The Latest: Supreme Court keeps a block on SNAP payments, as shutdown potentially nears an end

The Supreme Court extended an order blocking full SNAP payments Tuesday amid signals that the government shutdown could soon end and food aid payments resume.

The order keeps a chaotic situation in place at least for a few more days. People who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to feed their families in some states have received their full monthly allocations, while others have received nothing.

The Senate has approved a bill to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history, and the House could vote on it as early as Wednesday.

Reopening the government would restart the program, which helps 42 million people buy groceries, but it’s not clear how quickly full payments would resume.

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The directive could make it more difficult for foreigners to visit or live in the United States if they have certain medical conditions such as diabetes or obesity or lack the economic resources and assets to support themselves.

The guidance issued last week in a State Department cable directs embassy and consular officials to comprehensively and thoroughly vet visa applicants to demonstrate they won’t need to rely on public benefits from the government.

Immigration policy experts say the guidance could reduce the number of immigrant and non-immigrant visas granted at a time when the administration is already tightening rules.

The directive reveals how the administration interprets public charge, the concept in immigration law that foreigners can be refused entry or permanent residency if they are likely to rely on government resources such as certain types of cash and food aid.

▶ Read more about the visa directive

President Gustavo Petro ordered security forces to stop sharing intelligence until the Trump administration ceases its strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, as relations deteriorate between nations that were once close partners in the fight against drug trafficking.

Petro said via the social platform X that the military must immediately end “communications and other agreements with U.S. security agencies.” He added that “the fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.”

It was not immediately clear what kind of information Colombia would stop sharing.

The White House did not immediately respond, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said previously that Petro “allowed drug cartels to flourish.”

“President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation,” he said.

At least 75 people have been killed by the U.S. strikes, which critics liken to extrajudicial executions.

Touring some of his renovations at the White House with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, the president pointed to a bust of Abraham Lincoln and said it was removed before the East Wing was leveled to make room for a new ballroom.

Trump appeared to be referring to a bust by Gutzon Borglum that was donated to the White House decades ago. It typically was displayed on an exterior pillar linking the East Wing and Executive Residence.

Trump noted that the piece was “done by the carver who did Mount Rushmore.” Borglum was that monument’s sculptor.

“We took all the good stuff,” Trump said, regarding the East Wing.

A Virginia transportation security officer is accusing the Department of Homeland Security of sex discrimination over a policy that bars transgender officers from performing security screening pat-downs, according to a federal lawsuit.

The Transportation Security Administration, which operates under DHS, enacted the policy in February to comply with Trump’s executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes: male and female.

Dulles International Airport officer Danielle Mittereder alleges in her lawsuit filed Friday that the policy — which also bars her from using TSA facility restrooms that align with her gender identity — violates civil rights law. Her lawyer Jonathan Puth called it “terribly demeaning and 100% illegal.”

TSA spokesperson Russell Read declined to comment, citing pending litigation. But he said the policy directs that “Male Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on male passengers and female Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on female passengers, based on operational needs.”

▶ Read more about the policy and the complaint

Chuck Schumer led his caucus, and the country, into a record-breaking government shutdown and voted against reopening when a small group of his members defected. But there are still calls for him to step aside from Democrats who think he should have fought harder.

It’s a now-familiar position. Schumer was pilloried by the liberal base in March when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open. Now he’s getting blowback for the actions of moderate senators in his caucus who allowed the shutdown to end without the extension of health care subsidies that Democrats demanded.

No senator has explicitly called for Schumer’s resignation, and his job appears safe despite the criticism. But it’s been a tough year for him as the unexpected, overwhelming anger from base voters over his March position has turned more of a spotlight on his leadership, and as he and his party have struggled to counter Trump.

▶ Read more about Schumer and the shutdown

After refusing to convene the House during the government shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson is recalling lawmakers back into session — and facing an avalanche of pent-up legislative demands from those who have largely been sidelined from governing.

Hundreds of representatives are preparing to return Wednesday to Washington after a nearly eight-week absence, carrying a torrent of ideas, proposals and frustrations over work that has stalled when the Republican speaker shuttered the House doors nearly two months ago.

First will be a vote to reopen the government. But that’s just the start. With efforts to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and the swearing in of Arizona’s Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, the unfinished business will pose a fresh test to Johnson’s grip on power and put a renewed focus on his leadership.

▶ Read more about Johnson and an unruly House

The president boasts that his tariffs protect American industries, lure factories to the United States, raise money for the federal government and give him diplomatic leverage.

Now he’s claiming that they can finance a windfall for American families, too: He’s promising a $2,000 tariff dividend.

The president proposed the idea on his Truth Social media platform Sunday, five days after his Republican Party lost elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere largely because of voter discontent with his economic stewardship and the high cost of living.

Budget experts scoffed at the idea, which conjured memories of the administration’s short-lived plan for DOGE dividend checks paid for by billionaire Elon Musk’s federal budget cuts.

▶ Read more on what to know about Trump’s plan

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it is his “strong expectation” that they will oppose the bill, which is expected to come before the House on Wednesday.

Jeffries and other Democratic lawmakers addressed reporters Tuesday evening. They unveiled a proposed amendment 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 Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that he was stunned by the senators’ decision to break with Democrats and end the government shutdown. He warned that they are not alarmed enough about the president’s shattering of norms.

“I’m not coming in to punch anybody in the face, but I’m not pleased that, in the face of this invasive species that is Donald Trump, who’s completely changed the rules of the game, that we’re still playing by the old rules of the game,” Newsom said in an interview at the COP30 U.N. Climate Conference in Brazil. “And in my core, I’m stunned.”

Newsom also criticized the United States’ absence at the key climate talks, calling it “doubling down on stupid.”

He said that the country risks losing economic power due to climate inaction and that while states like California are making efforts, the federal absence sends a negative message globally.

▶ Read more about Newsom’s remarks on the shutdown and on the climate conference

The order keeps a chaotic situation in place at least for a few more days. People who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to feed their families in some states have received their full monthly allocations, while others have received nothing.

The Senate has approved a bill to end the shutdown, and the House could vote on it as early as Wednesday. Reopening the government would restart the program, which helps 42 million people buy groceries, but it’s not clear how quickly full payments would resume.

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.

The newest member of the House will be sworn in that day at 4 p.m. by Speaker Mike Johnson.

Grijalva, a Democrat, won a Sept. 23 special election in Arizona to fill the seat previously held by her father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who died in March.

Her swearing in has been delayed for nearly two months as Johnson kept the chamber out to put pressure on the Senate to reach a shutdown deal.

“We’ve been waiting for this so long that it’s still surreal,” Grijalva told AP. “It’s very emotional.”

She has said her first act in Congress will be to provide the final signature needed for a discharge petition to trigger a vote on releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The protests occurred Monday ahead of the last stop on Turning Point USA’s campus tour after founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof says about 900 people attended the gathering of the conservative political group, and they were met by an estimated 150 protesters.

Attorney General Pam Bondi called the protests “violent riots” and said they will be investigated by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.

But Mogulof said the event was “safely and successfully held and proceeded without disruption.”

He said campus police arrested two people for failing to comply with orders. City police separately arrested a man on suspicion of theft, for allegedly snatching a chain from another man’s neck, leading to a scuffle.

Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island, one of the largest burial grounds maintained by the National Cemetery Administration, announced on its Facebook page last week that it was cancelling the Tuesday ceremony due to the “ongoing federal government funding lapse.”

The burial ground remained open to visitors Tuesday, and local police and firefighters in Riverhead instead hung a giant American flag between two ladder trucks near the cemetery gates, Newsday reports.

The flight landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from Madison on Saturday.

Then, over the loudspeakers, someone said a familiar, “Hello, everybody.”

To which one of the 87 Korean and Vietnam War veterans aboard exclaimed, “What?”

It was none other than former President Barack Obama, who had come to greet the veterans on their honor flight to Washington, according to video provided by Obama’s office.

The former president greeted everyone and gave each of them one of his commemorative presidential coins as they got off the plane.

“As we approach Veterans Day, I just wanted to stop by and just say thank you for your extraordinary service. To you, your family, the sacrifices that all of you made to protect our country is something that will always be honored and we are very grateful,” Obama said.

“And we also happened to welcome you with a 70-degree day in D.C., which doesn’t always happen around here,” he added.

The president called into ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show and predicted that, with college football teams offering top recruits big money to play for them, “You got to have like NFL-type payroll” levels to compete.

He said that “colleges don’t make that much money.”

Trump suggested a salary cap like the NFL and other leagues have would help, and added of college sports, “Bad things are going to happen unless they figure this out.”

The president also repeated his past criticisms of the NFL kickoff rule, saying it didn’t promote safety but made the game “so unromantic.”

“I hope college doesn’t change” its kickoff rules, Trump said while wishing, “Someday, the NFL will stop it and go back to football.”

Connecticut state lawmakers are still pushing ahead with a plan to set aside $500 million in state budget reserves to help backstop delays in federal food and heating assistance funding, even though it appears the federal government shutdown could be nearing an end.

If a deal to reopen the federal government is finalized soon, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday the $500 million could help address federal funding cuts in the sweeping tax and spending law dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by Republicans.

There are concerns as to how the massive federal budget law will impact Medicaid, food benefits and other safety net programs in Connecticut.

Meanwhile, at least one Democratic state senator has called for the state to cover the health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act that expire Jan. 1, 2026. The subsidies total $350 million annually in Connecticut.

The bipartisan proposal to create a “state response fund,” announced Monday, is scheduled for a vote during a special legislative session on Wednesday and Thursday.

The League of United Latin American Citizens is urging Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs and state governments to accelerate benefit reform that would expand health access, strengthen suicide-prevention outreach for veterans and invest in culturally responsive support for Latino veterans and families.

LULAC National Vice President for Military Affairs, Lawrence Romo said Veterans Day serves as a standing promise that the U.S. government will “stand by its defenders long after the battles have ended.”

“Latino veterans have never hesitated to serve,” Romo said. “Now the nation must ensure that they receive benefits, strong mental health support and real pathways to rebuild their live. Anything less is unacceptable.”

The president told veterans: “We love you. We salute you. And we will never forget what you’ve done to keep America safe, sovereign and free.”

The president acknowledged a long list of administration officials present at the ceremony, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.

He saluted Johnson for the “big victory” of the government being on the verge of reopening after a lengthy shutdown.

Trump said he’d like to personally acknowledge more people attending, but that low temperatures made him rethink that: “It’s a little cold.”

“They did one thing above all else. They put America first,” Trump said of veterans, adding they were “very, very special people and always in our heart.”

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday that he was not going to criticize Democratic senators who voted for the deal to reopen the federal government.

“They have good reasons for doing it,” Evers told The Associated Press. “I’m not here to complain about them.”

Evers said it was “hard to say” whether the deal will make it easier or more difficult to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1 as Democrats had pushed for.

“It’s going to be difficult regardless because Republicans have been pretty clear that they don’t want to do anything,” Evers said. “But I think at the end of the day, when they see what’s happening locally, we might have some progress.”

Trump has pardoned the husband of Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee.

Robert Harshbarger Jr., who was a licensed pharmacist, pleaded guilty in 2013 to substituting a cheaper drug imported from China that was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a drug the FDA had approved for kidney dialysis patients.

A White House official on Tuesday defended the pardon, saying Harshbarger was a victim of “excessive prosecution” and had engaged in a practice that’s common among pharmacists.

Harshbarger was sentenced to and served four years in prison.

The pardon was among a batch that Trump granted on Friday.

“Today, to every veteran — we love our veterans — we say the words too often left unsaid: Thank you for your service. Thank you.”

He was introduced to the audience in the amphitheater by Vice President JD Vance, a former Marine.

A Utah judge has rejected a new congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers, adopting an alternate proposal creating a Democratic-leaning district and throwing a curveball to the GOP in a state where they expected a clean sweep ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans hold all four of Utah’s U.S. House seats and had advanced a map to protect them. Judge Dianna Gibson ruled just before a midnight Monday deadline that it “unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats,” despite her order to draw a map that complies with standards established by voters to ensure districts don’t deliberately gerrymander to favor a party.

Gibson ultimately selected a map drawn by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government that puts Salt Lake County almost entirely within one district, instead of dividing the heavily Democratic population center among all four.

▶ Read more about the Utah ruling and its impact