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Today's top stories
The House Oversight Committee yesterday released over 20,000 documents turned over to Congress from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. Among the documents were new emails from the convicted sex offender that mention President Trump, often expressing displeasure with him and his presidency. Democrats and Republicans have differing views on what the documents say about Epstein.
- 🎧 The majority of the emails were obsessively tracking Trump's ascent to the presidency from 2015 to 2018. Epstein mocked Trump and even wrote a note saying there isn't one decent cell in Trump's body to former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, NPR's Stephen Fowler tells Up First. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the release of the emails proves nothing. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been opposed to the effort from some Republicans and Democrats to release all unclassified files held by the Justice Department around the life and death of Epstein, who died by suicide while awaiting trial in 2019. Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress yesterday, meaning the bipartisan push now has enough support to force a House floor vote on the Epstein files bill.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is now over after Trump signed a bill to fund it last night. The bill includes measures that reverse the layoffs imposed by the Trump administration during the shutdown, provide back pay for federal employees, and fund some agencies through the end of next September. The bill does not extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which expire at the end of the year.
- 🎧 NPR's Barbara Sprunt says she is watching how Democrats will craft a bill that could appeal to Republicans, addressing the expiring subsidies during the promised December vote in the Senate on the issue. If they are successful, Democrats will be able to begin the new year with a policy victory. If Republicans oppose the bill, Democrats will have what they see as a winning issue to campaign on: the high cost of health care.
- 🎧 There are signals that a one-year extension of the federal subsidies could be possible, but there is no concrete deal at this point, says NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin. Republicans say that the subsidies don't address the rising health costs and that they were supposed to be a temporary pandemic policy. Meanwhile, Democrats want to maintain the generous subsidies that have kept the monthly premium costs down.
Israel deported 154 Palestinian prisoners last month as part of the exchange for Hamas freeing its final group of Israeli hostages. The prisoners were sent into exile in Cairo, never to return to their homes in the Palestinian territories. Israeli security experts say the deportation policy aims to prevent released prisoners from re-engaging in militant activities, but past incidents indicate that this practice can have unintended long-term consequences for Israeli security.
Living better
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
The FDA plans to remove warning labels from estrogen-based hormone therapy used to treat menopause symptoms. These warnings originated from the early 2000s when a Women's Health Initiative study found this type of therapy increased the risk of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and breast cancer. However, experts now believe that more is known about safe and effective combinations of therapy when it is started earlier than the age of the women in the study, which was 63. Here are some things to consider when talking to your healthcare provider about the therapy:
- 👩⚕️ Experts recommend starting the therapy before the age of 60 or within the first 10 years of menopause onset.
- 👩⚕️ Have a discussion about how long you should be on the therapy. In general, women stay on it for three to five years, but that isn't a hard rule.
- 👩⚕️ For those who prefer not to undergo hormone therapy, there are alternatives available. The FDA has approved two non-hormonal medications for treating severe hot flashes during menopause.
Picture show
Colorful northern lights painted the skies with vibrant hues of green and pink on Tuesday night due to strong geomagnetic storms. The aurora borealis was spotted in a large swath of states, including Tennessee, New York, New Mexico and Idaho. The northern lights could be seen as far south as parts of Florida and Alabama, a relatively rare occurrence highlighting the severity of this week's storms. Auroras are becoming more frequent in the U.S. as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year solar cycle. This trend is expected to continue for several months. See photos of this week's natural light display and read how to photograph them.
3 things to know before you go
- In a penny-pinching move by the federal government, the final one-cent coin was minted in Philadelphia yesterday.
- NPR's Word of the Week is "nostalgia," which originated as a medical diagnosis, but has evolved into a complex emotion that can also be a money-maker.
- When Stacia was 21, she was struggling with severe depression. After leaving a hospital where she was under close supervision, Stacia walked to a nearby road and stuck her thumb out for a ride. A woman, her unsung hero, stopped for her, asking a simple question that helped Stacia shape her life.
This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.
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