Daily briefing Saturday 20th December

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. This is the Times Daily Briefing on Saturday 20th December. US politicians on both sides of the aisle have criticised the Trump administration for failing to release all its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

0:45The Department of Justice has published 300 ,000 files, some of which are heavily redacted, but has missed a deadline set out in law to release everything it has on the paedophile. Democratic Congressman Roe Karner co-authored that bill. He says the law hasn't been followed in spirit or letter. Some of the documents I've just been scanning them have very heavy redactions. This including documents which judges ordered released, like the grand jury testimony in New York. They owe Congress and the American public an explanation for every redaction. That I didn't see published on the DOJ page, but the law is very clear that any redaction has to be justified in writing.

1:26Among the documents released are photos of Prince Andrew hosting Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Balmoral, Sandringham and Ascot. Kremlin officials are in Miami for more talks with the US on peace plans for Ukraine. It's after Europe agreed a£78 billion loan for Kiev but failed to agree whether to fund that with frozen Russian assets. The US has launched what it calls large-scale airstrikes on 70 ISIS targets in Syria. Three US citizens, two National Guard members and a civilian interpreter, were killed in an attack in the Syrian desert last weekend. David Walliams says he's taking legal action after being dropped by his publisher.

2:04HarperCollins says it won't publish any new children's books by the comedian after allegations he harassed female members of staff. Sunday Times media editor Rosamund Irwin says he's been incredibly successful as an author so far. There's some data that suggests he's responsible for a bit under half of HarperCollins' children's sales. I mean, he's one of the most successful. He overtook J.K. Rowling at one point. And, of course, that's led to adaptations of some of his books into TV shows. The BBC actually has two coming up over Christmas. I should say they've made clear they've got no future projects with him after this point.

2:39The 54-year-old denies any inappropriate behaviour. In cricket, Australia are just four wickets away from retaining the Ashes. England need a world record run chase in the third test to keep the series alive, but they finished day four on 207 for six, so they're 220 runs short, less than halfway to their target. and former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has stopped YouTuber Jake Paul in six rounds in their boxing fight in Miami. Many pundits predicted a one-sided affair given Joshua's significant advantage in terms of height, weight and experience. Afterwards he told TalkSport he deserves criticism for taking so long to win.

3:17So I put myself in the shoes of a coach. If I was coaching Anthony Joshua and he went six rounds with Jake Paul I would get him back in the gym tomorrow, give him a bit of a beating and we're getting straight back to work because I'll be like, how are you letting this kid take you six rounds? Are you crazy? Jake Paul has been taken to hospital with a broken jaw. Don't forget you can subscribe to the Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:50This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk.

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