News Wrap: Lutnick will testify in House investigation into Epstein

Geoff Bennett:

Meantime, another member of Trump's Cabinet has agreed to face questions on a separate issue. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will voluntarily testify in the House Oversight Committee's investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That's according to the committee's chairman, though no date has been set.

Lutnick told Axios -- quote -- "I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong. And I want to set the record straight."

He used to be Epstein's neighbor in Manhattan and has admitted to visiting Epstein's private island back in 2012. Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The 2026 midterm elections officially kicked off today with voters heading to the polls in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas. In Texas, the most expensive Senate primary in state history has Republican incumbent John Cornyn fighting for his political survival in a three-way race that could force a run-off, while the Democratic race pits State Rep. James Talarico against Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.

In North Carolina, voters are selecting nominees to run to replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis in November. And Republican voters in reliably red Arkansas are likely to renominate Senator Tom Cotton and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders as the party's candidates.

In Georgia, the father of an alleged school shooter was himself found guilty of second-degree murder today.

Man:

Count two, cruelty to children in a second degree, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty.

Geoff Bennett:

It took a jury less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all 29 charges against him. Gray gave his then 14-year-old son the gun he allegedly used to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in 2024.

Prosecutors say he did so despite sufficient warning that his son would harm other people. Gray joins a growing number of parents who have been prosecuted for the actions of their children. He will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum of 180 years in prison.

Officials in Pakistan say Afghan forces attacked its military positions along the border today, though there are conflicting reports on casualties. Pakistani authorities say at least 67 Afghan troops were killed, with local hospitals treating residents who were caught up in the fighting. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry rejected those figures, instead saying that Afghan troops repelled the attacks and killed four Pakistani soldiers.

The conflicting reports come on a fifth day of violence, which started with the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, launching attacks last week as a response to earlier Pakistan airstrikes.

Enayatullah Khowarazmi, Afghan Defense Ministry Spokesman (through interpreter):

It must be clearly stated that we did not choose war, but, unfortunately, the Pakistani military regime has repeatedly violated our territory and martyred our civilians. As a result, no other option remained.

Geoff Bennett:

Pakistan says it does not target civilians and instead accuses Kabul of providing a safe haven to the militants who target the Pakistani government. For its part, Afghanistan's government denies those claims.

There has been more fallout from the deal between the Pentagon and artificial intelligence giant OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that CEO Sam Altman defended his decision on an all-staff call to allow defense officials to use the company's A.I. tools for classified work. It comes after he announced a revision to the deal to make sure OpenAI's technology would not be used for mass surveillance.

And, last night, he posted on social media that announcing Friday's deal so quickly was, in his words, opportunistic and sloppy. OpenAI's agreement with the Pentagon came shortly on the heels of a federal ban on rival Anthropic's A.I. tools.

We have an update now on a story we brought you last night. The Trump administration is reviving its effort to punish law firms seen as supporting the president's political opponents just a day after signaling it was dropping the fight.

At issue is a series of executive orders signed by President Trump last year that would have hampered the work of four prominent law firms. Those orders were blocked by federal judges and the Justice Department appealed. Yesterday, the DOJ said it was dropping those appeals, which was seen as a major retreat for the administration. Then, today, officials asked an appeals court to withdraw that request, which seemingly puts the legal battle back on track.

California's governor is criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to temporarily block a state law banning public schools from outing transgender students to their parents. A spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom said teachers should be focused on teaching, not forced to be gender cops.

The law bans automatic parental notification if students change their gender identity or pronouns. California officials had argued that it gave students privacy, especially if they feared rejection from their families. But the Supreme Court sided with Christian groups who say it allowed schools to mislead parents.

On Wall Street today, Iran worries weighed on the markets, though stocks ended well off their lows of the day. By the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was down around 400 points. The Nasdaq dropped more than 230 points. The S&P 500 also ended lower.

And sky gazers around the globe were treated to a total lunar eclipse earlier today, commonly called a blood moon. It occurs when our planet moves directly between the sun and the moon, giving the lunar surface a crimson-looking glow, as seen in this image taken this morning from Idaho.

Meantime, in Mexico City's predawn sky, spectators gathered to watch as the lunar eclipse reached its final phase, while, across the world in the Philippines, early risers witnessed the partially-eclipsed moon move through the sky. The next total lunar eclipse is expected to occur on New Year's Eve 2028, so mark your calendars.