CALLAWAY COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 8p.m. Sunday in Callaway County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevy S-10 driven by a 61-year-old Maryland Heights man was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Route A / Route Z&nbsp; exit.

The pickup traveled off the right side of the road, rolled and the unrestrained driver was ejected.&nbsp; He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

CALLAWAY COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 8p.m. Sunday in Callaway County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevy S-10 driven by a 61-year-old Maryland Heights man was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Route A / Route Z&nbsp; exit.The pickup traveled off the right side of the road, rolled and the unrestrained driver was ejected.&nbsp; He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Missouri man dies after ejected in rollover accident

HENRY COUNTY —A Kansas woman was injured just after 3p.m. Saturday when her kayak capsized on Truman Lake.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 45-year-old Olathe woman&nbsp; &nbsp;was overcome by wind and waves&nbsp;about two miles south of the Sparrow Foot Boat Ramp. The boat capsized and she fell into the water. She swam to the nearest shoreline. EMS transported her to Golden Valley Hospital in Clinton.&nbsp;

She was not wearing a safety device, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

HENRY COUNTY —A Kansas woman was injured just after 3p.m. Saturday when her kayak capsized on Truman Lake.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 45-year-old Olathe woman&nbsp; &nbsp;was overcome by wind and waves&nbsp;about two miles south of the Sparrow Foot Boat Ramp. The boat capsized and she fell into the water. She swam to the nearest shoreline. EMS transported her to Golden Valley Hospital in Clinton.&nbsp;She was not wearing a safety device, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Kan. woman hospitalized after kayak capsized on Mo. lake

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">Ashley Murray</a>

WASHINGTON — Seven U.S. Senate Democrats and one independent&nbsp;joined Republicans on Sunday night in advancing legislation to reopen the government and temporarily keep it afloat until the end of January, after a record-breaking shutdown that began Oct. 1.

Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada voted with most of the GOP to advance the stopgap measure through a 60-40 procedural vote.&nbsp;

Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted in support.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Fetterman, King and Cortez Masto had already voted with Republicans on the previous 14 votes to reopen the government. Until Sunday, Republicans who control the chamber did not have the 60 votes needed to clear the filibuster threshold.

GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has consistently voted against the temporary funding measure, again cast a “no” vote.

The deal would also unlock full-year funding for a vital food aid program that serves 42 million Americans and bring back federal workers fired by President Donald Trump when the government was closed.

It does not include language addressing skyrocketing premiums for those enrolled in individual health insurance plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, a major sticking point for Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said late Sunday on the Senate floor that he commits to holding a separate vote on health insurance subsidies no later than the second week of December.

In a press conference following the vote, Rosen said Democrats have “an opportunity also to put Republicans on the record on the ACA.”

“Are they committed to doing this? Are they committed leaders who said, ‘You can come to the table on health care once the government was open’? And now he must follow through. If Republicans want to join us in lowering costs for working families, they have the perfect opportunity to show the American public,” Rosen said.

New text of a temporary stopgap funding&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/continuing_appropriations_act_2026_bill_text.pdf" target="_blank">deal</a>&nbsp;released Sunday night proposes to keep the government open until Jan. 30. The bill would also reinstate all federal employees who were fired after the shutdown began, restoring their jobs with back pay, and prohibit any further layoffs until the temporary funding expires.

As part of the agreement, three fiscal year 2026 funding bills will ride along with the package, including the appropriations bills for agriculture programs, veterans benefits, military construction and Congress.

Several Senate Democrats left a lengthy closed-door meeting earlier Sunday night upset that the deal does not include anything to address rising health care premiums, on which the party has staked the 40-day shutdown.&nbsp;

Subsidies for those who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace expire at the end of this year.

“So far as I’m concerned, health care isn’t included, so I’ll be a no,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin also issued statements following the caucus meeting declaring they would vote no. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also told reporters on his way out of the meeting that he’s opposed to the deal.

Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said on social media he would oppose it. ”I’ve been clear that we need real action to stop the devastating health care cost increases that are hurting millions of families,” he said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., issued a statement expressing support for the agreement, highlighting that Senate Republicans have promised a vote on extending the health care subsidies.

“This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do. Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will,” Kaine said.

The Sunday night vote does not mean the government will reopen right away.

The legislation must make its way through Senate procedural steps and then gain approval from the U.S. House, which hasn’t been in session since Sept. 19. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, attended the Washington Commanders football game with Trump Sunday night in Landover, Maryland.

Trump briefly spoke to reporters upon news of the deal after leaving the NFL game, telling them, “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”

Nearly a million federal workers have missed paychecks during the shutdown, and food benefits for the poorest Americans stopped flowing at the beginning of November.&nbsp;

Air travel has also become snarled as the shutdown has dragged on, and air traffic controllers are under pressure without pay. The Federal Aviation Administration began&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/here-are-airports-hit-faa-pullback-air-traffic-3300-flights-daily-be-canceled" target="_blank">cutting flights</a>&nbsp;Friday at 40 major airports across the U.S. The cuts are set to ramp up to a 10% decrease in air traffic.

The deal includes provisions that Democrats say the Trump administration sought to shrink or cut altogether, including fresh fruit and vegetable subsidies for mothers with children and monthly food boxes for low-income seniors.

The legislation would direct $8.2 billion to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, otherwise known as WIC, a roughly $600 million increase over last year’s program amount.

During the shutdown, the administration used $150 million from a U.S. Department of Agriculture rainy day fund to keep the program going. The bill would replenish the contingency money.

The bill also fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and children’s nutrition programs, including subsidized school breakfast and lunch, and the availability of food during summer school breaks.

Democrats on the Senate Committee on Appropriations say it included “key funding for SNAP and other critical nutrition programs as President Trump fights in court during the government shutdown to cut off benefits for 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP to feed their families,” according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FY26%20Ag-FDA%20Conference%20Bill%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">bill summary</a>.&nbsp;

The USDA directed states to begin releasing the November SNAP benefits onto recipients’ benefits debit cards after a Rhode Island federal district judge and circuit court ordered the Trump administration to do so last week.&nbsp;

Trump appealed the order to the Supreme Court, which stayed the decision. A department memo Saturday told states that released the full benefits to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/states-told-trump-administration-undo-full-snap-benefits-paid-november" target="_blank">take back</a>&nbsp;a portion of them.

The bill would also direct money to the SNAP emergency contingency fund.

Hemp farmers are sounding the alarm about a provision in the bill that they say would “effectively eliminate the legal hemp industry built under the 2018 farm bill,” according to a Sunday statement from the Hemp Industry and Farmers of America.

Lawmakers are “slamming the door on 325,000 American jobs and forcing consumers back to dangerous black markets,” the industry group’s executive director Brian Swensen said.&nbsp;

Swensen also added: “The hemp industry has been ready and willing to work on responsible regulations – age restrictions, testing requirements, proper labeling — but instead of collaboration, the industry is getting a misguided prohibition through backdoor appropriations deals.”&nbsp;

Several House Democrats, including a top appropriator, criticized the deal.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans for the proposal Sunday night in a statement, saying House and Senate Democrats have “waged a valiant fight” for the last seven weeks.

“It now appears that Senate Republicans will send the House of Representatives a spending bill that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. As a result of the Republicans refusal to address the healthcare crisis that they have created, tens of millions of everyday Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket,” Jeffries said.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top House Democratic appropriator, said she did not agree to the release of the veterans and military construction bill as an attachment to the deal.

“Congress must invest in veterans, address the health care crisis that is raising costs on more than 20 million Americans, and prevent President Trump from not spending appropriated dollars in our communities,” DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.

Rep. Angie Craig joined other House Democrats in slamming the Senate negotiations on social media.

“If people believe this is a ‘deal,’ I have a bridge to sell you. I’m not going to put 24 million Americans at risk of losing their health care. I’m a no,” said Craig, of Minnesota.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762772315218.jpeg" alt="Counting votes late Sunday in the U.S. Senate" />
 <figcaption>Counting votes late Sunday in the U.S. Senate</figcaption>
 </figure>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">Ashley Murray</a>WASHINGTON — Seven U.S. Senate Democrats and one independent&nbsp;joined Republicans on Sunday night in advancing legislation to reopen the government and temporarily keep it afloat until the end of January, after a record-breaking shutdown that began Oct. 1.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">U.S. Senate advances bill to reopen the government, 60-40. <a href="https://t.co/r2CfPUReJV">pic.twitter.com/r2CfPUReJV</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1987730780114817278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada voted with most of the GOP to advance the stopgap measure through a 60-40 procedural vote.&nbsp;Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted in support.&nbsp;&nbsp;Fetterman, King and Cortez Masto had already voted with Republicans on the previous 14 votes to reopen the government. Until Sunday, Republicans who control the chamber did not have the 60 votes needed to clear the filibuster threshold.GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has consistently voted against the temporary funding measure, again cast a “no” vote.The deal would also unlock full-year funding for a vital food aid program that serves 42 million Americans and bring back federal workers fired by President Donald Trump when the government was closed.It does not include language addressing skyrocketing premiums for those enrolled in individual health insurance plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, a major sticking point for Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said late Sunday on the Senate floor that he commits to holding a separate vote on health insurance subsidies no later than the second week of December.In a press conference following the vote, Rosen said Democrats have “an opportunity also to put Republicans on the record on the ACA.”“Are they committed to doing this? Are they committed leaders who said, ‘You can come to the table on health care once the government was open’? And now he must follow through. If Republicans want to join us in lowering costs for working families, they have the perfect opportunity to show the American public,” Rosen said.New text of a temporary stopgap funding&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/continuing_appropriations_act_2026_bill_text.pdf" target="_blank">deal</a>&nbsp;released Sunday night proposes to keep the government open until Jan. 30. The bill would also reinstate all federal employees who were fired after the shutdown began, restoring their jobs with back pay, and prohibit any further layoffs until the temporary funding expires.As part of the agreement, three fiscal year 2026 funding bills will ride along with the package, including the appropriations bills for agriculture programs, veterans benefits, military construction and Congress.<h2>Divided Democrats</h2>Several Senate Democrats left a lengthy closed-door meeting earlier Sunday night upset that the deal does not include anything to address rising health care premiums, on which the party has staked the 40-day shutdown.&nbsp;Subsidies for those who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace expire at the end of this year.“So far as I’m concerned, health care isn’t included, so I’ll be a no,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin also issued statements following the caucus meeting declaring they would vote no. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also told reporters on his way out of the meeting that he’s opposed to the deal.Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said on social media he would oppose it. ”I’ve been clear that we need real action to stop the devastating health care cost increases that are hurting millions of families,” he said.Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., issued a statement expressing support for the agreement, highlighting that Senate Republicans have promised a vote on extending the health care subsidies.“This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do. Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will,” Kaine said.<h2>Government reopening will take time</h2>The Sunday night vote does not mean the government will reopen right away.The legislation must make its way through Senate procedural steps and then gain approval from the U.S. House, which hasn’t been in session since Sept. 19. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, attended the Washington Commanders football game with Trump Sunday night in Landover, Maryland.Trump briefly spoke to reporters upon news of the deal after leaving the NFL game, telling them, “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”Nearly a million federal workers have missed paychecks during the shutdown, and food benefits for the poorest Americans stopped flowing at the beginning of November.&nbsp;Air travel has also become snarled as the shutdown has dragged on, and air traffic controllers are under pressure without pay. The Federal Aviation Administration began&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/here-are-airports-hit-faa-pullback-air-traffic-3300-flights-daily-be-canceled" target="_blank">cutting flights</a>&nbsp;Friday at 40 major airports across the U.S. The cuts are set to ramp up to a 10% decrease in air traffic.<h2>SNAP funding</h2>The deal includes provisions that Democrats say the Trump administration sought to shrink or cut altogether, including fresh fruit and vegetable subsidies for mothers with children and monthly food boxes for low-income seniors.The legislation would direct $8.2 billion to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, otherwise known as WIC, a roughly $600 million increase over last year’s program amount.During the shutdown, the administration used $150 million from a U.S. Department of Agriculture rainy day fund to keep the program going. The bill would replenish the contingency money.The bill also fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and children’s nutrition programs, including subsidized school breakfast and lunch, and the availability of food during summer school breaks.Democrats on the Senate Committee on Appropriations say it included “key funding for SNAP and other critical nutrition programs as President Trump fights in court during the government shutdown to cut off benefits for 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP to feed their families,” according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FY26%20Ag-FDA%20Conference%20Bill%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">bill summary</a>.&nbsp;The USDA directed states to begin releasing the November SNAP benefits onto recipients’ benefits debit cards after a Rhode Island federal district judge and circuit court ordered the Trump administration to do so last week.&nbsp;Trump appealed the order to the Supreme Court, which stayed the decision. A department memo Saturday told states that released the full benefits to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/states-told-trump-administration-undo-full-snap-benefits-paid-november" target="_blank">take back</a>&nbsp;a portion of them.The bill would also direct money to the SNAP emergency contingency fund.<h2>Hemp ban</h2>Hemp farmers are sounding the alarm about a provision in the bill that they say would “effectively eliminate the legal hemp industry built under the 2018 farm bill,” according to a Sunday statement from the Hemp Industry and Farmers of America.Lawmakers are “slamming the door on 325,000 American jobs and forcing consumers back to dangerous black markets,” the industry group’s executive director Brian Swensen said.&nbsp;Swensen also added: “The hemp industry has been ready and willing to work on responsible regulations – age restrictions, testing requirements, proper labeling — but instead of collaboration, the industry is getting a misguided prohibition through backdoor appropriations deals.”&nbsp;<h2>House trepidation</h2>Several House Democrats, including a top appropriator, criticized the deal.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans for the proposal Sunday night in a statement, saying House and Senate Democrats have “waged a valiant fight” for the last seven weeks.“It now appears that Senate Republicans will send the House of Representatives a spending bill that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. As a result of the Republicans refusal to address the healthcare crisis that they have created, tens of millions of everyday Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket,” Jeffries said.Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top House Democratic appropriator, said she did not agree to the release of the veterans and military construction bill as an attachment to the deal.“Congress must invest in veterans, address the health care crisis that is raising costs on more than 20 million Americans, and prevent President Trump from not spending appropriated dollars in our communities,” DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.Rep. Angie Craig joined other House Democrats in slamming the Senate negotiations on social media.“If people believe this is a ‘deal,’ I have a bridge to sell you. I’m not going to put 24 million Americans at risk of losing their health care. I’m a no,” said Craig, of Minnesota.

US Senate advances bill to end record-breaking government shutdown

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal hit-and-run that killed a KU student have made an arrest.

After an extensive investigation, which included examining evidence and responding to numerous tips from the public, on Sunday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies located the suspected vehicle and driver involved in Thursday’s hit-and-run crash outside of Lawrence that killed 20-year-old University of Kansas student Elsa McGrain, according to sheriff's department spokesman Officer&nbsp;George Diepenbrock.

Elsa was struck and killed while running in the 1700 block of E 1500 Road, on November 6.&nbsp; After striking Elsa, the suspected driver left the scene. The Sheriff’s Office worked diligently on this case and has made an arrest, according to Diepenbrock.

Detectives are working with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office on charges in the case.

The Sheriff’s Office thanked area law enforcement agencies for their assistance in this investigation, as well as members of the community who responded with possible tips and shared information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762637573361.png" alt="Elsa McGrain courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Elsa McGrain courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal hit-and-run that killed a KU student have made an arrest.After an extensive investigation, which included examining evidence and responding to numerous tips from the public, on Sunday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies located the suspected vehicle and driver involved in Thursday’s hit-and-run crash outside of Lawrence that killed 20-year-old University of Kansas student Elsa McGrain, according to sheriff's department spokesman Officer&nbsp;George Diepenbrock.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762637613576.png" alt="Security camera image of the suspect vehicle released by the&nbsp; Douglas Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Security camera image of the suspect vehicle released by the&nbsp; Douglas Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Elsa was struck and killed while running in the 1700 block of E 1500 Road, on November 6.&nbsp; After striking Elsa, the suspected driver left the scene. The Sheriff’s Office worked diligently on this case and has made an arrest, according to Diepenbrock.Detectives are working with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office on charges in the case.The Sheriff’s Office thanked area law enforcement agencies for their assistance in this investigation, as well as members of the community who responded with possible tips and shared information.

Sheriff: Driver arrested for hit-and-run that killed KU student

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>

Following a late Friday emergency ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration has instructed states that authorized full November nutrition assistance benefits to return a portion, another unprecedented reversal for a program that helps 42 million people afford groceries.

A Saturday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/updated-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap-november-benefit-issuance11-8" target="_blank">memo</a>&nbsp;from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service said states should fund 65% of benefits for users of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, often called food stamps.&nbsp;

Those that had authorized full payments in line with earlier administration guidance should “immediately undo” that action, according to the memo.

“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the memo said. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025. Please advise the appropriate FNS Regional Office representative of steps taken to correct any actions taken that do not comply with this memorandum.”

President Donald Trump and top administration officials have said they cannot pay full SNAP benefits during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and instead, under court orders, are using a contingency fund to make partial payments.

Saturday’s guidance from Patrick A. Penn, the department’s deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, marked the latest turnaround in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-issues-november-snap-benefits-then-asks-supreme-court-intervene" target="_blank">a chaotic few days</a>&nbsp;for the agency, states that administer SNAP and the millions of Americans who depend on it to afford food.

Penn wrote that, in light of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-november-snap-payments" target="_blank">the Supreme Court’s order pausing lower court rulings</a>&nbsp;that USDA&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-ordered-pay-full-9b-november-snap-benefits-amid-shutdown" target="_blank">must pay full November benefits</a>, the administration was returning to its position that SNAP benefits should be funded at 65%.&nbsp;

States — including Wisconsin and Kansas — that issued full benefits did so under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26220869-snap-november-2025-benefit-guidance-update/" target="_blank">a Friday memo</a>, also signed by Penn, that said states should authorize full payments for SNAP, consistent with a Thursday ruling in federal court.

Kansas, Wisconsin, Oregon govs express dismay

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, in a late Friday statement expressed disappointment with the administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26220987-supremecourtnov72025/" target="_blank">appeal to the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;and noted the state had authorized full payments earlier in the day for all eligible Kansans.

“These Kansans, most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, were struggling to put food on their plates,” she said. “Why the President would petition the highest court to deny food to hungry children is beyond me. It does nothing to advance his political agenda. It does not hurt his perceived enemies. It only hurts our most vulnerable and our reputation around the globe.”

In a Sunday statement, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, flatly refused to try to claw back any authorized benefits. The state acted in compliance with a court order, he said.

“After we did so, the Trump Administration assured Wisconsin and other states that they were actively working to implement full SNAP benefits for November and would ‘complete the processes necessary to make funds available,’” he said. “They have failed to do so to date.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said her state will not comply.

“Oregon acted lawfully, given the federal court’s directive and the communications with the USDA, and my decision to ensure SNAP benefits went out quickly was in direct alignment with my food emergency declaration,” said Kotek, a Democrat. “I am disgusted that President Trump has the audacity to take taxpayers’ money away from them when they are in crisis. I have a question for the President: What would he prefer to spend the money on over groceries for people in need? This is ridiculous, immoral, and Oregon will fight this every step of the way.”

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement:&nbsp;“Let’s be clear about what this is —&nbsp; the Trump administration is demanding that food assistance be taken away from the households that have already received it. They would rather go door to door, taking away people’s food, than do the right thing and fully fund SNAP for November so that struggling veterans, seniors, and children can keep food on the table. It is incomprehensible, incompetent and inconsistent with our values as Americans.”&nbsp;

The earlier order, from U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island, told the department to use sources outside the contingency fund to make full November payments by Friday. The order was appealed to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, acting on behalf of the high court,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26221041-25a539-admin-stay/" target="_blank">granted</a>&nbsp;the administration’s request for an emergency stay on Friday night, speeding up the process for what Jackson said would then be an “expeditious” decision by the appeals court but also changing things yet again.

No longer, for the moment, required by a court order to pay full November benefits, the administration instructed states in the Saturday memo to have the vendors that process payments to the electronic benefit transfer cards withhold part of the month’s allotment.

“States must not transmit full benefit issuance files to EBT processors,” Penn wrote. “Instead, States must continue to process and load the partial issuance files that reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments detailed in the November 5 guidance.”

SNAP funding has been a key issue during the shutdown.&nbsp;

In a plan published Sept. 30, the USDA said it would continue to pay for the roughly $9 billion per month program through its contingency fund. The administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/usda-wont-shuffle-funds-extend-snap-during-shutdown-about-face-earlier-plan" target="_blank">reversed itself</a>&nbsp;10 days later, telling states there would be no SNAP available for November.

A bipartisan U.S. Senate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/minority/bill-summaries-fy26-ag-fda-leg-branch-and-milcon-va" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;filed Sunday would end the shutdown. It includes provisions to fully fund SNAP, the contingency fund and the $23 billion children nutrition programs fund that may be a source of emergency funding for SNAP if the shutdown persists.

Kansas Reflector Editor in Chief Sherman Smith, Wisconsin Examiner Editor in Chief Ruth Conniff and Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor in Chief Julia Shumway &nbsp;contributed to this report.

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>Following a late Friday emergency ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration has instructed states that authorized full November nutrition assistance benefits to return a portion, another unprecedented reversal for a program that helps 42 million people afford groceries.A Saturday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/updated-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap-november-benefit-issuance11-8" target="_blank">memo</a>&nbsp;from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service said states should fund 65% of benefits for users of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, often called food stamps.&nbsp;Those that had authorized full payments in line with earlier administration guidance should “immediately undo” that action, according to the memo.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762714399470.png" alt="USDA memo" />
 <figcaption>USDA memo</figcaption>
 </figure>“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the memo said. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025. Please advise the appropriate FNS Regional Office representative of steps taken to correct any actions taken that do not comply with this memorandum.”President Donald Trump and top administration officials have said they cannot pay full SNAP benefits during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and instead, under court orders, are using a contingency fund to make partial payments.<h2>Shutdown chaos surrounds SNAP</h2>Saturday’s guidance from Patrick A. Penn, the department’s deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, marked the latest turnaround in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-issues-november-snap-benefits-then-asks-supreme-court-intervene" target="_blank">a chaotic few days</a>&nbsp;for the agency, states that administer SNAP and the millions of Americans who depend on it to afford food.Penn wrote that, in light of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-november-snap-payments" target="_blank">the Supreme Court’s order pausing lower court rulings</a>&nbsp;that USDA&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-ordered-pay-full-9b-november-snap-benefits-amid-shutdown" target="_blank">must pay full November benefits</a>, the administration was returning to its position that SNAP benefits should be funded at 65%.&nbsp;States — including Wisconsin and Kansas — that issued full benefits did so under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26220869-snap-november-2025-benefit-guidance-update/" target="_blank">a Friday memo</a>, also signed by Penn, that said states should authorize full payments for SNAP, consistent with a Thursday ruling in federal court.<h2>Kansas, Wisconsin, Oregon govs express dismay</h2>Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, in a late Friday statement expressed disappointment with the administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26220987-supremecourtnov72025/" target="_blank">appeal to the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;and noted the state had authorized full payments earlier in the day for all eligible Kansans.“These Kansans, most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, were struggling to put food on their plates,” she said. “Why the President would petition the highest court to deny food to hungry children is beyond me. It does nothing to advance his political agenda. It does not hurt his perceived enemies. It only hurts our most vulnerable and our reputation around the globe.”In a Sunday statement, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, flatly refused to try to claw back any authorized benefits. The state acted in compliance with a court order, he said.“After we did so, the Trump Administration assured Wisconsin and other states that they were actively working to implement full SNAP benefits for November and would ‘complete the processes necessary to make funds available,’” he said. “They have failed to do so to date.”Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said her state will not comply.“Oregon acted lawfully, given the federal court’s directive and the communications with the USDA, and my decision to ensure SNAP benefits went out quickly was in direct alignment with my food emergency declaration,” said Kotek, a Democrat. “I am disgusted that President Trump has the audacity to take taxpayers’ money away from them when they are in crisis. I have a question for the President: What would he prefer to spend the money on over groceries for people in need? This is ridiculous, immoral, and Oregon will fight this every step of the way.”U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement:&nbsp;“Let’s be clear about what this is —&nbsp; the Trump administration is demanding that food assistance be taken away from the households that have already received it. They would rather go door to door, taking away people’s food, than do the right thing and fully fund SNAP for November so that struggling veterans, seniors, and children can keep food on the table. It is incomprehensible, incompetent and inconsistent with our values as Americans.”&nbsp;<h2>Court action</h2>The earlier order, from U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island, told the department to use sources outside the contingency fund to make full November payments by Friday. The order was appealed to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, acting on behalf of the high court,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26221041-25a539-admin-stay/" target="_blank">granted</a>&nbsp;the administration’s request for an emergency stay on Friday night, speeding up the process for what Jackson said would then be an “expeditious” decision by the appeals court but also changing things yet again.No longer, for the moment, required by a court order to pay full November benefits, the administration instructed states in the Saturday memo to have the vendors that process payments to the electronic benefit transfer cards withhold part of the month’s allotment.“States must not transmit full benefit issuance files to EBT processors,” Penn wrote. “Instead, States must continue to process and load the partial issuance files that reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments detailed in the November 5 guidance.”<h2>Shutdown negotiations</h2>SNAP funding has been a key issue during the shutdown.&nbsp;In a plan published Sept. 30, the USDA said it would continue to pay for the roughly $9 billion per month program through its contingency fund. The administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/usda-wont-shuffle-funds-extend-snap-during-shutdown-about-face-earlier-plan" target="_blank">reversed itself</a>&nbsp;10 days later, telling states there would be no SNAP available for November.A bipartisan U.S. Senate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/minority/bill-summaries-fy26-ag-fda-leg-branch-and-milcon-va" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;filed Sunday would end the shutdown. It includes provisions to fully fund SNAP, the contingency fund and the $23 billion children nutrition programs fund that may be a source of emergency funding for SNAP if the shutdown persists.Kansas Reflector Editor in Chief Sherman Smith, Wisconsin Examiner Editor in Chief Ruth Conniff and Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor in Chief Julia Shumway &nbsp;contributed to this report.

States told by Trump admin. to ‘undo’ full SNAP benefits paid for November

The rule would allow medical debt on credit reports — even in states that forbid it.

By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/avollers/">Anna Claire Vollers</a>

A new Trump administration rule issued late last month would override state laws that prevent consumers’ credit reports from including medical debt, potentially weakening financial protections for millions of Americans.

In recent years,<a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2025/jul/state-protections-against-medical-debt-look-policies-across-us#:~:text=Twelve%20states%20have%20recently%20taken%20action%20to%20prevent%20medical%20debt%20from%20appearing%20on%20credit%20reports%2C%20bringing%20the%20total%20number%20of%20states%20prohibiting%20this%20practice%20to%2014.47" target="_blank">&nbsp;more than a dozen states</a>&nbsp;have taken steps to keep medical debt from hurting residents’ credit scores, passing laws with bipartisan support. But new<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/28/2025-19671/fair-credit-reporting-act-preemption-of-state-laws" target="_blank">&nbsp;guidance</a>&nbsp;from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/28/2025-19671/fair-credit-reporting-act-preemption-of-state-laws#:~:text=The%20Bureau%20has%20reviewed%20the%202022%20interpretive%20rule%20that%20interprets%20sections%201681t(b)(1)%20and%201681t(b)(5)%20of%20the%20FCRA%2C%20and%20the%20Bureau%20now%20confirms%20the%20withdrawal%20of%20that%20rule." target="_blank">&nbsp;repeals</a>&nbsp;a Biden-era rule that allowed states to impose their own bans. The Trump administration has<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/28/2025-19671/fair-credit-reporting-act-preemption-of-state-laws#:~:text=The%20Bureau%20is%20also%20clarifying%20that%20the%20FCRA%20generally%20preempts%20State%20laws%20that%20touch%20on%20broad%20areas%20of%20credit%20reporting%2C%20consistent%20with%20Congress%27s%20intent%20to%20create%20national%20standards%20for%20the%20credit%20reporting%20system." target="_blank">&nbsp;interpreted</a>&nbsp;the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act to say that it overrides state laws around reporting debt to credit bureaus.

American consumers had at least<a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank">&nbsp;$220 billion in unpaid medical bills</a>&nbsp;in 2024, according to an analysis from research nonprofit KFF. About 6% of American adults, or 14 million people, owe more than $1,000 in medical debt.

“Medical debt is a tremendous weight keeping so many families from financial security, and, unlike most other forms of debt, it’s not a choice,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said last month in a<a href="https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/10/13/governor-stein-ncdhhs-announce-more-65-billion-medical-debt-erased-north-carolina-0" target="_blank">&nbsp;statement</a>&nbsp;announcing that a new state program had wiped out<a href="https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/10/13/governor-stein-ncdhhs-announce-more-65-billion-medical-debt-erased-north-carolina-0" target="_blank">&nbsp;more than $6.5 billion in medical debt</a>&nbsp;for more than 25 million North Carolinians.

People rarely plan to take on debt from medical care, as they do when they borrow money to buy a house or car.&nbsp;A<a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_medical-debt-burden-in-the-united-states_report_2022-03.pdf" target="_blank">&nbsp;one-time or short-term expense</a>&nbsp;such as a single hospital stay causes about two-thirds of all medical debt, according to a 2022 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report.

And even though<a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/#:~:text=Despite%20over%2090%25%20of%20the%20United%20States%20population%20having%20some%20form%20of%20health%20insurance%2C" target="_blank">&nbsp;most Americans have health insurance</a>, many get stuck with unexpected medical bills because their policies have high deductibles or don’t fully cover some treatments, procedures or drugs. People in worse health and those living with a disability are more likely to report medical debt, as are middle-aged adults, Black Americans, and people with low and middle incomes, according to KFF.

In&nbsp;the past two years,<a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2025/jul/state-protections-against-medical-debt-look-policies-across-us#:~:text=Twelve%20states%20have%20recently%20taken%20action%20to%20prevent%20medical%20debt%20from%20appearing%20on%20credit%20reports%2C%20bringing%20the%20total%20number%20of%20states%20prohibiting%20this%20practice%20to%2014." target="_blank">&nbsp;a dozen states</a>&nbsp;have passed laws forbidding medical debt from appearing on credit reports, bringing the total number of states with such laws to 14: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Another five states — Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Nevada and Utah — limit how and when medical debt can appear on credit reports, according to the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund.

Republican and Democratic legislators in other states, including<a href="https://legiscan.com/MI/text/SB0451/id/3259039" target="_blank">&nbsp;Michigan</a>,<a href="https://legiscan.com/OH/bill/HB257/2025" target="_blank">&nbsp;Ohio</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://legiscan.com/SD/bill/HB1058/2025" target="_blank">&nbsp;South Dakota</a>, have introduced similar bills this year.

Now the new state laws face an uncertain future. In January, while Biden was still in office,&nbsp; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/final-rules/prohibition-on-creditors-and-consumer-reporting-agencies-concerning-medical-information-regulation-v/" target="_blank">&nbsp;prohibiting credit reporting agencies</a>&nbsp;from reporting medical debt in certain circumstances.&nbsp;Credit bureaus and credit unions&nbsp;<a href="https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/cornerstone-credit-union-league-et-al-v-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-et-al/" target="_blank">sued to stop the rule</a>.&nbsp;The incoming Trump administration agreed with the plaintiffs and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicarerights.org/medicare-watch/2025/07/31/federal-court-reverses-federal-medical-debt-protections#:~:text=A%20lawsuit%20followed%20immediately%2C%20arguing%20CFPB%20had%20exceeded%20its%20authority%2C%20and%2C%20under%20the%20Trump%20administration%2C%20the%20agency%20changed%20direction.%20Instead%20of%20defending%20the%20rule%20in%20court%2C%20the%20agency%20agreed%20with%20plaintiffs%20that%20the%20rule%20should%20be%20blocked%2C%20and%20the%20court%20agreed." target="_blank">declined to defend the rule in court</a>, so a federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.235173/gov.uscourts.txed.235173.52.0_1.pdf" target="_blank">blocked it</a>.

Maine state Sen. Donna Bailey, a Democrat, said in a September<a href="https://www.mainesenate.org/new-sen-bailey-law-protects-consumers-from-the-negative-impacts-of-medical-debt/" target="_blank">&nbsp;statement</a>&nbsp;that Maine’s new law barring medical debt from appearing on consumer reports was even more important in light of the demise of the federal rule.

“Although Americans no longer have the federal protection, Mainers will continue to have protection here in our state,” she said in September. “When we go to the hospital for medical care, especially for emergencies, any debt that we take on should not hold us back from buying a car, renting a home or taking out a loan.”

But the Trump administration’s latest order would render state laws such as Maine’s moot.

Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:avollers@stateline.org">avollers@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762514381672.png" alt=" A cancer patient’s medical bills are spread on a kitchen table in a home in Salem, Va., in this 2011 file photo. A new Trump administration rule would override more than a dozen state laws that shield consumers’ credit reports from medical debt. (Photo by Don Petersen/Associated Press)" />
 <figcaption> A cancer patient’s medical bills are spread on a kitchen table in a home in Salem, Va., in this 2011 file photo. A new Trump administration rule would override more than a dozen state laws that shield consumers’ credit reports from medical debt. (Photo by Don Petersen/Associated Press)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The rule would allow medical debt on credit reports — even in states that forbid it.</h2>By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/avollers/">Anna Claire Vollers</a>A new Trump administration rule issued late last month would override state laws that prevent consumers’ credit reports from including medical debt, potentially weakening financial protections for millions of Americans.In recent years,<a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2025/jul/state-protections-against-medical-debt-look-policies-across-us#:~:text=Twelve%20states%20have%20recently%20taken%20action%20to%20prevent%20medical%20debt%20from%20appearing%20on%20credit%20reports%2C%20bringing%20the%20total%20number%20of%20states%20prohibiting%20this%20practice%20to%2014.47" target="_blank">&nbsp;more than a dozen states</a>&nbsp;have taken steps to keep medical debt from hurting residents’ credit scores, passing laws with bipartisan support. But new<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/28/2025-19671/fair-credit-reporting-act-preemption-of-state-laws" target="_blank">&nbsp;guidance</a>&nbsp;from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/28/2025-19671/fair-credit-reporting-act-preemption-of-state-laws#:~:text=The%20Bureau%20has%20reviewed%20the%202022%20interpretive%20rule%20that%20interprets%20sections%201681t(b)(1)%20and%201681t(b)(5)%20of%20the%20FCRA%2C%20and%20the%20Bureau%20now%20confirms%20the%20withdrawal%20of%20that%20rule." target="_blank">&nbsp;repeals</a>&nbsp;a Biden-era rule that allowed states to impose their own bans. The Trump administration has<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/28/2025-19671/fair-credit-reporting-act-preemption-of-state-laws#:~:text=The%20Bureau%20is%20also%20clarifying%20that%20the%20FCRA%20generally%20preempts%20State%20laws%20that%20touch%20on%20broad%20areas%20of%20credit%20reporting%2C%20consistent%20with%20Congress%27s%20intent%20to%20create%20national%20standards%20for%20the%20credit%20reporting%20system." target="_blank">&nbsp;interpreted</a>&nbsp;the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act to say that it overrides state laws around reporting debt to credit bureaus.American consumers had at least<a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank">&nbsp;$220 billion in unpaid medical bills</a>&nbsp;in 2024, according to an analysis from research nonprofit KFF. About 6% of American adults, or 14 million people, owe more than $1,000 in medical debt.“Medical debt is a tremendous weight keeping so many families from financial security, and, unlike most other forms of debt, it’s not a choice,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said last month in a<a href="https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/10/13/governor-stein-ncdhhs-announce-more-65-billion-medical-debt-erased-north-carolina-0" target="_blank">&nbsp;statement</a>&nbsp;announcing that a new state program had wiped out<a href="https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/10/13/governor-stein-ncdhhs-announce-more-65-billion-medical-debt-erased-north-carolina-0" target="_blank">&nbsp;more than $6.5 billion in medical debt</a>&nbsp;for more than 25 million North Carolinians.People rarely plan to take on debt from medical care, as they do when they borrow money to buy a house or car.&nbsp;A<a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_medical-debt-burden-in-the-united-states_report_2022-03.pdf" target="_blank">&nbsp;one-time or short-term expense</a>&nbsp;such as a single hospital stay causes about two-thirds of all medical debt, according to a 2022 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report.And even though<a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/#:~:text=Despite%20over%2090%25%20of%20the%20United%20States%20population%20having%20some%20form%20of%20health%20insurance%2C" target="_blank">&nbsp;most Americans have health insurance</a>, many get stuck with unexpected medical bills because their policies have high deductibles or don’t fully cover some treatments, procedures or drugs. People in worse health and those living with a disability are more likely to report medical debt, as are middle-aged adults, Black Americans, and people with low and middle incomes, according to KFF.In&nbsp;the past two years,<a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2025/jul/state-protections-against-medical-debt-look-policies-across-us#:~:text=Twelve%20states%20have%20recently%20taken%20action%20to%20prevent%20medical%20debt%20from%20appearing%20on%20credit%20reports%2C%20bringing%20the%20total%20number%20of%20states%20prohibiting%20this%20practice%20to%2014." target="_blank">&nbsp;a dozen states</a>&nbsp;have passed laws forbidding medical debt from appearing on credit reports, bringing the total number of states with such laws to 14: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.Another five states — Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Nevada and Utah — limit how and when medical debt can appear on credit reports, according to the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund.Republican and Democratic legislators in other states, including<a href="https://legiscan.com/MI/text/SB0451/id/3259039" target="_blank">&nbsp;Michigan</a>,<a href="https://legiscan.com/OH/bill/HB257/2025" target="_blank">&nbsp;Ohio</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://legiscan.com/SD/bill/HB1058/2025" target="_blank">&nbsp;South Dakota</a>, have introduced similar bills this year.Now the new state laws face an uncertain future. In January, while Biden was still in office,&nbsp; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/final-rules/prohibition-on-creditors-and-consumer-reporting-agencies-concerning-medical-information-regulation-v/" target="_blank">&nbsp;prohibiting credit reporting agencies</a>&nbsp;from reporting medical debt in certain circumstances.&nbsp;Credit bureaus and credit unions&nbsp;<a href="https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/cornerstone-credit-union-league-et-al-v-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-et-al/" target="_blank">sued to stop the rule</a>.&nbsp;The incoming Trump administration agreed with the plaintiffs and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicarerights.org/medicare-watch/2025/07/31/federal-court-reverses-federal-medical-debt-protections#:~:text=A%20lawsuit%20followed%20immediately%2C%20arguing%20CFPB%20had%20exceeded%20its%20authority%2C%20and%2C%20under%20the%20Trump%20administration%2C%20the%20agency%20changed%20direction.%20Instead%20of%20defending%20the%20rule%20in%20court%2C%20the%20agency%20agreed%20with%20plaintiffs%20that%20the%20rule%20should%20be%20blocked%2C%20and%20the%20court%20agreed." target="_blank">declined to defend the rule in court</a>, so a federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.235173/gov.uscourts.txed.235173.52.0_1.pdf" target="_blank">blocked it</a>.Maine state Sen. Donna Bailey, a Democrat, said in a September<a href="https://www.mainesenate.org/new-sen-bailey-law-protects-consumers-from-the-negative-impacts-of-medical-debt/" target="_blank">&nbsp;statement</a>&nbsp;that Maine’s new law barring medical debt from appearing on consumer reports was even more important in light of the demise of the federal rule.“Although Americans no longer have the federal protection, Mainers will continue to have protection here in our state,” she said in September. “When we go to the hospital for medical care, especially for emergencies, any debt that we take on should not hold us back from buying a car, renting a home or taking out a loan.”But the Trump administration’s latest order would render state laws such as Maine’s moot.Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:avollers@stateline.org">avollers@stateline.org</a>.

New Trump administration rule would override state medical debt protections

KANSAS CITY—Teamwork and technology led to the arrest of a drunk driver who fled from a deputy just after midnight on November 6, according to a social media report from the Clay County Sheriff. 

A Traffic Safety Unit deputy tried to stop a vehicle with no headlights, a common sign of impaired driving, near N.E. Parvin Road and N. Belmont Avenue. The driver fled and nearly struck another vehicle traveling northbound, before losing control and striking the back of a parked semi truck's trailer. 

The driver ran into Worlds of Fun. Worlds of Fun security started checking their cameras and were able to get a rough idea of where the suspect was as he moved through the park. Clay County Deputies put up their drone, which led law enforcement right to the suspect.

Officers from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClaycomoPD?__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Claycomo Police Department</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064540068196&amp;__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Pleasant Valley Missouri Police Department</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GladstoneMOPD?__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Gladstone MO Police</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kcpolice?__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Kansas City Missouri Police Department</a> all had responded to surround the area. Tests later showed the suspect's blood alcohol content was over the legal limit.

Reginald L. Finch, 22, has been charged with aggravated fleeing a stop, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762552048541.png" alt="The heat-sensing image of the search from the Clay Co. Sheriff video" />
 <figcaption>The heat-sensing image of the search from the Clay Co. Sheriff video</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Teamwork and technology led to the arrest of a drunk driver who fled from a deputy just after midnight on November 6, according to a social media report from the Clay County Sheriff. A Traffic Safety Unit deputy tried to stop a vehicle with no headlights, a common sign of impaired driving, near N.E. Parvin Road and N. Belmont Avenue. The driver fled and nearly struck another vehicle traveling northbound, before losing control and striking the back of a parked semi truck's trailer. The driver ran into Worlds of Fun. Worlds of Fun security started checking their cameras and were able to get a rough idea of where the suspect was as he moved through the park. Clay County Deputies put up their drone, which led law enforcement right to the suspect.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762551993391.png" alt="Photo Clay Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Clay Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClaycomoPD?__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Claycomo Police Department</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064540068196&amp;__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Pleasant Valley Missouri Police Department</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GladstoneMOPD?__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Gladstone MO Police</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kcpolice?__cft__[0]=AZW5iqdO8kWopKSnwdWcNGhCdhztbHmDWCooqqytxssxIIS235dC2Hd9biDwqRgoewcAaVbmI2EA9F_QgdFI0K4t1Pj0rPqVCesjtpQbEGY-S9bNfNPqcas1m5NDMmnp9GBz-klfh3loVTGpHs8fsRX3tb89rNWjTxXJiVCgvknT-fTnXe1Y3ajdCGO0ijfxN1Y&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Kansas City Missouri Police Department</a> all had responded to surround the area. Tests later showed the suspect's blood alcohol content was over the legal limit.Reginald L. Finch, 22, has been charged with aggravated fleeing a stop, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.

Sheriff: Drunk driver ran from crash into Worlds of Fun

The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program (IBTPP), and state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of 13 infant botulism illnesses from 10 states: Arizona, California (2), Illinois (2), Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), Washington, according to a statement from the agency.

Laboratory confirmation for some cases is ongoing. There are no deaths reported at this time. The CDPH IBTPP reported an increase in number of botulism type A infections among infants consuming ByHeart powdered infant formula from August 2025 to November 2025. 

All 13 cases included in this outbreak are reported to have consumed ByHeart- brand powdered infant formula. Officials in several states have collected leftover infant formula for testing. This testing is underway, and results are not yet available but expected in the coming weeks. &nbsp;

FDA has been in contact with the firm and has recommended the firm conduct a voluntary recall due to the number of cases, severity of illness, and the strong epidemiological signal. Today, ByHeart, Inc. agreed to initiate a recall of the two lots of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant formula (Lot: 206VABP/251261P2 and Lot: 206VABP/251131P2) that were reported to have been consumed by the infants. FDA is continuing to work with the firm to ensure all potentially impacted product is removed from the market.

Symptoms of&nbsp;Infant botulism&nbsp;&nbsp;

Most infants with infant botulism will initially develop constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing, which can progress to difficulty breathing and respiratory arrest. Symptoms of infant botulism, which is diagnosed clinically, can take as long as several weeks to develop following formula ingestion.

ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula is available for sale online and at major retailers nationwide.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762681537657.png" alt="Image FDA" />
 <figcaption>Image FDA</figcaption>
 </figure>The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program (IBTPP), and state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of 13 infant botulism illnesses from 10 states: Arizona, California (2), Illinois (2), Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), Washington, according to a statement from the agency.Laboratory confirmation for some cases is ongoing. There are no deaths reported at this time. The CDPH IBTPP reported an increase in number of botulism type A infections among infants consuming ByHeart powdered infant formula from August 2025 to November 2025. All 13 cases included in this outbreak are reported to have consumed ByHeart- brand powdered infant formula. Officials in several states have collected leftover infant formula for testing. This testing is underway, and results are not yet available but expected in the coming weeks. &nbsp;FDA has been in contact with the firm and has recommended the firm conduct a voluntary recall due to the number of cases, severity of illness, and the strong epidemiological signal. Today, ByHeart, Inc. agreed to initiate a recall of the two lots of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant formula (Lot: 206VABP/251261P2 and Lot: 206VABP/251131P2) that were reported to have been consumed by the infants. FDA is continuing to work with the firm to ensure all potentially impacted product is removed from the market.<h2>Symptoms of&nbsp;Infant botulism&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>Most infants with infant botulism will initially develop constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing, which can progress to difficulty breathing and respiratory arrest. Symptoms of infant botulism, which is diagnosed clinically, can take as long as several weeks to develop following formula ingestion.<h2>Stores affected</h2>ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula is available for sale online and at major retailers nationwide.

ByHeart baby formula recalled amid 10-state outbreak of infant botulism

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —A suspect in the November 1, death of a woman in Kansas City, Kansas has been charged.

The Wyandotte County District Attorney's office has charged 22-year-old Kevin Calamaco-Morales with felony first-degree murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Ana Juarez.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Calamaco-Morales also is charged with criminal discharge of a firearm.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Just before 4:30 a.m. November 1, officers with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department were called the area of North 11th Street and Barnett Avenue to investigate a shooting.

When officers arrived on the scene they located Juarez, outside of her home. She had been shot.&nbsp;She was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.&nbsp;

Calamaco-Morales was arrested at the scene and is being held in the Wyandotte County Jail on a $500,000 bond, according to a statement from Kansas City, Kansas Police.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762533395978.png" alt="Calamaco-Morales-photo Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Calamaco-Morales-photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>WYANDOTTE COUNTY —A suspect in the November 1, death of a woman in Kansas City, Kansas has been charged.The Wyandotte County District Attorney's office has charged 22-year-old Kevin Calamaco-Morales with felony first-degree murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Ana Juarez.&nbsp;&nbsp;Calamaco-Morales also is charged with criminal discharge of a firearm.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just before 4:30 a.m. November 1, officers with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department were called the area of North 11th Street and Barnett Avenue to investigate a shooting.When officers arrived on the scene they located Juarez, outside of her home. She had been shot.&nbsp;She was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.&nbsp;Calamaco-Morales was arrested at the scene and is being held in the Wyandotte County Jail on a $500,000 bond, according to a statement from Kansas City, Kansas Police.

Man accused of killing woman outside her Kansas home

GEARY COUNTY —The Junction City Vice Mayor, 30-year-old Alovence Gordon has been arrested on requested charges of Aggravated Assault and Deadly Use of a Weapon. 

He was booked into the Detention Center at 3:41 p.m. Saturday, according to information from the Geary County Detention Center.

Gordon's term on the Junction City Commission runs until January. He ran for reelection but was defeated in the August primary election.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762649929050.jpeg" alt="Gordon photo Geary County" />
 <figcaption>Gordon photo Geary County</figcaption>
 </figure>By Dewey Terrill JC PostGEARY COUNTY —The Junction City Vice Mayor, 30-year-old Alovence Gordon has been arrested on requested charges of Aggravated Assault and Deadly Use of a Weapon. He was booked into the Detention Center at 3:41 p.m. Saturday, according to information from the Geary County Detention Center.Gordon's term on the Junction City Commission runs until January. He ran for reelection but was defeated in the August primary election.

Junction City Vice Mayor is in jail for an alleged violent crime

DOUGLAS COUNTY —The runner who died from injuries after she was struck in a hit-and-run incident Thursday evening near Lawrence was Elsa McGrain, 20, a University of Kansas student from Omaha, according to&nbsp; Sheriff's Department Spokesman Officer George Diepenbrock.

She was studying pre-medicine and set to graduate in 2026.&nbsp;

Elsa was running and a vehicle struck her around 6 p.m. Thursday in the 1700 block of E 1500 Road, which is North Seventh Street extended and south of U.S. Highway 24-40 near the Lawrence Regional Airport.

Douglas County deputies and detectives continue to work diligently to investigate this thoroughly, find the driver involved and work appropriately through the justice system from there.

Detectives have determined the vehicle of interest is a truck that is all white with no side markings.

DGSO continues to ask anyone who might have information about the vehicle in the photo or been in the area on E 1500 Road between 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday and has potential information to call DGSO Detective Lance Flachsbarth, 785-393-5845, or Douglas County Crime Stoppers, 785-843-TIPS (8477), and leave your contact information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762637613576.png" alt="Detectives have determined the vehicle of interest is a truck that is all white with no side markings.-Douglas County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Detectives have determined the vehicle of interest is a truck that is all white with no side markings.-Douglas County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —The runner who died from injuries after she was struck in a hit-and-run incident Thursday evening near Lawrence was Elsa McGrain, 20, a University of Kansas student from Omaha, according to&nbsp; Sheriff's Department Spokesman Officer George Diepenbrock.She was studying pre-medicine and set to graduate in 2026.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762637573361.png" alt="Elsa McGrain&nbsp; courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Elsa McGrain&nbsp; courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Elsa was running and a vehicle struck her around 6 p.m. Thursday in the 1700 block of E 1500 Road, which is North Seventh Street extended and south of U.S. Highway 24-40 near the Lawrence Regional Airport.Douglas County deputies and detectives continue to work diligently to investigate this thoroughly, find the driver involved and work appropriately through the justice system from there.Detectives have determined the vehicle of interest is a truck that is all white with no side markings.DGSO continues to ask anyone who might have information about the vehicle in the photo or been in the area on E 1500 Road between 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday and has potential information to call DGSO Detective Lance Flachsbarth, 785-393-5845, or Douglas County Crime Stoppers, 785-843-TIPS (8477), and leave your contact information.

Sheriff: Victim in fatal hit-and-run was KU student

By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily&nbsp;blocked Friday night a lower court’s order that the Trump administration pay for a full month of food benefits, hours after some states began loading nutrition assistance funds on payment cards held by the 42 million Americans who use the program.

<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26221041-25a539-admin-stay/" target="_blank">In a two-page filing,</a>&nbsp;Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson&nbsp;accepted the government’s request to pause a Thursday order from Rhode Island Chief U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell while a lower appeals court hears the case.&nbsp;

His order Thursday compelled the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transfer funds from other programs to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for November. The Trump administration had said the ongoing government shutdown meant it could not pay November SNAP benefits.

“The applicants assert that, without intervention from this Court, they will have to ‘transfer an estimated $4 billion by tonight’ to fund SNAP benefits through November,” Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote.&nbsp;

A stay is needed to reach an “expeditious resolution,” she wrote.

Jackson’s order froze SNAP payments to states that the USDA had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-issues-november-snap-benefits-then-asks-supreme-court-intervene" target="_blank">appeared to authorize</a>&nbsp;earlier Friday before the administration appealed to the high court.

It was unclear Friday night what effect that might have on individual recipients’ electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards. A press release earlier Friday from California Gov. Gavin Newsom said some Californians had begun to see full benefits on their cards, following an order from a lower court.

In a Friday evening brief to the Supreme Court that followed a day of conflicting messages from the administration, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the high court should step in to protect the executive branch’s power from what he characterized as unprecedented overreach by McConnell.

By demanding that the USDA transfer money from a $23 billion fund for child nutrition programs to pay for November SNAP benefits, McConnell substituted his judgment for the agency’s, a violation of the constitutional separation-of-powers doctrine, Sauer argued.&nbsp;

The department’s decision to pay for partial November benefits, by using the roughly $5 billion remaining in a contingency fund, rather than by paying about $9 billion for a full month of benefits, was its decision to make and not reviewable by courts, Sauer said.

“USDA reasonably determined that the best course was to combine partial SNAP payments with stable funding for Child Nutrition Programs—versus jeopardize the latter to guarantee full payments with the former,” Sauer wrote. “The district court would have done otherwise. But it had no legal basis to ‘substitute its own policy judgment for that of the agency.’”

The lower court order — as well a midday Friday letter from the USDA to state SNAP administrators — had also led to confusion among states who started to demand SNAP funds in a way Sauer compared to a bank run.

Several states announced full funding would be available and began sending money to beneficiaries.

Immediately after McConnell’s order was published, Wisconsin demanded “100% of SNAP benefits,” Sauer wrote. Even though the USDA system rejected the file, the private-sector processor of the payment “moved forward, resulting in Wisconsin currently overdrawing its letter of credit by $20 million,” he said.

Kansas made a similar move. And some California SNAP users received their full benefits, according to Sauer’s brief.

McConnell on Thursday had ruled the department’s decision to withhold SNAP benefits arbitrary and capricious — the standard for judicial review of an executive branch action.&nbsp;

The $23 billion fund could spare the $4 billion needed to make November SNAP benefits whole and still maintain its intended purpose well beyond the month, so there was no need to maintain that fund at that level, he wrote.

Instead, the decision “predictably magnifies harm and undermines the very purpose of the program it administers,” McConnell wrote.

While federal agencies are due discretion from courts, such a “poor” use of decision-making power must be remedied, he said.

“Contrary to what the Defendants claim, 29 million children who participate in the Child Nutrition Program are not at risk of immediately going hungry in the event of a transfer,” he said. “Instead, SNAP recipients—16 million of whom are children—will go hungry if they do not receive their SNAP benefits this month.”

But Sauer responded that was not McConnell’s call to make.&nbsp;

The trial judge’s ruling improperly assumed that Congress would eventually replenish the child nutrition program fund, but the USDA was within its right to take a more cautious approach toward protecting the child nutrition funding, said the solicitor general.

“It obviously was not unlawful for the agency to see things differently—and refuse to starve Peter to feed Paul, by gambling school lunches tomorrow in exchange for more SNAP money today,” he wrote. “Indeed, that sort of hard tradeoff is precisely the sort of decision that Congress committed to agency discretion and placed beyond the reach of judges.”

While the USDA had not denied that it was able to move money to different priorities after Congress had appropriated it, the government did not have to do so, Sauer said.

Allowing McConnell’s ruling to stand would invite a stampede to litigation, the government maintained.

“If allowed to stand, this decision will metastasize and sow further shutdown chaos,” Sauer said. “Every beneficiary of a federal program could run into court, point to an agency’s general discretion to prioritize funding, and claim that failing to prioritize their chosen program was arbitrary and capricious.”

Sauer also said McConnell read too much into Trump’s social media post this week that threatened to withhold SNAP funding for the duration of the shutdowns.

McConnell cited in his order the post, in which Trump said SNAP benefits would “be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” showed the true purpose of the USDA move was political leverage.

“The court below had no basis to transfer of billions of dollars from school lunches to its preferred program based on its tendentious view of ‘the administration’s true motivations.’”

In a statement, Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, an advocacy group that is leading the litigation to force SNAP payments, said the group would continue to work to “secure benefits for the American people”

“The Trump-Vance administration continues to attempt — over and over — to take food out of the hands of families, seniors, workers, and children,” Perryman said. “And every time they tried, the courts told them what the law already makes clear: they cannot. American families should not be used as political props in a shutdown that this White House manufactured.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762570194872.png" alt="Supreme Court's Justice Jackson issued the emergency order -Photo Credit:Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States." />
 <figcaption>Supreme Court's Justice Jackson issued the emergency order -Photo Credit:Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States.</figcaption>
 </figure>By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily&nbsp;blocked Friday night a lower court’s order that the Trump administration pay for a full month of food benefits, hours after some states began loading nutrition assistance funds on payment cards held by the 42 million Americans who use the program.<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26221041-25a539-admin-stay/" target="_blank">In a two-page filing,</a>&nbsp;Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson&nbsp;accepted the government’s request to pause a Thursday order from Rhode Island Chief U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell while a lower appeals court hears the case.&nbsp;His order Thursday compelled the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transfer funds from other programs to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for November. The Trump administration had said the ongoing government shutdown meant it could not pay November SNAP benefits.“The applicants assert that, without intervention from this Court, they will have to ‘transfer an estimated $4 billion by tonight’ to fund SNAP benefits through November,” Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote.&nbsp;A stay is needed to reach an “expeditious resolution,” she wrote.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762569874331.png" alt="Page 1" />
 <figcaption>Page 1</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762569857484.png" alt="Page 2" />
 <figcaption>Page 2</figcaption>
 </figure>Jackson’s order froze SNAP payments to states that the USDA had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-issues-november-snap-benefits-then-asks-supreme-court-intervene" target="_blank">appeared to authorize</a>&nbsp;earlier Friday before the administration appealed to the high court.It was unclear Friday night what effect that might have on individual recipients’ electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards. A press release earlier Friday from California Gov. Gavin Newsom said some Californians had begun to see full benefits on their cards, following an order from a lower court.<h2>High court challenge&nbsp;</h2>In a Friday evening brief to the Supreme Court that followed a day of conflicting messages from the administration, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the high court should step in to protect the executive branch’s power from what he characterized as unprecedented overreach by McConnell.By demanding that the USDA transfer money from a $23 billion fund for child nutrition programs to pay for November SNAP benefits, McConnell substituted his judgment for the agency’s, a violation of the constitutional separation-of-powers doctrine, Sauer argued.&nbsp;The department’s decision to pay for partial November benefits, by using the roughly $5 billion remaining in a contingency fund, rather than by paying about $9 billion for a full month of benefits, was its decision to make and not reviewable by courts, Sauer said.“USDA reasonably determined that the best course was to combine partial SNAP payments with stable funding for Child Nutrition Programs—versus jeopardize the latter to guarantee full payments with the former,” Sauer wrote. “The district court would have done otherwise. But it had no legal basis to ‘substitute its own policy judgment for that of the agency.’”<h2>Confusion in states&nbsp;</h2>The lower court order — as well a midday Friday letter from the USDA to state SNAP administrators — had also led to confusion among states who started to demand SNAP funds in a way Sauer compared to a bank run.Several states announced full funding would be available and began sending money to beneficiaries.Immediately after McConnell’s order was published, Wisconsin demanded “100% of SNAP benefits,” Sauer wrote. Even though the USDA system rejected the file, the private-sector processor of the payment “moved forward, resulting in Wisconsin currently overdrawing its letter of credit by $20 million,” he said.Kansas made a similar move. And some California SNAP users received their full benefits, according to Sauer’s brief.<h2>16 million children on SNAP</h2>McConnell on Thursday had ruled the department’s decision to withhold SNAP benefits arbitrary and capricious — the standard for judicial review of an executive branch action.&nbsp;The $23 billion fund could spare the $4 billion needed to make November SNAP benefits whole and still maintain its intended purpose well beyond the month, so there was no need to maintain that fund at that level, he wrote.Instead, the decision “predictably magnifies harm and undermines the very purpose of the program it administers,” McConnell wrote.While federal agencies are due discretion from courts, such a “poor” use of decision-making power must be remedied, he said.“Contrary to what the Defendants claim, 29 million children who participate in the Child Nutrition Program are not at risk of immediately going hungry in the event of a transfer,” he said. “Instead, SNAP recipients—16 million of whom are children—will go hungry if they do not receive their SNAP benefits this month.”<h2>‘Starve Peter to feed Paul’</h2>But Sauer responded that was not McConnell’s call to make.&nbsp;The trial judge’s ruling improperly assumed that Congress would eventually replenish the child nutrition program fund, but the USDA was within its right to take a more cautious approach toward protecting the child nutrition funding, said the solicitor general.“It obviously was not unlawful for the agency to see things differently—and refuse to starve Peter to feed Paul, by gambling school lunches tomorrow in exchange for more SNAP money today,” he wrote. “Indeed, that sort of hard tradeoff is precisely the sort of decision that Congress committed to agency discretion and placed beyond the reach of judges.”While the USDA had not denied that it was able to move money to different priorities after Congress had appropriated it, the government did not have to do so, Sauer said.Allowing McConnell’s ruling to stand would invite a stampede to litigation, the government maintained.“If allowed to stand, this decision will metastasize and sow further shutdown chaos,” Sauer said. “Every beneficiary of a federal program could run into court, point to an agency’s general discretion to prioritize funding, and claim that failing to prioritize their chosen program was arbitrary and capricious.”<h2>Trump social media post</h2>Sauer also said McConnell read too much into Trump’s social media post this week that threatened to withhold SNAP funding for the duration of the shutdowns.McConnell cited in his order the post, in which Trump said SNAP benefits would “be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” showed the true purpose of the USDA move was political leverage.Sauer said that was improper.“The court below had no basis to transfer of billions of dollars from school lunches to its preferred program based on its tendentious view of ‘the administration’s true motivations.’”In a statement, Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, an advocacy group that is leading the litigation to force SNAP payments, said the group would continue to work to “secure benefits for the American people”“The Trump-Vance administration continues to attempt — over and over — to take food out of the hands of families, seniors, workers, and children,” Perryman said. “And every time they tried, the courts told them what the law already makes clear: they cannot. American families should not be used as political props in a shutdown that this White House manufactured.”

US Supreme Court temporarily blocks November SNAP payments

STONE COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 8a.m. Saturday in Stone County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Jeep Wrangler driven by a 43-year-old Galena woman was southbound on Mccord Bend Road one mile north of McCord Bend. The vehicle crossed the center of the road. tThe driver overcorrected, the vehicle overturned and the driver was ejected.

The Stone County Coroner pronounced the driver dead at the scene and she was transported to Stump Funeral Home.&nbsp; The driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.&nbsp; The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

STONE COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 8a.m. Saturday in Stone County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Jeep Wrangler driven by a 43-year-old Galena woman was southbound on Mccord Bend Road one mile north of McCord Bend. The vehicle crossed the center of the road. tThe driver overcorrected, the vehicle overturned and the driver was ejected.The Stone County Coroner pronounced the driver dead at the scene and she was transported to Stump Funeral Home.&nbsp; The driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.&nbsp; The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Missouri woman dies after ejected in rollover accident

Speaker: Ten Republicans in House refuse to sign petition to change U.S. House boundaries

TOPEKA — Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins stripped three Republicans of committee chairmanships for refusing to sign a petition calling for a special legislative session to redraw congressional boundaries in a bid to block reelection of Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and to tackle a handful of unrelated bills.

Hawkins relied on his unilateral power as the House’s top leader to alter committee assignments and remove as chairmen GOP Reps. Steven Howe of Salina, Nathan Butler of Junction City and Jesse Borjon of Topeka. Hawkins also removed Rep. Clarke Sanders of Salina and Rep. Leah Howell of Derby from vice chair positions.

Sanders, who was vice chair of the House Higher Education Budget Committee, said Hawkins called him Friday with the news. Sanders said Republicans in committee leadership positions who wouldn’t sign the special session petition were targeted.

“Those of us who were chairs and vice chairs … have been relieved because we didn’t agree to sign on for a special session,” Sanders said. “I understand it. I knew that not signing it came with a risk. I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do. I hope to maintain a good relationship with the speaker, but this was something he felt he had to do.”

It’s likely additional committee vice chairs could be removed from leadership positions by the House speaker. Rank-and-file members of the House also could face sanctions in terms of committee assignments ahead of the 2026 legislative session in January.

The committee leaders demoted by Hawkins were among 10 Republican House members who declined to sign the petition for the special session. Neither Howe, Butler nor Borjon could be immediately reached for comment.

“I’m not shocked. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to me,” said Rep. Mark Schreiber, an Emporia Republican who was among the GOP representatives who didn’t sign the petition. “I’ve been there quite a long time as a lobbyist and legislator. I’ve seen that from leadership.”

He said the Republicans who lost committee assignments wouldn’t be deprived of an opportunity to represent their constituents in the House.

“They still have votes on the floor and can speak from the (House) well,” Schreiber said.

Hawkins was able to convince 78 of the 88 GOP members of the House to sign, which fell below the two-thirds requirement of 84 signatures from 125 House members to authorize the special session. Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson was able to secure the necessary 27 signatures to complete special session requirements in that chamber. The special session had been scheduled for Nov. 7.

On Tuesday, Hawkins threw in the towel on a plan to circumvent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and call a special session devoted to congressional redistricting intended to undermine Davids, a four-term congresswoman with a district centered on Johnson County.

The Kansas Constitution permits the state’s governor to call special sessions. The Legislature also could convene the House and Senate at the Capitol for a special session, but that required petition signatures from at least two-thirds of members in the House and Senate.

Under legislative rules, Hawkins said, once the Nov. 7 deadline was breached the original House and Senate petitions would be voided and the signature search would have to start over.

“To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement,” Hawkins said in his newsletter posted Friday. “At this late date, the only option was to wait until we return for the regular session on January 12.”

In terms of Kansas’ four congressional districts, President Donald Trump urged GOP-led legislatures in Kansas and other states to redraw boundaries to promote election of more Republicans in November 2026 so the U.S. House might remain under GOP control.

Hawkins wanted the Legislature to gather in November to address Trump’s plea for mid-decade redistricting and to consider how to handle federal funding of rural health care and a court decision allowing Kansans to change gender information on a driver’s license. There also were discussions about taking up property tax legislation during the special session.

He said in a statement Tuesday that scheduling conflicts and competing agendas made planning a special session an “uphill battle.”

In the House speaker’s newsletter Friday, he said delaying decisions until January meant Kelly would have “full discretion” on allocation of new federal funding for health care in rural Kansas. Without advance guardrails, he said, funding accepted by Kelly couldn’t be returned to the federal government.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762552150857.png" alt=" Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican campaigning for state insurance commissioner, removed at least three House Republicans from committee chairmanships for declining to sign a petition allowing a special session of the Kansas Legislature to consider President Donald Trump's request to redraw the state's U.S. House district boundaries to improve odds of defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids in the November 2026 election. This March 2025 image is of Hawkins speaking to a GOP colleague. (Photo by Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican campaigning for state insurance commissioner, removed at least three House Republicans from committee chairmanships for declining to sign a petition allowing a special session of the Kansas Legislature to consider President Donald Trump's request to redraw the state's U.S. House district boundaries to improve odds of defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids in the November 2026 election. This March 2025 image is of Hawkins speaking to a GOP colleague. (Photo by Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Speaker: Ten Republicans in House refuse to sign petition to change U.S. House boundaries</h2>TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector&nbsp;TOPEKA — Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins stripped three Republicans of committee chairmanships for refusing to sign a petition calling for a special legislative session to redraw congressional boundaries in a bid to block reelection of Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and to tackle a handful of unrelated bills.Hawkins relied on his unilateral power as the House’s top leader to alter committee assignments and remove as chairmen GOP Reps. Steven Howe of Salina, Nathan Butler of Junction City and Jesse Borjon of Topeka. Hawkins also removed Rep. Clarke Sanders of Salina and Rep. Leah Howell of Derby from vice chair positions.Sanders, who was vice chair of the House Higher Education Budget Committee, said Hawkins called him Friday with the news. Sanders said Republicans in committee leadership positions who wouldn’t sign the special session petition were targeted.“Those of us who were chairs and vice chairs … have been relieved because we didn’t agree to sign on for a special session,” Sanders said. “I understand it. I knew that not signing it came with a risk. I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do. I hope to maintain a good relationship with the speaker, but this was something he felt he had to do.”It’s likely additional committee vice chairs could be removed from leadership positions by the House speaker. Rank-and-file members of the House also could face sanctions in terms of committee assignments ahead of the 2026 legislative session in January.The committee leaders demoted by Hawkins were among 10 Republican House members who declined to sign the petition for the special session. Neither Howe, Butler nor Borjon could be immediately reached for comment.“I’m not shocked. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to me,” said Rep. Mark Schreiber, an Emporia Republican who was among the GOP representatives who didn’t sign the petition. “I’ve been there quite a long time as a lobbyist and legislator. I’ve seen that from leadership.”He said the Republicans who lost committee assignments wouldn’t be deprived of an opportunity to represent their constituents in the House.“They still have votes on the floor and can speak from the (House) well,” Schreiber said.Hawkins was able to convince 78 of the 88 GOP members of the House to sign, which fell below the two-thirds requirement of 84 signatures from 125 House members to authorize the special session. Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson was able to secure the necessary 27 signatures to complete special session requirements in that chamber. The special session had been scheduled for Nov. 7.On Tuesday, Hawkins threw in the towel on a plan to circumvent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and call a special session devoted to congressional redistricting intended to undermine Davids, a four-term congresswoman with a district centered on Johnson County.The Kansas Constitution permits the state’s governor to call special sessions. The Legislature also could convene the House and Senate at the Capitol for a special session, but that required petition signatures from at least two-thirds of members in the House and Senate.Under legislative rules, Hawkins said, once the Nov. 7 deadline was breached the original House and Senate petitions would be voided and the signature search would have to start over.“To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement,” Hawkins said in his newsletter posted Friday. “At this late date, the only option was to wait until we return for the regular session on January 12.”In terms of Kansas’ four congressional districts, President Donald Trump urged GOP-led legislatures in Kansas and other states to redraw boundaries to promote election of more Republicans in November 2026 so the U.S. House might remain under GOP control.Hawkins wanted the Legislature to gather in November to address Trump’s plea for mid-decade redistricting and to consider how to handle federal funding of rural health care and a court decision allowing Kansans to change gender information on a driver’s license. There also were discussions about taking up property tax legislation during the special session.He said in a statement Tuesday that scheduling conflicts and competing agendas made planning a special session an “uphill battle.”In the House speaker’s newsletter Friday, he said delaying decisions until January meant Kelly would have “full discretion” on allocation of new federal funding for health care in rural Kansas. Without advance guardrails, he said, funding accepted by Kelly couldn’t be returned to the federal government.“Those who refused to sign a petition played right into the governor’s hands by giving her free rein without oversight on hundreds of millions of dollars. Sad,” Hawkins said.Hawkins said delaying passage of a gender identification bill meant the Legislature’s action to nullify the court decision would be “very costly and difficult.”The timeline for imposing new congressional districts on Kansans — the focus has been on splitting voter-rich Johnson County among multiple districts — would be “greatly shortened,” Hawkins said.He also disclosed there were “valid” complaints about the cost to taxpayers of a special session, especially since the regular session would begin in two months on Jan. 12. The GOP-controlled Legislative Coordinating Council voted in October to allocate $460,000 to the special session.“It’s also important to remember that the Legislature did their business in record time this (2025 regular) session saving a significant amount of money,” Hawkins said. “These savings would have been more than enough to cover the cost of a special session.”Hawkins notified the chief clerk of the House of committee changes in a memo dated Friday.The memo shows Rep. Adam Turk of Shawnee replaced Howe as the chair of Higher Education Budget Committee. Rep. Rick James of La Cygne replaced Butler as chair of the Veterans and Military Committee. Rep. Carl Turner of Leawood replaced Borjon as chair of the Legislative Modernization Committee.Rep. Kyler Sweely of Hutchinson replaced Sanders as vice chair on the Higher Education Budget Committee, and Rep. John Resman of Olathe replaced Howell as vice chair on the Transportation and Public Safety Budget Committee.In other changes, Rep. Blake Carpenter was removed from the Interstate Cooperation Committee, Rep. Brian Bergkamp was removed from the Child Welfare and Foster Care Committee, and Rep. Megan Steele was removed from the Veterans and Military Committee.