In today's newsletter: Donald Trump is growing more frustrated at Pam Bondi's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Migrants sent by the Trump administration to an El Salvador prison are sent to Venezuela as part of a prisoner exchange. And volunteers are helping reunite Texas flood victims with their prized possessions.

Here's what to know today.

The Justice Department has requested that some documents related to financier Jeffrey Epstein’s case are unsealed, as the fallout continues from its announcement earlier this month that it would not release any more records.

The motion filed yesterday seeks to unseal grand jury transcripts tied to the case. The move came after Trump said Thursday that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce “pertinent” testimony tied to the case. Just a few days prior, Trump said it was up to Bondi whether to release “credible” information in the Epstein case.

Now, after nearly two weeks of criticism and backlash from his supporters and some Republican lawmakers, Trump has grown weary, according to four people familiar with White House deliberations — particularly of Bondi’s handling of the matter. 

Many of Trump’s most ardent supporters have long believed that the federal government hid damaging information about connections between Epstein and some of the nation’s wealthiest and most powerful people. But things escalated over the July Fourth weekend, when the Justice Department released a memo saying there was no evidence of a client list, as Bondi had hinted at in a Fox News interview in February.

Trump this week has sought to shift the blame to Democrats and urged his supporters to move on from the case. His words have done little to quiet the backlash. 

While sources said Bondi is not in danger of losing her job because she is loyal and well-liked by the president and White House chief Susie Wiles, Trump is no longer interested in taking heat for her. 

Read the full story here.

More coverage of the Epstein files fallout:

More politics news:

Migrants at El Salvador prison are sent to Venezuela

More than 200 Venezuelan immigrants whom the Trump administration sent to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act were flown to Venezuela, a move that was part of a prisoner exchange between El Salvador, Venezuela and the U.S. In a post on X announcing the exchange, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said the Venezuelan government released “a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners,” as well as “American citizens it was holding as hostages.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his own social media post, praised the release of “all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners.” 

The Trump administration deported more than 200 men, some of them asylum-seekers who said they were at risk of persecution in Venezuela, to El Salvador’s CECOT prison in March. The ACLU, which sued the administration over the use of the Alien Enemies Act, said it had not been told about the CECOT detainees’ release before it happened. Read the full story here.

Crypto bills get a boost in Congress

Three crypto bills favored by President Donald Trump received key support in Congress this week, with one of them — the GENIUS Act — signed into law yesterday. The effects of the bills are not immediate, but they will fuel crypto’s move from a niche corner of the economy into the mainstream. 

The GENIUS Act paves the way for private firms to issue what are known as stablecoins and lays out specific requirements for companies that use them. Stablecoins are privately issued digital money and get their name from the idea that the tokens’ value is always equivalent to $1. Several mainstream institutions are interested in using the tokens as a way to make some of their operations cheaper, but critics argue that the new law doesn’t go far enough to protect consumers. Plus, there are concerns about potential conflicts of interest with the Trump family and concerns about the coins’ accessibility to consumers. 

Two other bills — the CLARITY Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act — passed in the House this week and are now under consideration by the Senate. The first bill is meant to more clearly establish who regulates the tokens, while the second would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing digital tokens or using them for monetary policy. Business reporter Rob Wile explains what else to know about crypto’s big week on Capitol Hill. Read the full story here.

Which classic Nintendo video game franchise announced its lead actors for a film adaptation to be released in 2027? 

A. "Donkey Kong"
B. "The Legend of Zelda"
C. "Metroid"
D. "Super Smash Bros."

Find out the answer and test your knowledge of this week's most-read stories. (The answer to the question is also at the bottom of this newsletter.)

Texas flood victims reunited with the prized objects that were swept away

In the wake of devastating and deadly floods in Texas Hill Country, a loose network of first responders and volunteers banded together to help reunite residents with their cherished belongings. The good Samaritans are scouring riverbeds and sifting through debris in search of family photo albums, marriage licenses, children's toys, clothes and other keepsakes. They're then posting their discoveries on a Facebook page that has close to 40,000 members.

This week, I spoke with people in the region about the objects that have turned up in the floods’ aftermath and why they matter. In some cases, seemingly trivial items have taken on far greater emotional significance following the Fourth of July disaster.

I'm grateful to everyone who shared their experiences with me — and I hope their photos resonate with you.

— Daniel Arkin, national reporter

Talking Shop is an NBC Select series in which the team talks to notable people about their most interesting buys. We recently spoke with actor Chace Crawford, who has starred in shows like “Gossip Girl” and “The Boys,” about his favorite espresso machine, e-reader, sunglasses and much more. Plus, we found the best treatments for dark under-eye circles, according to dermatologists.

Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today's newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. 

By the way, the answer to the quiz question above is B. "The Legend of Zelda."

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