Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas as her criminal case generates renewed public attention. The federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday that Maxwell was taken to Bryan, Texas, but did not explain the circumstances. Her attorney confirmed the move but also declined to discuss the reasons for it. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She had been held at a prison in Tallahassee, Florida, until her transfer to the camp in Texas.

Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos has reported to a federal prison in New Jersey to begin serving a seven-year sentence for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday that the New York Republican reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton. Santos pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He admitted that he deceived donors and stole the identities of nearly a dozen people to fund his congressional campaign. He served less than a year in Congress before being expelled in 2023.

President Donald Trump's unconventional approach to clemency has spread hope among federal prisoners and formerly incarcerated people around the United States, prompting a wave of petitions carefully crafted to capture his attention. Like other presidents, Trump has drawn criticism for granting pardons and commutations to political allies. But legal scholars say the Republican president also has cast aside the traditional criteria and a clemency process historically overseen by nonpolitical Justice Department personnel. Trump has pardoned and commuted the sentences of more than 1,600 people since January. Administration officials say Trump decides on clemency requests after they're vetted by the White House Counsel's Office, the White House pardon czar and the Justice Department.

No-bid contracts with politically connected companies have become crucial to the Republican Trump administration's push for more space to hold immigrants for deportation. Those contracts include one for a now-shuttered private prison in Kansas. An agreement with Tennessee-based private prison firm CoreCivic for reopening a 1,033-bed prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, is part of a surge of contracts issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without seeking competitive bids first. ICE cites a "compelling urgency" for more detention beds for immigrants in the U.S. illegally. ICE's moves have delighted industry analysts on company earnings calls and promised bigger profits but have also drawn criticism. Skeptical city officials argue CoreCivic needs a special use permit.