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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for food stamps during the government shutdown. The judge sided with nonprofits and local officials who had warned that many poor Americans rely on the benefits to buy groceries.
It was the second of two rulings in the span of about an hour that found the administration had acted unlawfully after it had refused to tap an emergency reserve for the SNAP program that was enacted by Congress.
It is not yet clear, however, when the money might actually reach the roughly 42 million people who receive the federal help, or the amount that they would receive. The judge ordered distribution of fu…
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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for food stamps during the government shutdown. The judge sided with nonprofits and local officials who had warned that many poor Americans rely on the benefits to buy groceries.
It was the second of two rulings in the span of about an hour that found the administration had acted unlawfully after it had refused to tap an emergency reserve for the SNAP program that was enacted by Congress.
It is not yet clear, however, when the money might actually reach the roughly 42 million people who receive the federal help, or the amount that they would receive. The judge ordered distribution of funds “as soon as possible,” but the Trump administration has said that distribution could take weeks. The Justice Department could try to appeal, perhaps further delaying aid.
Without a last-minute intervention, the decades-old safety net program is set to run out of funds on Nov. 1, more than four weeks into a shutdown seemingly without an end in sight. President Trump called last night for the Senate to eliminate the filibuster so it could pass new legislation to fund the government, but the Republican majority leader, John Thune, was not interested.
The shutdown has also contributed to a shortage in air traffic controllers, who went without their payday this week. It has led to travel delays.
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Members of SEIU canvassing in support of Proposition 50 last week.Credit...Stella Kalinina for The New York Times
California Democrats are feeling unusually confident
As we head into the final weekend before Election Day, Democrats in California are optimistic about their effort to pass a redistricting referendum that could oust as many as five Republican House members next year. Polls show the measure passing by a healthy margin, fueled in part by opposition to Trump.
Democrats are also leading in polls in Virginia and New Jersey, which will each elect a new governor on Tuesday. In New Jersey, their lead is narrow, and the Republican candidate’s path to victory could be through the Black and Hispanic voters Trump made inroads with.
**In other election news: **
Ohio Republicans pushed through a new congressional map that would give the party 12 red-leaning districts. The G.O.P. now holds 10 of the state’s 15 seats.
Nearly 400,000 New Yorkers have already cast early ballots in the mayoral race.
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Credit...The New York Times
Ukraine has gamified its war effort
The war in Ukraine is mostly a drone war: Around 80 percent of the casualties on both sides are coming from drones. To get an edge, the Ukrainian military has turned its drone campaign into a game.
Units are awarded with points for successful attacks. If a drone operator kills a Russian soldier, that’s 12 points. Capture one? 120 points. Destroying a tank is worth 40. The more points a unit gets, the more weapons and gear it can acquire through a government website.
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Credit...Joan Wong
The Supreme Court’s liberals are divided
Badly outnumbered on the nation’s top court, the liberal justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson are split over the best approach. Kagan is diplomatic with the conservatives in an attempt to sway them on crucial votes. Jackson prefers blistering dissents as warnings to the public.
Friction between the two sides is building, as my colleague Jodi Kantor reported.
More top news
**Storm: **The Times went to New River, Jamaica, one of the towns hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa.
**Energy: **Despite lower oil prices, Exxon and Chevron pumped more and reported robust profits.
**Business: **Despite the risk of a bubble, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon plan to spend billions more on artificial intelligence.
**Sudan: **Videos of executions and mass casualties that have emerged out of El Fasher stoked fears that Darfur is again plunging into genocidal violence.
Banks: After Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, JPMorgan alerted the U.S. to about 4,700 potentially suspicious transactions, totaling more than $1 billion.
**Jobs: **The leader of the Navajo Nation has embraced Trump over coal, which has been an economic engine for the region.
**Royals: **Andrew Mountbatten Windsor lost his title as prince over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Here’s what’s next for him.
**Sports: **Saudi Arabia and Qatar have helped bankroll the World Cup, and have benefited from rule changes that gave them extra rest and home-field advantage.
**Tech: **A.I. is making death threats way more realistic.
**Space: **NASA’s chief, Sean Duffy, corrected Kim Kardashian after she repeated the conspiracy theory that the 1969 moon landing had been faked.
TIME TO UNWIND
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Read something haunted this Halloween
Gothic novels have evolved since they first emerged in the mid-18th century. Once defined by common themes, the label now mostly describes a foreboding mood or aesthetic, though many still involve bygone transgressions, old wounds and long-forgotten grudges. The author Emily C. Hughes gathered 13 great entryways into the genre.
For more horror books, answer these four questions to receive a Stephen King recommendation just for you.
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Credit...Benjamin Norman for The New York Times
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Credit...William DeShazer for The New York Times
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Credit...Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho.
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Credit...Sotheby’s, via Associated Press
This toilet is the darling of the auction season
Sotheby’s announced today that it was auctioning off what might be the world’s most valuable toilet: 100 kilograms of solid gold and entirely functional. Bidding will start around $10 million, because that is the current market rate of the gold used to make it.
The artwork, which is called “America,” was made by Maurizio Cattelan, the same prankster whose duct-taped banana sold last year for $6.2 million. Cattelan initially created two solid gold toilets, but the first was stolen in 2019 and most likely melted down.
Have a sparkling weekend.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Monday. — Matthew
Verónica Sanchis was our photo editor.
We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.
Matthew Cullen is the lead writer of The Evening, a Times newsletter covering the day’s top stories every weekday.
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