Nov. 12, 2025, 9:03 a.m. ETPresident Trump with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem last month.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York TimesIsaac Herzog, the Israeli president, received a letter on Wednesday from President Trump asking him to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s prime minister, in his long-running corruption trial, Mr. Herzog’s office said.Mr. Netanyahu has not been convicted, and there is no end in sight for his trial, which has dragged on for five years. It is not clear whether Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, could legally pardon him. The country’s president, who serves in a largely ceremonial post, generally cannot pardon people before they are convicted.“I hereby call on you to formally pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace,” Mr. Trump wrote in a letter to Mr. Herzog, whose office released it.Mr. Trump has called for Mr. Herzog to pardon Mr. Netanyahu on several occasions, though the letter is a more formal request. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.People seeking clemency in Israel have to formally request it, either themselves or through a designated representative like an attorney. Mr. Netanyahu did not formally ask for a pardon, Mr. Herzog’s office said, and Mr. Trump’s letter did not appear to meet that standard.Mr. Netanyahu has been on trial since 2020 on counts of fraud, bribery and breach of trust by a public official. He has denied all of them and denounced his prosecutors as having launched a politically motivated “witch hunt.”The corruption charges have split the Israeli public. Centrists and leftists have criticized Mr. Netanyahu as tarred by allegations of abuse of public office, while his defenders consider him a historic statesman targeted by a leftist judicial deep state.Nov. 12, 2025, 8:30 a.m. ETPresident Trump has emphatically denied any involvement in or knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesHouse Democrats on Wednesday released emails in which Jeffrey Epstein wrote that President Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Mr. Epstein’s victims, among other messages that suggested that the convicted sex offender believed Mr. Trump knew more about his abuse than he has acknowledged.Mr. Trump has emphatically denied any involvement in or knowledge of Mr. Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. He has said that he and Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide in federal prison in 2019, were once friendly but had a falling out.But Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the emails, which they selected from thousands of pages of documents received by their panel, raised new questions about the relationship between the two men. In one of the messages, Mr. Epstein flatly asserted that Mr. Trump “knew about the girls,” many of whom were later found by investigators to have been underage. In another, Mr. Epstein pondered how to address questions from the news media about their relationship as Mr. Trump was becoming a national political figure.The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The messages are certain to inflame the debate on Capitol Hill over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and top officials’ decision to backtrack on a promise to fully release them. That issue, which has split Republicans and alienated some of Mr. Trump’s right-wing supporters, had faded to the background as the government shutdown dragged on.But the House is set to return on Wednesday to clear legislation to end the shutdown, and attention is likely to shift back to the Epstein matter.“These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the president,” Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement.The three separate email exchanges released on Wednesday were all from after Mr. Epstein’s 2008 plea deal in Florida on state charges of soliciting prostitution, in which federal prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges. They came years after Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein had a reported falling out in the early 2000s. One was addressed to Mr. Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, while two were with the author Michael Wolff.“These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the president,” said Representative Robert Garcia, Democrat of California.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York TimesIn one email from April 2011, Mr. Epstein told Ms. Maxwell, who was later convicted on charges related to facilitating his crimes, “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” He added that an unnamed victim “spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”“I have been thinking about that,” Ms. Maxwell wrote back.In an email from January 2019, Mr. Epstein wrote to Mr. Wolff of Mr. Trump: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” House Democrats, citing an unnamed whistle-blower, said this week that Ms. Maxwell was preparing to formally ask Mr. Trump to commute her federal prison sentence.The emails were provided to the Oversight Committee along with a larger tranche of documents from Mr. Epstein’s estate that the panel requested as part of its investigation into Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges.The committee’s staff redacted victims’ names and any identifying information from the emails. Because the full set of documents has not been released, it was not clear whether the emails had been excerpted from larger conversations that might have provided fuller context.Mr. Trump has condemned continued questions about his handling of the case as a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats. He has called Mr. Epstein a “creep” and has insisted he never engaged in any wrongdoing with him or Ms. Maxwell.Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein split their time between New York and Palm Beach, Fla., and they were friends in the 1990s and early 2000s. Their relationship appeared to fizzle out around 2004, though Mr. Trump and those close to him have offered different accounts of why. By one account, they fell out after trying to outbid each other on a piece of Palm Beach real estate.Last summer, Mr. Trump said that Mr. Epstein had “hired” away spa attendants at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach. He said that he had kicked Mr. Epstein out of his club, and that he believed one of the women was Virginia Giuffre, who has said Ms. Maxwell recruited her into Mr. Epstein’s sex ring while she was working at Mar-a-Lago as a teenager.At the time Mr. Epstein emailed Ms. Maxwell in 2011 calling Mr. Trump the “dog that didn’t bark,” Mr. Trump was a reality television star and New York tabloid celebrity who was years away from becoming president.Mr. Epstein and his longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell in New York in 2005.Credit...Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan, via Getty ImagesAround the same time, according to documents previously released by the Oversight Committee, Mr. Epstein was emailing staff members about negative press coverage he had recently received about the abuse that took place inside his home in Florida.Earlier this year, the Trump administration released the transcript of a courthouse interview with Ms. Maxwell, who acknowledged that Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein had once had a social relationship, but denied any connection between Mr. Trump and the sex-trafficking ring.Mr. Epstein’s email from 2019, which claims Mr. Trump “knew about the girls” and asked Ms. Maxwell “to stop,” was sent to Mr. Wolff, who had recently written a tell-all book about the president.Mr. Epstein was months away from the arrest and federal charges that would send him to prison, but he was the focus of significant attention after The Miami Herald had published a series of articles drawing renewed attention to the secret agreement he had signed in 2008.In his email, Mr. Epstein mentioned a victim of his sex-trafficking operation. He also mentioned Mar-a-Lago, then disputed that Mr. Trump had ever asked him to resign from the club. “Never a member ever,” Mr. Epstein wrote.Mr. Wolff was also involved in a third email exchange, which began on Dec. 15, 2015, the night of a debate in the Republican presidential primary. Mr. Wolff emailed Mr. Epstein and warned him that CNN was “planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you — either on air or in scrum afterwards.”Mr. Epstein wrote back, “If we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?”Mr. Wolff advised inaction, suggesting that Mr. Trump might try to deny a close association with Mr. Epstein. “I think you should let him hang himself,” he wrote of Mr. Trump. “If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable P.R. and political currency” that could be used to “hang him” later or “save him, generating a debt.”Mr. Trump never received a question about the matter in that debate, according to a transcript. It was unclear if he was asked about it separately.The Democrats’ release of the emails came hours before Speaker Mike Johnson was scheduled to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, whom he has avoided seating for nearly two months since she won her election.She is expected to provide the final signature necessary on a petition to force a House vote on a measure demanding that the Trump administration release all of its investigative material pertaining to Mr. Epstein. The White House has strongly opposed the measure.Nicholas Confessore and Steve Eder contributed reporting.Nov. 12, 2025, 5:03 a.m. ETVideoHouse Members Return to D.C. to Vote on ShutdownU.S. representatives traveled by plane, train and motorcycle to Washington in order to vote on a bill that would end the government shutdown.CreditCredit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesThe House of Representatives will finally return to session on Wednesday after a hiatus that stretched on for 54 days, as lawmakers take up legislation that would end the longest government shutdown in American history.The bill, which passed the Senate on Monday and has President Trump’s support, has sizable momentum on Day 43 of the shutdown, and its approval by the House would clear it for Mr. Trump’s signature. But Republicans’ narrow margin of control and strong opposition from most Democrats are likely to make for an uncomfortably close vote.It comes as the House crawls back to life with an agenda that is much the same as it was when the chamber last convened on Sept. 19, and Republicans passed a plan to temporarily fund the government. Then, Speaker Mike Johnson called an indefinite recess, arguing that there was no reason for the House to meet until Senate Democrats accepted his party’s proposal.For weeks, the House lay mostly dormant, with no legislation considered, no hearings held and no debate on the floor. While the representatives went on break — one they have been quick to frame as working from home rather than a nearly two-month vacation — hundreds of thousands of federal workers went without pay, millions of low-income Americans wondered whether they would receive food assistance and exasperated air travelers dealt with disruptions.Mr. Johnson, who has held near-daily news conferences at the Capitol during the shutdown, is hoping that the House will quickly take up and pass the Senate’s measure to reopen the government.That legislation, passed on Monday, would fund the government through Jan. 30 and includes spending bills that cover programs related to agriculture, military construction, veterans and legislative agencies for most of next year. The measure also includes a provision that would restore the jobs of federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown and guarantee back pay for those who were furloughed.But several challenges may lie in store. Mr. Johnson presides over a very slim majority. He must keep Republicans largely united around the spending package, given the nearly solid opposition of Democrats who are livid that it fails to meet their chief demand of extending federal health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.Mr. Johnson, who routinely leans on Mr. Trump to help him corral his fractious rank and file for close votes, has stressed that the spending legislation is a priority of the president, who has indicated that he would sign it. So far, a group of fiscal conservatives who ideologically oppose stopgap spending bills appear to be on board. Still, at several points, members of that group have thrown up unexpected roadblocks, and Mr. Johnson may have to contend with their complaints.Given the prospect of a tight vote, Mr. Johnson is also likely to need every Republican member to return. Action, which House leaders have said may begin late Wednesday afternoon, could be delayed as lawmakers contend with the mounting air travel problems that have been one of the most visible consequences of the shutdown fight.Democrats — who have returned to the Capitol in large groups at various points throughout the shutdown — are hoping to limit defections to increase the pressure on Republicans. Representative Jared Golden of Maine backed the G.O.P. plan in September and is likely to do so this week, while Henry Cuellar of Texas, has said he supports reopening the government quickly.Democrats’ ranks will be bolstered after Mr. Johnson swears in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, the Arizona Democrat who was elected seven weeks ago, whom he had refused to seat.Citing precedent, the speaker declined to swear her during a House recess that he called and prolonged.Democrats have cried foul, pointing to Ms. Grijalva’s pledge to add her name to a bipartisan petition to force a vote on a measure demanding that the Trump administration release files connected to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.As it stands, Ms. Grijalva would provide the last necessary signature for the petition, which the White House opposes, to move ahead. That will create another headache that Mr. Johnson and Republican leaders will have to contend with in the weeks ahead.Nov. 11, 2025, 8:46 p.m. ETRepresentative-elect Adelita Grijalva during a news conference at the Capitol last month.Credit...Kent Nishimura for The New York TimesSpeaker Mike Johnson plans to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona as a member of Congress on Wednesday, according to his office, 50 days after her election, as the House returns from an extended recess.Ms. Grijalva, a Democrat, won a special election on Sept. 23 for the Arizona seat left vacant by the death of her father, Representative Raúl Grijalva. Mr. Johnson had since refused to seat her, despite several opportunities to do so, public pleas, a Democratic pressure campaign and, eventually, a federal lawsuit brought by Ms. Grijalva and the attorney general of Arizona that argued that Mr. Johnson had no authority to continue to stall.The delay prevented Ms. Grijalva from freely entering and moving about the Capitol complex, or having access to the budget or the materials she needed to do her job. As recently as Tuesday afternoon, she told NPR that she had not heard directly from Mr. Johnson’s office about the swearing-in and that she was “90 percent” confident it would happen at last. She said on social media on Monday that she was traveling to Washington after hearing from news reports and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, that she could soon be seated.“For seven weeks, 813,000 Arizonans have been denied a voice and access to basic constituent services,” Ms. Grijalva said. “This is an abuse of power that no Speaker should have.”For weeks, Mr. Johnson had justified his refusal by saying he could not and would not seat Ms. Grijalva while the House was out of session. There is no such rule in the chamber that would block the swearing-in of a duly elected member of Congress. Though Mr. Johnson had so far kept the House out of session, the chamber can operate even in the event of a government shutdown, and he swore in two Florida Republicans who won special elections earlier this year while the House was in recess.As a member of Congress, Ms. Grijalva would narrow the slim majority that Republicans hold in the House. She has also vowed to provide the last necessary signature on a bipartisan petition that would force a floor vote on a measure demanding the Justice Department release its files on the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democratic lawmakers have seized on Ms. Grijalva’s pledge in trying to shame Mr. Johnson into abiding by his duty to swear her in.Mr. Johnson has claimed his refusal to seat Ms. Grijalva had nothing to do with avoiding the floor vote. Democrats, including Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, insisted he was “covering up for pedophiles.”Nov. 11, 2025, 7:29 p.m. ETThe air traffic control tower at Albany International Airport in New York.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York TimesSean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, on Tuesday refused to say when he would roll back the restrictions on flights at 40 busy airports, even with an apparent end to the government shutdown on the horizon.Instead, he offered a sharp warning: If the House did not follow the Senate’s lead and pass the bill quickly, not only would the flying public experience major delays and cancellations by the weekend, but some airlines might even ground their fleets.“In my conversations with the airlines and with the F.A.A., and what we’re seeing with air traffic controllers — we feel there’s going to be significant issues in the airspace,” Mr. Duffy said, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration, at a news conference at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.If the government does not open soon, he added, “you might have airlines that will say, ‘We’re going to ground our planes. We’re not going to keep flying anymore,’” predicting that such a disruption could happen even before the Thanksgiving travel rush, perhaps as soon as this weekend.Throughout the shutdown, Mr. Duffy has warned of impending chaos, drawing rebukes from Democrats that his forecasts were more about pressuring them to end the shutdown than offering impartial assessments of the air-travel system.Last week, Mr. Duffy and the F.A.A. ordered mandatory flight reductions at 40 airports nationwide. The cuts, which began with a 4 percent reduction on Friday and were slated to rise to 10 percent by the end of the week, were based on the F.A.A.’s analysis of data, Mr. Duffy has said, and were imposed to alleviate strain on air traffic controllers, who have been increasingly struggling with absences in their ranks.On Tuesday, Mr. Duffy said he would reverse the restrictions only if that data — which includes the frequency of close calls between planes and of delays forced by shortages of air traffic controllers — improved.Controllers have been forced to work without pay through the shutdown, and have missed two full paychecks since the funding lapse began. The lack of pay has accelerated retirements, Mr. Duffy said, and has forced some newer controllers with lower salaries and smaller savings accounts to seek outside income.The resulting shortfall of controllers led to an uptick in delays caused by low staffing, known as staffing triggers, at some control towers, according to Mr. Duffy and the controllers’ union, exacerbating already crippling problems. For years, most certified controllers have been forced to work overtime to compensate for vacancies in more than 20 percent of their positions.Last weekend, a high number of staffing triggers — 81 on Saturday alone — signaled how much worse it could get if the shutdown dragged into the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel season. But on Tuesday, there were signs of marked improvement, Mr. Duffy said, with only four staffing triggers as of 4 p.m.“I think our air traffic controllers are seeing an end to the shutdown and are feeling more hopeful,” Mr. Duffy said, adding, “If the House does their work tomorrow, I think we’re well on our way to getting to more normal air travel, less cancellations.”Mr. Duffy said that air traffic controllers would receive approximately 70 percent of their missed pay within 24 to 48 hours of the shutdown ending, and the rest within a week. He also endorsed President Trump’s proposal, issued on social media on Monday, to reward controllers who never missed a shift during the shutdown with a $10,000 bonus.“Brilliant,” Mr. Duffy said of Mr. Trump’s proposal, adding that perhaps the controllers with perfect attendance “should come to the White House and he should present them with their checks.”But Mr. Duffy did not endorse Mr. Trump’s simultaneous exhortation to air traffic controllers who had missed shifts during the shutdown to quit.“I’m trying to bring more air traffic controllers in,” Mr. Duffy said. “I’m not trying to take controllers out.”He said he reserved his concern for controllers who called in sick before even missing a first paycheck. “I’m concerned about their dedication,” Mr. Duffy said, adding: “If we have controllers who were systemically not doing their job, we will take action.”Nov. 11, 2025, 7:16 p.m. ETA view of Charlotte, N.C., in April.Credit...Molly Davis, via Imagn ImagesThe Trump administration plans to further expand the presence of immigration agents in American cities, deploying the U.S. Border Patrol to Charlotte, N.C., and New Orleans, according to a government document and a federal official with knowledge of the plan.Plans for the operations were still being finalized, the official said, and federal agents will maintain a presence in the Chicago area. A two-month enforcement blitz there has led to thousands of arrests and frequent confrontations between residents and federal agents. Border Patrol agents at times used force, including tear gas and pepper spray. On Saturday, some were shot at by an unknown assailant, according to the Department of Homeland Security.Last week, a federal judge in Illinois, Sara L. Ellis, restricted the Border Patrol’s use of crowd-control weapons, saying, “The use of force shocks the conscience.” She also ordered agents to wear body cameras.In response to questions on Tuesday about the planning for operations in Charlotte and New Orleans, Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the agency, said she could not discuss “future or potential operations.” She added, “Every day, D.H.S. enforces the laws of the nation across the country.”On Tuesday, officials in New Orleans and Charlotte did not respond to requests for comment on the potential deployments. President Trump has repeatedly indicated that he plans to establish a federal presence in New Orleans, citing “a crime problem,” and Louisiana’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry, has asked him to deploy the National Guard in the state.The brutal killing in August of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old riding a light rail train in Charlotte, inflamed conservatives, who cited the episode as a prime example of disorder in Democratic-run cities.In Charlotte, violent crime has decreased by 20 percent since last year, according to the police department.Crime rates have also declined significantly in New Orleans over the past several years.Eduardo Medina contributed reporting