The federal government has been shut down for 28 days and counting. That’s 28 days too long and already the second-longest federal shutdown ever. Saturday will be another grim milestone. That is the day about 42 million Americans will lose federal food assistance. Congress must not let that happen. America is a great and wealthy nation, and our most important wealth is our generosity of spirit. We help those in need. We provide for the widow and the orphan. Love of neighbor is part of who we are. The Scripture’s injunction to “remember the poor” is a principle Americans have lived by. It’s time Congress does the same.

"But people will die!" That's what some shout whenever anyone proposes cutting government spending. An audience member at a town hall shouted it when Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said Medicaid shouldn't cover illegal immigrants. Ernst responded with an obvious truth: "We all are going to die." The audience groaned and booed. The Nation magazine said her "cruelty and sarcasm might cost her her job."

Public schools were already sounding the alarm that if the government shutdown drags into next month, districts across the country may not have the money to feed hungry schoolchildren who come from low-income families. And now, even more of them will go hungry next month when more than 41 million people lose access to the country’s most critical food benefit. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is administered by the Department of Agriculture, is normally funded to the tune of $8 billion monthly through appropriations, the budget for federal spending that Congress is supposed to negotiate and pass for each fiscal year.

Clearly, we can’t rely on the Congress. A Congress that is willing to let millions of Americans go hungry so its members can score partisan points is less than worthless. Senate Democrats should agree to an extension to fund the federal government while the two parties and bodies work to pass an actual budget for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. And the Republican House should be in session writing that budget rather than on an extended vacation; the actual budget still has to be passed even if the Senate agrees on a temporary extension.

As the federal government shutdown enters its third week with no end in sight, a major crisis looms on the horizon: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, will face a huge funding problem as of the beginning of November. The New York Times reports that the Agriculture Department warned in a letter to state agencies last week that due to the shutdown the federal government would have “insufficient funds” for the program on which more than 40 million low-income Americans rely for food. Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, told reporters on Thursday that “we’re going to run out of money in two weeks.”

As the government shutdown enters its fifth week, we wonder when Democrats in Congress will regain touch with reality, or if that’s even a thing for most of them anymore. LAX shut down for hours last weekend thanks to an air-traffic-controller shortage; flight delays and cancellations will only get worse nationwide the longer this goes on. And the pain is starting to hit what used to be core Democratic values: Food stamps (SNAP) won’t be funded after this week, nor Head Start.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to reconsider an appeal from President Donald Trump's administration over National Guard troops deployment in Portland, Oregon. This decision to rehear the appeal comes after the court stayed an order on October 20, previously ruling that the Trump Administration could deploy 200 troops in the city. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email on Tuesday night for comment.

As 42 million Americans who struggle to put food on the table prepare to lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, I have one humble request: Please don’t let your hunger distract President Donald Trump from his important work designing a White House ballroom and posting AI-generated poop videos on social media. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Oct. 27 that SNAP benefits, which help low-income Americans put food on the table, will not be distributed Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown, forcing millions of Americans to turn to food pantries already stretched thin by federal cuts and high food prices.

With the Border Patrol marching through Chicago and the National Guard patrolling Memphis, the variety of federal forces deployed to support President Trump’s mass deportation campaign and anticrime efforts continues to expand. Often, it can be difficult for the public to tell them apart, or to understand what powers each agency has. Here is a guide to how these forces are operating, including alongside local law enforcement.

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