Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. On this 28th day of the government shutdown, the federal food aid program known as SNAP is front and center.

Snap helps tens of millions of Americans to buy food, but federal money could begin running dry this weekend if Congress does not reach a deal.

Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit today, seeking to

force the Trump administration to use emergency money to keep it afloat. In Louisiana, officials are

threatening to furlough staff who work with the program as Mel Bridges of Member Station WRKF reports.

Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein said the state may have to furlough staff who work directly with SNAP or have roles supported by SNAP funding.

This comes as state officials are considering alternatives to funding SNAP once federal funding runs out on November 1st.

Governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency over the lack of SNAP funding last week.

He asked the legislature to approve state money to cover

benefits to children, the elderly, and the disabled through November. The state Senate is expected

to vote on the measure Wednesday. For NPR news, I'm Mel Bridges in Baton Rouge. The government

shutdown has air traffic controllers facing more pressure. NPR's Joel Rose reports that today

marks the first time controllers

officially receive no money on payday. Air traffic controllers are still required to come to work

during the shutdown without pay. Controllers say that's making an already difficult job even harder.

Joe Segretto handles air traffic around New York City, some of the most complex airspace in the world.

The pressure is real. We have people trying to keep these airplanes safe. We have trainees trying to learn a new job that is very fast-paced, very stressful, very complex, now having to worry about how they're going to pay bills.

The controllers' union says hundreds have had to take on second jobs to make ends meet.

And some controllers are taking their message directly to the public, handing out leaflets at more than a dozen airports and urging Congress to end the shutdown.

Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.

The layoffs, Amazon announced today shaping up to be the biggest wave of white-collar job cuts in the company's history.

Amazon is laying off 14,000 corporate employees as it spends big on the AI race, as NPR's Alina Selyuk reports.

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