White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed off a question about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein during a press briefing Tuesday before redirecting her response and mentioning the administration’s recent wins before ending a news conference. 

«Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary,» Leavitt said Tuesday when asked if President Donald Trump and the White House still support the Commerce chief after his testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday. 

Leavitt was repeatedly questioned about Epstein during the news conference, including regarding Lutnick telling lawmakers Tuesday he visited Epstein’s notorious island while on a family vacation in 2012 but that he otherwise had no relationship with the convicted sex offender. 

«My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,» he said Tuesday. «I had another couple with. They were there as well with their children, and we had lunch on the island — that is true — for an hour.

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«I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person, OK?»

Lutnick previously said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005, but recent document releases from the Department of Justice’s investigations into Epstein show the pair communicated years later. Democrats and other critics have increasingly called for Lutnick’s ouster amid the document release, sparking questions whether the administration continues to support the Commerce chief. 

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Leavitt said the administration continues to back Lutnick before launching into a series of wins notched under Trump’s watch that the media did not ask about during the press conference, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing 50,000 points for the first time ever earlier in February. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the Trump administration continues to back Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick when asked about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.  (Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo/Reuters)

«I will just point out that there are a lot of wins in the news this week that people in this room have not asked about because you continue to ask questions about the same subject,» Leavitt said. 

«So, let me point them out for you again. On Friday, the Dow shattered 50,000 for the first time ever. This week, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons came out in opposition to gender mutilation surgeries for children. They are the first major medical group to do so.

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The Department of Justice released a trove of Epstein documents Dec. 19, 2026, after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025.  (Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

«A federal appeals court today — nobody asked about that — just upheld the Trump administration’s policy of detaining illegal aliens, validating the strong measures that have driven illegal crossings to historic lows and sent a crystal clear message that, under President Trump, if you enter the country illegally, you will be detained and removed» she continued. 

«Again, not a single question about this as the murder rate has plunged to a 125-year low as crime falls across the board thanks to President Trump’s crime crackdown.» 

Leavitt added that national median rent prices fell to four-year lows and that mortgage affordability surged to a four-year high as the administration hammers home affordability to ease housing and cost woes. 

«There’s a reason why Americans’ trust in mainstream media outlets is at an all-time low. They’re Fake News,» White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital later Tuesday when asked about the exchange. «The Trump Administration will never hesitate to share the truth with the American people.»

Leavitt wrapped up the news conference after mentioning the administration’s wins, noting Trump’s busy schedule. 

The briefing started roughly 40 minutes late, and Leavitt attributed the delay to a meeting with Trump to review updates on the Nancy Guthrie missing person case. The briefing lasted a total of just over 20 minutes. 

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«We’re going to get back to business. The president is very busy today, and you will see him all tomorrow at the event in the East Room touting his administration’s energy policy,» she said.

A government-run health trust in the United Kingdom recently advertised a nursing role focused on supporting families involved in «close-relative marriage,» a practice that often involves first cousins and is linked to higher genetic risks for children due to shared inherited genes, according to health officials.

The full-time position, titled «Neonatal Nurse – Close Relative Marriage,» aims to support families through «informed reproductive decision-making,» according to a job posting from Britain’s public health system, the National Health Service (NHS). 

The role has since closed.

«Newborn Services is pleased to announce an exciting brand-new job opportunity for an experienced Neonatal Nurse,» according to the official job description.

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Under the role, the nurse would «proactively work with at risk families practising close relative marriage to encourage a greater level of genetic testing and/or genetic awareness/literacy among families where consanguineous related disorders are present,» the description states. Consanguinity refers to relationships in which parents are biologically related, most commonly first cousins.

The posting also states the nurse would support the implementation of a national strategy at the local hospital level, help families make «informed choices in a culturally sensitive empowering way,» initiate «sensitive, appropriate conversations» about recessive genetic disorders, and «contribute to the reduction of health inequalities in infant and child mortality and morbidity.»

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While close-relative marriage is rare in most Western countries, it remains more common in parts of the Middle East and South Asia and within some immigrant communities in Britain, where the NHS has increasingly emphasized outreach, genetic counseling and risk awareness rather than discouraging the practice outright.

Cousin marriage is more prevalent among some communities in Britain, including those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage, according to GB News. 

The job posting also listed fluency in Urdu as a desirable skill, a language widely spoken among Pakistani communities in the U.K.

Medical researchers have long documented elevated genetic risks associated with close-relative relationships. A peer-reviewed study published in BMC Medical Genetics found that children born to consanguineous couples face a higher risk of congenital and genetic disorders, particularly autosomal recessive diseases, with the increased risk for children of first cousins estimated at 2% to 4% above the general population.

A sign welcomed visitors to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, England. (Peter Byrne/PA Wire via Getty Images)

The researchers stressed that the vast majority of children born to related parents are healthy, but noted that genetic risk can vary widely between families and may be significantly higher in a minority of cases, depending on shared inherited DNA. The study also found it is not currently possible to predict which couples face the highest risk.

Emma Schubart, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, warned that specialized NHS outreach risks normalizing close-relative relationships.

«The NHS’s creation of specialized nursing roles risks normalizing a practice that significantly elevates genetic risks, including a doubled likelihood of serious birth defects and heightened susceptibility to common diseases like type 2 diabetes,» Schubart told Fox News Digital in a statement. «For example, among British Pakistanis, a community where consanguinity rates remain high, individuals face 3–6 times the average UK risk of type 2 diabetes, with 5–18% of cases directly attributable to inbreeding. This translates to thousands of additional diabetes cases nationwide, placing undue strain on an already overburdened NHS.»

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The Union Jack is photographed against a partly-cloudy sky. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

According to GB News, recent NHS guidance has described concerns about genetic risks from cousin marriage as exaggerated, a characterization that has drawn criticism from campaigners who argue the approach risks normalizing a practice that places avoidable burdens on children and public health systems.

The role was advertised by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, one of the United Kingdom’s largest NHS trusts, which operates 10 hospitals across Greater Manchester and Trafford in northwest England, according to the trust’s website. The job posting also sought candidates who «value diversity and difference,» according to the advert.

Fox News Digital reached out to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust for comment.

Gustavo Petro, presidente de Colombia, denunció este martes la existencia de un plan para asesinarlo. «Tengo que confesar que me mudo en dos días, escapándome de que me maten», dijo Petro, a tres meses de las elecciones presidenciales.

«Por eso anoche no pude llegar, no podía aterrizar donde teníamos que aterrizar. No me prendían las luces. Y a la mañana tampoco aterricé, porque temía que le iban a disparar al helicóptero, con mis hijos también», añadió.

«Entonces cogimos mar abierto cuatro horas, no llegué donde tenía que llegar, pero llegué. Vengo así…», siguió.

Las declaraciones de Petro tuvieron lugar en una reunión con ministros, transmitida en vivo, luego de la desaparición de la senadora indígena Aida Quilcué. Petro denunció su secuestro. La mujer apareció con vida horas más tarde.

También aseguró que ordenó retirar a un general de la policía. «Tiene una misión extraña para ponerme sustancias psicoactivas en el carro. Se allanó su casa, era para eso. Y tenía como misión la reunión con Trump», añadió, en referencia al esperado encuentro con el presidente de Estados Unidos, que se concretó la semana pasada después de meses de enfrentamiento público entre ambos.

«Eso me coloca en una situación de alarma. Y con esto, peor. Hay una acción para con órdenes de captura, incluso con el intento de poner a mi hijo preso a fines del año pasado», siguió Petro.

Los dichos de Petro ocurren en medio de una nueva ola de inseguridad política, cuyo último capítulo fue la desaparición de Aida Quilcué, cercana al presidente, y miembros de su equipo de seguridad. Aparecieron con vida horas más tarde.

No se sabía nada de ellos desde las 13.30 de este martes (hora local, 15.30 en Argentina), cuando fueron interceptados por otro auto.

La semana pasada atentaron contra la caravana de vehículos de Jairo Alberto Castellanos, senador en Arauca, región fronteriza con Venezuela. El político no viajaba en la camioneta, pero mataron a dos de sus guardaespaldas. El ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional) se despegó del atentado: «No fue nuestro objetivo».

«Informamos a la opinión pública que la Senadora Aída Quilcué y su esquema de seguridad presuntamente han sido secuestrados en el tramo Inzá-Totoro, Cauca. Solicitamos la mayor colaboración sobre información de la integridad de la senadora y su esquema de seguridad», expresó el equipo de la dirigente en X.

Petro detalló que el vehículo en el que se movilizaba Quilcué fue interceptado por desconocidos a las 13:30 hora local (18:30 GMT) en el páramo de Totoró, en el Cauca, zona donde son particularmente fuertes las disidencias de las FARC.

«Es un grito de guerra contra todos los indígenas del Cauca y del país», añadió el mandatario en un consejo de ministros en Montería, capital del departamento caribeño de Córdoba, al comentar el secuestro de la senadora de la coalición oficialista Pacto Histórico.

El ministro de Defensa, Pedro Sánchez Suárez, aseguró que «toda la Fuerza Pública está en reacción y adelantando la búsqueda» de la senadora, que ganó el Premio Nacional de Derechos Humanos en la categoría de Defensa a toda una vida en 2021, un año antes de asumir su escaño en el Congreso.

Luego, el ministro de Defensa confirmó su hallazgo con vida. «La guardia indígena informa que ya encontraron a nuestra senadora Aída Quilcué y sus escoltas. Todos están bien. Nuestra Fuerza Pública avanza a la zona. Una vez se tenga mayor información será comunicada», expresó en X.

La guardia indígena reporta que llegó al lugar y halló la camioneta donde viajaba la senadora @aida_quilcue, pero sin personas en el interior.

Se continúa la búsqueda.

Cualquier información llame al 147 o 165. pic.twitter.com/zjuANS1mzf

— Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez S. Orgullosamente Colombiano (@PedroSanchezCol) February 10, 2026

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Quilcué afirma haber recibido múltiples amenazas a lo largo de su vida, incluyendo mensajes intimidatorios, atentados e incluso el asesinato de su esposo en 2008.

Justamente el 29 de octubre de 2022, Quilcué salió ilesa de un atentado luego de que su vehículo fuera atacado a tiros cuando se movilizaba por una vía rural del Cauca.

Posteriormente, el 20 de mayo de 2023, denunció un nuevo hecho de intimidación cuando hombres armados merodearon e intentaron ingresar a su vivienda también en una zona rural de Popayán, la capital departamental.