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NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — As people head back to work Tuesday after the long holiday weekend, beads will be flying, crawfish boiling and parades rolling in New Orleans as the city celebrates Mardi Gras.

2026 Mardi Gras Parades

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, marks the climax and end of the weekslongCarnival seasonand a final chance for indulgence, feasting and revelry before the Christian Lent period of sacrifice and reflection. The joyous goodbye to Carnival always falls the day before Ash Wednesday.

Among the final parades in Louisiana's most populous city, which is world-famous for its Mardi Gras bash, is one hosted by the Zulu Social Aide & Pleasure Club.

Marchers and float riders in the Zulu parade wear African-inspired garb and toss "throws" — trinkets that include plastic beads, candy, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys. This parade's signature "throw" is hand-decorated coconuts, coveted items that many revelers hope for.

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Later in the day Rex, the King of Carnival parade will roll along St. Charles Avenue, lined by paradegoers and stately oak trees covered in Spanish moss and beads.

Carnival events are popular for their spectacular and enormous floats, and also the intricately crafted outfits worn, such asBlack masking Indians, whose beaded and bejeweled costumes are topped with feathered headdresses, or paradegoers walking the French Quarter in homemade costumes that capture the unique spirit of the Big Easy.

The good times will roll not just in New Orleans but all across the state, from exclusive balls to the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run — a rural event in Central Louisiana featuring costumed participants performing, begging for ingredients and chasing after live chickens to be cooked in a communal gumbo.

Parades are also held in other Gulf Coast cities such as Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, and there are other world-renowned celebrationsin Braziland Europe.

GENEVA (AP) — The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold their second round of talks about Iran's nuclear program Tuesday in Geneva as the United States ramps up its military presence in the Middle East and Iran holds large-scale maritime exercises.

EU Iran Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agreeto constrain its nuclear program. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over itsdeadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.

The first round of talks Feb. 6 were held inOman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, and were indirect, with SUVs flying the American flag entering the palace venue only after it appeared the Iranian officials had left. The arrangements for Tuesday's round of negotiations were not clear.

Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were traveling for the new round of talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Budapest, Hungary, said Monday that the U.S. hopes to achieve a deal with Iran, despite the difficulties. "I'm not going to prejudge these talks," Rubio said. "The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the talks for Iran, met withthe head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agencyMonday in Geneva.

"I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal," Araghchi wrote on X. "What is not on the table: submission before threats."

Last week, a top Iranian security official traveled to Oman and met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the chief intermediary in the talks, in a meeting likely focused on updates from the first round and next steps.

"Regional peace and security is our priority, and we urge restraint and wise compromise," al-Busaidi wrote on X after his meeting with Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country's Supreme National Security Council.

Iran has in the past communicated its positions in writing when dealing with the Americans. Famously, Japan's then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to hand Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a letter from Trump in 2019 that he refused to take.

Iran holds naval drills against the US military buildup

Iran announced that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard started a drill early Monday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, waterways that arecrucial international trade routesthrough which20% of the world's oil passes.

Separately, EOS Risk Group said sailors passing through the region received a radio warning that the northern lane of the Strait of Hormuz, in Iranian territorial waters, likely would see a live-fire drill Tuesday. Iranian state TV did not mention the live-fire drill.

It was Iran's second warning in recent weeks about a live-fire drill.

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Last week, Trump said the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join other warships and military assets theU.S. has built upin the region.

The Ford, whose new deployment was first reported by The New York Times, will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guided-missile destroyers, which havebeen in the regionfor over two weeks. U.S. forces already haveshot down an Iranian dronethat approached the Lincoln on the same day last week that Iran tried to stop a U.S.-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict in a Mideast still reeling from theIsrael-Hamas warin the Gaza Strip.

Iran says any deal must include easing of punishing sanctions

The Trump administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons. Iran says it is not pursuing weapons and has so far resisted demands that it halt uranium enrichment or hand over its supply of uranium.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled that Tehran could be open to compromise on the nuclear issue, but is looking for an easing of international sanctions led by the United States.

"The ball is in America's court. They have to prove they want to have a deal with us," Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC on Sunday. "If we see a sincerity on their part, I am sure that we will be on a road to have an agreement."

"We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our program provided that they are also ready to talk about the sanctions," he added.

The U.S. and Iran were in the middle of months of meetings when Israel's launch ofa 12-day war against Iranback in June instantly halted the talks.The U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sitesduring that war, likely destroying many of the centrifuges that spun uranium to near weapons-grade purity. Israel's attacks decimated Iran's air defenses andtargeted its ballistic missile arsenalas well.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Before the June war, Iran had beenenriching uranium up to 60% purity,a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage fromthe Carnegie Corporation of New YorkandOutrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape:https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

The US military is continuing asignificant buildupof air and naval assets in the Middle East ahead of planned talks with Iran in Geneva on Tuesday. The pieces are being moved into place both to intimidate Tehran and to have options to strike inside the country should negotiations over its nuclear program fail, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

US Air Force assets based in the United Kingdom, including refueling tankers and fighter jets, are being repositioned closer to the Middle East, according to sources familiar with the movements.

The US is also continuing to flow air defense systems to the region, according to a US official, and several US military units deployed in the region that were expected to rotate out in the coming weeks have had their orders extended, said one source familiar with the matter. Dozens of US military cargo planes have transported equipment from the US to Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, according to flight-tracking data.

On Friday evening, multiple fighter aircraft were also given diplomatic clearance to enter Jordanian airspace, according toopen-source air traffic communications. Satellite images show 12 US F-15 attack planes have been positioned at Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base since January 25.

More broadly, open-source flight data reveals there have been over 250 US cargo flights into the region.

President Donald Trump has been threatening military action against Iran for weeks, beginning last month when he warned Iranian leaders that he was prepared to order an attack if the government did not stop killing protesters. And on Friday, he said he believes regime change "would be the best thing that could happen" in Iran.

The buildup of military assets and emphasis by Trump and senior members of the administration that regime change is preferable has the region on edge and increases the stakes for Tuesday's talks, which the president said Monday he will be "indirectly" involved in. The Switzerland talks are expected to be led by Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on the US side, with Iran represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

'No one knows' who would take over

But the administration still does not appear to have a clear understanding of what would come next if it removed the Iranian regime, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed this during a congressional hearing late last month, telling lawmakers that "no one knows" who would take over if the regime fell.

The likely alternatives could be even more problematic for the US and its allies, sources said. In the short term, the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would likely fill any leadership void, the US intelligence community believes, according to sources.

The IRGC "is definitely prominent and functions above the standard military bureaucracy, but it is hard to predict exactly what would happen in a regime collapse scenario," said one source familiar with recent US intelligence reporting on the matter.

The US also lacks clear insight into the IRGC's hierarchy following the US assassination of Iran's most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, during Trump's first term.

Whereas US intelligence officials had a very good understanding of the power dynamics in Venezuela before the US captured then-President Nicolás Maduro last month, they lack the same insight into who, if anyone, would constitute a viable replacement for Iran's supreme leader, sources said.

Multiple sources said there were legitimate reasons to consider kinetic action several weeks ago at the height of the Iranian protests. At that point, there was a small window of time when US strikes could have potentially tipped the balance in favor of the opposition, providing momentum for Iranians to overthrow their government organically.

Those sources now wonder whether Trump "missed the moment" and question whether military strikes weeks later would accomplish what they could have last month.

At the time, however, US military assets were concentrated in the Caribbean rather than the Middle East, limiting the administration's options and worrying the Israelis, who were concerned they would be left exposed if Iran were to retaliate by attacking them with ballistic missiles.

Since then, Trump has shifted his rationale for a potential attack, framing it around Iran's reluctance to stop enriching uranium for its nuclear program.

"I think they'll be successful," Trump said Friday of the upcoming talks. "If they're not, it's going to be a very bad day for Iran."

Unlike last month, the US now has the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the region, the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group on the way, and fighter jet squadrons and tankers being rapidly repositioned.

"In case we don't make a deal, we'll need it," Trump said Friday, when asked why the Ford was headed to the region.

The buildup gives the US military extensive strike options should Trump order an attack. Guided-missile destroyers steaming with the carriers, for example, can carry dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,000 miles and wielding 1,000-pound conventional warheads. US Navy carrier strike groups usually operate with an attack submarine that can also launch Tomahawks. F-35 and F-15E fighter jets can carry an array of guided bombs and air-to-surface missiles.

Among the potential targets for strikes are the headquarters of the IRGC and other military installations beyond Iranian nuclear sites, according to multiple sources. There is also some discussion about the US and Israel conducting joint operations, the sources said. Those could resemble Operation Midnight Hammer last summer, when the US struck Iranian nuclear sites toward the end of the 12-day Israel-Iran war, they added.

'It's hard to do a deal with Iran'

Trump said over the weekend that the US "doesn't want any enrichment," indicating that he will not settle for a deal that allows even low-level uranium enrichment by Iran. Given Iran's position that enrichment is its right, sources said there may not be space for negotiation.

But the sources also noted that hard-line positions going into negotiations can always change.

There are also other ways the Iranian government could try to ward off a US attack, including with economic incentives. During multiple rounds of US-Iran talks last year, there were discussions about possible business deals that could be struck in conjunction with a nuclear agreement, including granting the US privileged access to developing Iran's oil, gas and rare earths resources, one source said. That topic is expected to be raised again, this person added.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, met with Araghchi in Geneva on Monday for what both described as "in-depth technical discussions," as preparations intensify for the crucial nuclear negotiations Tuesday.

In public remarks, Rubio has maintained that Trump prefers a diplomatic resolution. But he has also repeatedly stressed that such a deal will be difficult.

"Iran ultimately is governed and its decisions are governed by Shia clerics — radical Shia clerics, okay? These people make policy decisions on the basis of pure theology. That's how they make their decisions. So, it's hard to do a deal with Iran," Rubio said at a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday.

Asked Sunday whether the administration would inform Congress if it decides to attack Iran or attempt to remove Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rubio would not commit.

"We'll follow whatever the law is on it, and it depends on the circumstance it would lead to. But right now, we're talking about negotiations," he said at a press conference in Slovakia.

"If that changes, it'll be obvious to everyone. And obviously, whatever the law requires us to do, we'll do," he added.

Regional allies including the Arab states in the Persian Gulf are deeply concerned that US military action could destabilize the region. They have lobbied for holding off on military action to give diplomacy more time, according to sources familiar with the talks.

"Everybody is pushing against a strike," said a diplomat from the region. This person added that Israel is the only regional player that has been urging the US to attack.

Iran, meanwhile, held further military exercises less than 24 hours ahead of the Geneva talks. On Monday, Iran's official Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported that the IRGC had launched a "valiant defense" of three Iranian islands by land, air and sea that are the subject of a longtime border dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

According to the report, IRGC drones are positioned at Iran's southernmost point, ready to confront any aggressors.

Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, warned Sunday that "Trump should know that he would be entering a confrontation that gives harsh lessons, the outcome of which would ensure that he no longer bellows threats around the world," according to state-run Press TV.

This story was updated with additional developments.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Michael Jordaninherited the racing bugfrom his late father, who routinely packed everyone into the car and drove from North Carolina to a handful of tracks every year as attendingNASCARraces became Jordan family vacations.

NASCAR Daytona 500 Auto Racing

Decades later, Jordan is now aDaytona 500winner.

He was an ecstatic team owner during the victory celebration, which he joined seconds before winnerTyler Reddickwas presented the trophy.

Reddick paused the party and was enveloped in Jordan's arms before the Basketball Hall of Famer gave high-fives to the No. 45 crew from 23XI Racing. A stream of well-wishers soon followed, including NASCAR chairman Jim France, who warmly congratulated Jordan with a smile and a handshake.

It was at least the second cordial public interaction the two have shared since December, when France and NASCARsettled the federal antitrust lawsuitthat 23XI and Front Row Motorsports had lodged. The lawsuit consumed the sport for more than two years and ended on the ninth day of trial, when NASCAR relented and settled before the top motorsports series in the United States suffered any more humiliation.

The settlement was a huge win for Jordan, who forever will be viewed as the team owner bold enough to stand up to NASCAR's dictatorship way of ruling the series. But that was already behind Jordan by the time he got to Daytona International Speedway, where he started Sunday by insisting the goal was to help grow NASCAR moving forward and focus on making 23XI a championship-contending race team.

"Both sides have been somewhat at a stalemate and we both needed to have conversations about change, how we can grow this sport," Jordan told Fox Sports before the green flag. "Unfortunately, we had to go through what we had to go through. But I think coming out of that, you have a much better appreciation for each other and I think it opens up conversations amongst each other to continue to grow the game."

Hours later, he was in victory lane celebrating as if he'd just won a seventh NBA championship. When France stopped by, it was clear all parties are moving forward.

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Denny Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 winner who is partners with Jordan at 23XI, was the winning team owner representative in post-victory requirements and said there are no lingering bad feelings among the parties.

"I think December was a wake-up call. I think that the conversations since then have been a lot of self-reflection, in my opinion, from NASCAR. I think they would have done things differently had they had the opportunity to," Hamlin said. "But we knew that we needed to stick up for what we believed was right. We have to now figure out how we can get the sport back where it was decades ago.

"In order to do that, the only way we can do it is we're all going to have to pull the rope in the same direction. Even conversations that I've had with NASCAR executives as late as a couple days ago, sitting in a bus talking about what do we need to be five years from now, two years from now, 10 years from now. What does the sport need to look like?

"Those were all really good conversations, and they were very open to suggestions."

Jordan didn't become a NASCAR participant until 2021, when he partnered with Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, to form 23XI. He attends races — sometimes he watches from pit road, other times a suite — and although others run the team, Jordan is involved and sounds committed to NASCAR.

The Reddick win was a win for NASCAR, Hamlin argued, because it got Jordan into the headlines.

"It's big for the sport. He's the most popular athlete in the world. I don't think there's any disputing that," Hamlin said. "He loves the sport, and certainly he goes to a lot of races. Sometimes you don't even see him and he's there. He makes more races than people know. He loves this race team."

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Michigan is No. 1 inThe Associated Press men's college basketball pollfor the first time in 13 years, ending Arizona's nine-week reign.

UCLA Michigan Basketball

The Wolverines (24-1) claimed 60 of 61 first-place votes in Monday's poll to climb one spot and supplant the Wildcats, who were unbeaten entering last week before fallingat Kansasand at hometo Texas Tech.

"Not much," coach Dusty May said when asked by the APafter Saturday's rout of UCLAabout the significance of potentially topping the poll. "It means we haven't drank our own Kool-Aid. We've put ourselves in a position to be playing the types of games in mid-February that we want to be in, but we've got to continue to improve."

Michigan had been ranked No. 2 behind Arizona for six of Arizona's nine weeks at the top but was No. 1 in analytics rankings by KenPom, Evan Miyakawa and Bart Torvik last week.

Now the Wolverines have their first AP No. 1 ranking since January 2013.

Houston and Duke each moved up one spot to sit behind Michigan, with the second-ranked Cougars claiming the remaining first-place vote. The Wolverines and Blue Devils are set to meet this weekend in a marquee nonconference matchup in the nation's capital.

Arizona dropped three spots to No. 4. UConn was next at No. 5, followed by Iowa State, Purdue, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois to round out the top 10.

Rising

The seventh-ranked Boilermakers jumped six spots for the week's biggest leap, coming afteran overtime win at Nebraskaand a winat Iowa. The preseason No. 1 has won four straight entering Tuesday's visit from Michigan.

No. 13 Texas Tech rose three spots after its home winagainst Coloradofollowed by the OT win at Arizona. As did No. 21 Louisville, withfreshman Mikel Brownstarring with anAtlantic Coast Conference freshman-record 45 pointsin a win against N.C. State and 29 more in a winagainst Baylor.

In all, 13 teams moved up from last week.

Sliding

No. 15 Michigan State and No. 16 North Carolina had the week's biggest tumbles of five spots. The Spartans lost at Wisconsin on Friday, while the Tar Heelslost at Miamiwhile also learning thatstar freshman Caleb Wilson is out indefinitelywith a fractured bone in his left hand.

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Seven ranked teams fell from last week's position.

Quick turnaround for Badgers

Wisconsin returned to the poll, going from receiving no votes last week to No. 24 after back-to-back wins against top-10 opponentsIllinoisandMichigan Statelast week.

Wisconsin previously had fallen out of the poll after a Nov. 21 loss to BYU as the Badgers struggled through a 7-4 start. Last week's wins, along with beingthe only team to take down Michigan, has the Badgers alongside the Red Raiders as the only teams with victories against three top-10 teams this year.

"Early in the year we were soft mentally and physically," coach Greg Gard said after the 92-71 win against the Spartans. "We had to mature, had to grow up collectively and individually. You're not going to be able to compete in these types of games in the upper echelon of this league if you're not physically and mentally tough. This group has responded."

Comings and goings

No. 25 Alabama joined Wisconsin as the week's new additions after the Crimson Tide pushed to a four-game winning streak.

They replaced Clemson (No. 20) and Kentucky (No. 25) in the poll.

Conference watch

The Big 12 and Big Ten dominated the top of the poll while tying with a national-best six ranked teams. Those two leagues combined to have eight spots in the top 10.

The ACC and Southeastern Conference were next with four ranked teams each. The Big East had two, while the West Coast Conference, Atlantic 10 and Mid-American Conference each had one.

AP Sports Writers Larry Lage in Michigan and Steve Megargee in Wisconsin contributed to this report.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

By Erica Stapleton and Andrew Hay

Zorro Ranch is seen in an aerial view near Stanley, New Mexico

SANTA FE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - New Mexico lawmakers on Monday passed legislation to launch what they said was the first full investigation into what happened at Zorro Ranch, where the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women.

A bipartisan committee will seek testimony from survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the ranch, located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, ‌the state capital. Legislators are also urging local residents to testify.

Epstein died in what was ruled a suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.

The so-called truth commission, comprising four lawmakers, seeks to ‌identify ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was going on at the 7,600-acre property, or taken part in alleged sexual abuse in its hacienda-style mansion and guest houses.

The Democratic-led investigation adds to political pressure to uncover Epstein's crimes that has become a major challenge for President Donald Trump, weeks after ​the Justice Department released millions of Epstein-related files that shed new light on activities at the ranch.

The files reveal ties between Epstein and two former Democratic governors and an attorney general of New Mexico.

The legislation, which passed New Mexico's House of Representatives by a unanimous vote, could pose risks to any additional politicians linked to Epstein in the Democratic-run state, as well as scientists, investors and other high-profile individuals who visited the ranch.

The $2.5 million investigation, which has subpoena power, aims to close gaps in New Mexico law that may have allowed Epstein to operate in the state. The committee starts work on Tuesday, and will deliver interim findings in July and a final report by year-end.

"He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever," said New Mexico state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat, who co-sponsored the initiative.

Testimony ‌to the committee could be used for future prosecutions, she said.

Victim advocates applauded the move, ⁠saying Zorro Ranch had been overlooked by federal investigations that focused on Epstein's Caribbean island and New York townhouse.

"Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we've learned, you know, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico," said attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose law firm has represented hundreds of Epstein survivors.

They include the late Virginia Giuffre, who ⁠was abused many times at the ranch, she said.

The U.S. Department of Justice passed a request for comment to the FBI. The FBI declined comment.

EPSTEIN OPERATED AT THE RANCH FOR DECADES

Several civil suits accuse Epstein of sexually assaulting girls at Zorro Ranch. He was never charged for the alleged offenses.

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Romero said there was no record of federal law enforcement searching what was known locally as "the playboy ranch" where Epstein is accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl as early as 1996.

Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas launched a probe in 2019 that was put on hold at the ​request ​of federal prosecutors to avoid "parallel investigation," he said in a statement.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has assigned a special agent to probe allegations that ​may come through the truth commission, spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez said.

Democratic State Representative Marianna Anaya, an advocate for ‌sexual assault survivors who co-sponsored the legislation, is working on accompanying legislation to extend New Mexico's statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault that would allow civil actions by survivors of Epstein's alleged abuse.

Epstein bought the ranch in 1993 from Bruce King, a three-time New Mexico Democratic governor who died in 2009.

The financier flew in guests and "masseuses," and hired local massage therapists to work there, ranch manager Brice Gordon told the FBI in 2007, according to a report in the Epstein files.

In an unsealed 2016 court deposition, Giuffre testified Epstein's partner Ghislaine Maxwell told her to give the late former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson a "massage" at the ranch. In Giuffre's memoir, she said an instruction from Maxwell to provide a "massage" meant a victim should provide a sexual encounter to an abuser.

Richardson's representative Madeleine Mahoney in a 2019 statement said Giuffre's allegations were "completely false."

Gordon told the FBI that most of the masseuses Epstein used at the ranch were hired locally through the spa Ten Thousand Waves, a Santa Fe institution, or by referrals.

Spa spokesperson Sara Bean said in a ‌phone interview last Tuesday that Ten Thousand Waves neither provided nor referred masseuses to Zorro Ranch.

In the documentary "Surviving Jeffrey Epstein," former Santa Fe massage therapist ​Rachel Benavidez accused Epstein of sexual abuse when she was hired to work at the ranch.

Investment consultant Joshua Ramo said on Sunday he visited the ranch ​once for a 2014 lunch on behalf of professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, who were ​present. Ramo, at the time CEO of consulting firm Kissinger Associates, said he and Epstein met with business figures and scientists around 14 times in New York between 2013 and 2016.

"I deferred to the due diligence ‌of the institutions involved, assuming that his presence signaled he had been appropriately vetted," Ramo, in ​a statement, said of his ranch visit and other meetings with ​Epstein. "I feel a deep sense of grief for the survivors of his crimes."

Emails show Epstein contacted Ramo in 2015 to tell him he was going to Ten Thousand Waves, suggesting they meet for lunch in Santa Fe. Ramo responded, "I assumed we were meeting at the pink bottom ranch." Ramo, who is currently CEO of consulting firm Sornay LLC, said he had no recollection of that comment, or whether the two met that day.

Over the years, Epstein contributed to the political campaigns ​of New Mexico Democrats such as Richardson and King's son Gary King, a former New Mexico ‌attorney general. When contributions were reported in the press, the men pledged to either return the money, or give it to charity.

Gary King flew on a plane chartered by Epstein when he was running for New Mexico ​governor in 2014, according to emails in the Epstein files. Epstein said he would cover around half the cost of the $22,000 charter and King would pay the rest. King did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting ​by Erica Stapleton in New Mexico and Florida, reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; editing by Donna Bryson and Diane Craft)