By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — The identities of two women once listed as potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein will remain sealed for their safety and privacy, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

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In a written decision, Judge Richard M. Berman rejected an NBC News request to make their identities public after lawyers for the women and the U.S. Justice Department opposed the unsealing request. He wrote that threats to the safety of the individuals persist and releasing their names would threaten their safety and privacy.

In requesting the unsealing, attorney Alexander Ziccardi for NBC News cited the First Amendment and said there was a “presumptive right of access” requiring that the names redacted from a July 2019 government letter to Berman be released publicly.

The 2019 letter, filed by prosecutors opposing bail for Epstein, was written in part to answer questions the judge had raised at a bail hearing about two unidentified individuals prosecutors cited in their arguments against granting Epstein bail.

Prosecutors acknowledged that their names had been publicly associated with Epstein and his alleged sexual assault on girls and young women over two decades. Epstein obtained protection for both individuals in a nonprosecution agreement he signed with federal prosecutors in Florida in 2007.

Prosecutors said in the letter that Epstein paid one potential co-conspirator $100,000 and the other $250,000 in late 2018 after the Miami Herald focused fresh attention on Epstein’s abuse and the deal he made with federal prosecutors in Florida a decade earlier that spared him from federal charges.

Federal authorities in New York, insisting that they were not bound by the 2007 nonprosecution agreement, arrested Epstein in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.

In their 2019 letter, prosecutors said the woman who was paid $250,000 was one of the Epstein employees identified in the indictment.

The indictment alleged that she and two other employees facilitated Epstein’s trafficking of minors in part by contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters with Epstein at his Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, residences, the letter noted.

But lawyers for the women recently adamantly opposed the release of their names. A lawyer for the woman who Epstein paid $100,000 told Berman that his client was the subject of death threats because of misinformation about her and was investigated by the FBI and found to be credible, the judge noted.

A lawyer for the second woman told Berman that investigators found that both women were “severely victimized by Jeffrey Epstein … and should be afforded the same protections that have been afforded to all other victims.”

As he awaited trial in New York, Epstein died in a federal jail in August 2019 in what was ruled a suicide. His former girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of sex trafficking charges in December 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Messages for comment sent to NBC and Ziccardi were not immediately returned.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor declined comment.

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, Publishers Clearing House doled out hefty checks on the doorsteps of hopeful consumers across the U.S., including prizes that boasted lifetime payouts. But some of those winners are now facing an end to the “forever” money they were once promised.

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The turmoil arrives amid PCH’s ongoing bankruptcy process. The sweepstakes and marketing company filed for Chapter 11 in April, citing growing financial strain that spanned from rising operational costs and changes in consumer behavior.

In July, gaming platform ARB Interactive purchased certain assets from PCH for $7.1 million and established “PCH Digital,” a new platform that hosts sweepstakes opportunities. But under the terms of that deal, ARB says it’s not responsible to pay out prizes issued by PCH prior to July 15 — meaning that the company will not pay people who won sweepstakes before that date, with an exception of two unawarded “SuperPrizes” still being promoted.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press, ARB recognized the disappointment for past winners that it said was caused by the bankruptcy process — and noted that it was “committed to restoring and preserving the trust” of the PCH brand going forward.

ARB added that it was “taking decisive steps to ensure that every future prize winner can participate with absolute confidence.” The company pointed to plans for a paying structure “that stands separate from ARB to ensure that all future PCH prizes are honored, regardless of ARB’s financial status.”

PCH did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many past winners of PCH sweepstakes were no longer seeing “forever” checks. At the time of April’s Chapter 11 filing, PCH listed 10 unidentified prize winners among its creditors with the largest unsecured claims — totaling millions of dollars, court documents show.

And for some, trouble bubbled up before the Chapter 11 filing. One man, who won a $5,000 a week “forever” award from PCH in 2012, told The New York Times and KGW that he didn’t receive his annual check from the company back in January — which has since caused him to scramble to pay his bills without the money he’s learned to rely on.

PCH’s roots date back to 1953 — when Harold and LuEsther Mertz and their daughter, Joyce Mertz-Gilmore, formed a business out of their Long Island, New York home to send direct-to-consumer mailings that solicited subscribers for a number of magazines through one single offering.

The company later grew with chances for consumers to win money — first launching a direct mail sweepstakes in 1967 — and expanded its offerings to a wide variety of merchandise, from collectible figurines to houseware and “As Seen on TV” accessories, in the years that followed. Its in-person “Prize Patrol” team was formed in 1989.

PCH became known for surprising prize winners with oversized checks, which was often filmed and featured in TV commercials.

But its operations didn’t come without financial strain, particularly in recent years. When filing for Chapter 11 in April, PCH said it was working to “finalize a shift away” from its legacy direct-mail business and instead transition to a “pure digital advertising” model — citing rising competition, expensive operating costs and changes in consumer behavior.

Over the years, PCH also faced some scrutiny from regulators who previously raised concerns about consumers mistakenly believing that making purchases from the company would improve their chances at winning its sweepstakes. As a result, PCH has racked up several costly legal settlements.

The five candidates running for mayor of St. Paul have agreed to participate in a forum that will be held Wednesday at Johnson Senior High School by the League of Women Voters St. Paul. The event will mark the first time all five mayoral candidates appear together on stage.

The St. Paul Neighborhood Network will livestream the forum on its YouTube channel and replay the broadcast on its cable access channel multiple times on select future dates. The forum — featuring Mayor Melvin Carter, Yan Chen, Adam Dullinger, state Rep. Kaohly Her and Mike Hilborn — will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The high school is located at 1349 Arcade St.

The high school auditorium holds more than 800 people. The League has requested a neutral atmosphere and that no one enter the auditorium wearing partisan clothes, hats or issue-related gear. FairVote Minnesota will man a table in the foyer to remind voters that the election is ranked choice.

Each candidate will deliver a two-minute opening and closing statement, as well as one minute to answer each question from the audience presented by a panel of facilitators. The event is co-sponsored by six district councils representing the South East, Greater East Side, Dayton’s Bluff, Como, St. Anthony Park and Union Park areas.

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it would cut up to 1,000 jobs at its electric auto plant in Cologne, Germany due to lower than expected demand for battery-powered cars.

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The job reduction would be carried out so far as possible with voluntary departures and buyouts, the company said. It follows a restructuring announced in November 2024 that would reduce Ford’s workforce by 4,000 positions in Europe and the UK, with 2,900 of those jobs lost in Germany.

The company said it was continually evaluating production volumes and adjusting them to demand. “In Europe, the demand for electric cars is significantly below industry forecasts,” it said. The plant, which makes an electric version of the Explorer SUV, would move to one shift per day instead of two beginning in January, the company said in a statement.

Electric vehicles captured 15.6% of the European market in the year through July, up from 12.5% in the same period last year. Growth has been slower than expected, in part due to the withdrawal of purchase subsidies in Germany. Ford sold 260,00 vehicles of all types in the first seven months, up 0.7%, and maintained its market share of 3.3%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.