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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out Nov. 1, raising the stakes for families nationwide as the government shutdown drags on.The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November. That program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, is now the second-longest on record. While the Republican administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans and some of those most in need unless a political resolution is found in just a few days.The administration blames Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation.Democratic lawmakers have written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting to use contingency funds to cover the bulk of next month’s benefits.But a USDA memo that surfaced Friday says “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” The document says the money is reserved for such things such as helping people in disaster areas.It cited a storm named Melissa, which has strengthened into a major hurricane, as an example of why it’s important to have the money available to mobilize quickly in the event of a disaster.The prospect of families not receiving food aid has deeply concerned states run by both parties.Some states have pledged to keep SNAP benefits flowing even if the federal program halts payments, but there are questions about whether U.S. government directives may allow that to happen. The USDA memo also says states would not be reimbursed for temporarily picking up the cost.Other states are telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas and Oklahoma, for example, are advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that help with food.Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., accused Republicans and Trump of not agreeing to negotiate.“The reality is, if they sat down to try to negotiate, we could probably come up with something pretty quickly,” Murphy said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We could open up the government on Tuesday or Wednesday, and there wouldn’t be any crisis in the food stamp program.” Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press
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Flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday, when the agency also reported staffing-related delays in Chicago, Washington and Newark, New Jersey.The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed and canceled in the coming days as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown.During an appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures,” Duffy said more controllers were calling in sick as money worries compound the stress of an already challenging job.“Just yesterday, we had 22 staffing triggers. That’s one of the highest that we have seen in the system since the shutdown began. And that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin,” he said.The FAA said planes headed for Los Angeles were held at their originating airports starting at 11:42 a.m. Eastern time, and the agency lifted the ground stop at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.The hold did not appear to cause continuing problems at LAX; according to flight tracking website FlightAware, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport saw a much bigger share of late arrivals due to what the FAA said were weather and equipment issues.Too few air traffic controllers per shift also caused takeoff and arrival disruptions Sunday at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport and Teteboro Airport, and at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Meyers, Florida, according to the FAA.On Sunday evening, the FAA also slowed traffic into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport because of traffic controller staffing. Associated Press
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The USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced two separate large-scale food recalls due to the same reason: possible contamination with metal fragments. The first recall was for BBQ pork jerky and the second was for ready-to-eat frozen chicken products. Both notices were posted over the weekend. In total, a combined 7.1 million pounds of the productswhich were distributed nationwide in both casesare included in the recalls. Heres what you need to know. 2.3 million pounds of BBQ pork jerky recalled According to a notice posted by FSIS on Friday, October 24, a company called LSI, Inc. of Alpena, South Dakota, is recalling approximately 2.3 million pounds of a ready-to-eat Korean barbecue pork jerky product. The product had the possibility of being contaminated with pieces of metal, according to the notice. The “wiry metal” fragments, according to the FSIS, were first detected by customers, who contacted the manufacturer. LSI then found that the metal originated from the conveyor belt used in production, according to the FSIS notice. The impacted product was sold under the brand name Golden Island. Of particular concern is that the impacted pork jerky product has a very long shelf life of one year, which means individuals could have the products stored in their pantries now and for a long time to come. Here are the details of the recalled pork jerky product: Product: 14.5-oz. and 16-oz. plastic pouches containing GOLDEN ISLAND fire-grilled PORK JERKY Korean BARBECUE recipe. Best by dates: range from October 23, 2025, through September 23, 2026. Lot numbers: various (see list linked below) Establishment number: M279A The FSIS has published the product labels and the full product list on its website. The items were sold at Costco and Sams Club locations nationwide. Consumers are being urged to check their pantries and to dispose of the recalled products or return them for a refund. 4.9 million pounds of frozen chicken recalled On Saturday, October 25, FSIS posted another recall notice regarding additional products that may have metal contamination. This time, approximately 4.9 million pounds of ready-to-eat frozen chicken items from Hormel Foods Corporation were effected. The products were distributed nationwide to HRI Commercial Food Service locations, which provide food to hotels, restaurants, and other institutions. The FSIS notice says that these distributions occurred on various dates ranging from February 10, 2025, through September 19, 2025. However, though those dates have passed, as the product involves frozen chicken, it could still be in the freezers of hotels, restaurants, and other institutions. As with the previous recall above, this recall was also initiated after multiple complaints from food-service customers who reported finding metal in their frozen chicken products. As with the pork jerky recall, Hormel Foods determined that the metal originated from the conveyor belt used in production, the FSIS notice states. The recall notice says that the following products are among those included in the recall: 13.9-lb. cases containing Hormel FIRE BRAISED MEATS ALL NATURAL BONELESS CHICKEN THIGH MEAT, with item code 65009 printed on the label. 13.8-lb. cases containing 3-oz.Hormel FIRE BRAISED MEATS ALL NATURAL BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST, with item code 77531 printed on the label. 13.8-lb. cases containing 4-oz.Hormel FIRE BRAISED MEATS ALL NATURAL BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST, with item code 46750 printed on the label. 23.8-lb. cases containing 5-oz.Hormel FIRE BRAISED MEATS ALL NATURAL BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST, with item code 86206 printed on the label. 13.95-lb. cases containing BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST WITH RIB MEAT, with item code 134394 printed on the label. The labels of the recalled products and a detailed list of the recalled products with packaging dates can be found on the FSIS website. The recalled products have the establishment number P-223 printed on them. Businesses that have the recalled products in their possession should not serve them; instead, they should throw them away. “This product is only sold to foodservice customers and cannot be purchased directly by consumers,” Hormel said in a statement. “All customers that may have received the affected product have been properly notified.” Conveyor belt to blame in both recalls Of note regarding the two individual recalls, both notices reported that the metal originated from the conveyor belt used in production. However, it is not known whether the products involved in the two recalls were produced in the same manufacturing facility. A spokesperson for Hormel Foods Sales sent Fast Company a statement that repeated details included in the recall notice but did not identify the facility. Fast Company has also reached out to Golden Island and the FSIS for additional details. We’ll update this post if we hear back.
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