Emily Jashinsky

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick facing new questions over his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein as lawmakers clash over whether his closed-door testimony cleared the air or raised more concerns.

And Ted Turner, the billionaire entrepreneur behind CNN and TNT, passing away after a years-long battle with Lewy body dementia.

All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, a government-run discrimination watchdog, filing a lawsuit against the New York Times on behalf of a white male employee, alleging the media outlet violated the Civil Rights Act by passing him over for a promotion because of his race and sex.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, does not name the journalist, but New York Magazine reports it is likely Bryant Rousseau, a senior editor and producer on the Times' international desk who has been with the paper for more than a decade, whose LinkedIn profile matches the job descriptions in the lawsuit.

In 2025, the Times opening a search for a deputy real estate editor, the position ultimately going to an outside candidate, a non-white woman the EEOC alleges had little to no background in real estate journalism, despite that experience being listed as a job requirement.

the agency further alleging no white male candidates advanced to the final round of interviews.

The complaint claims the Times deviated from its normal hiring process to include the eventual hire in the candidate pool, despite her receiving a lower internal rating from the hiring panel than the other finalists.

From an EEOC statement, quote, the New York Times has a well-documented commitment to enacting race and sex-conscious decision-making in the workforce through its diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, policies.

The lawsuit putting it more bluntly, quote, a necessary consequence of the NYT's intent to increase the percentage of non-white leaders would be a decrease in the percentage of white leaders.

The EEOC asking a judge to bar the Times from discriminating against employees based on race or sex and to award back pay and other damages to the rejected applicant.

A spokesperson for The New York Times, Daniel Rhodes-Haugh, releasing a statement, quote, The New York Times categorically rejects the politically motivated allegations brought by the Trump administration's EEOC.

Our employment practices are merit-based and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world.

We spoke to employment attorney James Fett, who is not involved with this case, but says allegations The Times deviated from its normal hiring process could become a significant factor in the lawsuit.

Fett agrees with the Times' assertion that the case is politically motivated, but not necessarily in the way the paper frames it.

Fett says even though many companies have blurred the line between diversity goals and illegal discrimination, the law itself is straightforward.

President Trump flexing his political muscle in Indiana, where Republican primary voters backed most of the state Senate candidates he endorsed against GOP lawmakers who defied him on redistricting.

In December, Indiana's Republican-controlled state Senate breaking with President Trump over congressional redistricting.

the president backing a proposal to redraw the state's congressional map in an effort to expand the GOP's House majority.

The Trump-backed proposal would have effectively eliminated Indiana's two Democrat-held congressional districts.