How the Government Will Reopen, and What’s in the Epstein Emails

Summary

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The Headlines – November 13, 2025

Podcast: The Headlines
Host: Traci Mumford, The New York Times
Episode Theme:
A wide-ranging daily briefing with analysis of the U.S. government reopening after its longest-ever shutdown, a major leak of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails and their implications for Donald Trump, a transformative federal policy shift on homelessness, the retirement of the penny, and a remembrance of the DB Cooper case.

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Episode Overview

Traci Mumford covers a major turning point as President Trump signs a bill to end the 43-day federal shutdown. The episode unpacks the political fallout, what the reopening means for Americans, and the political maneuvering behind the bill. It then pivots to exclusive reporting on thousands of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails released by Congress—revealing new details and controversies linking Epstein to Trump. Other headlines include drastic changes to federal homelessness policy, the phasing-out of the penny, and a tribute to William Radocik, a central figure in the DB Cooper hijacking mystery.

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Key Discussion Points & Analysis

1. Government Shutdown Ends: Bill Signed to Reopen (00:46–02:23)

• Historic Context:
  The bill ends a 43-day federal shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.
• How the Bill Passed:
  A break in Democratic ranks allowed the bill to reach President Trump's desk without a sought-after extension of health care subsidies.
• President Trump’s Framing:
  Trump publicly frames the shutdown as the fault of Democrats, while polls show most Americans blame Republicans and support the subsidies.
  • Quote (Trump):
    “You should not forget this. When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.” (01:16)
• Provisions and Immediate Effects:
  • Government funded through January; some programs (agriculture, military) funded longer.
  • Layoffs of federal workers during shutdown reversed.
  • Air traffic controllers and other workers will see back pay restored, easing airport delays.
  • SNAP benefits restored for one in eight Americans today.

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2. Epstein Emails Released: Political Fallout and Allegations (02:24–07:07)

• Scope of the Leak:
  Congress releases more than 20,000 pages of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails following a partial, partisan leak by Democrats. Republicans respond by releasing the full trove.
• Implications for Trump:
  Early emails suggest Trump was more aware of Epstein's activities than previously acknowledged.
  • Epstein (2011): “Trump had spent hours at my house with one of Epstein’s victims.”
  • Epstein (2019): “Of course he knew about the girls.”
• Epstein’s Motives and Strategies:
  • Investigative reporter David Enrich analyzes the emails:
    • Epstein tried to use information as leverage over Trump as the government investigated him.
    • Epstein was motivated not just by spite but by a desperate search for advantage.
      • Quote (Enrich):
        “Epstein, who is always an opportunist and always looking for an edge over people, was doing that here with Trump. …His life, his freedom were on the line, and he was desperate to find any edge, any advantage he could grab. And one of those edges was… Trump.” (04:36)
• White House Response:
  Firmly denies wrongdoing, calls the leaks a distraction, and touts transparency:
  • Quote (WH Spokesperson):
    “These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.” (05:07)
  • “Not a coincidence that the Democrats leaked these emails to the fake news this morning ahead of Republicans reopening the government.” (05:24–05:35)
• Growing Demands for Full Disclosure:
  Both Democrats and some Trump supporters want more Epstein files—including rumoured video recordings—made public. A bipartisan House effort pushes ahead to force more releases, despite White House opposition.

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3. Drastic Shift Ahead in Federal Homelessness Policy (07:07–07:52)

• Confidential Plan Exposed:
  The NYT gains access to a Trump administration plan that marks a severe departure from “Housing First” approaches, aiming to cap direct housing aid.
• Policy Changes:
  • Cuts direct housing for the homeless, especially those with disabilities.
  • Imposes new requirements: work rules, mandatory mental health or addiction treatment.
• Rationale vs. Criticism:
  • Government claims it targets “root causes” of homelessness (addiction, mental illness), but critics argue it overlooks the primary driver: unaffordable housing.
• Human Impact:
  • Experts warn up to 170,000 people could be forced back to the streets as soon as January.
    • Quote (Advocate):
      “People don't know what’s about to hit them.” (end of segment)

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4. The Last Penny: End of an Era in U.S. Currency (07:52–09:03)

• Production Ceases:
  The U.S. Mint prints its final penny after more than 230 years.
  • Quote (Trump at final pressing):
    “Over the last decade, the American taxpayers have been repeatedly shortchanged.” (08:05)
• Reasoning:
  • Each penny, costing 3¢ to mint, has become financially impractical.
• Future of Change:
  • Nickels may be next, as minting them now costs more than ten cents.

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5. Remembering William Radocik: Witness to the DB Cooper Hijacking (09:03–10:52)

• Aviation History:
  William Radocik, co-pilot on the infamous DB Cooper flight in 1971, passes away at 86.
• Firsthand Account:
  Radocik recalls the hijacking, receiving Cooper’s note demanding ransom and parachutes:
  • Quote (Radocik):
    “And it said, you’re being hijacked. No funny stuff. I want $200,000 in US currency, I want it in a knapsack and I want four parachutes.” (09:45)
  • As Cooper parachutes out, Radocik radios:
    “I think our friend has just taken leave of us.”
• Case Remains Unsolved:
  The DB Cooper hijacking became one of America’s greatest crime mysteries; the FBI has since ceased active investigation.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump on Blame for the Shutdown:
  “You should not forget this. When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.” (01:16)
• Epstein’s Motivation, Analyzed by Enrich:
  “Epstein was always an opportunist…He was desperate to find any edge, any advantage he could grab. And one of those edges was… Trump.” (04:36)
• White House Denial and Distraction Claim:
  “These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.” (05:07)
• Advocacy Group on Homelessness Cuts:
  “People don’t know what’s about to hit them.” (implied at 07:52)
• William Radocik on the DB Cooper Note:
  “And it said, you’re being hijacked. No funny stuff. I want $200,000 in US currency, I want it in a knapsack and I want four parachutes.” (09:45)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:46 – Government shutdown ends, bill details, and process
• 02:24 – Epstein emails released; context and initial findings
• 03:55 – David Enrich analysis of Epstein emails
• 05:07–05:35 – White House response and political fallout
• 07:07 – Confidential plan to cut homelessness aid
• 07:52 – U.S. Mint stops making pennies
• 09:03 – Radocik recounts the DB Cooper hijacking

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Tone & Style Notes

Traci Mumford’s narration is brisk and matter-of-fact, blending deep reporting with clarity and pace. The episode alternates between urgent political news, investigative exposé, and moments of human interest, with direct quotes anchoring key developments.

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This episode offers critical context and fresh reporting on multiple urgent issues, providing listeners with both news summaries and insight into unfolding political, social, and historical events.

Transcript

[Planned Parenthood Announcer]

This podcast is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. If you pay attention to the headlines, you know lawmakers are using every tool to strip away Americans fundamental right to health care. Without it, cancers will go undetected, STIs will go untreated, and patients won't have the care they need to plan their futures. You also know that Planned Parenthood never stops fighting for everyone's right to get high quality sexual and reproductive care. Planned Parenthood needs you in this fight. Donate [e-mail] defend.

[Traci Mumford]

From the new York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Traci Mumford. Today's Thursday, November 13th. Here's what we're covering.

[President Donald Trump]

It's an honor now to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again.

[Traci Mumford]

Thank you. Late last night, President Trump signed a measure reopening the federal government and ending a 43 day shutdown that was the longest in US history. The bill made it to Trump's desk after a handful of Democratic lawmakers broke ranks with their party and dropped their demands for the legislation to include an extension of health care subsidies for millions of Americans.

[President Donald Trump]

So I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this. When we come up to midterms and other things, don't forget what they've done to our country.

[Traci Mumford]

Also speaking in the Oval Office, Trump worked to frame the shutdown as Democrats fault calling their health care demands an attempt at extortion. Public polling, however, shows that most Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown and that voters overwhelmingly want the subsidies, which are set to expire next month, to be extended. As part of the bill Trump signed, the government will now be funded through the end of January, though some specific programs related to agriculture and the military, among others, will be funded for most of next year. The bill also includes a provision that reverses the layoffs of federal workers that Trump ordered during the shutdown. In terms of what's next for the reopening, air traffic controllers who've been going unpaid for weeks should get most of their back pay in the next 24 to 48 hours, potentially easing delays and cancellations at airports over the coming days. Other federal workers who were furloughed are now expected to come back to work today, though it could take a week or more for them to get their back pay. And according to the White House, the one in eight Americans who rely on SNAP benefits to help buy groceries should see their accounts fully restored today. For the past day, a team of Times reporters has been poring over the more than 20,000 pages of Jeffrey Epstein's emails that were were released by Congress. The House Oversight Committee got the emails from Epstein's estate as part of its investigation into the convicted sex offender. Their release started as a slow drip. Yesterday morning, House Democrats first shared just three email exchanges. In them, Epstein made comments suggesting that Trump, who he was friendly with in the 90s and early 2000s, knew more about his behavior than the President has acknowledged. For example, Epstein wrote in a 2011 email that Trump had, quote, spent hours at my house with one of Epstein's victims. And in 2019, Epstein wrote to a journalist about Trump saying, quote, of course he knew about the girls. Republicans, in turn, criticized Democrats for releasing only those three emails and shortly after released the rest, thousands and thousands of them in that huge document dump, which the Times is still digging through. The messages hint that Epstein and his advisers believed they had inside and potentially damaging knowledge of Trump's business dealings.

[David Enrich]

It's really clear that for years after Trump severed his ties with Epstein, Epstein was still really focused on Trump. And it seemed like for at least two reasons. One is that he was trying to hurt Donald Trump. He was disparaging his businesses. He was disparaging Trump's character. But secondly, especially in later years, Epstein appeared to think that he had some potential leverage over Trump at a time when the federal government, which was run by Donald Trump, was criminally investigating Epstein.

[Traci Mumford]

On today's episode of the Daily Times, investigative reporter David Enrich analyzes the emails he's seen so far.

[David Enrich]

To me, the takeaway of these emails is not so much what they reveal about Epstein's relationship with Trump, as much as they reveal that Epstein, who is always an opportunist and always looking for an edge over people, was doing that here with Trump. He could sense, I think, that the walls were closing in on him and that his life, his freedom were on the line, and he was desperate to find any edge, any advantage he could grab. And one of those edges was, was Trump.

[White House Spokesperson]

Meanwhile, these emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.

[Traci Mumford]

The White House responded to the release of the emails by saying that the Trump administration has been more transparent about the Epstein investigation, quote, than any administration ever.

[White House Spokesperson]

And it is not a coincidence that the Democrats leaked these emails to the fake news this morning ahead of Republicans reopening the government. This is another distraction campaign.

[Traci Mumford]

The newly released emails are unlikely to quiet the calls coming from both Democrats and some of Trump's own supporters for more Epstein related files to be released. A core part of Trump's base believes that the Justice Department is sitting on a motherload of documents, including video recordings. Only small, curated batches of those documents have been made public so far. Last night, a bipartisan effort to force a vote in the House to demand the release of those files moved forward, despite an intense effort by the White House to stop it. Now one more update on the Trump administration. The Times has gotten access to a confidential plan that outlines how officials are preparing to make drastic cuts to programs that provide housing to homeless Americans. It's set to be the most significant change to federal policy around homelessness in a generation. For years, there was a bipartisan push for a movement known as Housing first, where federally funded programs helped homeless people with disabilities get subsidized apartments with no preconditions. The idea was to get people off the streets and that that stability would help them address other issues in their lives. Now the administration is planning to sharply limit spending on housing like that and prioritize programs that impose work rules and require homeless people to accept mental health or addiction treatment, among other things. The government says the new rules will address what it calls the root causes of homelessness, like drug abuse and mental illness. But the change doesn't address another crucial issue, soaring housing costs that have helped push homelessness to record highs in the U.S. critics say the administration's plan could put as many as 170,000Americans at risk of returning to the streets starting as soon as January. The director of one advocacy group that supports homeless people warned, quote, people don't know what's about to hit them.

[President Donald Trump]

3, 2, 1.

[Traci Mumford]

In Philadelphia yesterday, the US Mint printed its very last American penny after more than 230 years of production.

[President Donald Trump]

Over the last decade, the American taxpayers have been repeatedly shortchanged.

[Traci Mumford]

Top treasury officials celebrated the final pressing as a money saver for the government, citing just how expensive making pennies had become in recent years. To print one penny, which is made almost entirely of zinc, cost 3 cents. A little bit absurd since, let's be real, what can you even buy with a penny? That said, if you have some of the estimated 250 billion pennies still out there somewhere collecting dust in a jar, maybe, fear not, they are still legal tender. Now, this may not be the last coin we say goodbye to. The nickel could be next. Like the penny, there's almost nothing you can buy with one. And the cost of minting a nickel is now more than a dime.

[William Radocik]

And finally, remember that it was a typical west coast day. It was misty, rainy, we were busy pre flighting the aircraft at that time.

[Traci Mumford]

In the cockpit, the Times is remembering a man who in 1971 became an unwitting witness to one of the most riveting unsolved crimes in American history. William Radocik died recently at 86 years old. But on a November day in 71, he was the co pilot on a flight headed from Portland, Oregon to Seattle when a man known as DB Cooper climbed on board.

[William Radocik]

Flight attendant then came through the cockpit door.

[Traci Mumford]

Radicek described it all in an interview with the BBC, including the moment Cooper handed over a note claiming he had a bomb.

[William Radocik]

And it said, you're being hijacked. No funny stuff. I want $200,000 in US currency, I want it in a knapsack and I want four parachutes.

[Traci Mumford]

The passengers were all allowed to get off the plane in Seattle. They never knew what was happening. And once the money and parachutes were on board, the flight took off again. At some point, alone in the back of the plane, Cooper lowered the staircase and parachuted into the night. Radichek in the cockpit felt a bump in the pressure and he radioed air traffic control. He said, quote, I think our friend has just taken leave of us. Radichek talked about the fateful flight many times over the years. He kept flying and stayed on at the airline, only retiring in 1999. As for Cooper, he was never found. And almost a decade ago, the FBI announced it was no longer actively pursuing the case. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest news and our Friday quiz.

[Planned Parenthood Announcer]

This podcast is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. If you pay attention to the headlines, you know lawmakers are using every tool to strip away Americans fundamental right to health care. Without it, cancers will go undetected, STIs will go untreated, and patients won't have the care they need to plan their futures. You also know that Planned Parenthood never stops fighting for everyone's right to get high quality sexual and reproductive care. Planned Parenthood needs you in this fight. Donate [e-mail] defender.