NEW YORK (AP) – Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at storied investment bank Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation Thursday, after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein showed a close relationship where she described him as an “older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina suggested Thursday he could support a compromise that would allow the Senate Banking Committee to start hearings on Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Reserve.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

McDonald’s focus on value is paying off. The fast food giant said Wednesday that its global same-store sales – or sales at locations open at least a year – jumped 5.7% in the October-December period. That’s better than the 3.9% Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

LONDON (AP) – The British economy barely grew in the final three months of 2025, official figures showed Thursday, with critics blaming uncertainty surrounding the government’s budget for lower than anticipated business investment and consumption.

BERLIN (AP) – One-day strikes by unions representing pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa caused a wave of flight cancelations Thursday at Germany’s biggest airline.

Russia has attempted to fully block WhatsApp in the country, the company said, the latest move in an ongoing government effort to tighten control over the internet.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – The Dutch branch of French-based luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton has agreed to pay half a million euros ($595,000) in an out-of-court settlement linked to a money laundering investigation, the Netherlands’ national public prosecution office announced Thursday.