🇺🇸 November SNAP benefits are at risk from the government shutdown
As the nation's largest food safety net, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps 42 million low-income Americans afford groceries. While a pre-shutdown memo from the US Department of Agriculture says the program has enough in the bank to fully distribute this month's checks, a longer shutdown could mean beneficiaries could see smaller benefit amounts next month.
SNAP costs about $100 billion each year in federal funds to operate — which translates to monthly checks of roughly $25 to $1,700, depending on a household's income and number of members.
Some states have higher SNAP enrollment than others. Data collected by the US Department of Agriculture shows that about 12% of Americans were receiving benefits as of August 2025.
🛢📈 — Reuters reports that oil is approaching $100 per barrel following the latest exchange of attacks between Americans and Iranians on oil tankers.
▶️The price of Brent crude has risen to $97.07 per barrel, while American WTI crude has risen to $92.28. In the past week, Brent has risen by 7.8%, while WTI has risen by nearly 10%.
▶️On Saturday, U.S. forces attacked three Iranian oil tankers, one of which was stationed near the island of Kharg, a key center for Iranian oil exports. In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three more U.S. ships.
▶️In this context, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sharply declined. Over the past 10 days, an average of only 10 cargo ships have transited the strait per day – the lowest level since May.
The WHO now states on its website:
Vaccination against COVID-19 can trigger multiple sclerosis through cross-reactive CD4+-T cells that recognize the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and myelin peptides.
In other words: Your own immune system destroys the nerve pathways and then attacks your brain and spinal cord.