OPB’s First Look: SNAP aid in limbo after Supreme Court ruling

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Good morning, Northwest.

Oregonians who rely on federal food assistance are facing new uncertainty.

Last night, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order that required full funding of SNAP food aid payments during the government shutdown.

The decision came on the same day that Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced SNAP recipients would soon see their benefits reloaded. As OPB’s Tiffany Camhi reports, those recipients include thousands of college students across the state.

In a separate ruling yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut permanently blocked President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Portland. OPB’s Conrad Wilson and Michelle Wiley have more on that.

Here’s your First Look at Saturday’s news.

— Winston Szeto

Federal judge prohibits Trump from deploying National Guard to Portland

President Donald Trump was formally blocked from sending the National Guard to Portland by U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut, who delivered her final order in the case yesterday.

The city of Portland and the states of Oregon and California sued in late September after President Trump announced on social media he would “provide all necessary Troops” to protect the city he described as “War ravaged” and “under siege.”

After temporarily blocking the president from deploying guard troops twice, Immergut held a trial on the underlying lawsuit that ended last week.

Over the course of three days, the city and states argued the executive branch exceeded its constitutional authority and violated state sovereignty. They’ve also said the conditions on the ground in Portland do not warrant the deployment, and can be handled by local law enforcement. (Conrad Wilson and Michelle Wiley)

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3 things to know this morning

• More than 34,000 Oregon college students received federal food assistance earlier this year. Students say the program is vital to their education and everyday lives. (Tiffany Camhi) 
• State officials have known for some time that Oregon taxpayers will get a “kicker” tax refund next year. Yesterday, they announced the refund will be $1.4 billion, making it the fourth largest. (Dirk VanderHart) 
• A 45-year-old man who works in construction and has lived in Oregon for more than 20 years was reportedly treated at OHSU after an altercation earlier this week with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. His family says he is now behind held in a Tacoma detention facility. (Holly Bartholomew)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Oregon’s fledgling olive industry celebrates ‘Olio Nuovo Festival’ throughout November (Kristian Foden-Vencil) 
• First king tides of the season crash against the Oregon Coast (Riley Martinez) 
• Measure 114 case in Oregon Supreme Court pits gun ownership tradition against public safety concerns (Shaanth Nanguneri)

Painting MRIs: How an Oregon artist transforms pain into beauty

In her home in Hillsboro, Oregon, Lindsey Holcomb squeezes drops of teal alcohol ink onto paper and watches the colors bloom.

She’s translating MRIs into artwork to help people cope with their diagnoses of multiple sclerosis and other brain injuries.

Before starting an MRI painting, Holcomb gets information from her clients about their journeys with MS and their artistic preferences.

Holcomb’s work is meticulous. She studies the folds and the lesions in the MRI.

She says her favorite part is cutting out the lesions with a wood-burning pen and tracing the holes with gold. “It feels like applying a balm,” she said. (Geneva Chin)

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