(New York Times) Senate Republicans narrowly blocked an unexpected effort on Wednesday by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files and put Republican senators on record on an issue that has divided their party. All but two Republican senators — Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky — blocked consideration of Mr. Schumer’s measure, which would have required the Justice Department to fully and quickly release its material related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in federal prison in 2019.

(CNBC) Prices consumers pay for a variety of goods and services moved higher than expected in August while jobless claims accelerated, providing challenging economic signals for the Federal Reserve before its meeting next week. The consumer price index posted a seasonally adjusted 0.4% increase for the month, double the prior month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.9%, up 0.2 percentage point from the prior month and the highest reading since January. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective readings of 0.3% and 2.9%.

(New York Times) In a video address from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said that liberal criticism of conservatives was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.” “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country,” he said.

(Bloomberg) Hundreds of emails from Epstein’s personal Yahoo account, which haven’t been previously reported, shed new light on Maxwell’s partnership with Epstein. They also contribute to longstanding questions about her credibility, including her truthfulness in a two-day interview she had with officials from the Department of Justice this summer. The emails, part of a cache of more than 18,000 obtained by Bloomberg News, show that Maxwell and Epstein were closer, in many respects, than either publicly admitted.

(Below the Beltway) A bill introduced Wednesday by US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) would widen a congressional investigation into the finances behind Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation to include American oligarch Peter Thiel, as well as known Epstein co-conspirators Nadia Marcinko and Jean-Luc Brunel. The Produce Epstein Treasury Records Act (PETRA) would require the US Treasury to comply with the US Senate Finance Committee’s investigation into the money trail left by Epstein that connects the disgraced, deceased sex criminal to his clients and financial backers.

(The Guardian) Keir Starmer has sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over his association with Jeffrey Epstein. The Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that Mandelson had not disclosed the extent and depth of his friendship with Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, when he was appointed as the ambassador. He said No 10 had not known about emails from Mandelson to Epstein suggesting his 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be challenged.

(Raw Story) A House committee hearing Wednesday erupted into chaos when Rep. Maxwell Frost (D‑Fla.) and Rep. Clay Higgins (R‑La.) engaged in a shouting match so heated that Frost accused Higgins of being a “lapdog” for President Donald Trump, forcing the panel to pause proceedings. The confrontation began midway through a session debating law-enforcement powers and public safety. Higgins, who is sponsoring a bill expanding police ability to pursue fleeing suspects, was asked by Frost why he had not called up the National Guard in his state, as he had done in the capital.

(AP) Labor unions representing millions of educators and school employees are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over its immigration crackdown, saying arrests near school campuses are terrorizing children and their teachers, leading some students to drop out. At the start of Trump’s second term, his Republican administration said it would allow immigration arrests at schools — long considered off limits. That violated the law, argues the lawsuit from the two largest U.S. teacher unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which represent more than 4 million school employees nationwide.

(Reuters) Executive overreach and foreign aid funding cuts during U.S. President Donald Trump's first six months in office have hurt international democratization efforts and encouraged populist leaders around the world, an intergovernmental democracy watchdog said on Thursday. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said it issued 20 alerts between January and April 2025 - twice as many as in any of the previous two full years - documenting instances in which the U.S. government eroded rules, institutions and norms that shape the country's democracy.

(Mediaite) Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who is reportedly planning a political comeback, was arrested for failing to appear in court. Cawthorn was first elected to the House in 2020 at the age of 25, but lost his 2022 Republican primary after he ran afoul of congressional GOP leadership. He was arrested on Wednesday in Cape Coral, Florida on a warrant issued in Collier County. The former lawmaker was due to appear in court after he was cited by police in Naples for driving without a license on Aug. 19. Cawthorn was released on $2,000 bond.