Page 2 - Us Govt Shutdown

Trump admin to partially fund SNAP in Nov amid govt shutdown, court rulings

US President Donald Trump's administration has said that it will partially fund SNAP for November, after two judges issued rulings requiring the government to keep the nation's largest food aid programme running. The Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), had planned to freeze payments starting November 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it during the federal government shutdown. The programme serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation's social safety net. It costs more than USD 8 billion per month nationally. The government says an emergency fund it will use has USD 4.65 billion -- enough to cover about half the normal benefits. Exhausting the fund potentially sets the stage for a similar situation in December if the shutdown isn't resolved by then. It's not clear exactly how much beneficiaries will receive, nor how quickly they will see value show up on the debit cards they use to buy

A month into the shutdown: How US is coping with the funding deadlock

As the shutdown drags on, Americans are feeling the effects, from closed national parks and disrupted airport operations to frustrated employees and consumers

US govt shutdown enters sixth week as Trump urges end to Senate filibuster

Republicans and Democrats remained at a stalemate on the government shutdown over the weekend as it headed into its sixth week, with food aid potentially delayed or suspended for millions of Americans and President Donald Trump pushing GOP leaders to change Senate rules to end it. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday that Trump has spoken to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson as he has publicly and repeatedly pushed for an end to the Senate filibuster. But Republicans have strongly rejected Trump's calls since his first term, arguing that the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they are in the minority. Leavitt said Sunday that the Democrats are crazed people who haven't shown any signs of budging. That's why President Trump has said Republicans need to get tough, they need to get smart, and they need to use this option to

Flight delays persist in US as shutdown causes air traffic staff shortage

Flight delays continued at US airports Sunday amid air traffic controller shortages as the government shutdown entered its second month, with Newark airport in New Jersey experiencing delays of two to three hours. New York City's Emergency Management office said on X that Newark delays often ripple out to the region's other airports. Travellers flying to, from or through New York should expect schedule changes, gate holds, and missed connections. Anyone flying today should check flight status before heading to the airport and expect longer waits, the social media post added. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O'Hare were also seeing dozens of delays and one or two cancellations, along with major airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami, according to FlightAware. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been warning that travellers will start to see more flight disruptions the longer controllers go .

2 United Airlines planes collide at LaGuardia amid US govt shutdown delays

No injuries reported; one of the planes had just arrived from Orlando, Florida, and was turning toward its gate when it accidentally clipped the tail of another United aircraft waiting to take off

Air traffic controller shortage widens US flight delays amid govt shutdown

Continued staffing shortages in air traffic control facilities around the country were again causing delays at airports on Friday as the government shutdown neared the one-month mark. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been warning that travelers would start to see more flights delayed or cancelled as the nation's controllers continue to work without pay during the shutdown, which began Oct 1. Every day there's going to be more challenges, Duffy told reporters Thursday outside the White House after a closed-door meeting with Vice President JD Vance and aviation industry leaders to talk about the shutdown's impact on US travel. The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing-related delays Friday at a number of airports, including in Boston, New York City, Nashville, Houston, Dallas and Newark, New Jersey. The airports in Boston, Nashville and New York City were experiencing delays averaging two hours or longer. Aviation analytics firm Cirium says flight data showed a

Republican leaders reject Trump's demands to scrap Senate filibuster

Back from a week abroad, President Donald Trump threw himself into the shutdown debate, calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster and reopen the government, an idea swiftly rejected Friday by Republican leaders who have long opposed such a move. Trump pushed his Republican Party to get rid of the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to overcome objections and gives the minority Democrats a check on GOP power. In the chamber that's currently split, 53-47, Democrats have had enough votes to keep the government closed while they demand an extension of health care subsidies. Neither party has seriously wanted to nuke the rule. THE CHOICE IS CLEAR INITIATE THE NUCLEAR OPTION,' GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER, Trump said in a late night social media post Thursday. Trump's sudden decision to assert himself into the shutdown now in its 31st day bringing the highly charged demand to end the filibuster is certain to set the Senate on edge. It could spur senators toward their own compromise or

'America First' Trump loved Asia trip despite mounting troubles at home

For an America First president, Donald Trump seemed to love his whirlwind five days skipping across Asia a reflection of a White House that is increasingly focused on the rest of the world. When Trump stepped off Air Force One on Sunday for his first stop in Malaysia, he danced with local performers who had greeted him on the red carpet. In Japan, he helicoptered to a mammoth aircraft carrier for a speech with the country's prime minister. And South Korea gave him a gold medal and crown as gifts. Back home in Washington, the federal government was shut down as Trump's poll numbers remain low, and it's unclear how much Trump's trip will resonate with voters consumed by other concerns at home. Yet on the last night of his trip, Trump was overheard at a state dinner talking about how much he enjoyed meetings with his foreign counterparts. That was a great meeting, Trump said. They're all great meetings. This was a great meeting. We had a fantastic meeting. Had a president who once u

US troops to be paid despite shutdown, says Vance, seeks Democrats' backing

Vice President JD Vance said he believes US military members will be paid at the end of the week, though he did not specify how the Trump administration will reconfigure funding as pain from the second-longest shutdown spreads nationwide. The funding fight in Washington gained new urgency this week as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports snarl travel plans. We do think that we can continue paying the troops, at least for now, Vance told reporters after lunch with Senate Republicans at the Capitol. We've got food stamp benefits that are set to run out in a week. We're trying to keep as much open as possible. We just need the Democrats to actually help us out. The vice president reaffirmed Republicans' strategy of trying to pick off a handful of Senate Democrats to vote for stopgap funding to reopen the government. But nearly a month into the shutdown, it hasn't worked. .

US judge blocks Trump admin from firing workers during govt shutdown

A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, saying that labor unions were likely to prevail on their claims that the cuts were arbitrary and politically motivated. US District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out. She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday. Illston, who was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, has said she believes the evidence will ultimately show the mass firings were illegal and in excess of authority. Federal agencies are enjoined from issuing layoff notices or acting on notices issued since the government shut down October 1. Illston said that her order does not apply to notices sent before the shutdown. The Republican administration has slashed jobs in education, health and other areas it says are

Biden urges Americans to 'get back up' amid 'dark days' for democracy

Former President Joe Biden called these dark days as he urged Americans to stay optimistic and not to check out in response to what he says are attacks on free speech and tests on the limits of executive power by President Donald Trump. Since its founding, America served as a beacon for the most powerful idea ever in government in the history of the world, Biden said. The idea is stronger than any army. We're more powerful than any dictator. Biden, 82, speaking publicly for the first time since completing a round of radiation therapy for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, addressed an audience in Boston on Sunday night after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. He said America depends on a presidency with limited power, a functioning Congress and an autonomous judiciary. With the federal government facing its second-longest shutdown on record, Trump has used the funding lapse as a way to exercise new command over the government. Friends

Trump admin halts federal food aid from November 1 amid govt shutdown

The US Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out November 1, raising the stakes for families nationwide as the government shutdown drags on. The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly USD 5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November. That programme helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries. Bottom line, the well has run dry, the USDA notice says. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. The shutdown, which began October 1, is now the second-longest on record. While the Republican administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans and some of those most in need unless a

Pentagon accepts $130 mn donation to help pay US army during govt shutdown

The Pentagon confirmed that it has accepted an anonymous USD 130 million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown, raising ethical questions after President Donald Trump had announced that a friend had offered the gift to defray any shortfalls. While large and unusual, the gift amounts to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks. The Trump administration told Congress last week that it used USD 6.5 billion to make payroll. The next payday is coming within the week, and it is unclear if the administration will again move money around to ensure the military does not go without compensation. That's what I call a patriot, Trump said during a White House event Thursday when he disclosed the payment from the donor. The president declined to name the person, whom he called a friend of mine, saying the man didn't want the recognition. The Pentagon confirmed it had accepted the donation on Thursday under its general gif

US govt shutdown means no inflation data next month for 1st time in decades

The government shutdown likely means there won't be an inflation report next month for the first time in more than seven decades, the White House said Friday, leaving Wall Street and the Federal Reserve without crucial information about consumer prices. Because surveyors cannot deploy to the field, the White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history, the Trump administration said in an email. Some of the inflation data is collected electronically, but most is gathered in person by government employees who visit stores across the country. The Bureau of Labour Statistics, which prepares the inflation report, has already reduced the data collected each month because the Trump administration's hiring freeze left some cities without surveyors. The announcement follows Friday's release of September inflation data, which showed prices ticked higher but remained lower than many economists had expected. That report, which was ...

US govt shutdown has not affected consumer sentiment, says Unilever CEO

The group's underlying sales in North America grew 5.5% in the third quarter

Senate Republicans head to White House amid stalemate on shutdown

As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, Senate Republicans are headed to the White House on Tuesday not for urgent talks on how to end it, but for a display of unity with President Donald Trump as they refuse to negotiate on any Democratic demands. Senate Democrats, too, are confident in their strategy to keep voting against a House-passed bill that would reopen the government until Republicans, including Trump, engage them on extending health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year. With both sides showing no signs of movement, it's unclear how long the stalemate will last even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers will miss another paycheck in the coming days and states are sounding warnings that key federal programmes will soon lapse completely. And the meeting at the White House appears unlikely, for now, to lead to a bipartisan resolution as Senate Republicans are dug in and Trump has followed their lead. I think the president's ready to get involv

US nuclear security agency furloughs 1,400 workers amid govt shutdown

The federal agency tasked with overseeing the US nuclear stockpile has begun furloughing employees as part of the ongoing federal government shutdown, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday. In a visit to Nevada, Wright said the National Nuclear Security Administration is furloughing 1,400 federal workers as part of the shutdown, which began October 1. Nearly 400 federal workers will remain on the job, along with thousands of NNSA contractors, the Energy Department said. The NNSA, a semi-autonomous branch of the Energy Department, also works to secure nuclear materials around the world. Tough day today," Wright said in Las Vegas before a scheduled visit to the Nevada National Security Site in Mercury, Nevada. We're working hard to protect everyone's jobs and keep our national stockpile secure, Wright said. The furloughs do not pose an immediate threat to national security, Wright said, adding, "We have emergency employees and the current nuclear stockpile is safe. President .

Asian shares rise on earnings optimism, US inflation seen as minor hurdle

Japan's Nikkei led Asia higher with a rise of 1.5 per cent encouraged by news the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to form a coalition government

US SEC lawsuit against Adani alleging fraud paused amid govt shutdown

A US government shutdown has furloughed SEC staff and delayed filings in the civil securities lawsuit against Gautam Adani, even as related criminal proceedings continue

US government shutdown delays release of crucial inflation figures

The government shutdown is delaying another major economic report, leaving policymakers at the Federal Reserve with a cloudier picture even as the economy enters a challenging phase of stubbornly persistent inflation and a sharp slowdown in hiring. The Labour Department's monthly inflation data was scheduled for release Wednesday, but late last week was postponed until October 24. The department is recalling some employees to assemble the data, which was collected before the shutdown began. The figures are needed for the government to calculate the annual cost of living adjustment for tens of millions of recipients of benefit programmes such as Social Security. The shutdown could make things worse for agencies like the Fed if it continues, because government agencies cannot collect the raw data that are then compiled into the monthly reports on jobs, inflation, and other economic trends. The September employment report, for example, which was due to be released October 3 but was no