Politics
Supreme Court blocks order for Trump administration to cover SNAP benefits — for now
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked an order late Friday night that would have forced the government to backfill the country’s largest anti-hunger program — a move the administration claimed would require it to “raid school-lunch money” to keep families fed.
The decision, issued on behalf of the court by Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, put a brief hold on the district court order that would have forced the Trump administration to pay out $4 billion for food stamps — formally called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — to keep it afloat through November amid the ongoing government shutdown.
That hold is set to expire 48 hours after the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on whether to compel the payment or allow food assistance to lapse for millions of Americans who rely on it.
The courtroom drama began late on Thursday, when a U.S. district judge ordered the federal government to pay the $4 billion by 5 p.m. Friday.
The administration responded with a breakneck appeal, filing around breakfast time Friday in the 1st Circuit and again at the Supreme Court in the middle of dinner.
“There is no lawful basis for an order that directs USDA to somehow find $4 billion in the metaphorical couch cushions,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Brett A. Shumate wrote in the 1st Circuit appeal.
The administration’s only option would be to “to starve Peter to feed Paul” by cutting school lunch programs, Shumate wrote.
On Friday afternoon, the appellate court declined to immediately block the lower court’s order, and said it would quickly rule on the merits of the funding decree.
The administration immediately appealed to the Supreme Court, demanding the justices block the move by 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
“The district court’s ruling is untenable at every turn,” Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer wrote in his petition, saying it would “metastasize” into “further shutdown chaos.”
SNAP benefits are a key fight in the ongoing government shutdown. California is one of several states suing the administration to restore the safety net program while negotiations continue to end the stalemate.
Millions of Americans have struggled to afford groceries since benefits lapsed Nov. 1, inspiring many Republican lawmakers to join Democrats in demanding an emergency stopgap.
The Trump administration was previously ordered to release contingency funding for the program that it said would cover benefits for about half of November.
But the process has been “confusing and chaotic” and “rife with errors,” according to a brief filed by 25 states and the District of Columbia.
Some states, including California, have started disbursing SNAP benefits for the month. Others say the partial funding is a functional lockout.
“Many states’ existing systems require complete reprogramming to accomplish this task, and given the sudden — and suddenly changing — nature of USDA’s guidance, that task is impossible to complete quickly,” the brief said.
“Recalculations required by [the government’s] plan will delay November benefits for [state] residents for weeks or months.”
In response, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island ordered the full food stamp payout by the end of the week. He accused the administration of withholding the benefit for political gain.
“Faced with a choice between advancing relief and entrenching delay, [the administration] chose the latter — an outcome that predictably magnifies harm and undermines the very purpose of the program it administers,” he wrote.
“This Court is not naïve to the administration’s true motivations,” McConnell wrote. “Far from being concerned with Child Nutrition funding, these statements make clear that the administration is withholding full SNAP benefits for political purposes.”
The Supreme Court has now extended that deadline through at least the weekend. A fuller decision from the 1st Circuit or the Supreme Court could nullify it entirely.
The 1st Circuit is currently the country’s most liberal, with five active judges, all of whom were named to the bench by Democratic presidents. But the Supreme Court has a conservative supermajority, and has regularly sided with the administration in decisions on the emergency docket.
While the 1st Circuit deliberates, both sides are left sparring over how many children will go hungry if the other prevails.
More than 16 million children rely on SNAP benefits. Close to 30 million are fed through the National School Lunch Program, which the government now says it must gut to meet the court’s order.
But the same pool of cash has already been tapped to extend Women, Infants and Children, which is a federal program that pays for baby formula and other basics for some poor families.
“This clearly undermines the Defendants’ point, as WIC is an entirely separate program from the Child Nutrition Programs,” McConnell wrote.
In its Friday order, the 1st Circuit panel said it would issue a full ruling “as quickly as possible.”
In her order, Justice Jackson said it is expected “with dispatch.”
Politics
Man wearing ICE uniform brutally beaten in Honolulu not affiliated with agency, DHS says
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The Department of Homeland Security said that a man recently filmed dressed in what resembles a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform being beaten next to a Honolulu street is not affiliated with the agency in any way.
A recent viral video showed a man wearing a tactical vest with the word “ICE” being punched and kicked on a street in Honolulu’s Waikiki neighborhood Saturday night. The video caused an uproar on social media amid heightened concerns about rising assaults on ICE agents and debate over whether officers should wear masks to protect their identities.
The video shows the man confronting a small group that throws liquid at him. Three individuals grab him, pull him to the ground and begin punching and kicking him. He eventually goes limp as one individual continues to pound his face while two others hold him. The man later gets up and stumbles away, appearing to have a bloody nose.
A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that despite the vest, “this person is NOT an ICE agent and is not connected to DHS in any way.”
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, conducted a raid Sunday in San Antonio, Texas, making more than 140 arrests, authorities said. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The spokesperson did not offer any details on the true identity of the man but emphasized that “anyone caught impersonating a federal immigration agent will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
They added that “impersonating a federal immigration officer endangers public safety and erodes trust in law enforcement.”
The Honolulu Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that a 15-year-old male is being charged with attempted assault in connection with the incident. The department shared a report that stated the suspect was originally arrested for second-degree assault, but that his charges were reduced to attempted assault.
The report lists the time of assault at 8:12 p.m. on Saturday. The age of the victim listed on the report is 52. Neither the suspect’s nor the victim’s identities are listed.
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A general view shows Waikiki and Honolulu, Hawaii, from the Diamond Head crater on February 20, 2022. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for the department noted they were not able to offer any additional information “as this investigation is active and ongoing.”
The attack occurred the same day a “No Dictators” protest opposing the Trump administration took place. The protest, held in conjunction with “No Kings” demonstrations across the continental U.S., occurred several miles from Waikiki in downtown Honolulu earlier that morning.
Local outlet Big Island Now reported that organizers changed the name of the Honolulu No Kings protest to No Dictators “out of respect for Hawaiʻi’s history of aliʻi (chiefs and kings).”
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Protesters gather in Washington DC for the No Kings Day protest on October 18th, 2025 (Fox News Digital/Emma Woodhead) (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
Though the individual in this instance was not an ICE agent, DHS has reported a dramatic rise in assaults on its officers. Earlier this year, DHS reported a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against ICE officers and a 3,200 percent increase in vehicular attacks. The agency also said ICE officers have experienced an 8,000% increase in death threats.
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During a No Kings protest in Los Angeles over the weekend, a protester was seen spray-painting a federal building with the message, “Kill your local ICE agent,” along with two targets.
Politics
Court dismisses wrongful termination suit by former Fox News producer
A U.S. District Court judge dismissed a wrongful termination suit filed by a Fox News producer who claimed he was fired in retaliation for calling out the network’s reporting on President Trump’s erroneous charges of 2020 election fraud and the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jason Donner, who worked at the network’s Washington bureau as a reporter and producer was fired on Sept. 28, 2022, two days after calling in sick. He was told he had been terminated for his absence.
In 2023, Donner filed a lawsuit in a Washington, D.C., court that contended his dismissal was linked to several instances in which he challenged the veracity of the network’s coverage.
But U.S. District Judge Amir Ali determined in his ruling issued Monday that Donner failed to meet the company rules and that his conduct was not protected by the District of Columbia’s sick leave law.
Donner’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit noted that Fox News bosses criticized the network’s journalists for not considering the feelings of its pro-Trump audience following the election that sent Joe Biden to the White House.
Those comments are supported by the depositions and evidence collected for the Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit against Fox News, which was settled in April for $787.5 million.
But Ali also said Donner was an at-will employee and that his case failed to identify “a public policy that precluded Fox from firing him over his ardent objections to the network’s programming, no matter their validity.”
The same point was raised when U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper dismissed that portion of Donner’s claim in 2024.
“As we have maintained, this lawsuit was entirely without merit, and we are pleased with the court’s ruling on the matter,” a Fox News representative said in a statement.
Politics
Fugitive illegal alien convict on the run after attempting to strike ICE officer with vehicle: DHS
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An illegal alien with a long criminal history remains on the run after he attempted to hit a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with his vehicle in California as authorities were trying to arrest him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Monday.
ICE was attempting to take Xa Lee, a fugitive and Laotian citizen, into custody on March 25 in Sacramento. Lee was driving when he was pulled over, according to DHS.
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Xa Lee, a Laotian citizen with a long criminal history, attempted to strike an ICE agents with a vehicle while fleeing from authorities in Sacramento, Calif., the Department of Homeland Security said. (Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)
During the vehicle stop, Lee attempted to flee and tried to strike an ICE officer with his car.
“The officer, thankfully, did not sustain injuries. During the incident, ICE officers deployed their tasers. He fled the scene and remains at large,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “This is just the latest in a disturbing trend of vehicle attacks.”
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A federal immigration judge issued a deportation order for Lee in 2010. His criminal record includes convictions for vehicle theft, stolen property, conspiracy, petty theft, two DUIs, resisting an officer, battery, and felony possession of a firearm.
DHS noted that Lee’s evasion of arrest came amid a history of webinars by Democratic elected officials who advised undocumented immigrants on how to evade ICE and report encounters with federal immigration authorities.
The agency cited California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Dan Goldman, both Democrats.
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All four politicians have repeatedly called for the Trump administration to halt its deportation campaign targeting criminal illegal immigrants.
“DHS is once again calling on sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement,” the agency said.
DHS requests that if the public has any information about Lee’s whereabouts, contact the ICE tip line at 866-347-2423 or online.
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