In Waco, food banks are already feeling the heat ahead of SNAP freeze
Charities are seeing a wave of clients seeking groceries ahead of the Saturday suspension of federal food benefits. Waco has a high food insecurity rate already.
Republican Texas secretary of state fights GOP’s closed primary lawsuit, calls Paxton filing “brazen”
Jane Nelson is fighting a lawsuit from Republicans who say Democrats and independents are voting in GOP primaries, boosting more moderate candidates.
New York judge dismisses Ken Paxton’s legal challenge in abortion pills case
The Texas attorney general wanted a New York court to enforce a civil judgment against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills. The suit was a test of New York’s “shield law.”
Texas ACA insurers hike monthly premiums by 35% on average
The amount Texans will pay toward their ACA premiums will likely rise more steeply, with enhanced subsidies set to expire.
Feds ordered to pay for SNAP as millions of Texans face cuts during government shutdown
It’s not clear how soon assistance could reach people and the rulings could be appealed, The Associated Press reported.
Trump touts ‘12 out of 10’ meeting with Xi, downplays reports of Venezuela strikes
President Donald Trump spent the week in Asia meeting with other global leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, while his administration ramped up its attacks against alleged drug boats in Latin America. Trump met with Xi Thursday in South Korea, where the two hashed out a series of agreements concerning trade. Specifically, Trump said he agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese imports by 10% — reducing the rate to from 57% to 47% — because China said it would cooperate with the U.S. on addressing the fentanyl crisis. Additionally, Trump said that he would not move forward with imposing an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods that were expected to kick in Saturday. Trump threatened the steep hike after China announced in October it would impose export controls on rare earth magnets, which he said China had agreed to postpone by a year. Afterward, Trump described the meeting as a massive success, and signaled that a broader trade deal between the two countries would be signed shortly. TRUMP, XI MEET IN EFFORT TO RESOLVE TRADE TENSIONS SPARKED BY US TARIFFS “Zero, to 10, with 10 being the best, I’d say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Xi. “A lot of decisions were made … and we’ve come to a conclusion on very many important points.” From China’s point of view, Xi said afterward the two countries should work together and complete outstanding tasks from the summit for the “peace of mind” of China, the U.S., and the rest of the world. “Both sides should take the long-term perspective into account, focusing on the benefits of cooperation rather than falling into a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation,” Xi said, according to a state media report on the meeting. TRUMP ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH XI JINPING AT SOUTH KOREA APEC SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTH Additionally, Trump announced on the Asia trip, which also included stops in Malaysia and Japan, that he would instruct the U.S. to revive nuclear weapons testing —upending decades of precedent on nuclear policy, as the U.S. has not conducted nuclear weapons testing since 1992. The announcement also left lawmakers, experts and military personnel wondering what he meant since no other country has conducted a known nuclear test since North Korea in 2017. China’s and Russia’s last known tests go back to the 1990s, when Russia was still the Soviet Union. The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. TRUMP CLAIMS ASIA TOUR RETURNED ‘TRILLIONS’ TO US AHEAD OF CRITICAL MEETING WITH CHINA’S XI However, experts are aligned that Trump likely meant he would instruct the U.S. to either increase its testing of nuclear-powered weapons systems or conduct tests of low-yield nuclear weapons. Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday that Trump would continue to work on nuclear proliferation, but said testing would be done to guarantee weapons are working at optimal capability. “It’s an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly,” Vance said. “And that’s part of a testing regime. To be clear, we know that it does work properly, but you got to keep on top of it over time. And the president just wants to make sure that we do that with his nation.” TRUMP THREATENS ‘MASSIVE’ CHINA TARIFFS, SEES ‘NO REASON’ TO MEET WITH XI The Trump administration also stepped up its campaign against drug cartels in Latin America, totaling at least 14 strikes against alleged drug boats in the region. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the U.S. had conducted three strikes against four vessels in the Eastern Pacific, and Hegseth announced Wednesday another strike had also been conducted in those waters. But the White House dismissed reports Friday that the Trump administration had identified and was poised to strike military targets within Venezuela imminently. Trump later told reporters that he hadn’t determined whether he would conduct strikes within Venezuela. Lawmakers — including some Republicans — have pressed for more answers on the strikes, and have questioned if they are even legal. For example, Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., spearheaded a war powers resolution that would prohibit U.S. armed forces from engaging in “hostilities” against Venezuela. “The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean,” Schiff said in an Oct. 17 statement. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump’s ‘nuclear’ demand not landing for Senate Republicans amid shutdown
President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to gut the Senate filibuster, but it’s a request that puts his quick-fix desire to end the shutdown at odds with the GOP’s long-held defense of the filibuster. The Senate filibuster is the 60-vote threshold that applies to most bills in the upper chamber, and given the nature of the thin majorities that either party has commanded in recent years, that means that legislation typically has to be bipartisan to advance. It has also proven to be the main roadblock in reopening the government. Despite Republicans controlling the upper chamber, they have routinely come up a handful of votes short in their 13 attempts to end the shutdown. JOHNSON WARNS AGAINST TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR SENATE TO GO ‘NUCLEAR’ TO END SHUTDOWN Three members of the Democratic caucus have broken from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their colleagues to reopen the government, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs five more to hit the magic number. Trump, in a late-night Truth Social post, said that on his return trip from Asia, he ruminated heavily over why the government had shut down despite Republicans being in control. His solution was for Senate Republicans “to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option.” “Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW,” Trump said. Senate Republicans have already gone nuclear this year to unilaterally change the rules to blast through Schumer’s and Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominees. But for many Senate Republicans, including Thune and his leadership team, nuking the filibuster is a proverbial third rail. TRUMP URGES GOP TO ‘END THE SHUTDOWN’ BY GOING NUCLEAR ON SENATE FILIBUSTER “There’s always a lot of swirl out there, as you know from, you know, social media, etc., but no, we’re not having that conversation,” Thune said earlier this month when asked about pressure to go nuclear on the filibuster. And there isn’t much daylight between his sentiments from earlier in October to now. “Leader Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged,” Thune’s spokesperson Ryan Wrasse said in a statement. Earlier this month during an appearance on Fox & Friends, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., shared a similar outlook as Thune when asked if the filibuster was under consideration to be on the chopping block. “No, that’s not going to be the case,” he said. “There aren’t the Republicans that would want to support it.” SENATE GOP RESISTS ‘NUCLEAR OPTION’ AS DEM SHUTDOWN STANDOFF DEEPENS The filibuster has come under fire in the last decade from Senate Democrats, a point that Trump noted in his lengthy post. The last time the filibuster was put to the test was when Democrats controlled the Senate in 2022. Schumer, who was majority leader at the time, tried to change the rules for a “talking filibuster” in order to pass voting rights legislation. But the effort was thwarted when then-Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., joined Republicans to block the change. Both have since retired from the Senate and become independents. Still, the stalemate in the Senate has shown no signs of shattering as the shutdown heads into November, though bipartisan talks among rank-and-file members have been on the rise as federal food benefits career toward a weekend funding cliff. Across the building, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also warned against turning to the nuclear option for the filibuster, even as a handful of House Republicans have demanded that the safeguard be erased. “Look, I’ll just say this in general, as I’ve said many times about the filibuster, it’s not my call. I don’t have a say in this. It’s a Senate chamber issue,” Johnson said. “But the filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don’t think our team would like it.”
North Carolina Democrat lawmaker resigns after being hit with child sex charges
A North Carolina Democratic state lawmaker resigned from his position after being charged with felonies tied to alleged sexual conduct with a minor. The move from Rep. Cecil Brockman of High Point comes after he faced bipartisan calls to resign and a potential committee investigation, announced by North Carolina’s House speaker, into his alleged misconduct. “I am currently facing criminal charges brought against me in Guilford County. Due to the seriousness of these accusations, I need to focus on my defense of these allegations,” Brockman, 41, said in a statement obtained by WXII. “As a result, I am unable to fulfill my duty and service to my constituents in Guilford County. As a result, I am resigning my position from the NC House of Representatives effective immediately.” TRUMP-BACKED NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE MAP APPROVED BY LAWMAKERS AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO PICK UP SEAT North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said Brockman’s decision “is the right thing to do for his constituents and for the North Carolina House of Representatives.” “His departure spares the House from a difficult expulsion process and brings closure to this troubling chapter,” Hall added, according to WXII. Brockman is facing two counts of statutory rape of a child between the ages of 13 and 15 and two counts of indecent liberties with a child, according to court records obtained by Fox News Digital. A magistrate’s order said Brockman is accused of engaging in sex acts with a 15-year-old in August and is twice alleged to have committed and attempted to commit “a lewd and lascivious act” upon the juvenile, The Associated Press reported. Court documents cited by WRAL indicate that Brockman attempted to contact the alleged victim while they were hospitalized and sought to “use his status to gain information on the whereabouts of the victim.” TEXAS MEGACHURCH FOUNDER TO SPEND 6 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING GIRL Brockman, who was first elected to the state House in 2014 and has served since 2015, represents portions of the High Point and Guilford County area. He has served on committees related to education and appropriations. State House leaders from both parties and Democratic Gov. Josh Stein had called on Brockman to resign since his arrest three weeks ago. The House clerk’s office on Friday received a letter signed by Brockman to resign effective immediately. Records show Brockman remained in jail Friday on a bond of just over $1 million. A court hearing on a request by Brockman’s attorney to reduce the bond is scheduled for Monday. Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Food stamp benefits for 42 million Americans in jeopardy today amid shutdown
With no deal in place to reopen the government and no action from the administration to make up for a funding shortfall in federal benefits, millions of Americans are at risk of losing food benefits starting on Saturday. The argument raging in the Senate mirrors the same argument that has so far seen the government shutdown for 32 days. Senate Democrats contend that with the stroke of a pen — like on expiring Obamacare subsidies — President Donald Trump could easily see the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, funded as the shutdown drags on. SENATE GOP DIVIDED AS MILLIONS RISK LOSING FOOD AID IN SHUTDOWN STANDOFF “We don’t want to pit healthcare and food, [Republicans] do,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “We think you can have both.” But congressional Republicans and the administration argue that food stamp benefits, and numerous other government programs, could be fully funded if Schumer and his caucus would unlock the votes to reopen the government. Democrats are suing the Trump administration in part over its refusal to use the SNAP emergency fund, which they contend has about $5 billion, to fund the program. But a recent memo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) argued there was no legal standing to use the fund and that federal SNAP funds would run dry by Nov. 1 if Democrats did not vote to end the shutdown. A pair of federal judges ruled on Friday that the administration would have to pay out the food stamp benefits for November, either in full or partially. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins affirmed the memo during a Friday press conference, “There is a contingency fund at USDA, but that contingency fund, by the way, doesn’t even cover, I think, half of the $9.2 billion that would be required for November SNAP. But it is only allowed to flow if the underlying program is funded.” USDA CHIEF WARNS ‘WE’RE RIGHT AT THE CLIFF’ AS 40 MILLION AMERICANS BRACE FOR FOOD STAMP CUTOFF Nothing typified the dysfunction over the benefits, which 42 million Americans rely on, more than an explosion on the Senate floor this week between Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. Luján tried to force a vote on his bill that would fund both food stamps and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), but was promptly blocked by an angry Thune, who argued that Democrats have had 13 chances to fund the program through the shutdown. “This isn’t a political game, these are real people’s lives we’re talking about,” Thune said. “And you all have just figured out, 29 days in, that, oh, there might be some consequences.” Democrats contend that Trump and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, are actively choosing not to fund the program, given that there is roughly $5 billion in an emergency contingency fund that the administration could dip into. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., charged that it was “Trump’s choice.” “He’s got $5 billion that he could be using right now to help people, to help people feed their kids, and he’s choosing not to do that,” he said. “What he’s doing is sick, deliberately making this shutdown more painful as a means to try to get Democrats to sign on to an immoral, corrupt budget.” The argument has been much the same in the House of Representatives, which passed the GOP’s federal funding bill on Sept. 19. Both Republicans and Democrats appear worried, however. SCHUMER, DEMS CALL ‘BULL—-‘ ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FOOD STAMP SHUTDOWN THREAT “I just left the local food pantry in my district and was speaking with seniors there, and they’re all very concerned,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., whose district is home to more than 120,000 SNAP recipients, told Fox News Digital. “They agree with me that the Senate, beginning with their own senator, Senator Schumer, should vote to continue the existing funding levels that they previously voted for four times and prevent this unnecessary pain.” There is a desire among both sides of the aisle to fund the program before the government reopens, but the likelihood of piecemeal bills, or “rifle-shots,” making it to the floor was squashed by Thune during the week. Both Luján and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., have bills that would fund food stamps, with Hawley’s bill having 29 bipartisan co-sponsors, including Schumer. One of the co-sponsors, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital that the administration’s argument, in part, was because the $5 billion in the contingency fund was not enough to cover a month’s worth of food stamp benefits. “It’s hurricane season, and that’s what it’s really satisfying,” he said. “But it’s not enough, either way. We’ve tried 14 times to be able to fully fund SNAP — once with an actual appropriation bill … to say, ‘let’s just fund it for the entire year,’ 13 times to do short term. It’s a little frustrating. Some of my Democratic colleagues are saying, ‘Well, find some way to fund it for a week or so, move things around.’” But on the House side, it’s not clear if Democrats nor Republicans have the appetite for piecemeal bills during the shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has consistently said he will only call the House back into session if Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government. Meanwhile, Fox News Digital asked Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., during a press conference on SNAP this week whether he was discussing food stamp legislation with his Senate counterparts. “I’m familiar with the proposals, and I know that many of my colleagues … have proposed legislation here in the House as well. Those conversations will continue,” Neguse said. But, “ultimately,” he added, “legislation doesn’t need to be passed in order for these funds to be released. It is the law.”
Obama the ‘campaign closer’ for Democrats in top 2025 elections as party aims to rebound
In the final stretch leading up to Election Day 2025, former President Barack Obama is everywhere. From coast to coast, the former president is hoping to help push fellow Democrats over the finish line in the most high-profile and consequential ballot box showdowns this year as his party aims to rebound following last year’s election setbacks. On Saturday, with just three days to go until Election Day, Obama will headline rallies in New Jersey and Virginia, the only two states holding elections for governor this year. And last week he weighed in on another crucial ballot box showdown. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS “A lot of us do not believe that politicians should choose their voters, they believe the voters should choose who’s going to represent them. That’s the meaning of democracy,” the former two-term president said as he joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom on an organizing call for California’s Proposition 50. California voters are deciding whether to pass the proposition, which will give congressional redistricting powers in the left-leaning state back to the Democrat-dominated legislature over the coming years. The move would likely create up to five more blue-leaning U.S. House seats in the nation’s most populous state, and counter new maps drawn in GOP-dominated Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina that will likely create up to seven Republican-leaning districts. FIVE KEY RACES TO WATCH ON ELECTION DAY 2025 It’s part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Democrats need a pickup of just three seats to win back control of the House. President Donald Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. Obama argued that the Trump-led effort by Republicans across the country is “brazen.” “The problem that we are seeing right now is that our current president and his administration is explicitly saying that we want to change the rules of the game mid-stream in order to insulate ourselves from the people’s judgment,” the former president said as he joined Newsom. Obama, who is appearing in “Yes on 50” TV ads, said that passing the proposition in California would give Democrats “a chance, at least, to create a level playing field in the upcoming midterm elections.” BATTLE FOR GOVERNOR IN THIS CLOSELY WATCHED RACE MAY BE HEADED FOR A PHOTO FINISH The former president is also appearing in ads in New Jersey for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who’s locked in a close contest with GOP rival Jack Ciattarelli in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat. And he’s starring in spots for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Virginia, who’s facing off against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the showdown to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin. For Democrats, who are aiming to escape the political wilderness after losing control of the White House and Senate majority and falling short in winning back the House last year, the 2025 ballot box showdowns are their first major shot at redemption, and they hope that Obama’s two-state swing will energize their base voters. But for the former president, whose crowning domestic achievement — the Affordable Care Act, which is better known as Obamacare — is front-and-center in the current federal government shutdown and a top issue on the 2025 campaign trail, his return to the campaign trail is also about protecting his legacy. “President Obama reminds us what we can accomplish when we leaders are unafraid to take on big challenges to deliver,” Sherrill said in a statement. “He led historic efforts to insure millions of Americans and lower healthcare costs.” Obama is often referred to as the Democrats’ campaign closer as they point to his recurring role since leaving office nine years ago as the party’s most effective campaign trail communicator. According to a Gallup poll conducted in January, Obama had a 59% favorable rating among Americans, higher than any other living former president. And among Democrats, his favorable rating stood at an astronomical 96%. “He’s the best communicator of our generation. The pathway back lies largely in meeting people where they are, and President Obama showed in his two election victories that he can do that,” seasoned Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital. But Erin Maguire, a veteran Republican strategist and communicator who served in top communications positions for then-House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, and later led communications for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, disagrees. “It shows what a vacuum of leadership there is in the Democrat Party that Obama has to be the closer here,” she emphasized. Pointing to Trump’s come-from-behind 2016 White House victory, Maguire argued “there was a complete rejection of the Obama era when Donald Trump was elected to office. . . . For Democrats, this just shows what a monumental mess their whole party is that Obama has to be the strongest voice on any of these races.”