World
David A. Ross resigns from School of Visual Arts after ties to Jeffrey Epstein surface
Art museum curator and director David A. Ross has left his post at the School of Visual Arts in New York after the latest release of documents about Jeffrey Epstein revealed his friendship with the convicted sex offender.
Ross, who was chair of the MFA art practice program, resigned Tuesday, the school said in a statement, adding that it was “aware of correspondence” between him and Epstein. Ross’ online page at the school was offline Wednesday.
The resignation was first reported by ARTnews.
In emails dating from 2009, Ross banters with, reaches out to meet and consoles Epstein, calling him “incredible” and “I’m still proud to call you a friend.”
In one exchange in 2009, Epstein suggests an exhibition called “Statutory” that would feature “girls and boys ages 14-25 ”where they look nothing like their true ages.” Replied Ross: “You are incredible” and noted that Brooke Shields posed nude at age 10.
Also that year, Ross wrote to console Epstein after the financier had been deposed. “Damn, this was not what you needed or deserved,” Ross wrote. “I know how tough you are, and in fact, it probably bothers me as your friend more than it does you.”
In an email to ARTnews after his resignation, Ross said that he met Epstein in the mid-1990s when he was director of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. “It was part of my job to befriend people who had the capacity and interest in supporting the museum,” he said.
The Whitney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. Ross said he believed Epstein when the financier told him it was “a political frame-up.”
Ross told ARTnews that when Epstein was being investigated again in 2019, he reached out to show his support. “That was a terrible mistake of judgement. When the reality of his crimes became clear, I was mortified and remain ashamed that I fell for his lies.”
Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Ross have been unsuccessful.
In addition to the Whitney, Ross previously held posts at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Berkeley Art Museum and the Long Beach Museum of Art.
The emails are part of more than 3 million pages of documents the U.S. Department of Justice released on Friday that reveal some of Epstein’s famous associates.
Global Sumud Flotilla group says six others remain in detention and are expected to be released within 24 hours.
Published On 24 Jun 2026
Four pro-Palestinian campaigners detained in Libya for about a month have been released, the Global Sumud Flotilla group has said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the organisation said Achraf Khoja from Tunisia, Matias Rodriguez from Uruguay, and Domenico Centrone and Leonarda Alberizia, both from Italy, had all arrived in Tunis. Six others are expected to be released in the next 24 hours, it added.
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In an earlier statement, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani welcomed the news of the released Italians, saying the two, along with Rodriguez, who has Italian citizenship, were handed over to Italy’s consul in Benghazi. They will return to Italy on Wednesday, he said on X.
More than 400 activists were arrested last month in international waters on board dozens of vessels while sailing towards Gaza to break a siege imposed on the enclave by Israel.
The activists held in Libya were part of a separate group which tried to reach the strip by land. They had staged a hunger strike in protest at their detention, the Global Sumud Flotilla said.
According to Amnesty International, on May 24, 2026, an armed group affiliated with Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), which is allied to the de facto authorities in eastern and southern Libya, the Libyan National Army, arrested the 10 humanitarian activists from eight different countries as they were en route to the city of Sirte to negotiate the convoy’s passage with local authorities.
The activists were seeking approval from the authorities for the convoy to continue the journey through Libya and Egypt to reach Gaza.
“Following periods of enforced disappearance ranging from two to nine days, prosecutors interrogated them before ordering their pretrial detention pending investigations into charges of ‘assembly without authorization,’” Amnesty said.
President Trump said Iran had agreed to the “highest level” inspections, hours after an Iranian official said there were “no detailed discussions on the nuclear issue,” as the two sides continued to present different narratives of their latest talks.
World
Turkey detains over 200 suspects, including alleged ISIS militants, in sweeping raid ahead of NATO summit
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Turkish authorities reportedly detained more than 200 people, including suspected ISIS-linked militants, in a sweeping Tuesday raid in capital Ankara ahead of a July 7-8 NATO summit.
The raid came after Turkish authorities issued detention orders for 241 suspects, 209 of whom were taken into custody, The Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the office of Turkey’s chief prosecutor.
Among the 209 detained, 56 were allegedly ISIS militants, according to the AP. This comes after Turkish authorities said they detained 125 ISIS members in December.
The detention operations occurred just two weeks before a planned NATO summit in Ankara on July 7 that President Donald Trump is expected to attend.
TURKEY’S NATO ROLE UNDER SCRUTINY AMID NEW REPORT ON HAMAS, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TIES
President Donald Trump greets Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Oct. 13, 2025, to support ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo/Pool)
Other militants scooped up were 35 alleged members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front, which a Turkish statement described as “a far‑left group known for armed attacks and assassinations in Turkey,” according to the AP.
The ISIS-combating operations demonstrate the terrorist group’s ongoing activity in the region, showing the group is still functioning despite the U.S. campaign during Trump’s first term to eliminate the group’s caliphate and its control of large swaths of territory in the Middle East.
Iraqi government forces celebrate while holding an Islamis Sate (IS) group flag after they claimed they have gained complete control of the Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, on January 26, 2015 near the town of Muqdadiyah. (YOUNIS AL-BAYATI/AFP via Getty Images)
In recent years, ISIS has spread into the African continent, prompting a strong response from the U.S. In May, Trump authorized a series of strikes in Nigeria to combat the group.
PENTAGON SLASHES NATO COMBAT COMMITMENTS AS TRUMP PUSHES EUROPE TO DEFEND ITSELF
A May 16 strike killed ISIS leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who was the group’s second-in-command globally.
U.S. and Nigerian forces conducted kinetic strikes against ISIS fighters in northeastern Nigeria on May 17, 2026, AFRICOM said. (X/U.S. Africa Command)
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“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social after the strike. “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”
The group’s renewed activity also includes a call to supporters to make attacks on U.S. soil during the World Cup.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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