- WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration’s legal efforts to fight having to fully fund food stamps for millions of vulnerable Americans is creating an opening for Democrats eager to use the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to paint the president as callous and out of touch. “Donald Trump and his administration […]
- NEW YORK (AP) — The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was hoisted aloft at its new home in Manhattan on Saturday, marking the start of New York City’s holiday season. This year’s tree is a 75-foot-tall (23-meter-tall) Norway spruce from the upstate town of East Greenbush, a suburb of Albany. After being cut down this week, […]
- WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The White House said Saturday it would be “beautiful” to name the new stadium for Washington’s NFL team after President Donald Trump following an ESPN report that an intermediary has told the Commanders’ ownership group that he wants it to bear his name. Trump could deliver the message in […]
- A speeding car fleeing police slammed into a crowded bar early Saturday, killing four people and injuring 11 in a historic district of Tampa, Florida, that is known for its nightlife and tourists. An air patrol unit spotted the silver sedan driving recklessly on a freeway at about 12:40 a.m. after it was seen street […]
- NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sarah Lungwitz has fretted over feeding not just her two teenage daughters with SNAP payments disrupted, but her family’s cat and two dogs. Help has arrived for now, she says, after an Illinois nonprofit arranged for volunteers to give her a grocery gift card last week to buy food for herself […]
- Democrats seize on Trump administration’s efforts to fight food stamp payments
on November 8, 2025 at 9:18 pmWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration’s legal efforts to fight having to fully fund food stamps for millions of vulnerable Americans is creating an opening for Democrats eager to use the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to paint the president as callous and out of touch. “Donald Trump and his administration have made the decision to weaponize hunger, to withhold SNAP benefits from millions of people, notwithstanding the fact that two lower courts, both the district court and the court of appeals, made clear that those SNAP benefits needed to be paid immediately,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN Saturday, calling the actions “shameful.” “Donald Trump is literally fighting in court to ensure Americans starve. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU,” echoed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, on X. The comments come after the Supreme Court late Friday granted the administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order requiring it to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the shutdown. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program serves about 1 in 8 Americans, mostly those with lower incomes. A judge had given the administration until Friday to make the payments. But the administration asked an appeals court to suspend any orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and to move forward with planned partial SNAP payments for the month instead. The legal wrangling comes after the administration and Republicans endured a bruising Election Day last week. Democrats scored commanding wins up and down the ballot and on ballot measures across the country amid signs that voters’ economic woes are top of mind — a warning sign for the president and his party heading into next year’s higher-stakes midterm elections. In response, the White House is planning to adjust its messaging strategy to focus on affordability to try to win over voters who are worried about the high cost of living with plans to emphasize new tax breaks and show progress on fighting inflation. But its efforts around food stamps could complicate that. Both parties have tried to blame the other for the shutdown as its impact has spread beyond Washington, D.C., including a growing crisis at the nation’s airports. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October, as the shutdown stretched into its third week, found that roughly 6 in 10 Americans said Trump and Republicans in Congress bore “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% said the same about Democrats in Congress. At least three-quarters said both sides deserved at least a “moderate” share of blame. The White House did not respond to questions Saturday about its rationale for appealing the SNAP orders to the Supreme Court or whether it was concerned about the optics of fighting against making the full payments. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, appearing on Fox News, again blamed Democrats for refusing to vote to reopen the government and made the case that funding had to come from Congress. “We can’t just create money out of the sky,” she said. “You can’t just create money to fund a program that Congress refuses to fund.” While hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed and gone over a month without paychecks, the president has gone out of his way to ensure those he favors have been paid. That includes members of the military after Trump directed the Pentagon to use “all available funds” to pay U.S. troops. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said her department had found a way to pay the U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement officers within the department, including border patrol agents and immigration officers with funds from the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Trump signed this summer. And FBI director Kash Patel has said that FBI special agents are still being paid — though other bureau workers are not. The administration has not said where that money is coming from. Trump has repeatedly voiced skepticism about SNAP, and he and the White House have offered conflicting messages on what would happen to the program during the shutdown. In a social media post Tuesday, Trump announced that the administration would not pay out any SNAP benefits until the shutdown was over, and suggested that some who receive benefits are not really in need. Hours later, however, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration would pay out partial SNAP benefits using contingency funding “that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war.” But when asked Thursday about a judge ordering the administration to make the full payment, the president directed Vice President JD Vance, who was sitting next to him, to answer. Vance called the ruling “absurd,” because, he said, “you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the midst of a Democrat government shutdown.”” “In the midst of a shutdown, we can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation,” he said. Trump added that he believes the country “has to remain very liquid because problems, catastrophes, wars, could be anything. We have to remain liquid. We can’t give everything away.” The administration has faced lawsuits from Democratic-leaning states, nonprofits and cities since shortly after announcing that SNAP benefits would not be available in November because of the shutdown. But two judges separately ordered the government to keep the money following, ruling last week that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely. In both cases, the judges ordered the government to use an emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to make the payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month. After the administration announced it would cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, one judge ruled that they could not and would need to find the money to fully fund the program for November. The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal. In its court filings Friday, the administration contended that the judge had usurped both legislative and executive authority. When a higher court refused to nullify the Friday payment deadline, the Trump administration turned quickly to the Supreme Court. Through an order signed by liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the high court agreed to keep the full-payment order on hold until 48 hours after the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause. Jackson, a frequent dissenter from a series of recent decisions in favor of the administration, is the justice assigned to oversee appeals from Rhode Island, where the case originated. The legal wrangling has left millions of Americans who depend on food aid in confusing limbo. People in some states have reported receiving their full benefits for November, while others could be waiting until at least next week. ___ Colvin reported from New York and Whitehurst from Washington. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrives in Manhattan, kicking off New York’s holiday season
on November 8, 2025 at 9:18 pmNEW YORK (AP) — The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was hoisted aloft at its new home in Manhattan on Saturday, marking the start of New York City’s holiday season. This year’s tree is a 75-foot-tall (23-meter-tall) Norway spruce from the upstate town of East Greenbush, a suburb of Albany. After being cut down this week, it made the roughly 150-mile (240-kilometer) journey south on a flatbed truck, drawing curious onlookers along the way. The crowds were much bigger at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where workers used cranes to hoist the 11-ton tree into position overlooking the iconic skating rink. People gathered with coffee cups and phones as crews secured the spruce and began the careful process of stabilizing it. The tree will be soon be decorated with more than 50,000 multicolored, energy-efficient LED lights and crowned with a Swarovski star weighing 900 pounds (408 kilograms). It will be lit Dec. 3 during a live TV broadcast hosted by country music star Reba McEntire and remain on display until mid-January, after which it will be milled into lumber for use by the affordable housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity. The tree was donated by homeowner Judy Russ and her family. She said it was planted by her husband’s great-grandparents in the 1920s. “For this to now become the center of New York City Christmas is incredible,” Russ told the radio station 1010 WINS. The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put up by workers in 1931 to raise spirits during the Great Depression. The comparatively modest 20-foot (6-meter) balsam fir was outfitted with garlands handmade by the workers’ families. The tradition stuck as the first tree-lighting ceremony was held in 1933. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- White House says naming new Washington Commanders stadium after Trump would be ‘beautiful’
on November 8, 2025 at 7:18 pmWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The White House said Saturday it would be “beautiful” to name the new stadium for Washington’s NFL team after President Donald Trump following an ESPN report that an intermediary has told the Commanders’ ownership group that he wants it to bear his name. Trump could deliver the message in person on Sunday when he is expected to watch the Commanders play the Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. American veterans are scheduled to be honored at halftime. “That would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible,” said Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Republican president. A spokesperson for the Washington Commanders told The Associated Press in a text message that the team had no comment on the report. The office of the city’s mayor, Democrat Muriel Bowser, declined comment. Under a deal announced in April between the team and the District of Columbia, the team will return to the nation’s capital in a new stadium expected to cost nearly $4 billion. It will be built on the site of the RFK Stadium, where the team played for more than three decades when it won three Super Bowls in the 1980s and 1990s. Democratic President Joe Biden signed a bill late last year to transfer land, which included that old stadium, from the federal government to the city. The deal, with the team contributing $2.7 billion and the city investing roughly $1.1 billion for the stadium, housing, green space and a sports complex on land bordering the Anacostia River, was approved by the D.C. City Council in September, and demolition has begun. In July, Trump threatened to hold up the deal by insisting that the team change its name from the Commanders back to the Redskins, a name that was considered offensive to Native Americans. Trump has long enjoyed having his name appear on things from his career as a real estate developer, from high-rise buildings, hotels and golf courses to his branding deals that have seen Trump-emblazoned Bibles, watches and cologne. ___ AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in Newark, New Jersey, contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- A car fleeing police slams into a bar in Florida, killing 4 and injuring 11
on November 8, 2025 at 4:18 pmA speeding car fleeing police slammed into a crowded bar early Saturday, killing four people and injuring 11 in a historic district of Tampa, Florida, that is known for its nightlife and tourists. An air patrol unit spotted the silver sedan driving recklessly on a freeway at about 12:40 a.m. after it was seen street racing in another neighborhood, the Tampa Police Department said in a statement. The Florida Highway Patrol caught up with the vehicle and tried to perform a PIT maneuver, which involves bumping the rear fender to cause a spinout, but it was unsuccessful. Highway patrol officers “disengaged” as the vehicle sped toward historic Ybor City near downtown, police said, and ultimately the driver lost control and hit more than a dozen people outside the bar, Bradley’s on 7th. Three people died at the scene, and a fourth died at a hospital. As of Saturday afternoon, two people were hospitalized in critical condition, seven were listed as stable and two had been treated and discharged, police said. Additionally there were two people who had only minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene. “What happened this morning was a senseless tragedy, our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and all those who were impacted,” Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. Officers identified the suspect as 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who was booked Saturday and was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail. Court documents show Sampson was charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death, all first-degree felonies. No attorney was immediately listed for Sampson who could speak on his behalf. “Our entire city feels this loss,” Mayor Jane Castor, who also served as Tampa’s first female police chief, said on social media. She added that the investigation is ongoing. In recent years some states and local agencies have pushed to restrict high-speed car chases to protect both civilians and officers. Following a rise in fatalities, a 2023 study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice called for chases to be rare, saying the dangers often outweigh the immediate need to take someone into custody. Nevertheless, Florida’s highway patrol has loosened limits on car chases and PIT maneuvers, tactics that the Justice Department-backed report characterized as “high-risk” and “controversial.” ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Families on SNAP worry about not just feeding themselves but also their pets
on November 8, 2025 at 12:18 pmNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sarah Lungwitz has fretted over feeding not just her two teenage daughters with SNAP payments disrupted, but her family’s cat and two dogs. Help has arrived for now, she says, after an Illinois nonprofit arranged for volunteers to give her a grocery gift card last week to buy food for herself and her pets. It’s among the growing efforts to help struggling pet owners stretch their dollars as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments go out late during a government shutdown that is the longest on record. “I don’t even make enough money for all my bills let alone groceries,” said Lungwitz, a 46-year-old auto parts store worker who has worried she might have to surrender her cat, Bambi, and two dogs, Spike and Chloe. The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown, even though residents in more than a half-dozen states already received the funds. The uncertainty is placing a strain on shelters. Although SNAP can’t be used for pet food, the food assistance program helps low-income families free up money to purchase kibble. It’s also common for owners to supplement or entirely feed their animals human food that was purchased using SNAP, said Stephanie Hicks, executive director for Care for Pets, the Rockford, Illinois, nonprofit that helped Lungwitz and others. Some volunteers walked the grocery aisles with struggling pet owners. The Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States, estimates that more than 20 million pets live in poverty with families. Economic strain is one of the leading reasons animals are surrendered to shelters, spokesperson Kirsten Peek said. While it is still too early to tell whether that is happening, groups are collecting pet food as shelters worry about a possible surge as the shutdown also leaves hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers without paychecks. “An increase in surrenders is always a concern when an influx of people fall on hard times,” Peek said. The concerns have one Louisiana shelter considering diverting money away from veterinary care so it can buy pet food. The SNAP delays come at a particularly bad time for the Companion Animal Alliance in Baton Rouge: The shelter recently lost a donor, forcing it to halt a program that distributed pet food to around 200 families each month. “People are exceptionally panicking. I don’t know what a better word would be,” said Paula Shaw, the shelter’s director of access to care, noting that it was so common for SNAP recipients to give their own food to their pets that the shelter provided information about human foods owners could add to pet food to make it last longer Offers of pet food and Venmo donations were immediate after Charley’s Angels Pet Initiative in Massachusetts put out a plea on Facebook last week. “We’re expecting, at least in the short term, that there’s going to be a surge” in demand, said Kandi Finch, a groomer who named her nonprofit after a beloved pet. That’s exactly what has happened at New Leash on Life, a shelter in Lebanon, Tennessee, outside of Nashville. The number of families using its pet food pantry jumped to 125 in October, up from 75 to 100 in a typical month, said executive director Angela Chapman. “We’d rather help them with their food than have to surrender a pet,” she said. In New Orleans, Zeus’ Rescues gave out a ton of pet food in October, double the normal amount, said founder Michelle Cheramie, who said this is the highest demand she’s seen in 20 years. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said, noting that some people are so desperate they are dumping animals in the shelter’s yard. Among those seeking help there Thursday was Katie Saari, who is unemployed because of health issues and struggling to set up interviews to get SNAP benefits amid the shutdown. Out of money, she needed food for her two dogs. “They’re more important to me than I am, so I want to make sure they’re fed first,” she said. “They’re my babies.” Aware of the problem, many food pantries also stock their shelves with pet food, said Kim Buckman, with Feeding Missouri, a coalition of food banks in the state. “We do know a lot of people will feed their pets before themselves,” she said. “In some cases, that is their emotional support animal.” Such is the case for Lungwitz, who said she has PTSD and severe depression. A psychiatrist told her to get a dog because they need walks. That’s how she wound up with her Chihuahua. Her American Bulldog — 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of “pure muscle” — made the domestic violence survivor feel safe. She says it worked, allowing her to venture out into the community and land a job. But money is so tight that she sometimes seeks help at food banks, including getting doughnuts from one for her 17-year-old daughter’s birthday. “I’m struggling,” she said. ___ Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas. ___ This story corrects the name of the Charley’s Angels Pet Initiative in Massachusetts. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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