Could Trump destroy the Epstein files?

WASHINGTON — In political exile at his mansion in Florida, under investigation for possessing highly classified documents, Donald Trump summoned his lawyer in 2022 for a fateful conversation. A folder had been compiled with 38 documents that should have been returned to the federal government. But Trump had other ideas.

Making a plucking motion, Trump suggested his attorney, Evan Corcoran, remove the most incriminating material. "Why don't you take them with you to your hotel room, and if there's anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out," Corcoran memorialized in a series of notes that surfaced during criminal proceedings.

Trump's purported willingness to conceal evidence from law enforcement as a private citizen is now fueling concern on Capitol Hill that his efforts to thwart the release of Justice Department files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation could lead to similar obstructive efforts — this time wielding the powers of the presidency.

Since resuming office in January, Trump has opposed releasing files from the federal probe into the conduct of his former friend, a convicted sex offender and alleged sex trafficker who is believed to have abused more than 200 women and girls. But bipartisan fervor has only grown over the case, with House lawmakers across party lines uniting behind a bill Tuesday that would compel the release of the documents.

—Los Angeles Times

NTSB: Key Bridge collapse was ‘entirely preventable,’ citing ship failures and missing worker warning system

BALTIMORE — Saying the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was entirely preventable, the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday detailed breakdowns both on board the Dali container ship that crashed into it and a lack of a warning system that could have alerted the construction workers to drive to safety rather than plunge to their deaths on March 26, 2024.

“This tragedy should never have occurred. Lives should never have been lost,” Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB chair, said before she and board members heard from staff who investigated the calamity that led to six workers’ deaths. “As with all accidents that we investigate, this was preventable.”

NTSB staff said they discovered a loose signal wire that created “a precarious electrical connection” and led to the first of two power outages aboard the Dali as it was exiting the Port of Baltimore heading toward the Key Bridge. That left the crew unable to steer the nearly 1,000-foot cargo ship away from the pier support that it ultimately struck.

They said that the ship was not equipped with infrared thermal imaging technology, which was widely used in the industry and could have identified such faults in the system.

—The Baltimore Sun

UC San Diego, a giant in science, is struggling with freshmen who can’t do basic math

SAN DIEGO — UC San Diego says it’s struggling to deal with a large and growing number of freshmen whose math skills are below middle-school level, leaving many unprepared to thrive at an institution famed for its teaching and research in science, medicine and engineering.

This fall, 665 students — 8.5% of incoming freshmen — were placed in Math 2, a remedial course meant for students who aren’t prepared for a foundational course in precalculus, according to a campus report issued Nov. 6. Five years ago, 32 students, or 0.5% of freshmen, did the same.

In one assessment test, some students failed to answer a simple addition question, and some could not round off the number 374,518 to the nearest hundred.

The report — which offers possible fixes — says many students are struggling even though they completed the math classes they needed to take to qualify for admission to the University of California. Many also were found to have trouble with language and writing.

—The San Diego Union-Tribune

Japan’s Takaichi has few good options to end China’s backlash

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing her first major diplomatic test less than a month into office, after angering China with remarks about Tokyo’s position on the red line issue of Taiwan.

Takaichi this month became the first sitting Japanese leader in decades to publicly link a Taiwan Strait crisis with the possible deployment of Japanese troops, prompting Beijing to unleash a flurry of economic reprisals and threats of more retribution.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a briefing on Monday re-upped a demand for Takaichi to retract her comments about the self-ruled island Beijing considers its territory. Making clear the terms for deescalation, she called on Japan to: “Stop crossing the line and playing with fire, retract the wrongful remarks and deeds and honor its commitments to China with real action.”

So far, Takaichi has refused to recant. Elected by her party as a nationalist who’d show strong leadership, Takaichi would face significant political blowback if she bowed to Beijing. That’s creating a standoff between Japan and its largest trading partner with little off-ramp in sight, as Chinese state media implies Beijing could impose sanctions and cut diplomatic, economic and military communication channels if things spiral.

—Bloomberg News