By John Liu, CNN

(CNN) — Melinda French Gates said she was filled with “unbelievable sadness” when further documents detailing her ex-husband and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ ties with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released last week.

The philanthropist, who divorced Gates in 2021, opened up about her reaction to the controversy, saying she was “happy to be away from all the muck,” in a preview video of an appearance on NPR’s “Wild Card” podcast.

“Whatever questions remain there of what – I can’t even begin to know all of it – those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me,” she said. The full interview will be released on Thursday, NPR said.

The long relationship between Bill Gates and Epstein is well documented, but new questions emerged about their dealings when more than 3 million pages of files related to the Epstein investigation were released by the Department of Justice last Friday.

It’s not clear who wrote what look to be draft messages from 2013 saved in Epstein’s email account. But they appear to document, in stream-of-consciousness style, feelings of betrayal aimed at the Microsoft co-founder. The drafts mention marital discord between Gates and his then-wife Melinda. There is discussion of business deals, the idea of Gates having concerns about a sexually transmitted disease, and soured business ventures.

Bill Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing relating to Epstein.

A spokesperson for the software billionaire told NPR that the claims are “absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”

French Gates said reading the new details brought back memories of “very, very painful times in my marriage.”

She told the podcast the situation the girls were put in by Epstein is “beyond heartbreaking” and “unimaginable.”

“I’m able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did that happen to those girls?” she said. “At least for me, I’ve been able to move on in life, and I hope there’s some justice for those now-women.”

Over the last few years, Gates has repeatedly expressed regret over his decision to spend time with Epstein. CNN has reached out to Gates Foundation for comment.

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CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf,Michael Williams and Austin Culpepper contributed to this report.

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Por Marshall Cohen y Michael Williams, CNN

Una amplia gama de expertos electorales afirman que el llamado del presidente Donald Trump a los republicanos a “nacionalizar el voto” es una escalada alarmante y potencialmente peligrosa de sus continuos esfuerzos por transformar el modo en que se administran las elecciones en EE.UU.

Los comentarios de Trump fueron notables tanto por su ambigüedad como por lo que podrían significar si se interpretaran literalmente, especialmente viniendo de un presidente que ya intentó revertir una elección y ahora está tratando de ejercer poderes sin precedentes en la historia estadounidense, declararon a CNN casi una docena de funcionarios electorales, abogados y expertos no partidistas.

El Poder Ejecutivo tiene algunas facultades en materia electoral, como el envío de observadores del derecho al voto del Departamento de Justicia a los centros de votación, como hizo el año pasado en California y Nueva Jersey.

Pero los comentarios de Trump del lunes, en los que afirmaba que los republicanos “deberían asumir el control del voto” y “nacionalizarlo”, llevarían el papel del Gobierno federal a un nivel nunca antes visto en este país, lo cual, según los expertos, usurpa las facultades que la Constitución otorga a los estados.

“Hay un pequeño problema: la Constitución impide federalizar las elecciones”, declaró a CNN la secretaria de Estado de Colorado, la demócrata Jena Griswold. “Es muy alarmante que Trump siga usando su plataforma para socavar las elecciones estadounidenses. Estos ataques están fracasando en gran medida, pero debemos tomarnos en serio estos comentarios”.

Desde entonces, la Casa Blanca ha intentado restar importancia a las declaraciones de Trump, afirmando el martes que simplemente estaba expresando su apoyo a la Ley SAVE, en espera de una legislación que exigiría a las personas demostrar su ciudadanía antes de registrarse para votar. (El proyecto de ley pretende combatir el voto ilegal de inmigrantes indocumentados, que, según estudios, ocurre a un nivel microscópico).

El momento de los comentarios de Trump también fue desconcertante para los profesionales electorales.

Se produjeron dos días después de que los demócratas ganaran un escaño en el Senado estatal de Texas; cinco días después de que el FBI utilizara una orden de registro para incautar los documentos electorales de 2020 en el condado de Fulton, Georgia; y en medio de múltiples demandas del Departamento de Justicia que buscan obtener los padrones electorales de los estados demócratas.

“Todos debemos ser muy sensatos al respecto”, señaló Lori Ringhand, profesora de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Georgia, quien imparte derecho constitucional y electoral. “Hay pocas cosas que hagamos como país tan importantes como transferir pacíficamente el poder mediante el proceso electoral, y nadie debería tomarlo a la ligera”.

El presidente comenzó con una tangente familiar en una entrevista que se emitió el lunes con el podcaster de derecha Dan Bongino, quien hasta hace poco se desempeñaba como subdirector del FBI de Trump.

Trump afirmó haber heredado una frontera

Luis Medina

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KUNA) – Un caballo suelto que atrajo múltiples llamadas de emergencia la noche del domingo fue devuelto sano y salvo a su dueño tras una aventura inesperada por el desierto.

Matthew Perez, Oficial de Control de Animales, informó que las primeras llamadas describieron un caballo suelto al costado de la carretera entre Dillion Road y Johnson Road.

Añadió que es una situación peligrosa tanto para los animales como para los conductores.

“Nos preocupaba que lo atropellara un auto. Nos pasan cosas así con frecuencia”, dijo Perez.

Antes de la llegada de los oficiales, Perez comentó que un buen samaritano que trabaja en un rancho de caballos localizó al animal dentro de un parque de casas rodantes y usó su propio equipo para asegurarlo y contenerlo hasta que llegara la ayuda.

“Pude ir directamente a nuestro refugio, recoger el remolque para caballos y dirigirme allí”, dijo Pérez.

Pérez comentó que el caballo chocó contra un vehículo lento que intentaba ayudarlo a mantenerse fuera de la carretera, rompiendo el espejo retrovisor del coche, pero sin lastimarlo.

Comentó que subir el caballo a un remolque representó otro desafío.

“Es joven. Tiene 4 años”, dijo Pérez. “Muchas veces, cuando son tan jóvenes y no están acostumbrados a subirse a un remolque, se intimidan”.

Pérez elogió la cooperación entre el Campus Animal del Valle de Coachella, el Departamento del Sheriff del Condado de Riverside y la Patrulla de Carreteras de California.

“El departamento del sheriff estuvo allí. Ayudaron a rescatar al caballo”, dijo Pérez. “La Patrulla de Carreteras de California (CHP) ayudó en el accidente y se aseguró de que todos estuvieran a salvo”.

Pérez explicó que el caballo escapó porque una puerta no cerró bien. Dio un mensaje a los dueños de los caballos.

“Asegúrense de que todos sus pestillos estén fijos y correctamente cerrados”, dijo Pérez. “Recomendamos un sistema de dos pestillos o de dos puertas. Si el primero falla, el segundo también lo mantendrá abajo. Pero también les pedimos que les coloquen un microchip a sus caballos”.

Comentó que el caballo fue identif

By Amanda Musa, CNN

(CNN) — Surrounded by vast desert, the long and windy road that leads to Nancy Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills is dotted with prickly cacti and attractive houses.

Come nightfall, the unincorporated community north of Tucson, Arizona, is plunged into secluded darkness. That stillness is what drew Nancy and her family to the area decades ago.

“The quality of life is laid back and gentle,” the mother of “Today” anchor, Savannah Guthrie, said of her community in November.

Three months later, authorities say Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home in the serene neighborhood where she lives alone and was last seen Saturday night.

Nancy’s disappearance became national news, bringing renewed sorrow to the quiet community that brought healing to Savannah’s family after her father died.

“When I go back I’m so — it’s like my whole soul is home, my spirit is home, I feel my father in the wind,” Savannah said in November. “The desert, the cactus, the animals: It’s such a unique place, it’s a beautiful place to visit.”

‘Daughter of the desert’

Nancy and her husband, Charles Guthrie, lived in Australia, where Charles worked as a mining engineer, when Savannah was born in 1971. The family relocated to Arizona when Savannah was young and remained settled there.

The family was left shattered when Charles, who was adored by many, died of a heart attack in 1988. Savannah was 16 years old at the time, according to a Father’s Day essay she wrote for Today in 2014.

“My father was a seemingly unlikely mix of qualities: always strong, sometimes terrifying, loyal to the end, and disarmingly gentle and tender when it counted,” Savannah wrote.

Tall, affectionate and funny, Charles moved through life demanding moral clarity, which could be intimidating, Savannah said. But he was also known for turning “a mundane trip to the post office into a rip-roaring tale,” she said.

Savannah, the youngest of three siblings, stayed in Arizona for college, attending the University of Arizona. Her sister, Annie Guthrie, didn’t wander far either.

“We had a spoken or unspoken pact that on the weekends, even though we were college girls, one of us would always stay home on one of the weekend nights so that my mom wouldn’t be alone,” Savannah said in 2017. “That was just something we did together as sisters.”

In a “Today” show segment about her Tucson roots last fall, the NBC host called herself a “daughter of the desert.”

In the segment, Savannah and Nancy dined together at a local restaurant — one of many times the host featured her mom on the morning show.

Nancy called Tucson “wonderful” during the segment: “Just the air, the quality of life is laid back and gentle.”

“I like to watch the javelinas eat my plants,” she added with a laugh, referring to pig-looking animals that are often seen in the area.

Serene and secluded community

Perched along the Santa Catalina Mountains, the Catalina Hills community is known for outdoor activities, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, not crime scene investigations and reports of kidnappings.

“People feel unsettled, I wo

By Max Foster, CNN

London (CNN) — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew, has moved out of his longtime Windsor home and is now a resident of Norfolk, England, CNN understands.

In October, Mountbatten-Windsor was ordered to leave the sprawling 30-room Royal Lodge in the heart of the Crown’s Windsor Estate, just outside of London, after his brother King Charles III cast him out of the monarchy over the swirling Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The move was expected to occur after the holiday season, but it comes amid renewed pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor after he appeared again in a newly released a trove of US Justice Department documents related to the investigation into the deceased convicted sex offender.

Royal sources told CNN last year that Mountbatten-Windsor will be given a house on the King’s private estate in Sandringham and will also receive an income from Charles. Britain’s public broadcaster the BBC reported that he now is staying in a temporary property at Sandringham, while his permanent residence undergoes renovations.

Mountbatten-Windsor is expected to make occasional visits back to Windsor in the coming weeks while a transitionary phase is completed, CNN understands.

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