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The men have traveled across eight U.S. states — Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia — to reach the nation's capital.

The trek has been far from easy. In recent weeks, the approximately two dozen traveling Buddhist monks have beenconfronted with brutal freezing temperatures. In November, the monks' security vehicle was involved in a car accident that left one of the monks with injuries so severe that his leg was amputated.

Additionally,Aloka, the group's beloved dog, a former stray adopted from Kolkata, India, underwent surgery for a leg injury. The pup has since rejoined the group.

Buddhist monks continue their March for Peace as they cross Chain Bridge over the Potomac River February 10, 2026 between Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC. Nearly two dozen monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, led by Bhikkhu Pannakara, walked 2,300 miles to promote national healing, unity and compassion. The journey began on Oct. 26 in Texas and is expected to end on Feb. 12.

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Buddhist monks continue their 'Walk for Peace' in nation's capital

Buddhist monkscontinue their March for Peace as they cross Chain Bridge over the Potomac River February 10, 2026 between Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC.Nearly two dozen monksfrom the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, led by Bhikkhu Pannakara, walked 2,300 miles to promote national healing, unity and compassion. The journey began on Oct. 26 in Texas and is expected to end on Feb. 12.

Why are the monks walking?

The monks embarked on the journey to remind Americans that peace is not a destination, according to the pilgrimage's announcement.

"As the nation faces challenges of division, mental health crises, and conflict both at home and abroad, this pilgrimage offers a simple yet profound message: Peace begins within the heart of each person and extends outward to families, communities, and the nation as a whole," a "Walk for Peace"news releasestated.

Buddhist monks often undertake long walking pilgrimages that last months. During their walk, the monks observed a strict ascetic code inspired by ancient traditions. Those traditions include eating just one meal per day and sleeping beneath trees, which is considered a practice of humility, endurance and spiritual focus.

The monks announced they had arrived in Washington, DC, around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Upon crossing into the District from Virginia, Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara thanked those who had been following their journey via avideo posted to social media. He encouraged their supporters to continue advocating for peace to "change this world together."

When will the monks go home?

The group is hosting events in the nation's capital across two days. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, they'll walk to the Peace Monument, which stands in front of the U.S. Capitol. In the afternoon, they plan to walk to the Lincoln Memorial, where a concluding ceremony will commemorate the end of their journey.

The group, which is from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, is scheduled to head home on Thursday, Feb. 12.

Watch the monks as they arrive in Washington, DC.

Take a look back at their journey: See photos

Buddhist Monks Walk for Peace across Southeast to Washington, DC

Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Buddhist monks finish peace walk in DC. See photos.

Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, wasshot to deathby a deputy responding to a disturbance call at Fortson's apartment in Fort Walton Beach, where he lived while based at nearby Hurlburt Field. The May 2024 encounter wascaptured on body camera video.

At a Tuesday news conference in Florida, prominent civil rights attorneyBen Crump, who is representing Fortson's family in anongoing federal lawsuit, said it was his mother's decision to hold the media briefing.

"She is deeply hurt and concerned that time has allowed her son's name and his life to fade from public consciousness," Crump said.

"We are not here to litigate facts or comment on ongoing legal proceedings," he added. "We are here because silence, delay and distance have a human cost for families who are left to grieve while waiting for answers."

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, who fatally shot Fortson after being directed to Fortson's apartment while responding to a domestic violence call. Duran was charged withmanslaughter with a firearm, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. It's ararely seen criminal casefiled against a Florida law officer.

Two Florida attorneys representing Duran did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Fortson's mother, Chantimekki Fortson, said she still has many unanswered questions about the case.

"I need to know what happened to my baby," she said.

"I have to try to learn how to live life without Roger," she added. "I don't think I'm going to ever learn that."

Crump added that Fortson's mother wants to know: "How could it have been prevented and how can we make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else's family?" he said.

Fortson's family is from Georgia. Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues mourned Fortson athis funeral outside Atlanta.

Ruohonen, a St. Paul native, spoke in a news conference about the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence in his home state that's resulted inthe shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee GoodandAlex Pretti by agents.

Those killings and ICE's aggressive enforcement tactics on the streets of Minneapolis have prompted outrage andprotest in Minnesota and beyond. Ruohonen, a lawyer, cited the U.S. Constitution to declare that "there's no shades of gray" and that "what's happening in Minnesota is wrong."

'What's happening in Minnesota is wrong'

Ruohonen opened his statement by saying he's "proud to be here to represent Team USA and to represent our country."

He then turned his attention to Minnesota.

"This stuff is happening right around where we live," Ruohonen said. "I am a lawyer, as you know, and we have a constitution, and it allows us freedom of press, freedom of speech, protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures and makes it that we have to have probable cause to be pulled over.

"And what's happening in Minnesota is wrong. There's no shades of gray. It's clear. I really love what's been happening there now — people coming out, showing the love, the compassion, integrity and respect for others that they don't know and helping them out. And we love Minnesota for that."

MAGAs are now mad and USA curler Rich Ruohonen for speaking out against ICE…not a single thing he's saying here is wrong:"What's happening in Minnesota is wrong. There's no shades of grey. It's clear"pic.twitter.com/hLF1EdjXFc

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids)February 10, 2026

Ruohonen, 54, is a two-time national champion curler who's twice competed for Team USA in the curling world championships (2008, 2018). He's never competed in the Olympics.

He's an alternate at the Milan Cortina Games for the men's curling team helmed by skip Danny Casper. He's not guaranteed to compete. But if he plays, he'll become the oldest U.S. athlete to ever compete in the Winter Olympics.

He went on to speak about what it means to have the opportunity to compete in the Olympics.

"I want to make it clear that we are out here, we love our country," Ruohonen continued. "We're playing for the U.S., we're playing for Team USA, we're playing for each other, and we're playing for our family and our friends that sacrificed so much to get here today. ...

'What the Olympics means is excellence, respect, friendship, and we all, I think, exemplify that. And we are playing for the people of Minnesota and the people around the country who share those same values."

All the way back to Motown.

Verlander returned to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, agreeing to a $13 million, one-year contract with his first big league team. The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner joins an improved rotation fronted by Tarik Skubal andFramber Valdez, who also signed with Detroit in free agency.

Verlander, who turns 43 on Feb. 20, went 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA while spending his first 13 seasons in Detroit. He won his first Cy Young Award and was AL MVP when he had a 24-5 record and a 2.40 ERA in 2011.

Verlander was traded to Houston in August 2017 and helped the Astros win the World Series that same year and again in 2022. Now he gets an opportunity to chase a third championship with the Tigers, who are looking for the franchise's first title since 1984.

Verlander's deal with Detroit includes $11 million in deferred payments starting in 2030. The Tigers' pitchers and catchers are scheduled to have their first spring training workout on Wednesday.

The right-hander is 266-158 with a 3.32 ERA in 555 starts, also playing for the New York Mets and San Francisco. He is tied with Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 34th in victories on baseball's career list, while his 3,553 career strikeouts are eighth and closely trailing Don Sutton's 3,574.

Verlander is coming off a frustrating year with the Giants, going 4-11 with a 3.85 ERA in 29 starts. But his 2.60 ERA from July 23 through the remainder of the season ranked fourth in the National League with a minimum of 60 innings pitched.

Verlander returned June 18 after being sidelined for a month bya strained right pectoral muscle. He wants to keep pitching after a disappointing season in which he began 0-8 and was winless in his initial 16 outings before a win at Atlanta on July 23.

"First half, quite difficult. Happy I was able to find some mechanical fixes to kind of get back in the right direction and pitch well in the second half," Verlander said following his final outing on Sept. 27. "I think obviously you'd always rather it go well, but it's nice to be able to turn it around, especially after a few months it gets really draining and it's tiresome. You've just got to come in every day and have a positive mindset and keep working hard."

Verlander signeda $15 million, one-year contractwith San Francisco last January andhad a forgettable home debut for the Giants. The Giants often struggled to provide him with enough run support.

The second-half turnaround mattered to Verlander, who limited opponents to a .228 average over his final 13 appearances. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 of his last 13 starts.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

To Crosby's dismay, the Raiders placed the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end on injured reserve because of a knee injury that ultimately required surgery. Hewent on to post a video of him playing basketball and photos of him on a trampoline, as the Raiders' spiral toward the No. 1 pick,which he notably didn't care for, continued.

That whole situation strained the relationship between Crosby and the Raiders,according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, who reported on Jan. 3 that Las Vegas was expected to be open to trading Crosby this offseason. It was reported last week that Crosby told minority owner Tom Brady he won't be playing for the Raiders again. The star edge rusher isexpected to attract a massive amount of interest in the trade marketif that's the case.

But perhaps Crosby and the Raiders have ironed some things out.

After the Las Vegas Raidersfired Pete Carroll last month, Crosbyshared plenty of kind words about the head coach. And now he's already met his new one, Klint Kubiak.

Coming off a dominant win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator was introduced as the Raiders' frontman on Tuesday.

Kubiaktold reportersthat he got a cup of coffee with Crosby that morning.

"Love talking ball with him and look forward to continuing those conversations," Kubiak said. "I think he was the first one in here this morning working out, so that fired me up."

Kubiak was then asked about how important it's going to be for Crosby to quickly buy into Kubiak's head-coaching vision, given how much credibility the defensive stalwart has in the Vegas locker room.

"We want him to be a part of our success going forward," Kubiak said. "There's no doubt about that. He's one of the best players in the NFL. So that's a no-brainer to get to work with Maxx and to see him continue to have success with this organization."

Last year,the Raiders signed Crosby to three-year extension reportedly worth $106.5 million, a deal that, at the time, made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

That title has since been passed multiple times.

Crosby has been with the organization for seven seasons. The Raiders selected him out of Eastern Michigan in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. They were still in Oakland back then.

He's finished with at least 10 sacks four times, including during the 2025 campaign, despite its premature end.

The latestbatch of documentshas revealed Epstein's network of friends and associates reach beyond his Caribbean island and East Coast circles into the gilded palaces of two of Europe'sroyal familiesand touch some of the highest offices of foreign governments.

More:Who is in the latest Epstein files release? Documents reveal new names

While inclusion in the files does not indicate a person is a criminal suspect, it does, in some cases, show a person had social or business connections. Several people in European power circles are facing inquiries or investigations, while others have stepped down from various professional roles.

What appears to be outdoor furniture is seen in a photo released by US Department of Justice from one of Jeffrey Epstein's properties.

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Epstein's house was filled with odd objects. See the photos.

While Epstein's connections to leaders in business, academia and government have been known for years, the DOJ'sJan. 30 document drophas provided a wider sense of the relationships cultivated by Epstein, who died awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Many maintained contact with him even after his conviction in 2008 for soliciting a prostitute and procuring a child for prostitution in Florida. His plea required him to register as a sex offender in 2009.

UK government under fire over Epstein emails

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to step down, including from some within his own party, in connection with the Epstein files after he appointed Peter Mandelson, a friend of Epstein, as ambassador to the United States. (Starmer himself is not in any of the released documents.) Details of Mandelson's friendship with the late wealth manager became public after the latest round of documents from the DOJ revealed he'd corresponded with Epstein after he was a registered sex offender in 2009.

A little over a week after the Jan. 30 document dump, two of Starmer's aides have resigned: Communications chief Tim Allan and Starmer's top aide, Morgan McSweeney, who said he took responsibility for advising on the appointment of Mandelson to Britain's top diplomatic role. Mandelson has also resigned from the House of Lords.

British police are investigating Mandelson over allegations of "misconduct in public life" after he was accused of passing market-sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary under former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown over a decade ago. Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Two royal families ensnared in Epstein controversy

Among the most well-known European figures who the documents show to have had yearslong friendships with Epstein are members of two royal families:Norway's Princess Mette-Maritand the United Kingdom'sAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III.

While Mountbatten-Windsor's relationship to Epstein has been known for years, the January document dump was the first time the Norwegian princess's correspondence became publicly available.

More:King Charles' brother Andrew crouches over woman in new Epstein photos

Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titlein October 2025 andpushed out of his vast homeat Royal Lodge after reports of his association with Epstein hit a fever pitch. He wasousted as a senior royalthree years prior. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who died by suicide in 2025, alleged she was sexually abused by the former royal multiple times when she was 17 years old. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied the allegations.

The latest release has only intensified scrutiny of the former prince, with the country's prime ministerurging him to testifyto U.S. lawmakers and forcingPrince William and Princess Kate to speak outabout the controversy after years of silence. Britain's King Charles said in a statement Feb. 9 released by Buckingham Palace that the palace isready to support the policeas they investigate allegations against the king's brother.

Princess Mette-Marit, the Crown Princess of Norway, exchanged dozens of emails with Epstein, some as recently as2014.The emails contradict a 2019 comment from the Royal Palace that she'd broken off contact with Epstein in 2011, according to theNorwegian tabloid VG.

Mette-Marit, wife of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has apologized for maintaining contact with Epstein, saying she displayed poor judgment. In her most recent statement, released Feb. 6, she apologized again, "for the situation that I have put the royal family in, especially the King and Queen."

Norway's prime minister on Feb. 9 said that Mette-Marit and other prominent Norwegians named in the recently released Epstein documents should provide more details about their involvement with Epstein.

Norway opens investigations into ex-leader and diplomats

Norwegian authoritiesannouncedthey are investigating two former ambassadors and a former prime minister over corruption tied to the Epstein files. All were known to have had ties to Epstein, but the new files have provided more details on their relationships and dealings with the late money manager.

The country's economic and environmental crime unit said in a statement on Feb. 9 it had conducted searches at two locations tied to former ambassador Mona Juul and her husband, Terje Rød‑Larsen. The pair is being investigated over charges of aggravated corruption and contribution to aggravated corruption. Authorities had opened a separate corruption investigation into former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland several days prior due to his alleged links to Epstein.

Jagland served as prime minister from 1996 to 1997, and also held top positions as chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and secretary general of the Council of Europe.

The diplomatic couple, Juul and Rød‑Larsen, helped facilitate contacts between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government that led to the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords. Juul had been Norway's ambassador to Jordan and Iraq upon the latest Epstein file release, and has stepped down from the position. Rød‑Larsen is a former Deputy Prime Minister.

The files suggest that the couple and their children visited Epstein's island, and were named in a version of his will released in the Epstein documents. The two children stood to inherit $5 million apiece from him, according toReuters.

French and Slovakian officials scrutinized, among others

Jack Lang, a former French culture minister, has stepped down from his role as the head of a cultural center in Paris following allegations he previously had financial ties to Epstein. The allegations have triggered a tax investigation. Lang denies wrongdoing and has described the allegations against him as "baseless."

Lang was the head of the Arab World Institute, an organization that promotes exchanges between France and Arab nations. In a letter to Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, viewed by the AFP news agency, Lang said that he would submit his resignation at the next board meeting of the Arab World Institute. Lang served as France's culture minister between 1981 and 1993. He later served as minister of education.

Miroslav Lajčák, an ally of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and his national security adviser, resigned after it emerged in documents from the Epstein files that he had exchanged text messages with Epstein about women and diplomacy. The texts date from when Lajčák was Slovakia's foreign minister in 2018.

In a statement, Lajčák said he was resigning to avoid causing any political damage to Fico. He denied any wrongdoing. He also condemned Epstein's alleged crimes.

Contributing: Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY; Reuters.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@usatoday.comand on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletterhere.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Epstein file revelations spark probes, controversy in Europe