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A key participant in the 2012 attackon a U.S. diplomatic missionin the Libyan city of Benghazi that killed four Americans has been handed over to the U.S. to face charges, Justice Department officials said Friday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Zubayr al-Bakoush landed at Joint Base Andrews at 3 a.m. on Friday and would be tried in federal court in the District of Columbia. Officials didn't say how long he'd been in custody, or where he had been apprehended.

"Al-Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil," Bondi said.

The indictment charged al-Bakoush with crimes including the murders of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and State Department employee Sean Smith, attempted murder of State Department Special Agent Scott Wicklund, and arson, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

It was unclear if al-Bakoush had an attorney representing him.

The2012 attack on the U.S. compoundbecame an instantly divisive political issue.

Republicans accused President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of failing to protect the Americans and questioned the administration's narrative about how they responded during the 13-hour siege.

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House Republicans launched six investigationsof the Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi attack andaggressively questioned Clintonfor hours.

Democrats accused Republicans of using the inquiry to hurt Clinton's chances at the presidency.

In the end, a GOP-led panelissued an 800-page reportfaulting the Obama administration for not responding faster to the attacks. But the report did not find any wrongdoing by Clinton.

The criminal case against al-Bakoush was first brought during the Obama administration in 2015 and was sealed for more than a decade. It was announced Friday by Bondi, Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel, who all praised the work of law enforcement agents.

"President Trump is making sure that American justice is coming for those individuals responsible for the deaths of those four Americans," Pirro said.

The United States has not had an embassy in Libya since 2014 due to a chaotic civil war and in the wake of the deadly 2012 attack.

U.S. officials handling diplomacy with Libya have operated from the American embassy in neighboring Tunisia, and Americans are encouraged to avoid travel to Libya.

In March 2024, the Biden administration told Congress it planned to reopen an embassy in Libya in 2025 and requested funding from lawmakers. But the Trump administration has not said what it plans to do in Libya.

British police said they are searching two properties linked toPeter Mandelsonas part of their investigation into misconduct in public office, following revelations about the former UK ambassador to the US' links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Since the US Justice Department's latest release of materials related to Epstein,Mandelson has been accused of passing on market-sensitive government information that was of clear financial interest to Epstein in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

London's Metropolitan Police said Friday that its officers were carrying out search warrants at two addresses, one in the southern county of Wiltshire and one in Camden, a neighborhood in the north of the capital.

"The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offenses, involving a 72-year-old man," said Hayley Sewart, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met.

Mandelson, 72, has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing, she said.

Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday and quit the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Britain's parliament, on Wednesday.

CNN has been unable to contact Mandelson this week.

The Mandelson scandal has plunged Keir Starmer's government into crisis and raised questions about the prime minister's political judgment. Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador last year, despite his well-known friendship with Epstein, which continued after the financier was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

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Mandelson has offered scant comment to British media this week. Previously, he has said: "I want to say loudly and clearly that I was wrong to believe (Epstein) following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologize unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered."

Starmer fired Mandelson as ambassador in September, following a previous release of Epstein files which showed that Mandelson had penned a handwritten note for the financier's 50th birthday, describing him as "my best pal." A trove of emails reported by British media at the same time showed that Mandelson said he felt "hopeless and furious" after Epstein's conviction. Mandelson's sacking as ambassador marked the third time he had been removed from a senior role in government due to his ties to wealthy individuals.

The DOJ's latest release of Epstein files revealed that Mandelson – while serving as business secretary in the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown – appeared to leak sensitive UK government information to Epstein as the country considered a raft of policy measures to aid its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.

Newly released emails from June 2009 showed that Mandelson forwarded Epstein a memo written for Brown, which advocated £20 billion of asset sales to help relieve Britain's debt burden and revealed Labour's tax policy plans.

Bank statements from the DOJ's latest release also appeared to show that Epstein paid a total of $75,000 into bank accounts linked to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. Email exchanges also suggested that the financier may have sent £10,000 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Mandelson's husband, to help fund his osteopathy course.

Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said the revelations about Mandelson were "beyond infuriating" and that the former ambassador had "lied repeatedly" about his relationship with Epstein. "Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament, and our party," he said.

Starmer is under intense pressure to explain what the vetting process uncovered about Mandelson's ties to Epstein before his appointment as ambassador a year ago. Following a public outcry, the government has agreed to release documents surrounding Mandelson's appointment.

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NewlyreleasedDepartment of Justice documents show that investigators reviewing surveillance footage from the night of Jeffrey Epstein's death observed an orange-colored shape moving up a staircase toward the isolated, locked tier wherehis cellwas located at approximately 10:39 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019.

That entry in anobservation logof the video from the Metropolitan Correctional Center appears to suggest something previously unreported by authorities: "A flash of orange looks to be going up the L Tier stairs — could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier."

It also appears, according to anFBI memorandum, that reviews by investigators led to disparate conclusions by the FBI and those examining the same video from the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General.

The FBI log describes the fuzzy image as "possibly an inmate."

The inspector general logs it as an officer carrying orange "linen or bedding," noting it in their final report as "an unidentified [corrections officer]."

The finalreportby the Inspector General stated: "At approximately 10:39 p.m., an unidentified CO appeared to walk up the L Tier stairway, and then reappeared within view of the camera at 10:41 p.m."

Official reports state that Epstein died by suicide some time before 6:30 a.m., when his body was discovered by a corrections officer delivering his breakfast. No official time of death was ever determined. In recent months, there have been questions about the work of investigators probing the circumstances of his death.

In an in-depth analysis of surveillance video from the jail,  CBS Newspreviously reportedon the figure on the stairs and consulted independent video analysts who said the movement was more consistent with an inmate — or someone wearing an orange prison uniform — than a corrections officer.

The new records raise more questions about activity near Epstein's tier late that evening. Official reviews of Epstein's death make no mention of the figure in orange, and later pronouncements from authorities including the attorney general at the time,Bill Barr, were  that no one entered Epstein's housing tier the night of his death. Last summer in an interview on "Fox & Friends," then-deputy FBI director Dan Bongino said, "There's video clear as day, he's the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it."

Prison employees interviewed by CBS News said escorting an inmate at that hour would have been highly unusual. The identification of the individual could have been crucial to reconstructing the events, given that the sighting occurred within the estimated window of Epstein's possible time of death.

The staircase leading to his cell tier was captured by the only camera known to have been recording that night, positioned in a way that partially obscured the approach to Epstein's tier. Government investigators relied heavily on that footage in reconstructing the timeline of events. But because of the camera angle, it was not possible to rule out whether someone could have climbed the stairs and entered the tier without being clearly visible. CBS News'analysis of that videofound additional contradictions betweenwhat the video showedand official statements.

Inside the SHU

Thousands of pages released last week as part of a broader Justice Department disclosure of Epstein-related files, totaling more than 3 million documents, provide additional detail about the hours between the evening of Aug. 9, when Epstein was last seen alive on camera, and the discovery of his body the following morning.

Records and interviews describe a largely quiet night inside the Special Housing Unit, or SHU, where Epstein was being held. Several inmates told investigators they were using drugs inside their cells, including marijuana and K2, a synthetic substance that multiple witnesses said was common on the tier.

Among those interviewed were the two corrections officers assigned to the unit that night, Tova Noel and Ghitto Bonhomme, a materials handler who had not previously been publicly identified. Documents show Bonhomme was interviewed twice in September 2019 in sessions conducted in lieu of a grand jury subpoena.

According toNoel's account, Bonhomme had been working multiple consecutive shifts and slept while on duty for a period between approximately 10 p.m. and midnight.

Investigators also questioned Noel about an unexplained change in the recorded number of inmates in the SHU, which appeared to drop from 73 to 72 sometime between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Noel said she was "probably" mistaken about the discrepancy and told investigators she had no memory of a count changing.

Neither officer was specifically asked about the orange-colored figure noted in the video observation log. Bonhomme told investigators he did not remember the period between 10 p.m. and midnight and said he had no recollection of anyone walking up the stairs toward Epstein's tier at around 10:30 p.m. He added that a jail employee entering a tier alone would have violated policy.

A separate internal presentation included in the document release described a corrections officer, believed by investigators to be Noel, carrying linen or inmate clothing up to the tier. The 2023 inspector general report did not identify Noel as the figure seen in the footage. In her interview, Noel told investigators distributing linen was not part of her duties. "I never gave out linen. Ever," she said. "Because that's done on the shift prior."

An early morning discovery

Bonhomme ended his shift at midnight and was replaced by another corrections officer named Michael Thomas, who would discover Epstein's body hours later. Noel continued on for a second consecutive 8-hour shift.

Thomas and Noel failed to complete inmate counts at 3 a.m., and 5 a.m. as well as mandatory 30-minute wellness checks of Epstein. Investigators speculated the officers may have fallen asleep.

Thomas and Noel were later charged with falsifying records certifying the inmate counts had been completed. Federal prosecutors eventually dropped the charges in exchange for cooperation agreements that included interviews.A transcriptof Thomas' interview, conducted two years after Epstein's death and released in the recent document disclosure, shows significant gaps in his recollection of the morning Epstein was found.

Thomas told investigators he discovered Epstein in his cell shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Aug.10 and that he "ripped" Epstein down from the hanging position.

Investigators asked what happened to the noose.

"I don't recall taking the noose off. I really don't," he replied. "I don't recall taking the thing from around his neck."

Noel, who remained standing at the cell entrance, told investigators she saw Thomas lower Epstein to the floor but did not see a noose around his neck.

The noose Epstein allegedly used has never been definitively identified. According to the inspector general's report, a noose collected at the scene was later determined not to be the ligature used in Epstein's death.

Thomas also described Epstein as shirtless when he found him. Evidence records indicate a shirt believed to have been cut from Epstein's body was later returned from the hospital in a bag of personal belongings.

The new documents also show that New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reviewed the jail surveillance footage six days after Epstein's death as part of its investigation and concluded the video was too blurry to identify any individuals. Hours later, the office publicly ruled Epstein's death a suicide. The medical examiner did not provide an estimate of how long Epstein may have been dead before his body was discovered. CBS News hadpreviously reportedon the office's unorthodox handling of the crime scene.

Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist retained by Epstein's brother, previously told CBS News Epstein had likely been dead for several hours before he was found but because the body had been moved, determining the time of death was impossible.

Bonhomme declined to comment when contacted by CBS News. Noel's attorney told CBS News, "Ms. Noel will not be making any statements [or] attempts to clarify any aspect of this situation." Previous attempts to reach Michael Thomas on the phone, through his attorney and at his home, have been unsuccessful.

FBI says deadline in Nancy Guthrie ransom note is set for 5 p.m.

Investigators return to Nancy Guthrie's home as search intensifies

Questions swirl as video logs show person may have entered Epstein jail tier the night he died

Our latestNCAA men's basketballbracket projection features a few changes in the upper quadrant. Several programs with national titles in the past decade are among the teams with upward mobility.

Kansas,riding a six-game winning streak, has surged to a No. 3 seed along with defending champ Florida. Purdue is also back up to the third line, as Michigan State slips to a No. 4 afterdropping its second game in a rowWednesday night at Minnesota. Virginia is back in the top 16 as well, grabbing a No. 4 seed as Brigham Young slides to a five after a three-game losing skid.

STARTING FIVE:The biggest college basketball games to watch this weekend

Gonzaga, thanks to a stunning upset Wednesday at Portland, falls off the second line to a No. 3. That result wasn't all bad for the West Coast Conference, however, as it moved Santa Clara into first place in the league standings. That puts theBroncosin line for the automatic bid, giving the WCC three teams in the field for the moment. Saint Louis is now the lone Atlantic 10 squad in the projected field with George Mason taking a damaging loss to Duquesne this week.

March Madness bracketology update for NCAA tournament

March Madness Last four in

San Diego State, UCLA, Ohio State, New Mexico.

March Madness First four out

Miami (Fla.), Virginia Tech, California, Missouri.

NCAA tournament bids conference breakdown

Multi-bid leagues:Big Ten (11), SEC (10), ACC (7) Big 12 (7), Big East (3), Mountain West (3), West Coast (3).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Bracketology: Kansas rises in March Madness NCAA tournament projection

Mike Conley Jr. is returning to Minnesota after a trade deadline pinball trip through the league.

After being traded twice and waived this week,the longtime NBA veteran is planning to return to the Timberwolvesas a free agent, according to ESPN. Conley and Minnesota are working out the timing of him re-signing with the team.

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Conley, 38, was first dealt this week from the Wolves to the Chicago Bulls as part ofa three-team tradethat sent Kevin Huerter and Dario Šarić to the Detroit Pistons. Detroit also received a 2026 protected first-round swap with Minnesota. Also in the deal, Jaden Ivey went from the Pistons to the Bulls.

A day later, Conley was on his wayto the Charlotte Hornets with Coby Whitein exchange for Collin Sexton and three second-round picks. The Bulls also acquired Ousmane Dieng from Charlotte in a deal in which the Oklahoma City Thunder got Mason Plumlee.

Yet neither the Bulls nor Hornets intended to keep Conley and his $10.7 million salary for the 2025-26 campaign. He can be a free agent after the season.

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[Get more Timberwolves news: Minnesota team feed]

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement says teams are not allowed to trade a player and then re-sign him if he's waived. However, Conley can return to Minnesota since he was traded a second time before he was let go.

Following the brief interruption to his stay, Conley will resume his fourth season with the Timberwolves. He returns to a Minnesota team thatadded Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillipsin another deadline deal that sent Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to Chicago.

Before being dealt, Conley was averaging 4.4 points, 2.9 assists and 1.8 rebounds while limited to 44 games with back spasms and tendinopathy in his right Achilles.

Overall, Conley has played 19 seasons in the NBA, 12 for the Memphis Grizzlies and four with the Utah Jazz. During his career, he has averaged 13.7 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 39% on 3-pointers.

Minnesota is 32-20 and in sixth place in the West.

TheSECannounced Thursday it's rich.Filthy, stinking rich.

Why this surprises anyone, I don't know.

But more to the flush with cash point: why in the world are the SEC presidents allowing the Big Ten presidents — and by proxy, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti —run the sport?

It's time for the SEC presidents to make a clear and unmistakable move: tell the Big Ten to join the 16-team playoff, or the SEC is walking away.

With or without the other eight FBS conferences.

Why would the SEC — which doled out aconference-record $1.03 billion in revenueto its 16 teams — sit around and allow the Big Ten to decide where the sport's postseason begins and ends, and how it is played? Especially considering nine of the 10 FBS conferences are in favor of a 16-team format.

The only conference that isn't? The Big Ten.

If exclusive television partner ESPN will pay the SEC a billion annually — and its only going to increase over the course of a media rights deal that ends in 2033 — what would ESPN pay for an SEC-only playoff? Or a playoff of nine FBS conferences?

It doesn't matter that the Big Ten has wonthe last three national titles, or that the SEC has clearly seen slippage among its marquee schools in the same span (we're looking at you, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida).

Doesn't matter that three of the last four Heisman Trophy winners weren't from SEC schools, after six of the previous seven were.

NEW FRONT:Big Ten took title belt from SEC. TV ratings war might be next

NEW PATH:College football must avoid NFL and run CFP like business

The only thing that matters is the SEC is still the undisputed king of television ratings. The Big Ten has made great strides catching its sister super-conference in some areas, but still trails dramatically in television ratings.

The SEC had 12 of the top 23 most-watched teams in the regular season in 2025. The Big Ten had six.

Only South Carolina, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Arkansas weren't among the elite group of television draws.

Think about this: LSU, which fired its coach in October and won seven games in 2025, still was the 7th-most watched team in college football. Only Ohio State and Michigan from the Big Ten were higher.

The SEC, frankly, shouldn't allow anyone —  much less the Big Ten — make decisions about the future of a sport that essentially is on television life support without it.

The SEC could have its own playoff, and still outdraw anything the other conferences could cobble together. Better yet, the SEC could take the remaining eight FBS conferences and move to a 16-team playoff.

Then look at the Big Ten presidents and say you're welcome to join us. If not, good luck selling Iowa vs. Minnesota in the first round of your postseason party.

We'll be over here printing money.

Matt Hayesis the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at@MattHayesCFB.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:SEC should force 16-team CFP with television ratings leverage

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THE RUNDOWN

• Taylor Swift released her "Opalite" music video on Friday—but not on all platforms.

• Taylor Nation, Swift's marketing team, announced the video will first be released on just Spotify Premium and Apple Music, which both require subscriptions.

• "Opalite" will be added to YouTube on Sunday.

Taylor Swift just released the next single off herThe Life of a Showgirlalbum this morning—but in a less traditional way. The music video for "Opalite," which is believed to bea love song about Travis Kelce, came out on Friday, February 6 at 8 A.M. ET onApple MusicandSpotify Premium. It will not be on YouTube for days.

Taylor Nation, Swift's marketing team, shared details onher siteyesterday, along with an official countdown. They added that "Opalite" will be released on YouTube on Sunday, February 8 at 8 A.M. ET. (That's Super Bowl Sunday.)

Here's what to know about the release:

How can I watch the "Opalite" music video on Friday?

There are only two platforms on which the music video can be viewed until Sunday morning, and both require a subscription:Apple MusicandSpotify Premium. Spotify Premium currently has afree two-month trial dealand costs $12.99 per month after. Apple Music offers afree three-month trial deal; it has various plans, but an individual plan is $10.99 per month after the trial period.

Swift's site includeslinksto view the music video on Spotify Premium and Apple Music.

What is the music video about?

The music video is a '90s-themed rom-com, where Swift plays a lonely woman attached to her pet rock, and Domhnall Gleeson plays a lonely man who has that same relationship with his pet cactus. A magic Opalite spray brings them together—and leads to them falling in love and enjoying several cute dates, from a dance competition to a mall outing. Swift wrote the script and directed the project.

Can I watch the video on YouTube?

Yes, but not until Sunday at 8 A.M. ET. Swift hasn't revealed the link yet to the YouTube music video of "Opalite," but this post will be updated once she does.

Has Swift said anything about the "Opalite" video?

Initially she didn't. She just quietly changed her profile photo to promo art for the single yesterday:

But once the video came out, she shared its backstory on X:

My favorite part about writing is that first spark of an idea. It can happen at any time, for any reason. The idea for the "Opalite" music video crash landed into my imagination when I was doing promo forThe Life of a Showgirl. I was a guest on one of my favorite shows, @TheGNShow [The Graham Norton Show]. For those of you who aren't familiar, it's a U.K. late night show where Graham Norton (the insanely charismatic and lovable host) invites a random group of actors, entertainers, musicians, etc., to be on his show and we all sit there and chat like it's a dinner party. They even serve wine. Anyway. I remember thinking I got ridiculously lucky with the group I was paired with. Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lewis Capaldi. All people whose work I've admired from afar. When we were all talking during the broadcast, Domhnall made a light-hearted joke about wanting to be in one of my music videos. He's Irish! He was joking! Except that in that moment during the interview, I was instantly struck with an *idea*. And so a week later, he received an email script I'd written for the "Opalite" video, where he was playing the starring role. I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too. Like a school group project but for adults and it isn't mandatory. To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the '90s with us and help with this video. You might even recognize some friendly faces from The Eras Tour. I got to work with one of my favorite people in the world, Rodrigo Prieto, again! I had more fun than I ever imagined—Made new friends, metaphors, and fashion choices. It was an absolute thrill to create this story and these characters. Shot on film. The "Opalite" video is out now on Spotify and Apple Music.

My favorite part about writing is that first spark of an idea. It can happen at any time, for any reason. The idea for the Opalite music video crash landed into my imagination when I was doing promo for The Life of a Showgirl. I was a guest on one of my favorite shows,…pic.twitter.com/UMt519KFSS

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13)February 6, 2026

Back in November, Swift sparked speculation that she was secretlyshooting a music videoin the U.K., but the singer never addressed the rumors. She has generally kept her music projects under wraps until they are ready for release.

In herEnd of an Erasdocuseries, Swiftspoke about why she does that,admitting, "It is so much extra work to keep things a surprise [for fans]. Let me tell ya, I need a nap just thinking about it. But it's so worth it when we can actually pull it off."

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