The House seems poised to vote on a bill this week that would force the full release of the Epstein files.
The big picture: The Epstein probe has been at the center of the political discourse lately as newly released documents reveal more details on the relationship between President Trump and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors released an emotional video featuring pictures of their younger selves in a bid to convince Congress to release all of the files related to the convicted sex offender.
Why it matters: The video comes as the House tees up a vote to release the files, which have become a pounding headache for President Trump, whose long-time opposition to their release has become a political liability.
Novo Nordisk is lowering the cash price of its weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.
Why it matters: Consumer advocates and policymakers — including the Trump administration and Democrats in Congress — have been pressing for public and private efforts to make GLP-1 treatments more affordable.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) has some of her fellow House Democrats enraged for forcing an upcoming vote to denounce Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.) for essentially ensuring his chief of staff will replace him in Congress.
Why it matters: Gluesenkamp Perez is leveling charges of "election subversion" at her colleague, but some Democrats groan that her move divides the party when it should be at its most unified.
President Trump said Monday he would sign a bill to release documents from the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein if Congress sends it to his desk.
Why it matters: Trump recently reversed himself and encouraged Republicans to vote to release the documents after repeatedly dismissing the scandal as a "hoax."
The big picture: The checks — a tariff dividend paid to most Americans that comes as the White House deals with an affordability crisis — would likely require Congress to act, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.
Why it matters: Putting a timetable on the checks is a significant step forward versus just suggesting the idea, which Trump has done multiple times this year.
President Trump said Monday that he will approve the sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia, making the kingdom the first country in the Middle East other than Israel to obtain the advanced fighter jets.
Why it matters: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is expected to meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The F-35 deal, a U.S.-Saudi security agreement and possible normalization with Israel will be on the agenda.
A federal judge on Monday castigated the Justice Department over possible misconduct that could have "tainted" the grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment of Trump foe James Comey.
The big picture: The judge's finding could hand the defense more ammo in its efforts to kill the indictment, which was signed by an interim U.S. attorney with no prosecutorial experience who was hand-picked by President Trump.
A Senate committee said on Monday it will investigate Major League Baseball (MLB) following a recent high-profile gambling scandal.
Why it matters: The probe signals more congressional oversight into what the committee labeled the "integrity crisis" in American sports, according to a letter from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released Monday.
David Richardson, the acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief, resigned on Monday after just six months in the post, multiple outlets reported.
The big picture: Richardson had no experience managing natural disasters. He faced sharp criticism for being unavailable as deadly flooding in Central Texas killed more than 130 people in July.
The U.S. continues to conduct deadly strikes off of Venezuela and is assembling unprecedented firepower for what could become a full-on military conflict.
The big picture: President Trump and his administration have been quiet about who has been killed and on what evidence, but the swell of American forces coalescing off Venezuela's shores has escalated tensions between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Washington.
New York City Council member Chi Ossé filed paperwork Monday to run against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for his Brooklyn-based congressional seat.
What he's saying: "The Democratic Party's leadership is not only failing to effectively fight back against Donald Trump, they have also failed to deliver a vision that we can all believe in," Ossé, who recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America, said in a statement to Axios.
Indiana state Sen. Greg Goode was targeted in a "swatting" incident Sunday, hours after President Trump slammed him by name for not pursuing redistricting efforts the White House sought.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a case on asylum applications that could determine where such protections begin along on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Why it matters: As part of its immigration restrictions, the Trump administration has sought to limit the number of people who are able to enter the U.S. to seek asylum.
The big picture: Trump's defense of Carlson interviewing a man labeled a white supremacist by the Justice Department puts him at odds with Republicans like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who have condemned Carlson.
On Tuesday, August 20, a primetime watch party happened during the Democratic National Convention featuring conversations withThe Hon. Gina Raimondo, New York Governor Kathy Hochul & former White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama William M. Daley.
President Trump will dial up his affordability message for an audience of McDonald's owners, operators and suppliers Monday evening, as part of an escalating White House push to take on Americans' economic worries.
"The Biden administration started the affordability crisis, but President Trump will end it so all Americans can achieve economic prosperity," a White House official told me.
Why it matters: The cost of living was a winning message for Democrats in off-year elections earlier this month. And Republicans see new urgency on the issue as they turn to next year's midterms.
Walter Isaacson, the former media executive who has written a shelfful of magisterial biographies on Benjamin Franklin and other history-changers, will be out Tuesday with a wee, 67-page hardcover, "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written" — an optimistic exposition of the most famous sentence in the Declaration of Independence.
The sentence in question: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential bid by leaning into his feud with Tucker Carlson — and staking out turf as a traditional, pro-interventionist Republican.
Why it matters: By poking at Carlson's isolationist foreign policy views, accusing him of antisemitism and more, Cruz is putting himself on a collision course with Vice President Vance, a Carlson ally widely seen as the 2028 GOP frontrunner.
President Trump said Sunday evening House Republicans "should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax."
All flight restrictions that the Federal Aviation Administration imposed during the record-long government shutdown will end at 6am Monday, the FAA announced.
Why it matters: Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed at 40 airports across the U.S. as the emergency order that the FAA said was in response to "reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities" saw routes slashed.
The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, joined other U.S. military in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, as U.S. officials announced what's believed to be the 21st strike on an alleged drug boat.
Why it matters: The increased activity in the region comes after President Trump told reporters Friday that he'd "sort of have made up my mind" on how to proceed with Venezuela, but "can't tell you what it would be."
