Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
Chapter 2: What recent legal decisions impact SNAP food benefits during the government shutdown?
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP food benefits during the government's shutdown. It comes after the administration said it would only partially fund food aid. Cities and nonprofits sued over the lower rate, and last week, courts ordered the government to use an emergency fund to pay for the benefits, as NPR's Jennifer Ludden explains.
The judge in this case ordered the Trump administration to use a $4 or $5 billion contingency fund to at least pay partial benefits. But he and another judge in Boston in a separate lawsuit both said there is a bigger pot of money from customs revenues that the Trump administration could use to make full SNAP payments. Now, the government had declined to do that.
Chapter 3: How is the Trump administration's job application essay question affecting federal employees?
It said it wants to keep that money for other uses like child nutrition programs. But depending on how this appeal plays out, of course, if there is a final order to make full SNAP payments, that bigger pot is where they may turn for the money.
NPR's Jennifer Ludden reporting. Several federal employee unions are suing over a Trump administration essay question that now appears on many job applications. NPR's Andrea Hsu explains.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of Steve Pierce's nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management?
Job applicants are asked to identify one or two of the president's executive orders or policy priorities that are significant to them and explain how they'd help implement them. According to the lawsuit, the question has appeared on close to 6,000 federal job listings for positions that have nothing to do with politics, including research biologist and air traffic control specialist.
The Office of Personnel Management has told agencies not to disqualify applicants who don't respond, saying it shouldn't be used as an ideological litmus test. Still, the plaintiffs in the case argue the essay question does amount to an unlawful loyalty test, one that puts partisan politics over expertise. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.
Chapter 5: What recent legal rulings affect the use of force by federal agents against protesters?
The Trump administration has nominated former New Mexico Congressman Steve Pierce to lead the Bureau of Land Management. As Wyoming Public Radio's Hannah Merzbach reports, reaction has been mixed.
The Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas companies, says the seven-term conservative congressman understands the value of energy development.
Chapter 6: How is the humanitarian crisis in Sudan being addressed through ceasefire agreements?
Republican Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lemus says his nomination's a major win for the West.
But for Sierra Club's Dan Ritzman... It's going to be, it's bad news for our public lands. It's bad news for the climate.
Ritzman says Pierce has a reputation for promoting oil and gas drilling on federal land. The League of Conservation Voters has classified 96% of Ritzman's votes on key issues for them as anti-environment. If confirmed, he'll oversee a quarter billion acres of public land. For NPR News, I'm Hannah Mersbach in Jackson, Wyoming.
Wall Street lost ground as tech stocks fell today. The S&P 500 fell over one percent. This is NPR News from Washington. A judge says she will order federal agents in Chicago to restrict using force against peaceful protesters and media.
The temporary ruling came after testimony from people describing being tear gassed, shot in the head with pepper balls and praying while praying and having guns pointed at them when recording agents. A paramilitary group accused of killing thousands of civilians in Sudan has agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire proposed by U.S.-led mediators.
NPR's Jewel Bright reports this will allow aid to reach desperate civilians.
The Rapid Support Forces says it accepted the truce to address the urgent humanitarian consequences of the war and to ensure the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. U.S. officials have been working with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates on a ceasefire between the RSF and the Sudanese army for months.
It remains unclear if the Sudanese army will agree to the truce. Senior army officials have said previously they would only agree to a truce that includes RSF fighters withdrawing from civilian areas and giving up their weapons. The war in Sudan erupted more than two years ago and has killed over 40,000 people, forced at least 14 million from their homes, and caused famine.
Joe Bright, NPR News, Lagos
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