Congress is on the verge of ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, but that hasn’t stopped President Donald Trump from continuing to target food assistance benefits for 42 million Americans. As the Washington Post’s Mark Berman and Justin Jouvenal report, the White House asked the U.S. Supreme Court (again) on Monday to block a lower court’s ruling that the Agriculture Department fully fund November SNAP benefits while the federal government is closed:
In his filing to the high court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer castigated judges who have ruled against the administration on the issue. Decisions about what programs to fund are “precisely the prerogative of the political branches, not of the politically unaccountable federal courts,” Sauer wrote. … With the shutdown continuing, the legal back-and-forth has left low-income families and scores of others across the country unsure about whether they will receive the usual benefits for November.
Rural health fund is inadequate
Health care leaders are welcoming a $50 billion fund, which was included in the federal tax and budget megabill, aimed at addressing rural health issues. But the money won’t be enough to offset the new law’s estimated $137 billion cut to federal Medicaid spending in rural areas over the next decade. Stateline’s Nada Hassanein reports:
“It’s going to be a Band-Aid,” Toniann Richard, CEO of HCC Network, which runs six Missouri rural community health clinics, said about the grants. “How do we make sure that it’s not just a one-time Band-Aid — that it’s maybe a waterproof Band-Aid?” More than 700 hospitals — roughly a third of rural U.S. hospitals — are at risk of closing because of financial problems, while rural labor and delivery units struggle to stay open and residents grapple with higher rates of chronic illness but live far from care.
The megabill includes nearly $1 trillion in cuts over 10 years to Medicaid, a program that plays a larger role in providing health coverage to people living in small towns and rural communities than in metropolitan areas.
Helping Black students ace the ACT
New Orleans-native Angelica Harris founded Top Tutors for Us, a test-prep company that specializes in pairing Black students with Black tutors. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Patrick Wall sat down with Harris to discuss the factors that caused her and other Black students to struggle with the ACT:
It’s actually across the board for most students who look like me. (In Louisiana, Black students’ average ACT score was 16 in 2023, compared with 20 for White students.) … I think one of the reasons I found is that the test is culturally biased. A lot of the questions — and in the reading section, a lot of the stories — are very Eurocentric. If you’re a Black student, it’s just kind of distant from your own experience. Secondly, I think a lot of Black students start late preparing for the standardized tests, whereas a lot of students who score really high start in middle school. Lastly, test prep is very expensive. It’s always been inaccessible for students from low-income areas.
Harris explains how her program works:
We first start off with the student taking a questionnaire. They take both a behavioral and a technical assessment. And we also have our tutors take both of those as well. We look at dozens of features between the student and tutor, and then we make a culturally competent match. From there, the student gets booked into the tutor’s calendar. They meet regularly. It’s virtual, so this allows the student to access their tutor anytime, anywhere. And the great thing about our program — and why schools like us versus traditional test prep — is because our program incorporates academic skill-building, plus test prep.
Mandatory discounts for fortified roofs
Louisiana could soon require insurance companies to provide guaranteed savings to homeowners who install fortified roofs. That’s according to state Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. Houses with fortified roofs are more likely to sustain hurricane-force winds, and have been hailed as a key part of the solution to the property insurance crisis in coastal regions. Temple has opposed efforts to provide mandatory discounts for homes with fortified roofs, but that appears to be changing. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Sam Karlin reports:
Temple beat back multiple attempts in the Legislature to mandate a 20% discount, arguing it would push insurers away as he works to loosen regulations and make it easier for them to raise premiums, part of a bid to attract more companies. Alabama, which pioneered the program, sets a benchmark of 25% to 30%, though insurers can go through a process to offer a smaller discount. “There’s been talk in the last several sessions about creating some type of mandatory discount. I was opposed to that because I thought it was too early,” Temple said. “Now with 10,000 homes, I think we’re getting to that critical mass.”
A 2025 state law provides homeowners who install a fortified roof with an income tax credit worth up to $10,000. Registration for Louisiana’s Fortify Homes Program, which provides grants to residents to harden roofs, opens Wednesday.
Number of the Day
261,790 – Number of military veterans living in Louisiana. (Source: U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs)