Publication
Trump claims ‘control’ over Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait accused Iran of launching a failed attack earlier this month on an island where China is helping build a port in the Middle East nation. The accusation brought Tuesday came just before U.S. President Donald Trump...
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Detained Austin student ‘the best of the best’
Weeks before Luis Fernando Cabrera is scheduled to walk across the graduation stage, friends, lawmakers and members of his church gathered Monday in front of Northeast Early College High School to advocate for his release. Earlier this month, U.S....
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Trump criticizes Iran’s response to plan; drone attack tests truce
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, but President Donald Trump quickly rejected it as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”...
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Texas eyes windfall from defense budget
President Donald Trump’s controversial $1.5 trillion defense budget request stands to send billions of dollars to Texas military bases and defense contractors, including Joint Base San Antonio. But with congressional Republicans and Democrats alike...
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High school senior detained by ICE
D’marco Oliveros, an 18-yearold senior at Northeast Early College High School, remembers waking up for school last Friday to a 2:05 a.m. message from his friend and classmate Luis Fernando Cabrera. The photo Cabrera sent showed the cobalt blue lights...
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Paxton again probing area ISDs
Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating how 29 school districts — including Austin, Dripping Springs and Lake Travis independent school districts — are following a state law that requires schools to hang posters of the Ten Commandments in...
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Austin ISD weighs deep cuts to budget
In a late Tuesday night announcement, Austin Independent School District proposed $108 million in cuts that include eliminating central office and campus positions, increasing some elementary class sizes, phasing out one of many teachers’ planning...
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Short-term rental fixes lift revenue
Austin officials say a sweeping overhaul of the city’s shortterm rental regulations is beginning to show results, with higher compliance and a surge in hotel occupancy tax revenue as new enforcement tools come online. In a recent memo to the mayor and...
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Criminal inquiry into DA blocked
A Travis County district court judge rejected an effort Monday to pursue a criminal inquiry against Travis County District Attorney José Garza and his top deputies over allegations of hiding evidence in ongoing cases against three police officers while...
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Computing the risks of data centers
Central Texas is bracing for more than 70 data centers that are being built or already operating from Temple to San Antonio. These centers, which house hundreds of servers to process data, including artificial intelligence, have been protested for...
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Pride and scrutiny
Sponsoring Austin High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance club has been the highlight of Kevin Gillion’s two decades teaching at the campus. The gregarious 54-year-old Spanish teacher often watched and listened as students gathered in his...
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Plane crash kills 5 near Wimberley
Five people died in a small plane crash near Wimberley after the aircraft went down late Thursday, Hays County officials said Friday. The Cessna 421C was “traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of impact,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said in a...
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Iran issues vow of defiance
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader vowed Thursday in a defiant tone to protect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities, which U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through airstrikes and as part of a wider...
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Court weakens Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday hollowed out a landmark Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority representation in Congress and elsewhere, striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana and opening the door for...
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Camp Mystic owners defend safeguards
Family members who own and operate Camp Mystic expressed deep sorrow on Tuesday as they testified about their actions during last summer’s deadly floods, which left 25 campers and two counselors dead. But they also defended their work to better...
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Expert: Camp Mystic gave no flood training
Several Camp Mystic cabins with girls as young as 8 were supervised by inexperienced teenage counselors during last year’s deadly floods, and some had expressed concerns to their parents about their lack of training for emergencies, an expert told the...
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D.C. shooting suspect had railed against White House
WASHINGTON — The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” in writings sent to family members minutes before...
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Austin’s big backlog of bond projects
For more than a decade, the intersection near Priscilla Glover’s Zilker home has been a hazard. As the neighborhood has grown, more drivers run the fourway stop. Glover has grown used to the sound of T-bone collisions — tires screeching, then an...
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Black voters drawing Talarico’s attention
Democrat James Talarico knows he has a lot of work to do in the Black community if he’s going to win a U.S. Senate seat in Texas. He won his March primary against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, but lost both Harris and Dallas counties, and...
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Freight train derails
Austin police responded Thursday to a freight train derailment in downtown Austin just before 4:45 a.m. near Third and Bowie streets, officials said. No one was injured, and there is no threat to public safety, according to Matthew Nonweiler, a public...
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City at negotiating table over ICE
Austin officials were negotiating with state leaders Tuesday in an effort to avoid losing $2.5 million in state grant funding after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to revoke the money over new Austin Police Department policies that limit officer...
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Dells donate $750 million to build UT medical center
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation is giving the University of Texas more than $750 million to build the UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research and the UT Dell Medical Center on the university’s former West Pickle Research Campus in North Austin. The...
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Mixed messages on Iran
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered mixed messages Monday about the path ahead for the U.S. war against Iran, declaring that he was in no rush to end the conflict while also expressing confidence that further negotiations with Tehran will soon...
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Pflugerville pantry helps to stretch groceries
After Martin Bonner was laid off from his tech job last year, he needed a way to feed his wife and four children while looking for work. For the first time, the Cedar Park resident turned to food pantries. That’s when he found Food for All in...
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TEA chief redefining education for a decade
When then-state Rep. Steve Allison sat down with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath for the first time in 2019, he didn’t ease into the conversation. The San Antonio Republican delivered a blunt critique of the state’s standardized testing...
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Artemis astronauts readjust to Earth life
NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch woke up in bed after the Artemis II mission and thought she was still floating. She later put a shirt in the air, expecting it to hover, and was genuinely surprised to see it fall. The Artemis II astronauts were...
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Thomas warns U.S. values under threat
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas this week praised the University of Texas as a national leader for its work to restore civic values and more closely focus on the study of Western civilization. The University of Texas School of Civic...
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Camp Mystic rescue detailed
A night watchman who assisted with a chaotic, haphazard rescue effort at Camp Mystic during a catastrophic flash flood told a state district court Wednesday that more able-bodied adults could have helped evacuate campers and more children could have...
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Camp officer says she didn’t see flood alerts
AUSTIN — The woman who serves as Camp Mystic’s chief health officer told a state district court Tuesday that she wasn’t aware the area was under a flash flood watch before water engulfed the Texas Hill Country retreat, killing 25 children and two...
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City plans to clear more homeless camps
Austin officials are preparing to significantly expand sweeps of homeless encampments across the city — a strategy that would scale up enforcement-driven cleanups even as advocates warn the plan risks outpacing outreach and coordination efforts meant...
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TACKLING THE 10K
TOP: Young, old, serious and not — more than 24,400 hit the pavement for the 49th annual Statesman Capitol 10,000 on Sunday. LEFT: Audrey Adams and Johnny Swan run toward the finish line in the state’s largest 10K. Some runners wore quirky costumes...
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Financial toll of ICE deportations
BASTROP COUNTY — As an ice storm closed in on Central Texas in late January, Bricia, a 43-year-old mother battling endometrial cancer, moved deliberately through her Elgin home, deciding what to pack before the power went out. Pain radiated from her...
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War sends gas prices, inflation soaring
WASHINGTON — The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation last month, creating major challenges for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening already substantial political hurdles for the...
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Israeli leader allows talks with Lebanon
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranianbacked...
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Texas hemp industry sues to block new ban
A group of hemp companies in Texas sued the state on Wednesday to block a new ban on smokable THC products and stop hikes to licensing fees. The businesses have warned the changes, finalized last week by the Department of State Health Services, could...
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Trump backs off on dire threats
TEHRAN, Iran — President Donald Trump says he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks in Iran to include an array of bridges, power plants and other civilian targets, subject to Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait...
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Gonzales seeks photos, sex in texts from 2020
Late on a June night in 2020, amid a nail-biter of a GOP primary runoff, then-congressional candidate Tony Gonzales quickly turned a conversation with his campaign’s political director from casual to intimate. Gonzales texted that she was a “smart...
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Trump threatens Iran’s infrastructure
TEHRAN, Iran — President Donald Trump on Sunday made expletive-filled threats against Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, after U.S. forces rescued a wounded aviator whose plane, shot down by...
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Library attack renews scrutiny
Three weeks ago, a man with a documented history of severe mental illness allegedly carried out a sudden, near-fatal attack inside Austin’s Central Library — a case that has raised urgent questions about how the local criminal justice system handles...
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Artemis II members settle in on Orion
The Artemis II rocket was smoother than its astronauts expected. When the solid rocket boosters ignited, the crew thought the intense shaking would make it difficult to see telemetry or touch switches. But that wasn’t the case. The ride was very...
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Trump dismisses Bondi as his AG
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings...
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Abbott signals support for national voter list
Gov. Greg Abbott signaled his support Wednesday for President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing stricter rules on mail-in voting and creating voter databases for states, through which the federal government can decide who is eligible to vote and...
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Gulf drilling shielded from federal protections
Federal endangered species protections will no longer apply to offshore oil and gas drilling along the Gulf Coast after a committee nicknamed the “God squad” granted the industry a blanket exemption Tuesday, citing national security concerns. Six...
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Hemp shop dreams may go up in smoke
A few shelves inside iVape ATX on Guadalupe Street sit half-empty — an early sign of sweeping new Texas hemp rules set to take effect Tuesday. Owner Kaab Malik moves through the store, straightening what is left: rows of cartridges, scattered gummies...
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Iran to ‘facilitate’ aid through strait
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tehran has agreed to “facilitate and expedite” humanitarian aid through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Friday, even as it endures strikes on its nuclear facilities. Ali...
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Lost and found in a flood of memories
The little warehouse is mostly empty now. A table that once held bins of unclaimed possessions has been covered with a red-andwhite checkered plastic tablecloth. The small room where volunteers stored the belongings of young campers, shielded with...
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Could veterans help turn Texas blue?
Republicans have long counted veterans as reliable GOP voters. But U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who has made multiple trips to Texas this month, is working to bring them into the Democratic fold ahead of the upcoming midterms as...
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Ex-defense secretary: No good Iran options
America doesn’t have many good options in its war with Iran, according to James Mattis, former defense secretary and retired Marine Corps general who spoke Monday in Houston at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference. He used the Texas coastline to...
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Trump says Iran eager for a deal to end war
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. was talking with an Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz...
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U.S., Iran trade threats on infrastructure, oil
ARAD, Israel — The United States and Iran threatened to target critical infrastructure Sunday as the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week, puts lives and livelihoods at risk throughout the region. Iran said the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to...
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A long goodbye for many AISD teachers
On the first Monday of spring break, Andria Hyden sat at a table in the front room of her Round Rock home using a stylus to make notes on musical scores she had downloaded on her tablet. The scores she pored over were a mix of new and crowd pleasers....
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Mix of failures cited in horrific crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has released hundreds of pages of investigative documents showing that a truck driver accused of causing a deadly Interstate 35 pileup last year in North Austin had been issued the wrong type of commercial...
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Filing accuses DA of misconduct
When veteran police defense attorney Doug O’Connell filed a motion this week accusing Travis County District Attorney José Garza of misconduct, the explosive allegation spread quickly online among the Democratic prosecutor’s most vocal pro-police...
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Both sides in war ratchet up attacks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel killed Iran’s intelligence minister as it kept up its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s top leadership and reportedly attacked an Iranian offshore natural gas field Wednesday, as the war escalated pressure on...
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2 Iranian leaders killed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow aimed at further weakening the Islamic Republic’s leadership as it faces its greatest test in decades. Iran, which confirmed both...
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Prayers answered with reunion
After spending 22 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, Carmen Mejia spent her first morning of freedom walking the leafy streets of East Austin, holding her daughters’ hands. That Wednesday, the rain clouds had cleared and the sun shone...
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Legal status rule for licenses strands workers
Iris Yanez spent 12 months and $13,000 working toward a Texas hairdresser’s license. By the time she finished the requirements in early February, a quiet policy change by the state had already made her ineligible. “I’m going to have two credentials...
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A city that requires capital
In 1988, Robert Thayer packed his keyboard, his cat and everything else he owned into a Ford LTD coupe and drove east from El Paso to Austin. Like a lot of young musicians at the time, he had heard the same promise: if you wanted to make it in music,...
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2,500 Marines ordered to Mideast
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The American military has ordered 2,500 Marines and an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Friday, in a major addition of forces in the region after nearly two weeks of war with...
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Proposed THC rules concern advocates
The final version of previously proposed regulations on THC, which align with Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order cracking down on hemp, is set to go into effect at the end of the month. Last week, the Texas Department of State Health Services adopted...
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SXSW’s ‘prove it’ year
Some pundits sounded the death knell for the South by Southwest Conference and Festival after it condensed its schedule and dropped its second weekend following the 2025 event. But organizers say the festival will return to Austin next year. Though...
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Exonerated after 20 years — now facing ICE detainer
Carmen Mejia should have walked out of a Travis County courtroom Monday a free woman. Instead, the 54-year-old — formally exonerated of killing a baby in 2003 — was returned to the Travis County jail, where she is waiting to see whether federal...
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Austin on high alert as SXSW begins
Ryder Harrington and Savitha Shan never made it home from their night out on West Sixth Street. A gunman opened fire along the bar-lined street early on March 1, killing both of them and wounding 16 others in a burst of violence that stunned the...
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Slain Iranian leader’s son named successor
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor, Iranian state TV announced Monday, as the war that began a little over a week ago with his father’s killing took a dramatic turn. The...
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How horror erupted at Buford’s
For thousands of people each weekend, a night out in Austin ends at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden downtown. The bar’s electric atmosphere on West Sixth Street draws University of Texas students, Austin visitors and longtime patrons celebrating with...
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‘He’s gone, but I hope his legacy lives’
CHICAGO — From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent church pastors, stories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s influence on politics, corporate boardrooms and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil...
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Audio, video paint picture of chaos
Austin police on Thursday released a trove of audio and video recordings and other information that together provide the clearest public picture yet of how Sunday’s mass shooting erupted and ended along West Sixth Street — and revealed that 19 people...
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Showdown heating up for U.S. Senate seat
Not long after the predawn call by news outlets that state Rep. James Talarico had won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, rival Jasmine Crockett conceded defeat and urged her supporters to rally around the newly minted nominee for the sake...
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57-second response to scene ‘saved lives’
When shots rang out on West Sixth Street early Sunday, Austin police officers and medics arrived at Buford’s bar in 57 seconds — unusually fast for a police department often criticized for its slow response times. City leaders praised the swift...
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Death toll to rise
As federal and local investigators continued examining what prompted Austin’s largest mass shooting in six decades, authorities on Monday identified Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, as two of the victims killed in Sunday’s...
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3 dead, 14 injured in Austin mass shooting
Austin saw its worst mass shooting in six decades in the wee hours Sunday when a lone gunman opened fire on a bar-lined section of West Sixth Street, killing two people and hospitalizing 14 others. The suspect was later identified as Ndiaga Diagne, a...
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IRAN ATTACKED
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A major attack launched by Israel and the United States killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Donald Trump said Saturday, announcing an assassination that he said gave Iranians their “greatest...
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In Corpus, Trump touts falling prices
CORPUS CHRISTI — President Donald Trump continued his efforts to reframe the discussion around the American economy, insisting prices are coming down and scoffing at the idea that “affordability” is an issue in the midterm elections. “The price of...
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Clinton testifies that she never met Epstein
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told members of Congress on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s or Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill...
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