Unearthed photo of Swalwell meeting with top CCP official raises alarm bells

FIRST ON FOX: A previously unreported 2013 Facebook post by China’s San Francisco consulate shows then-freshman Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., touting “great potential” for U.S.-China cooperation during a meeting with a senior CCP diplomat, which came during the same time period when Swalwell was allegedly targeted by Chinese espionage efforts.

The 2013 photo, which was unearthed by Fox News Digital and “liked” by Christine “Fang Fang” Fang, a Chinese national who was suspected of being a Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operative and who was reportedly working closely with Swalwell’s campaign helping with fundraising, showed Swalwell posing with Song Ru’an. 

At the time of the photo, Ru’an was the Deputy Consul General at China’s Bay Area consulate in San Francisco. He would subsequently be tapped to serve as the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong until at least 2021. 

“The United States and China have a lot in common and the two economies are highly complementary. There are great potential for the two countries to cooperate,” Swalwell said at the meeting according to the picture’s caption posted by the Chinese consulate. “I will work actively to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and I’m looking forward to visiting China in the near future.”

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The unearthed photo comes a couple of weeks after Fox News Digital reported on a California-based law partner for a Beijing law firm donating thousands of dollars to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign. Like Keliang “Clay” Zhu, Ru’an has a history of supporting interests contrary to American priorities. Ru’an served as one of China’s leading officials in Hong Kong between 2015 and 2021, and was a vocal critic of a 2019 U.S. Human Rights and Democracy Act aimed at protecting Hong Kongers from China’s authoritarian crackdown on its dissidents that only a single Republican member of Congress voted against. 

Ru’an blasted the bill at the time as the “the epitome of hegemony” and warned it went against American interests, according to the South China Morning Post. Ru’an also reportedly slammed the moves as a “negative and disgraceful role” the U.S. was playing in China’s domestic issues. 

Ru’an emerged as a central figure in Hong Kong during China’s national security crackdown there that began boiling over in 2020, 2021 and subsequent years. According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Ru’an told foreign media outlets to “inject positive energy” into coverage about new extradition laws China was imposing on Hong Kong in 2019. Multiple briefings from both previous and subsequent years showed similar efforts by Ru’an to “guide” media coverage in favor of China. 

In 2018, he met with members of the American media to discuss how the “One Country, Two Systems” framework between Hong Kong and China is vital to U.S.-China trade relations.

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Prior to Ru’an’s work on behalf of the Chinese government in Hong Kong, while serving as Deputy Consulate General at China’s San Francisco consulate, public reports said Ru’an and other consular officials sent letters and traveled to Oregon in an attempt to prevent the creation of a mural highlighting China’s human rights abuses against Tibetan people. Prior to working in San Francisco, Ru’an held multiple CCP roles back in China, including at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Swalwell’s team declined to provide any comment for this story. The San Francisco Chinese Consulate did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“It’s bad enough that certain California special interests are pushing redistributionist tax policies straight out of a communist manifesto. Now one of the state’s leading gubernatorial candidates has been caught cozying up to the Communist Chinese Party again,” GOP strategist Colin Reed said. “California’s next governor needs to have the intelligence, judgment and character to stand up to the CCP, especially when it comes to empowering American innovators with a common sense regulatory environment that allows them to grow.”

“I know first hand what it’s like to live under a communist regime. One-party rule by an authoritarian Communist Party: that’s not theoretical for me, and for years I have expressed my disgust at the establishment strategy of ‘engaging’ with the communist regime in China in the hope that this would one day move them towards freedom and democracy,” Republican California gubernatorial candidate and Former Fox News host Steve Hilton told Fox News Digital.

“These people never give up power voluntarily and they are always on the look-out for the ‘useful idiots’ and gullible stooges who they can target with their influence operations. Seems like they found the perfect mark in Eric Swalwell, and it’s somewhat alarming that the poor judgment is still being repeated, as we learned with the recent revelations about CCP-linked donations to his campaign,” he added.

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Swalwell served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) when news broke of his ties to Fang Fang, who “liked” the photo posted in 2013 of Swalwell and Ru’an. Swalwell’s role on the influential intel committee was one that dealt with sensitive national security matters other members of Congress are not privy to. Now, he is asking voters to elevate him to governor of a state at the center of U.S.-China trade and tech. 

Earlier that same year, Swalwell attended an event hosted by the California State University, East Bay Chinese Student Association, a group that was led by Fang Fang, to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that Beijing uses diplomats and influence networks like the United Front to cultivate relationships with American politicians, making even routine-looking interactions politically combustible when they involve a lawmaker already shadowed by foreign-influence scrutiny.

“Swalwell met Fang Fang when he was on the city council. He continued a long relationship with her and she would direct him. She directed interns in his office,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News Digital. “And it wasn’t just Swalwell who had knowledge of her. I believe people in his family became friends with her as well. But his activity and his behavior is very disturbing.”

“The report that I received, he never should have been on Intel,” McCarthy told Fox News Digital, citing the briefing he and other senior level members of Congress received after news broke about Swalwell, Fang Fang and the alleged influence operation she was part of. “The knowledge that I have of what transpired and the actions that he has done and the behavior, especially when he’s gone to other countries, I would be very leery of him in any position of that can have sensitive information. The recklessness in which he lived his life, the reports that have come back, I think it would be hard for him to ever even be considered as a governor candidate, period.”

A handful of current and former intelligence officials told Axios in 2020 that they believed Fang Fang, who also goes by Christine Fang, was part of an influence operation run by China’s Ministry of State Security between roughly 2011 and 2015. The outlet reported that Fang Fang gained proximity to political power through campaign fundraising and networking, adding that she engaged in sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, and was also targeting elected officials in California.

Swalwell’s earliest ties to Fang Fang began in 2012 when he was seen posing in a photo with her during his time as a council member for Dublin City, California. The reported “student event” was attended by Fang Fang, who Axios indicated was a leader for her school’s Chinese Student Association and its Asian Pacific American Public Affairs chapter. The pair was identified posing in another photo together the following year at a Chinese New Year banquet held at Fang Fang’s college.

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Meanwhile, between 2013 and 2014, Fang Fang helped fundraise at an event for Tulsi Gabbard, according to a flyer of the event she shared on Facebook, and also volunteered for Rep. Ro Khanna’s, D-Calif., failed House bid, other social media posts and talks with a former organizer indicated, according to Axios. Fang Fang appeared in photos with Swalwell, Khanna, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and others across a period of several years around this time as well. According to an intelligence official and a Bay Area politico, Fang Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 campaign and allegedly helped place an intern in his office, while also interacting with the California congressman at multiple events across several years.

Eventually, U.S. intelligence officials became so concerned with Fang Fang’s activities that they alerted Swalwell and other members of Congressional leadership in 2015. At the time, Pelosi was serving as House Minority Leader while McCarthy was the House Majority Leader, but McCarthy indicated he was not briefed then. Meanwhile, Swalwell  immediately cut ties with Fang Fang upon the defensive briefing, sources speaking to Axios said. McCarthy has questioned how long Pelosi knew about Swalwell’s ties to Fang Fang, and whether she was aware of them prior to appointing him to the influential House intel committee. 

Shortly after Axios broke its investigation of Swalwell’s ties to Fang Fang in 2020, top-level Democrats and Republicans, including then-House Minority Leader McCarthy and then-House Speaker Pelosi, received further briefings on the matter, which was followed by GOP calls for Swalwell to be removed from the HPSCI. The high-level committee exercises primary congressional oversight over the U.S. intelligence community and is privy to classified information other members of Congress are not.  

Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing and a multi-year congressional ethics report backed that assertion and did not take any further action against the congressman over his questionable associations.

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In 2021, House Republicans attempted to formally remove Swalwell from the House intel committee, but Democrats had the power and killed the bill. Upon the power in Congress shifting to Republican hands the following Congressional session, then-Speaker of the House McCarthy rejected Swalwell’s attempt to maintain his seat on the powerful committee and he was pushed out in 2023.

McCarthy said he wasn’t trying to take advantage of the opportunity to “punish” Democrats, but, rather, was so alarmed by Swalwell’s behavior that he felt it was necessary to protect national security. 

“Based upon my classified knowledge, and based upon being Speaker – the reports that have come to me are very disturbing, his continual actions and behavior,” McCarthy added. “I don’t understand how a man like him would consider running just based upon that knowledge.” 

Former gymnast says Megan Rapinoe is ‘full of it’ on the trans issue

Jennifer Sey slammed The ACLU and Megan Rapinoe after the organization posted a video as a part of their latest campaign standing with transgender athletes. 

She said the video made her “so angry.” Sey is a USA National artistic gymnastics champion, and the founder of XX-XY Athletics, an activewear company that advocates for protecting women’s sports and spaces.

For their “More Than A Game” campaign, the ACLU posted a video in support of transgender athletes. On its website, the group says it is standing with trans youth and their families and their rights to “be themselves.”

“Supporting trans youth, isn’t just about sports. It’s about freedom,” the video says. The video includes former Team USA women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe, former WNBA player Sue Bird, and WNBA player Brianna Turner.

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Talking to Fox News Digital, Sey did not hold back.

“Sports aren’t about any of those things. Sports are about competition. Sports are not about inclusion. Not everybody makes the team.”

“Sports are competing and striving to get better, and it’s about self-reliance and picking yourself up when you fall down. They’re not about freedom. There’s rules in sports. Three strikes and you’re out. There’s rules across every single sport. So I don’t know what these people are talking about and to make it about this idea that sports aren’t about competition.”

This comes as the Supreme Court is weighing new cases regarding protections for female athletes. The ACLU is standing with trans athletes.

Also seen on the campaign site, is Becky Pepper-Jackson. Jackson is a track and field athlete who was banned after West Virginia banned transgender athletes in girls’ sports, a case currently being heard by the Supreme Court. In 2021, they sued the state to block its law that prohibits biological males from competing in girls’ sports.

She has identified as female since third grade and has been taking puberty-blocking medication.

This past year, Pepper-Jackson qualified for the West Virginia girls high school state track meet, finishing third in the discus throw and eighth in the shot put in the Class AAA division.

Although she is officially listed in court papers as B.P.J., her mother and ACLU lawyers have publicly identified her by Becky’s full name.

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Sey argued that allowing biological boys in girls’ sports would make sports unfair for girls.

“Male advantage is greater than performance-enhancing drugs,” she said to Fox News Digital. 

Sey said Rapinoe would have wanted a fair playing field during her time in soccer.

“Megan Rapinoe has to be one of the most competitive women on the planet. She was on Olympic teams and World Cup teams. She’s one of the most famous soccer players ever. She’s full of it. It just makes me angry, and she’s pulling up the ladder behind her. And I’m sure she would not have tolerated a single player taking performance-enhancing drugs because that provides an unfair advantage.”

Sey explained why the ACLU missed what sports is all about in the ad campaign.

“They’re twisting what competitive sports are about. If you want to be all about self-expression, then go enter a talent contest and sing. That’s not what sports are all about. So I find the ad infuriating.”

Sey emphasized that this must be pushed back on.

“We have to push back on it. We have take the culture back… It’s not fair. They’re asking these girls to erase themselves and to do it with a smile.”

Sey is concerned this is another example of an effort to erase girls.

“They’re asking them to accept their erasure and to allow boys to take their medals and their team opportunities and to do so politely. Well, we’re not going to do it,” she said.

Sey said being an athlete is not always fun and requires intense work and sacrifice.

“I trained as a gymnast for 15 years. I trained up to 10 hours a day. I trained on broken bones. I was up driving to practice in the dark. You give up a lot. I gave up basically any high school social experience, you know, proms and all of it. You do it because you love the sport, and you do it because you derive a real sense of pride, and you do it, because you’re competitive.”

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Sey said she did the work because she wanted to win, and she said Rapinoe also wanted to win.

Sey explained to Fox News Digital why she finds this “insulting.”

“Get out there and be the best you can be and find the best in yourself. There’s a real satisfaction that comes from that. And Megan Rapinoe knows that.”

Sey concluded, “every girl deserves fair competition.”

The high court cases are Little v. Hecox (24-38) from Idaho; and West Virginia v. B.P.J. (24-83). Decisions are expected by early summer.

The ACLU and Megan Rapinoe did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Fishing vessel with TV show captain disappears at sea as Coast Guard finds debris

The U.S. Coast Guard is frantically searching Massachusetts waters for survivors after a commercial fishing boat with seven people on board, including a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observer, sank Friday 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann.

Coast Guard watchstanders received an emergency position indicating a radio beacon (EPIRB) alert at about 6:50 a.m. registered to the 72-foot commercial fishing vessel Lily Jean.

USCG crews attempted to contact the boat, and after getting no response, issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB), according to officials.

USCG Northeast District launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod and a small boat crew from Station Gloucester to search the area.

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The Coast Guard cutter Thunder Bay was also diverted to assist the search. 

Rescue crews found debris near the location where the EPIRB was activated, along with a body and an unoccupied life raft.

The Coast Guard said crews will continue with the search and rescue response.

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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said the state has offered its full support.

“I’m heartbroken over the devastating news out of Gloucester about the sinking of the Lily Jean and have offered our full support to Mayor Lundberg, Harbormaster Lucido and the Coast Guard,” Healey wrote in a statement. “I am praying for the crew, and my heart goes out to their loved ones and all Gloucester fishing families during this awful time.

“Fishermen and fishing vessels are core to the history, economy and culture of Gloucester and Cape Ann, and this tragedy is felt all across the state.”

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The boat’s captain, Gus Sanfilippo, and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men,” highlighting a fishing expedition in dangerous weather conditions, according to a report from The Associated Press. 

Sanfilippo, a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, angled for haddock, lobster and flounder, according to the report.

State Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, told the outlet he was friends with the missing captain.

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“He’s a person that has a big smile, and he gives you a warm embrace when he sees you,” Tarr told the AP. “He is very, very skilled at what he does. … I’m going to make a prediction. Tonight, tomorrow and the days that follow, you’re going to see strength. The strength that has made this the most historic fishing port in the United States of America.”

Gloucester, Massachusetts, is a coastal city about 30 miles north of Boston, on Cape Ann.

Top social media platform under fire after pro-ICE post is removed as ‘hateful’

A conservative advocacy group is slamming the social media platform LinkedIn and conservatives online are threatening to ditch the site after the group’s post supporting President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown was temporarily removed in what the company called an error. 

“.@DHSgov is carrying out the essential task of keeping our country safe,” State Freedom Caucus Network posted on Jan. 27 on multiple platforms including X and LinkedIn. 

“Biden let over 10M illegal aliens enter our states, many being violent criminals and pedophiles. Every state must ensure collaboration with ICE and CBP to remove them. Our caucuses are on the frontlines leading their states to support @POTUS’s mission to keep Americans safe!”

On Thursday, SFCN revealed a screenshot showing that while the post was allowed by X, it was flagged as “hateful speech” by LinkedIn and removed.

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“Apparently protecting children is ‘hate,’ but letting actual predators roam free is fine,” SFCN wrote. “@elonmusk doesn’t censor us, but @LinkedIn does! We’ll be deleting our account as a result.”

Conservatives on social media quickly began calling out the social media company, co-founded by liberal megadonor Reid Hoffman before he sold the company to Microsoft, where he currently sits on the board.

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“Everyone delete LinkedIn,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “Just a garbage woke platform that provides little value.”

“How is wanting pedos off the streets hateful?? ?? Why are you censoring Conservatives?? @LinkedIn,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. “DELETE YOUR LINKEDIN ACCOUNT.”

A LinkedIn spokesperson pushed back, telling Fox News Digital: “This was removed in error, and we quickly corrected it.”

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Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, told Fox News Digital he received a “removal notice” via email and after the situation was posted on LibsofTikTok, he received another email saying the removal was an error.

“Initially, your post was removed for going against our policies,” Roth was told by LinkedIn. “As part of our review, we now find that your post doesn’t go against our policies and apologize for the mistake.”

Roth told Fox News Digital, “Yeah, right.”

“I guess wokeism is still alive and well, but we will continue to fight it. First step is to not engage on the LinkedIn platform ever again. Second step is to tell the world what they did.”

Conservatives have long decried censorship and perceived bias on social media platforms and although the post was reinstated within a few hours of being taken down, Daniel Cochrane, Heritage Foundation Senior Research Associate at the Center for Technology and the Human Person, told Fox News Digital the situation represents the “predictable model” that Big Tech platforms often operate under.

“Censor first and then ask for forgiveness later,” Cochrane said. 

“While platforms nearly always claim a ‘mistake’ or ‘miscommunication’ content moderation systems and processes operate in a black box,” Cochrane added. “The opaque nature of these systems leads to a dearth of accountability.”

Cochrane went on to say that even if platforms aren’t “explicitly targeting” a specific group or message, “liberal biases” can often be “baked into their algorithmic moderation systems disproportionately flag and demote conservative voices.”

“Without greater accountability, the status quo of arbitrary censorship is a feature of Big Tech platforms, not a bug.”

Most Costco shoppers never check one part of the store — a pricey mistake

The best deals at Costco aren’t necessarily where many shoppers are looking.

Jacquelyne Devine, a content creator from Pennsylvania who posts under the handle @costcojacque, spends a lot of her time investigating Costco offers. 

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While many Costco customers rush for the rotisserie chickens or bulk staples, she and other shoppers and fans, she said, have found the bakery to be the site of the warehouse’s biggest bargains. 

She shared some insights from her perspective. 

1. Try the loss-leaders in the bakery

Costco offers low-cost items in its bakery with prices that are tough to find elsewhere, Devine said.

This includes the Kirkland Signature 2-Pack Baguettes at $5.99 and the 12-count Kirkland Signature Butter Croissants, which typically sell between $5.99 and $7.99.

The past fall, the massive and seasonal pumpkin pie sold for $5.99.

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Devine described the pie as “a staple” in her house.

“I buy it for every holiday party,” she said. “My family and I are always impressed by how good it is.”

Devine called the filling “smooth and delicious,” saying “it feels like a steal for the size and quality.”

2. Meal-prep and freeze foods for later

Buying in bulk allows shoppers to get more mileage out of favorite food items.

“I freeze anything we will not eat right away.”

Costco’s croissants are a favorite for Devine. 

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“I regularly use them to make chicken salad sandwiches using Costco’s rotisserie chicken” for “an easy and affordable meal,” she said.

“As for stretching them, I freeze anything we will not eat right away.”

Devine said that when she takes the croissants out of the freezer, she microwaves them for 45 to 60 seconds.

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“I do the same with the muffins, and they hold up incredibly well,” she said. 

3. Consider sheet cakes for birthdays and anniversaries

The mother of three said Costco’s sheet cake is a go-to for her. 

“Using the order form in the bakery, you can place your custom order in advance, or pick up one of the pre-made options,” she said. 

The cakes, in her opinion, are “genuinely delicious,” she said. 

4. Try a few ‘indulgent’ items

Devine mentioned the “flavorful” raspberry lemon muffins. “They can be split in half to make them last longer.”

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She also suggested the six-count Blueberry Caramelized Cheesecake Croissant, though this costs more per unit than the regular croissants.

To her, the item is worth trying because “it’s indulgent and tasty.”

Devine said people should “not be intimidated” by items sold in bulk. 

“With freezing, planning ahead and knowing what stretches well,” the bakery offers “value and quality,” she said.

“The backbone of the Costco bakery is volume, whether through the sheer size of a single item or the number of baked goods per package,” notes Food & Wine.

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Also worth noting: “Not every item” in the bakery is “a winner,” according to Tasting Table — “because even America’s favorite wholesale superstore can’t do everything right.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene slams liberal host for mocking Don Lemon’s arrest

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defended the arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon Friday in connection to his coverage of an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.

“I don’t think that’s journalism. That’s not [the] First Amendment,” Greene said of Lemon’s involvement Friday on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

On Friday, federal agents arrested Lemon and charged him with civil rights crimes, including conspiracy to deprive civil rights and interfering with religious freedom.

Lemon livestreamed left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul’s Cities Church on Jan. 18 under the suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with ICE. 

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Greene appeared to be the sole defender of Lemon’s arrest on HBO’s late-night panel.

“It’s not good to arrest [Lemon],” Maher said.

The former congresswoman pushed back on Maher’s argument, citing the federal law that protects religious exercise at places of worship.

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“Well, I’m going to say he violated the FACE Act,” Greene countered. “He went into a church, disrupted their worship and then later in an interview compared them to White supremacists.”

“That’s not journalism,” Greene asserted. “That’s activism.”

“But does it warrant getting arrested?” Maher asked.

Greene went on to argue Lemon joined “activists” in “harassing people” in the middle of church, provoking children to cry.

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Meanwhile, Greene’s fellow panelist and MS NOW co-host Joe Scarborough took no fault with Lemon being “aggressive” in his reporting.

“I think there has to be sort of a differentiation between if somebody’s going in there and saying, ‘I’m not with them, can I ask you some questions?’”

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“Because you’re going to have embeds in war, you’re going to have embeds in protests,” Scarborough continued.

He went on to claim Lemon’s arrest was intended by the Trump administration to “scare” other journalists.

On Jan. 19, Lemon offered his team’s explanation for how he became “the face” of anti-ICE protests in Minnesota.

“My producers said, ‘Don, you’re a gay, Black man in America. And you have a platform, and you’re the biggest name,’” Lemon said on Jennifer Welch’s “I’ve Had It” podcast.

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He went on to blast “racist, bigoted homophobes” for singling him out after covering the protest in Cities Church.

“Of course you’re going to be the person that they single out, and they’re gonna make the headline because it plays to their base, and their base is full of racist, bigoted homophobes like Nicki Minaj, by the way,” Lemon added. 

The former CNN host was released without bond and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Minneapolis on Feb. 9.

Officials urge beachgoers to steer clear after long-buried shipwreck resurfaces

The remnants of a 19th-century shipwreck have emerged from beneath the sands of a New Jersey beach.

The ruins were recently found at Island Beach State Park, a narrow barrier island along the Jersey Shore in Ocean County.

In a Jan. 22 Facebook post, the state park identified the wreck as the Lawrence N. McKenzie — a cargo ship built in 1883.

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The 98.2-foot-long schooner was wrecked off the coast of the Garden State on Mar. 21, 1890, en route to New York City from Puerto Rico. Its homeport was Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The ship — and its entire cargo of oranges — was swallowed by the sea, though all eight crew members aboard survived.

Officials said the wreck was exposed due to rough surf and heavy winds in recent weeks.

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Rather than being washed ashore, the shipwreck emerged from beneath the beach due to shifting sand levels over time.

New Jersey’s coastline is constantly changing.

It’s shaped by wave action that can unearth long-buried artifacts, a spokesperson for New Jersey State Parks told Fox News Digital.

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“Several historic shipwrecks have been exposed at Island Beach State Park over the years,” the official said.

“Violators are subject to fines issued by the New Jersey State Park Police.”

“The Lawrence N. McKenzie has surfaced before, but not in more than a decade.”

Beach erosion is especially common during the winter. 

The official urged beachgoers not to disturb or touch the ruins of the shipwreck in order “to help preserve them for future generations.”

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“Removing natural or historic resources from lands administered by New Jersey State Parks is prohibited under state park code,” the individual also warned.

“Violators are subject to fines issued by the New Jersey State Park Police.”

The shipwreck’s exposure is not the only case involving 19th-century remains along the Jersey Shore that has drawn attention in recent months.

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Last May, researchers announced they had identified mysterious bones that were found on Atlantic County beaches in the 1990s, with additional remains found in Ocean County in 2013. 

The bones belonged to Henry Goodsell, the captain of another 19th-century schooner.

NFL owner ‘deeply regrets’ association with Jeffrey Epstein following document release

New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch addressed controversy surrounding his presence in the recently released files related to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein.

Tisch released a statement through the Giants, claiming he never traveled to Epstein’s infamous island.

“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments. I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with,” Tisch said.

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The Department of Justice’s Friday release of more than 3 million documents related to the investigation of Epstein included email exchanges from April 2013 and June 2013 between Tisch and the convicted sex offender.

Some of the exchanges between Tisch and Epstein appear to show conversations about women.

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Tisch’s family owns about 45% of the Giants. Alongside fellow co-owner John Mara, Tisch assumed control of the team in 2005 after his father had purchased a majority stake in the team in 1991.

Under Mara and Tisch’s co-ownership, the Giants won two Super Bowls and recently hired John Harbaugh as head coach.

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Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan federal jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019. His death was later ruled a suicide. 

He faced up to 45 years in prison for crimes related to the sex trafficking of minors.