A prominent Democrat has suffered a public setback over his documented ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The University of Maine System’s board of trustees voted 9-5 Monday, with one member abstaining, to remove former US Sen. George J. Mitchell’s name from several university programs. Mitchell is a Maine Democrat.

Mitchell, now 93, represented Maine in the Senate from 1980 through 1995. He concluded his congressional career after serving for years as Senate majority leader.

Mitchell’s name appeared more than 300 times, including duplicate entries, in files released by the Department of Justice concerning Epstein, according to the Irish Times.

In emails from August 2009, Epstein identified Mitchell as an attendee at a gathering he said he planned to “fully fund.” The event was scheduled roughly a month after Epstein left prison following his guilty plea to charges that included soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Another exchange, from October 2014, showed Epstein’s former assistant, Lesley Groff, asking whether he wanted her to send a redacted individual “the number we have for George Mitchell.”

Among the University of Maine programs slated for new names are the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and the George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship.

Mitchell has said he was unaware of Epstein’s sexual crimes. He has not been charged with any offense connected to Epstein, whose death in a New York City jail in 2019 was ruled a suicide.

Epstein referred to Mitchell soon after his 2009 release from a Florida prison, where he had served time for sex offenses.

On July 28 of that year, he sent a message to a redacted recipient asking that Mitchell—whose name he misspelled—be contacted by email.

“Tell them that i am free and home.. they can call the home number,” Epstein wrote.

A spokesperson for Mitchell said in February that the former senator turned down Epstein’s invitations after learning about his criminal behavior, the BBC reported.

Even years later, Epstein continued to describe Mitchell warmly. In 2018, he called the former senator a “very close friend.”

The New York Times also reported that Mitchell wrote a handwritten note for a book marking Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, according to The New York Times.

“The beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to count our blessings,” Mitchell wrote, according to the newspaper.

The Mitchell Center will temporarily operate under the name University of Maine Center for Sustainability Solutions, according to CentralMaine.com.

Meanwhile, the scholarship named after Mitchell will be temporarily called the University of Maine Peace Scholarship.

The university task force found that using Mitchell’s name ‘would compromise the public trust and reflect adversely upon the university and its reputation.’ However, it had not found any ‘findings of wrongdoing’ by Mitchell.

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A spokesperson for the University of Maine System told the outlet that updating institutional websites, signage and other materials may take several months.

One of the board’s student members, Matthew Webber, said that students at the university felt that Mitchell getting ‘put on a pedestal’ was ‘an injustice of what they feel is almost entirely a wrong.’

‘Almost all the students of the university are in agreement of that, so to rename, I believe, is in the best interest of us as well,’ Webber said, according to the outlet.

The chair of the board, Roger Katz, called the scenario a ‘huge tragedy’ and insisted that the university needed to ‘listen to students who said there was ‘reputational damage.’

‘Whether that’s fair or not, we could talk all day about that,’ Katz said, the outlet added.

A trustee who voted against the renaming, Donna Loring, said Mitchell was ‘exemplary as far as what he’s done internationally.’

‘I think by removing his name, that also sends a message,’ Loring said, according to the outlet. ‘I think that all of his good work, and he’s done lots of good work, should not be diminished, should not be disappeared, because of unproven accusations.’

Loring added that she believed there was ‘no due process here, there’s no trial, and it goes against everything that I believe in.’

Emily Cain, a trustee who voted in favor, said she would ‘never stop being a fan’ of Mitchell’s work, particularly when it came to Northern Ireland.

‘But I also think the reality of right now is we’re not able to just talk about the work,’ Cain added, per the outlet.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a University of Maine website for the Mitchell Center still featured a photo of the former senator, but did not make any further mentions of Mitchell in its mission statement.

The website touted that the center was created to address sustainability challenges and address people’s well–being.

Mitchell had already resigned from his role as honorary chair of his scholarship funding program in February.

Program leaders said in a statement published on February 5 that ‘this is an appropriate time to initiate a thoughtful, responsible process to consider a potential name change.’

In addition to being a senator, Mitchell was also known for leading negotiations in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, having been appointed as a US Special Envoy by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Mitchell, as well as the University of Maine, its board of trustees and its Mitchell Center for comment.

The weekend’s deadly nor’easter stripped away huge sections of the Rockaway shoreline, leaving the Queens beach looking startlingly like the steep cliffs of Ireland.

At Jacob Riis Park, the storm ravaged parts of the city beach, carving out dangerous drop-offs and twisting trails of black sand that showed how fiercely the tides surged—reaching heights near the city streets.

“The beach is pretty much gone,” a Parks Department worker told The Post on Tuesday, speaking anonymously as crews began bringing in sand to replace the tons swept away by the storm.

“All the sand here was taken away and ended up down there by Breezy Point. So they’re all really happy in Breezy Point—they just got a lot of sand delivered,” he said.

The worker gestured toward wooden jetties along the shoreline, explaining that they had been buried beneath the sand until powerful waves scoured the beach clean.

At the federal park, the lone stone jetty helped prevent the beach from being completely washed away, the employee said.

Waves spilled over the Beach 149th jetty and surged up the shoreline, transforming a mound of dunes into a 14-foot sand cliff, according to measurements taken by The Post.

Sand residue along the railings near the local bathhouse suggested that the waves pushed sand as high as 26 inches onto the boardwalk.

John Thuilot, 18, of Belle Harbor, said he experienced the water’s force firsthand after joining a group of daredevil surfers who took on the storm Saturday.

“I was standing on a sandbar a ways out, and I felt the entire sandbar get pulled out from under my feet and just disappear,” Thuilot said.

By Tuesday, Riis Park resembled a construction site—a stark contrast to the calm shoreline that had attracted thousands of beachgoers only weeks earlier.

“It definitely looks different! You used to be able to walk through there by the jetty,” said Hazzard Ho, 32, who was stunned to discover that he could no longer cross the beach with his Labrador mix, Chef.

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“Now it just stops where that cliff is.”

The extent of the erosion differed along the shoreline. One resident said nearly 30 feet of beach had been torn away about four miles east of Riis Park.

“If it wasn’t for the new stone jetty, [the storm] would have taken most of the beach,” said Steve Closs, a retired FDNY lieutenant who lives near Beach 80th Street.

“The beach is almost totally gone,” said Closs, a former member of the Bravest, as he questioned how long repairs to the devastated shoreline might take.

The National Park Service oversees Riis Park, while the beaches near residential neighborhoods are managed by the city and the US Army Corps of Engineers. That divided responsibility has frustrated residents for years as they have pushed to remove the dangerous, ineffective wooden jetties.

City Councilwoman Joann Ariola described the erosion as a “tremendous cause for concern.”

“We can’t put this off and have work impact the summer season, nor can we leave residents unnecessarily vulnerable throughout the rest of storm season,” said Ariola, a Republican who urged the city’s Emergency Management Department and the US Army Corps of Engineers to inspect the damage immediately.

“Work needs to be done now, with clear timelines in place so that residents can be safe for any storms that follow this one, and Summer 2027 isn’t impacted next year.”

It’s not yet clear just how much sand was lost or how much it will cost to replenish the shores.

A 2013 project allocated a jaw-dropping $26.4 million to restore roughly 3.5 million cubic yards of sand lost during Sandy.

The Corps of Engineers told The Post it is currently assessing the situation to “put together a plan.

“It’s important to note that this project did suffer sand loss, but that also means it performed as intended by mitigating impacts from coastal flooding to the communities, reducing damage to infrastructure and property,” a rep said.

As a gunman approached a police cruiser outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, approximately two dozen people were inside praying for Yom Kippur.

The armed officer stationed outside was not part of a permanent security program available to synagogues across Canada. Police had sent him to the location after receiving a report about a suspicious vehicle—a decision that may have prevented a massacre.

“The only thing that stood in the way of every congregant of that shul being murdered was the presence of an armed police officer,” Simon Wolle, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, told News Media.

Police said last week’s shooting was a deliberate, hate-motivated attack aimed at the Jewish community. Authorities allege that 29-year-old Sean Ward approached Belleville Police Constable Jeff Smith and shouted, “You are going to die for the Jews,” before firing a shotgun at him.

Smith was hit several times while inside his cruiser. Despite his injuries, he got out of the vehicle and returned fire. A second officer arrived within minutes and joined the confrontation. Ward later died in hospital.

Smith remains hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and body, as well as serious head trauma. Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said Smith will require multiple surgeries and faces a “lengthy and challenging” recovery, while adding that the officer is “making progress every day.”

Smith’s wife, Ashley, has also spoken publicly about his recovery, calling the shooting “the scariest and darkest day of our lives.”

“My words aren’t strong or steady yet, but I knew I needed to find them,” she wrote. “I needed to use my voice for my dear Jeff, until he is able to use his.”

Ashley Smith also spoke directly to the Jewish community, thanking those who have supported her husband and their family. “Please know that your love, your prayers and your support have reached us,” she wrote. “We are deeply grateful. We love you, we see you, we pray for you.”

She said her husband still faces “a very long, difficult road ahead,” but added that he is surrounded by what she described as “an army of love.”

None of the worshipers inside the synagogue was physically injured.

Investigators later said the gunman had what Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd called the “means, motive and mechanisms to cause a mass casualty and the destruction of the Jewish synagogue.” Police also found combustible materials inside the suspect’s vehicle.

“This individual had the means, the intention, the deliberate plans and the capacity to conduct a murderous massacre,” Wolle said.

For Wolle, the attack highlighted more than a single act of antisemitic violence. He said it exposed legal and security arrangements that leave Jewish institutions across Canada dangerously vulnerable.

B’nai Brith Canada is urging federal and provincial lawmakers to change the law so synagogues, Jewish schools and other vulnerable institutions can hire qualified armed security guards.

“There is currently no legislation in place that allows for Jewish institutions to hire the kind of armed protection that may be necessary,” Wolle said.

Firearms regulations in Canada are controlled federally, while private security is governed separately under provincial rules. Wolle said the two frameworks must be coordinated so institutions facing credible threats have a lawful option to employ trained, licensed armed guards.

At present, he said, Jewish institutions can ask police departments to increase patrols, although departments cannot always guarantee that an officer will be stationed outside. Communities can also try to hire paid-duty police officers, but availability remains limited.

“So the only option right now for the Jewish community to protect itself from the unprecedented amount of violent attacks taking place all across this country is to plead with local police services to come by if they can,” Wolle said. “They will not guarantee that they will do so in most circumstances.”

That leaves Jewish communities spending their own money to reinforce buildings, install surveillance systems and hire officers when available.

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“Right now, the Jewish community is using its own money primarily to build walls, put up stronger fences, add cameras and then pay for the privilege of having an armed police officer,” Wolle said. “Our lives are being threatened across the country, and the government hasn’t taken the steps to offer the necessary protection.”

B’nai Brith has made two requests. It wants laws amended to permit qualified armed private security at vulnerable Jewish institutions, and it wants the government to fund an increased police presence at those locations.

Wolle said the burden of protecting Jewish Canadians from targeted violence should not rest solely on the people being threatened.

“The government needs to meet its most basic obligation and responsibility, which is to protect its citizens,” he said.

The numbers provide a stark context for his concerns. Statistics Canada recorded 788 police-reported hate crimes targeting Jewish people in 2025, representing more than 70% of all reported religiously motivated hate crimes that year.

Wolle said Jewish Canadians constitute approximately 1% to 2% of the country’s population, yet remain overwhelmingly affected by religiously motivated hate crimes. Preliminary data from B’nai Brith’s 2026 annual audit indicate that violent antisemitic incidents have already more than tripled compared with the total recorded throughout 2025.

“There is a national crisis of Jew hatred in Canada,” Wolle said.

B’nai Brith has been warning for months that antisemitic violence is accelerating. Wolle said the organization submitted recommendations and concrete plans to different levels of government before the Belleville attack.

“We’ve been calling for many things from all levels of government,” he said. “We provided concrete action plans to each.”

The shooting has intensified the organization’s demand that lawmakers treat the security of Jewish institutions as an emergency rather than another subject for future discussion.

“The most urgent thing that is needed is a mechanism for there to be armed protection of Jewish institutions that are under attack right now in Canada,” Wolle said.

He emphasized that B’nai Brith is not calling for firearms to be placed indiscriminately inside synagogues and schools. Its proposal concerns trained, vetted and qualified security professionals operating under a clearly defined legal framework.

“If we don’t have enough armed officers, then we need legislative frameworks changed to allow for alternative armed guards to protect Jewish institutions,” Wolle said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the Belleville attack and called on anyone with information to contact law enforcement.

“On the holiest night of the Jewish calendar, a shooting took place outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville,” Carney said. “Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish lives.”

Wolle welcomes expressions of support and said Canadian Jews now need their government to move beyond statements.

“The government gives us words and no action,” he added.

Belleville offered a disturbing picture of what could have happened without an armed officer outside. The congregants did not know that a man police say was driven by hatred had allegedly arrived with weapons and the capacity to cause mass casualties.

One report of a suspicious vehicle led to one officer being placed outside. That officer, Wolle stressed, became the barrier between the gunman and the people praying inside.

“In the wake of these harrowing events, Canada’s Jewish community cannot wait any longer for the government to act,” he said.

The people inside the synagogue, Sons of Jacob, survived. Wolle’s warning is that Canada cannot depend on chance, a suspicious-vehicle report or the availability of a single officer the next time a Jewish institution is targeted.

“This is not a Jewish community problem,” he said. “This is a Canadian problem.”

Patrick Keating and his parents supported Donald Trump believing his hard-line immigration agenda would target criminals. They never expected those policies could eventually put their own family in the crosshairs.

Now, fewer than 12 months into Trump’s second term, the Bellaire family is confronting the possibility that Keating’s Honduran wife, Anyi Hernandez-Escobar, could be deported. Their 16-month-old daughter might leave with her, while the seven-year-old boy Hernandez-Escobar has helped raise could remain in the United States.

Immigration was once, for the conservative family, largely a debate about border security and the removal of criminals. Hernandez-Escobar’s case has transformed that political issue into a painful personal crisis.

“If I could go back, if my vote would somehow change everything, I’d go back and vote Kamala just so we don’t have to deal with this,” Keating said.

Hernandez-Escobar arrived in the United States from Honduras in 2018, eight months pregnant and escaping what she called a desperate situation. After crossing into Texas, she spent four days in detention before being granted temporary parole to remain in the country.

She eventually reunited with her sister, settled into life in Texas and attended the immigration appointments required of her. She also gave birth to her son, Daniel.

Later, she met Patrick. The two married, and he became a father figure to Daniel. In May 2025, they welcomed a daughter, Emma.

Throughout that time, Hernandez-Escobar’s immigration case proceeded slowly through an increasingly complex legal system as she searched for a lawful way to remain in America.

The couple understood that marriage to a US citizen would not automatically give Hernandez-Escobar legal status. They also knew that having children born in the United States would not, by itself, block her removal. Still, they believed they were pursuing the proper legal route. After nearly two years of waiting, their I-130 and I-130A petitions were approved in June.

Soon afterward, however, their situation changed dramatically.

A Houston immigration judge refused Hernandez-Escobar’s request to pause her removal case while she moved forward with the next phase of her application.

Her lawyer, Jennifer Lopez, attributed the ruling to a June agreement between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Department of Justice. The deal ended a Biden-era approach that allowed immigration judges to administratively close some cases.

Lopez said the judge had previously suggested he would close Hernandez-Escobar’s case temporarily while she pursued an immigration process based on her marriage to Keating.

“Originally, the judge had told her, when Biden was in, ‘Go ahead and file your I-130, come back to me and I will administratively close your case,’” Lopez said. “They did that, but by the time they got back to him, Trump had been sworn in and they had changed all the rules.”

The policy shift has placed the family in a situation they say they never expected to face just months earlier.

Because Hernandez-Escobar entered the country without authorization, she cannot simply stay in the United States while applying for a green card. Under the process outlined by her attorney, she would have to return to Honduras, apply for an immigrant visa through a US consulate and seek a waiver of inadmissibility.

That waiver is generally available only to immigrants who are not already in removal proceedings. Administrative closure would have temporarily removed Hernandez-Escobar from that obstacle. Without it, her attorney says, the family may ultimately have no option but to move to Honduras.

And that is where the family encounters yet another hurdle, Hernandez-Escobar’s seven-year-old son Daniel may not be able to go with her.

Patrick has helped raise Daniel since the boy was about 18 months old, but he has no legal custodial rights. Daniel’s biological father, who lives in Maryland, has reportedly refused to surrender those rights and does not communicate with his son.

The family is now paying a family-law attorney to explore whether Patrick can adopt Daniel, while also considering whether the boy could remain with his grandparents if his mother, stepfather and baby sister have to leave.

‘I’ve raised him basically since he was a year and a half, but I have no custodial rights over him,’ Patrick explained. ‘Only Anyi and his biological father do. But both parents have to sign off on the passport.’

His greatest fear is that Daniel could become trapped in a legal limbo.

‘The scary part would be that Daniel can get lost in the legal foster care system, or somehow end up with a man he doesn’t know,’ he said.

The family’s predicament is all the more striking because Keating and his parents supported Trump at the ballot box, believing his immigration policies would primarily target criminals and people who posed a threat.

Hernandez-Escobar, who cannot vote herself, said she had supported Trump’s promise to remove criminals from the country.

‘There was a lot of crime in the country. I thought it was good to deport the bad people,’ she said. ‘Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re a good person or a bad person.’

As the family contemplates a possible move to Honduras, Keating’s mother-in-law Ingrid faces the prospect of caring for Daniel as she and her husband approach retirement – something neither had ever expected.

‘We’ll do what it takes to get through this,’ she said. ‘It’s been very stressful because we know it stresses their family. It is a different world from what my husband and I anticipated.’

Yet for all the turmoil, her position on Trump remains more complicated than a simple change of heart.

‘Immigration has been such a mess for so many years, but of course it’s easy not to pay too much attention when it’s not your immediate family,’ she said. ‘Now, all of a sudden, it really brings it home.’ 

‘I still like a lot of what he’s done, though not everything,’ she said. ‘When you’re going for the gang members and closing the borders, I think that’s really important.’

What she cannot accept, however, is the prospect of a child being separated from his parents.

‘Daniel needs to be with his parents and his sister,’ she said. ‘He loves them dearly. He loves us, but as his grandparents. But children need to be with their parents.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Keating for comment.