Good morning. I’m on my way to the United States Capitol to cover a historic press conference. For the first time, more than a dozen Epstein survivors will stand together — a powerful show of courage and unity — as this Administration pressures Republicans to block the release of the Epstein files.
I will bring you the full story when I return to my desk, and I’ll be speaking directly with survivors, lawmakers, and anyone willing to answer for this moment.
We cannot — and will not — stop demanding truth and transparency. That’s what today is about. I will ask the hard questions, without fear or favor, because that’s what the truth deserves.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
A White House official warned Republicans that signing Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition would be seen as “a very hostile act to the administration,” accusing him of aiding Democrats’ “attention-seeking” while the DOJ backs the Oversight Committee’s broader records release effort.
The House oversight committee released 33,000 pages of justice department records on Jeffrey Epstein, including old court filings, police body-cam footage, and interviews involving him and Ghislaine Maxwell.
House Oversight Committee sources said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna posted the same ~33,000 Epstein documents they received—97% already public—framing it as part of a broader effort to block true transparency.
Six Epstein accusers and relatives of Virginia Giuffre urged the U.S. government to release all case files and called on Trump to rule out pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, criticizing delays in accountability and warning that powerful figures remain unexposed.
Donald Trump, 79, dismissed rumors about his health as “fake news,” saying he spent Labor Day weekend doing media interviews and visiting his Virginia golf course.
A federal appeals court blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans accused of gang ties, with a 2–1 Fifth Circuit ruling finding no legal basis for invoking the law absent war or invasion, marking the first appellate decision against the March 14 proclamation.
A Washington, D.C., grand jury rejected Justice Department efforts to indict multiple defendants—including a woman accused of threatening Trump online—marking at least four such refusals in a week and raising concerns among former prosecutors about eroding DOJ credibility, given the rarity of grand juries denying charges.
Lawyers say five men deported by the US to Eswatini—despite having completed prison sentences in America—are being illegally imprisoned at Matsapha correctional complex with restricted legal access, as rights groups challenge the Trump administration’s practice of outsourcing detention abroad and Eswatini faces constitutional challenges over accepting the deportees.
California lawmakers passed a bill requiring K-12 schools, state universities, and community colleges to notify families and staff when immigration agents enter campuses, creating “early warning systems” amid Trump’s mass deportation push, with Governor Gavin Newsom set to decide on signing it into law by October 12.
Trump announced a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean against a Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua vessel, killing 11 in what he called a narcotics-trafficking mission, while Venezuela’s Maduro denounced the operation as an imperialist bid for the country’s resources and officials questioned the authenticity of Trump’s video evidence.
National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, under President Trump’s anti-crime initiative are expected to have their orders extended through December to ensure benefits continuity; while the mission’s duration remains unclear, officials cite significant drops in crime rates, ongoing criticism over the Guard’s non-law-enforcement roles, and costs nearing $1 million per day, as the Trump administration also eyes a separate immigration enforcement operation in Chicago despite legal challenges to prior federal troop deployments.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) said a scheduled classified oversight meeting at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency was abruptly canceled after far-right activist Laura Loomer publicly attacked him and NGA Director Trey Whitworth; Warner warned the move undermines civilian oversight and sets a dangerous precedent, while Loomer celebrated the cancellation online and called for Whitworth’s firing, echoing her prior role in the April ouster of top NSA officials after meeting with President Trump.
Trump announced that US Space Command headquarters will be relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, highlighting the state’s Republican support during a White House news conference.
Trump will host Polish president Karol Nawrocki at the White House, with discussions expected on Ukraine and energy security, after backing him in Poland’s recent election.
China staged a massive “Victory Day” military parade in Beijing showcasing new hypersonic missiles, ICBMs and naval strike capabilities, as Xi Jinping appeared publicly with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un for the first time—framing an anti-U.S. show of unity—while Trump accused the trio of “conspiring,” Taiwan and others criticized the messaging, and Russia struck Ukraine amid the spectacle.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council estimated China spent about $5 billion (≈36 billion yuan), or ~1.5% of its 2025 defense budget, on the Beijing military parade.
Trump posted a message to China’s President Xi asking him to pass along “warmest regards” to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, while accusing the three leaders of conspiring against the United States.
The Kremlin denied Trump’s claim that Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un were conspiring against the US, suggesting Trump’s remarks may have been ironic.
Kim Jong Un brought his teenage daughter Kim Ju Ae to a military parade in Beijing, her first international appearance, which experts see as the clearest sign yet she is being positioned as his successor, marking a calculated “successor debut” on the global stage.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is set to denounce Britain as an “authoritarian censorship regime” during US remarks on free speech, following the arrest of Irish writer Graham Linehan.
Over 1,000 current and former HHS employees called on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, accusing him of endangering Americans’ health by ousting CDC Director Susan Monarez, pressuring vaccine policy, and rescinding Covid-19 authorizations without transparency.
The UAE warned Israel that annexing any part of the West Bank would cross a “red line,” undermine the Abraham Accords, and end regional integration efforts, as Netanyahu’s government weighs annexation options amid growing international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Trump administration illegally deployed National Guard troops to support immigration raids in southern California protests, though he did not order remaining troops withdrawn.
The Guardian reports that the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches’ flagship podcast CrossPolitic—closely tied to US defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s denomination—has platformed far-right and Christian nationalist views, hosting guests who praised authoritarian rule, backed Russia and China over liberal democracies, endorsed Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ laws, and advocated theocratic governance, raising concerns about the influence of such ideologies on Hegseth’s worldview and US policy.
See you this afternoon.
— Aaron
