(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court has declined to take up the appeal of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was contesting her prosecution and conviction on grounds that the government had violated a non-prosecution agreement made with Jeffrey Epstein before his death.
The Supreme Court did not explain its decision.
Maxwell’s attorney, David O. Markus said he was “disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision.
“We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case,” Markus said in a statement. “But this fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
In a speech to Israel’s parliament on a day when the country’s living 20 hostages were released as part of a ceasefire agreement he helped broker, President Donald Trump told the Knesset, “This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
“This will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better,” Trump said.
In a sign of the warm welcome he was receiving, many in the audience were wearing MAGA-style hats that read “Trump The Peace President.”
“We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope, of renewed faith — and above all, a day to give our deepest thanks to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” he said.
“After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today, the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” Trump said. “A land and a region that will live. God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
There was a disruption during Trump’s speech when it appeared at least one person in the audience shouted out and was quickly removed from the room. “That was very efficient,” Trump said after the interruption.
Trump received several standing ovations at the Knesset, where he was introduced by the speaker of Israel’s parliament as the “best friend Israel has ever had” in the White House — a sentiment echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“No American president has ever done more for Israel, and as I said in Washington, it ain’t even close. It’s not really a match,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister said when Trump was elected, “overnight everything changed.”
“Mr. President, today, we welcome you here to thank you for your pivotal leadership and putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world, a proposal that brings all our hostages home, a proposal that ends the war by achieving all our objectives, a proposal that opens the door to an historic expansion of peace in our region and beyond our region,” Netanyahu said. “Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”
With Trump looking on smiling, Netanyahu announced he submitted Trump’s nomination to be the first non-Israeli recipient of the Israel Prize, Israel’s highest award. Earlier, the speaker of Israel’s parliament said he will be nominating Trump for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
“As to that other prize, just a question time, you’ll get it,” Netanyahu said.
At the Knesset for Trump’s speech was his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the latter having been involved in negotiations, as well as White House special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
The White House posted a short video of Trump and Netanyahu meeting with the families of hostages before his address.
After the speech, Trump was headed to an international “peace summit” in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt where he was to sign an agreement with more than 20 others leaders from around the world.
Netanyahu will not attend the summit, despite being invited by Trump.
“The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his invitation, but said that he would not be able to participate due to the proximity of the holiday,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. “The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his efforts to expand the circle of peace — peace through strength.”
Trump arrived earlier Monday at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, where he was met by Netanyahu and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.
The final 20 living hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, were returned to Israel on Monday, Israeli officials said, the first phase of an agreement that also called for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
In this March 12, 2025, file photo, a person walks by the headquarters of the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee/Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — After 43 days, the longest federal government shutdown in history is history after President Donald Trump late Wednesday night signed the funding bill passed in both chambers of Congress.
With the bill now signed, federal agencies and services are expected to immediately return to normal; however, some benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, will take a little time to be doled out.
The spending bill reopens and funds the federal government until Jan. 30, 2026, with some agencies like the Department of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs funded through the end of the fiscal year.
Here’s what to know about the government reopening.
When will federal employees return to work?
At least 670,000 federal employees were furloughed during the shutdown, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Furloughed employees are expected to return to work immediately and there is some indication that those orders have gone out to specific agencies.
Furloughed employees at Health and Human Services were told to “report for duty” on Thursday, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.
“If HHS employees do not have previously approved leave scheduled, or do not get leave approved, then they will be “considered absent without leave (AWOL),” the memo reads.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) also told agencies Thursday that they should consider “the disruption in the lives and routines of furloughed employees.”
Back pay and undoing Trump firings
Federal workers deemed essential, including Capitol Police officers, Transportation Security Administration workers and air traffic controllers, were forced to work without pay during the shutdown.
During the shutdown, the administration issued layoffs through Reduction in Force orders for federal workers in various agencies.
All federal workers are entitled to back pay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, signed into law by Trump during the now-second-longest shutdown in his first term in office.
The law covers both furloughed employees and those required to work without pay during a government shutdown.
The funding bill includes additional language to reverse Trump administration firings during the shutdown and ensures that furloughed workers receive back pay.
It also includes language to prevent any additional reductions in force until the next government funding deadline on Jan. 30, 2026.
When will SNAP benefits get doled out?
The bill includes a provision to fully fund SNAP benefits through the end of September 2026.
The money is expected to be doled out soon, but the timetable has not been revealed by officials.
Federal courts ordered the administration to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown, however, the administration went to the Supreme Court to get the order paused as the appeals litigation continued.
On Thursday, the administration withdrew its case.
Solicitor General John Sauer said in a filing that the “underlying dispute here is now moot.”
When do D.C.’s museums open?
All of the Smithsonian museums have been closed since Oct. 12 after running out of funding.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazey Center will reopen on Nov. 14, according to a notice on its website.
“All other museums, research centers, and the National Zoo will reopen on a rolling basis by Monday, Nov. 17,” the message read.
When will the air traffic system be fully staffed?
The shortage of air traffic controllers, who were not furloughed, was so dire during the shutdown that the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to reduce flights by 10% at 40 airports — leading to thousands of flights being canceled and delayed across the country.
As many as 15 to 20 controllers resigned during the shutdown, according to the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Duffy told reporters Tuesday that air traffic controllers will get 70% of their back pay within 24 to 48 hours of the reopening.
It could take up to a week for air travel to return to normal operations after the government shutdown ends, Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Sununu said he doesn’t see any impacts lasting into the holiday season.
“I don’t think any flights over the Thanksgiving week have actually been canceled yet. I think the airlines have been pretty tight working with the FAA looking a few days out to be sure,” he said.
Where do Obamacare subsidies stand?
Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that Democrats held out for during the shutdown were not included in the Senate deal to reopen the government, which passed with the help of eight moderate Democrats.
The enhanced ACA tax credits don’t expire until Dec. 31, and if no deal is reached, health premiums will jump for more than 20 million Americans.
Sources told ABC News on Monday that Senate Republican leadership promised to allow a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing related to the ACA in December.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to holding a vote in the House on the subsidies.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday filed a discharge petition to extend the Obamacare subsidies. He would need a few House Republicans to vote with Democrats for it to pass.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives to brief the media on a timeline to possibly end the government shutdown in the Capitol Visitor Center on Monday, November 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The House will be in session on Wednesday for the first time in 54 days, with all eyes on a vote to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The House is expected to hold first votes shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government with a final vote after 7 p.m.
Wednesday marks the 43rd day of the shutdown, shattering the previous 35-day record.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the “national nightmare” of the shutdown will soon come to an end. He issued an apology to Americans who are dealing with flight delays, food insecurity and those who have missed paychecks as a result of the weekslong impasse — for which he blamed Democrats.
“And I just want to say that we’re very optimistic about the vote tally tonight, and we think this is going to happen, and we’re sorry that it took this long. So Republicans are going to deliver for the people,” Johnson said.
The Senate on Monday night passed the deal to fund the government through Jan. 30, 2026, plus provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and WIC, its program for women, infants and children; veterans programs and military construction. It also includes language to reverse Trump administration firings during the shutdown and to ensure furloughed workers receive backpay.
It passed in a 60-40 vote, after eight Democrats broke ranks with the party and joined Republicans to bring the weekslong impasse to a close.
Johnson, earlier this week, had advised members to begin making their way back to Washington as travel delays persist across the country. The House has been out of session since Sept. 19.
Once Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva is sworn in, Johnson can only afford to lose two Republican votes if all members are present and voting. There could also be a handful of moderate Democrats who support the legislation, though Democratic leadership is whipping against it.
Despite the fact that it reverses some of his administration’s actions during the shutdown, President Donald Trump signaled he would sign the deal.
“I’ll abide by the deal. The deal is very good,” Trump said on Monday.
Democrats are now dealing with infighting as the shutdown ends without any of the Democratic demands on health care, but sources told ABC News that Senate Republican leadership promised to allow a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing related to the Affordable Care Act in December.
Though Johnson notably would not commit to holding a vote in the House on the Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“I do not guarantee the outcome of legislation or dates or deadlines or anything,” he said on Monday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the Senate deal, said House Democrats are considering a discharge petition related to the ACA subsidies, but declined to provide specifics on the plan.
“We’ll continue that fight today, tomorrow, this week, next week, this month, next month, this year, next year. We’re going to continue that fight to fix our broken health care system and lower the high cost of living for the American people and the American people know that we’re on the right side of this fight,” Jeffries said on Monday.
Such a move would require 218 signatures to force a vote in the House. There are several House Republicans who have advocated for a one-year extension of the ACA tax credits, though it’s unlikely Johnson would support this effort.
