The Very Odd Things Found in Epstein's Mansion

In stepping forward to tell her story to NBC News, accuser Jennifer Araoz described being given a tour of Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan home nearly two decades ago. Among the stranger things she recalls seeing: a bathroom that had a set of prosthetic breasts within arm's reach of the bathtub. When police raided the seven-story home on Saturday, they found more atypical things. More on those finds, and the latest coverage on the Epstein case:

• The New York Times describes an unusual mural on the second floor: "a photorealistic prison scene that included barbed wire, corrections officers, and a guard station, with Mr. Epstein portrayed in the middle." A PR specialist who was at the mansion three months ago told the paper what Epstein told him about its origins: "He said, 'That’s me, and I had this painted because there is always the possibility that could be me again.'"
• The Times also describes a life-size female doll dangling from a chandelier and a chess board set up near the stairs to a study that featured "suggestively" clad pieces, all said to be fashioned after one of his employees.

• USA Today cites a memo from prosecutors with the Southern District of New York stating that agents found carefully labeled nude photos of girls in a safe. It also allegedly contained CDs with labels like "Young [Name] + [Name]."
• The 21,000-square-foot mansion is valued at as much as $77 million—and Epstein owns several other properties, along with a private island. Where did his exorbitant wealth come from? That's a question with no clear answer, and a question that has resurfaced in the wake of his arrest. Though his fortune has been attributed to his money-management firm, the only client that's ever been publicly linked to him is Victoria’s Secret founder Les Wexner, who says he severed ties with Epstein a decade ago. New York Magazine outlines "four wild theories" as to the source of that wealth. One: blackmail, with the theory being the second names in those aforementioned CDs are those of famous men.
• As for that island—or islands—the AP travels to the adjacent St. Thomas, where it shares what's known about the mansion he built on Little St. James Island and why locals are reluctant to talk about him.
• Labor Secretary Alex Acosta made a statement at 2:30pm Wednesday defending the plea deal he struck with Epstein as a US attorney 11 years ago as the best that could be done and a way to make sure Epstein went to jail. Read the full story here.
• While President Trump has said he had a falling out with Epstein and hasn't spoken with him in 15 years, the New York Times surfaces the tale of a 1992 event at Mar-a-Lago attended solely by Epstein, Trump, and 28 women. George Houraney tells the paper Trump tasked him with organizing a "calendar girls" contest, and that after recruiting the women he learned the only other guests in attendance would be the two men. He doesn't suggest anything inappropriate subsequently took place.
• One more piece from the New York Times, which looks at the work Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown has done over the last two-plus years regarding Epstein, so much that she "accumulat[ed] enough documentation to fill a spare bedroom in her Florida home."

(More Jeffrey Epstein stories.)