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Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Security Council of Russia and the country’s former president, threatened European Union diplomats in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv. “The EU has said it will maintain its diplomatic presence in Kiev unchanged, despite Russia’s warnings. Well, apparently they’ve got diplomats to spare and need to trim the headcount,” Medvedev…

Brazilian bodybuilding influencer Gabriel Ganley’s sudden death may have been tied to a serious heart condition … according to his death certificate. The document lists hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as the possible cause behind Ganley’s death at…

Donald Trump often struggles to point to specific accomplishments in his second term, but at an event in New York last week, the president repeated a claim that on first blush probably sounded impressive.

“In 16 months, we’ve lifted nearly 5 million Americans off of food stamps,” he said. For emphasis, he repeated, “5 million.”

Trump: “In 6 months, we’ve lifted nearly 5 million Americans off food stamps”

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-05-22T20:18:16.334Z

For those who are keeping an eye on the Republican’s record, it was a familiar assertion. In fact, earlier that same day, at Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s swearing in ceremony, Trump also took the time to tell attendees, “Under our leadership, 5 million people have been lifted off of the food stamps. Think of that.”

Not surprisingly, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who oversees the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program, has repeatedly echoed the president’s claim, pointing to the developments as evidence of “a better economy.”

The trouble is, the entire pitch is based on a deception: The Trump administration and congressional Republicans didn’t “lift” struggling Americans off food assistance, so much as they simply stopped providing many of those vulnerable people with aid. Or as Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts explained by way of social media, “Trump and Republicans ripped food assistance away from millions of Americans to pay for giant tax giveaways for billionaires.”

That might sound overly simplistic, but it’s basically a summary of what transpired. As The Associated Press reported last week in a fact-check report on Rollins’ claims:

SNAP beneficiaries decreased by nearly 4.3 million from January 2025 to January 2026, according to preliminary government data released by the Agriculture Department. However, experts say new requirements mandated by a massive tax and spending cut bill Republicans pushed through Congress last summer are the primary reasons.

The bill is projected to cut $186 billion in federal spending — 20% — from SNAP over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

This was the largest cut to SNAP benefits in American history, according to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Roger Figueroa, an assistant professor at Cornell University who studies food insecurity, told the AP, “What we’ve seen in terms of the data is that the trend in participation declines seems to be related to the program being harder to access.”

Trump’s routine use of the word “lift” makes it sound as if struggling families were put onto an elevator that carried them to a stronger and more secure position. That turns reality on its head: Thanks to the inaptly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the government hasn’t “lifted” Americans facing food insecurity; it’s simply decided to kick them down the elevator shaft, depriving much of the public of food aid.

Republicans seem to think this is worth bragging about. I have a hunch those struggling to put food on the table have a very different perspective — and they’re probably using words other than “lift.”

The post White House claims about food stamps suffer from a dramatic and consequential flaw appeared first on MS NOW.

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Republican state senators don’t face election this year. Trump’s urging for them to redistrict to help flip the House seat held by prominent Democrat Jim Clyburn was met with opposition.

(Image credit: Jeffrey Collins)

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The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday delivered a major rebuff to a mid-decade redistricting effort promoted by President Donald Trump

The South Carolina Senate rejected a new congressional map Tuesday that Republicans hoped would eliminate the state’s only Democratic seat, a Black-majority district represented for more than three decades by Rep. James Clyburn.

The vote against the new map — which would have helped Republicans in their quest for a clean sweep of the state’s seven congressional districts this fall — was an unexpected rebuff of President Donald Trump, who had pushed for the redistricting effort in hopes of retaining his party’s slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives past November.

The new map passed the state House last week. But a motion to end debate on the map failed in the state Senate on Tuesday after 12 Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in voting against it.

“Neither my conscience nor the common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway,” state Sen. Richard Cash said prior to the vote. Tens of thousands of votes had already been cast Tuesday, the first day of early voting.

The Senate adjourned Tuesday with a motion to reconvene June 10, one day after the state’s scheduled primaries, making it highly unlikely that any redistricting effort will move forward in time for the 2026 midterms.

South Carolina conservatives were at first hesitant to heed Trump’s demands for a new map. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster initially declined to call for a special session to consider redistricting. Shane Massey, the Republican leader of the state Senate, drew national attention for bucking the president in a 45-minute speech on the chamber’s floor about the perils of anti-democratic gerrymandering.

McMaster ultimately called for a special session after the Senate, led by Massey, rejected a measure that would have extended its current session to consider a redraw.

In hours of floor debate ahead of the Senate vote, opponents of the map argued that it would further disenfranchise Black voters as minority districts across the country disappear amid the GOP-led redistricting push.

That concern intensified after the Supreme Court in April clawed back key Voting Rights Act provisions. The landmark decision effectively opened the door for racial gerrymandering across America and teed up the GOP to gain at least three to six seats through redistricting, most of which are held by Black Democrats in Southern states.

Black lawmakers on Capitol Hill have accused Republicans of stifling the voices of Black voters and undermining critical civil rights protections. Clyburn called the midcycle redistricting “a comprehensive approach to creating Jim Crow 2.0” during a news conference along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in May.

“I don’t know how you decide that a state with 27% African Americans deserves zero African Americans in the representation,” Clyburn told MS NOW shortly before the state House sent the new map to the Senate for a vote.

Alexander Tabet contributed reporting.

The post South Carolina Senate rejects Trump push to redraw Clyburn district on congressional map appeared first on MS NOW.