Epstein gal pal Ghislaine Maxwell drops Trump, Clinton names in newly released transcripts
The Justice Department released hours of interviews between a top federal prosecutor and Ghislaine Maxwell, the only person convicted of or held civilly liable for a role in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sat down with Maxwell in a federal prison in Tallahassee, where she was being held until recently. In the interview, she denied having trafficked anyone or having witnessed any nonconsensual sexual activity or any sex involving minors.
She said she never witnessed President Donald Trump doing anything “inappropriate with anybody” and shot down claims that former President Bill Clinton had traveled to Epstein’s infamous island in the U.S. Virgin Islands and said the Clintons were her friends – not Epstein’s.
“I do believe that Epstein did a lot of, not all, but some of what he’s accused of, and I’m not here to defend him in any respect whatsoever,” Maxwell told Blanche. “I don’t want to, and I don’t think he requires, nor deserves any type of protection or – from me in any way, to sugarcoat what he did or didn’t do”
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WEIGHS RELEASE OF GHISLAINE MAXWELL INTERVIEW
EPSTEIN, MAXWELL GRAND JURIES RELIED ON TWO LAW ENFORCEMENT WITNESSES, DOJ FILING REVEALS
Authorities published hundreds of pages of transcripts as well as audio recordings of the interview on the DOJ website. The terms of the interview granted her limited immunity from further prosecution – unless she told lies.
Maxwell denied Epstein had a “client list” and said he did not maintain a stockpile of blackmail material against prominent associates.
This is one man. He’s not some – they’ve made him into this. He’s not that interesting. He’s a disgusting guy who did terrible things to young kids.
Maxwell also attempted to explain what she believes is the origin of claims that Epstein kept the “list.”
In 2009, she said Epstein had finished a slap-on-the-wrist sentence for child sex trafficking, but civil suits were pouring in, some from the law firm Rothstein Adler. A lawyer there called the FBI to say he had a “piece of evidence” that belongs to Epstein, she said. That was “the list,” she said, adding that she believes he became a confidential informant to the FBI.
She said he obtained the list through a sting operation involving Epstein’s former butler, who said in a deposition he had “handwritten notes, or a journal, whatever,” according to Maxwell.
Rothstein Adler was later raided by the FBI. Lawyers at the firm were prosecuted in connection with a number of alleged crimes, including money laundering, fraud, conspiracy, and a Ponzi scheme.
“This is one man,” Maxwell said. “He’s not some – they’ve made him into this. He’s not that interesting. He’s a disgusting guy who did terrible things to young kids.”
She reiterated past statements that she does not believe he killed himself, and she revealed Epstein told her he had a heart condition that prevented him from having normal sexual intercourse.
She said she met Epstein in the early 1990s and began working for him. She said their own sexual relationship stopped in 1999.
In one exchange, she told Blanche that she had grown to believe that Epstein wasn’t very into her.
“There was some indications that he would actively tell other people to lie to me or conceal things from me, and that he never loved me, and I wasn’t his type,” she said.
In the mid-to-late ‘90s, she said, Epstein began traveling increasingly with “masseuses.” According to Epstein’s accusers, he used massages as cover for sex.
“In the early ’90s, I don’t remember traveling so much with other people,” she said. “There would be a masseuse or a yoga person, but now he started to travel with more, always a masseuse.”
Also around that time, he began a testosterone dosage, she said.
“He started doing testosterone, and that altered his character,” she told Blanche. “And I believe that started in the late ’90s. And I believe that the FBI has his medical records and you may see that on his medical records.”
Another person she said she never saw act inappropriately is the UK’s Prince Andrew, a friend of Epstein’s who appears in an image with her and the late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, 17 at the time, that she said isn’t real.
“I believe it’s literally a fake photo,” she said of the infamous snap, purported to have been taken at her former London townhouse. “I do not know that they met.”
Giuffre died of suicide earlier this year. She had accused the royal of forcing her into sex inside Maxwell’s home in London’s ritzy Belgravia neighborhood. The prince was relieved of his royal duties amid fallout from the scandal but has always denied allegations of wrongdoing. He agreed to pay Giuffre an undisclosed settlement in 2022 and to donate to her charity for crime victims.
Maxwell also said she was not responsible for introducing Epstein to Andrew. She said they met at a dinner party in Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket in the late 1990s or early 2000s.
In a statement on Twitter, Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus alleged that she had only been convicted because the DOJ needed a scapegoat after Epstein died in jail before his case went to trial.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is innocent and never should have been tried, much less convicted, in this case,” Markus wrote. “She never committed or participated in sexual abuse against minors, or anyone else for that matter.”
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted at trial in 2021 of helping Epstein traffic teen girls.
She has an ongoing appeal and has signaled that she is willing to sit for interviews with both federal prosecutors and Congress.
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Epstein died in a federal jail cell in 2019 before he faced trial himself. His official cause of death has been ruled a suicide, a conclusion rejected by his brother.
The release came with little warning, days after federal judges denied the DOJ’s requests to unseal grand jury materials from both Maxwell and Epstein’s criminal cases.
Cracker Barrel criticized for abandoning traditional American values
Cracker Barrel is firmly in the crosshairs of consumer backlash, but conservative activist Robby Starbuck believes the negative reaction boils down to something deeper than just a new logo and reflects a broader abandonment of traditional American values.
Consumers quickly spoke out against Cracker Barrel after it unveiled a new logo that eliminated the image of a man leaning on a barrel and instead just has the restaurant’s name in black text over a yellow barrel-shaped backdrop. The chain also redesigned the interior of its restaurants, ditching the kitschy American aesthetic and replacing it with a slick modernist motif.
“The American people are sick of having our culture and heritage stripped from us,” Starbuck told Fox News Digital.
“All these things that are nostalgic Americana are constantly being stomped on, and we’re being told that there’s something wrong with it, that we should be ashamed of it in some way, that it needs to be replaced with something more inclusive or more driven by these DEI characteristics,” he continued. “I think people are just sick of it. We’ve had enough, and we don’t want our whole country stripped down to where we have no semblance of, you know, that sort of nostalgic Americana culture.”
CRACKER BARREL CUSTOMERS ‘HATE’ RESTAURANT CHAIN’S NEW LOOK IN VIRAL SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEOS
Starbuck, a Visiting Fellow for the Capital Markets Initiative at The Heritage Foundation who acknowledged that he is “pretty well-known at this point for turning companies away from wokeness,” believes Americans appreciate Cracker Barrel’s iconic, pre-remodeled decor.
“They feel at home when they’re around it,” he said.
Starbuck called Cracker Barrel’s changes “Brand Destruction 101,” and said the logo change was simply the tip of the iceberg.
“They’re trying to ditch their previous customers and vibe, right? They want to say, ‘No, we’re going to be fresh and modern,’” Starbuck said.
The conservative activist pointed to a pop-up event that Cracker Barrel hosted on Thursday in New York City that included line dancing and live country music. The “A Taste of Country, Anytime” event featured classic Cracker Barrel menu items, rocking chairs, games, line dancing and a performance by country music singer Jordan Davis, who starred in a new commercial for the company. The closest Cracker Barrel to New York City is about 45 miles away in Mount Arlington, New Jersey.
“We note that we had an opportunity to partner with Jordan Davis at this event while he was in town for the Today Show, similar to how we have brought the goodness of country hospitality to our guests with NASCAR races at Speedway tracks like Ft Worth, Atlanta, and obviously our home race in Nashville, the Cracker Barrel 400. These events are part of a larger initiative to bring our signature country hospitality to people all over the US whether they’re lucky enough to live close to a Cracker Barrel or not,” a Cracker Barrel spokesperson said.
CRACKER BARREL EXECUTIVE INSISTS RESTAURANT REMODELS ARE ‘WHAT THE GUESTS ASKED FOR’
“They’re essentially marketing to a clientele that doesn’t exist, right? Because there’s not a Cracker Barrel in New York City. So why are you doing this event there? And it’s about virtue signaling to a group of people that frankly don’t go to Cracker Barrel and never have gone to Cracker Barrel, don’t want to go to Cracker Barrel,” Starbuck said.
Starbuck revealed to Fox News Digital that he had previously been tipped off to “woke” issues inside Cracker Barrel and the attention surrounding the controversial logo change prompted him to dig a little deeper.
“What we found is really that they are totally out of alignment with their customer base,” Starbuck said.
Starbuck said he found “very concerning actions,” including a “deep and long-term association” with the Human Rights Campaign, which bills itself as a group that has “led the way in fighting for LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion” since 1980.
The HRC has wielded immense power in the corporate world in recent years with its Corporate Equality Index. The index, which, on its website, is defined as a “national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees,” would assign companies a score based on how inclusive the HRC determined they were to gay employees. Companies would then jockey to increase their scores by instituting more DEI-related policies, some of which, critics alleged, went too far.
CRACKER BARREL STOCK PLUNGES AMID LOGO CHANGE BACKLASH
The HRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cracker Barrel was originally given a score of zero when the CEI debuted in 2002. Later that year, the franchise added “sexual orientation” to its list of characteristics protected by its employment discrimination policy. Over time, Cracker Barrel’s score increased. It achieved a score of 80 in 2021 after it had taken some high-profile pro-LGBT stands.
Cracker Barrel told Fox News Digital it “has not participated in the Human Rights Campaign Index or had any affiliation with HRC in several years.”
“I don’t believe this was just about a logo change and a fresh new look. I think this was about rejecting what they see as sort of a redneck old image that they had, right? And it’s a slap in the face of their customers, because there’s nothing wrong with the image that Cracker Barrel already had,” Starbuck said. “That’s where you see a big separation between the executive class and the American people.”
As an example, Starbuck posted a packet on creating safe spaces he said was distributed within its corporate offices in “recent years,” which talked about not tolerating “heterosexist, cisgenderism comments and actions.”
Cracker Barrel said the image wasn’t part of a company training.
“We note that image [shown] is not part of any Cracker Barrel training,” a spokesperson said. “Cracker Barrel’s trainings focus on educating leadership and employees on business practices and policies and include required training under federal, state, and local law.”
STEAK ‘N SHAKE SLAMS CRACKER BARREL CEO FOR ELIMINATING ‘OLD TIMER’ FROM LOGO: ‘WE TAKE PRIDE IN OUR HISTORY’
Cracker Barrel has stood by its recent moves and said 87 percent of respondents in their research either loved or liked the new logo.
“Our values haven’t changed, and the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven’t changed,” a spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital.
“And Uncle Herschel remains front and center in our restaurants and on our menu. He is the face of ‘The Herschel Way,’ the foundation of how our 70,000-plus employees provide the country hospitality for which we are known,” the spokesperson continued. “Cracker Barrel has been a destination for comfort and community for more than half a century, and this fifth evolution of the brand’s logo, which works across digital platforms as well as billboards and roadside signs, is a call-back to the original and rooted even more in the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all back in 1969.”
A spokesperson also said the feedback from guests and team members has been “overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic about the refreshed dining and shopping experience,” but a “vocal minority” may feel differently.
Cracker Barrel did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
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1,700 National Guard troops mobilizing across 19 states for Trump-backed operations
Up to 1,700 National Guardsmen are set to mobilize in 19 states in the coming weeks to assist the Department of Homeland Security with President Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and crime, Pentagon officials confirmed to FOX News.
Documents obtained by FOX News show planning for activations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming – with status effective from August through mid-November. Texas is projected to host the most significant Guard presence.
The National Guard soldiers being mobilized will effectively serve as a support pillar to a sweeping federal interagency effort, while also serving as a visible deterrent force, a U.S. Defense official said. The service members supporting ICE will be preforming case management, transportation, logistical support, and clerical functions associated with the processing of illegal migrants at the facilities. “The in-and-out processing may include personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody,” the official said.
TRUMP JOINS POLICE AND MILITARY FORCES IN WASHINGTON STREETS
President Trump has indicated in recent days his administration aims to broaden the DC operation to other states, telling a group of federal agents and National Guard troops at a DC patrol center Thursday, “We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places.”
On Friday in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I think Chicago will be our next. And then we’ll help with New York,” Trump said.
A U.S. Defense official told FOX, “We won’t speculate on further operations, but can tell you that the department is a planning organization and continues to work and plan with other agency partners to protect federal assets and personnel.”
Fewer than 2% of the authorized forces have mobilized so far, but missions coordinated under state governors are projected to expand in the coming weeks – including in Virginia, where approximately 60 soldiers and airmen will begin training August 25th to begin duty by early September, the Virginia National Guard confirmed.
“VNG personnel will not conduct law enforcement functions, and VNG support will not include making arrests,” a spokesperson for the Virginia National Guard tells FOX. “VNG Soldiers and Airmen will report directly to ICE leadership at their assigned duty locations but remain under the control and direction of the Virginia Governor and Adjutant General of Virginia.”
The deployment of National Guard troops — a state-controlled reserve force — will allow the U.S. military to provide a more direct role in supporting federal immigration enforcement amid as the Trump administration pushes forward with mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASSIGNS MILITARY ATTORNEYS TO PROSECUTE DC CRIMES AMID FEDERAL CRACKDOWN
Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, use of the military for civilian law enforcement is limited – but the National Guardsmen will be mobilizing under Title 32 Section 502F authority, to which Posse Comitatus does not apply. At the request of DHS, in July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved hundreds of additional forces for DHS-ICE Interior Enforcement support, and switched existing approvals from Title 10 to Title 32 status.
“We understood ICE’s needs at that time to be more administrative in nature…as planning continued, working with our partners, it became clear more that ICE needed something different,” a U.S. defense official told FOX.
Service members supporting ICE will be performing case management, transportation, clerical functions, and logistical support – which may include data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swapping, and photographing of personnel in ICE custody.
“As you can imagine and appreciate, some of those start to get close to that law enforcement line. So it’s best that these people are in a Title 32 status so that we are absolutely staying within the law of what we’re doing and providing the appropriate support,” the official said.
Most deployments remain in the planning and coordination stage with DHS and governors, but documents show operations beginning in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada during the first week of September.
“Under Title 32, the guardsmen are under the command and control of their governors. So, it’s up to the governors when they’ll bring those forces …as the governors and the states coordinate with DHS, that timeline will differ state by state,” the defense official said. Vermont declined to activate its National Guardsmen, despite the authorization from the Pentagon to assist the DHS-ICE Interior Enforcement Mission.
HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE
The news comes as almost 2,000 National Guard soldiers from Washington DC and six states have been deployed to support law enforcement in Washington DC. Under direct presidential authority, Guard members were assigned to posts at monuments, checkpoints, and traffic stops in all eight wards, with a mission focused on deterring crime and keeping a visible security presence around the city.
At the authorization of Secretary Hegseth, those National Guard members can now carry weapons if needed for their individual tasks. But DC is different under Title 32. For the states it would be up to the individual governors who act as command and control.
A U.S. Defense official said while the mobilizations in 19 states and activation of DC National Guard both fall under President Trump’s larger directive protecting territorial integrity and immigration policies, the missions are distinct and separate.
“The big question is how long do we stay? Because if we stay, we want to make sure it doesn’t come back. So we have to take care of these criminals and get them out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
Officials have tied the effort in Washington DC to beautification ahead of next year’s 250th Independence Day celebration. But President Trump has hinted he may request the Guard stay in DC for an extended period of time, and then take the operation to other parts of the country.
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“We’re not playing games. We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places,” Trump said to a crowd of National Guardsmen and federal law enforcement at a DC patrol center this week.
Loni Anderson’s cause of death confirmed weeks after ‘WKRP’ actress passed away
The cause of death of actress Loni Anderson, known for her starring role in “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has been revealed.
In a death certificate obtained by TMZ, Anderson’s cause of death was confirmed to be metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma, with no other contributing factors listed.
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma “is an extremely rare form of cancer” which starts in the uterus and can spread to other parts of the body, most notably “the lungs and liver often causing life-threatening complications.”
Anderson’s longtime publicist confirmed to Fox News Digital the actress died on Aug. 3 at the age of 79. Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged” illness, her publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. She was surrounded by her loving family.
‘I DREAM OF JEANNIE’ STAR BARBARA EDEN FEELS VERY LONELY AFTER DEATH OF PAL LONI ANDERSON
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.
Having grown up in St. Paul, Minnesota, Anderson always dreamed of being an actress, and moved to Hollywood in 1975 to start her career. She spent the next few years appearing in various television shows, including “The Love Boat,” “Three’s Company” and “The Incredible Hulk,” before cementing her status as a leading lady as Jennifer Marlowe in “WKRP in Cincinnati” in 1978.
“I remember we all did posters back then. Everybody always asks me, ‘What made you do a poster?’ I would say, ‘Because someday my grandchildren will look at this. And I’ll be able to tell them that I really looked like that. What you saw is what you got,” she told Fox News Digital in 2021.
“But you know, I had this discussion with Ann-Margret. Will there ever be a time when our names won’t be followed by ‘bombshell’ or ‘sex symbol?’ It becomes a part of your name,” she continued. “And you know, I’d never thought I would reach that point. I was so serious. I was doing ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ for 53 weeks on tour. I never thought I would be Loni Anderson, sex symbol. But I embrace it. I think I was lucky enough to have been able to play so many different things and sex symbol was a part of it. I took whatever my career threw at me. So I embrace it. And my granddaughters think it’s a hoot!”
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Following her death, “I Dream of Jeannie” star and longtime friend of Anderson’s, Barbara Eden, told Fox News Digital she feels “very lonely now that she’s not here,” explaining “she was just a very special, kind, sweet, good mother” and that “you can’t say anything bad about her.”
The two met in 1981 while filming a special for comedian Bob Hope. Eden recalled running into Anderson backstage after putting on her costume, which she referred to as “ugly.”
“I walked out of the hallway, and there was Loni. She looked at me and said, ‘You can’t wear those!’” the 93-year-old laughed. “’You’ve got to tell them, go tell them. You’re going to change them.’ I didn’t even know her then. But we had such a good laugh later about it. And I did go and say, ‘I’ll have the skin-colored hosiery, not white!’ I think she was just really what my mother would call ‘a good egg.’”
Eden went on to say that Anderson “is still remembered for being a beautiful, kind, just wonderful human being.”
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“I’m so happy that I got to know her and that we were friends. She was just everything fun. You wouldn’t think a glamour girl like Loni would be fun. But she was fun and funny. And she was also a really good mother. Her daughter is a school principal, and her son was just adorable. I’ve met him many times. She just did a good job with everything.”
Anderson adopted her son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, in 1988, with her then-husband, actor Burt Reynolds.
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Teams were told not to draft Shedeur Sanders amid historic slide, says ex-star
Shedeur Sanders‘ slide to the fifth round of the NFL Draft was the subject of widespread controversy and speculation, even by President Donald Trump, in April.
Now, Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson is claiming that teams were “told not to” draft Sanders to “make an example” out of the quarterback.
“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL that the NFL told [teams] don’t draft him, do not draft him,” Dickerson said in an interview on the “Roggin and Rodney” show on AM 570 LA Sports on Thursday. “‘We’re going to make an example out of him.’ And this came from a very good source, a very good source.
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“They were going to have him not get drafted to basically show you ‘this is what happens when you do this.’ I mean, look, the NFL’s got all kinds of power, they do all kinds of stuff.”
Sanders was eventually taken by the Cleveland Browns on the third and final day of the draft with the 144th pick. The quarterback was initially considered a possible contender for the first overall pick early in the draft process after finishing his final season at Colorado.
Dickerson claims the Cleveland Browns were told to draft Sanders, but did not say who told them to do it.
“He said that – I won’t say who – somebody called the Cleveland Browns and said ‘don’t do that, draft him,'” Dickerson said. “Because they weren’t going to draft him either… They were forced into drafting him because somebody made a call to them.”
Fox News Digital can not independently verify the truth of Dickerson’s claims. Fox News Digital has reached out to the NFL for a response.
Sanders’ slide out of the first round shocked many, including Trump, who sent a post on Truth Social condemning the league’s owners for passing on the quarterback.
“What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID? Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart! Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness,” Trump wrote. “He should be “picked” IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN. Good luck Shedeur, and say hello to your wonderful father!”
Then, once Sanders fell out of the second and third round the following day, the online discourse ramped up even more.
EX-NBA PLAYER MAKES SHEDEUR SANDERS-LEBRON JAMES COMPARISON AFTER QB’S PRESEASON DEBUT
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said on-air after the third round ended, “I think it’s disgusting. I don’t understand what the heck’s going on with this.”
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith revealed a text message from an associate who compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick being out of the NFL since 2016, suggesting “collusion” was occuring.
“‘This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion,'” Smith said the text read, adding that the situation goes beyond “talent evaluation.”
“All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”
Once Sanders was finally taken by the Browns, the team’s general manager Andrew Berry even admitted that the organization wasn’t planning to take two quarterbacks, after it selected fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel earlier in the draft.
“It wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but, you know, as we talk about, we do believe in best player available. We do believe in positional value. And we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round,” Berry said.
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Sanders earned the praise of many fans and pundits with his first preseason performance on Aug. 8, when he threw two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers.
He is set to play in the team’s final preseason game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Still, Sanders is buried on the team’s current depth chart, listed as the fourth quarterback behind veterans Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and the fellow rookie Gabriel.
Aging brains could ‘become’ younger when key protein is decreased
Scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) may have discovered a cause of aging in the brain.
The culprit is a protein called ferritin light chain 1 (FTL1), described as an iron-associated protein identified as a “pro-aging neuronal factor that impairs cognition.”
The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, compared how genes and proteins in the hippocampus – the region of the brain responsible for learning and memory – changed over time in old and young mice.
WHAT PEOPLE WHO LIVE TO 100 YEARS OLD HAVE IN COMMON, ACCORDING TO SCIENCE
Aged mice had a higher amount of FTL1, as well as fewer brain cell connections in the hippocampus and diminished cognitive abilities, according to a UCSF press release.
When FTL1 was artificially increased in young mice, their brains began to mimic the brains and behaviors of old mice.
When the protein was decreased in the old mice, they “regained their youth,” had more nerve cell connections and performed better on memory tests.
FTL1 also slowed down metabolism in the hippocampus cells of old mice.
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The researchers discovered, however, that treating these cells with a metabolism stimulation compound prevented these effects.
Saul Villeda, PhD, associate director of the UCSF Bakar Aging Research Institute and senior author of the paper, said he considers these findings a “reversal of impairment.”
“It’s much more than merely delaying or preventing symptoms,” he said in a press release statement.
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“We’re seeing more opportunities to alleviate the worst consequences of old age. It’s a hopeful time to be working on the biology of aging.”
Dr. Paul Saphier, a neurosurgeon and founder of Coaxial Neurosurgical Specialists in New Jersey, called these findings “really interesting” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“There is no doubt that as proteins accumulate in various parts of the brain, certain neurodegenerative disorders occur,” he said. “Alzheimer’s disease is directly linked to a build-up of amyloid proteins within the brain.”
“It’s much more than merely delaying or preventing symptoms.”
“If there is a mechanism by which we can slow and/or reverse the build-up of this FTL1 protein in the hippocampus, which is the main memory center of the brain, it stands to reason that we may improve/enhance cognition.”
Previous research has shown that modulating sugar and protein can reduce the rate of aging, Saphier pointed out.
“I support this research and am certain there is ultimately going to be a breakthrough in this area,” he added.
The study was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Bakar Aging Research Institute and the National Institute on Aging.
First sanctuary state in US pushes back as Trump admin threatens legal action
Attorney General Pam Bondi received a response this week from the governor of the first state to pass “sanctuary” legislation, after she had warned it was engaged in “policies and procedures that hinder federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States.”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, confirmed receipt of Bondi’s original letter from the prior week, writing back that she “respectfully disagree[s]” with Bondi’s assertion.
“The State of Oregon, its public officials, and its law enforcement officers do not engage in conduct that thwarts federal immigration enforcement,” Kotek said, noting the Beaver State passed America’s first sanctuary state law in 1987.
State Rep. Rocky Barilla, D-Eugene, introduced the bill which was then signed by Gov. Neil Goldschmidt amid concerns police were wrongly profiling Latinos about their immigration status.
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In her response to Bondi, Kotek said in the nearly 40 years since, Oregon officials and law enforcement have not violated federal immigration law while abiding by the state policy.
“A 2018 ballot measure to repeal portions of Oregon’s federal immigration enforcement law failed when 63% of Oregon voters opposed repealing the existing law,” she said, adding that the 1987 law was revisited and “strengthened” by Salem lawmakers in 2021.
Kotek cited Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s statement after the 2021 actions:
“Oregon stands for the safety, dignity, and human rights of all Oregonians,” the state prosecutor said at the time, as Kotek also echoed the contention the state is acting within the law due to legal precedent from contemporary Tenth Amendment called the Anticommandeering Rule.
That rule, borne out of cases like New York v. U.S. in 1992 – which focused on requests for states to dispose of nuclear waste — prescribes that the federal government cannot force them to administer federal programs.
TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ACLU FOR COMPARING ICE CENTER TO JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP: DERANGED AND LAZY
Kotek said in her letter to Bondi that she is aware of warnings that the Trump administration may pursue civil actions against public officials on grounds they are obstructing federal immigration efforts or facilitating lawbreaking.
“The state does not take on the additional expense or burden to perform federal immigration enforcement as it is the job of the federal government,” Kotek went on, citing the Anticommandeering Rule.
“The state of Oregon is in compliance with federal law and will continue to follow state law. Therefore, no ‘immediate initiatives’ are necessary to eliminate laws that impede immigration enforcement,” she concluded, noting that her letter was delivered to the Justice Department via Federal Express.
The back and forth comes as an Oregon federal judge is poised to decide on a notable immigration case in the state, and rule on whether a twice-deported Guatemalan asylum-seeking farmworker can be released from federal custody despite prior deportations.
Identified only as L.J.P.L., the foreign national had been deported during the Obama administration, and litigants argued whether he could be released so long as he makes regular check-ins at a Eugene immigration office.
Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee whom Chief Justice John Roberts also named to the FISA Court, will decide whether ICE can move forward and immediately deport “L.J.P.L.,” according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
King Charles, Queen Camilla battling ‘terrible’ issue at Sandringham Estate
A royal summer is being wrecked by some uninvited guests.
Queen Camilla revealed this week that Sandringham — the royal family’s Norfolk estate — is in the middle of a full-blown wasp invasion, calling it a “terrible” situation that’s disrupting life on the King’s private grounds.
The 78-year-old Queen made the remark during a solo appearance at the Ebor Festival on Aug. 21, where she opened a new facility at York Racecourse, according to Hello! Magazine.
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Camilla shared the frustrating update and admitted it’s not just Sandringham being stung. Her own bees at her private Wiltshire home are also causing trouble by “swarming.”
The royal sting operation comes just days after King Charles III himself issued a formal warning to visitors at Sandringham.
On Aug. 18, signs were posted near public areas of the estate that read: “Please be aware that wasp activity is currently high in this area. Thank you.”
Camilla is one of several beekeepers in the royal family.
Princess Kate Middleton’s bees are at Anmer Hall, in the corner of the gardens on the Sandringham estate, British royals expert, Hilary Fordwich, previously told Fox News Digital.
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Meghan Markle has also pursued the hobby, as she featured a beekeeping segment in her show, “With Love, Meghan.”
The wasp infestation is just the latest issue to hit the monarch’s Sandringham Estate. King Charles was also said to be “livid” over a potential shortage of pheasants, according to The Sun.
The shortage could affect the chances of a full shooting calendar this winter. It is known as one of the monarch’s favorite pastimes during the holiday season.
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“King Charles III is livid, frustrated and disappointed, reflecting both his deep personal attachment to the cherished family tradition and his broader commitment to his royal heritage,” British royal expert Hilary Fordwich previously told Fox News Digital.
“He’s also annoyed that the mishap reflects rather poorly on the management of Sandringham, which he inherited from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II,” she explained.
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“The shoot gathers his extended royal family and guests, reinforcing bonds while upholding a long-standing aristocratic tradition. The root of the problem is that Charles has always opposed importing birds from elsewhere, preferring to maintain the estate’s game population. The eco-friendly approach has failed.”
According to the outlet, the number of birds currently available has dropped. This may force Charles, who is battling an undisclosed form of cancer, to cancel the traditional Boxing Day shoot, which is described as a central part of the royal family’s holiday plans.
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
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