New York Times: “Jeffrey Epstein, inmate 76318-054, hated his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. It was cramped, dank and infested with vermin, so Mr. Epstein, long accustomed to using his wealth to play by his own rules, devised a way out. He paid numerous lawyers to visit the jail for as many as 12 hours a day, giving him the right to see them in a private meeting room. Mr. Epstein was there for so long that he often appeared bored, sitting in silence with his lawyers, according to people who saw the meetings. While they were there, he and his entourage regularly emptied the two vending machines of drinks and snacks.”

“Outside the meeting room, Mr. Epstein mounted a strategy to avoid being preyed upon by other inmates: He deposited money in their commissary accounts.”

“But in his final days, Mr. Epstein’s efforts to lessen the misery of incarceration seemed to be faltering. He was seldom bathing, his hair and beard were unkempt and he was sleeping on the floor of his cell instead of on his bunk bed, according to people at the jail.”

“The official results of an autopsy showed that the financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell, the city’s medical examiner’s office said on Friday, determining that the cause of death was suicide by hanging,” the New York Times reports.

“An autopsy found that financier Jeffrey Epstein sustained multiple breaks in his neck bones, according to two people familiar with the findings, deepening the mystery about the circumstances around his death,” the Washington Post reports.

“Among the bones broken in Epstein’s neck was the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple. Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older… But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation.”

“The details add to the bizarre circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, which have launched a wave of questions and conspiracy theories about how he could have died in federal custody. Even President Trump has egged on speculation, without evidence, that Epstein — whose alleged victims say they were pushed to have sex with his powerful and celebrity friends — might have been killed to keep him from spilling the secrets of others.”

The New York City Fire Department is investigating whether a first responder posted about Jeffrey Epstein’s death on a notorious internet message board prior to officials announcing it to the public, BuzzFeed News reports.

CBS News has learned that the morning of Jeffrey Epstein’s death there was shouting and shrieking from his jail cell. Guards attempted to revive him while saying “breathe, Epstein, breathe.”

“Congress is the latest to start investigating Epstein’s apparent suicide over the weekend, with new reports raising questions about the federal jail where he was being held.”

James Stewart: “Almost exactly a year ago, on Aug. 16, 2018, I visited Jeffrey Epstein at his cavernous Manhattan mansion.”

“The overriding impression I took away from our roughly 90-minute conversation was that Mr. Epstein knew an astonishing number of rich, famous and powerful people, and had photos to prove it. He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.”

“So one of my first thoughts on hearing of Mr. Epstein’s suicide was that many prominent men and at least a few women must be breathing sighs of relief that whatever Mr. Epstein knew, he has taken it with him.”

Harry Litman: “The first: Was Epstein on suicide watch, and if not, why not? Among the reports cascading out in the few hours since Epstein’s body was found are anonymous statements that Epstein had been on suicide watch but was taken off it. If so, the decision to remove him appears to have been a colossal error that must be thoroughly probed.”

“The second: How exactly did Epstein manage to kill himself, and why exactly was it that he had access to the tools?

“Third, is there a video of Epstein’s cell at the crucial time? There should be, and it will reveal exactly how and when Epstein killed himself.”

“And none of this begins to address the royal mess it leaves in the efforts to take stock of Epstein’s crimes and their prior slap-on-the-wrist treatment, nor the shambles in which it leaves Epstein’s victims.”

Daily Beast: “The safe’s contents were disclosed during a bail hearing at which prosecutors argued that Epstein is a flight risk and should be kept locked up until his sex-trafficking trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller said the politically connected money manager has ‘vast assets and every incentive in the world to use those assets.'”

“He said that bank documents the government got last week show Epstein had $110 million in a single account — and another $400 million in various holdings. The passport found in the safe was issued in the 1980s and gave a residence of Saudi Arabia, Rossmiller said. It was not issued under Epstein’s name but did have a photo that appeared to be of him.”

“I kept my underwear on during the massage. I don’t like massages particularly.”

— Alan Dershowitz, quoted by Crooks and Liars, admitting to getting a massage at Jeffrey Epstein’s residence from a very “old, old Russian woman.”

“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced a bill Tuesday that would prevent any federal funding for the 2026 World Cup until the U.S. Soccer Federation agrees to provide equal pay to the U.S. women’s and men’s national teams,” the HuffPost reports.

“The bill would cut off ‘any and all’ federal money that would otherwise be spent when the United States hosts the men’s World Cup in 2026.”

Mick Jagger paused the Rolling Stones’ concert in Massachusetts and said he hoped everyone had a great July 4th weekend — and added that the Fourth had always been a ‘touchy holiday for us Brits,'” Rolling Stone reports.

Said Jagger: “In fact, the President made a very good point in his speech the other night. He said, ‘If only the British had held on to the airports, the whole thing might have gone differently for us.’”

A crowd in a sports bar in France chanted “Fuck Trump” as Fox News reported the news of the U.S. Women’s national team winning their fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup on Sunday.

“Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump, has been sued by a paraplegic former client who accused him of siphoning away a $4 million settlement he had won,” Reuters reports.