By Matt Egan, CNN

(CNN) — Jeffrey Epstein is once again haunting one of the most powerful firms on Wall Street: Apollo Global Management.

Five years after the Epstein scandal forced billionaire Leon Black to step down as Apollo’s CEO, the recent release of millions of documents related to Epstein show Black’s replacement, current CEO Marc Rowan, met with Epstein multiple times years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to procuring a minor for prostitution and his 18-month jail sentence. The Epstein files have raised new questions about the firm’s ties to the convicted sex offender — and its transparency to investors about those links.

Two powerful teachers’ unions that have committed at least $27.5 billion to Apollo wrote a letter to the SEC this week calling for federal regulators to investigate Apollo’s “apparent lack of candor” over its relationship with Epstein.

Now, Apollo is doing damage control. The asset management giant responded this week by insisting to clients that there is “nothing new” in the Epstein documents and Rowan did not have a “business or personal relationship” with the disgraced figure. Despite multiple attempts from Epstein to do business with Apollo’s executives, other than Black, Apollo said Epstein’s requests were all rejected. Black said in late 2020 that “with the benefit of hindsight,” he deeply regretted having had “any involvement” with Epstein.

The focus on Apollo shows how the recent release of a trove of Epstein documents is raising new questions about his ties to powerful figures on Wall Street and across Corporate America long after his 2008 guilty plea to procuring a minor for prostitution. Newly discovered relationships, connections and conversations with Epstein risk damaging the reputations of major brands and business leaders.

For some, the consequences have been significant. The Epstein files have fueled a new flurry of resignations from business leaders in recent weeks, including the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, the chairman of prestigious law firm Paul Weiss and the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels.

Apollo and Epstein

New York-based Apollo, which manages nearly $1 trillion in assets, has been dogged by its ties to Epstein for years. Black, one of its co-founders, resigned in 2021 after a probe found Black’s payments to Epstein totaled $158 million from 2012 to 2017.

But that probe, led by law firm Dechert LLP said that Black’s 2019 claims that he “never promoted Mr. Epstein’s services to other Apollo senior executives” were “not false but could have been more precise.” The law firm report also said that neither Rowan nor Apollo co-founder Josh Harris “hired Epstein or consulted with him on their personal matters.”

“And it is clear that no Apollo employee other than Black ever seriously considered hiring Epstein, much less actually retained him,” the Dechert report said.

Dechert did not respond to a request for comment.

However, the teachers’ unions note that hundreds of documents Epstein files released by the DOJ reference Rowan and indicate the current Apollo CEO met with Epstein multiple times years after the 2008 guilty plea and his 18-month jail sentence.

For example, in February 2016

By Arit John, CNN

Emmaus, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Dana Eldridge and Paul Miller opened their first day care center in 2005 after nearly a decade of running a popular martial arts school and summer camp. Over the next 15 years, they opened four more locations and expanded from school-aged children to including infants and toddlers. At its peak, Active Learning Centers enrolled about 1,000 kids.

Then came the pandemic.

The school says it spent thousands on renovations for virtual learning. Eldridge raised teacher pay to try to stem the flow of professionals leaving the industry for higher-paying jobs in other fields. Inflation increased the cost of everything from cleaning supplies to the bananas and grapes served at snack time. The center raised its prices in late 2020 for the first time in five years. Enrollment is still down about 30%.

“It’s this crazy, double-edged sword,” she said. “Because if parents can’t find child care, or they can’t afford child care, the entire community suffers.”

Affordability concerns are at the center of this year’s midterm elections, when control of Congress will likely come down to which party voters trust more to help alleviate the high cost of everything from health care to housing. For families with young children and the people who watch them, child care costs are often at the top of the list.

The battle for control of the US House will run through places like Pennsylvania’s 7th District, a battleground with a history of ticket-splitting and the highest concentration of independent voters in the state. A crowded Democratic field has formed to take on first-term Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who is also campaigning on affordability issues, including proposals to help offset child care costs in last year’s sweeping domestic policy and tax law.

To win, the candidates need to persuade voters like Eldridge. Though she’s a Republican, she said she wished former Democratic Rep. Susan Wild – a child care reform advocate who lost to Mackenzie in 2024 – was running again.

“If the Democratic candidate is going to be really taking up this fight and following in the shoes of Susan Wild, then, yes,” she said. “If the Republican is the one who’s going to pick up the mantle and really push for change and really fight for child care, then most likely that’s who I’m going to vote for.”

A broken market

National child care costs rose an average of 29% between 2020 and 2024, outpacing inflation, according to a 2025 report from Child Care Aware of America, an early education advocacy group. A July 2025 AP-NORC poll found that 76% of adults view the cost of child care as a major problem.

There’s bipartisan agreement that solving the issue requires state and federal spending.

“It’s a broken market, so we know we need public investment in the system to fix it,” said Jen DeBell, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children. “Both for kids and families, but also the teachers and the programs that are offering the care.”

Both parties have sought to address the issue in recent years. Democrats, including Wild, back legislation that would cap child care costs for many families at 7% of their household income and boost payments for child care workers. Former President Joe Biden’s failed Build Back Better plan would have capped child care payments for families making up to 250% of the state median income and implemented universal pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Losing that fight was “brutal,” Wild said. But she insisted that Democrats need to introduce “a bold piece of childcare legislation” w

By Meteorologist Chris Dolce, CNN

(CNN) — A high impact, blockbuster nor’easter is about to crush parts of the Northeast with blizzard conditions, heavy snow and strong winds.

The forecast has been fraught with uncertainty for days, but has finally honed in on a major storm from the Mid-Atlantic to New England, including New York City, Boston and other big cities.

The storm will rapidly intensify into a bomb cyclone off the Eastern Seaboard beginning on Sunday, meaning we’re just a day away from the arrival of its worst conditions.

The latest

• Blizzard warnings issued: Millions of people are now under blizzard warnings, which extend from the coasts of Delaware and New Jersey through New York City and into parts of coastal southern New England. This is the first blizzard warning issued for New York City proper since 2017.
• Big snow totals: A foot or more of snow could pile up from near or east of Philadelphia to New York City and Boston. Several inches of snow will also fall farther south in the Mid-Atlantic, including in Baltimore.
• Major travel disruptions expected: Snow arrives in the Northeast during the day on Sunday, but the worst conditions will be Sunday night into Monday. Travel will dangerous or impossible, including for the Monday commutes. Major disruptions are likely at major airports in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston.
• Power outages possible: Tree branches could be snapped and scattered power outages are possible because of heavy, wet snow and the force of strong winds gusting over 40 mph.

What to expect

Major to locally extreme impacts are expected from parts of the DelMarVa Peninsula into eastern Pennsylvania, much of New Jersey, the New York Tri-state area and southern New England, according to the Winter Storm Severity Index from NOAA. This means travel will be dangerous or impossible and widespread closures are expected.

There are still some subtle differences in the forecast track of the storm that could make snow totals higher or lower in places, but the storm will pack a punch regardless. The most snow — potentially a foot or more — is most likely to fall near and east or southeast of Interstate 95 from around Philadelphia to New York City and Boston.

This would be the first foot-plus snowstorm at New York City’s Central Park in just over five years. A major winter storm about a month ago came close to that mark by dropping 11.4 inches.

The snow will be heavy and wet, the type that sticks to tree branches and power lines. When combined with winds gusting over 40 mph, tree branches could be snapped and scattered power outages are possible. Even higher gusts up to 55 mph are possible along the immediate coast.

The powerful winds will push ocean water onshore like storm surge in a hurricane, making moderate to locally major coastal flooding possible from the Delaware and New Jersey to Long Island and southern New England. Peak water levels are expected with high tide either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Timing the storm’s worst

It all gets started during the day on Sunday when rain and snow develop from parts of New York into the Mid-Atlantic. Rain will change over to snow as colder air arrives.

Conditions will go downhill dramatically Sunday evening into the overnig

Análisis por Daniel Dale, CNN

Dos nuevos datos económicos, uno publicado el jueves y otro este viernes, abrieron otro agujero en la narrativa triunfal del presidente Donald Trump sobre los efectos de sus aranceles.

Las cifras publicadas la madrugada del jueves muestran que Trump había exagerado considerablemente el impacto de los aranceles en el déficit comercial.

Las cifras publicadas la madrugada del viernes también muestran que había exagerado considerablemente el crecimiento económico para el cuarto trimestre de 2025.

La Corte Suprema anuló muchos de los aranceles de Trump más tarde el viernes. Sin embargo, otros aranceles siguen vigentes, y Trump anunció rápidamente que planea reemplazar los que la corte declaró ilegales con nuevos gravámenes bajo una ley diferente.

Trump lleva años destacando el déficit comercial —la diferencia entre el valor de las importaciones y las exportaciones estadounidenses— como un supuesto ejemplo de cómo Estados Unidos está siendo estafado por otros países. (Muchos economistas discrepan de esta descripción).

El presidente publicó este miércoles un mensaje de celebración en redes sociales.

“EL DÉFICIT COMERCIAL DE ESTADOS UNIDOS SE HA REDUCIDO EN UN 78 % DEBIDO A LOS ARANCELES QUE SE APLICAN A OTRAS EMPRESAS Y PAÍSES”, comenzaba la publicación en mayúsculas.

A la mañana siguiente, sin embargo, la Oficina de Análisis Económico reveló el déficit comercial real de bienes y servicios para 2025.

Fue casi idéntico al de 2024, con una disminución de tan solo el 0,2 %, muy lejos de la bajada del 78 % anunciada por el mandatario.

Y el déficit comercial de bienes, los artículos sujetos a los amplios aranceles globales de Trump, aumentó un 2,1 % en comparación con 2024.

Trump no inventó la cifra del “78 %” de la nada, pero aun así era engañosa.

El presidente estaba citando una cifra desactualizada y a corto plazo, de octubre de 2025, cuando el déficit comercial era un 78 % menor que en enero de 2025.

Los expertos advirtieron entonces que la fuerte caída de octubre sería fugaz, resultado de fluctuaciones temporales en el comercio del oro y los productos farmacéuticos, y así fue.

La publicación de Trump del miércoles también fue inexacta al sugerir que sus aranceles son pagados por países extranjeros.

Los recargos arancelarios son asumidos por importadores estadounidenses, no por exportadores extranjeros, y estos últimos suelen trasladar parte de sus costos a los consumidores.

Si bien los exportadores extranjeros a veces bajan sus precios para intentar mantener la competitividad de sus productos, diversos

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN

(CNN) — In our roundup of CNN Travel stories this week: five-star luxury in Turkey, a fairytale castle with an underground Nazi complex, plus a bikini problem on an Australian bus.

Extreme climates

Canadian winters are not for the unprepared.

Temperatures can drop as low as -4 F (-20 C) in Toronto and Montreal, so when the deep freeze hits, folks head where it’s warm: deep underground.

Toronto’s PATH and Montreal’s RÉSO are vast subterranean cities-within-cities where urbanites work, shop, commute and socialize, fully protected from the harsh weather above. Take a look here.

By contrast, in Qatar, where summer temperatures can hit 120 F (49 C), it’s extreme heat which locals work hard to avoid. Rather than sheltering indoors or in super-cooled shopping malls, however, people can now comfortably stroll outside thanks to a new innovation: an air-conditioned “forest” on Gewan Island.

The Crystal Walk promenade, stretching over about a third of a mile, or 450 meters, provides shade under artificial branches covered in 10 tons of crystals that give it its name. Here’s how it works.

Finally, the climate crisis is making winemaking an increasingly volatile business, but one winemaker in Namibia has worked out how to produce award-winning wines in one of the driest places in the world.

At Neuras Wine and Wildlife Estate, on the edge of the Namib Desert, grapes are grown under netting to keep off hungry baboons, meaning there’s plenty for us tipple-loving primates to enjoy. This is how they cracked the code.

Underground Poland

Here are two more stories of the subterranean, one sinister and one salty.

The first is for CNN subscribers. In Poland’s Owl Mountains, an underground Nazi complex lies underneath the fairytale Baroque architecture of Książ Castle. It’s tied to one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious construction projects and, legend has it, a lost train filled with stolen gold.

A four-hour drive away, just southeast of Krakow, lies the Wieliczka Salt Mine — part cathedral, part industrial relic, part theme park.

Every day, up to 9,000 visitors descend into the mine, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. There are more than 150 miles of tunnels across nine underground levels, and guests are encouraged to lick the walls.

Luxury living

With new openings in Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Robert De Niro and his business partners are expanding Nobu’s hotel chain across Europe fast. CNN joined them at the opening of their new hotel-restaurant on Rome’s iconic Via Veneto. Watch here.

Paradise Bay, in Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula, is a hotbed of exciting new five-star openings. Exclusive villas here can cost around $50,000 a night.

Villa Maçakızı, popular with A-list celebrities, is one of the best established. ”Whatever people want, whatever their wildest imagination,” the team can “put that together and make it happen,” says general manager Andrew Jacobs.

Dining on the Tube

Eating on the London Underground is usually frowned upon, but one of the city’s most unusual dining experiences lies at the northern end of the Victoria tube line