--:-- Jesse Thorne: I'm Jesse Thorne.
Jason Mantzoukas: What advice did your guidance counselor give you?
Jason Mantzoukas: Nothing much. I feel like the guidance counselor told me what I feel like teachers have been telling me for a long time, which was essentially, why don't you try?
--:-- [Sound of a news theme plays]
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to block full SNAP food benefits this month.
Windsor Johnston: NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports it's the latest in a confusing legal battle that leaves millions of SNAP recipients in limbo.
Jennifer Ludden: An appeals court late Sunday repeated what two federal judges had already said. The Trump administration must pay the full amount of food aid that SNAP enrollees are entitled to.
Jennifer Ludden: In its ruling, the court said the harm in limiting those payments would be immense, and it said the administration had, quote, sat on its hands for nearly a month, refusing to prepare for a funding shortfall it knew was coming.
Jennifer Ludden: The Agriculture Department argues that tapping a larger pot of money to make full payments would hurt other nutrition programs.
Jennifer Ludden: The government's latest appeal to the Supreme Court comes despite moves to end the federal shutdown which would render the SNAP standoff moot.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: President Trump says he wants to issue what he's calling dividends from tariff revenue.
Windsor Johnston: But as NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports, the Treasury Secretary says there's no formal proposal yet.
Danielle Kurtzleben: President Trump on social media has twice in recent days suggested the payments for low- and middle-income people.
Danielle Kurtzleben: However, on ABC's This Week on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the money may not take the form of payments, but could simply include tax cuts already passed into law.
Danielle Kurtzleben: It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda.
Danielle Kurtzleben: NPR asked the White House for any specifics on a plan.
Danielle Kurtzleben: An official not authorized to speak on the record said, quote, The administration is committed to putting this money to good use for the American people.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Temperatures across the South will dip well below freezing tonight.
Windsor Johnston: Georgia Public Broadcasting's Chase McGee reports an unseasonably cold blast of Arctic air is blowing across the U.S.
Chase McGee: The sudden drop in temperature will bring the state's growing season to a halt as below freezing temperatures reach far into South Georgia.
Chase McGee: Pam Knox is an extension climatologist at the University of Georgia.
Pam Knox: She says some hardy crops like broccoli could survive but others aren't used to freezing temperatures this early in the year.
Pam Knox: Farmers that have things out there that are still growing like tomatoes or other tender vegetables especially, are going to have to bring those in.
Chase McGee: The National Weather Service issued a warning for central Georgia, where temperatures could dip as low as 19 degrees.
Chase McGee: The warning notes that outdoor plumbing could freeze and sensitive plants should be covered.
Chase McGee: Temperatures will gradually warm later in the week.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: On Wall Street, the Dow was up 397 points at this hour, the Nasdaq up 528.
Windsor Johnston: This is NPR News in Washington.
--:-- Alison Aubrey: A new study of people with diet-related diseases points to the benefits of doctors prescribing fresh food.
Alison Aubrey: NPR's Alison Aubrey reports the research is part of an effort to put food at the Center of Preventative Medicine.
Alison Aubrey: Participants received a monthly stipend loaded onto a debit card that could be used to purchase only fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy items.
Alison Aubrey: After about six months, doctors found participants' blood pressure dropped by 5.4 millimeters of mercury, a small but significant decline that could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes over time.
Alison Aubrey: Peter Skillern of Reinvestment Partners, the North Carolina nonprofit behind the program says cost is participants' biggest barrier to eating well.
Alison Aubrey: This program reduced that barrier and they changed their behavior. They got healthier.
Alison Aubrey: It's one of several new food is medicine studies pointing to benefits.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Starbucks' latest merchandise release is turning into a national flashpoint for caffeine and consumer culture.
Windsor Johnston: The coffee chain's $30 Barista Cup sold out within hours of hitting stores last week.
Windsor Johnston: Some locations only received one or two of the limited edition glass cups, leading to arguments and viral videos of customers fighting over them.
Windsor Johnston: Resale listings on eBay now show prices in the hundreds of dollars, with some topping 1,000.
Windsor Johnston: Starbucks has apologized for the frenzy, but hasn't said if more cups are coming.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Stocks continue to trade higher on Wall Street at this hour, the Dow up 391 points, the S&P up 106.
Windsor Johnston: This is NPR News.
--:-- Host: Free speech has long been considered one of the United States' most important ideals, but the idea of free speech has never really applied to everyone.
Host: Put very simply, some people have a lot more power to speak than others.
Host: You can listen to Code Switch on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host: Thank you.
