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Originally known as the food stamp program, it has existed since 1964, serving low-income people, many of whom have jobs but don’t make enough money to cover all the basic costs of living.
Public attention has focused on the program since President Donald Trump’s administration announced last week that it would freeze SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 in the midst of a monthlong federal government shutdown. The administration argued it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund with about $5 billion in it to help keep the program going. But on Friday, two federal judges ruled in separate challenges that the federal government must continue to fund SNAP, at least partially, using contingency funds. However, the federal government is expected to appeal, and the process to restart SNAP payments would likely take one to two weeks.
Here’s a look at how SNAP works.
There are income limits based on family size, expenses and whether households include someone who is elderly or has a disability.
Most SNAP participants are families with children, and more than 1 in 3 include older adults or someone with a disability.
Nearly 2 in 5 recipients are households where someone is employed.
Most participants have incomes below the poverty line, which is about $32,000 for a family of four, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, says nearly 16 million children received SNAP benefits in 2023.
People who are not in the country legally, and many immigrants who do have legal status, are not eligible. Many college students aren’t either, and some states have barred people with certain drug convictions.
Under a provision of Trump’s big tax and policy law that also takes effect Nov. 1, people who do not have disabilities, are between ages 18 and 64 and who do not have children under age 14 can receive benefits for only three months every three years if they’re not working. Otherwise, they must work, volunteer or participate in a work training program at least 80 hours a month.
How much do beneficiaries receive?
On average, the monthly benefit per household participating in SNAP over the past few years has been about $350, and the average benefit per person is about $190.
The benefit amount varies based on a family’s income and expenses. The designated amount is based on the concept that households should allocate 30% of their remaining income after essential expenses to food.
Families can receive higher amounts if they pay child support, have monthly medical expenses exceeding $35 or pay a higher portion of their income on housing.
The cost of benefits and half the cost of running the program is paid by the federal government using tax dollars.
States pay the rest of the administrative costs and run the program.
People apply for SNAP through a state or county social service agency or through a nonprofit that helps people with applications. In some states, SNAP is known by another, state-specific name. For instance, it’s FoodShare in Wisconsin and CalFresh in California.
The benefits are delivered through electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, cards that work essentially like a bank debit card. Besides SNAP, it’s where money is loaded for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program, which provides cash assistance for low-income families with children, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
The card is swiped or inserted in a store’s card reader at checkout, and the cardholder enters their PIN to pay for food. The cost of the food is deducted from the person’s SNAP account balance.
SNAP benefits can only be used for food at participating stores — mostly groceries, supermarkets, discount retail stores, convenience stores and farmers markets. It also covers plants and seeds bought to grow your own food. However, hot foods — like restaurant meals — are not covered.
Most, but not all, food stores participate. The USDA provides a link on its website to a SNAP retail locator, allowing people to enter an address to get the closest retailers to them.
Items commonly found in a grocery and other participating stores that can’t be bought with SNAP benefits include pet food, household supplies like toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning products, and toiletries like toothpaste, shampoo and cosmetics. Vitamins, medicines, alcohol and tobacco products are also excluded.
Sales tax is not charged on items bought with SNAP benefits.
Are there any restrictions?
There aren’t additional restrictions today on which foods can be purchased with SNAP money.
But the federal government is allowing states to apply to limit which foods can be purchased with SNAP starting in 2026.
All of them will bar buying soft drinks, most say no to candy, and some block energy drinks.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin became the 36th state to limit cellphones and other electronic devices in school Friday, when its Democratic governor signed a bill requiring districts to prohibit phone use during class time.
The measure passed with bipartisan support, though some Democrats in the Legislature said controlling gun violence should be a higher priority than banning cellphones.
In signing the bill, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he believes that decisions like this should be made at the local level, but “my promise to the people of Wisconsin is to always do what’s best for our kids, and that obligation weighs heavily on me in considering this bill.”
Evers said he was “deeply concerned” about the impacts of cellphone and social media use on young people. He said cellphones could be “a major distraction from learning, a source of bullying, and a barrier to our kids’ important work of just being a kid.”
This school year alone, new restrictions on phone use in schools went into effect in 17 states and the District of Columbia. The push to limit cellphone use has been rapid. Florida was the first state to pass such a law, in 2023.
Both Democrats and Republicans have taken up the cause, reflecting a growing consensus that phones are bad for kids’ mental health and take their focus away from learning, even as some researchers say the issue is less clear-cut.
Most school districts in Wisconsin had already restricted cellphone use in the classroom, according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report. The bill passed by the Legislature on Oct. 14 would require school districts to enact policies prohibiting the use of cellphones during instructional time.
Of the 36 states that restrict cellphones in school, phones are banned throughout the school day in 18 states and the District of Columbia, although Georgia and Florida impose “bell-to-bell” bans only from kindergarten through eighth grade. Another seven states ban them during class time, but not between classes or during lunch. Still others, particularly those with traditions of local school control, mandate only a cellphone policy, believing districts will take the hint and sharply restrict phone access.
Under the Wisconsin bill, all public schools are required to adopt a policy prohibiting the use of cellphones during instructional time by July 1. There would be exceptions including for use during an emergency or perceived threat; to manage a student’s health care; if use of the phone is allowed under the student’s individualized education program; or if written by a teacher for educational purposes.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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A chill will be in the air across much of the country for this year’s Halloween trick-or-treaters. The good news is we will see mostly dry conditions in time, but a few spots could still see rain lingering into the night.
For much of Halloween, it will be a wet and windy day across the Northeast. Thankfully, much of the rain will clear in time for trick-or-treaters by sunset with only a few showers across Upstate New York and the northern parts of New England.
For those heading out, be sure to bring an extra layer and hold on to those witches’ hats! A gusty northwest wind will bring temperatures down into the 40s and 50s along the coast with even colder temperatures farther inland (30s) after sunset. Winds could even reach 30-40 mph at times closer to the coast.
The forecast is a lot less frightening for the Southeast, which will see clear skies and no chance of rain. However, it will be cool with temperatures slipping into the 50s in areas as far south as Central Florida.
Most of the Central U.S. will also see dry and cool weather Halloween evening. The only exception will be parts of the Northern Plains, where some scattered showers may continue.
Temperatures will range from the 30s and 40s in the Northern Plains to the 50s and 60s across Texas and the Mid-South.
Dry weather is likely for almost the entire West with high pressure in control. The only region that may be wet will be the coastal parts of Washington, where another atmospheric river is expected to move onshore.
It will also be cool in the Pacific Northwest with temperatures falling into the 40s and 50s. Milder weather is expected in the Southwest.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Ian Cassette
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Prosecutors have charged a Wisconsin man with stalking after he allegedly sent liberal state Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky a series of intimidating emails.
Ryan Thornton, 37, of Racine was charged Monday with one felony count of stalking. He faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted. His attorney, listed in court records as public defender Britney Dickey, declined to comment on the case when reached at her office Tuesday.
According to a criminal complaint, Thornton sent Karofsky nine emails between the beginning of August and the beginning of October, accusing her of being manipulative, telling her to “eject” herself from office and asking for her home address.
In one message, he told her to call the Capitol Police Department. “What a democrat idea, tho,” he wrote, according to the complaint. In another message, he asked if she wanted to be part of his helicopter videos, which police took to mean that Thornton believed helicopters were watching him.
Karofsky told investigators she has received numerous threats since she became a judge in 2017, but Thornton’s messages frightened her to the point that she was afraid to leave her house to get her mail and asked police to escort her to her seat during a Milwaukee Brewers game and a Wisconsin Badgers game.
Thornton made profane remarks about Karofsky and said she was “going down” during an interview with investigators, according to the complaint. He told the investigators to call President Donald Trump and that Karofsky “better start running or something for the hills of the feds because it’s a conspiracy.”
Thornton said he was upset with an attorney that he hired to represent him in a 2019 strangulation case and that the Office of Lawyer Regulation, a Supreme Court office that disciplines attorneys, hasn’t investigated the lawyer. According to the complaint, Thornton called the office more than 70 times from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1 to complain about the attorney.
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A western Wisconsin couple is charged with arson months after their restaurant was damaged in a fire.
Fire crews were called to the Hog Wild BBQ and Smokehouse Restaurant in Salon Springs around 8:50 p.m. on June 10, according to the criminal complaint filed in Douglas County.
On the morning of the fire, the husband was captured on one of the restaurant’s 14 surveillance cameras taking out money from all the gambling machines at the bar. The complaint says he then walked into the back office and covered the camera in that room with a post-it note. He then left the restaurant a few minutes later.
Surveillance video then captured him returning to the restaurant with his wife at 8:23 p.m. The wife took out some paperwork and envelopes from the office, and then the husband went back into the office briefly before the two drove away from the restaurant, the complaint states.
Three minutes later, video captures smoke in the bar area, which is connected the office, documents say.
In an interview with law enforcement, the husband said he and his wife had purchased the property in 2013, and opened it in 2020 after making renovations. He said he and his wife were at the restaurant that evening to drop off inventory items, and left around 8:10 p.m. He denied starting any fire.
The wife told police in an interview that she had grabbed paperwork from the office, and then drove home with her husband. She claimed not to know how the fire started, the complaint says.
According to the complaint, investigators determined the fire “was caused by the deliberate application of an open flame to available combustibles.”
Court documents also say that the building was insured through July 14, but the company had issued a non-renewal notice in May, saying that the restaurant’s age, construction type and lack of sprinkler did not meet their guidelines. The couple filed a claim for the fire on June 11.
The complaint also states that while searching the restaurant, investigators found three potted plants that smelled of fresh marijuana.
The husband and wife were each charged with one count of arson and one count of manufacturing THC. Their next court appearance is set for Nov. 19.
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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Max Muncy was inches away from hitting a grand slam for the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the scoring in the National League Championship Series.
Little did he know his 404-foot drive instead would end the top of the fourth inning Monday night in one of the most incredible plays of this or any postseason.
“It’s definitely the worst fielder’s choice/double play I’ve ever hit in my life,” Muncy said after the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1.
Here’s how Muncy’s potential grand slam turned into an unusual 8-6-2 double play:
With the bases loaded and one out, Muncy hit a long drive to center field, where Sal Frelick jumped and reached over the wall in an attempt to make the catch.
The ball popped out of Frelick’s glove and hit the top of the fence before Frelick caught it in the air. Muncy wasn’t ruled out because the ball hit the wall — but the Dodgers’ runners scrambled back to their bases thinking the ball was caught on a fly.
“I didn’t see it hit the wall,” said Will Smith, who was on second base. “I just thought he kind of brought it back in and caught it.”
Frelick fired to shortstop Joey Ortiz, who quickly relayed a strike to catcher William Contreras. Aware a force was still in effect, Contreras alertly stretched for the throw with his right foot on home plate, rather than position himself for a tag that would have been necessary if the ball hadn’t hit the wall.
Contreras caught the ball before Teoscar Hernández slid across the plate, forcing out Hernández after he had hesitated at third base.
“Teo knows the rule. I think right there he had just a little bit of a brain fart, appreciating that when it does hit the glove, you can tag (up) there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But then he tagged, did it correctly, then saw he didn’t catch it, (and) he went back. That was the mistake. But he owned it. And after that, there’s nothing else you can do about it.”
After the forceout at home plate, Contreras smartly got up and jogged to third to force out Smith, too.
Smith had gone back to second when he thought Frelick made a clean catch.
“From home plate, I had a pretty good view of it,” Contreras said through an interpreter. “I could tell pretty much right away it hit off the wall. Right away once it hits off the wall, you know that ball is played live. Tremendous job by the guys there just doing what we needed to do to finish that play off.”
As all of it was developing, Frelick had his arms out with a quizzical look on his face, wondering what exactly had just happened — not unlike many fans.
The Dodgers challenged the call, but a replay review confirmed the forceouts at home and third for a most unusual inning-ending 8-6-2 double play.
Umpires called it correctly in real time all the way through the play.
“Honestly, I didn’t know they ruled it a no-catch,” Roberts said. “I just wanted clarity on the whole situation. And then kind of making sure that they got a couple of forceouts, which they did. And ultimately, those guys and replay, the guys on the field got it right. They nailed it.”
At 404 feet, it was the second-longest projected distance on a batted ball resulting in a double play since Statcast tracking began in 2015 — regular-season games included. For Muncy, it goes down as a grounded-into-double play, even though the ball didn’t touch the ground.
There had not been an 8-6-2 double play in the postseason over the last 35 years, the Elias Sports Bureau said. Those type of official scoring details are not always clear in records going back any further.
The most recent 8-6-2 double play in the regular season involved a ball hit by Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa to Cincinnati center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. in April 2004 — though that one ended with a tag at the plate.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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The family of 26-year-old Elijah Wilks said Thursday they believe the off-duty Milwaukee officer who fatally shot him acted justifiably after a traffic encounter last week, citing video that shows Wilks striking the officer with a gun and pointing it at him before being shot.
Police said the 41-year-old off-duty officer, a 21-year veteran of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), was involved in a minor vehicle incident around 8:30 a.m. Thursday on West Mill Road on the city’s northwest side.
Dashcam video from the officer’s vehicle showed a construction zone where drivers were forced to merge. Wilks was seen moving into the left lane and cutting off the officer.
B’Ivory Lamarr, the family’s attorney, said during a news conference Monday that the two exchanged words before the officer’s vehicle struck Wilks’ car. Both men then pulled over, got out, and continued to argue, though their words were inaudible in the video.
NYPD OFFICER SHOT DURING CARJACKING BY CAREER CRIMINAL, ADAMS RIPS JUSTICE REFORMS
Milwaukee police released footage of an off-duty officer-involved shooting that happened on Oct. 9. (Milwaukee Police Department)
Video shows Wilks pointing to the officer’s car, apparently accusing him of causing damage. Lamarr said Wilks then pulled out a firearm and struck the off-duty officer with it, an act also captured on camera.
“The video in which myself and his mother watched today is that he did slap the off-duty officer with a firearm,” Lamarr said. “It does depict Elijah pointing the firearm at the off-duty officer. The off-duty officer did respond, we believe, in accordance with his training and did fire off several shots.”
The video then shows Wilks reappearing on the other side of his vehicle as the officer fired additional shots, striking him multiple times. Wilks died at the scene.
OHIO POLICE IDENTIFY OFFICER KILLED BY NOW-DEAD GUNMAN DURING AMBUSH SHOOTING
Milwaukee police released footage of an off-duty officer-involved shooting that happened on Oct. 9. (Milwaukee Police Department)
Family members and Lamarr expressed concern that the officer did not administer first aid after the shooting, though they said they believe the officer’s actions were justified.
“I want to now take this moment to address what we did see,” Lamarr said at a news conference. “And again, this is something that oftentimes, I don’t think I’ve ever come before and did a press conference like this, but we will acknowledge that we do believe that this officer-involved shooting was justified.”
He added that while the shooting was “unfortunate and tragic,” the family “stands before you today acknowledging the officer’s actions.”
KANSAS CITY POLICE OFFICER KILLED BY FLEEING SUSPECT WHILE DEPLOYING STOP STICKS TO END PURSUIT
Milwaukee police released footage of an off-duty officer-involved shooting that happened on Oct. 9. (Milwaukee Police Department)
The family and their attorney reviewed the footage the day after the shooting and said Monday they believe their loved one made a tragic mistake.
“He was a good person … everybody loved my brother,” said his sister, Elayjah Wilks.
His aunt, Andrea Ward, said the incident could have happened to anyone, adding, “We are all one seat away from making the wrong decision.”
Another aunt, Latrice Bell, said, “He made a decision that he should not have made, and that is just something we have to live with. I don’t believe Elijah knew that he was a police officer, but whether it was or wasn’t — the encounter should have been different.”
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Under MPD policy, next of kin must be allowed to view video within 48 hours of a deadly incident, and relevant footage must be released publicly within 15 days.
In this case, the department released the video well ahead of that deadline.
Lamarr said the family’s decision to acknowledge the officer’s actions was not easy but reflected their desire for accountability, transparency, and healing in a city still grappling with the toll of violence.
The MPD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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