eNewspaper | Crosswords | Horoscopes

On Politics

Wed Nov 12 2025

Kathryn Palmer | Politics Reporter

@KathrynPlmr

Hello, readers. Welcome to another day of OnPolitics. Kathryn Palmer here. It'll be a busy afternoon for shutdown-related news as the House takes up the deal at 4 p.m. ET, so be sure to keep up with USA TODAY's live coverage. Here's what to know.

Returning pets, skipping snacks: shutdown's effects

Americans have endured the longest government shutdown in history, although the end is now in sight since the Senate passed legislation on Nov. 10 to end it. By the end of the day today, it's possible the deal will cinch congressional approval with the House, before it's sent to the president's desk.

But it's been a long and painful road for millions of Americans. They have scrambled to feed their families, returned adopted pets to shelters, and wrangled to adjust plans after canceled flights.

For weeks, hundreds of thousands of federal workers were furloughed and employees considered essential to public safety were forced to work without pay. USA TODAY compiled a snapshot of how Americans across the country have struggled to shoulder various effects of the shutdown, from Florida and New Jersey to Illinois and Oklahoma.

Volunteers load boxes of food into cars during an event held by the Community Food Bank of New Jersey to deliver emergency food relief to federal workers and SNAP recipients amid the U.S. government shutdown in Leonia, New Jersey, U.S., November 6, 2025.

Mike Segar, REUTERS

A Politics pit stop:

•	Could another Kennedy head to DC? Jack Schlossberg, grandson of John. F Kennedy and social media influencer, is running for Congress
•	A Tucker Carlson interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes exposes a widening rift within the MAGA movement
•	Trump weighs in on the controversial teardown of the White House East Wing, saying Melania 'loved her little tiny office'
•	The Supreme Court is maintaining the administration's pause on SNAP food benefits, giving Congress time to resolve the issue

Epstein said Trump 'knew about the girls' in newly released emails

While Congress is buzzing with shutdown activity, Democrats released bombshell emails from the late disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

In the emails, Epstein claimed President Donald Trump "spent hours at my house" with one of his victims and "knew about the girls."

In another email, Epstein said, "of course he knew about the girls," referring to the president. "As he asked ghislaine to stop." Ghislaine Maxwell, an aide to Epstein, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in sex acts.

You can read the released emails here. A Democratic Rep. said more are expected to be released.

The White House called the email release a "smear," and Trump, a former friend of Epstein's, has forcefully denied knowing about his alleged sex trafficking.

Duffy says flight delays so far have been 'tiddlywinks'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said yesterday that if the government doesn't move to reopen soon, the flight delays and disruptions American travelers have experienced so far will be considered "tiddlywinks" compared to what's to come.

Duffy's comments come days after the Federal Aviation Administration began reducing the number of flights going in and out of airports around the country in response to the shutdown's effects on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay since Oct. 1.

The FAA is expected to increase flight cuts to 8% tomorrow and to 10% on Friday. As of Wednesday morning, FlightAware data showed more than 890 cancellations and over 900 delays for flights within, into, or out of the United States.

Questions, thoughts, concerns? Send them to kapalmer@usatoday.com.