THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT.
‘Going to be a lot of hungry people’: Food banks, farmers across US decry federal cuts
Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
Updated Mon, March 31, 2025 at 7:01 AM CDT6 min read
The abrupt cancellation of government funding for programs to help food banks distribute healthy, local food is being felt across the country, as some already strapped organizations turn to their local communities for help.
In early March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was cutting more than $1 billion in funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement programs for 2025. The money was designed to pay farmers to provide food to schools and food banks, giving a boost to local producers while giving fresh options to children and communities.
Then, food banks were hit with another blow when they were informed that scheduled deliveries of food through the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program were being halted or cut back.
The cuts come as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency target a long list of government programs and federal jobs for sweeping cuts in recent months. The USDA told USA TODAY that the LFPA cuts were a “return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.”
Food producers and food banks that participated in the axed programs say they will have less food to give to their communities. And rural communities will be hit the hardest because they depend the most on USDA-funded programs for the food distributed by food banks, said Vince Hall, chief government relations officer of the nonprofit Feeding America.
“The reality is that the food banking system is stressed to the breaking point right now because we’re seeing record-high demand and diminished resources,” Hall told USA TODAY. “Folks who came to us during the pandemic have found it impossible to ease out of dependency on food banks because inflation has made so many of their monthly budget essentials more expensive than ever.”
‘A huge blow’: USDA cuts threaten to throw Wisconsin’s local food supply into disarray
By Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata, CNN
5 minute read
Published 10:00 AM EDT, Sun March 30, 2025
CNN
—
Federal funding cuts have thrown local food systems in Wisconsin — and across the US — into chaos.
This month, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it is terminating 2025 funding for two pandemic-era initiatives: the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) programs. The initiatives together provided over $1 billion to farmers in 40 states, supplying fresh food to food banks, pantries and schools.
The USDA had previously signed a contract in January committing to fund Wisconsin’s LFPA program for 2025, according to the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. However, a USDA spokesperson told CNN the decision was part of a broader effort to transition away from temporary pandemic-era programs and focus on “long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.”
And, Meals on Wheels is in the crosshairs. Don’t be surprised when they come up with some lie about why it should go away, and what ‘fraud’ they uncovered to justify killing it.
Meals on Wheels seniors ‘will panic’ if Trump’s federal aid freeze sticks, spokesperson says
The Independent US
Mike Bedigan
January 28, 2025
A representative for Meals on Wheels warned that Donald Trump’s proposed pause on federal funding to the organization will cause “panic” among senior citizens who will not know where their next meals are coming from.
After Monday’s announcement from the White House that all federal grants, loans and other types of financial assistance were being frozen until a review, a spokesperson for Meals on Wheels America said uncertainty was causing “chaos” for local distributors and seniors.
A federal judge on Tuesday on Tuesday lifted the freeze until February 3, but it’s uncertain what the ultimate resolution of a court fight over the policy would be.
“The uncertainty” on Monday was “creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing whether they should be serving meals today,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Huffpost. “Which unfortunately means seniors will panic not knowing where their next meals will come from,” the statement added.
Heartland Signal
@HeartlandSignal
U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TX) accuses Rep. Al Green (D-TX) of using a fake cane, calls him “boy”:
“Gosh dang it, boy. He does not need that cane. That cane is a prop. I swear it’s not real. And I’m wondering, one of my colleagues said unscrew the gold part off of it and see if there’s a gun in there. I don’t know about that man. He’s just Weird Al.”
https://x.com/HeartlandSignal/status/1914379878473912445
Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) posted at 7:58 PM on Sat, Apr 19, 2025:
In Boumediene v. Bush, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those detained on Guantanamo could not be detained indefinitely & had the Constitutional right to challenge their detention.
All still-serving Justices—Roberts, Thomas, Alito—DISSENTED. https://t.co/azQlNKF2Rq https://t.co/aLFLPfUCOe
(https://x.com/ScottHech/status/1913759074031710649?t=gmWk_MsekwkT0SVff2PNCw&s=03)
Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) posted at 7:58 PM on Sat, Apr 19, 2025:
Important note: By disappearing people to El Salvadorian prisons, Trump is explicitly trying to thwart a 2008 Supreme Court case that ruled the Constitution applied to non-citizens on Guantanamo, since the US maintained “jurisdiction & control” over the base there.
(https://x.com/ScottHech/status/1913759067182358978?t=Bs4ensWZdkb3DxijptfFEg&s=03)
Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) posted at 4:28 AM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
President Trump is preparing an executive order to end ALL African activity and diplomacy in the State Department, and close ALL embassies on the continent. In addition, the department will end its contract with Howard University, a historically Black institution, to recruit candidates for fellowships, which are to be terminated. The goal of those fellowships has been to help students from underrepresented groups get a chance at entering the Foreign Service soon after graduation.
(https://x.com/WendellPierce/status/1913887563930018055?t=v12yXISLjIFdSV2dbbs3Kg&s=03)
The Dow is down 971 points.
Fun times.
theGrio.com (@theGrio) posted at 6:34 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday. He was 88. Read more #OnTheGrio
https://t.co/ro0GAurc6Y
(https://x.com/theGrio/status/1914281653691707748?t=0wck-ZEhYs0Y0OtPL92iOQ&s=03)
THE FSU SHOOTER
Candidly Tiff (@tify330) posted at 10:54 PM on Sat, Apr 19, 2025:
“He espoused the election denialism belief that Joe Biden was not the legitimate president, he said that Rosa Parks was in the wrong, he also talked about how Black people are ruining his neighborhood and Stonewell was bad for society,” Luzietti said.
The common denominator is White Supremacy .
https://t.co/M694ljj3J0
(https://x.com/tify330/status/1913803451370262742?t=2JrrwXUkefg47DmLY4qb6w&s=03)
unaffiliated followers of the new democrats (@reesetheone1) posted at 4:17 PM on Wed, Jan 29, 2025:
Ny cousin is half Latino and live in NY…. a US citizen. Black mother and Latino father.
He can be picked up in an ICE sweep by mistake any day now.
To think I don’t know…. come on.
Now y’all KNOW why I went apeshit about the Latino vote real time on election night. https://t.co/HGR9d3z12f
(https://x.com/reesetheone1/status/1884727612053881107?t=aXNhcqJlgpJpBQm5wQu-yQ&s=03)
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) posted at 4:10 PM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
BREAKING NYT:
Pete Hegseth shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
The info included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in
(https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1914064220125384727?t=iVAUvqBPcfqq1k3UwzIJCQ&s=03)
Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) posted at 2:53 PM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
🚨 BREAKING: A U.S. citizen was detained by immigration officials in Arizona for 10 days, according to AZPM.
Born here. Legal. Still detained.
This isn’t border security. It’s the erosion of civil rights under the banner of nationalism. When even citizens aren’t safe from ICE,
(https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/1914044660961444118?t=1LoCHqjtN15TYGNv5Ai_Kw&s=03)
Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) posted at 7:25 PM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
If you want to remove unauthorized residents at scale, what you need to do is sanction employers rather than try to deport millions of people one by one.
But this involves:
1. Fighting with business interests
2. Admitting illegals are mostly just working not “terrorists”
(https://x.com/mattyglesias/status/1914113286519284114?t=ahATanj5N3VNDtuBIa9eQw&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 8:53 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
New in PN: RFK Jr is wrong about autism
“The Trump administration’s attack on difference, the idea that people who are different are a tragedy and a burden and that they have nothing to contribute — that is fascism. And it is a danger to almost everyone” https://t.co/i31GGfzYbV
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1914316523629416523?t=fqhOZlngrcnxv22Ev17aqw&s=03)
Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) posted at 8:48 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
Miles Caton says H.E.R. told him to audition for ‘SINNERS’:
“I’ve been touring with H.E.R. since I was 16 years old. Towards the end of the tour, I got a call. She called me one day and she told me that there was a role that she thought I should audition for. It was a young kid https://t.co/DIB8uHJgdd
(https://x.com/FilmUpdates/status/1914315313304191482?t=NKea52aJe5A43osbkEcSDg&s=03)
Mark Zandi (@Markzandi) posted at 8:45 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
The Trump administration’s policies are set to severely diminish the economy, not only for the next few months but for years. The administration’s trade war is undermining the global safe-haven status of the U.S., which has provided incalculable benefits, including our economy’s https://t.co/0e36kDDmgc
(https://x.com/Markzandi/status/1914314530206687733?t=YsaKBNQ73tyeKOhJkg73UQ&s=03)
Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) posted at 8:58 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
At the WH Easter egg hunt, Hegseth this morning pathetically blames the media for what his own appointees disclosed about his latest scandals. https://t.co/iYh8tbrbme
(https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1914317940805022019?t=4AqrhlUvTZ7-NPcjWXnmbw&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 9:06 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
Leavitt lies about Abrego Garcia: “He is a foreign terrorist and criminal MS-13 gang member … shame on Senator Chris Van Hollen and the entire Democrat Party who wasted Easter Sunday going on every TV show in the country to advocate for the return of an illegal criminal gang https://t.co/GUXlEfY6DN
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1914319803692601558?t=4YE8R7GDEJck91iXN6s2Ow&s=03)
The Associated Press
@AP
BREAKING: The cause of Pope Francis’ death was a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican says. He had decreed in his will that he be buried in St. Mary Major Basilica in a simple underground tomb. Follow live updates:
https://x.com/AP/status/1914384555995259100
Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) posted at 9:03 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
By design, some of biggest winners from clean energy investments have been coal towns that were crumbling because of competition with natural gas, and now have new lifelines with massive projects that can sustain the community for generations.
Repealing them will be crushing. https://t.co/JPobxV15cf
(https://x.com/JesseCharlesLee/status/1914319127906340955?t=M58ksfM3pqZuCqvWxnAkrw&s=03)
scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) posted at 9:07 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
While Trump’s minions stamp their feet in front of the cameras about the need for new manufacturing jobs that will compete in the future, they are cutting the knees out from the entire “green” economy at the behest of their oil/gas donor overlords. Media is silent.
(https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1914320024459677772?t=L3WAOrogOHv4G54QFfcfgQ&s=03)
TIME (@TIME) posted at 8:07 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
After the Pope dies, the Vatican’s traditional nine days of mourning called the novendiales begin.
The election of a new Pope begins between 15 to 20 days after the death. The camerlengo, a cardinal in the Catholic Church, is in charge of organizing the election in a process known as the conclave time.com/7278963/new-po…
(https://x.com/TIME/status/1914305062765027349?t=1ZR6xRfbwJABovA-C1ah2g&s=03)
Barack Obama (@BarackObama) posted at 7:46 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people. In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound – embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another.
Today, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope’s example. May we continue to heed his call to “never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.”
https://t.co/AFI0BEotUO
(https://x.com/BarackObama/status/1914299709344133351?t=DRvw8OaWmlkc61DM2AR0Sg&s=03)
ron insana (@rinsana) posted at 10:55 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
The loss of safe haven status for U.S. assets is happening rapidly, right before our eyes. Gold, topping $3,400 per ounce, more than any other asset, is regaining its historic role. This should be disturbing to anyone owning financial assets in America.
(https://x.com/rinsana/status/1914347223497789702?t=KF6nW–7MZu_j4SmJvsiAQ&s=03)
Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) posted at 11:12 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
While the world celebrates Easter, Trump took the holiday as an opportunity to insult his opposition. I look at Trump’s Easter message as well as J.D. Vance’s disastrous meeting with Pope Francis.
Watch here: https://t.co/DedTqZV2yF https://t.co/C0Lz7M6bLB
(https://x.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1914351551667150877?t=Y9BlhdJfUNXIDnX6BAc0rw&s=03)
😱 Scary Larry 😱 🇺🇦✊🏻🇺🇸🗽 (@aintscarylarry) posted at 10:13 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
The same republicans who shat blood and demanded that Hillary get locked up for using a private email server are perfectly fine with Pete Hegseth sharing top secret war plans on Signal with his wife, his nieces, nephews, his sister in law’s stepbrother’s cousin’s roommate… 🤦♂️
(https://x.com/aintscarylarry/status/1914336819325620575?s=03)
Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) posted at 11:09 AM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
When I said that a 54-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by ICE, MAGA said no big deal.
Then, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was erroneously deported, and MAGA says “you always pick one person.”
It’s not one person. We learn about someone new practically everyday at this point. https://t.co/YMYMrsr4r5
(https://x.com/JessicaTarlov/status/1913988329793888663?t=CrPmfWR2oYkp-lE_y5F56g&s=03)
Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) posted at 11:02 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
Ryan Coogler’s ‘SINNERS’ officially opens at #1 at the domestic box office with $48M.
The biggest opening for an original film post-COVID. https://t.co/e0tuiM3mrm
(https://x.com/FilmUpdates/status/1914349045943865505?t=ISYEA9lgf8wcIaiDExB78Q&s=03)
😩✌🏾 (@Smiley_Keke) posted at 3:36 PM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
What is this sudden emphasis on disabled people not paying taxes ( which is a lie) ? 🤔 https://t.co/CfUz7UmxLu
(https://x.com/Smiley_Keke/status/1914055473613193637?s=03)
NewsOne (@newsone) posted at 11:25 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
As the Ryan Coogler vampire thriller ‘Sinners’ hits theaters, we look at some of the best Black bloodsuckers ever in film and television. Which one is your favorite? 🎬 #SinnersMovie
https://t.co/HJjjIZwY8F
(https://x.com/newsone/status/1914354698271826113?t=75ATxtUnsH5KxBbVNAUG4A&s=03)
EJW (@TedWilcox7) posted at 7:12 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
America’s First ‘Cultural Revolution’
Halligan’s job: “remove improper ideology”
She told Trump the Smithsonian needs changing. He’s ordered her to do it. https://t.co/bokCfVO8GC https://t.co/Dyeoaymi8o
(https://x.com/TedWilcox7/status/1914291039017275844?t=pV0G5PCLUNAzkFhMnV8AIA&s=03)
Chris D. Jackson
@ChrisDJackson
Funny how the guys who screamed about Biden when gas jumped 50 cents go silent as Trump’s mouth costs Americans thousands in the stock market.
Turns out it was never about the economy—it was always about the faux outrage.
https://x.com/ChrisDJackson/status/1914344246003277971
Trump Administration Draft Order Calls for Drastic Overhaul of State Department
The draft executive order would eliminate Africa operations and shut down bureaus working on democracy, human rights and refugee issues.
April 20, 2025
A draft of a Trump administration executive order proposes a drastic restructuring of the State Department that includes eliminating almost all of its Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent, according to American officials and a copy of the document.
The draft also calls for cutting offices at State Department headquarters that address climate change and refugee issues, as well as democracy and human rights concerns.
It was not immediately clear who had compiled the document or what stage of internal debates over a restructuring of the State Department it reflected. It is one of several recent documents proposing changes to the department, and internal administration conversations take place daily on possible actions.
Some of the ideas have been debated among U.S. officials in recent weeks, though it is unclear to what degree they would be adopted or how active the draft is, officials said.
Elements of the draft executive order could change before final White House review or before President Trump signs it, if he decides to do so.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote a short comment on social media after this article was published, calling it “fake news.” There are no indications that Mr. Rubio or his top aides have signed off on the document, though they have been working on a reorganization of the State Department.
Neither the State Department nor the White House National Security Council replied to requests for comment early Sunday before this article was published, including a question asking whether Mr. Trump would sign such an executive order.
The purpose of the executive order is to impose “a disciplined reorganization” of the State Department and “streamline mission delivery” while cutting “waste, fraud and abuse,” according to a copy of the draft order obtained by The New York Times. The order says the department is supposed to make the changes by Oct. 1.
Some of the proposed changes outlined in the draft document would require congressional notification and no doubt be challenged by lawmakers, including mass closures of diplomatic missions and headquarters bureaus, as well as an overhaul of the diplomatic corps. Substantial parts, if officials tried to enact them, would likely face lawsuits.
On Sunday afternoon, Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a social media post: “Whether parts of this draft EO ever reach Trump’s desk, it’s already clear this administration is determined to gut the @StateDept and run American diplomacy and development capabilities into the ground.”
A White House official said the same afternoon that the proposals were not true and that the White House was not considering them.
The document began circulating among current and former U.S. diplomats and other officials on Saturday.
Major structural changes to the State Department would be accompanied by efforts to lay off both career diplomats, known as foreign service officers, and civil service employees, who usually work in the department’s headquarters in Washington, said current and former U.S. officials familiar with the plans. The department would begin putting large numbers of workers on paid leave and sending out notices of termination, they said.
The draft executive order calls for ending the foreign service exam for aspiring diplomats, and it lays out new hiring criteria that includes “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.”
The draft says the department must greatly expand its use of artificial intelligence to help draft documents, and to undertake “policy development and review” and “operational planning.”
The proposed reorganization would get rid of regional bureaus that help make and enact policy in large parts of the globe.
Instead, the draft says, those functions would fall under four “corps”: Eurasia Corps, consisting of Europe, Russia and Central Asia; Mid-East Corps, consisting of Arab nations, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan; Latin America Corps, consisting of Central America, South America and the Caribbean; and Indo-Pacific Corps, consisting of East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
……………………………………………………………
The draft order also calls for narrowing Fulbright scholarships so that they are given only to students doing master’s level studies in national security matters.
And it says the department will end its contract with Howard University, a historically Black institution, to recruit candidates for the Rangel and Pickering fellowships, which are to be terminated. The goal of those fellowships has been to help students from underrepresented groups get a chance at entering the Foreign Service soon after graduation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/trump-state-department-overhaul.html?smid=url-share
Igor Bobic
@igorbobic
Van Hollen responds to Newsom calling Abrego Garcia case “a distraction”:
“Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind, ‘What’s blowing this way? What’s blowing that way?’ And anybody who can’t stand up for the Constitution and the right of due process doesn’t deserve to lead,” he says on MTP
9:20 AM · Apr 20, 2025
https://x.com/igorbobic/status/1913960925524095081
Rep. Melanie Stansbury
@Rep_Stansbury
Recently, the Trump Administration posted that they intend to sell 440 federal properties without so much as asking federal agencies what those buildings are used for and who could lose their jobs.
Interestingly, it looks like Trump’s acting GSA Administrator’s brother intends to buy a 17-acre property from the federal government at half the market value…
We have questions. That’s why
@GerryConnolly
,
@RepJasmine
and I are investigating.
5:13 PM · Apr 19, 2025
https://x.com/Rep_Stansbury/status/1913717705557028935
Candidly Tiff
@tify330
Salvadoran President Bukele proposes prisoner swap with Maduro for Venezuelan deportees
So Bukele bagged $6M and now playing let’s make a deal with Maduro with the same prisoners he has a contract to hold for a year. This guy is something else. https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-bukele-maduro-venezuela-prisoners-6728d1df2445d85bd16c6ab8a85056a8
https://x.com/tify330/status/1914123086531612718
Maxwell Alejandro Frost
@MaxwellFrostFL
We have arrived in El Salvador.
Trump is illegally arresting, jailing, & deporting people with no due process. We must hold the Administration accountable for these illegal acts and demand Kilmar’s release. Today it’s him, tomorrow it could be anyone else.
https://x.com/MaxwellFrostFL/status/1914321852920479774
Turnbull
@cturnbull1968
The Japanese trade delegation came to meet in good faith with Trump’s economic team and after a while, they realized that Trump’s team didn’t know what they wanted and lacked any authority to reach a deal. So they just left.
That’s where we are in our tariff negotiations. 🫠
https://x.com/cturnbull1968/status/1913970680904745379
Ron Filipkowski
@RonFilipkowski
Naturally, when members of Pete Hegseth’s own inner circle at the Pentagon, all Trump-supporting Republicans, come forward to describe his reckless and incompetent behavior, which is consistent with his reckless and incompetent behavior his entire life, MAGA blames the media.
5:07 AM · Apr 21, 2025
https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1914259708552106092
Joe Biden
@JoeBiden
It is with great sadness that Jill and I learned of the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. He was unlike any who came before him. Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him. For decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his mission of serving the poor never ceased. As Pope, he was a loving pastor and challenging teacher who reached out to different faiths. He commanded us to fight for peace and protect our planet from a climate crisis. He advocated for the voiceless and powerless. He made all feel welcome and seen by the Church. He promoted equity and an end to poverty and suffering across the globe. And above all, he was a Pope for everyone. He was the People’s Pope – a light of faith, hope, and love.
https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1914284400960819605
Andrew Guidarelli 🌪️
@a_guidarelli
The very last thing Pope Francis did was defend immigrants to JD Vance’s face. He was a good man and a true Catholic. RIP
https://x.com/a_guidarelli/status/1914229572297482295
ABC News (@ABC) posted at 3:08 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
BREAKING: Pope Francis, who was noted for his humility and outreach to people of different backgrounds and faiths, has died. He was 88. https://t.co/pjESQk08AW
(https://x.com/ABC/status/1914229725116985378?t=Y6XHXldK7T7GiLq-U_mM7g&s=03)
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊