Harvard launches new probe of Larry Summers and others entangled in Epstein saga
Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, during an interview in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. Summers earlier this month warned that while financial markets have so far shown limited concern with regard to the Federal Reserve’s independence, the situation “could turn very quickly.” (Photographer: Victor J. Blue Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Harvard University is launching a new investigation into its former president, Larry Summers, and other individuals affiliated with the school who were associated with Jeffrey Epstein, a spokesperson for the university told ABC News on Wednesday.
“The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted,” Harvard said in a statement to ABC News.
Harvard did not respond to questions about whether Summers’ teaching position at the university would be affected while the new probe is ongoing.
In a video obtained by The Associated Press, Summers on Wednesday addressed the topic of his communications with Epstein to students in a class he teaches at Harvard.
“Some of you will have seen my statement of regret, expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein. And that I’ve said that I’m going to step back from public activity,” Summers told his students, according to the video. “I think it’s very important to fulfill my teaching obligations. So with your permission, we’re going to go forward and talk about the material in the class.”
Early Wednesday, tech company OpenAI released a statement saying Summers, also a former Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, has resigned from its board of directors.
“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” a statement from the OpenAI Board of Directors reads.
Summers’ resignation came just two days after he released a statement saying he was “deeply ashamed” of his relationship with Epstein. Summers’ email exchanges with Epstein were released last week by the House Oversight Committee.
No Epstein survivor has alleged wrongdoing by Summers and there is no public record evidence to suggest Summers was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.
“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” a statement from Larry Summers said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
Larry Summers previously announced that he was stepping back from public life after his apparent communications with Epstein were made public.
Summers is currently a member of Harvard’s faculty, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper. But there have been calls, including from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for Harvard to sever ties with him.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said in a statement on Monday.
He added, “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
It has been previously reported that Summers maintained a relationship with Epstein for many years, particularly during Summers’ term as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006.
Summers flew at least four times on Epstein’s aircraft, according to flight records made public during litigation against Epstein, and he was the top official at Harvard during a time when the university received millions in gifts from Epstein.
All of those gifts were received prior to Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida in 2008 to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor, according to the university’s review of its Epstein connections.
The family of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, who was reported dead while aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Saturday, says they will remember her as a happy, bubbly, straight-A student with a bright future ahead. (Kepner family)
(MIAMI) — Anna Kepner, a teen who died aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise ship earlier this month, was found dead under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests, according to a security source briefed on the investigation.
The 18-year-old cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was reported dead while aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Nov. 8. The Miami-Dade medical examiner has not specified a cause or manner of her death.
Among the avenues investigators are looking at is whether there might have been some sort of altercation with her stepbrother prior to her death, the source told ABC News. Investigators are also looking at other possibilities, including a medical emergency or an overdose, the source said.
Investigators are poring over ship security records, including security camera footage and access-card swipes, to get a picture of who was where at the various times prior to her death, the source said.
A court filing in an unrelated family court matter noted Kepner’s stepsibling could face charges.
The filing said the FBI is conducting an investigation “arising out of the sudden death of 18 year old Anna Kepner.”
Shauntel Hudson — Kepner’s stepmother, who was also on the cruise along with her children and Kepner’s father — requested a delay in her custody hearing because one of her minor children may face criminal charges, according to the filing.
“The Respondent has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys, that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” the filing stated. “Any testimony the Respondent may give, either written or oral, could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation, therefore the Respondent cannot be compelled to testify.”
The FBI declined to comment.
Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement after Kepner’s death, “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”
Kepner’s family did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Meningitis Medical term in a card on doctor hand, medical conceptual image. Getty/Md Saiful Islam Khan
(LANGHORNE, Pa.) — A Pennsylvania high school student died from bacterial meningitis, according to the local school district.
Ryan Duffy, 18, a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, contracted Streptococcus Pneumoniae Meningitis last week and was treated in the ICU before dying Tuesday, according to a letter sent to parents by the Neshaminy School District and obtained by ABC News.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of a member of our school community, Ryan Duffy, who passed away earlier today, October 14, 2025. Ryan’s family has given us permission to share with you that he became suddenly ill late last week and was admitted to the ICU at the hospital,” the letter read. “We hold the family in our thoughts and wish them strength in this difficult time. Ryan was diagnosed with Streptococcus Pneumoniae Meningitis.”
The Neshaminy School District is using enhanced cleaning protocols at Neshaminy High School, but the school said that Duffy’s form of meningitis is not typically contagious.
“It is important to note that this type of meningitis is not usually contagious in a school setting and does not typically spread through casual contact, such as being in the same classroom or cafeteria,” the letter continued.
According to the CDC, though this type of meningitis is spread through droplets that are released when you cough, sneeze, or talk, it is not highly contagious.
Parents in the community are mourning Duff’s death from the disease.
“These old diseases that have been around for years are still affecting people,” said Eddie Maurer, a parent from Bensalem, told ABC News affiliate ABC 6. “It just doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to believe.”
Bacterial meningitis causes inflammation of the brain’s protective lining and spinal cord and can lead to death in a few hours if not treated properly, according to the CDC.
Symptoms include severe headaches, high fevers, excessive vomiting, stiff neck and confusion, according to the CDC, and the best way to inoculate yourself against the disease is through vaccination.
“Most people recover from bacterial meningitis if managed properly,” the CDC page on the infection says, but “those who recover can have permanent disabilities.”
It is not yet known how Duffy contracted the infection.
Luigi Mangione appears for a suppression of evidence hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 01, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A police officer who searched accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione’s backpack when he was apprehended at an Pennsylvania McDonald’s took the stand on Monday for the fourth day of a crucial pretrial hearing in which Mangione’s defense lawyers are trying to exclude from trial critical evidence that they say was illegally seized from his backpack without a warrant.
“Holly Jolly Christmas” was playing in the Altoona McDonald’s on Dec. 9, 2024, when officer Christy Wasser — a 19-year Altoona Police Department veteran — searched Mangione’s backpack, immediately pulling out a pocketknife and a loaf of bread, five days after Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk.
When Mangione was formally placed under arrest at 9:58 a.m., Wasser testified that she “walked over and picked up his backpack.”
Two minutes into the search, Wasser was seen on body camera video extracting “wet, grey underwear” from the backpack. “And when I opened it up, it was a magazine,” she testified.
Prosecutor Joel Seidemann asked it was “fully loaded,” and Wasser responded, “Yes.”
Wasser also said she discovered a phone in a Faraday bag, designed to conceal its signal.
An officer was heard suggesting that the bag be brought to the police station to check for bombs. Wasser was heard joking that she preferred to check it at the McDonald’s because she “didn’t want to pull a Moser” — a sarcastic reference, she said, to a former Altoona officer who brought a bomb to the police station.
At 10:03 a.m. an officer was heard on the camera footage mentioning a search warrant. A different officer was heard saying that one was not needed at that stage.
Defense lawyers have argued Wasser’s actions violated Mangione’s constitutional rights and should justify excluding any of the evidence found in the bag, including the alleged murder weapon and writings that prosecutors say amount to a confession.
“[The officer] did not search the bag because she reasonably thought there might be a bomb, but rather this was an excuse designed to cover up an illegal warrantless search of the backpack,” defense attorneys argued in a court filing. “This made-up bomb claim further shows that even she believed at the time that there were constitutional issues with her search, forcing her to attempt to salvage this debacle by making this spurious claim.”
Although Wasser’s initial search of the backpack uncovered the magazine, she missed the loaded handgun, silencer, and journal that were buried deeper in the bag, she testified.
Wasser testified that she only discovered the two items about 15 minutes later, when she conducted a further search after driving from the McDonald’s to the Altoona police station.
“There’s a weapon!” she’s heard shouting on the video footage to the other officers in the intake area, as Mangione was being searched just feet away with his ankles shackled.
“Is that the first time you opened that zipper section on the side?” Seidemann asked Wasser on the witness stand.
“Yes, sir,” she affirmed.
With Mangione just feet away from her in the station’s intake area, she testified it would be “unwise” to continue the search near Mangione.
“Were the defendant’s hands free at the time you took out the gun?” asked Seidemann.
“Yes,” she testified.
Body camera footage showed Wasser and Deputy Chief Derek Swope take the weapon over to a nearby hallway — behind a locked door — where she cleared the gun. She mumbled — at times inaudibly — when she explained the situation to Swope on the video.
“We just checked the bag … to make sure there were no bombs or anything,” she said on the body camera footage.
As the search continued, Wasser quickly uncovered a silencer buried beneath other items in the bag. She also found a journal allegedly belonging to Mangione.
“Holy s—,” Swope can be heard saying in the body camera footage.
Wasser testified that she was cautious when checking the back because the nature of Mangione’s alleged crime “greatened [her] concern.”
“I just wanted to make sure there was nothing that could harm anybody,” she testified.
“Did any of your supervisors say, ‘Stop — go get a search warrant?'” asked Seidermann.
“No,” she said.
The stationhouse backpack search also turned up a slip of paper with a crude, handwritten map of Pittsburgh, Wasser testified, as well as what Seidemann described as possible escape routes.
The note said, “Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight” and “Break CAM continuity.” Another line read, “3+ hrs off cam, exit diff method (ex: megabus, rail)” and a note saying “check reports for current situation.” The note also said, “bus to Penn station,” “change hat” and “either taxi … or cross river.”
Wasser was also heard on body camera footage saying she pulled hair clippers from Mangione’s bag.
Earlier in the body camera video — when she was still searching the bag at the McDonald’s while “The Twelve Days of Christmas” blared in the background — prosecutors highlighted an exchange between officers and a supervisor about whether a warrant was necessary. One officer remarked that a warrant might be needed “because of the severity of the case,” but their supervisor interjected to say that no warrant was required because the incident was a “search incident to arrest” — a warrantless search conducted of an area within the arrestee’s immediate surroundings.
Prosecutor Nichole Smith of Pennsylvania’s Blair County District Attorney’s office also testified, outlining the chain of custody of items seized from Mangione after he was apprehended.
Smith recalled a lieutenant from the Altoona Police Department calling her at 9:53 a.m. to advise her “that he had the individual responsible for the CEO shooting” at McDonald’s. Smith said she was in court at the time and interrupted the proceeding to inform her boss, Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks.
Smith said she and Weeks advised Altoona police to charge Mangione with forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records for identification, possessing instruments of a crime and providing false identification to law enforcement.
Smith described a search warrant that obtained a court’s permission to seize Mangione’s belongings, including items in his backpack, and transfer them to the NYPD.
“Certain items in that bag were not inherently contraband, so we wanted to ensure that the court had approved,” Smith testified. “When they search the bag and they discover, for instance, the firearm, the ammunition and the suppressor, when he does not have a valid permit to carry those items concealed, they become contraband.”
Handwritten notes that police said they also discovered in Mangione’s backpack were not relevant to the local charges in Pennsylvania. Ordinarily, they would have been put aside and saved. The warrant allowed those items to be transferred as possible evidence in the New York case.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo objected to Seidemann referring to the writings as an alleged “manifesto” and Thompson’s killing as an “execution.” Judge Gregory Carro said it was fine for the ongoing suppression hearing but said, “You’re certainly not going to do that at trial.”
Last week, during the first week of the hearing, prosecutors called six witnesses, including the police officers who first confronted Mangione and the corrections officers who were tasked with constantly monitoring him before his transfer from a cell in Pennsylvania to New York.
Last week’s testimony shed new light on the events leading up to and following Mangione’s arrest, with the two officers who initially confronted Mangione recounting their experiences for the first time.
“It’s him. I have been seeing all the pictures. He is nervous as hell. I ask him, ‘Have you been in New York,’ he’s all quiet,” Altoona police officer Joseph Detwiler testified on Tuesday.
Prosecutors also showed in court never-before-seen security camera footage that captured the chilling moments after Mangione allegedly shot and killed Thompson in the predawn cold of New York City’s early winter. The videos provided the public with a clearer picture of the shooting and emergency response, as well as clues about the case prosecutors have built against the alleged killer.
At least three people were in the immediate vicinity of the shooting, including a woman just feet away from the suspect. The woman’s identity and whether she has spoken with police are not known.
The video also shows the suspect — after firing multiple shots — walk toward the victim, glance down at him, cross the street, then run toward a nearby alleyway. A woman holding a cup of coffee outside the famed New York Hilton on Sixth Avenue is seen flinching after hearing the first gunshot, after which she sees Thompson stumble, then appears to look straight at the gunman before running off.
Seconds later, a man inside the hotel exits, sees Thompson on the ground, then appears to point to a nearby alleyway where the suspect fled.
