Trump's USA

Budget crisis in the USA
Judge orders Trump: Pay out food stamps now

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to pay out the food stamps that nearly 42 million Americans are waiting for, news agencies report.

The payment, which has been frozen due to the government shutdown, is to be made on Friday.

Federal Judge John McConnell of the Rhode Island District Court accused the administration of withholding the benefit for "political reasons".

The Trump administration quickly appealed McConnell's decision, making it unclear whether the payment will be made.

Funding for the program, Snap, expired on November 1.

Tensions in the Caribbean
Three dead in new US attack in the Caribbean

Three people are believed to have been killed in a US attack on a boat in the Caribbean. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared a video of the attack on social media, claims that it is an attack against “narco-terrorists”.

In total, at least 70 people have been killed in US attacks on ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September. According to the White House, it is at war with drug smugglers, which it believes justifies deadly attacks outside the country’s borders. However, experts have argued that the attacks violate international law, writes AFP.

The future of the Democrats
Analysis: The Trump brawl was like few others in Washington

When former Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves Congress after this term, she has made a real mark and pushed through groundbreaking legislation passed under two different presidents. This is written by The Guardian’s Chris Stein in an analysis when it is clear that the veteran will not run for re-election.

He notes that the United States is deeply polarized and that major issues that have been prioritized – including the major healthcare reform Obamacare and new climate policy – ​​are still highly controversial today. Stein writes that Pelosi has been involved in a number of major conflicts with both presidents and Republican speakers over the years, but that one stands out in particular.

“Her conflict with Trump was like few others in Washington.”

Politico’s Dustin Gardiner and Nicholas Wu write that the decision marks the end of an era, and that Republicans are being deprived of a person whom the party painted as Donald Trump’s antithesis and “a caricature of the liberal elite.”

At the same time as an era ends, a serious fight is now predicted over which Democrat will replace Pelosi as San Francisco’s voice in the House of Representatives. The decision will trigger a chain reaction of campaigns from party colleagues who want her mandate, according to the writers.

Axios’ Andrew Solender makes a similar analysis.

"Her retirement will trigger a political frenzy in San Francisco, where ambitious Democrats have waited decades for the 85-year-old Pelosi to step aside."