Mandated release of files was marred by missed deadlines, leaked victims’ information and excessive redactions

• US politics live – latest updates

The US Department of Justice’s office of the inspector general (OIG) announced on Thursday that it is launching an audit of the justice department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

In a news release, the deputy inspector general William M Blier, who the statement said is performing the duties of the inspector general, said the “preliminary objective” of the internal inquiry “is to evaluate the [justice department’s] processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the act”.

Committee to Protect Journalists says Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was found innocent after 52 days in detention

• Middle East crisis – live updates

A Kuwaiti-American journalist, who had been detained in Kuwait, has been acquitted, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who has previously worked for PBS, HuffPost, the New York Times, the BBC and Al Jazeera, was arrested on 3 March during a brief visit to Kuwait.

Two teenagers were killed and five others wounded in Winston-Salem after pre-planned fight in park

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox

North Carolina authorities say they are pursuing criminal charges against adults who allegedly “stood by” a scheduled fight among teenagers that led to a mass shooting that killed two people and wounded five others on Monday.

“We’re sending the message that if you stand by, encourage, aid or abet our juveniles in delinquent behavior, we will not tolerate it,” William H Penn, the Winston-Salem police chief, said in a joint video message on Tuesday alongside the local sheriff and district attorney.

Measure passed 50-49 to overturn a 20-year ban on mining near renowned Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

The US Senate narrowly voted on Thursday to overturn a ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, an enormous complex of interconnected lakes, rivers and forests that is among the most visited wild areas in the US.

The resolution passed 50-49 to repeal a 20-year moratorium imposed by former president Joe Biden’s administration in 2023 on mining across the 225,000 acres in the Superior national forest.

New York mayor Mamdani calls footage of arrest of wrongly identified suspect ‘extremely disturbing and unacceptable’

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox

The New York police department has launched an internal investigation after videos posted online showed two police officers repeatedly punching and kicking a man they were attempting to arrest on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the New York City police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said that “there are a number of videos circulating online of an incident that occurred yesterday inside a store in Brooklyn involving two members of the NYPD.