it’s returning to your hometown or exploring new destinations,” Barber said.
As always, though, winter weather could pour cold water on some of those festive getaways. A Pacific storm is forecast to bring heavy rain to Southern California over the Christmas holiday — potentially snarling travel and increasing the risk of flooding, said Adam Roser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Diego office.
“The storm will move through the region from north to south, starting as early as Tuesday,” Roser said.
Roser said he is confident there will be slick roadways and possible aviation disruptions because of heavy rains.
The peak of the storm for Southern California is likely to start Tuesday and continue through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. In Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego County, light showers may start Tuesday, but the heaviest rainfall is expected to be on Christmas Eve.
Meteorologists say light to moderate showers are forecast for Christmas Day and into the weekend.
AAA expects to see across-the-board increases in modes of travel this holiday season. For example, a projected 109.5 million people will travel by car — a 2% increase compared to last year, according to AAA. For Californians commuting with gas-fueled vehicles, the average price of a gallon of gas this week is $4.33, a 2-cent increase compared to last year.
Approximately 8.03 million travelers will take to the skies to reach their holiday destination, a 2.3% increase compared to last year. AAA said this is the first time more than 8 million domestic air travelers are expected over the end-of-year holiday season.
Boarding passes have burned a hole in many holiday budgets, however. AAA said a round-trip domestic flight is 7% more expensive this year, averaging nearly $900 a ticket.
About 4.9 million travelers will use another mode of transport such as a bus, train or cruise.
Leon Thomas recently dyed the tips of his signature locs dark green. His new hair color — a stark contrast from the vibrant red he’d been rocking for the last four years — is the first thing that stands out about him when he strolls into the Los Angeles Times building on an unusually rainy day in October.
When asked about his hair, which peeks out from underneath a black beret-style hat, a wide grin stretches across his face.
“I had a vision,” the 32-year-old singer says, leaning in. “In [this] vision, I had more tats, a six pack and I had green dreads. And I was like, ‘You know what, let’s work on it.’” He’s been working out more consistently and he has his eyes set on a couple of tattoo artists in L.A. and Europe, but the new hair kicked everything off.
“That’s how the rest of my life has worked: I’ve seen something in my head, I’ve seen a version of myself that’s not there yet and then you work hard to get there.”
This instinct has carried Thomas throughout his 20-plus-year career in the entertainment industry, and has cleared a path for him to emerge as a leading force in modern R&B music. After years of dedicating his skill to acting, writing and producing chart-topping bangers for artists like Drake, Ariana Grande and SZA (he won his first Grammy for her record “Snooze”), for the first time Thomas is up for six Grammy nominations including album of the year and best new artist for his own work.
“I feel like this is a byproduct of me finally having a machine that works,” Thomas says about his team. He signed to EZMNY, a record label co-founded by Grammy-nominated artist Ty Dolla $ign and A&R executive Shawn Barron, in 2021. He takes an audible breath before continuing, “Not to sound cocky or anything, but I just always felt in my heart of hearts that once people could finally hear what I had to offer, it would be a different story. I’m glad that God gave me the foresight to see that.”
He has good reason to be feeling himself these days. “Mutt,” his breakout 2024 single, quietly simmered for months before it was pushed into ubiquity. The track’s metaphorical meaning — comparing his own flawed behavior in relationships to a “mutt” or a dog with good intentions — along with a sensual bassline and knocking drums eventually became a sleeper hit. It also became a favorite for Tems, SZA, Keke Palmer and Issa Rae, who shouted out the song in interviews.
“That’s how the rest of my life has worked: I’ve seen something in my head, I’ve seen a version of myself that’s not there yet and then you work hard to get there,” said Leon Thomas.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
By early this year, the song, which is the title track from his sophomore album, had cracked the Hot 100 Billboard charts, recently climbing to No. 1 on Billboard’s radio songs chart, earning double platinum status.
The success of the album and the deluxe edition that followed launched Thomas into a whirlwind of promo: radio and podcast stops, interviews galore and after-party appearances. Meanwhile, he’s still made time to make records with other artists like Wale, Disclosure, Odeal and Sasha Keable. He kicked off his “Mutts Don’t Heel” tour in October, and this year alone, he’s had more than 70 performances, including the Hollywood Bowl with Inglewood-born singer SiR, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and the BET Awards (where he won best new artist). Earlier this year, Thomas stopped by NPR’s Tiny Desk, a live set that has more than 4 million views and has since been turned into an EP. (His Tiny Desk performance also received a Grammy nod for best R&B performance.)
“It’s been nonstop like something great happening every single week,” says Barron, co-founder of EZMNY.
Long before fans were belting out the lyrics “I’m a doggggg / I’m a mutt,” Thomas was getting his first taste of what it takes to be a musician from his family. Thomas’ late grandfather, John Anthony, was an opera singer who starred in the 1976 Broadway production of “Porgy & Bess.” His mother — a singer — and his stepfather — who played guitar for B.B. King — were part of New York’s Black Rock Coalition and “didn’t believe in babysitters,” says the Brooklyn native who now resides in L.A. He has fond memories of doing his homework while his parents were performing and hopping on stage at times to hit a dance move for a packed crowd.
At just 10 years old, Thomas booked the role of Young Simba on Broadway after a family friend encouraged him to audition. He went on to star in more productions, including “Caroline, or Change” and “The Color Purple,” before booking his first film, “August Rush” (starring late actor Robin Williams), which required him to learn to play the guitar. As a result, he began writing his own songs, one of which impressed his parents so much that they booked studio time and a session bass player to help him to lay down the track. “It definitely influenced my perspective on if I could actually make professional music or not,” recalls Thomas, who plays five instruments, including drums (his first love), guitar, bass, piano and saxophone.
“Not to sound cocky or anything, but I just always felt in my heart of hearts that once people could finally hear what I had to offer, it would be a different story. I’m glad that God gave me the foresight to see that,” said Leon Thomas.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
By age 13, Thomas had signed a development deal with Nickelodeon that came with a Columbia Records recording contract. After appearing in various shows like “The Backyardigans” and “iCarly,” he snagged the role of André Harris, a high-school-age singer and multi-instrumentalist, on the tween sitcom “Victorious” alongside star-in-the-making Grande.
When the show ended in 2013, Thomas began working with one of modern music’s most decorated architects, Babyface, who introduced him to producer and songwriter Khris Riddick-Tynes. Together, Thomas and Riddick-Tynes formed the Rascals and began producing records like Rick Ross’ “Gold Roses” featuring Drake (which received a Grammy nomination), “I’d Rather Be Broke” by Toni Braxton and SZA’s “Snooze,” which won best R&B song at the Grammys in 2024.
Still, pivoting from wholesome Nickelodeon star to a grown R&B artist didn’t happen overnight. “The biggest thing for me was just taking time away from the artistry in order to really allow people to celebrate the brand that I had built, but give me room to build something else,” he says. “Space and time can be a tough thing because you’re gonna have to reintroduce yourself even though you did a lot of work in the beginning to build what you had before, but I think it’s beautiful to kind of build a brand from scratch.”
That’s one of the reasons why the cover of his reintroduction project, “Genesis,” features a distorted forest instead of his face. “I didn’t want them to connect with what I was saying, what I was talking about, the feelings [and] the sounds,” he says. With every release, he’s slowly revealed more of himself.
Onstage, Thomas channels the intensity of some of his musical heroes — James Brown, Prince, Jimi Hendrix and D’Angelo. His music may sit comfortably under the R&B umbrella, but he bends and flips genres with ease, especially rock and funk. In TikTok recaps from his current tour, he can be seen ripping on the bass and guitar, whipping his body into turns and effortlessly hitting vocal runs, which fans have attempted to imitate. With him, you never have to question if the mic is on.
“Sometimes I go see R&B artists live and it’s very chill,” he says, but “the school I come from is competitive.” He recalls stories that his stepfather has told him about performing at the Village Underground in New York when he was coming up. “They used to do something called cutting heads, so the first guy would go do his solo, then the guy who came out on the second set had to go even further. He’s playing with his teeth, he’s spinning, he’s on the floor, he’s wildin’,” Thomas says excitedly.
“So I’m in that school of thinking when I hit a stage and for this tour where I get to curate things and really put it together like I want to, there’s gotta be that energy of cutting heads,” he adds.
Just days before launching his 27-city tour, Thomas released a cinematic trailer featuring Rae — who played his neighbor and hookup buddy on “Insecure” — to introduce his latest project, “Pholks.” The seven-track release, created in collaboration with musicians Rob “Freaky Rob” Gueringer and David Phelps, a.k.a. “D. Phelps” (who also worked on “Mutt”), is an homage to the funk, rock and soul artists who’ve inspired him. Led by the singles “Just How You Are” and “My Muse,” which could trigger a “Soul Train” line at any moment, the project feels warm and nostalgic, yet anchored in forward-thinking production and playful storytelling that helps push it into the future.
In April, Ty Dolla $ign brought Thomas out to perform during his headlining set at Coachella, a moment that was a no-brainer for Ty, who recently called Thomas “the new king” of R&B.
“I just can’t even believe that I was the one to be able to do this,” Ty says about working with the singer.
“Sometimes I go see R&B artists live and it’s very chill,” Leon Thomas said, but “the school I come from is competitive.”
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
In the midst of this busy season, Thomas has been more intentional about maintaining his mental health. “I’m doing a lot of grounding meditations,” he says, noting that family and his tight circle of friends have been an essential support system. “I’ve been picking up the Bible a little bit more.”
He also finds steadiness in revisiting wisdom passed down from his late grandfather, who passed away last year, and reflecting on his “why:” bringing a classic, musician-centered energy back to R&B and encouraging young artists to pick up an instrument.
“When a little kid sees me playing guitar on the Grammy stage or if they see me performing on Instagram playing drums, I want them to ask their mom for a guitar or some drum lessons,” he says. With the rise of AI, he says that live musicianship may become less common. “I hope that we can inspire a revolution of intelligence, people who are intelligently making music and coming from a standpoint of history.”
Thomas will close out his whirlwind year with two shows at the Wiltern on Dec. 22 and 23 before embarking on the European leg of his tour in March and heading to Australia in June. In the meantime, he’s trying to avoid thinking about the Grammys in February — though everyone, including myself, is making it impossible for him not to.
Whether he walks away with a golden gramophone or not, Thomas has already created a body of work that has reinvigorated not only R&B but also music in general, and he plans to continue pushing himself creatively. He’s known all along what he’s capable of and the career he’s destined to have because he’s envisioned it. It’s the world that’s had to catch up.
Dealmakers in 2025 enjoyed a near-record year for mergers and acquisitions, despite a turbulent spring that threatened hopes of a broader revival. So far this year, there were 70 global deals valued at more than $10 billion each, 22 of them in the fourth quarter, according to Dealogic. Total deal value has surpassed $4.8 trillion, up 41% from 2024, though the number of deals fell 6% to 38,395, marking the second-largest year ever behind 2021.
The spike in mega deals reflects a growing focus on scale. “M&A today is all about the mega deals, the race for scale,” said Anu Aiyengar, JPMorgan’s global head of advisory and M&A. There were at least four deals above $50 billion, with two notable bids for Warner Bros. Discovery totaling over $80 billion and Paramount Skydance’s $108 billion hostile offer.
Drivers of Late-Year Rally
A more permissive regulatory environment in the U.S., coupled with a calmer macroeconomic outlook, is encouraging companies to pursue transformative deals. With antitrust scrutiny easing under the Trump administration, boards and executives are seizing opportunities for strategic acquisitions, according to Frank Aquila, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell.
Dealmakers also say valuations are rising, prompting companies to pay higher multiples while expecting their own stocks to maintain relative strength. “Valuations have been bid up and we’ve seen clients be more aggressive in terms of multiples,” said Lazard’s Mark McMaster.
Technology and AI Influence
Technology deals, particularly those tied to artificial intelligence, have played a prominent role. OpenAI raised $40 billion in funding led by SoftBank, and Aligned Data Centers was acquired for $40 billion. Morgan Stanley’s John Collins said companies are pursuing scale to invest in AI-driven changes, both in tech and across other industries.
Cross-Border and Global Trends
Cross-border M&A activity surged in 2025, reaching $1.24 trillion, the highest since 2021. U.S. and UK companies were the most targeted, while U.S., France, and Japan were the most acquisitive. Multinational companies, particularly from Europe and Japan, are investing in the U.S. to capitalize on the world’s largest market. China and Japan are also seeing strong outbound activity, with Japanese deal values boosted by high-profile transactions like OpenAI and Toyota Industries.
Corporate divestitures are rising, up 30% in volume from last year, exemplified by Holcim’s $30 billion spin-off of its North American business, Amrize. Private equity is also regaining momentum, with global buyouts reaching $1.1 trillion, a 51% increase from 2024.
Outlook for 2026
Dealmakers expect the M&A rally to continue into 2026, with $50 billion–$70 billion deals already in the pipeline and a $100 billion tech transaction not ruled out. Analysts see a multi-year run of high-value deals, fueled by scale-seeking corporations, AI-related opportunities, cross-border expansion, and corporate restructuring. While caution remains in politically uncertain markets like the UK, the global appetite for transformative deals appears set to drive another strong year for mergers and acquisitions.
Dec. 16 (UPI) — Tesla shares closed at a record-high $489.88 on Tuesday, days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had been testing driverless vehicles in Texas.
Shares rose 3.1% for the day and were up 21% for the year, CNBC reported. This came after Tesla’s worst quarter since 2022 when it dropped 36% in the first quarter of this year.
Techstock² reported that in addition to the roboatxi announcement, Tesla saw a boost on the stock market in response to a fresh round of filings with the Securities Exchange Commission.
The filings showed that WT Wealth Management increased its Tesla stake by 178.7%, Carter Financial Group opened a new Tesla position, Orion Portfolion solutions increased its holdings of Tesla by 14.8%, National Wealth Management Group increased its stake by 26.3% and Momentum Wealth Planning purchased a new stake of 9,802 shares worth about $3.11 million.
Tesla also invested $1.2 billion in a battery cell plant in Berlin.
With Tuesday’s bounce, Tesla’s market cap reached $1.63 trillion, making it the seventh-most valuable company in trading behind Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, CNBC reported.
BERKELEY, Calif. — Mike White, who had a successful career as a college coach with California and Illinois and later coached the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, has died. He was 89.
Cal said White’s family confirmed that he died Sunday in Newport Beach.
White helped the Golden Bears win a share of the Pac-8 title in 1975, led the Illini to their first Rose Bowl in 20 years in the 1983 season and coached the Raiders in their first two seasons back in Oakland in 1995-96 after leaving Los Angeles.
He also worked as an assistant for the San Francisco 49ers and was on Dick Vermeil’s staff with the St. Louis Rams when they won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season.
“Mike was special,” said Burl Toler Jr., a linebacker who played at Cal under White from 1974-77. “He treated us like men and with a lot of respect. Mike was a very gifted and smart coach who loved Cal and loved being a coach, and he surrounded himself with a lot of like minds who instilled in us a will to succeed.”
White was a four-sport student-athlete at Cal in the 1950s and spent time as an assistant with the Bears and at rival Stanford before getting the head coaching job at his alma mater in 1972.
White had a 35-30-1 record in six seasons at Cal, with his biggest success coming in 1975 when he was named coach of the year after the Bears finished tied with UCLA for first place in the conference. Cal finished 14th in the nation with an offense that featured Chuck Muncie and quarterback Joe Roth.
White also coached quarterback Steve Bartkowski earlier at Cal and helped develop him into the No. 1 overall pick in the 1975 NFL draft.
He then left for the NFL, spending two seasons as an offensive line coach for the 49ers, before returning to college in 1980 with Illinois. He led the Illini to a 47-41-3 record with three bowl trips, including a loss in the 1984 Rose Bowl to UCLA.
That 1983 Illinois team went 9-0 in the Big Ten and is the only team in conference history to beat every other conference opponent in the same season.
White then returned to the NFL in 1990, spending five seasons as an assistant with the Raiders before taking over as head coach. He had a 15-17 record before getting fired after the 1996 season.
In her 125th career World Cup downhill start, 24 years after her debut and eight years since her last major win, Lindsey Vonn sped to a stunning victory in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Friday.
It was as if Vonn announced to the world that not only is she back after a six-year retirement, the 41-year-old American slopes legend is ready to rule downhill skiing again at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
And it came only six weeks after she told The Times that she “had nothing to prove.” In October she compared her comeback to that of Michael Jordan, saying that his return from retirement isn’t “part of his legacy at all.”
“I’ve already succeeded,” Vonn continued. “I’ve already won. I was on the podium. I have the record for the oldest medalist in World Cup by seven years. I feel like this journey has been incredible.”
Lindsey Vonn, center, celebrates her FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Downhill win in St Moritz, Switzerland.
(Mateo Sgambato/Getty Images)
Vonn’s math is correct. She certainly is the oldest woman to win a World Cup race and has 83 victories across all World Cup disciplines. Federica Brignone of Italy set a record a year ago when she won a World Cup race — she won 10, actually — at age 34. Brignone is not racing this weekend because of an injury.
Vonn is the only American woman to win an Olympics gold medal in downhill, having done so at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She also won bronze medals in the super-G 2010 and downhill in 2018.
Vonn finished with a flourish Friday, taking the lead by 1.16 seconds ahead of Mirjam Puchner of Austria despite trailing by 0.61 after the first two time checks. Vonn’s eventual victory was by 0.98 seconds when upstart Austrian Magdalena Egger took second place.
After a ho-hum first half, Vonn posted the fastest times of anyone through the bottom half, reaching 74 mph and completing the course in 1 minute, 29.63 seconds.
“It was an amazing day, I couldn’t be happier, pretty emotional,” Vonn told Swiss broadcaster RTS. “I felt good this summer but I wasn’t sure how fast I was. I guess I know now how fast I am.”
After laying in the snow beyond the finish line, Vonn saw her time and raised her arms. She stood and yelped, then placed her hands to her left cheek in a purely American gesture, mimicking NBA star Steph Curry’s “Night, night.”
Lindsey Vonn takes 1st place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Downhill.
(Alain Grosclaude/Getty Images)
“In my mind, I was thinking, ‘OK, well, I just need to ski the pitch really clean and carry my speed down,’” Vonn told reporters after the race. “I still didn’t ski the best that I could have on the compression at the bottom, but I tried to be dynamic, tried to be clean, the way I’ve been skiing and training, and it was pretty solid.”
Vonn has been working with a new coach, 36-time World Cup winner Aksel Lund Svindal. The partnership is already proving promising.
“We worked really hard, not just me but my whole team, from the equipment to the physical training, also hired Aksel,” Vonn said. “I knew I was skiing fast, but you never know until the first race. I think I was a little faster than I expected. I think I had a great run, but I also made some mistakes, so I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Vonn will take part in another downhill race Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.
