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Epstein called criminalizing sex with teen girls a 'cultural aberration': report

Jeffrey Epstein had previously slammed criminalizing sex with teen girls as a “cultural aberration,” according to a reporter who recalled the convicted pedophile’s comments a year before his apparent suicide. Epstein was “unapologetic” and defiant to the end in his beliefs on men sleeping with underage girls, according to New York Times reporter James Stewart. “He said that criminalizing sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration and that at times in history it was perfectly acceptable,” Stewart reported in the Times on Monday. Stewart spoke with Epstein at his Manhattan townhouse in 2018, a year before he reportedly killed himself inside of his New York City jail cell on Saturday.

Barr focuses on 'irregularities' at correctional facility, feds search one of Epstein's homes

Attorney General William Barr on Monday blasted corrections officials and vowed to investigate the “serious irregularities” uncovered at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan where Epstein was held and found dead Saturday morning. The disgraced financier reportedly used a makeshift noose made from bedsheets to hang himself. Barr's criticism came amid complaints about squalid, rat-infested cells and as union officials charge warnings about overworked employees at the understaffed facility went ignored for years.

Meanwhile, the FBI confirmed to Fox News that agents are searching Epstein's Little Saint James Island home in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. The notorious island took on a string of nicknames over the years, including "Pedophile Island" and "Orgy Island." The 66-year-old Epstein was known to frequent the lush property in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What's more, an employee who reportedly worked there has claimed the wealthy financier kept a mysterious safe inside the main residence.

Trump administration defends new green card rule

The Trump administration on Monday issued a long-awaited rule strengthening the ability of federal officials to deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to rely on government aid. Officials described the so-called "public charge" rule as a way to ensure those granted permanent residency are self-sufficient -- and protect taxpayers in the process. Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), defended the rule as strengthened a long-held standard for potential immigrants and green card holders. "The rule we issued today, a public charge rule, is intended to once again give meaningful effect to the public charge standard," he said Monday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "What that is in ordinary English... is basically that we try to avoid having immigrants come through our process... who are likely in the future to become welfare-dependent." Click on the video above to watch Cuccinelli's interview from "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

Senior citizen to Kamala Harris: 'Leave our health care alone'

Presidential primary candidate Kamala Harris was confronted on Monday by an upset Iowa resident over the California senator’s plan to overhaul health care in the United States. The Democratic senator from California was speaking to voters at the Bickford Senior Living Center in Muscatine, Iowa, when one of the center’s residents challenged her on how she planned to pay for “Medicare for All." “Leave our health care alone,” Roberta Jewell, a 91-year-old resident at the senior living facility, told Harris as she was describing her campaign’s health care proposal. “We don’t want you to mess with it.”

Trump campaign aide: Scaramucci is about Scaramucci

The new public rift between President Trump and Anthony Scaramucci is slowly escalating as one campaign aide has described the former White House communications director as a self-centered man who abused young staffers during his short tenure. "Anthony Scaramucci is all about Anthony Scaramucci," Mercedes Schlapp claimed Monday on "The Story." "You can ask young staffers in the communications office that literally were terrorized by Anthony Scaramucci, where he only survived 11 days in that job." In media interviews and on Twitter, Scaramucci has been critical of Trump, suggesting to CNN it might be best for the Republican Party to replace him at the top of the 2020 presidential ticket. In turn, the president claimed the hedge fund executive and short-timer in his administration just wants to appear on television.

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TODAY'S MUST-READS

CNN's Chris Cuomo seen in unverified video cursing at man who apparently called him 'Fredo.'

Top New York Times editor holds town hall tied to Trump headline drama: report.

Gregg Jarrett: Comey's FBI was running a secret counterintelligence operation against Trump, new docs show.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS

Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth divorce drama: How much money is at stake.

New White House immigration rule: How will your taxes be impacted?

Planet Fitness a little out of shape, slowdown could hit gym chain.

#TheFlashback: CLICK HERE to find out what happened on "This Day in History."

SOME PARTING WORDS

Sean Hannity says 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden's biggest opponent is himself as he continues to make gaffe after gaffe on the campaign trail.

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Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Enjoy your Tuesday! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday morning.