News Wrap: White House tries to contain fallout of Trump’s Epstein ties

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Today's other headlines start with reaction to a letter allegedly signed by President Donald Trump for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday back in 2003, which The Wall Street Journal first reported back in July.

  The letter was among documents released late Monday by the House Oversight Committee, and it's reviving scrutiny of Mr. Trump's ties to the late convicted sex offender and intensifying calls to release the rest of the Epstein files.

  The White House tonight is fighting to contain the fallout after House Democrats released Jeffrey Epstein case documents that referenced the president by name.

• Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary:

  That this absolutely was not the president's authentic signature and we have maintained that position all along.

• Geoff Bennett:

  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referring to this letter in Jeffrey Epstein's so-called birthday book from 2003, which appears to be signed by President Trump.

  It shows a silhouette of a woman's body, framing text that says, "We have certain things in common" and references a — quote — "wonderful secret." Another page from the book includes a photo of a check that appears to show Epstein jokingly selling a — quote — "fully depreciated woman" to Mr. Trump.

  The president in a brief phone interview with NBC News this morning refused to discuss the matter, saying: "I don't comment on something that's a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It's a dead issue."

  But Epstein remains a fraught subject for Mr. Trump. It dredges up uncomfortable questions about his past associations and fractures his political coalition. Some in his base dismiss it as old news, while others see it as part of a broader pattern of scandal that undercuts his outsider appeal.

  The president has repeatedly called the letter fake and sued The Wall Street Journal for defamation after the paper first reported its existence in July. House Republicans largely lined up behind the president today, including Chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer.

• Rep. James Comer (R-KY):

  The president says he did not sign it, so I take the president as his word.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Meantime, across the aisle, Democrats today pushed Republicans to support a procedural maneuver that would force a vote on releasing the remainder of the Epstein files.

• Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA):

  If Republicans don't want to engage in a cover-up of pedophilia and this pedophilia ring, they should go sign this discharge petition.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Four Republican members are signing on, along with all Democrats, but two more signatures are required to force the vote. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, a member of the House Oversight Committee, said last night he believes they will get those signatures once two vacant seats are filled in special elections.

• Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA):

  And both of those candidates have said they're going to sign the discharge petition. That gets us to 218, and that will trigger a vote one week later in the House of Representatives.

• Geoff Bennett:

  In news overseas, Nepal's prime minister resigned amid widespread deadly protests after the government imposed a wide-ranging social media ban which was lifted today.

  After the resignation, protesters burned the former prime minister's home. Multiple media outlets have reported that his wife was trapped inside and died from her injuries. Elsewhere, demonstrators vandalized and set fire to multiple buildings, including government offices and police stations.

  For many protesters, the prime minister's resignation was seen as a victory, despite the chaos.

• Laxmi Panday, Nepali Protester (through interpreter):

  Today, we feel very happy. It feels like a day of victory for us. If yesterday was a dark day, today is a bright one. We feel extremely happy. Now it feels like the Nepali people have won.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Nepal's army says it's committed to restoring order after declaring a 10:00 p.m. curfew. Still, crowds of protesters remained on the streets well into the night.

  In Ukraine, a Russian glide bomb struck a small village just six miles from the front lines today, killing at least 24 people. Authorities say the attack happened in broad daylight in the town Yarova in the Eastern region of Donetsk. Police say the bomb hit as dozens of people waited in the open air to collect their monthly pensions. At least 19 people were also injured.

  Some residents rushed to the scene when they heard the blast, knowing their loved ones were among the crowd.

• Henadii Trush, Yarova, Ukraine, Resident (through interpreter):

  My wife left. She said: "I'm going to get a pension for grandmother." Twenty minutes later, I heard an explosion. I went out to the yard and saw a smoke mushroom rising somewhere from the center. I started calling her, but there was no connection. The phone wasn't answering.

• Geoff Bennett:

  The U.N. says more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia launched its invasion more than three years ago. Following today's attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies to send more air defense weapons to Ukraine and called for additional sanctions on Russia.

  In Michigan today, a judge dismissed the cases against 15 people who had been accused of trying to falsely certify Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in that state. Each of the accused faced forgery charges that carry a maximum of 14 years in prison. The judge said she did not believe the defendants were intending to commit fraud, but were executing their constitutional right to seek redress.

  The defendants included some high-profile members of the Michigan Republican Party. The outcome is a major blow to prosecutors in four other states who were pursuing similar fake elector cases.

  High school seniors are testing at the lowest level in decades when it comes to reading and math. That's according to the National Assessment of Education Progress, also known as the nation's report card; 12th graders posted the lowest reading score in the history of the assessment going back to 1992. And math scores were the lowest since 2005.

  Overall, only about a third of seniors are leaving high school with the reading and math skills necessary for college. The report also found that eighth graders lost ground in science for the first time since 2009. The results are based on exams administered last year, and they point to a continued decline in academic performance that started before the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The U.S. Supreme Court says it will hear arguments in November on whether President Trump has the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on nearly every country in the world. The time frame is remarkably quick by the standards of the nation's highest court. The case is one of the biggest tests of the president's executive authority, since the Constitution gives Congress the power to impose tariffs.

  Already, two lower courts have found most of Mr. Trump's tariffs to be illegal, though an appeals court has left them in place while the legal process plays out.

  On Wall Street today, stocks posted modest gains following those revised jobs numbers. The Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 200 points. The Nasdaq rose about 80 points on the day. The S&P 500 closed at a new all-time high.

  And the oldest pipe organ in the Christian world was played again for the first time in 800 years. The organ's original 11th century pipes echoed through this small monastery in Jerusalem's Old City during a special concert yesterday. The instrument dates back to the Crusades. It's believed that crusaders brought the organ to Bethlehem when Christians controlled the city.

  They later buried the instrument to shield it from invading Muslim armies. It was rediscovered back in 1906 and brought back to life this week, leading one researcher to say that it's been like finding a living dinosaur.