Texas Sen. John Cornyn says the FBI has approved his request for assistance in locating the Texas state legislators who fled to block a vote on redistricting. CBS News Texas' Trevor Sochocki reports.

Austin

The FBI has agreed to assist in locating Texas House Democrats who left the state in an effort to prevent a vote on a Republican redistricting plan. The request for FBI involvement came from Senator Cornyn, as the Texas Department of Public Safety's jurisdiction does not extend beyond state lines. The level of the FBI's involvement remains unclear, and the agency has not yet commented.

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating Beto O'Rourke's political action committee, Powered by People, for allegedly providing financial support to the lawmakers who left. The Democrats face daily fines for their absence, and O'Rourke's group has confirmed it is assisting with their expenses. Paxton has accused the group of bribery, while O'Rourke's team denies wrongdoing and says they are supporting democratic processes.

FBI approved request to help locate Texas Democrats who fled

All right, changing gears to the latest on the political standoff in Texas. The state's attorney general is now investigating a political action committee run by Democrat Beto O'Rourke. It's called Powered by People. AG Ken Paxton says it is illegally paying for lawmakers to leave the state to derail a vote on a Republican redistricting plan. Lawmakers from both sides spoke with Major Garrett last night on The Takeout. Well, our goal here is to defeat this particular special session. And as you know, the governor calls it for 30 days. And so we have towards the end of August to finish out this session. Special sessions are supposed to be just that, special. They're not supposed to be overtime plays for purely partisan gifts. Not one Democrat has been stripped of their seniority, their committee assignments, their budgets, their staff. Hell, we haven't even taken away their parking spots yet. So no, I continue to call on the leadership, the Republican leadership in the state of Texas to do what the voters of Texas want in addition to the redistricting. They want more than just bold rhetoric. They want bold action. All right, I want to bring in CBS News Texas reporter Trevor Sohockey. Trevor, thanks for coming on the show. We are hearing new information about the involvement of, are we hearing new information about the involvement of the FBI? Yeah, that's right, Tom. We're just getting this into our newsroom in the last hour or so. Now, this comes from Senator Cornyn here in Texas. He says that the FBI is now going to get involved with the search for those Texas House Democrats that left the statehouse earlier this week and are now holed up in places like Illinois, New York, Massachusetts. Earlier this week, Senator Cornyn called on the FBI. He asked the FBI director, Cash Patel. He asked the director to help out with the location and bringing those Texas House Democrats back. We also heard from President Trump. President Trump said the FBI may get involved here because the issue at stake is that the Texas Department of Public Safety, you would know them as the Texas Rangers, their only authority, their jurisdiction is within the state of Texas. So as soon as these Texas House Democrats left the state of Texas, the Department of Public Safety can't do anything with that. They have to wait until the Democrats come back to do their job. So, Democrats come back and then they can bring them into Austin, into the Capitol for that quorum that is needed to pass any bills to get those votes on. And so, the senators, especially Republican Senator Cornyn here, he asked the FBI to get involved. We're still not sure exactly what level of involvement the FBI is going to be in this case. Are they going to be going across state lines? Are they going to physically arrest these lawmakers and bring them back into Texas? Still working all that out. Still reporting all this out. I should mention as well CBS News has reached out to the FBI for comment and has not heard back yet. But still, it's a very developing story just within the last hour or so. Yeah, we're really trying to get to the bottom of all that gray territory that we find ourselves in. So, Trevor, break down this new investigation into Beto O'Rourke's PAC and how he's responding. Yeah, so this comes from the Attorney General here, Attorney General Ken Paxton. He issued a request to examine. Basically, he wants to look at the documents and the communications from Beto O'Rourke's PAC, this political action committee, because all these Texas House Democrats we've been talking about, they left the state. But because they've left the state so many times during these special sessions in order to block Republicans, a few years back Republicans made a new rule, a new law that says that these Democrats or anyone who leaves the state and prevents a quorum, they are fined $500 a day. So, that is a steep fine that can easily accumulate over time. So, these Democrats are now facing fines of $500 a day to whatever exponent that becomes as this special session continues on. And so, O'Rourke, he told us, he confirmed to us that his political action committee, his group, his team, they are helping out these Democrats with any monetary needs that they might have. Because not only is it the flights to Illinois and these other states, it's also living expenses out there. And of course, these fines, which just grow and grow every single day. Attorney General Ken Paxton, he says that this is bribery. He's accusing Beto O'Rourke and his team of bribery here. But of course, O'Rourke and his team have pushed back. They say they are simply trying to keep democracy alive. They're trying to keep democracy on the line. They call out what he says is irony for Attorney General Ken Paxton, calling others out for bribery. Of course, a lot of back and forth here between the two sides. Trevor Sohocki reporting for us from Dallas, Texas. Say hi to all my friends at CBS News Texas over there. Thank you so much.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that there is a good chance he'll meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin soon over Russia's war with Ukraine.

Washington

Ukraine Invasion

Trump says 'good chance' he'll meet with Putin soon

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Global Tariffs

Higher U.S. tariffs officially take effect

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Hate crime charges filed in killings of Israeli Embassy staffers

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New York

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

U.S. Ambassador to Israel faces questions over starvation in Gaza

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U.S. begins collecting Trump's new global tariffs

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State of Rio de Janeiro

Brazil halts U.S. trade talks as Lula condemns new tariffs

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Trump imposes extra 25% tariff on India over Russian oil imports

President Trump has been briefed about the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the White House press secretary says. At least five soldiers were shot before a suspect was apprehended, officials say.

Fort Stewart

Five soldiers shot at Fort Stewart in Georgia; suspect apprehended

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Moscow

Witkoff, Putin had 'useful and constructive conversation'

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Japan held a memorial service and ceremony for victims and the remaining survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, marking its 80th anniversary and renewing pledges of working towards a world without nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima marks 80th anniversary since U.S. atomic bombing

The U.S. is warning travelers as cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness, spreads in China. Health officials in China have ordered mass disinfection measures. The region near Hong Kong reported more than 7,000 cases in recent weeks.

Beijing

U.S. warns travelers as cases of chikungunya increase in China

Japan has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing during World War II. Ceremonies at Peace Memorial Park honoured the victims of the 1945 nuclear attack by US forces.

Japan’s Hiroshima marks 80 years since U.S. atomic bombing

Multiple media outlets in Israel have reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a complete military takeover of Gaza, while almost 600 former Israeli military and security officials are petitioning Washington to stop the fighting.

Netanyahu reportedly wants complete Gaza takeover

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Kyiv

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A man suspected of murdering four family members in Tennessee has been captured after a four-day manhunt, authorities said. CBS News' Nicole Valdes has more.

Jackson

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The ruling comes a month after Brazil’s top court ordered the former president to wear an ankle monitor, submit to a curfew and abide by limitations on his activity as legal proceedings investigating an alleged coup plot continue.

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The US and Lebanon have been holding talks on a roadmap to fully disarm Hezbollah. Lebanon's new leadership has pledged to extend its authority across all its territory but has so far avoided acting against Hezbollah.

Beirut

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CBC News had exclusive access to a Canadian Armed Forces plane that dropped about 10,000 kilograms of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the first time Canada joined the airdrop operations. Several countries airdropped food on Monday, but aid organizations agree they are more symbolic than effective.

Ottawa

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Delegates are gathering this week at the United Nations in Geneva, attempting to negotiate a global treaty to curb plastic pollution. But diplomats and climate advocates warn that efforts by the European Union and small island states to cap virgin plastic production are threatened by opposition.

Geneva

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President Trump announced Friday on social media that he ordered two nuclear submarines to move into more strategic positions near Russia. On Monday, Russian officials downplayed the comments and warned about the risk of nuclear rhetoric.

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Donald Trump confirmed his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia, ahead of a deadline the U.S. president has set for Russia to agree to end the Ukraine war or face new sanctions. Witkoff is expected in Moscow in the middle of this week.

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New images of emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza have horrified Israelis and added pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, even as his government considers another expansion of the nearly 22-month war.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Videos of hostages increase pressure on Netanyahu for ceasefire

Pope Leo XIV wrapped up a weekend jubilee for more than 1 million young Catholics at a Rome suburb. As a new generation from around the globe celebrated, the pope drew attention to their peers in Ukraine and Gaza who cannot.

Breakdown