Pentagon withdraws 700 Marines from LA after month-long deployment
The military deployment sparked fierce political debate over the federal government's use of military force in American cities. Despite court challenges, a federal appeals court upheld Trump's authority to control the California National Guard, further escalating tensions between the White House and state officials.The Marines' withdrawal follows last week's partial drawdown of National Guard forces, with about half of the 4,000 troops already removed from Los Angeles.Parnell praised the Marines for their conduct during the deployment. 'Their rapid response, unwavering discipline, and unmistakable presence were instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law,' he said.President Trump has relied on the military as part of his crackdown on illegal immigration, vowing to deport millions and ramping up raids, including at California farms that had largely been spared during his first term. The administration has faced numerous lawsuits over its tactics.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch
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‘Stay strong': Trump aide meets Imran Khan's sons, takes a jibe at Pakistani establishment
Richard Grenell, a key ally of US President Donald Trump, posted a photo with the sons of jailed former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and declared: 'You are not alone' read more Richard Grenell, a close aide of US President Donald Trump, met with the sons of jailed Pakistani leader Imran Khan in California Richard Grenell, a key ally of US President Donald Trump, on Tuesday (July 22) met with the sons of jailed former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan in California. Grenell, who served as Trump's special envoy and US ambassador to Germany, posted a photo with the brothers, Sulaiman Isa Khan and Kasim Khan, on social media. Grenell wrote on X: 'Welcome to California, my friends. I loved hanging out with you today. Sulaiman and @Kasim_Khan1999, you must stay strong. There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions. You are not alone.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Welcome to California, my friends. I loved hanging out with you today. Sulaiman and @Kasim_Khan_1999, you must stay strong. There are millions of people around the world who are sick of political prosecutions. You are not alone. #freeimrankhan — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) July 22, 2025 The meeting has spotlighted Khan's ongoing imprisonment, who has been detained since August 2023. Human rights groups and Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claim his detention is politically driven. Concerns about Khan's conditions in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, are growing globally. Reports indicate he is held in solitary confinement, cut off from newspapers, books, and television. This isn't Grenell's first show of support for Khan. Grenell previously backed Khan during Trump's 2024 campaign. On Newsmax, he praised Khan's leadership and criticised Pakistan's current government, saying, 'We had a much better relationship with Pakistan during the Trump administration when a guy named Imran Khan was the leader.' He called Khan a 'political outsider with common-sense views.' Grenell also compared Khan's legal battles in Pakistan to Trump's in the US, stating, 'He's currently in prison, facing many of the same allegations as President Trump,' and called for the former cricketer's release. The meeting with Khan's sons is viewed as another clear sign of support from Trump's inner circle. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
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Were Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump friends? After birthday card, now wedding photo haunts Potus
Disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump once had the same social circle. Now, new images from the US president's 1993 wedding to Marla Maples proves that they were not just acquaintances. These new visuals emerge just a week after a news report stated that the American leader had sent the financier a racy card for his 50th birthday read more Commuters walk past a bus stop near Nine Elms Station as activists put up a poster showing President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein near the US Embassy in London. AP Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced American financier who was accused of running a sex trafficking ring of underage girls, died in 2019. But his death has turned into a nightmare for US President Donald Trump, who has come under intense scrutiny for his ties with the convicted felon. Now, even as many Americans demand for more disclosures from the Epstein Files, CNN has uncovered archived video footage and photos about Trump's past relationship with Epstein. Notably, this comes at a very difficult time for the US president — just last week, the Wall Street Journal published a report in which it stated that Trump had sent a card to Epstein for his 50th birthday, featuring a sketch of a naked woman and a typed note that read, 'Happy Birthday, and may every day be another wonderful secret.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Epstein spotted at Trump's wedding In December 1993, Donald Trump, then a wealthy business tycoon, tied the knot with American singer and television personality Marla Maples. The two exchanged their 'I dos' at a grand function at New York's Plaza Hotel. Now, 30 years later, CNN has accessed archival images from the event which show Jeffrey Epstein in attendance. High-society photographer Dafydd Jones, who was present at the wedding and tasked with taking photos, told CNN that among the photos he took was one of Epstein entering the event. 'I wish now I took more of him with Trump,' he told the American media outlet. 'I had the job of photographing the Trump wedding, so I stood with the press and photographed him. The image you have is from the contact sheet — the negatives were lost.' NEW via CNN / @KFILE: Newly uncovered archived video footage and photos reveal fresh details about Donald Trump's past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Photos from 1993 confirm for the first time that Epstein attended Trump's 1993 wedding to Marla Maples. In addition,… — MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) July 22, 2025 Another photo, this time from the LIFE's archives, shows Epstein smiling in the background — his head is just visible as other attendees take a group picture. CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, whose team uncovered the images, told OutFront of the new reporting, 'Although we know that Trump and Epstein were friends during this period, this is really the first time that it's actually been reported that Trump invited Epstein to his wedding.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When CNN asked the now US president about the wedding images, he replied: 'You've got to be kidding me,' adding that CNN was 'fake news' and then hung up. Later, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement, 'These are nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious. 'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.' Trump, Epstein and Victoria's Secret Adding to the heaping pile of evidence of their close friendship are visuals from a 1999 Victoria's Secret fashion show in New York. The video shows the US president and financier laughing and chatting ahead of the runway event. A person walks by an image of US President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, along with the words 'President Trump: Release All the Epstein Files', projected onto the US Department of Commerce headquarters in Washington, DC. AFP Trump's birthday wish to Epstein CNN's reporting follows a bombshell report last week from The Wall Street Journal describing a birthday card Trump was said to have sent Epstein for his 50th birthday. The US media outlet stated that Trump told Epstein in the card, 'May every day be another wonderful secret.' It also featured lines of typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman, with Trump's name signed below the woman's waist. The president denied to the Journal that he wrote the letter or drew the picture. 'I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women,' he told the Journal. 'It's not my language. It's not my words.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Later, he also sued the publication, seeking at least $20 billion in compensation. Trump's legal team accused the Journal's parent company of engaging in 'glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting.' Many of his supporters such as far-right influencer Laura Loomer also called the letter 'totally fake.' She wrote on X: 'Everyone who actually knows President Trump knows he doesn't type letters. He writes notes in big black Sharpie.' Parties, private jets and a 'terrific guy' The images uncovered by CNN and the previous reporting by Wall Street Journal are just latest on the friendship that Trump and Epstein once shared. In fact, it is reported that the two first met around the time Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985, when Epstein was also living in Palm Beach. Since then, the pair have been pictured together at various events and social dos. A display of their close ties was when Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least seven times during the 1990s, according to flight logs presented in court and cited by US media. The US president has denied this, and in 2024 said he was 'never on Epstein's plane'. In a 2002, Trump even told New York Magazine that Epstein was a 'terrific guy'. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,' Trump said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD People holds signs calling for the release of files regarding late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. File image/AFP A falling out However, the friendship between Epstein and Trump wasn't to last. Speaking in July 2019, just days after Epstein was charged with sex trafficking, Trump was eager to clarify that there pair were no longer friends – and hadn't been for quite some time. 'I had a falling out with him,' said the US president. 'I haven't spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.' But what caused a souring in their friendship? It was a property deal. In 2004, a Palm Beach property came up for grabs — an oceanfront mansion called Maison de l'Amitie, or the House of Friendship. The property was being sold as a result of its previous owner Abe Gosman's bankruptcy, and according to a Washington Post report, both Epstein and Trump were keen to get their hands on it. What ensued was an outright bidding war between the two men for the estate, which Trump eventually won. But it left a sour taste in Trump's mouth and the two went their separate ways. Trump even claimed that barred Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago estate, and the pair were never photographed together again. 'He's a real creep, I banned him," Trump is reported to have told his former aide, Sam Nunberg. Trump's Epstein Files saga continues Since coming to office, it seems that the Epstein files have become a noose around Trump's neck. Earlier this month, the US Justice Department claimed that there is no evidence that Epstein maintained a 'client list' that named or implicated others in alleged sex crimes. This has angered many of Trump's core followers, including Tucker Carlson and former 'First Buddy' Elon Musk. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Amid this ongoing controversy, the Justice Department announced that it is in touch with an attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, a long time associate of Epstein, to try to arrange a meeting with her in the coming days. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the plan on social media, saying that the department is seeking any information from Maxwell — who is serving time for sex trafficking — as part of its quest to uncover 'all credible evidence' in the Epstein case. With inputs from agencies
Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Photos from 1993 show Jeffrey Epstein attending Trump's wedding amid scrutiny over ties
In a surprising revelation, newly discovered photographs and videos shed spotlight on the longstanding ties between US President Donald Trump and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the latter is seen attending the former's wedding to Marla Maples in 1993, CNN reported. Not only this, the duo could be seen laughing and chatting with each other, CNN reported citing a footage from a 1999 Victoria's Secret fashion event in New York. A review of archival video of Trump at events in the 1990s and 2000s by CNN's KFile helped uncover the raw footage of the event. The revelations come amid increased scrutiny over the relationship between Trump and Epstein as the former's base of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters expressed furore over the release of Epstein files, while criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi for her stance against the same, and for staying away from transparency in the matter. A letter sent by the White House Communications Director Steven Cheung to CNN stated, 'These are nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious.' 'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media,' the letter read. Photographer at Trump's wedding Trump and Epstein is believed to have met around 1990, which entailed regular interactions between them in Palm Beach and New York. According to a report by NBC News in 2019, footage of a party showed Trump socializing with Epstein in 1992. In October 1993, photographer Dafydd Jones took photos at the opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York, capturing Trump and Epstein together. Just two months later, in December that year, Jones was assigned by a media organization to photograph Trump's wedding. One of the photographs he took then was that of Epstein entering the event, CNN described. Another photograph accessed by CNN showed Epstein smiling in the background — his head just visible between other guests who were posing for a group picture. LIFE's collection of photos of Trump's wedding are available online over Google Images and Shutterstock, and a CNN review found multiple photographs with Epstein. Duo at fashion events and private jets The duo could also be seen in photographs dated back to 1999, as per the CNN report. Before this, they were spotted then at a Victoria's Secret 'Angels' party in Manhattan in 1997. Epstein's presence at the party reflects his ties with the founder of the lingerie company Leslie H. Wexner, a billionaire businessman who handed Epstein sweeping power over his finances, philanthropy and private life within years of meeting him, the New York Times highlighted. BREAKING! Holy crap! CNN just released exclusive new video of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein hanging out at the 1999 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, as well as images of Epstein at Trump's second wedding. No wonder why Trump is trying to deflect with Obama claims — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) July 22, 2025 Describing his association with Epstein, Trump, in 2002, told the New York magazine, 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.' Over four years in the 1990s, Trump flew on Epstein's Boeing 727 at least seven times, largely traveling between Palm Beach and a private airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, just outside New York, the NYT mentioned. Scrutiny over ties between Trump and Epstein Trump and Epstein went separate ways after a falling-out around 2004, taking significantly different paths — one toward jail and suicide, the other towards the White House. In 2019, Epstein was arrested and charged with federal sex-trafficking offenses, after prosecutors accused him of engaging in sex with teenage girls between 2002 and 2005. The offender killed himself in New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial. While his death has ruled a suicide, a wave of conspiracy theories emerged due to his well-documented connections to famous and powerful public figures. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case, and has so far stood by his statement that he had 'no idea' that Epstein was abusing young women. The US President, who is facing growing backlash over suspicions that his administration is shielding powerful names tied to the convicted sex offender, insisted he supports releasing any 'credible' information, The Indian Express reported. Last week, Trump, sued the publishers of the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch seeking $10 billion in damages over a report about a collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, which had a note bearing President Donald Trump's name and a sexually suggestive drawing.
