Commerce Secretary Lutnick acknowledges meetings with Epstein

WASHINGTON (AP) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has acknowledged that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein twice after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child. It’s a reversal of Lutnick’s previous claim that he had cut ties with the late financier after 2005. He was questioned by Democrats during a Tuesday subcommittee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But Lutnick is facing calls from several lawmakers for his resignation after the release of case files on Epstein contradicted Lutnick’s claims on a podcast last year that he had decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein again after a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

Retail sales unchanged in December from November, closing out year on a lackluster tone

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers unexpectedly paused their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on a lackluster tone. The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, surprised economists who were looking for growth despite mounting concerns about a slowing job growth, uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other economic headwinds. And it raised questions about shoppers’ ability to spend after they have remained resilient for months despite souring consumer confidence, economists said.

FBI releases first surveillance images of masked person on Nancy Guthrie’s porch

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie more than a week ago released the first surveillance images Tuesday, showing a masked person on her porch the night she went missing. Authorities searching for the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie have not identified any suspects of persons of interest. FBI Director Kash Patel posted the images on X, saying, “The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.” He said the images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance.”

FBI search of Georgia offices tied to probe of possible 2020 election ‘defects,’ affidavit says

ATLANTA (AP) — The FBI obtained a search warrant to seize hundreds of boxes of ballots from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a criminal investigation into possible “deficiencies or defects” in the vote count in the 2020 contest lost by President Donald Trump, according to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday. The affidavit provides the first public justification for an FBI search last month that targeted a county that Trump and allies have long seen as central to their false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. But the allegations outlined in the affidavit are largely based on claims that have long been made by people who assert that there was fraud in the 2020 election.