The Vote to Release the Epstein Files is Coming Today in the House

Summary

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Fox News Hourly Update — Episode Summary

Episode Title: The Vote to Release the Epstein Files is Coming Today in the House
Host: FOX News Podcasts
Date: November 18, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the highly anticipated vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to release additional documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. It also covers major political news, international diplomacy, market updates, and environmental policy changes, highlighting the latest developments that impact the U.S. and global landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. House Vote on Epstein Files Release

• Main Theme: A critical House vote is set for today to decide whether to release more documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, focusing on underage girls' sex trafficking.

• Bipartisan Effort: Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna leads the push, joined by Republican lawmakers.

  • Dave Anthony (00:02): "The truth is finally going to come out."

• Victims Speak Out: Epstein victim Annie Farmer addresses the press, framing the issue as systemic rather than partisan.

  Annie Farmer (quoted by Tonya J. Powers at 00:31):
  "This is not, this is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt Republicans. This is a case of institutional betrayal because these crimes were not properly investigated. So many more girls and women were harmed."

• Expected Impact: Anticipation of a “moral reckoning” in the U.S. as more information comes to light (Dave Anthony, 00:22).

2. President Trump’s Advocacy & Health Care Push

• Trump’s Stance on Epstein Files: Urges Republicans to vote "yes," claiming they "have nothing to hide." (Dave Anthony, 00:45)
• Health Care Reform: On Truth Social, Trump calls for redirecting subsidies to individuals for coverage instead of insurance companies.

3. U.S.–Saudi Relations

• Diplomacy: President Trump hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.
  • Jared Halpern (01:02): Emphasizes not a formal state visit but “two days of meetings... President is hosting the crown prince at a black tie dinner tonight.”
• Major Agreements:
  • Plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
  • Expansion of defense and economic agreements.
  • Goal for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords (formalizing ties with Israel).
• Economic Investment: Expectation of a “multi billion dollar investment in American artificial intelligence infrastructure from the Saudis.” (Dave Anthony, 01:29)

4. OpenAI and Major Internet Outage

• Incident Recap: OpenAI/ChatGPT and other sites affected by a Cloudflare outage; service has since resumed. (Dave Anthony, 01:29)

5. Wall Street and Economic Updates

• Stock Market:
  • Dow drops 525 points, hitting a one-month low.
  • NASDAQ and S&P also see sharp declines.
  • Two-day cumulative Dow loss: 1,000 points. (Dave Anthony, 01:57)
• Jobs Data:
  • First-time unemployment claims rise to 232,000 (week ending Oct 18).
  • Ongoing claims reach a four-year high.
  • September jobs report incomplete due to government shutdown.

6. Baltimore Bridge Reconstruction

• Timeline and Cost Overruns:
  • Timeline pushed from Fall 2028 to late 2030.
  • Cost estimate now $4.3–$5.2 billion, more than double initial projections.
  • Reason for increases include economic changes and rising material costs.
  • Bridge collapsed in March 2024 after being struck by a container ship, killing six. (Tonya J. Powers, 02:51 and 03:09)

7. Trump Administration Environmental Policy Roll-back

• Clean Water Act Update:
  • New proposal narrows the definition of protected waters, reflecting a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
  • Many wetlands lose federal protection, which opponents say threatens drinking water and wildlife habitats.
  • 45-day public comment period initiated.
  • Chris Foster (03:28): "The Environmental Protection Agency's announcement says the new rule provides clarity and cuts red tape. Opponents say it'll lead to more drinking water, pollution and flooding and destroy bird and fish habitat."

8. Oil & Gas Prices

• Oil: Down by $0.50 to $59/barrel.
• Gas: National average holds steady at $3.07/gallon (Dave Anthony, 04:04).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dave Anthony (00:02): "The truth is finally going to come out."
• Tonya J. Powers quoting Annie Farmer (00:31):
  "This is not, this is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt Republicans. This is a case of institutional betrayal because these crimes were not properly investigated. So many more girls and women were harmed."
• Dave Anthony (00:45): President Trump’s encouragement to “vote yes” and claim that “they have nothing to hide.”
• Chris Foster (03:28):
  "The Environmental Protection Agency's announcement says the new rule provides clarity and cuts red tape. Opponents say it'll lead to more drinking water, pollution and flooding and destroy bird and fish habitat."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Epstein Files & House Vote: 00:02–00:45
• Presidential Health Care Reform: 00:45
• Saudi Arabia State Visit Preview: 01:02–01:29
• Cloudflare/Internet Outage: 01:29
• Stock Market & Economy: 01:57
• Baltimore Bridge Cost Update: 02:51–03:09
• Environmental Policy Roll-back: 03:28–04:04
• Oil & Gas Prices: 04:04

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This concise yet thorough update captures the key issues shaking Washington and beyond, emphasizing the bipartisan call for transparency in the Epstein case, major international developments, economic indicators, and significant policy changes—all in the fast-paced, no-nonsense style of Fox News Radio.

Transcript

[Chris Foster]

FOREIGN.

[Dave Anthony]

The Epstein files vote is coming today. At the House, I'm Dave Anthony. FOX news. The truth is finally going to come out. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna has led the push to compel the release of more documents from the investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein's underage girls sex trafficking. And when it comes out, this country is really going to have a moral reckoning. How did we allow this to happen? After he and Republican lawmakers spoke outside the Capitol a short time ago, Epstein victims took the mic, including Annie Farmer.

[Tonya J. Powers]

This is not, this is not an issue of a few corrupt Democrats or a few corrupt Republicans. This is a case of institutional betrayal because these crimes were not properly investigated. So many more girls and women were harmed.

[Dave Anthony]

President Trump's urged Republicans to vote yes today, saying they have nothing to hide. He's also calling on Congress and a truth social post to reform health care so that subsidies go to Americans to buy coverage, not insurance companies. Next hour, President Trump will host Saudi Arabia's leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House where Fox's Jared Halpern reports.

[Jared Halpern]

While not technically a state state visit, two days of meetings with cabinet officials and business leaders are planned and the president is hosting the crown prince at a black tie dinner. Tonight. President Trump says he will sell F35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and the two leaders are expected to expand defense and economic agreements. The president has also made clear his desire for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords establishing formal ties with Israel.

[Dave Anthony]

In the West Bank. Today an Israeli was killed, three others injured when a car rammed into them and then they got stabbed in an attack Israel's says was carried out by two terrorists who were killed by Israeli soldiers. Back to the Saudi talks. Today the president is expected to announce a deal on a multi billion dollar investment in American artificial intelligence infrastructure from the Saudis. Unrelated to that OpenAI and ChatGPT among the Internet sites that went offline in a widespread outage this morning affecting Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare, which has said the problem's resolved. America's listening. It's Will Kane Country. Watch it live at noon Eastern Monday through [e-mail] or on the Fox News YouTube channel. And don't miss the follow the podcast five days a week at Fox newspodcasts.com or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. The selling continues on Wall Street. The Dow is plunging 525 points, hitting a one month low. It's lost a thousand points the last two days. The NASDAQ is dropping 411. The S&P 500 losing 79 points. We got news on the economy. With the government back open, we Learned this morning first time jobless claims rose to 232,000 in the week ending October 18th. Those claims continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose to a four year high Thursday. Look at the September jobs report. Without the unemployment rate, that data was not collected during the shutdown. More than a year after a deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore, costs are rising on the rebuilding.

[Tonya J. Powers]

The Maryland Transportation Authority is pushing back the timeline for the key bridge rebuild from its initial estimate for a fall 2028 reopening to late 2030. They also say the cost will likely be between 4.3 and 5.2 billion, more than double the initial estimate between 1.7 and 1.9 billion.

[Chris Foster]

DOL.

[Tonya J. Powers]

A news release from the MDTA cites changes in the country's economy and an increase in material costs as the reasons for the higher price tag. The bridge collapsed when a container ship hit one of its pillars in March 2024, killing six. Tonya J. Powers, FOX News.

[Dave Anthony]

Speaking of waterways, there's a controversial new Trump environmental policy change.

[Chris Foster]

The Clean Water act makes it illegal to pollute a water of the United States. That's up for interpretation. And the Obama and Biden administrations expanded the definition of what those waters are. The proposed change would roll that back to reflect a 2023 Supreme Court ruling reducing the scope of federal jurisdiction. It says there has to be a continuous surface connection to navigable water like oceans, lakes, rivers and canals. That excludes a majority of wetlands in the country. The Environmental Protection Agency's announcement says the new rule provides clarity and cuts red tape. Opponents say it'll lead to more drinking water, pollution and flooding and destroy bird and fish habitat. There's a 45 day period for public comment. Chris Foster, FOX News.

[Dave Anthony]

The price of oil is down about a half dollar today. Now 59 bucks a barrel. Gas unchanged, triple A's national average regular still 307. I'm Dave Anthony and this is FOX News.