Supreme court extends ruling that halts Snap benefits rollout across the US
The supreme court on Tuesday extended an order blocking full Snap payments, amid signals that the government shutdown could soon end and food aid payments resume.
Nearly 42 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Benefits have paused for the first time in the program’s history.
The justices chose what is effectively the path of least resistance, anticipating that the shutdown will end soon while avoiding any substantive legal ruling about whether lower-court orders to keep full payments flowing during the shutdown are correct.
Key events
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it is his “strong expectation” that House Democrats will oppose the bill, which is expected to come before the House on Wednesday.
Jeffries and other Democratic lawmakers unveiled a proposed amendment on Tuesday that calls for a three-year extension of enhanced tax credits that make health insurance coverage more affordable for millions.
Their proposal has no chance of passage in the Republican-led House, but it does give them another chance to make the case that Democrats are trying to protect people from massive premium hikes next year.
“We only lose the fight if we give up the fight,” said representative Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) announced it would oppose the current Senate deal to reopen the government.
“The Senate-passed bill is a betrayal of working people and massively fails to address the urgent needs of the American people,” said CPC deputy chair representative Ilhan Omar. “The Senate-passed bill is morally bankrupt. It is indefensible to allow more than 20 million Americans to see their premiums double and let millions lose their healthcare coverage.”
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh and Julian Borger report:
Britain has suspended the sharing of intelligence with the US on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean amid concerns information supplied may be used to engage in lethal military strikes by American forces.
Such a decision – a rare rupture between the normally close military allies – would indicate that the UK does not believe the Trump administration’s controversial practice of sinking boats allegedly used by drug traffickers is legal.
The UK, which retains oversight on several island territories in the Caribbean, has long shared intelligence with the US about the movements of suspect vessels travelling from Latin America, so they can be seized by the US Coast Guard.
US ethics officials removed for inquiring into improper access of mortgage files
Sam Levine
Ethics officials at Fannie Mae were removed from their jobs as they investigated whether a top Trump ally improperly accessed mortgage documents of Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and other Democratic officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
William Pulte, a staunch Trump defender and the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has accused James, Adam Schiff, a California senator, and Lisa Cook, a federal reserve governor, of mortgage fraud. All three have denied the accusations and James was indicted on specious federal charges last month.
Experts have raised questions about all three referrals and see them as a thinly veiled effort by Trump to target political rivals.
After Pulte made the referrals, former agency officials and experts told the Guardian they were highly unusual. Individualized mortgage data is highly sensitive and protected. And investigations into mortgage fraud are not typically handled by the FHFA inspector general, an agency watchdog staffed with investigative agents.
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Supreme court extends ruling that halts Snap benefits rollout across the US
The supreme court on Tuesday extended an order blocking full Snap payments, amid signals that the government shutdown could soon end and food aid payments resume.
Nearly 42 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Benefits have paused for the first time in the program’s history.
The justices chose what is effectively the path of least resistance, anticipating that the shutdown will end soon while avoiding any substantive legal ruling about whether lower-court orders to keep full payments flowing during the shutdown are correct.
US flight cancellations and delays to get worse even if shutdown ends
Air travelers should expect worsening cancellations and delays this week even if the US government shutdown ends, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rolled out deeper cuts to flights at 40 of the nation’s major airports Tuesday, officials said.
The FAA ordered domestic airlines last week to drop 4% of their flights at the airports in question, saying absences and signs of stress among traffic controllers made it imperative to act in the name of public safety. After already canceling more than 7,900 since Friday, the goal for cutting flights is set to rise to 6% on Tuesday – and again to 10% on Friday.
Monday saw airlines scrap over 2,300 flights and more than 1,000 flights set for takeoff Tuesday, all due to the restrictions. Though it was unclear exactly how many additional flights would need to be canceled Tuesday, with the average cancellation rate over the last several days already exceeding the FAA’s requirement, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. By about 5am ET Tuesday, more than 1,100 flights had been canceled, and more than 540 had been delayed.
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Johnson to swear in Adelita Grijalva on Wednesday
House Speaker Mike Johnson will swear in Democratic representative-elect Adelita Grijalva on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Grijalva won a special election in September to succeed her late father in Congress, but her swearing-in was delayed as Johnson kept the House of Representatives out of session since it passed a stopgap funding bill on 19 September, in a bid to pressure Senate Democrats to reopen the government.
The House returned to Washington on Tuesday after a 53-day break for a vote to end the government shutdown.
“After seven weeks of waiting, I almost can’t believe it’s true,” Grijalva said in a video posted on X on Monday. “I am really upset that one of the first votes that I will take is on a bill that does nothing for affordable health care for the American people.”
Donald Trump has pardoned a trail runner who briefly took a closed trail on his way to a record time on the tallest peak in the Teton Range of western Wyoming.
The pardon for Michelino Sunseri, unlike recent ones for Trump allies, appeared apolitical.
“Michelino is pleased, of course, but nobody expects a pardon,” Sunseri’s attorney, Michael Poon, told Outside. “He shouldn’t have had to go through this ordeal to begin with. It’s not a case that should have ever been brought to trial.”
Poon said the Pacific Legal Foundation had lobbied White House officials on Sunseri’s behalf but had not met Trump directly.
Sunseri ran up and down Grand Teton, the 13,775ft centerpiece of the Teton Range, in two hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds in 2024. It was an epic feat: The 33-year-old’s run covered 13.3 miles, gaining 7,000ft in elevation, then back down again in Grand Teton national park.
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A fake announcement from the White House has been circling on social media, claiming that Donald Trump is working on making 15-year car loans available to all Americans.
The announcement, intended as a joke by users who post it, reads: “As he continues to work hard to make the American Dream accessible to everyone, President Trump today has asked the Departments of Transportation and Commerce to make vehicle ownership for all a reality by introducing 15 year car loans! Secretaries Duffy and Lutnick are already working on it! Delivering for America!”
The fake White House alert comes days after Trump posted a graphic on Truth Social comparing himself to President Franklin D Roosevelt, who helped popularize the 30-year mortgage during the 1930s. The post shows a photo of Trump with the words “50-year mortgage” underneath, and no further explanation.
On Tuesday, White House deputy press secretary, Kush Desai, had to clarify that the announcement was not real.
“This graphic was not created or put out by the White House,” Desai posted on X.
Newsom says US’s absence from Cop30 ‘doubling down on stupid’
The Associated Press held an exclusive interview with California governor Gavin Newsom at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil:
Calling America’s absence from key United Nations climate negotiations “doubling down on stupid”, California governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday the United States risks being left behind as an economic power.
Newsom, a Democrat eyeing a 2028 presidential run, is so far the highest profile of several US governors and mayors at UN climate talks being hosted in Belem.
Newsom’s presence as governor of the most populous US state serves to draw a clear contrast with Trump’s absence. He said Trump’s decision to skip the talks tells the world: “You don’t matter, we don’t care.”
“This idea that somehow we can put up walls, we can put up barriers, we could put up tariffs, we put up our middle fingers and just turn our back is lunacy,” Newsom said during an exclusive Associated Press interview at the climate talks in Belem, a city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. “And every other country in the world understands that. That’s why every other country in this world is moving in a different direction.”
California, with nearly 40m residents, is a major economic hub and on the forefront of national climate policy. But the Trump administration has sought to role back the state’s power to set aggressive climate policy, most notably by blocking a California regulation to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars within the next decade.
“This Trump administration, his acolytes and the supine Congress led by Speaker [Mike] Johnson, are doubling down on stupid,” Newsom said.
FDA names oncology chief Pazdur as top drug regulator following Tidmarsh resignation
The US Food and Drug Administration plans to name oncology expert Richard Pazdur as the nation’s top drug regulator, the Washington Post reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Pazdur would lead the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which regulates over-the-counter medicines and most prescription drugs. If selected, he would replace Dr George Tidmarsh, according to the Post.
Tidmarsh resigned from the role last week following “serious concerns about his personal conduct”, according to a government spokesperson.
The departure came the same day that a drugmaker connected to one of Tidmarsh’s former business associates filed a lawsuit alleging that he made “false and defamatory statements” during his time at the FDA.
Tidmarsh, an experienced biotech executive and longtime Stanford University professor, took over as the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in July.
Watchdog group asks for investigations into Lindsey Halligan
A government watchdog group has asked two different bar associations to investigate Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney for Donald Trump who brought cases against James Comey and Letitia James.
Halligan is currently serving as US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia after an outburst in which Trump overtly put pressure on his attorney general to more aggressively pursue his political foes.
The complaint filed by the Campaign for Accountability (CFA) asks the bar in Florida and Virginia to investigate misconduct they claim violates justice department regulations.
“By contacting Lawfare journalist Anna Bower to discuss and attempt to influence her coverage of the James prosecution, Ms. Halligan appears to have violated DOJ regulations, Virginia District Court rules and RPC 3.6, prohibiting pretrial publicity,” reads the statement by the group.
“Ms. Halligan appears to have violated numerous rules of professional conduct for lawyers,” said CFA executive director Michelle Kuppersmith. “We are asking the Virginia and Florida Bars to investigate, making clear that a government appointment is not a hall pass for unethical behavior.”
