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Top headlines
Lead story
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a big part of the nation’s safety net. More than 42 million low-income Americans tap its benefits, sometimes called “food stamps,” to buy groceries. Normally, people who get those benefits could count on them. That’s because the flow of those funds from the federal government to the states – which administer the program – and from the states to the people enrolled in it has rarely been disrupted.
Until now, that is. As part of the government shutdown, the Trump administration held up the funds that were supposed to go to the states on Nov. 1. After the states sought help from the courts, it looks like all the money could be dispatched with a delay. While fighting over the SNAP funds, many people have made misleading statements about the program.
So I asked Tracy Roof, a political scientist who researches the history of government nutrition programs at the University of Richmond, to help readers get a clearer picture of what SNAP costs and who it serves.
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Emily Schwartz Greco
Philanthropy + Nonprofits Editor
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Some 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images News
Tracy Roof, University of Richmond
Nearly 60% of Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are either children under 18 or adults who are 60 or older.
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Education
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Katie Davis, University of Washington; Aayushi Dangol, University of Washington
Under-resourced schools are less likely to support teachers in implementing AI technology to best serve learning.
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Bailey A. Brown, Spelman College
Women often see their choice of school as a reflection of whether they are good moms, while parents of color feel pressure to find a racially inclusive school.
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Politics + Society
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Jennifer Selin, Arizona State University
House speakers have had the power to determine when the oath is administered, and courts have been reluctant to weigh in on that influence.
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Angie Chuang, University of Colorado Boulder
The unrelenting diet of chaotic, contradictory headlines that Americans face today echoes an antidemocratic playbook from the past.
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Halie Kampman, Penn State; Brian King, Penn State; Glenn Sterner, University of Kentucky; Kristina P. Brant, Penn State; Maya Weinberg, Penn State
Local governments have a lot of freedom on how to spend the funds, but there’s also confusion and a feeling of moral responsibility to spend wisely after so many lives have been lost.
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Health + Medicine
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C. Michael White, University of Connecticut
As the generics market for a particular drug gets crowded, competition on price might be driving quality issues that could harm patients.
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Science + Technology
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Nicole M. Bennett, Indiana University
ICE’s dragnet is expanding across social media, putting everyone’s digital lives into the realm of border and immigration enforcement.
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Environment + Energy
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Michal Kowalewski, University of Florida; Thomas K. Frazer, University of South Florida
Scientists are using mollusk shells to evaluate the health of Florida’s seagrass ecosystems.
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Ethics + Religion
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Iqbal Akhtar, Florida International University
Mamdanis belong to the Khoja community, who were categorized by the British in the early 19th century as “Hindoo Mussalman” because their traditions spanned both religions.
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