First Thing: Trump tells Republicans to vote to release Epstein files, in reversal of previous stance

The US president says he backs lawmakers’ efforts to release the files before an expected House vote this week. Plus: is there a dark side to gratitude?

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Good morning.

Donald Trump has urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to vote for the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his previous resistance to such a move.

Why the sudden U-turn? The House was expected to vote to release the files anyway, as early as tomorrow. There has been fervent suspicion within Trump’s usually loyal Maga base that the administration is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect the rich elite with whom the financier associated – including Trump.

Has Trump made up with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been calling for the files to be released? No, he doubled down on his attacks against the Republican lawmaker, despite his reversal on resisting the release of the Epstein files. Greene, meanwhile, has said she hopes they can make it up.

What does Israel’s limited data tell us about the rate of detainee casualties? Israeli authorities only provided comprehensive data for the first eight months of the war. During this period, official figures show an unprecedented casualty rate among Palestinian detainees, on average one death every four days.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

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