VENUS MAG

By Erica Stapleton and Andrew Hay

SANTA FE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - New Mexico lawmakers on Monday passed legislation to launch what they said was the first full investigation into what happened at Zorro Ranch, where the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women.

A bipartisan committee will seek testimony from survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the ranch, located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, ‌the state capital. Legislators are also urging local residents to testify.

Epstein died in what was ruled a suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.

The so-called truth commission, comprising four lawmakers, seeks to ‌identify ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was going on at the 7,600-acre property, or taken part in alleged sexual abuse in its hacienda-style mansion and guest houses.

The Democratic-led investigation adds to political pressure to uncover Epstein's crimes that has become a major challenge for President Donald Trump, weeks after ​the Justice Department released millions of Epstein-related files that shed new light on activities at the ranch.

The files reveal ties between Epstein and two former Democratic governors and an attorney general of New Mexico.

The legislation, which passed New Mexico's House of Representatives by a unanimous vote, could pose risks to any additional politicians linked to Epstein in the Democratic-run state, as well as scientists, investors and other high-profile individuals who visited the ranch.

The $2.5 million investigation, which has subpoena power, aims to close gaps in New Mexico law that may have allowed Epstein to operate in the state. The committee starts work on Tuesday, and will deliver interim findings in July and a final report by year-end.

"He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever," said New Mexico state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat, who co-sponsored the initiative.

Testimony ‌to the committee could be used for future prosecutions, she said.

Victim advocates applauded the move, ⁠saying Zorro Ranch had been overlooked by federal investigations that focused on Epstein's Caribbean island and New York townhouse.

"Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we've learned, you know, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico," said attorney Sigrid McCawley, whose law firm has represented hundreds of Epstein survivors.

They include the late Virginia Giuffre, who ⁠was abused many times at the ranch, she said.

The U.S. Department of Justice passed a request for comment to the FBI. The FBI declined comment.

EPSTEIN OPERATED AT THE RANCH FOR DECADES

Several civil suits accuse Epstein of sexually assaulting girls at Zorro Ranch. He was never charged for the alleged offenses.

Romero said there was no record of federal law enforcement searching what was known locally as "the playboy ranch" where Epstein is accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl as early as 1996.

Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas launched a probe in 2019 that was put on hold at the ​request ​of federal prosecutors to avoid "parallel investigation," he said in a statement.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has assigned a special agent to probe allegations that ​may come through the truth commission, spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez said.

Democratic State Representative Marianna Anaya, an advocate for ‌sexual assault survivors who co-sponsored the legislation, is working on accompanying legislation to extend New Mexico's statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault that would allow civil actions by survivors of Epstein's alleged abuse.

Epstein bought the ranch in 1993 from Bruce King, a three-time New Mexico Democratic governor who died in 2009.

The financier flew in guests and "masseuses," and hired local massage therapists to work there, ranch manager Brice Gordon told the FBI in 2007, according to a report in the Epstein files.

In an unsealed 2016 court deposition, Giuffre testified Epstein's partner Ghislaine Maxwell told her to give the late former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson a "massage" at the ranch. In Giuffre's memoir, she said an instruction from Maxwell to provide a "massage" meant a victim should provide a sexual encounter to an abuser.

Richardson's representative Madeleine Mahoney in a 2019 statement said Giuffre's allegations were "completely false."

Gordon told the FBI that most of the masseuses Epstein used at the ranch were hired locally through the spa Ten Thousand Waves, a Santa Fe institution, or by referrals.

Spa spokesperson Sara Bean said in a ‌phone interview last Tuesday that Ten Thousand Waves neither provided nor referred masseuses to Zorro Ranch.

In the documentary "Surviving Jeffrey Epstein," former Santa Fe massage therapist ​Rachel Benavidez accused Epstein of sexual abuse when she was hired to work at the ranch.

Investment consultant Joshua Ramo said on Sunday he visited the ranch ​once for a 2014 lunch on behalf of professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, who were ​present. Ramo, at the time CEO of consulting firm Kissinger Associates, said he and Epstein met with business figures and scientists around 14 times in New York between 2013 and 2016.

"I deferred to the due diligence ‌of the institutions involved, assuming that his presence signaled he had been appropriately vetted," Ramo, in ​a statement, said of his ranch visit and other meetings with ​Epstein. "I feel a deep sense of grief for the survivors of his crimes."

Emails show Epstein contacted Ramo in 2015 to tell him he was going to Ten Thousand Waves, suggesting they meet for lunch in Santa Fe. Ramo responded, "I assumed we were meeting at the pink bottom ranch." Ramo, who is currently CEO of consulting firm Sornay LLC, said he had no recollection of that comment, or whether the two met that day.

Over the years, Epstein contributed to the political campaigns ​of New Mexico Democrats such as Richardson and King's son Gary King, a former New Mexico ‌attorney general. When contributions were reported in the press, the men pledged to either return the money, or give it to charity.

Gary King flew on a plane chartered by Epstein when he was running for New Mexico ​governor in 2014, according to emails in the Epstein files. Epstein said he would cover around half the cost of the $22,000 charter and King would pay the rest. King did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting ​by Erica Stapleton in New Mexico and Florida, reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; editing by Donna Bryson and Diane Craft)

In 1947, African American brothers James and Robert Paschal launched a scrappy luncheonette in Atlanta'sCastleberry Hill neighborhood, their fried chicken earning renown as the house's go-to specialty. Within 15 years, Paschal's Restaurant & Coffee Shop had become not just a beloved community eatery but a supporting player in the civil rights movement.

In the years before passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act, the soul food restaurant offered more than nourishment: Not far from the offices of Martin Luther King Jr.'sSouthern Christian Leadership Conference, Paschal's was a hub for civil rights luminaries such as King, John Lewis and Julian Bond as well as a refuge for Atlanta parents waiting to reunite with students arrested for conducting lunch counter sit-ins.

As the civil rights movement gathered momentum in the 1950s and early 1960s,Paschal'sand other Black-owned restaurants played crucial roles throughout the South, offering affirmation, security and even financial support, with food as the common thread.  As with Black churches and Black-owned salons and barbershops, they provided gathering space free from the scrutiny and disrespect community members often faced elsewhere.

"These restaurants lent themselves to the movement because they had the autonomy to decide for themselves what happened under the roof of their place," said Bobby J. Smith, an associate professor of African American studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "They were able to welcome all people, particularly those who did not have the opportunity to be part of other restaurant spaces."

As dining establishments, he said, they provided cover for revolutionary activity.

"On the outside it looked like people were just going in to gather around gumbo or pork chops," said Smith, author of "Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement." "But inside, they were planning one of themost important social movementsin American history. It's a covert network of public spaces hidden in plain sight."

That's why such restaurants were important from a strategic standpoint, said Marcia Chatelain, a professor of Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and author of "Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America."

"During the era of segregation, there were few places where African Americans could dine without fear they would be treated poorly or harmed by other patrons," she said.

It wasn't only restaurants: People like Montgomery's Georgia Gilmore also embraced food as a weapon in thewar against discrimination. A cook who lost her job at a White-run restaurant after testifying in support of the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott, Gilmore started acatering businessthat helped feed and raise funds on the sly for civil rights activists in Alabama.

"She used food as a way to support the movement," Smith said.

Meanwhile, across town, the constant lines of people waiting for barbecued ribs and chicken atBrenda's Bar-Be-Que Pithelped the Montgomery take-out stand likewise lend financial support to ongoing activism.

"Brenda's was very dynamic, very involved in the movement," said Georgette Norman, the retired former director of Montgomery'sRosa ParksMuseum at Troy University. "Food was one of the ways that money was raised. Everybody has to eat. These days, people say, send me a check. But back then people cooked, and people bought, and people ate. Brenda's was part of that."

Robert and James Paschal passed away in 1997 and 2008, respectively, but their descendants continue to operate the restaurant, which reopened in a more modern Castleberry Hill neighborhood location in 2022. Its walls continue to exude history in the form of mounted photos of King and others who were once regular patrons.

Paschal's and Brenda's are some of the few establishments central to the civil rights movement that have stood the test of time. Here are some others that continue to operate today.

Dooky Chase's, New Orleans

The first time Raphael Cassimere Jr. tried going to Dooky Chase's he waited two hours in line and never got in. That was in 1959, and Cassimere was a fresh high school graduate in New Orleans;Dooky Chase's, in the city's Treme' neighborhood, was one of the few fine dining spots where Black people were welcome.

"There was another high school graduation the same night," he said.

Cassimere, who retired in 2007 after 37 years as a professor of history at the University of New Orleans, recalled finally entering the famed restaurant a year later as a member of the city's youth council, accompanying a lunch group that included a high-ranking NAACP official.

Dooky Chase's etouffee, stuffed shrimp and jambalaya drew steady crowds that eventually included civil rights advocates like Thurgood Marshall, A.P. Tureaud andErnest "Dutch" Morial. In the 1960s, King convened with Freedom Riders in the private dining room upstairs to plan and strategize as the movement heated up.

Cassimere was among the young activists who attended meetings there.

"(Chef) Leah (Chase) would serve us herself," he said. "There were not many places where Black and white activists could meet together."

In 1941, jazz trumpeter Edgar "Dooky" Chase Jr. had taken over the late-night po'boy sandwich stand opened by his father, and before long his wife Leah began introducing Creole dishes to the menu. As the couple transformed the place into a sit-down restaurant with linen tablecloths, Leah Chase took over as chef in 1952, eventually earning acclaim as "The Queen of Creole Cuisine."

Acclaimed Black music artists like Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn and Cab Calloway stopped at Dooky Chase's post-performance, unable to patronize other establishments.

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"Dooky Chase's was a fine dining restaurant, one of the first Black-owned restaurants of its kind in the nation," said Smith, of the University of Illinois. "Leah Chase had worked in those kinds of places in New Orleans and she wanted to give Black people a space to experience a different level of dining rooted in their cultural foodways. She wanted them to know they mattered."

For civil rights activists, that upper room became a place to be fed and reenergized, "a space where people could meet and organize, or just catch their breath," Smith said. "It became thisSituation Room, if you will, a space where they could talk over food about what to do to change the trajectory of the nation."

Four Way Grill, Memphis

In summer 2022, California chef Geoff Davis enjoyed a transformative lunch at what's now called simply the Four Way as he and his mother traveled through Tennessee, visiting friends and civil rights landmarks in Nashville and Memphis.

At the time, Davis was preparing to open Burdell, the reimagined soul food restaurant he owns in Oakland, California, and he wanted to see what other restaurants were doing.

TheFour Way, a modest stone structure minutes from the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis'SoulsvilleDistrict, was on his list. Having been underwhelmed by most places he'd visited, his expectations were low – but this experience took him by surprise.

"It's pretty powerful being in there given the sense of history that place has," Davis said. "The food was phenomenal — really vibrant and delicious and comforting."

Irene and Clint Cleaves opened what was then theFour Way Grillin 1946, a Southern food sanctuary with an integrated clientele and a back door through which Stax musicians sometimes entered to avoid attention. During the civil rights movement, activist leaders such as King, theRev. Jesse Jacksonand theRev. Al Sharptontalked strategy over meals of fried chicken and greens.

Davis said he and his mother actually became emotional as they enjoyed their lunch from Four Way — fried chicken, stewed neckbones, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and other items that unlocked vaults of memories.

"Some of the dishes tasted like the ones we grew up eating at home or at the homes of family members who have since passed away," he said. "So it was nourishing in that way too."

The experience, Davis said, informed his menu atBurdell.

"The simplicity of it really stuck with me," he said. "We're slightly fancier, but some of the dishes there were how I remembered them as a kid. Going to Four Way really gave me the confidence to say, we're going to do smothered cabbage and do it straight up. It doesn't need garnishes; it just needs to be the best cabbage we can find. Having that homestyle element is really special."

Big Apple Inn, Jackson

In the 1950s and early 1960s,Farish Streetwas the heart of the Black community in Jackson, Mississippi, a thriving hub of entertainment and economic activity that defied the oppressive weight of segregation.

"It was one of the only places where Black people could go out and be social," said Smith, of the University of Illinois. "In New Orleans there's a level of racism that people know and see, but in Mississippi you can feel it as well."

It was on Farish Street that Mexico City native Juan "Big John" Mora, who ended up in Jackson after train-hopping through the U.S. seeking work, had set up a tamale stand that would lead to a brick-and-mortar restaurant called theBig Apple Innin 1939.

By 1952, the Big Apple Inn had moved across the street into a two-story building, with Mora's tamales sharing the spotlight with smoked sausage and pig ear sandwiches. Civil rights activistMedgar Evers, who had a second-floor office, began conducting meetings in the downstairs eatery.

That the Big Apple was owned by Mora and his wife, who was Black, provided a level of protection that activists found in rare supply.

"A lot of these independent business owners weren't necessarily immune from economic reprisal, but usually families who owned restaurants were in a better financial space to take more political risks," said Chatelain, of the University of Pennsylvania. "They could be movement-friendly because they were the bosses of their own businesses."

The Big Apple is now run by Geno Lee, Mora's great-grandson, and its menu remains very much the same as it was, with regulars stopping in for "smokes" and "ears" and tamales made according to Mora's own recipe, though now with turkey instead of beef.

Davis, the Oakland chef, said restaurant owners who hosted or enabled civil rights activity "were very brave to have their spaces be hubs for that. There's a bit of revolutionary spirit in entrepreneurship, and that's doubling down on being willing to take a risk."

Since everyone needs to eat, he said, such restaurants helped nurture the soul.

"Restaurants are gathering places," Davis said. "Everyone's full and happy, and when you're talking about difficult things it's good to have some comfort to go alongside that."

USA TODAY Network reporter Todd A. Price contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Black-owned restaurants played vital role in civil rights movement

A Mardi Gras social group says it is investigating an incident on a float during its Feb. 14 parade in which a Black doll appeared to hang by the neck from a necklace of beads.

Photos and videos of the doll being held over the side of the float using beads, necklaces commonly tossed to parade revelers at Mardi Gras, began circulating after it was spotted during aKrewe of Tucksorganizationparade in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Videos appear to show the doll hanging by its neck from a strand of beads as it's held alongside other necklaces waiting to be tossed into the crowd of paradegoers. A young girl caught the doll attached to the beads at the parade,according to a postby the City of New Orleans.

The Krewe of Tucks organization condemned the action following the parade, writing in astatement posted on social mediathat the "behavior is intolerable and completely contrary to the beliefs and values that the Krewe of Tucks holds."

"We intend to fully investigate this incident and the responsible riders will no longer be permitted to have any association with the parade," the statement read. "The leadership wishes this had been brought to our attention during the parade because it would have been addressed immediately. This was brought to our attention through social media and we are immediately investigating."

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By Steve Holland

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved "indirectly" in high-stakes talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program set for Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran ‌wanted to make a deal.

"I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they'll be very important," Trump told reporters aboard Air ‌Force One.

Tensions are soaring ahead of the talks, with the U.S. deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East. The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of a sustained ​military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.

Asked about the prospects for a deal, Trump said Iran has long sought a tough posture in negotiations but learned the consequences of that approach last summer when the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump suggested Tehran was motivated this time to negotiate.

"I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal," Trump said.

WASHINGTON PUSHES TEHRAN TO FORGO ENRICHMENT

Prior to the U.S. strikes in June, ‌U.S.-Iran nuclear talks had stalled over Washington's demand that ⁠Tehran forgo enrichment on its soil, which the U.S. views as a pathway to an Iranian nuclear weapon.

"We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to ⁠send the B-2s," Trump said, referring to the bat-winged U.S. stealth bombers that carried out the bombings.

"I hope they're going to be more reasonable."

The remarks contrast with those by the U.S. president on Friday, when he embraced potential regime change in Iran and lamented decades of failed talks.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with ​the ​U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Monday, saying in a post on X he was ​in Geneva to "achieve a fair and equitable deal."

"What is not ‌on the table: submission before threats," Araqchi said.

QUESTIONS ABOUT URANIUM STOCKPILE

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been calling on Iran for months to say what happened to its stockpile of 440 kg (970 pounds) of highly enriched uranium following Israeli-U.S. strikes and let inspections fully resume, including in three key sites that were bombed in June last year: Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation against any attack, which would choke a fifth of global oil flows and send crude prices sharply higher.

Iran held a military drill on Monday in the Strait of ‌Hormuz, a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states, which have ​been appealing for diplomacy to end the dispute.

Despite Trump's comments about Iran seeking a deal, ​the talks face major potential stumbling blocks. Washington has sought to ​expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues such as Iran's missile stockpile. Tehran says it is only willing ‌to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for ​sanctions relief and won't accept zero uranium ​enrichment. It says its missile capabilities are off the table.

Speaking during a visit to Hungary on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said reaching a deal with Tehran would be hard.

"I think that there's an opportunity here to diplomatically reach an agreement ... but I ​don't want to overstate it either," Rubio said.

"It's going ‌to be hard. It's been very difficult for anyone to do real deals with Iran, because we're dealing with radical Shia ​clerics who are making theological decisions, not geopolitical ones."

(Reporting by Steve Holland aboard Air Force One, Phil Stewart in Washington and ​Hannah Lang in New York; editing by Scott Malone and Diane Craft)

A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of a Filipino man from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, noting a "pattern of failures" in his medical care that "more likely than not resulted in the extreme pain and permanent disability."

Judge Tana Lin of the Western District of Washington wrote that the man, Greggy Sorio, saw his health decline while in the facility, eventually suffering two partial foot amputation surgeries, ulcerative colitis, blood loss, a kidney injury, a deficiency in vitamin D and "dramatic unintended weight loss."

Lin wrote the "unreasonable treatment" of Sorio violated the Constitution and that Sorio be released.

Sorio entered the U.S. as a "lawful permanent resident" in 2007, according to the judge's order, and was detained by ICE in March after he was released from prison. He was being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

In July, Sorio complained of blood in his stool, severe abdominal pain and yellowing of his skin and was denied requests to be sent to the hospital.

By October, Sorio said he was "in extreme pain and could barely walk" and was sent to the hospital after several hours of waiting, the judge's order recounted. Although Sorio was prescribed an antibiotic at the hospital, the ICE facility staff did not fill the prescription and seemed to believe he had been diagnosed with "inflammatory bowel syndromes," an apparent reference to irritable bowel syndrome, the order noted.

A few days later, Sorio reported pain and swelling in his foot and said he was initially denied a hospital visit. When he went to the hospital on Oct. 22, he was determined to have a bone infection and went through two amputation surgeries.

Soriotold NBC's Seattle affiliateafter he was released on Friday, "If they had sent me to the hospital in July when I was begging them, I wouldn't lose my foot. It's preventable. They could have prevented this."

Sorio's criminal record, according to the affiliate station, includes "convictions for domestic violence, assault, theft, forgery and burglary."

Sorio told the outlet, "I did my time on it and I'm a better person now. Everybody has a past."

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One of the largest school districts in the nation is eyeing job cuts as it navigates falling enrollment, rising operational costs, expired COVID-19-era assistance and other challenges.

The Board of Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District could authorize district officials to issue potential layoff notices and move to eliminate certain positions as part of wider efforts to shore up savings in the coming fiscal years amid "dangerously high deficit levels" that total over $1 billion.

The board is expected to discuss the extreme measures Tuesday, Feb. 17.

LAUSD employs more than 83,000 people, including teachers, administrators, certificated support personnel and substitutes, according to June 2025 data. The prospect of layoffs isn't the only moving part in the overall picture: Labor unions have been in negotiations with the district related to wage increases to class sizes, and members of the United Teachers Los Angeles authorized the union to strike in late January.

The board had previously rescheduled Tuesday's meeting, a move that came off the heels of several unions, including UTLA, calling for the board not to vote on such a key matter in a meeting bloated by other agenda items. The unions instead suggested the board hold a meeting in early March so that officials would have a "more complete picture of Prop 98 funding" and so that people could have more time to understand the proposed cuts — cuts that labor unions said they hadn't been consulted about. Prop 98 guarantees a minimum level of funding for K-12 in the state.

Here's what to know about the job cuts for a district that serves hundreds of thousands of students in Southern California.

How many people could LAUSD lay off?

A board of education report reveals that "approximately 2,600 contract management employees and certificated administrators" could get a notice in mid-March. California requires that school districts alert such workers by March 15 that they may be laid off in the following school year, according to theCalifornia School Boards Association.

Also, 657 "central office and centrally-funded" positions have been identified for elimination, according to the report. That includes positions like 25 assistant area bus supervisors, 23 gardeners, over 200 IT-related positions, nearly 100 office technicians and more. In addition, several dozen positions are poised to see reduced hours.

However, just because an employee receives a notice doesn't mean they'll be laid off, and the report said these numbers aren't "representative of the final number of employees who will be laid off" in part due to changes in finances and staffing, including because of retirements, resignations and more.

The district must issue notices to a greater number of employees than the 657 positions identified to comply with education code requirements, the report said.

"In total this represents less than 1% of the total Los Angeles Unified workforce," according to the report.

LAUSD says job cuts need to be done at some point

LAUSD is up against a projected deficit of $877 million for fiscal year 2026-27 and $443 million for 2027-28, according to a December 2025 report. The board of education report said that, for a public education institution, it faces "dangerously high deficit levels" which suggest a "significant structural imbalance" as opposed to a "temporary dip."

A fiscal stabilization plan for LAUSD revealed in 2025 had included "central operations, non-school-based reductions" as part of multiple efforts intended to address its sizable deficit. Among the district's challenges: How it has previously offset deficit spending and revenue challenges in part due to declining enrollment and the loss of COVID-19 area funding, according to the report. Also in play is Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed budget, which won't be finalized until later this year, that shapes school districts' funding and in which several billions in funds could be unlocked, according to officials at a January board meeting.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at the January meeting that a reduction in force is often about cutting positions, "not necessarily people." But he acknowledged that it wasn't certain that could be avoided entirely in this instance.

The district spends 90% of its revenue on staff, according to officials in January.

Saman Bravo-Karimi, chief financial officer, said in January that delaying the reduction in force in the present means it'll only increase the number of reductions later.

"The reduction in force — given the size of our financial outlook, given what most districts are facing in the state and given the vast majority of our resources are, as they should be, spend on staff — it will need to be done at some point," Bravo-Karimi said.

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her atpbarraza@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Is LAUSD laying off staff? Breaking down proposed cuts

SYDNEY (AP) — A man accused ofkilling 15 peoplein a mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Sydney's Bondi Beach appeared in court Monday for the first time since his release from the hospital.

Naveed Akramappeared in Sydney's Downing Center Local Court via a video link from the maximum security Goulburn Correctional Center 200 kilometers (120 miles) away.

He did not enter pleas to the charges against him, including murder and committing a terrorist act. The brief court appearance focused on extending a gag order that suppresses the identities of victims and survivors of the attack who have not chosen to identify themselves publicly.

Defense lawyer Ben Archbold told reporters outside court that Akram was doing as well as could be expected and it was too early to indicate any intention of pleas.

Akram, 24, was wounded and his father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in a gunbattle with police after the attack on a Hanukkah celebration at the beach Dec. 14.

The younger Akram is next scheduled to appear in court April 9.

The police investigation is one of three official inquiries examining Australia's worst alleged terrorist attack and the nation'sworst mass shooting in 29 years.

One involves the interactions between law enforcement and intelligence agencies before the attack that was allegedly inspired by theIslamic State group.

A royal commission, the highest form ofpublic inquiry, will investigate the nature, prevalence and drivers of antisemitism generally as well as the circumstances of the Bondi shooting.