By Michael Williams, CNN

(CNN) — Authorities in New Mexico launched a search this week of a sprawling ranch formerly owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which has come under renewed interest after allegations surrounding the estate were included in files recently released by the US Justice Department.

The New Mexico Department of Justice announced the Monday morning search of the property, known as Zorro Ranch, in a brief statement posted to its website. It is part of the criminal investigation announced by state authorities last month into allegations of illegal activity surrounding the ranch at the time Epstein, who died in 2019, owned it.

The statement did not indicate whether anything of interest has been found so far during the search or how long it is expected to continue.

The ranch had previously not been subject to the same level of law enforcement scrutiny as Epstein’s other properties in New York, Palm Beach and the Caribbean. But following the release of troves of federal government files related to Epstein, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez ordered the reopening of the state’s criminal investigation into the property, which he said had been closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors.

Included in the millions of files released by the Justice Department in late January was a 2019 email received by a local radio host that alleged that “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro, two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G.” That allegation is unverified, but it is also not clear to what extent it had been investigated by law enforcement before the recent renewed interest in Epstein.

The host, Eddy Aragon, previously told CNN that he believed the email was sent to him by someone who worked on the ranch but wouldn’t disclose who he thought the person was. He said he tried sending an email to the address, but it had bounced back. The files show he forwarded the allegations to a redacted email address four days after receiving it.

The radio host added that he went to the local FBI office with the email and forwarded it to a local FBI agent.

The email prompted Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico’s commissioner of public lands, to send a letter last month asking the state Department of Justice to investigate the claims. She told CNN in February that the special investigative office of the New Mexico DOJ later reached out to her for “background information” on state lands and her agency’s processes and documents it released in 2019.

Apart from the criminal inquiry, the state’s House of Representatives last month voted to create a bipartisan “Truth Commission” looking into allegations of criminal activity surrounding the ranch. The commission has the power to issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses at its hearings.

The property is currently owned by the family of Don Huffines, a businessman and former Texas state senator who is currently running for state comptroller. Huffines had previously said he would cooperate with any law enforcement investigation surrounding the ranch. The New Mexico Department of Justice said in its statement that the current owners and staff are coope

By Christina Macfarlane, Ben Church, Hilary Whiteman, CNN

(CNN) — Seven members of the Iranian women’s soccer team have remained in Australia, while the rest of the squad has now left the country for Iran, a source has told CNN Sports.

Earlier on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that five players had been granted humanitarian visas, amid fears over their safety should they return to Iran.

Now, a source close to the squad has told CNN Sports that another two members of the team – a player and a member of staff – have also sought asylum in Australia.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team is now believed to have left the country, heading back to Iran. It’s not yet clear which route they will take or when they will arrive.

An observer at the scene told CNN that people gathered outside the hotel where the squad was staying on Tuesday had tried to stop the team bus from leaving for Gold Coast Airport in Queensland, Australia.

The person at the hotel also said that one of the players looked to be crying as what appeared to be security guards escorted the team onto the bus.

How it started

The Iranian women’s soccer team was in Australia after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup last week, where it lost all three of its group stage matches to exit the tournament.

Before their first match of the tournament on March 2, the Lionesses players stood silent during the playing of their national anthem, a gesture they didn’t explain but one that was interpreted by some hardliners inside Iran as a sign of treason.

Sources close to the team told CNN Sports they were then forced under threats to their families to sing the national anthem ahead of their next two group games. There are now fears the squad will face persecution back in Iran.

On Tuesday, according to Iranian state media, Iran’s Attorney General’s office encouraged the women’s team to return home.

“Some hardworking members of our women’s national football team—who are children of this very land—acted unintentionally, influenced by emotional provocation stemming from enemy schemes and mischief,” the statement said.

It added: “They are invited to return to their homeland with calm and confidence. By doing so, they can not only ease the concerns of their families but also stand alongside the great and admirable people of Iran in confronting the conspiracies of the enemies of our beloved country.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Minister of Sports Ahmad Donyamali said that “enemies” had tried to “distract” the players from returning home with “tempting offers.”

“They are now returning to their homeland and the warm embrace of their families,” he added on Tuesday, without providing any details.

Global concern

After the loss in their final match of the tournament on Sunday, supporters crowded around the team bus, shouting at police to “save our girls” as it pulled away.

Hadi Karimi, a human rights advocate and member of the local Iranian community, said supporters outside the bus could clearly see at least three players inside making the international han

Por Brenda Goodman

El medicamento recetado leucovorina está recibiendo una actualización de etiqueta, pero no es lo que la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de Estados Unidos (FDA) sugirió durante una reunión informativa en la Casa Blanca en septiembre, cuando los funcionarios promocionaron el medicamento como un tratamiento potencial para miles de niños con autismo.

Este martes, la FDA aprobó la vitamina B en dosis altas —un tratamiento utilizado desde hace tiempo para contrarrestar los efectos secundarios de la quimioterapia— para la deficiencia cerebral de folato en el gen del receptor 1, una afección genética que se estima que afecta aproximadamente a 1 de cada millón de personas. Se han identificado menos de 50 casos en todo el mundo. El Dr. Marty Makary, comisionado de la FDA, calificó la aprobación de este martes como un “hito significativo” para los pacientes con esta afección.

Pero en septiembre, Makary y el secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE. UU., Robert F. Kennedy Jr., indicaron que el medicamento estaría disponible para ayudar a muchos más niños. Junto al presidente Donald Trump en una sesión informativa en la Casa Blanca, Kennedy afirmó que habían identificado una terapia prometedora que podría beneficiar a un gran número de niños con autismo.

La actualización sobre la leucovorina podría afectar especialmente a algunas familias con niños autistas. En la sesión informativa de septiembre, cuando Trump hizo afirmaciones infundadas sobre el analgésico Tylenol como causa del autismo y advirtió a los padres sobre vacunar demasiado a sus hijos, el presidente afirmó que cambiar la etiqueta de la leucovorina “da esperanza a los numerosos padres con hijos autistas de que es posible mejorar sus vidas”.

En los meses transcurridos desde entonces, las prescripciones de leucovorina aumentaron, lo que hizo que el medicamento fuera difícil de conseguir.

Con la deficiencia cerebral de folato en el gen del receptor 1, un defecto provoca un mal funcionamiento de las proteínas que guían el folato al cerebro. Como resultado, se mantienen niveles normales de folato en la sangre, pero no en el cerebro ni en el sistema nervioso, donde es esencial para el pensamiento, el habla y el movimiento.

En un artículo de opinión publicado en Politico y republicado en el sitio web de la Casa Blanca el otoño pasado, Makary dijo que su agencia “aprobaría la leucovorina recetada como tratamiento para niños con deficiencia de folato cerebral y síntomas autistas”.

Makary dijo en la conferencia de prensa televisada que entre el 20 % y el 50 % de los niños con autismo podrían producir anticuerpos que bloquean las proteínas que ayudan a transportar el folato a sus cerebros, lo que significa que algunos de los síntomas más graves del autismo podrían ser causados ​​por una enfermedad autoinmune.

Aunque señaló que la leucovorina no era una cura para el autismo, Makary destacó pequeños estudios que mostraban que entre los niños con deficiencia de folato y autismo, podría mejorar el habla en aproximadamente un 60 %.

El Gobierno de Trump estaba tomando una decisión audaz para expandir el uso del medicamento, “abriendo la puerta al primer tratamiento reconocido por la FDA para el autismo”, escribieron Makary y otros líderes del HHS.

Altos funcionarios de la FDA dijeron en una reunión informativa el lunes que si bien los datos eran lo suficientemente sólidos como para aprobar el uso de leucovorina para los raros casos genéticos de deficiencia de fola

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By Katelyn Polantz, CNN

(CNN) — Ed Martin, an outspoken Trump administration official, is facing attorney discipline proceedings in Washington, DC, for a letter he sent to Georgetown Law about its diversity programs, the district’s professional conduct investigator announced on Tuesday.

Martin is formally accused of violating his ethical codes as an attorney for telling Georgetown Law’s dean last year that his Justice Department office wouldn’t hire students because of the school’s diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives programs, according to the filing from Hamilton Fox, the disciplinary counsel for DC who acts as a quasi-prosecutor on attorney discipline matters.

Unlike unsolicited complaints, Fox’s formal disciplinary complaint kicks off professional conduct proceedings for Martin in which he will need to respond and could be sanctioned or ultimately lose his law license.

Fox’s announcement on Tuesday marks the first major bar discipline proceeding against a high-profile administration official or attorney supporting President Donald Trump during Trump’s second term. Several Trump lawyers faced disciplinary proceedings after the efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, including Rudy Giuliani, who lost his law license.

“Acting in his official capacity and speaking on behalf of the government, he used coercion to punish or suppress a disfavored viewpoint, the teaching and promotion of ‘DEI,’” Fox wrote in the complaint. “He demanded that Georgetown Law relinquish its free speech and religious rights in order to continue to obtain a benefit, employment opportunities for its students.”

Martin was removed from the top prosecutor job in DC after senators made clear he would not be confirmed to the role, but has remained at the Justice Department in several roles, including as pardon attorney.

“Mr. Martin knew or should have known that, as a government official, his conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States,” Fox wrote.

Martin is being represented by a Justice Department attorney, a source told CNN.

A spokesperson for DOJ attacked Fox’s complaint. “The DC bar’s attempt to target and punish those serving President Trump while refusing to investigate or act against actual ethical violations that were committed by Biden and Obama administration attorneys is a clear indication of this partisan organization’s agenda,” DOJ said.

Martin had sent the letter to Georgetown Law while serving temporarily as US attorney for DC, a prominent Justice Department position, and told the school his federal prosecutors’ office wouldn’t hire Georgetown’s law school students. It came at a time when the Trump administration was beginning to crack down on universities for their DEI efforts.

In his letter, Martin claimed a whistleblower told him that the school was teaching and promoting DEI.

Martin also violated attorney ethics rules by contacting judges of the DC court directly, Fox alleged, rather than going through official channels, once he was informed he was under investigation for his professional conduct. The DC Court of Appeals ultimately signs off on attorney discipline findings.