Melinda French Gates says Bill Gates 'has to answer' for being in the Epstein files

Melinda French Gates spoke out for the first time since the release of Epstein files that contained mentions of her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

In an interview with NPR's "Wild Card" podcast on Tuesday, Melinda French Gates said she felt "unbelievable sadness" seeing her ex-husband's name mentioned in the new batch of filesreleased on Friday by the Justice Department.

"Whatever questions remain there ... for those people, and for even my ex-husband, they need to answer to those things, not me," she said. "And I am so happy to be away from all the muck that was there."

"No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him. No girl," she added. "I mean, it's just — it's beyond heartbreaking. I remember being those ages those girls were. I remember my daughters being those ages."

Bill Gates was one of several of the world's richest and most prominent men mentioned in the millions of files released by the Justice Department on Friday in connection with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a series of emails from 2013 that Epstein sent to himself, he appeared to suggest that Bill Gates was having an extramarital affair and seeking illicit drugs.

In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson for Bill Gates denied the allegations. "These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false," the statement said. "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."

In one of the emails, Epstein wrote that he had decided to resign from a role he had with the Gates Foundation and BG3, a think tank founded by Bill Gates, because he got "caught up in a severe martial dispute between Melinda and Bill."

"I have the greatest respect for my friend of 7 years, and wish them both well," Epstein wrote.

With multiple typos, Epstein wrote of his relation ship with Gates: "In my role as his right hand I had been asked on mulitple occassion and in hindsight , wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate , to the ethically unsound and had been repeatedly asked to do other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal."

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Epstein described those activities as "helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilictating his illicit trysts, with married women,to being asked to provide adderal."

Melinda and Bill Gates were married for 27 years before theydivorced in 2021.She later said that her ex-husband had an affair with a Microsoft staffer in 2019. Sheresigned from the Gates Foundationas its co-chair in 2024. Bill Gates admitted to the affair in a statement toThe New York Timesin 2021 and toldNBC Newslast year, "I have responsibility for causing a lot of pain to my family."

"I had to leave my marriage. I wanted to leave my marriage. I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation," Melinda French Gates said on Tuesday. "So it's just sad. That's the truth"

Among the other high-profile men mentioned in the Epstein files are President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, former Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.

Trump, Musk and Clinton have denied wrongdoing and have not been accused by authorities of any crime in connection to Epstein. Andrew has denied preying on young women allegedly supplied to him by Epstein and has also not been criminally charged, but has been stripped of his title and evicted from his mansion near Windsor Castle because of his friendship with the fallen financier.

Epstein's former girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only person to have been charged and convicted of crimes associated with Epstein.

Epstein died behind bars while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

Melinda French Gates said on Tuesday the details about Bill Gates in the Epstein files are difficult for her because it "brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage."

"I purposely pushed it away and I moved on," she said. "I'm in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life."

"For me, I've been able to move on in life," she said. "And I hope there's some justice for those women now."

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Melinda French Gates says Bill Gates 'has to answer' for being in the Epstein files

Melinda French Gates spoke out for the first time since the release of Epstein files that contained mentions of her ex-hu...

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L.A. stopped a couple from demolishing Marilyn Monroe's home. Now, they're suing

A Brentwood couple is suing the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass, claiming their constitutional rights were violated when city officials blocked them from demolishing the home where Marilyn Monroe died in 1962.

In a 37-page complaint that accuses the city of collusion and bias,the lawsuitfiled by homeowners Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank claims L.A. "deprived Plaintiffs of their intended demolition of the house and the use and enjoyment of their Property without any actual benefit to the public."

It's yet another chapter in a saga surrounding the fate ofthe famous property, which began in 2023 when Milstein, a wealthy real estate heiress, and Bank, a reality TV producer with credits including "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," bought the home for $8.35 million. They own the property next door and hoped to tear down Monroe's place to expand their estate.

The pair quickly obtained demolition permits from the Department of Building and Safety, but once their plans became public, an outcry erupted. A legion of historians, Angelenos and Monroe fans claimed the 1920s haunt, where the actor died in 1962, is an indelible piece of the city's history.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents L.A.'s 11th Council District where the home is located, said she received hundreds of calls and emails urging her to protect it. In September 2023, sheheld a news conferencedressed as Monroe — bright red lipstick, bobbing blond hair — urging the City Council to declare it a landmark.

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commissionstarted the landmark application processin January 2024, barring the owners from destroying the house in the meantime. L.A. City Council unanimously voted to designate it as a historic cultural monument a few months later, officially saving it from destruction.

It's not the first legal challenge brought by Milstein and Bank. The pairsued the cityin 2024, accusing the city of "backdoor machinations" in preserving a house that doesn't deserve to be a historic cultural monument.

An L.A. Superior Court Judge threw out the suit in September 2025, calling it "an ill-disguised motion to win so they can demolish the home."

The latest lawsuit includes a variety of damages, claiming the property's monument status has turned it into a tourist attraction, bringing trespassers who leap over the walls surrounding the property. In November, burglars broke into the home searching for memorabilia, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit accuses the city of taking no efforts to stop trespassers and failing to compensate the owners for their loss of use and enjoyment of the property. It also notes that the homeowners offered to pay to relocate the home, but the city ignored them.

The feud has stirred up a larger conversation on what exactly is worth protecting in Southern California, a region loaded with architectural marvels and Old Hollywood haunts swirling with celebrity legend and gossip.

Fans claim the house, located on 5th Helena Drive, is too iconic to be torn down. Monroe bought it for $75,000 in 1962 and died there six months later, the only home she ever owned by herself. The phrase "Cursum Perficio" — Latin for "The journey ends here" — adorns tile on the front porch, adding to the property's lore.

Milstein and Bank claim it has been remodeled so many times over the years, with 14 different owners and more than a dozen renovation permits issued over the last 60 years, that it bears no resemblance to its former self. Some Brentwood locals consider it a nuisance because fans and tour buses flock to the address for pictures, even though the only thing visible from the street is the privacy wall.

"There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing," their previous lawsuit claimed.

With their latest lawsuit, Milstein and Bank are seeking a court order allowing them to demolish the house and compensation for the decline in property value after the city's decision to declare it a monument.

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared inLos Angeles Times.

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

L.A. stopped a couple from demolishing Marilyn Monroe's home. Now, they're suing

A Brentwood couple is suing the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass, claiming their constitutional rights were violated when city offi...

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Collision between migrant speedboat, Greek coast guard vessel leaves at least 15 dead

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios has killed at least 15 people, the coast guard said late Tuesday, while a search and rescue operation involving patrol boats, a helicopter and divers was underway for potentially missing people.

The bodies of 14 people — 11 men and three women — were recovered from the sea, the coast guard said, while another 25 migrants, including about 11 children, were rescued and transported to a hospital on Chios, as were two coast guard officers who were injured in the incident.

One of the injured women later died in hospital, the coast guard added, bringing the total death toll to at least 15.

The total number of people who had been on board the speedboat was not immediately clear, and a search and rescue operation involving four patrol vessels, an air force helicopter and a private boat carrying divers was underway for potentially missing passengers.

Video footage by a local news site showed at least one person being carried in a blanket from a boat moored on the side of a jetty into a waiting coast guard vehicle with blue flashing lights, as others appear to lead two children, one of them limping, toward the car.

The coast guard did not immediately have further information on exactly how the collision occurred.

Michalis Giannakos, the head of Greece's public hospital workers' union, said staff at the hospital in Chios were all on alert to handle the sudden influx of injured and were on standby for potentially more people. Speaking on Greece's Open TV channel, Giannakos said several of the injured required surgery.

Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.Fatal accidents are a common occurrence. Many undertake the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean. But increased patrols and allegations ofpushbacks— summary deportations without allowing for asylum applications — by Greek authorities have reduced crossing attempts.

Greece, along with several other European Union countries, has been tightening its regulations on migration. In December, the European Union wasoverhauling its migration system, including streamlining deportations and increasing detentions.

There has long been a fierce debate among EU members about migration. Since a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe a decade ago, public debate on the issue has shifted and far-right parties have gained political power. EUmigration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers is down from record levels.

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Collision between migrant speedboat, Greek coast guard vessel leaves at least 15 dead

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eas...

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How the Cavaliers can get James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo ... and LeBron James

Imagine this scene:

LeBron James and his son Bronny, in Cavs uniforms, capping off a historic farewell tour with another championship in Cleveland. As they tackle each other in euphoria, James Harden peers over at Giannis Antetokounmpo, both also wearing wine-and-gold, and laughs maniacally at the craziness of it all. Harden finally earns his championship — and ruins the chances of his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, at a three-peat in the process. (Yes, I'm projecting the Thunder win it all this year.)

That's the storybook ending for LeBron's 24-year career. Walking off as a champion — something Michael Jordan once had, but gave it up with a last-ditch run with the Washington Wizards.

And believe it or not, it can be done. Especially since the Eastern Conference is wide open.

The trade rumor mill is kicking into high gear ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. And it's possible Harden and Antetokounmpo (and, in time, LeBron and Bronny, too) will be packing their bags for Ohio soon.

Here's how it all would go down.

Trade 1: James Harden for Darius Garland

On Monday night, kicking off trade deadline week, Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko broke the news that the LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers wereengaged in James Harden trade talks. According to Iko, the Cavs were leading the chase for Harden's services at the deadline.

The Harden news may have blindsided some considering the Clippers have pulled off one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in NBA history, going 16-3 at one point after starting the season 6-21. But for anyone who has been paying attention to Harden's career-long pattern of asking out, it was only a matter of time before Harden and the Clippers headed for a divorce.

When Harden arrived in ClipperLand in 2023, my first reaction was:Great, so where's he going next?Sure enough, less than three years later, amid a team resurgence for the ages, the NBA's most mercurial star was suddenly sitting out games for "personal reasons" and, voila, trade talks emerged.

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There has been no formal trade request, but we can read the tea leaves here. Harden is eligible for a contract extension and hasn't gotten one. His co-star, Kawhi Leonard, is at the heart of an NBA investigation into Steve Ballmer and the Clippers front office for cap circumvention allegations regarding an apparent no-show contract for Leonard. Recently, Leonard and Harden were noticeably left off the All-Star team despite more-than-worthy campaigns and the Clippers hosting the All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome. That's a lot of bad vibes.

The Cavs reportedly hold interest because of Darius Garland's injury woes and the need to keep Donovan Mitchell happy amid a pressure-packed, underwhelming season. Harden has been playing brilliantly this season and, perhaps more importantly, his contract is almost perfectly aligned with Garland's salary of $39 million this season, making a one-for-one swap possible under the CBA rules. Key to all of this is the Cavs are a second-apron team and therefore cannot aggregate contracts to make a deal work.

So that's the first deal: Harden for Garland straight up. I wouldn't be surprised if the Clippers ask for Cleveland's 2026 second-round pick for taking on another year of Garland's contract, even if he is just 26 years old. The Clippers get a much younger two-time All-Star guard who is entering his prime, but they've notably kept their 2027-28 books completely clean for a potential massive free agency pursuit. Acquiring Garland would be a minor departure from that strategy.

Trade 2: Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley and picks

I mentioned earlier the Cavs are operating as a second-apron team, which complicates any Giannis trade talks for Cleveland. They can't aggregate salaries unless they dump about $14 million worth of salary to a third party. Enter the Brooklyn Nets who, according to Spotrac salary data, havejuuuuuustenough space to grease the wheels for Milwaukee and Cleveland to consummate a deal. Assist point to my pal Kevin Pelton, who proposed the general framework.

So the trade: Cleveland receives Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo; Milwaukee nets Evan Mobley, Lonzo Ball and a 2031 first-round pick from Cleveland, and Tyrese Martin from Brooklyn; Brooklyn absorbs Max Strus' contract and earns the right to swap first-round picks with Cleveland in 2028, 2030 and 2032.

The Cavs need Harden to make Giannis feel comfortable that they're championship-ready enough for him to commit to a long-term extension when he's eligible for a four-year, $275 million pact this upcoming October. With Garland sidelined, I'm not sure the Cavs, as is, have enough to get that critical sign-off from Antetokounmpo. Last thing the Cavs want is to give up Mobley only for Antetokounmpo to walk in the summer of 2027.

Would a starting five of Harden, Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Antetokounmpo and Jarrett Allen win a title? Maybe. But they could use a star small forward to complete the set.

What's that? Is that The King's music!?

Move 3: LeBron James signs in free agency with Cavs

LeBron James is a $52.6 million expiring contract this season and has veto power on any trade. It's possible he engineers a deal (again, he has to sign off on a trade for it to go through) to Cleveland to set up hislast hurrah next season back home, but doing so would probably gut the Cavs' depth ahead of a championship pursuit.

Instead, James could slow his roll and wait until this summer to head back to Cleveland when he could sign a Dirk-esque contract with the Cavs. Why would he take a discount if he's still playing at an All-Star level? It would serve as something of a compromise so the Cavs would trade for son Bronny, who is due a guaranteed $2.3 million next season.

The Cavs could head into next season with a starting lineup of Mitchell, Harden, James, Antetokounmpo and Allen with Tyson, Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis (eligible for extension), Bronny James and Sam Merrill anchoring the second unit. Maybe bring back Kevin Love for the double farewell tour? Can we get J.R. Smith off the golf course and in Cleveland again?

The backdrop of all of these Cavs blockbuster deals is fortifying a long-term commitment from Mitchell, who can walk as a free agent in the summer of 2027. He holds a player option for $53.8 million during a summer in which the Knicks, Lakers and Clippers could carve out the requisite cap space to hit the Donovan dance floor.

Moving past the current star-studded core that has underwhelmed in the playoffs would certainly be a risk, but bringing three former MVPs into the fold would represent the kind of massive swing that might inspire Mitchell's confidence that Cleveland is his home. Sure, the Cavs would be banking on three players on the wrong side of 30 (and the wrong side of 40 in LeBron's case), but it's not like the youthful core in Cleveland has been cutting it in the playoffs.

If the Harden-Giannis-LeBron Plan is truly the goal, it would make a lot of sense why Klutch Sports has been attempting to represent Giannis,according to TrueHoop's Henry Abbottlast week. Having Giannis as a client wouldn't just be a boon for Rich Paul when Antetokounmpo comes up for a massive extension, but it would also serve as an information pipeline to assure everyone is on the same page in Cleveland.

Would the blockbuster deals be enough to win James a fifth championship and ride into the sunset as a champion? Perhaps. If you thought the 2016 championship in Cleveland couldn't be topped, I present to you the James retirement plan with Harden finally earning his ring and Giannis winning his second.

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

How the Cavaliers can get James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo ... and LeBron James

Imagine this scene: LeBron James and his son Bronny, in Cavs uniforms, capping off a historic farewell tour with...

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LIV Golf to get world ranking points for the first time. Only the top 10 players get them

LIV Golf received a boost on theeve of starting its fifth seasonwhen the Official World Golf Ranking approved the Saudi-funded league to receive ranking points for the first time.

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The unanimous decision Tuesday by the OWGR board came with some conditions, however, that did not sit well with LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil.

Points will be distributed only for top-10 finishes and ties, compared with other tours that have smaller fields and leave out only the bottom finishers.

"No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction," LIV said in a statement.

For its 57-player league, LIV will get points based on a "Small Field Tournament" category that also applies to tournaments like the Tour Championship and the PGA Tour's signature events that do not have a cut.

"Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th," the LIV statement said. "Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage — precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize."

Considering that LIV Golf has been without ranking points since the league launched in 2022, its strength of field will be lower. Tyrrell Hatton at No. 22 and two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau at No. 33 are the only LIV players in the top 50, with five others among the top 100. Jon Rahm, the last player before Scottie Scheffler to be No. 1 in the world, now is at No. 97.

The decision is effective immediately as LIV Golf begins Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.

"It's a big day, and a positive day in my mind," Trevor Immelman, a former Masters champion and OWGR chairman, said in a telephone interview. "It's been a long process, it's been exhausting in many ways, with a whole host of people from outside being involved and working around the clock to make this decision before LIV plays its first event."

LIV's season opener in Riyadh is likely to award about 23 points to the winner, compared with nearly 47 points toChris Gotterup when he won the Sony Open, the weakest field in the early part of the PGA Tour season. The Phoenix Open winner this week gets about 59 points.

LIV would get slightly more points than the Qatar Masters on the European tour this week.

Even so, it would be a boost for a LIV player if he gets on a roll, such as Joaquin Niemann winning five times last year and Rahm finishing in the top 10 in all but one of the 13 events.

The world ranking is important because the four majors use it to help determine fields. The U.S. Open and British Open created categories for LIV players when they weren't getting ranking points. The Masters and PGA Championship took care of worthy players through special invitations.

The board decision ends a debate that has been around almost as long as LIV. The OWGRrejected the first application in October 2023when former chairman Peter Dawson said the board could not fairly measure LIV against the other tours.

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The question was not about the quality of players, but rather how they could be ranked equitably with thousands of other players across 24 tours because LIV was perceived as having a closed shop instead of pathways and turnover.

"We fully recognized the need to rank the top men's players in the world but at the same time had to find a way of doing so that was equitable to the thousands of other players competing on other tours that operate with established meritocratic pathways," Immelman said in the OWGR announcement. "We believe we have found a solution that achieves these twin aims."

Immelman, now the lead CBS Sports analyst, became OWGR chairman last year and had been in constant contact with O'Neil.

LIV has gone from 54 holes to 72 holes for 2026, though that wasn't a big obstacle in getting world ranking points because other smaller tours around the world also have 54-hole events. Rather it was the turnover in LIV, and the self-selection of adding players with contracts.

It also expanded its field size by three to 57 players, still short of the average field size of 75 the OWGR preferred. It expanded its "relegation zone" to 11 players who get dropped and have to earn their way back through a qualifying event or the Asian Tour's International Series points list.

The board worked around those issues to make LIV Golf the 25th circuit in the OWGR.

"It's extremely important for us to be able to rank the best players in the world as accurately as possible," Immelman said. "That has been at the top of my mind throughout this process that I've been involved in. I'm thankful to Scott for his time and effort in this.

"I dream of a world in the men's professional game where everybody is working together and fans enjoy the great golf being played all over the world. That's been my North Star since I took this role."

The PGA Tour and European tour — commercially known as the DP World Tour — recused themselves from the OWGR decision in October when LIV's application was rejected. The full board was involved in the decision Tuesday.

LIV said it saw the decision as a "first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans, and the future of the sport."

"We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation," LIV said. "The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally."

The PGA Tour said in a statement, "We respect today's decision by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) governing board and the considerable time the board and Chairman Immelman committed to this process."

The OWGR said it would continue to review any changes LIV makes to its league for 2027, which would result in awarding more — or fewer — points, and whether it remains in the system.

AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

LIV Golf to get world ranking points for the first time. Only the top 10 players get them

LIV Golf received a boost on theeve of starting its fifth seasonwhen the Official World Golf Ranking approved the Saudi-f...

Read More