Prison guards admit to falsifying records about night of Jeffrey Epstein's death

Details: Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were accused of sleeping and browsing on the internet instead of making their required rounds every 30 minutes during the eight-hour period. Epstein's cell was 15 feet from the guards when he killed himself in August 2019.

• The two have entered an agreement with prosecutors and will avoid jail time. They will instead be subjected to supervised release and 100 hours of community service. They must also cooperate with the Justice Department in an ongoing probe.
• A judge will need to approve the deal, which could come as soon as next week, per AP.

• Both officers were working overtime that night because of longtime shortages. One was on a fifth consecutive shift of overtime, according to AP.

The big picture: The case has reignited debate over the issues plaguing the federal prison system. Union officials maintain that staff shortages put both guards and inmates at risk.

• A congressional report released in 2019 found that senior BOP officials' "bad behavior is ignored or covered up on a regular basis," the New York Times reports.