Bank of America reaches proposed, non-binding settlement in suit alleging it aided Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes
Epstein and Maxwell in one of the images released by the US Department of State . (Photo by The US Justice Department / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Bank of America has reached a proposed, non-binding settlement in a lawsuit that alleged the bank helped facilitate Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking operation, according to court records.
The proposed class-action complaint, filed in October 2025, alleged that Bank of America “knowingly provided the financial support and the veneer of institutional legitimacy” to Epstein and ignored suspicious transactions by the late disgraced financier.
A notice on the case’s docket said that lawyers for the bank and the victims “reached a settlement in principle.” The terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed and would need to be approved by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff had previously scheduled the case to go to trial on May 11.
A court hearing to consider the settlement proposal is scheduled for April 2 in federal court in New York, according to the docket.
Bank of America declined to comment on the proposed settlement to ABC News. An attorney for the victims called the proposed settlement “one more step on the road to much-deserved justice.”
“The women entrapped and abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell started a monumental reckoning with their brave voices and fearlessness. The road to justice for these women has been long and trying,” attorney Sigrid McCawley said in a statement.
Though the terms of the settlement are unknown, a proposed resolution of the case would likely scuttle an upcoming deposition of Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black, who was scheduled to sit for questioning on March 26. Black resigned from his role at Apollo in 2021 after an inquiry into his relationship with Epstein, which found that Black paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning advice.
In a statement from January, Black’s attorney said that his client “had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activities” and that there is “absolutely no truth to any of the allegations against Mr. Black.”
The lawsuit against Bank of America alleged that those payments from Black and other transactions by Epstein should have raised concern by the bank, which “failed to alert law enforcement as to Epstein’s crimes before it was far too late.”
“Epstein committed these crimes by means of not only his own extraordinary wealth and power, but through access to funding and financial support from both individuals and institutions, including Bank of America. Egregiously, Bank of America had a plethora of information regarding Epstein’s sex trafficking operation but chose profit over protecting the victims,” the lawsuit alleged.
Bank of America had unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the court to dismiss the case by arguing that the suit was “based on nothing more than allegations that it provided routine services to customers who at the time had no known connection to Epstein’s sex trafficking.”
“Bank of America opposes trafficking in all its forms. But this suit attempts to radically expand liability for banks, holding them liable for providing ordinary banking services to individuals one or more steps removed from a trafficker,” a November 2025 filing from the bank’s lawyers said.
US Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel looks on prior to the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Elsa/Getty Images)
(MILAN) — FBI Director Kash Patel joined in on Team USA hockey’s locker room celebrations in Italy shortly after the team won the gold medal.
The team beat Canada 2-1 at the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina on Sunday, marking the first such victory for the U.S. since the so-called “Miracle on Ice” game in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.
Patel, a hockey fan, was said to have had meetings in Italy prior to attending the game. Ben Williamson, an FBI spokesperson, said on social media that Patel’s trip had been previously scheduled. He added that “any other personal expenses would be reimbursed.”
Patel on Sunday evening posted on social media a statement, which he said was for “the very concerned media.”
“[Y]es, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys — Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” he said in the post.
A video obtained by ABC News showed Patel wearing a USA shirt in the locker room, where he’s seen singing along with members of the team. After he takes a swig, shakes his bottle and pounds the table, a member of the team places a gold medal around his neck.
“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude – what it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it,” Patel wrote on social media, where he posted photos of himself celebrating with the team in the locker room.
Patel added, ” Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created.”
He included several emojis — a fist bump, American flag and a hockey stick — then said, “congrats boys.”
Steven Cheung, the White House’s communications director, appeared on Monday to publicly defend Patel and the video, telling MS Now reporter Carol Leonnig on X, “don’t be mad because America won.”
Cheung was responding to Leonnig, who posted a video of Patel on social media and said the FBI had said it was “strictly a business trip.” Cheung said Patel was also meeting with security teams in Italy.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Two winter storms will move through the East this weekend, with cold air coming right behind it in an arctic blast forecast for next week.
The first of the two storm systems will be a quick-moving, clipper system that continues to bring scattered snow showers to the Midwest and Great Lakes before bringing two rounds of snow for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Saturday.
The first round of snow showers moved through early Saturday morning from the central Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Virginia up into Pennsylvania, as well as New England. The next round moves in later Saturday morning.
By noon, there will be either snow or mixed conditions along the I-95 corridor from Baltimore to Philadelphia to New York City.
By mid-afternoon, Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia will be clear with New York City and Bridgeport, Connecticut, seeing a change to a light wintry mix as things begin drying up.
Most of New England will see snow on Saturday except along the coast. Boston is likely seeing mostly rain from this, but could get in on a wintry mix at times.
Heading into Saturday night, the first storm system moves out and things begin to clear out across the Northeast, with only a few isolated showers remaining.
The next storm system, which will be a coastal storm that forms off the Southeast coast early Sunday morning, will slide up the East Coast for Sunday.
A light wintry mix or snow will be present for parts of Georgia on Sunday morning by 8:00 a.m., with it possibly extending down to the Florida Panhandle. Atlanta could even get in on a few snow showers, while Macon, Georgia, is likely to see more concentrated wintry weather.
Rain elsewhere along the Southeast coast extends up into the Carolinas.
As the coastal storm moves up the East Coast later Sunday morning into the afternoon, the next round of snow looks to develop along the Northeast coast from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Boston.
It’s not set yet who will see snow with this coastal storm, as it all depends on how close it is to the coast. There is a chance for more snow near the I-95 corridor. However, it’s becoming clearer that there’ll be more snow for areas along the coast rather than areas inland with this second storm system.
Overall, both of these storm systems will bring minor accumulations along the I-95 corridor and parts of New England.
Some higher snowfall amounts of 2 to 6 inches will be possible north and west of the I-95 corridor and parts of interior New England.
Behind these two systems will be a big arctic blast that will sweep across much of the Eastern and Central U.S. to start the new work week.
Boats descend lower into a desert canyon at Antelope Point Marina, requiring construction of alternative boat ramps, as Lake Powell continues to shrink on September 3, 2022, near Page, Arizona. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — It has been a tale of two winters on the opposing U.S. coasts this season.
While the East has been slammed with frigid temperatures and punishing winter storms, the West is experiencing a snow drought amid warmer-than-normal temperatures.
Prolonged drought across much of the West has been worsened this winter by below‑average snowfall and persistent warmth, fueling a widespread and intensifying snow drought. With sharply reduced mountain snowpack, the region’s water supplies and winter tourism are facing mounting challenges, experts told ABC News.
“This winter, we’ve just had an extreme lack of storm activity, and the storms that we have had have either brought very small amounts of snowfall or have brought rain,” Jon Meyer, assistant Utah state climatologist, told ABC News.
Warm temperatures have prevented snow from accumulating
Much of the western United States entered winter already grappling with a lack of rain. Widespread moderate to severe drought conditions stretched from New Mexico to Washington, including much of the Colorado River Basin, leaving soil moisture low and reservoir levels depleted heading into the season.
More than one-third of the West is currently facing some form of drought condition, with much of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico experiencing a moderate drought or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Mitigation Center’s U.S. Drought Monitor.
Utah is facing the worst drought conditions among western states, with more than 94% of the state experiencing what the USDM categorizes as a Moderate Drought and more than 40% of the state experiencing Severe Drought.
Salt Lake City has only received a tenth of an inch of snow so far this season – the lowest to date since records began in 1874, according to the National Weather Service. Their lowest seasonal snowfall was 14.3 inches during the winter of 1933-34. By comparison, parts of the Southeast, which typically don’t see much snowfall, have seen more snow than Salt Lake City this season.
“Just totally uncharted territory for the amount of low-elevation and mid-elevation snowfall Utah has seen, and that’s a pattern that’s played out across much of the Western U.S.,” Meyer said.
While many western states received average or above-average precipitation in the fall and early winter, warmer temperatures caused much of it to fall as rain rather than snow, leading to unusually low snowpack and a rapidly developing snow drought.
“If you look at most of the West, it’s at or above average, with regards to precipitation to date,” Eric Sproles, an associate professor of earth sciences at Montana State University, told ABC News. “But if you look at the the amount of water that’s stored in the snow pack is, it’s pretty bleak.”
Meteorological winter, which begins in the U.S. on December 1, kicked off with record warmth across much of the West. December 2025 was the warmest December on record for cities including Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Nine western states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming – recorded their warmest December on record. For the winter season to date, Colorado is currently experiencing its warmest winter since 1934, while Utah is experiencing its warmest winter on record, according to NOAA.
The snow drought is threatening water supplies
Drought on its own already stresses water supplies, agriculture and ecosystems. But when winter fails to deliver significant mountain snow, the resulting snow drought – a period of abnormally little snowpack for the time of year – can intensify those impacts, according to NOAA.
The snowpack typically acts as a natural water reservoir. However, without an adequate snowpack to slowly release water through the spring and summer snow melt, rivers run lower, soils dry out earlier, and drought conditions can deepen and linger.
Melting snow provides a slow release of the water into reservoirs and dams but also recharges ground water as well, Sproles said: “That slow, steady release is important. The snowpack is kind of like a savings account.”
In Utah, the snow water equivalent – meaning how much water is in the snowpack – is currently at only 55% of its median, which is the lowest snow water equivalent to date. Moreover, only a quarter of the state has seen a ground snow cover depth of at least 1 inch.
Colorado and Oregon are also reporting their lowest snow water equivalents to date, with Montana approaching its lowest snow water equivalent to date.
In much of the West, snowmelt provides a large percentage of the water used by communities, agriculture, and ecosystems; in some states, up to about 75 percent of the water supply can come from melting snow, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. As such, the snow water equivalent is a vital measure of the region’s water resources.
According to NOAA, a persistent snow drought can trigger a cascade of hydrologic changes. Low snowpack and early snowmelt can affect vegetation, reduce surface and subsurface water storage and alter streamflow, all of which directly impact water management and planning across the West.
While soil moisture in not currently a concern, it could dry out over the next couple of months, according to Meyer.
“We’ve become critically reliant on soil moisture observations for drought monitoring and predictions,” Meyer said.
The reservoirs along the Colorado River are especially threatened, the experts said. Major reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin remain well below average, according to latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). As of early February, Lake Powell, in southern Utah and northern Arizona, was about 26 % full, while Lake Mead – the nation’s largest reservoir by volume, located in Arizona and Nevada – was about 34% full.
Total storage in the Colorado River system, which provides water for more than 40 million people and fuels hydropower resources in seven western states, was roughly 37% of capacity, down from about 42% at the same time last year, according to the USBR, which has flagged 13 reservoirs, the majority located in the West, for having the lowest observed water storage levels for the current time period.
The Colorado River system also serves as a vital resource for 30 tribal nations, sustaining 5.5 million acres of farmland and agricultural communities throughout the West, while also supporting critical ecosystems and protecting endangered species, the USBR said.
Winter sports have been impacted by lack of snow
The snow drought is also impacting local economies that rely on winter sports, an industry that contributes $20 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to The Climate Reality Project.
“The resort winter tourism is a huge economic backbone for many of these mountain resort communities,” Marcene Mitchell, senior vice president for climate change for the World Wildlife Fund, told ABC News. “And so as they lose their snowfall, they also lose these revenue.”
Vail Resorts, a Colorado-based company that owns and operates some of the largest ski resorts in North America, reported in January that skier visits to its North American resorts were down about 20% through Jan. 4, compared to the same period last year. The company issued the update as a mid-season report on skier visits and revenue, citing a lack of early-season snowfall as a major factor in the decline.
Season-to-date total lift revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue, was down 1.8% from the same period last year, said the tourism company, which operates dozens of resorts across North America, including Vail Mountain and Breckenridge in Colorado and Park City Mountain in Utah.
“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period,” Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz said in a statement.
Vail’s Tahoe-area resorts in California also had a slow start through mid-December, but holiday-period snowstorms allowed the company to open more terrain, Katz said.
February and March typically can bring significant amounts of snow to the region, and odds favor above-average precipitation for much of the region over the next few weeks, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, with persistent unusually warm conditions less likely. However, NOAA notes, snowfall in the coming months may not be able to make up for existing deficits.
Forecasters further caution that this pattern may not last for the rest of the month, with overall warmer and drier-than-average conditions still favored for the month as a whole.
