95.1 The Bee

David Richardson, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), resigned on Monday. (via The Washington Post).

Richardson submitted a resignation letter on Monday to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. However multiple sources told CNN that plans were already in the works at the agency to oust Richardson from the role.

Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer, is the latest acting leader to resign from the role during President Donald Trump’s second term. Richardson served as FEMA’s “Senior Official Performing the Duties” of administrator since May 8, 2025, when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem abruptly removed his predecessor, Cameron Hamilton. Before leading FEMA, Richardson was Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.

Richardson stepped down as pressure intensified over FEMA’s handling of the catastrophic July floods in central Texas, which left more than 130 people dead, including 27 campers and staff at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River. He faced fierce backlash — even from members of Congress — for being largely out of reach during the emergency. FEMA officials stated that they were unable to contact the acting administrator for several hours, delaying coordination of critical search-and-rescue operations.

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President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course and is urging House Republicans to support legislation that would force the public release of all government-held records tied to Jeffrey Epstein and the investigations surrounding him. The turnaround comes as GOP leaders prepare for a floor vote Tuesday on the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

In a Truth Social post, Trump declared, “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’” He echoed similar remarks made earlier in the weekend, insisting that “The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on ‘Epstein,’ are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!”

Trump had spent the past week opposing the push for transparency, at one point calling the effort a “hoax” and suggesting Democrats were seizing on the documents to divert attention from the shutdown dispute. His shift followed mounting pressure from within his own party, as as many as 100 Republicans signaled they were prepared to join a discharge petition led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., that forced the matter onto the floor despite GOP leadership’s resistance.

Trump later told reporters on Monday that he would sign a bill to compel the Justice Department to release files related to Epstein if it passes in Congress. “We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do — all of his friends were Democrats,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. As previously noted, the measure is expected to go to the House floor on Tuesday.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who also previously opposed advancing the bill, has acknowledged “lots of votes” exist for the measure and confirmed the House will vote this week. “There’s nothing to hide,” he said.

The bill, first introduced in July by Khanna and Massie, would mandate the release of a wide range of Epstein-related materials within 30 days, including investigative files, flight manifests, travel records, internal DOJ communications, and any documents describing the destruction or concealment of evidence. It also covers records involving Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at a federal jail in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, a death that has fueled enduring suspicion and calls for full disclosure of the government’s records.

The latest news regarding the Epstein filed comes amid renewed scrutiny prompted by the House Oversight Committee’s disclosure last week of more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s estate. Among the emails was a reference from Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell calling Trump the “dog that hasn’t barked” and claiming he spent hours at Epstein’s residence with one of Epstein’s victims. Trump, however, maintains he ended his relationship with Epstein long before Epstein’s 2008 conviction and has consistently denied involvement in any criminal conduct. Clinton, whom Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate on Friday along with other prominent Democrats mentioned in recent documents, has categorically denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. A Clinton spokesperson said the newly released emails “prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing” and dismissed the broader controversy as political noise.

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The USS Gerald R. Ford entered the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, marking the most significant U.S. military buildup in the region in decades.

The Navy confirmed the carrier strike group’s arrival as it moved through the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands, completing what officials describe as a sweeping deployment under “Operation Southern Spear.” With the aircraft carrier’s entry, roughly 12,000 U.S. personnel and nearly a dozen Navy vessels are now positioned across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials continue to frame the operation as an effort to curb narcotics trafficking, a justification that has accompanied a series of U.S. strikes on small boats since early September. At least 80 people have been killed across roughly 20–21 interdictions, though the administration has offered no public evidence to support claims that those targeted were “narcoterrorists.”

Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, said the Ford’s deployment underscores Washington’s intent to confront transnational criminal networks, declaring, “Through unwavering commitment and the precise use of our forces, we stand ready to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region.” He added that the carrier’s arrival represents “a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safety of the American Homeland.”

Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who leads the Ford’s strike group — which includes fighter squadrons and guided-missile destroyers — said the expanded fleet aims to “protect our nation’s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.”

The deployment is widely viewed as a pressure tactic aimed at Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. government does not recognize as the country’s legitimate leader. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described Maduro’s regime as a “transshipment organization” for drug traffickers, accusations Maduro has denied while claiming Washington is “fabricating” a pretext for military confrontation.

Venezuela, meanwhile, announced a nationwide military exercise reportedly involving around 200,000 personnel, a move seen as preparation for potential conflict. Maduro and other officials have argued that Washington’s expanding military footprint is intended to force a change in leadership.

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One of Ecuador’s most sought-after crime figures was taken into custody in Spain on Sunday, ending years on the run after he staged his own death during the pandemic. President Daniel Noboa confirmed that Wilmer Chavarria — known by the alias “Pipo” — was detained in Malaga in a coordinated operation with Spanish authorities. Spain’s National Police released an image showing Chavarria in a black-and-green tracksuit as officers led him to a patrol vehicle.

Investigators say Chavarria headed Los Lobos, a violent criminal network estimated to have roughly 8,000 members and recently designated a terrorist organization by the United States. The group has been tied to high-profile assassinations and is suspected of maintaining ties to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Another senior figure in the group, Carlos D — widely known as “El Chino” — was arrested earlier this year in Portoviejo. Authorities described him as the syndicate’s second-in-command and a “high-value target.”

According to Noboa, Chavarria vanished in 2021 by faking his death, securing new documents, and relocating to Spain, where he allegedly continued directing drug routes, issuing assassination orders and extorting Ecuador’s gold-mining sector from abroad.

Chavarria’s capture coincides with a national referendum asking voters whether to amend the constitution to permit foreign militaries to operate bases on Ecuadorian soil. President Noboa argues such a change is essential to expand joint security efforts with partners like the United States and strengthen the country’s capacity to confront entrenched trafficking groups.

Ecuador also continues to face destabilizing gang violence even after the dramatic recapture of Los Choneros leader Adolfo Macías in June following his escape from a maximum-security facility. He was extradited to the United States the following month to face drug and weapons charges. U.S. officials say Los Lobos emerged from within Los Choneros as a hired-gun faction that later split off, gaining power amid fractures in the older gang’s hierarchy. The group has been accused of orchestrating the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, fueling deadly prison uprisings, and expanding into murder-for-hire and illegal mining operations in addition to its drug-trafficking activities.

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