Luke Vargas

This winter is worse and weirder than usual.

We'll tell you why after the break.

Hotelier Thomas Pritzker is retiring as the executive chairman of Hyatt after recently released documents detailed his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Pritzker is a member of one of Chicago's most prominent families, which includes Illinois' current governor and a former U.S.

Commerce Secretary.

In a statement, Pritzker said he exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,

and in a memo to the board, added that his departure would allow for a proper handoff at Hyatt.

The company has named its president and chief executive as board chair.

Meanwhile, Wall Street's DEI retreat is continuing, with Goldman Sachs saying it will no longer consider race, sexual orientation, and other diversity factors when screening potential board candidates.

We exclusively report that the decision follows a behind-the-scenes request from a conservative activist nonprofit that owns a small stake in the bank, urging it to drop the DEI policy and requesting the proposal be circulated to shareholders.

Goldman's board is expected to finalize the DEI walkback this month.

And we've learned that activist Elliott Investment Management has built a more than 10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line and is planning to push for changes at the world's fourth largest cruise operator.

Its shares are among the worst performing in the S&P 500 over the past five years, with its stock remaining near COVID-era levels despite the recovery in travel demand.

And between extreme temperatures, record snowfall, and surging energy use, if it feels like this winter has been an especially tough one, you're not wrong.

Well, whether you're thrilled about hitting the slopes, frustrated about your soaring heating bill, or just fed up with slipping on the ice, let us know.

We've left a link in our show notes.

And that's it for What's News for this Tuesday morning.

Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Hattie Moyer.

Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff.

And I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal.