Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Thursday, May seventh. The time is midnight Central. I'm Keli, joined by Hast.

HAST Good to be with you. We're starting tonight with new questions about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. This is an update on a story we've been tracking.

KELI That's right. Lutnick told lawmakers last year that he ended his friendship with Epstein back in 2005, but newly released Epstein files show the two maintained contact well after that cutoff date. House members questioned him this week about a 2012 lunch the two had together on Epstein's private island in the Caribbean.

HAST Lutnick's office says that lunch was a chance encounter and that he left early, but the documents appear to show it was planned. The files also indicate other communications between them in the years after 2005. His confirmation as Commerce Secretary was already completed, so this doesn't alter his position, but it does add weight to questions about the accuracy of his previous statements on the matter.

KELI One more on this. Hast, the temptation here is to read this story a certain way. What should listeners watch for?

HAST Right. The simple read is going to be that a cabinet member lied under oath or in testimony and nobody's going to do anything about it. The structural reality is that the Epstein files create a specific, datable contradiction—Lutnick said 2005, documents show 2012—and that's a factual claim that's now in the public record. Watch for whether any of the committees that already confirmed him choose to revisit his testimony or refer anything to the relevant ethics bodies. If those committees stay silent and we don't see a formal request for clarification, then the simple read probably holds.

KELI Got it. Turning to the courts now. There's a developing split among federal appellate judges over Second Amendment cooling-off periods, also continuing coverage here. The First and Tenth Circuit Courts have now ruled differently on whether mandatory waiting periods before gun purchases violate the Second Amendment text.

HAST The First Circuit, covering New England, upheld a waiting period. The Tenth Circuit, which covers the Mountain West and Great Plains, struck one down. Both courts are grappling with the same constitutional question but reaching opposite conclusions, which usually signals the Supreme Court is going to have to step in eventually.

KELI Meanwhile, K-pop supergroup BTS drew fifty thousand fans to Mexico City in less than five hours this week. They appeared on the balcony of Mexico's National Palace after meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum. The band's last concert tour was in 2019, so this appearance sparked a lot of interest among longtime fans who've been waiting for new material and performances.

HAST And in the Middle East, Pakistan's military says it's working to convert an ongoing ceasefire into a permanent resolution. This comes after former President Trump said in an interview that any conflict in the region would be over quickly, though the specifics of what he was referring to remain unclear.

KELI Let's look back now. On this day in 1920, Polish and Ukrainian forces under Józef Piłsudski captured Kyiv in what became known as the Kyiv Offensive, only to be driven out by the Red Army a month later in a decisive counter-offensive that would shape Eastern Europe for the next century.

HAST That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back next hour. From Inkwell.