Thursday, October 30, 2025

Millions to be left without food assistance

More than 40 million Americans may face hunger as SNAP benefits will end, a casualty of the ongoing federal government shutdown. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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The Short List

Thu Oct 30 2025

 

Phaedra Trethan National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hello! I'm Phaedra Trethan , mourning the loss of Pierre Robert, a longtime Philadelphia DJ and one of the gentlest, kindest voices of my (and many others') formative years. Rest well, Citizen. 🎙️ 💔

In Thursday's news:

SNAP benefits will stop. What that means for millions.
The Trump Administration wants to make museums less "woke." Some are fighting back.
A Texas grandmother fought to keep her grands out of foster care. The support the state promised never came.

But first: If you live in parts of the Northeast (cough! Jersey! cough!), you know what Mischief Night is. How police deal with a night of mostly harmless mayhem.

SNAP set to end

When SNAP benefits don't arrive on Saturday , it will be the first time that food safety net money has been delayed in the program's 60-year history. Earlier this week, the USDA said it can't use $6 billion in its contingency fund account to pay for SNAP, although the agency has used it in previous government shutdowns. Meanwhile, 42 million Americans are wondering if they and their families will go hungry.

As the shutdown grinds on, President Trump was in Asia.
Some members of the U.S. Armed Forces will still get paid.
Latest updates: Could there be a bipartisan SNAP solution?

Syndication The Des Moines Register

Employees of DMARC, Catholic Charities, and Food Bank of Iowa hold signs during a press conference on the loss of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown at DMARC headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Ia.

Lily Smith, The Register via USA TODAY NETWORK

Museums react to anti-'woke' efforts

The Trump Administration's war on what it calls "wokeness" has rocked museums, cultural and arts institutions including the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center. Some institutions have seen funding losses, leadership changes and pressure on administrators and curators.

Real quick

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is walking back comments about preported links between Tylenol and autism.
It's almost time to fall back in most of the country. Could some states nix the time change? ⏰
The Dept. of Education is making drastic changes to a student loan forgiveness program. 💵
The two big reasons your energy bills are going up. 🔌 💸

'I wasn't going to give up on my grandchildren'

For Rochelle, taking care of her grandkids was a privilege – hard work well worth it. She adapted her routine as she struggled to keep up with work and her religious education, studying while they slept and seeking flexibility from her professors on due dates. The State of Texas placed the two young children with her in hopes of keeping them out of the foster system and she wanted to love and nurture them.

"I had people in my corner. People praying for me. People pushing me along," Rochelle later explained to her son. "I wasn't going to give up on my grandchildren." But she needed help, and the state promised her she'd get support. That didn't happen.

10652.jpg

Rochelle reads a book with her grandson, Jayden, in her home in San Antonio, Texas, on Aug. 24, 2025.

Lorianne Willett, For USA TODAY

Boo! 👻 👹 🎃 💀

Friday is Halloween! We have a bursting bag of Halloween treats (no tricks!) for you, including costume ideas, decorating tips, party snacks and more.

Can't trick-or-treat in your area? Here are some alternatives. 👻
Put a twist on your Halloween party table. 🍭 🍬 🍫
Need a last-minute costume? We've got you. 👹
Why do we like to be scared? 💀

A break from the news

That's no animatronic! What was swinging at this Spirit Halloween. 🐒
It's the end of "Stranger Things." We're feeling a bit upside-down about it. ⬆️ ⬇️
Malala Yousafzai is an inspiration to women and girls everywhere. But there's a lot more to her than that.

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and whether you live in a Mischief Night, Devil's Night or Cabbage Night corner of the country. Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Prince Andrew, Duke of York arrives for the Requiem Mass service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral on September 16, 2025 in London, England. Katharine, Duchess of Kent was married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She died on September 4 at the age of 92 at Kensington Palace surrounded by her family. Having converted to Catholicism in 1994, her funeral takes place at Westminster Cathedral and   is the first Catholic funeral to be held for a member of the royal family in modern British history. Her Royal Highness will be laid to rest at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt - Pool/Getty Images)

Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor following the removal of his style, titles and honors, Buckingham Palace announced.

Drone view of flooding after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.
 

Jamaica, Cuba survey extensive damage caused by Hurricane Melissa

Melissa tore through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful storms in history. By Thursday, the storm weakened as it left the Bahamas.

Kids gather in front of Cushing Elementary School in Scituate, waiting for the first bell on the first day of the new school year, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025.
 

Does '6-7' make you feel old? Here's why it's popular.

The nonsense internet phrase "6-7" has been named the 2025 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com.

Illustration by
 

The U.S. debt is at a record $38 trillion. What does it mean to you?

The national debt jumped $1 trillion in 82 days and is expected to keep climbing. How that could affect you and your financial health.

A portrait of Italian lawyer Bartolo Longo, a former Satanist turned Catholic, is displayed on the day of his canonization in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on October 19, 2025.
 

He once embraced satanism. Now he's one of seven new Catholic saints

An Italian lawyer who once sought refuge in the occult, Bartolo Longo ultimately felt called to build a shrine and promote praying of the rosary.

Newly arrived South Africans wait to hear welcome statements from U.S. government officials in a hangar at Atlantic Aviation Dulles near Washington Dulles International Airport on May 12, 2025 in Dulles, Virginia. Dozens of white South Africans, also called Afrikaners, accepted an invitation from the Trump Administration to come to the United States as refugees. They say they are fleeing job discrimination and racial violence in their home country. Trump has halted virtually all refugee admissions   for people fleeing famine and war but has created an expedited path into the U.S. for Afrikaners, descendants of white Europeans who created and led the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.
 

Trump cuts 2026 US refugee admissions to historic low

The number of refugees allowed into the US will fall to 7,500 from 125,000, under new Trump policy. Most will be White South Africans.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gestures as he meets with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Oct. 29, 2025.
 

Trump turned nuclear weapons world upside down in just three hours

President Donald Trump's Asia trip came with significant nuclear weapons ramifications.

Accepting an award, Billie Eilish addressed the billionaires in attendance. Among the audience were Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas.
 

Billie Eilish calls out billionaires

The Grammy Award-winning singer addressed billionaires in attendance while accepting Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator in Music award.

Graduation day. Mother congratulating graduating daughter.
 

The college parent Facebook groups have gotten out of control

One parent wanted to email their child's professors to introduce themselves and open a line of communication. It's just the tip of the iceberg.

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 29: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee at the Federal Reserve on October 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. For the second straight month, Powell announced a quarter-point cut to the federal funds rate, bringing rates down to a new range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
 

The Fed cut rates, but officials disagree on what's next

Before Wednesday, economists and markets were betting on a December rate cut. After Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments, they aren't so sure.

Time for a break!

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