Rome is set to introduce an entrance fee for the Trevi Fountain and five other sites, the Italian capital’s mayor announced on Friday.

Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said at a press conference that tourists will be expected to pay the new fees starting on February 1.

Rome residents will be afforded free access to the monument.

While the Trevi Fountain will still be viewable from a distance for free, tourists will have to purchase a €2 ($2.35) ticket to get a closer look.

Rome had already implemented restrictions in order to combat overtourism, with only 400 people allowed in the area around Trevi Fountain at a time.

Gualtieri (second from left) stressed that Rome residents will continue to be able to access the fountain free of chargeImage: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

The 18th-Century Baroque fountain is typically beset by dense crowds, with many people making a wish and tossing a coin into its water.

Gualtieri said that an average of 30,000 people visited the fountain per day this year, amounting to some nine million tourists between January 1 and December 8.

The other sites to introduce entry fees are the Villa of Maxentius — an imperial structure built in the 4th Century — the Napeolonic Museum, the Baracco Museum, the Carlo Bilotti Museum and the Pietro Canonica Museum.

Tourist Trevi Fountain coins help poor in Rome

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Italy grapples with overtourism

Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world, and Rome and other popular tourist destinations have introduced measures to curb mass tourism.

Rome’s Pantheon, a church and former Roman temple, introduced entrance fees in 2023.

In 2024, Venice, known for its iconic canals, began charging an access fee for day visitors during peak periods, doubling the price to €5 this year.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery

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As the United Nations adopted a resolution condemning Iran for its execution spree “in the strongest terms,” a leading dissident group released a report accusing Tehran of putting 2,013 Iranians to death under President Masoud Pezeshkian between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15 of this year.

The Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) report says this more than doubles the total of 975 executions that the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights counted in 2024. The U.N. noted that the 2024 figure was the highest recorded since 2015. The group counted a similar total of 1,001 executions in 2024.

According to MEK documents provided to Fox News Digital, a free-falling Iranian currency, nationwide protests, factional power struggles, “snapback” U.N. sanctions and fractures among leaders are stoking the increase in executions. The MEK says that this year’s execution total is the highest recorded since the 1980s.

IRANIAN-AMERICANS AND DISSIDENTS RALLIED AGAINST ‘MURDEROUS REGIME AGENTS’ AS IRAN’S PRESIDENT ADDRESSED UNGA

Pezeshkian accused the U.S. of a “grave betrayal” at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 24, 2025, in New York City. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

A State Department spokesperson condemned Iran’s continued abuse of human rights, telling Fox News Digital that, “We strongly condemn the Iranian regime’s use of execution as a tool of political repression.  For decades, the regime has subjected Iranians to torture, forced confessions, and sham trials, resulting in unlawful executions. Today, innocent civilians are being used as scapegoats for the regime’s military and economic failures.”

The spokesperson continued, “The Trump Administration restored the policy of maximum pressure, ending the Biden Administration’s policy of announcing fig-leaf sanctions while handing the regime billions.  Since January, we have designated dozens of people and over 180 vessels in Iran’s shadow fleet to deplete the regime’s coffers.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, the senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program, said there are more steps needed to be taken by Washington. He told Fox News Digital that the U.S. has “been lagging behind” other Western partners who have responded to Iranian human rights violations with sanctions and other measures, most recently Canada, which sanctioned four individuals after a protest in the Iranian city Mashhad in December.

“The lack of practical measures to support the Iranian people is a strategic own goal,” Taleblu said. 

Taleblu noted that Iran “arrested over 21,000 people” following the 12-Day War in June, alongside a “political repression that is even much more expansive than ever before.” He said that the Islamic Republic “understands how weak it is,” and any efforts to appear more socially lenient, including regarding hijab laws, are an attempt to “retain their oligarchic political position in a post-Khamenei Iran.”

A view of the entrance of Evin prison in Tehran, Iran Oct. 17, 2022. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

RILEY GAINES, MARTINA NAVRATILOVA LEAD SPORTS COALITION CONDEMNING IRAN’S DEATH SENTENCE OF BOXER JAVAD SANI

Noting the prior Trump administration’s strong stance on Iran, Taleblu says that “it certainly can do better much more cheaply and more cost effectively than it thinks.” Taleblu said that one “simple” messaging strategy will present itself in March during President Trump’s Nowruz address, when he can “give an homage to the most pro-American, the most pro-Israeli population in the heartland of the Muslim Middle East.”

“The imperative for Washington to support Iranian protesters… stands,” Taleblu said. “But that should be a constant in U.S. foreign policy, given the disposition of the Iranian street, which is almost entirely against the Iranian state. U.S. human rights policy towards Iran should not be limited to merely having social media accounts that are the stenographers for Iran’s decline into failed state status.” 

The MEK has urged U.S. policymakers to recognize the Iranian people’s right to resist and overthrow the regime, which they claim is the only means for eliminating the country’s theocracy.

On Dec. 10, the European Parliament marked International Human Rights Day by calling for the world to take action against Iran on account of its execution campaign. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, addressed the parliament with her concerns that Iran is attempting to crush dissent. She urged that “all relations with the regime must be conditioned on the halt of executions,” with members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence placed “on the terrorist list.”

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Nooses with red roses are displayed during the Anglo-Iranian community rally to support the Iranian people’s push for a new revolution. Members of the Anglo-Iranian community, along with supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), commemorated the 45th anniversary of the revolution in Iran that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime and eventually let to a theocratic Islamic republic in 1979. (Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Among those sentenced to death is Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer and mother who the MEK say was given her sentence after a “sham 10-minute trial… without her chosen legal representation.” MEK documents say Tabari was arrested because she held a banner reading “Woman, Resistance, Freedom.”

The total number of executions in Iran has doubled since October. At the time, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Iran was murdering up to nine prisoners each day, which they called an “unprecedented execution spree.”  In response, death row prisoners staged a hunger strike.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not offer comment on the report. 

Beth Bailey is a reporter covering Afghanistan, the Middle East, Asia, the United Nations, Central America and antisemitism. She was formerly a civilian intelligence analyst with the Department of the Army. You can follow Beth on X @BWBailey85

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Brian Glenn, the soon-to-be former White House correspondent for far-right network Real America’s Voice who recently became engaged to Marjorie Taylor Greene, exclaimed on Friday that he was “angry” over the MAGA infighting “bulls***” that was on full display at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference.

With the American conservative movement already embroiled in a simmering civil war over the rising prominence of white nationalist Nick Fuentes, the fractures within MAGA grew even more pronounced in recent weeks over right-wing provocateur Candace Owens’ conspiracy theories about TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

During the opening night of AmericaFest, Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro – the first speaker after Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, took the stage – tore into Owens and other “charlatans” who “traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.” Shapiro also took aim at Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon, blasting them as “frauds and grifters” who have shown themselves to be cowards.

“The people who refused to condemn Candace’s truly vicious attacks — and some of them are speaking here tonight — are guilty of cowardice,” Shapiro raged, later adding: “If you host a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse like Nick Fuentes … you ought to own it.”

Carlson, who has come under fire from much of the right for his extremely chummy interview with Fuentes, did not take Shapiro’s broadside sitting down in his own speech from the TPUSA stage.

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Brian Glenn criticized prominent MAGA personalities for continuing to blast each other during a Turning Point USA conference, expressing concern about the impact it will have on the 2026 midterms. (Real America’s Voice)

“That guy is pompous,” Carlson sneered, adding that he “laughed” at Shapiro’s speech while watching it in the green room. “To hear calls for, like, deplatforming and denouncing people at a Charlie Kirk event, I’m like, what?! That’s hilarious!”

As for Kelly, who credited herself for setting up the “detente” between Owens and Erika Kirk earlier this week, she snarked online that Shapiro had levied an “attack on yours truly” without having “a d*mn clue what has been going on behind the scenes for months.” In recent months, Kelly has faced increasing criticism for refusing to condemn Carlson and Owens amid their increasingly unhinged conspiracies.

Appearing on Real America Voice’s morning show on Friday, Glenn – no stranger to the bitter disputes tearing apart Donald Trump’s coalition – groused that the growing rifts within the Republican Party could lead to massive midterm election losses next year.

“I kind of wish we’d turn our attention to 2026 and the policies that actually affect Americans. All of this talk is great for talk radio, but it’s horrible in terms of winning the 2026 midterms,” Glenn declared.

“This does nothing to improve anyone’s life,” a rapidly agitated Glenn continued. “And if I seem a little angry about it, it’s because I am! We waste so much dadgum time on who said this, who said that, all these conspiracy theories.”

Asking if Americans’ lives are better than they were a year ago and whether they will have improved midway through Trump’s second term, Glenn said “those are the things I wish we’d talk about” before sounding off over the intraparty feuds roiling the GOP.

“All this other bull***, I’m sorry, I’m just over it! If I seem a little angry, I apologize, I’m just over it,” he grumbled. Of course, Glenn himself has been stuck in the middle of much of this splintering of Trump’s base.

Greene, who said yes to the RAV personality after he popped the question earlier this month, has found herself deemed a “traitor” by the president after she split with the administration and GOP leadership on several issues – namely the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and extending health care subsidies.

Because of the awkward position he’d been placed in over the bitter divorce between Trump and Greene, once one of the president’s most loyal and fiercest defenders, Glenn revealed that he would be leaving his position as Trump’s favorite White House reporter to move to Georgia when his fiancee officially leaves Congress next month.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Two new episodes of Taylor Swift’s The End of an Era docuseries are out now on Disney+
• In episode 4, Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are seen rehearsing to perform a mash-up at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans in October 2024
• Carpenter opens up about having a “big blonde moment” before the show

Sabrina Carpenter had a “big blonde moment” while preparing to hit the stage with Taylor Swift.

In episode 4 of Swift’s The End of an Era docuseries on Disney+, the 36-year-old pop superstar and Carpenter are seen rehearsing to perform a mash-up of “Espresso,” “Is It Over Now?” and “Please Please Please” at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans in October 2024.

While backstage in a green room before the big moment on stage, Carpenter spoke about realizing why Swift chose to include the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) track in between the “Tears” singer’s hits.

Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter in September 2023.

Kevin Mazur/Getty

“Okay, I felt like a real big idiot, ‘cause the first time you sent me the first version, which was so genius, it didn’t process that the ‘takeout coffee’ line really fits with ‘Espresso’ until I literally was in the car on the way here,” said Carpenter, who opened for many Eras Tour shows before the New Orleans appearance.

“I was like, ‘She’s so smart.’ But yeah, that was a big blonde moment for me,” she continued. “It took me a day.”

Swift responded, “No, but what are the chances it has the same rhythm and is in the same key?”

Elsewhere during the episode, the “Karma” singer spoke about what it’s like working with Carpenter, whom she featured on the title track of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.

“Sabrina is just like a shooting star,” said Swift. “She’s so smart, she knows exactly how to entertain people in the way that they want, in the moment that she’s in.”

Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift in February 2024.

Don Arnold/TAS24/Getty 

“She’s just like battling herself for No. 1 on the charts all summer,” added the 14-time Grammy winner. “And when you see that happen, you’re just like, ‘Go! Fly higher!’ And then it’s even cooler when, like, someone like this will circle back and, like, bless us with their magic.”

The third and fourth episodes of The End of an Era premiered on Friday, Dec. 19. The final two episodes will hit Disney+ on Dec. 23.

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Nick Reiner was suffering with worsening schizophrenia and became ‘erratic and dangerous’ when doctors changed his psych medication weeks before allegedly murdering his parents, insiders say.

Sources told TMZ that the accused killer was seeing a psychiatrist for his spiraling mental illness in the months before his Hollywood icon father Rob Reiner and his mother Michelle were found stabbed to death on Sunday. 

According to the outlet, insiders said that Nick’s behavior had become ‘alarming’ in recent times.

He had been attending a Los Angeles rehab facility that specializes in substance abuse, and charges a staggering $70,000 a month, the report said.

In the weeks before the alleged murders, doctors reportedly changed Nick’s medication which made him more erratic, as one source said Nick was ‘out of his head.’  

On Saturday night, Nick was brought by his parents to a star-studded holiday party hosted by Conan O’Brien, as his concerned parents reportedly wanted to ‘keep an eye on him.’ 

Guests at the A-list packed holiday party said Nick displayed ‘antisocial behavior’ including staring at attendees, and he and Reiner reportedly had a loud argument at the bash.

Insiders told Rolling Stone that Reiner and his wife Michele Singer asked if they could bring Nick to the party due to fears over his mental state, and at one point witnesses said Nick got into a heated moment with comedian Bill Hader. 

Nick Reiner was suffering with worsening schizophrenia and became ‘erratic and dangerous’ when doctors changed his psych medication, insiders say

Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer were found stabbed to death in their mansion on Sunday 

Nick attended Conan’s star-studded party with his parents on Saturday night, before Reiner and Singer were found dead in their $13 million California mansion on Sunday. 

At the time of Nick’s arrest, his sister Romy, 28, who discovered their parents bodies, told investigators her brother ‘should be a suspect’ because he was ‘dangerous.’

The Daily Mail exclusively revealed following the alleged murders that those around Nick saw him as a ‘ticking time bomb.’

Sources said that Nick’s drug use spiraled out of control after his parents threatened to kick him out of their home.

The troubled 32-year-old had been living in his parents’ guesthouse in Los Angeles for the past five years – where his behavior had become increasingly erratic and frightening, insiders claimed.

‘Nick had been living in their guesthouse, the same one he destroyed more than once, but it had been like a revolving door all his adult life,’ a source close to Reiner told the Daily Mail on Monday. 

‘He would do meth and not sleep for days and then have outbursts, breaking things, punching walls.

‘He was a ticking time bomb. His drug use was getting worse and his parents wanted him out,’ claimed the friend.

Reiner was arrested by the LAPD’s robbery homicide division with the help of US Marshals on Sunday night (pictured) 

Nick, seen in September 2025, has long struggled with mental health issues and substance abuse and had been open about his numerous trips to rehab 

Romy Reiner, seen with her brother Nick, discovered their parents bodies, and told investigators her brother ‘should be a suspect’ because he was ‘dangerous’ 

According to the source, Nick, who was one of three children, frequently laughed off the destruction he caused during drug-fueled episodes.

‘He used to brag how he could get away with anything and took money from his parents for drugs and prostitutes.

‘He would talk about this stuff in meetings, but then stopped going because he said it was too cultish,’ the source claimed. ‘He laughed about destroying his parents’ guesthouse more than once. He was so nonchalant about it.’ 

Nick appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday, and was formally charged with the murders of his parents. 

He waived his right to enter a plea, and his next hearing will be on January 7.

Investigators are still piecing together the whereabouts of Nick following the death of his parents – whose slain bodies were found in the master bedroom of their Brentwood mansion. 

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The BBC has lost the rights to broadcast the Commonwealth Games in a bidding process, which will instead be shown by TNT Sports when they head to Glasgow in the summer of 2026

17:36, 19 Dec 2025Updated 17:39, 19 Dec 2025

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be on TNT Sports(Image: David Ramos/Getty Images)

The BBC has lost the rights to show the Commonwealth Games after TNT Sports outbid the corporation. The BBC has shown the Commonwealth Games since 1954, but will not broadcast next year’s event in Glasgow.

The Commonwealth Games has been on the BBC for 18 games in a row, but the corporation admitted it “was unable to match” TNT Sport’s bid. TNT Sports is best known for showing the Champions League and will now dip a toe into athletics.

A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC has been proud to broadcast the Commonwealth Games over many years, but our bid was unable to match the financial offer from the market. We wish them every success for next year.”

Scott Young, executive vice-president at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “As a premium multi-sport broadcaster, we have a proven ability to connect sports fans and audiences with the world ’s biggest sports events and their athletes.

“We will bring this storytelling heritage and production expertise to the Commonwealth Games where our coverage of Glasgow 2026 will be comprehensive, immersive and accessible.

READ MORE: Darts star fails another drugs test and is booted out of World ChampionshipsREAD MORE: EFL club slam FA decision to ban captain for SEVEN games after investigation

“With coverage of every sport and athlete on our streaming platforms, we are confident our approach will celebrate the history of the Commonwealth Games while telling new stories of its competitors with unmatched energy and excitement.”

Katie Sadleir, chief executive of Commonwealth Sport said: “This is another landmark moment as we continue to re-imagine what a Commonwealth Games looks and feels like for athletes and fans alike. With a heavyweight broadcast partner like Warner Bros. Discovery onboard across the UK and Europe for Glasgow 2026 and the recent decision to award the 2030 Commonwealth Games to India, alongside strong interest for 2034, the future of our Movement has never been more secure.

“Our partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery opens up exciting new ways for fans to connect with the action. With more events available live and a strong focus on athlete storytelling, fans will be closer to the Games than ever before.”

The Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow next summer(Image: Euan Cherry/Getty Images)

Phil Batty OBE, chief executive of Glasgow 2026 said: “It is great to welcome Warner Bros. Discovery to the Glasgow 2026 family of broadcasters as the new home for the Commonwealth Games in the UK and Europe. In Scotland, we committed to a bold re-imagining of the Games, innovative, future focused and with sports fans at the centre of the action. The partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery will celebrate our athletes, embrace new content formats, and drive more hours of sport coverage for the Commonwealth Games than ever before.

“This broadcast partnership, secured by Commonwealth Sport, reflects our shared ambition to take coverage of the Games to new and growing audiences.

“With significant investment into the breadth and depth of content to be platformed for Glasgow 2026, we are hugely excited by the opportunity to collaborate with the talented team at Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a Games for a new era of Commonwealth Sport, and this partnership sets us up for an incredible showcase of sport in Glasgow next summer.”

Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package

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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.

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Officials say suspect, who died after falling from a building during police chase, carried out ‘indiscriminate attacks’.

Published On 19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025

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At least three people have been killed and five injured after a knife-wielding attacker went on a rampage in central Taipei, before dying during a police chase, local authorities say.

Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai said in a statement on Friday that the suspect had let off smoke bombs at Taipei’s main train station, and then ran to a nearby subway station in a busy shopping district, attacking people on the way.

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The attacks were “a deliberate act”, although the motive was not immediately clear, Cho said.

“He deliberately threw smoke bombs and wielded a long knife to carry out indiscriminate attacks on the public,” the premier added.

The suspect then died during a police chase after falling from a building, according to local officials.

Mayor Chiang Wan-an told reporters that the attacker had apparently jumped off the building “to evade arrest and has been confirmed dead”.

This picture taken and released by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on December 19 shows police patrolling at a metro station in Taipei, after attacks at two stations in the city [AFP]

Images released by Taiwan’s Central News Agency showed a canister on the ground at the Main Station, with officers examining potential evidence at the scene.

Identifying the deceased suspect only by his last name, Chang, Premier Cho told reporters that he had a prior criminal record and outstanding warrants and said his house has been searched.

“We will investigate his background and associated relationships to understand his motives and determine if there are other connected factors,” he added.

Taiwan police ramped up security across the island in response to the attacks.

“All important locations … including railway stations, highways, subway stations and airports are maintaining a high level of alert and vigilance,” Cho said.

Meanwhile, President William Lai Ching-te told reporters that the Taiwanese authorities would “quickly clarify the details of the case”.

“There will be no leniency and we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of our citizens,” he said.

Violent crime is rare in Taiwan, though an attack in 2014 horrified residents when a man went on a stabbing spree on Taipei’s metro, killing four people. He was executed for the killings in 2016.

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Colombia’s ELN guerrilla group has attacked a military base near Venezuela with drones and explosives, killing seven soldiers and wounding 30.

Founded in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN is the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, and controls key drug-producing regions of Colombia. Efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have repeatedly stalled.

The Thursday night attack on the rural military outpost in Aguachica, near the border with Venezuela, was the second deadly clash with security forces in a week. Two police officers were killed on Tuesday in
Cali.

“I categorically reject the ELN’s terrorist action using drones and launching of explosive devices against a Military Base … with the regrettable loss of 6 of our soldiers and at least about 28 soldiers wounded,” Pedro Sánchez, Colombia’s defense minister, wrote on social media early on Friday.

Videos circulating on social media showed wounded soldiers being brought into a local medical center on stretchers and in wheelchairs, and a fire reportedly caused by explosions at the military outpost.

In October, the United States imposed sanctions on Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, for his alleged reluctance to target armed cocaine-trafficking factions.

After taking power in 2022, Petro, himself a former guerrilla, attempted to engage well-armed cocaine-producing groups in talks, rather than conduct open warfare. But negotiations faltered.

Washington, conducting a campaign against alleged narco-trafficking off the coast of Venezuela, has warned Petro that he could “be next” over his country’s cocaine production.

Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer, according to the UN.

The ELN, which is present in over a fifth of Colombia’s 1,100-plus municipalities, vowed last week to fight for Colombia’s “defense” in the face of US “threats of imperialist intervention”.

The group has also built a growing presence in neighbouring Venezuela, where it is present in eight of the country’s 24 states, expanding its finances, territorial control and political influence, according to the Insight Crime research center.

While professing to be driven by leftist, nationalist ideology, the ELN is deeply involved in the drug trade and has become one of the region’s most powerful organized crime groups.

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Watch: “It’s finally happening” – Trump supporters on the potential release of the Epstein files

The US justice department will begin releasing long-awaited files related to Jeffrey Epstein as mandated by a new law, though not all documents would be made public on Friday, a top official says.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department expects to publish “several hundred thousand pages” initially, followed by more over the coming weeks.

The Friday deadline was mandated by a bill that got near-unanimous support in Congress, and was later signed into law by President Donald Trump, after he reversed his earlier opposition to its release.

The files relate to investigations into the disgraced late sex offender, but it’s likely that much of the content will be heavily redacted.

“We are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce making sure every victim — their name, their identity, their story, to the extent that it needs to be protected — is completely protected,” Blanche told Fox & Friends.

He said that the justice department will release more material in the coming weeks.

“So, today, several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said. “There’s a lot of eyes looking at these, so we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we’re producing, we’re protecting every single victim.”

Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ was given until 19 December to release the files.

The bill specifically mentions the government must release all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the DOJ’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.

Reuters

Leading up to its release, Democrats in the House have been releasing batches of documents and photos from Epstein’s estate without context.

Lawmakers say they have been sorting through a trove of 20,000 documents and 95,000 photos from Epstein’s estate.

Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia said in a press release that most of the documents arrived without context, and they have been working to redact potential victims.

The documents and images have featured several high-profile figures, including Trump, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and others.

But appearing in the photos or documents is not evidence of any wrongdoing, and many of the pictured men have said they were never involved in Epstein’s illegal activity.

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A Paris court on Friday rejected the French government’s request to suspend Chinese online platform Shein.

The government made the request for a three-month suspension after public outcry sparked by the presence on the platform of child-like sex dolls and other illicit items.

What did the court rule on the request to suspend Shein?

Besides child-like sex dolls, illegal weapons and banned medications were also found on the platform.

The court said in its Friday ruling that suspending Shein would have been “disproportionate,” as the offending products had been removed from the platform.

While acknowledging a “serious harm to public order” by the platform, it stressed that the sale of the illicit products had been “sporadic.”

“Only certain products on the marketplace were identified in these proceedings as manifestly illegal and harmful, while the [Shein] platform offers several hundred thousand items for sale,” the court said.

The court nonetheless ordered Shein to implement age-verification measures before resuming selling “sexual products that could constitute pornographic content.”

The firm welcomed the ruling, saying it was committed to improving its control processes.

French authorities launched an investigation into Shein after listings for illicit items were found on the platformImage: Gaspard Lamouret/SIPA/picture alliance

What are the proceedings against Shein?

France’s consumer watchdog and Finance Ministry began proceedings to suspend Shein on November 5.

The firm then responded by suspending third-party listings found on its marketplace, but continued selling Shein clothing through its website.

Late last month, the European Union used its “digital acquis” mechanism to demand more information on what the firm is doing to protect children after Paris urged EU sanctions.

France’s consumer regulator also found that illicit products had been sold through five other platforms — AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Joom and Temu.

Shein was founded in China in 2012 and is now based in Singapore. It maintains a large portion of its manufacturing and production in China.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery

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