Today’s Big Story

The Government Reopens

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ends after Trump signs funding bill

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history officially ended Wednesday night after President Donald Trump signed into law a spending package to reopen the government, capping 43 days of a political stalemate that caused widespread disruptions across the country. This was not only the longest, but also perhaps the most punishing, in part because President Trump has taken actions no previous administration ever took during a shutdown.

Over the past six weeks, the Trump administration cut food stamps for millions of low-income Americans. It tried to fire thousands of government workers and withhold back pay from others, while freezing or canceling money for projects in Democratic-led states.

Before signing the bill, while surrounded by smiling Republican lawmakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump said that shutting down the government is “no way to run a country,” adding that “I hope we can all agree that the government should never be shut down again.” I’m pretty sure that won’t be the case.

It remains to be seen whether there will be a political price to pay for Trump or his party, with polls showing that voters generally blamed Republicans more for the shutdown. But for now, the tactics appear to have worked, after a group of Democrats agreed to support a bill to end the shutdown and drop the concessions their party had demanded. “Standing up to Donald Trump didn’t work,” Senator Angus King, independent of Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, said on MSNBC Monday. “It actually gave him more power.”

However, the deal they approved in the House (with six Democrats lending support and two Republicans opposing) reverses much of the pain Trump inflicted. Under its terms, the president must rescind his layoffs and restore back pay to other government workers. Democrats will also get a vote on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act—something that Senate Republicans weeks ago offered them—but it definitely faces an uphill climb in the Senate and is not likely to be voted on in the House.

Will They Release the Files?

A House petition now has the 218 signatures needed to trigger a vote on releasing more Epstein files

As soon as the government opened back up on Wednesday, House Democrats released several emails that were obtained from the estate of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying they showed that President Trump may have been more aware of Epstein’s conduct than he has publicly acknowledged. According to the New York Times, in more than 20,000 pages of Epstein’s typo-strewn emails and other messages released on Wednesday, Epstein insulted Trump and hinted that he had damaging information on him.

And now, the bipartisan House effort to force a vote on releasing more files related to the federal government’s investigation into Epstein can now move forward. A discharge petition—a mechanism by which House lawmakers can circumvent the normal legislative process to compel votes—received the 218th signature needed to force a vote on the Epstein files on Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he plans to hold a vote next week “as soon as we get back.” The House is scheduled to recess after taking a vote Wednesday evening that would end the shutdown.

In a post on social media, the president said the Democrats were bringing up the Epstein “hoax” to deflect from the government shutdown. House Republicans asserted that the emails shared by House Democrats revealed little new information.

Apple Launches a Digital ID

You can present your Digital ID at TSA checkpoints in more than 250 airports across the U.S.

Apple is launching Digital IDs, a feature that allows you to create and store an ID in Apple Wallet using your passport. In the announcement, Apple says Digital ID acceptance will begin to “roll out first” at TSA checkpoints for domestic travel in over 250 airports across the U.S.

Support for IDs in Apple Wallet is the last obstacle standing in the way of making iPhones a replacement for a physical wallet, as it already holds everything from payment and loyalty cards, to tickets and medical info. According to the Verge, you can present your Digital ID in place of a REAL ID at TSA checkpoints using your iPhone or Apple Watch. But Apple notes that it isn’t a replacement for your physical passport, and that you can’t use it for international travel or border crossings.

Apple says the feature is encrypted, meaning the company won’t see when you display your ID, or the data you presented. You also won’t need “to unlock, show, or hand over” your device to present your ID—something you really shouldn’t do with digital driver’s licenses, either.

Waymo Is Hitting the Highway

The robotaxis will now take passengers on freeways in three major U.S. cities

Life is a highway, and Waymo needs to learn to drive it if the driverless ride-hailing company wants to grow. The robotaxis are now starting to include more highway trips in its routes in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In addition, Waymo’s Bay Area service is extending south to San Jose, including 24/7 curbside access at both terminals of San Jose International Airport—the company’s second airport service after Phoenix.

Since its inception, Waymo’s robotaxis have typically avoided highways, opting instead for longer routes that stick to local roads when ferrying passengers. This has not gone unnoticed by customers, who often note that their trips can take longer because the vehicles are prohibited from using routes that travel on highways. But after years of testing, including on public highways with employees as well as on closed courses and in virtual simulation, Waymo says it’s ready to start offering highway trips to a lot more people.

Freeway operations required expanded operational protocols, including coordination with safety officials at the California Highway Patrol and the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the company said Wednesday. The company also installed additional infrastructure needed to charge its fleet of electric robotaxis given the freeway expansion.

The Long Read

Changes in the economy and in the culture seem to have hit them hard. Scott Galloway believes they need an “aspirational vision of masculinity.”

What matters is how you respond.