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
Trump to kick off Great American State Fair as 250th anniversary celebrations take over National Mall
Washington DC to host Great American State Fair for America250
Ambassador Monica Crowley discusses the Great American State Fair, set to transform the National Mall in Washington D.C. from June 25 to July 10. Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the 16-day event will feature pavilions from all 50 states and six territories, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, traditional games, and rodeo competitions, aiming to unite the country.
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President Donald Trump will kick off the Great American State Fair Wednesday evening as part of celebrations surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“President Trump promised the greatest 250th birthday celebration in American history, and Freedom 250 is proud to help deliver it for the American people,” Freedom 250 CEO Keith Kranch told Fox News Digital.
“This celebration is about what makes America exceptional—our freedom, our faith, our optimism, and our people. We are honored to welcome President Trump as he helps kick off these historic festivities tomorrow and begin a nationwide celebration of our Nation’s 250th birthday,” Krach added.
The fair brings together all 50 states and six U.S. territories for a national celebration stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument featuring military flyovers, musical performances and civic programming. Trump announced he will deliver remarks after a handful of musical artists pulled out of their musical performances, turning the bash into a “Make America Great Again Rally.”
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Organizers describe the Great American State Fair as a modern-day World’s Fair celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The event is scheduled to run from June 25 through July 10, 2026, celebrating patriotism to bring together the nation for a celebration of unity.
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U.S. President Donald J. Trump watches the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn at the White House on June 14, 2026 in Washington, DC (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Trump’s anticipated remarks follow his signature last week on a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, launching a 60-day negotiating period aimed at preventing Tehran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons capability.
The world’s fair-scale event will have pavilions touching on five national themes: Made in America, American Heartland, American Innovates, The American Canvas, and Faith & Family.
There will also be a 110-foot Ferris wheel and the refurbished Smithsonian carousel for families to enjoy.
Rending of 110-foot ferris wheel coming to National Mall for “Great American State Fair.” (Freedom250)
The U.S. has hosted over two dozen variations of the world’s fair since first hosted in Philadelphia in 1876, according to the State Department.
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Freedom250, the nonpartisan group helping coordinate the broader America250 effort, said the fair will feature food, games, exhibits and themed attractions designed to showcase the country’s culture, history and innovation.
Politics
Why your food scraps travel more than 100 miles — and how an L.A. council member wants to stop it
Bob Blumenfield would like to see Angelenos’ old banana peels and moldy bread stay local.
On Tuesday morning, the City Council member told a small crowd of waste advocates in front of city hall that he was introducing a motion to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by strengthening local composting infrastructure and decreasing reliance on distant facilities.
Currently, when city residents separate their food waste and yard clippings, chances are it’s being trucked to faraway processing facilities in Bakersfield or Lancaster.
The motion would help the city meet targets set by California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, or Senate Bill 1383, which phases out sending green waste to the landfill, because it is a major source of the powerful climate pollutant methane.
It also would help meet Mayor Bass’ Climate Action Plan, which aims to use at least 50% of locally produced compost and mulch within Los Angeles by 2030. Currently, only 25% to 30% of the city’s material is applied to land locally.
The city produces approximately 350,000 tons of organic material a year, Blumenfield told the crowd, which he said equates to roughly 1.2 to 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
“That’s a big number, and when you do the math,” he said, that’s roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide released by the entire country of Belize, the entirety of Humboldt County or the equivalent of burning 1.6 billion pounds of coal per year.
As the announcement was underway, in the background a fire burned for a sixth day in a Boyle Heights warehouse, where 85 million pounds of frozen food was thawing and beginning to rot.
Signed into law in 2016, the state’s composting bill mandated a gradual increase in the amount of organic waste that must be diverted away from landfills. It required 50% of all green and food waste be diverted by 2020; by 2025, that number was supposed to hit 75%.
But it hasn’t. Although Los Angeles has pushed to get a residential curbside bin program in place — recall the “Great Green Bin Apocalypse of 2025” — it has struggled to get people to comply.
According to reports for the recycLA program, a commercial and multifamily waste collection franchise program, only about half of households and business are separating their compostable waste.
Alex Helou, assistant general manager of L.A. Sanitation & Environment, provided a much brighter picture of the city’s food waste situation. L.A. is the first major city to provide green bins to 750,000 residential customers, he said. The city has “exceeded expectations” in food recovery, he said, saving 80 million meals that would have been thrown out and redirecting them to people in need.
Helou said Blumenfield’s motion completes the loop by keeping food waste close to home, creating more local composting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transporting waste outside of the city. It doesn’t directly affect the city’s compliance with SB 1383, but that isn’t necessary, he said. “We’re meeting that and exceeding that at multiple fronts.”
Blumenfield’s initiative directs the Bureau of Sanitation to develop a plan for expanding local composting across the city. It would also increase the use of locally produced compost and mulch.
For instance, the motion would encourage using the compost on urban farms and at community gardens and city parks. It also would be used to replace artificial grass and turf.
It will support a “citywide transition away from artificial turf and towards nature-based solutions, such as California native plants and natural grass plant fields, and ensure everyone has access to safer, cooler, and sustainable parks, schools, and communities,” said Terry Saucier, a Tarzana resident and member of the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance and the Tarzana Neighborhood Council.
The state’s composting law has proved challenging on several fronts.
The Antelope Valley has become a dumping site for many of the city’s haulers looking to cut transport and facility costs — causing concern among environmentalists and others who say the material is destroying fragile ecosystems.
Complying has been particularly difficult for Los Angeles and much of coastal Southern California, where there are few large composters and low demand for compost. Unlike areas to the north, there is little agricultural demand for compost and mulch.
Experts say dumping in the desert has always been a problem, but the law made it worse by making it more expensive and difficult to deal with.
In addition, composters are struggling with the amount of plastic and other debris that people and businesses put in the food waste bins.
According to a report by Closed Loop Partners, which partners with companies such as Pepsico and McDonald’s, nearly 4% of food waste is contaminated with other materials — most of it plastic. State law requires that finished compost contains no more than 0.5% by dry weight of physical contaminants.
Politics
Trump foe wins crucial Dem primary as 2028 presidential speculation swirls
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Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, whom pundits consider a potential 2028 presidential contender, is one step closer to winning re-election this year.
Moore on Tuesday captured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the solidly blue Mid-Atlantic state, the Associated Press reports.
Moore and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, easily dispatched a primary challenge from Eric Felber and his running mate, LaTrece Hawkins Lytes. Felber, a physician, unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 2024 primary in the state’s 8th Congressional District.
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during an announcement at the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2026. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket in Maryland.
The Democratic ticket will face the winners of a nine-way Republican primary field.
Moore is running for re-election this year amid speculation that he also is eyeing a run for the White House in 2028, in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump. Democrats are expected to field a large and competitive field in the race for their party’s presidential nomination.
The governor has consistently ruled out running for the White House in 2028, saying that his political focus is on his home state and his 2026 re-election.
But regardless, Moore remains a top Democratic Party surrogate in national politics. And Moore, a 47-year-old Army veteran, who is also a Rhodes Scholar and was CEO of the charitable organization the Robin Hood Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic, is viewed as a rising star in the party.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and President Donald Trump are pictured together in a split image. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, has had a combustible relationship with Trump, which has included very public feuds and verbal sparring, and clashes over policy.
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Earlier this year, Trump initially excluded Moore from a National Governors Association dinner at the White House, charging that the governor was “not worthy” of attending.
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