The House is looking into the Epstein investigation. Here's what could happen next

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes, working to subpoena President Donald Trump's Department of Justice for files in the case as well as hold a deposition of Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee acted just before House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early for a monthlong break from Washington. The committee's moves are evidence of the mounting pressure for disclosure in a case that Trump has unsuccessfully urged his supporters to move past. But they were also just the start of what can be a drawn out process.

Here's what could happen next in the House inquiry as lawmakers seek answers in a case that has sparked rampant speculation since Epstein's death in 2019 and more recently caused many in the Trump administration to renege on promises for a complete accounting.

Democrats, joined by three Republicans, were able to successfully initiate the subpoena from a subcommittee just as the House was leaving Washington for its August recess. But it was just the start of negotiations over the subpoena.

The subcommittee agreed to redact the names and personal information of any victims, but besides that, their demand for information is quite broad, encompassing “un-redacted Epstein files.”

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Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — President Donald Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland's coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the American.

Trump and his son Eric played with the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family’s company took over in 2014. Security was tight, and protesters kept at a distance went unseen by the group during Trump's round. He was dressed in black, with a white “USA” cap, and was spotted driving a golf cart.

The president appeared to play an opening nine holes, stop for lunch, then head out for nine more. By the middle of the afternoon, plainclothes security officials began leaving, suggesting Trump was done for the day.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff U.S. tariffs on goods imported from the U.K.

Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a “Stop Trump Coalition." Anita Bhadani, an organizer, said the protests were “kind of like a carnival of resistance.”

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A man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart is in Michigan authorities' custody

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Eleven people were stabbed at a Walmart in Traverse City on Saturday — with six in critical condition — in what a Michigan sheriff said appeared to be a random act. A suspect was in custody, authorities said.

Around 4:45 p.m., a 42-year-old man entered the store and used a folding knife to stab 11 people, the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on social media. A sheriff's deputy arrived within minutes and took the man into custody, and people in the store also helped apprehend the suspect and treat victims, the sheriff's office said.

The victims' ages weren't immediately released.

“Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more,” Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters.

Emergency vehicles and uniformed first responders gathered in the parking lot of the shopping center that houses several other retail stores. Authorities also were seen interviewing employees, still wearing blue uniform vests and name tags, nearby as the response gave way to an investigation.

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Israel’s military says airdrops of aid will begin in Gaza as hunger grows

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military announced that airdrops of aid would begin Saturday night in Gaza, and humanitarian corridors will be established for United Nations convoys, after increasing accounts of starvation-related deaths.

The statement late Saturday followed months of experts’ warnings of famine amid Israeli restrictions on aid. International criticism, including by close allies, has grown as several hundred Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while trying to reach food distribution sites.

The military statement did not say where the airdrops or humanitarian corridors would be. It also said the military is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas. Israel’s foreign ministry said late Saturday the humanitarian pauses would start Sunday in “civilian centers” along with humanitarian corridors.

The military “emphasizes that combat operations have not ceased” in Gaza against Hamas, and it asserted there is “no starvation” in the territory, where most of the population of over 2 million has been displaced into a shrinking area with little infrastructure. The majority of people rely on aid.

Later, the Israeli military released video footage of what it said were airdrops in coordination with international organizations and led by COGAT, the Israeli defense agency in charge of aid coordination in the Palestinian territory. It said the drop included seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food.

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Trump says Japan will invest $550 billion in US at his direction. It may not be a sure thing

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying.

"Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit," Trump said Thursday. “They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let’s call it seed money.”

He said 90% of any profits from the money invested would go to the U.S. even if Japan had put up the funds. “It’s not a loan or anything, it’s a signing bonus,” the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25% to 15%, including on autos.

A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction.

The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10% of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the U.S. economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans.

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Thailand and Cambodia trade fresh attacks and accusations as allies call for a ceasefire

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations of fresh attacks Saturday as deadly border clashes entered a third day and President Donald Trump joined a chorus of international voices calling for a ceasefire. The fighting has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 168,000.

Artillery and small arms fire were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials blamed each other for starting the clashes.

Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia.

Cambodian authorities reported 12 new deaths on Saturday, bringing its toll to 13, while the Thai military said a soldier was killed, raising the number of dead to 20, mostly civilians.

Cambodia’s Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday that the clashes have forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations. Thai officials said more than 131,000 people have fled their border villages.

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Cambodia-Thailand conflict: Monks, dancers and volunteers offer respite as violence escalates

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Long-festering tensions over border territory have escalated into armed conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, leading to dozens of deaths on both sides and displacing tens of thousands of people.

Neither side is prepared to claim responsibility for the first volley on Thursday, and they each blame the other for the continuing skirmishes. While regional and international allies and organizations have called for a ceasefire, scant attempts at mediation had resulted in no peace talks as of early Sunday.

It's a grim situation, but there is some light amid the darkness. On both sides of the border, some people are working around the destruction, intent on creating a safe space or finding normalcy.

A temple in Thailand’s northeastern province of Surin has something most of the country's 27,000 active Buddhist monasteries do not: a concrete bunker to shelter from bombs and shelling.

The temple, which asked not to be identified by name because of safety concerns, is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Cambodia.

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The latest child to starve to death in Gaza weighed less than when she was born

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A mother pressed a final kiss to what remained of her 5-month-old daughter and wept. Esraa Abu Halib's baby now weighed less than when she was born.

On a sunny street in shattered Gaza, the bundle containing Zainab Abu Halib represented the latest death from starvation after 21 months of war and Israeli restrictions on aid.

The baby was brought to the pediatric department of Nasser Hospital on Friday. She was already dead. A worker at the morgue carefully removed her Mickey Mouse-printed shirt, pulling it over her sunken, open eyes. He pulled up the hems of her pants to show her knobby knees. His thumb was wider than her ankle. He could count the bones of her chest.

The girl had weighed over 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) when she was born, her mother said. When she died, she weighed less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds).

A doctor said it was a case of “severe, severe starvation.”

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How redistricting in Texas and other states could change the game for US House elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — Redistricting usually happens after the once-a-decade population count by the U.S. Census Bureau or in response to a court ruling. Now, Texas Republicans want to break that tradition — and other states could follow suit.

President Trump has asked the Texas Legislature to create districts, in time for next year's midterm elections, that will send five more Republicans to Washington and make it harder for Democrats to regain the majority and blunt his agenda. The state has 38 seats in the House. Republicans now hold 25 and Democrats 12, with one seat vacant after the death of a Democrat.

“There’s been a lot more efforts by the parties and political actors to push the boundaries – literally and figuratively – to reconfigure what the game is,” said Doug Spencer, Rothgerber Jr. Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado.

Other states are waiting to see what Texas does and whether to follow suit.

The rules of redistricting can be vague and variable; each state has its own set of rules and procedures. Politicians are gauging what voters will tolerate when it comes to politically motivated mapmaking.

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Heat advisories and warnings issued for Southeast and Midwest as temperatures and humidity soars

It's always hot in the summer in the U.S. Southeast, but even by the standards of Florida and the Carolinas, the steamy heat wave on tap for the region Saturday into the coming week is a little extreme.

The National Weather Service issued heat advisories for a large swath of the East Coast from central Florida to Virginia through much of the weekend. Highs in the upper 90s F (mid 30s C) were forecast for central Florida, with heat indexes reaching 105 degrees F to 110 degrees F (40.6 C to 43 C). The outlook was similar up through Georgia and the Carolinas into Virginia.

Extreme heat warnings were out for much of eastern North Carolina, as far inland as Raleigh, and extending into a corner of South Carolina, including Myrtle Beach. Forecasters warned of dangerously hot conditions with temperatures approaching or exceeding 100 F (38 C) in some areas on Sunday and heat indexes up to 115 F through Sunday evening.

“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. the weather service advised. "Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Stay cool, stay hydrated, stay informed.”

The weather service said several major metropolitan areas in the Southeast — including Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina, Greenville-Spartanburg in South Carolina, and Atlanta in Georgia — were expected to face an extreme heat risk for several days, with minimal overnight relief. It said over 30 million people would likely be affected at the peak of the heat wave through midweek.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025