The Latest: Federal judge grants request to unseal Ghislaine Maxwell case records

A federal judge said Tuesday that the Justice Department can publicly release investigative materials from a sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidante of Jeffrey Epstein.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled after the Justice Department in November asked two judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits, along with investigative materials that could amount to hundreds or thousands of previously unreleased documents.

He’s the second judge to allow the Justice Department to publicly disclose previously secret Epstein-related records.

Last week, a judge in Florida granted the department’s request to release transcripts from an abandoned federal grand jury investigation into Epstein in the 2000s.

A request to release records from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case is still pending.

The Justice Department said Congress intended the unsealing when it passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last month.

Here’s the latest:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has placed calls to his Egyptian and Saudi counterparts to discuss the urgent need for progress in faltering peace efforts in Sudan, along with other regional matters including the Israel-Hamas conflict and the situation in Yemen.

The State Department said Rubio spoke Tuesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss the issues.

The department said Rubio and Abdelatty discussed the implementation of the President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza as well as “ongoing engagements to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan.”

There was no mention of the Gaza plan in the readout of Rubio’s call with the prince, but there was a reference to the outcomes of Trump’s recent meeting in Washington with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at which Gaza was a main topic as well as “developments in Yemen and the urgent need to advance peace efforts in Sudan.”

Fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has surged despite attempts to broker an end to the fighting, which began in 2023 and has killed more than 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced 12 million others. Aid groups warn that the true death toll is likely far higher.

The seven-term congressman says he’ll instead run for local office in Fort Worth, seeking to become Tarrant County judge, the county’s top elected official.

“Let me be clear: I’m not stepping back from the fight. I’m stepping into a new one,” he said in a statement.

The U.S. Supreme Court this month allowed the challenged Texas congressional redistricting plan to be used in next year’s election, despite a lower-court ruling that the map likely discriminates on the basis of race.

The Texas congressional map enacted last summer at President Donald Trump’s urging was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is concerned by an uptick in fighting between Cambodia and Thailand along their contested border less than two months after the two countries signed a peace in Malaysia pushed for by President Trump.

“We strongly urge the immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians, and for both sides to return to the de-escalatory measures outlined in the October 26 Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords signed by the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and Thailand and witnessed by President Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,” Rubio said in a statement.

The Cambodia-Thailand deal – one of several Trump has hailed as evidence of his negotiating abilities – has been faltering for weeks but took a big hit when fighting broke out following a weekend skirmish in which two Thai soldiers were injured. Five days of fighting since has left dozens dead on both sides and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians.

Opponents of Missouri’s new congressional map submitted thousands of petition signatures Tuesday calling for a statewide referendum on a redistricting plan backed by President Trump as part of his quest to hold on to a slim Republican majority in next year’s elections.

Organizers of the petition drive said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office – well more than the roughly 110,000 needed to suspend the new U.S. House districts from taking effect until a public vote can be held next year.

The signatures must still be formally verified by local election authorities and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who’s argued the referendum is unconstitutional. But if the signatures hold up, the referendum could create a significant obstacle for Republicans who hope the new districts could help them win a currently Democratic-held seat in the Kansas City area in the November election.

It’s a resistance to U.S. pressure for painful concessions to Russia as he moved ahead Tuesday to rally more European support for his country.

“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don’t want to give up anything. That’s what we are fighting for,” Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat late Monday.

“Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don’t have such right,” he said. “According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either.”

In an interview with Politico released Tuesday, President Trump again pressed Zelenskyy to accept the U.S. proposal that Ukraine cede territory to Russia, arguing that Moscow retains the “upper hand” in its nearly 4-year-old invasion, and that Zelenskyy’s government must “play ball.”

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.67 million vacancies in October, close to September’s 7.66 million.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which was delayed by the extended government shutdown, also showed the layoffs rose and number of people quitting their jobs – a sign of confidence in the labor market – fell in October.

Job openings have come down steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022, when the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. The job market has cooled partly because of the lingering effect of the high interest rates the Federal engineered in 2022 and 2023 to combat an outburst of inflation.

Overall, it’s a puzzling time for the American economy, buffeted by President Trump’s decision to reverse decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade and instead impose double-digit tariffs on imports from most of the world’s countries.

Except to note that her plans to file a habeas petition could be spoiled because the public release of materials “would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial” if the habeas request succeeded.

Lawyers for the Epstein estate took no position.

Former Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello said Tuesday he would challenge Republican U.S. Rep. John McGuire in the midterm elections next year.

“Families can’t afford groceries because Republicans in Congress like John McGuire won’t stand up to Trump’s tariffs,” Perriello said in a video launching his campaign.

Perriello, elected for one term in 2008, was the last Democrat to win Virginia’s 5th Congressional district, which McGuire now represents. It’s a district where President Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris by 12 points, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. McGuire was first elected to the district in 2024 after defeating former Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a bitter primary.

Virginia Democrats who control the statehouse have indicated McGuire’s seat may be vulnerable if they’re successful in their efforts to redraw the state’s Congressional maps ahead of elections next November. The General Assembly in October endorsed a proposed a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting, though another legislative vote is needed to refer the amendment to a statewide ballot.

A federal judge said Tuesday the Justice Department can publicly release investigative materials from a sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled after the Justice Department in November asked two judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from Maxwell and Epstein’s cases, along with investigative materials that could amount to hundreds or thousands of previously unreleased documents.

The ruling, in the wake of the passage last month of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, means the records could be made public within 10 days. The law requires the Justice Department provide Epstein-related records to the public in a searchable format by Dec. 19.

President Trump dismissed Pope Leo XIV’s criticisms of his aggressive immigration agenda, saying he’s not seen the pontiff’s remarks.

Leo recently offered strong support for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticizing the “vilification” of migrants and raids that have sown fear in immigrant communities.

Leo said the U.S. should use its justice system to handle immigration violations, “treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”

In a Politico interview, Trump responded: “You know, they didn’t like the wall. The wall turned out to be great.”

Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, criticized Trump’s first-term immigration policies, including expanding the U.S-Mexico border wall.

Trump told Politico he’d still be interested in meeting Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, and the president noted without prompting that he especially likes one of Leo’s brothers who’s a Trump supporter. “Do you know his brother is serious MAGA?” Trump said.

Questioned about how Republicans’ delay on addressing Affordable Care Act subsidies might affect U.S. households’ budget, Trump twice told a Politico reporter: “Don’t be dramatic.”

It was the president’s push back to a question about how ACA premium holders might be struggling around the holidays facing steep health insurance premium spikes if the GOP-run Congress doesn’t address expiring subsidies.

Trump loosely explained Republicans’ pitch to steer money directly to policy holders rather than subsidize premiums with tax credits that can be paid directly to insurance companies or claimed on policy holders’ tax returns.

“I’m giving them money. I want to give the money to the people to buy their own health care,” Trump said. “That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Ahead of a planned speech on the economy, Trump is giving the U.S. market a sterling grade despite continued inflation, wealth gaps, layoffs and consumer angst.

“A-plus,” he told Politico when asked how he’d rate the economy, before adding, “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”

Told of concerns even from one of his supporters, Trump shifted blame to his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.

“I inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess,” he said, seemingly brushing off the idea of “affordability” that has become a buzz word ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

“Everything is coming down,” he insisted.

The latest federal analysis, using data from September, found that overall prices rose 2.8% over the previous year, up slightly from 2.7% in August. Core prices also rose 2.8% from a year earlier, a small decline from the previous month’s figure of 2.9%.

The president says he hopes the two eldest members of the Supreme Court, who were nominated by Republican presidents, don’t leave the bench.

He was asked during a Politico interview whether he would want Justices Clarence Thomas, 77, and Sam Alito, 75, to retire so Trump could tap their younger successors.

Trump dismissed the idea.

“I hope they stay ’cause I think they’re fantastic, OK?” Trump said in the interview published Tuesday morning. “Both of those men are fantastic.”

Trump will road-test his claims that he’s tackling Americans’ affordability woes at a Tuesday rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania – shifting an argument made in Oval Office appearances and social media posts to a campaign-style event.

The trip comes as polling consistently shows that public trust in Trump’s economic leadership has faltered. Following dismal results for Republicans in last month’s off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump.

The president’s reception in the county hosting his Tuesday rally could give a signal of just how much voters trust his claims. Monroe County flipped to Trump in the 2024 election after having backed Biden in 2020, helping the Republican to win the swing state of Pennsylvania and return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

The Federal Reserve faces an unusually contentious meeting this week that will test Chair Jerome Powell’s ability to corral the necessary support from fellow policymakers for a third straight interest rate cut.

The Fed’s 19-member rate-setting committee is sharply divided over whether to lower borrowing costs again. The divisions have been exacerbated by the convoluted nature of the economy: Inflation remains elevated, which would typically lead the Fed to keep its key rate unchanged, while hiring is weak and the unemployment rate has risen, which often leads to rate cuts.

Some economists expect three Fed officials could vote against the quarter-point cut that Powell is likely to support at the Dec. 9-10 meeting, which would be the most dissenting votes in six years. Just 12 of the 19 members vote on rate decisions. Several of the non-voting officials have also said they oppose another rate cut.

The Supreme Court is considering a Republican-led drive, backed by Trump’s administration, to overturn a quarter-century-old decision and erase limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president.

A day after the justices indicated they would overturn a 90-year-old decision limiting the president’s power to fire independent agency heads, the court is revisiting a 2001 decision that upheld a provision of federal election law that is more than 50 years old.

Democrats are calling on the court to uphold the law.

The limits stem from a desire to prevent large donors from skirting caps on individual contributions to a candidate by directing unlimited sums to the party, with the understanding that the money will be spent on behalf of the candidate.

The Federal Election Commission and the GOP argue that the court should cast a skeptical eye on the limits, in line with recent high court decisions. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative majority has upended a variety of congressionally enacted limits on raising and spending money to influence elections.

Trump said Monday that he would allow Nvidia to sell an advanced type of computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China.

There have been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips to be sold to China as it could help the country better compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities, but there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.

Nvidia said in a statement that it applauded Trump’s decision, saying the choice would support domestic manufacturing and that by allowing the Commerce Department to vet commercial customers it would “strike a thoughtful balance” on economic and national security priorities.

But a group of Democratic senators objected to the chip sales.