This is AP NewsMinute,

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The sex-offending financier Jeffrey Epstein wrote in a 2019 email to a journalist that Donald Trump “knew about the girls," according to communications released Wednesday. The White House quickly accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the president.

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The longest government shutdown in history could end Wednesday,  Day 43, as Speaker Mike Johnson calls House members back into session.

The House will take up a bill to reopen the government that the Senate passed Monday night.

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The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia will strike its last penny, as President Trump has canceled the 1-cent coin.

Trump ordered its demise as costs climb to nearly 4 cents per penny and the 1-cent valuation becomes obsolete.

The Mint has been making pennies since 1793.

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Taiwan evacuated over 8,000 people and closed schools before tropical storm Fung-wong approached the south of the island.

Dozens were injured, and a creek flooded a village in Hualien County.

While schools and offices closed in central and southern Taiwan, Taipei remained open.