New Spring Deli & Grocery in New York, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. The president has stretched the limits of his powers to help those at the heart of his agenda, not the many in greatest need. (Marco Postigo Storel/The New York Times) By TONY ROMM As the federal shutdown stretched into its fifth week, imperiling the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, Vice President JD Vance insisted that there was little the White House could do to help. “The American people are already su

Former President Barack Obama takes the stage in support of New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill during a rally at Essex County College in Newark, N.J., on Saturday, November 1, 2025. Prominent figures have flocked to New Jersey to promote Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat, and Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican, in a race with potential implications for the midterm elections. (Bryan Anselm/The New York Times) By TRACEY TULLY and NICK CORASANITI Former President Barack

By ZACH MONTAGUE A federal judge in Washington permanently barred the Trump administration late last week from requiring proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms, a change dictated in an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March. The ruling definitively halted the effort to compel the Elections Assistance Commission, an independent body, to adopt nationwide changes to voting procedures at a time when the president has also called for requiring vot

Mi Tierra Fruit Market in the Bronx, New York, Oct. 30, 2025. A federal judge told the Trump administration on Friday to continue funding for food stamps during the government shutdown, a legal victory for local officials and nonprofits that sought to spare roughly 42 million Americans from losing the benefits in a matter of days. (Marco Postigo Storel/The New York Times) By TONY ROMM One day after ordering the Trump administration to continue funding food stamps during the s

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, speaks during a canvassing event at McCaffrey Playground in Manhattan, Oct. 28, 2025. Mamdani has said he cannot support Israel as long as it is an officially Jewish state — more than 1,100 American rabbis are warning that the safety of Jews is at risk. (Vincent Alban/The New York Times) By LISA LERER and JENNIFER MEDINA The controversy over Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of Israel has moved well beyond New York Ci

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks to reporters alongside other Republican senators outside the West Wing after a lunch with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Oct. 21, 2025. Significant milestones over the next few weeks could shuffle the status quo — for now, both sides remain dug in as the government shutdown heads into a fifth week. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) By CARL HULSE and CATIE EDMONDSON Senate Republicans were confident that

A P-3 Orion hurricane hunter plane, nicknamed “Kermit,” preparing to take off from Lakeland, Fla., to collect data on what became Hurricane Helene, Sept. 24, 2024. Staffing cuts and a federal government shutdown are stretching scientists’ ability to make valuable hurricane observations. (Zack Wittman/The New York Times) By SCOTT DANCE Frank Marks has flown aboard hurricane hunter aircraft dozens of times over the past 45 years, collecting data that has revolutionized meteorol

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One, late on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. More than two dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its recent refusal to fund food stamps during the government shutdown, seeking to spare roughly 42 million people from hunger and financial hardship starting in a matter of days. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times) By TONY ROMM and EMILY COCHRANE More than two dozen states sued the Trump administration earlier t