Janine Herbst

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst.

During testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee today, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admits he met with Jeffrey Epstein, visiting him on his private island for lunch with his family in 2012 after Epstein's 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.

Lutnick is facing calls to resign.

Top Trump administration immigration officials are testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee.

As NPR's Barbara Sprott reports, the oversight hearing follows intensified public scrutiny over the way immigration enforcement agents are doing their job.

The FBI has released surveillance photos and videos of a person outside the house of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC Today show host Savannah Guthrie, the morning after she disappeared from her home in Arizona.

The photo shows a person wearing a ski mask, a backpack, gloves, and what appears to be a weapon holstered at the waist.

Meanwhile, the FBI says it hasn't identified any suspects or persons of interest in the disappearance of the 84-year-old.

A new poll finds the vast majority of American Jews feel less safe due to a series of attacks against Jewish people over the past year.

Empire's Jason DeRose has more.

The National Governors Association has canceled its annual White House meeting after President Trump excluded Democrats from the White House dinner, which is traditionally a bipartisan event.

And Trump personally excluded Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the only Black governor in the country.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

New data shows that millions of federal student loan borrowers continue their slide into default, as NPR's Corey Turner reports.

At the Winter Olympics in Italy, an investigation is underway after four athletes reported problems with their medals breaking and falling off the ribbons.

Women's downhill gold medalist American Breezy Johnson warned her fellow athletes not to jump in them.

Hers broke when she did, though it was replaced quickly.

It's not the first time Olympic medals have come under scrutiny.

After the 2024 Olympics in Paris, some had to be replaced because they were starting to corrode.