Winnipeg Free Press

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HIGH 5 — LOW -3 BUSINESS WESTJET TO FLY WINNIPEG TO ICELAND / B5 To those who might be embarrassed: ‘that’s the whole point here’ Release the Epstein files, lawmakers demand STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON — Both the U.S. House and Senate acted decisively Tuesday to pass a bill to force the Justice Depart- ment to publicly release its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Ep- stein, a remarkable display of approval for an effort that had struggled for months to overcome opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican leadership. When a small, bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a petition in July to manoeuvre around Speaker Mike Johnson’s control of the House floor, it appeared a longshot effort — especially as Trump urged his supporters to dismiss the matter as a “hoax.” Both Trump and Johnson failed to prevent the vote. The president in recent days bowed to political reality, saying he would sign the bill. And just hours after the House vote, senators agreed to approve it unanimously, skipping a formal roll call. The decisive, bipartisan work in Congress Tuesday further showed the pressure mounting on lawmakers and the Trump administration to meet long-held demands that the Justice Department release its case files on Epstein, a well-connected financier who killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls. For survivors of Epstein’s abuse, passage of the bill was a watershed moment in a years-long quest for accountability. “These women have fought the most horrific fight that no woman should have to fight. And they did it by band- ing together and never giving up,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as she stood with some of the abuse survivors outside the Capitol Tuesday morning. “That’s what we did by fighting so hard against the most powerful people in the world, even the president of the United States, in order to make this vote happen today,” added Greene, a Georgia Republican. In the end, only one lawmaker in Congress opposed the bill. Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican who is a fervent supporter of Trump, was the only “nay” vote in the House’s 427- 1 tally. He said he worried the legis- lation could lead to the release of infor- mation on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation. ● EPSTEIN, CONTINUED ON A5 NDP charts ‘a very narrow path’ T HE Manitoba government has vowed to make the health- care system safer by boosting staff-to-patient ratios and eliminating mandatory overtime for nurses, in a throne speech packed with promises on the economy and public safety. The speech, read by Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville, includes plans for a Mani- toba-wide crackdown on meth, new rules to stop “unfair” rent increases, four new schools, 402 new child-care spaces in Winnipeg and Brandon, and a renewed commitment to balance the budget by 2027 without raising taxes. “We’ve got all these great ideas on health care and the economy, and we’ve got to execute those while still being responsible with spending, growing the economy and being balanced when it comes to revenue — that’s a very narrow path,” Premier Wab Kinew told reporters. The spring budget won’t include tax increases, said the premier, who promised to fix health care and vowed to enshrine patient safety into law. Throne speech offers big promises, but also vows to control spending CHRIS KITCHING CAROL SANDERS DAVID LIPNOWSKI / THE CANADIAN PRESS Manitoba Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville inspects the Guard of Honour before delivering the Speech from the Throne, at the Manitoba Legislative Building Tuesday. ● THRONE, CONTINUED ON A2 ● MORE COVERAGE ON A2, 3, 4 AI fears to curb homework assignments FRANCOPHONE teachers have been asked to limit homework wherever possible and promote nightly reading routines in response to the rise of arti- ficial intelligence. The Division scolaire franco-man- itobaine shared new guidelines on “donner des devoirs” — handing out obligatory after-school assignments — with staff this month. The Nov. 10 advice recommends Grade 7 to 12 students receive home- work in moderation. After-school assignments should be tailored to a student’s needs, focus on a specific skill and complement in-class support, according to the four-page document obtained by the Free Press. “Most of the submissions, we find, are coming from AI, to be quite honest,” Division scolaire franco-man- itobaine superintendent Alain Laberge said in an interview. The 2022 launch of ChatGPT has made teachers hyperaware of plagia- rism and whether students are submit- ting authentic work. When it comes to homework, easy-to- use AI chatbots have joined caregivers as homework helpers, Laberge said. In response, the francophone school division is working to limit homework and focus on sending home books from school libraries instead. Desirée Pappel, president of the school division’s teachers’ association, has been fielding calls from concerned members about the “pretty prescrip- tive guidelines.” “Members should have the profes- sional autonomy to be able to deter- mine what homework is appropriate for their students based on the needs of the students they know and course content,” Pappel said. While noting her students have tended to do their best work in class — and she can ensure it is authentic that way — Pappel said she respects her colleagues’ differing approaches. The division recommended its kindergarten-to-Grade 6 teachers only assign simple and optional homework, such as reading for pleasure. MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ● HOMEWORK, CONTINUED ON A2 ;