CrayonMaster

Trump administration must fund SNAP payments during the shutdown, judges rule

Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to fund SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, using contingency funds during the government shutdown.

It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the debit cards that beneficiaries use to buy groceries could be reloaded after the ruling. That process often takes one to two weeks.

President Donald Trump on Friday called for the firing of the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Trump in a post on his social media platform alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired.

Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and in June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%.

While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted U.S. government economic data as free from political manipulation.

Before the crash Brian Hanson, who was on a walk in the East Village, saw the suspect following a female jogger who looked visibly uncomfortable. Hanson said he tried to distract the man, which led to the man chasing him. When the man later got into a vehicle, Hanson also saw him driving toward pedestrians by city hall on Robert D. Ray Drive.

Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop near East Grand Avenue and Robert D. Ray Drive around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 16, according to a news release issued shortly after the crash. The release said the driver "apparently intentionally" rammed a squad care before fleeing at high speeds.

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty against him.

Late Thursday night, federal prosecutors filed a required notice of their intent to seek the death penalty.

That came weeks after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she would be directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called “an act of political violence” and a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”

Mangione’s federal indictment includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after Mangione’s arrest also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.

The Iowa Supreme Court has removed from the bench a magistrate who questioned the veracity of an alleged sexual assault victim because he was a teenage male and asked whether a defendant in a separate case was a “w------.”

Magistrate David J. Hanson, who is based in Fayette County and has practiced law for more than 36 years, is “simply and unalterably unsuited to be a judge,” and is “unable to preside over any proceeding involving a sexual assault,” the court ruled on Friday.

Its decision to remove Hanson from the bench takes effect in 10 days, assuming Hanson has not resigned before then.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on social media Friday she will not seek reelection to another term — an unexpected move that resets the state's political landscape ahead of a 2026 midterm election year.

"Now, it’s time for me to be there for them," she said. "To help them through the next stage of life. To watch every track meet and basketball game ... I’ll be working hard for you every single day until my term ends." Reynolds' husband, Kevin, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023, although she told reporters in 2024 he was doing well after receiving treatment.

Democrats in the state have been hoping to strongly contest the governor's race in 2026, particularly in a midterm year when national political dynamics have historically favored the party that doesn't control the White House.

Iowa's lone Democrat elected to statewide office, Auditor Rob Sand, is expected to run make a run for governor though he has made no formal announcement.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, rejecting the administration’s emergency appeal

The administration claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though his attorneys said there is no evidence he was in the gang, and he has never been charged with or convicted of a crime.

The administration has conceded that it made a mistake in sending him to El Salvador, where he is being held in a notorious prison, but also argued that it no longer could do anything about it.

The Iowa Judicial Qualifications Commission, which hears complaints about judges’ conduct, has recommended that the Iowa Supreme Court suspend Hanson, a part-time magistrate who is based in Fayette County and practiced law for more than 36 years. The recommendation is tied to comments made by Hanson in two separate criminal matters.

On Aug. 5, 2022, he refused to sign an arrest warrant for a 17-year-old girl in a sexual abuse case in which the alleged victim was a male. According to court records, Hanson reviewed the matter and, with regard to the alleged victim, stated in writing, “The boy will automatically think, ‘Alright! I’m gonna GET some!’”

In July 2023, Hanson was presiding over a case in which an individual was charged with driving without a license or insurance. A law-student intern who was prosecuting the case later complained that during the proceedings Hanson asked, “Is this guy a wetback? An illegal?” According to the commission, Hanson also asked whether the prosecutor was sure the defendant, who wasn’t present at the time, hadn’t stolen someone’s identification. The intern later complained that Hanson’s conduct made her “extremely uncomfortable” and raised concerns that Hanson, due to his use of a “racist slur,” was biased.

Hanson then likened the decision he faced in that case with what he called the “travesty” of the testimony that was given during the U.S. Supreme Court nomination hearings for Justice Kavanaugh in 2018

The commission recommended the Iowa Supreme Court impose a 90-day suspension without pay and require Hanson to submit to educational training on anger management and bias.

The court has yet to rule on the commission’s recommendation of a 90-day suspension.

Senator Chuck Grassley held a town hall in Hampton, Iowa, where he faced tough questions from constituents about the Trump administration and government oversight.

Attendees expressed frustration with the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, and its impact on federal agencies.

"The courts are doing their job, and they're doing it really well," the unidentified speaker said. "They're reining in Trump and others, but we need to also have the Senate and the House also providing oversight, and it's your job. We are depending on you and the others to save Democracy."

Grassley, who has called himself a "watchdog" in Congress, said he has a staff with 33 investigations going, including one on curbing "government waste.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27419929

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found the firings didn’t follow federal law.

He required that immediate offers of reinstatement be sent by agencies including the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and Treasury.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26348156