The Associated Press

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a "foreign terrorist organization," following a similar step by Texas last month. The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order DeSantis posted on the social media site X Monday. It also gives the same label to the Muslim Brotherhood. Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The order instructs Florida agencies to prevent the two groups and those who have provided them material support from receiving contracts, employment and funds from a state executive or cabinet agency.

A federal judge in Florida wants civil rights attorneys and lawyers for the U.S. and Florida to hammer out a settlement in a lawsuit over whether detainees at an immigration center in the Everglades are getting adequate access to attorneys. At a Monday status hearing, U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell set a conference for Dec. 16-17 in her Fort Myers courtroom. The lawsuit filed by detainees over legal access is one of three federal cases challenging practices at the immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." It was built this summer by the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Trump administration has announced new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades. Critics say advancing the project could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production. The oil industry has been seeking access to new offshore areas as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico since 1995, because of concerns about oil spills. California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters since the mid-1980s.

A federal judge in Florida is pushing for a resolution in a lawsuit over detainees' access to attorneys at an immigration detention center in the Everglades. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has ordered a two-day conference next month in her Fort Myers courtroom. The lawsuit challenges whether detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" are getting adequate legal access. Attorneys for the detainees are seeking a preliminary injunction to improve communication with their clients. They claim current practices make it difficult to meet before key deadlines. This case is one of three federal lawsuits challenging practices at the facility.

State officials are working to restore full SNAP benefits to millions of people after the long U.S. government shutdown has finally ended. Some state officials said Thursday that full November SNAP benefits should be available to spend on groceries by Friday, if not sooner. A series of court rulings and shifting policies from the Trump administration had led to inconsistent distribution of November benefits. About two-thirds of states had issued only partial or no benefits before the shutdown ended Wednesday night. The federal food program serves about 42 million people in lower-income households.

President Donald Trump says Democrats who released Jeffrey Epstein emails mentioning him are trying to bring up his ties to the late sex offender again because "they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done" on the government shutdown and other issues. The emails were made public Wednesday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. The White House accuses Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the Republican president. Epstein wrote in a 2011 email Trump had "spent hours" at Epstein's house with a sex trafficking victim and said in a separate message years later Trump "knew about the girls." Trump denies any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.

The Supreme Court has rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices on Monday turned away an appeal from a former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling. Clerk Kim Davis had been trying to get the justices to overturn a lower-court order that she pay $360,000 in damages and attorney's fees. Justice Clarence Thomas has urged his colleagues to overturn the Supreme Court's marriage decision, much as they did in 2022 when the high court overturned the right to abortion.

President Donald Trump's administration is demanding that states reverse full SNAP benefits issued under recent court orders. The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, affecting 42 million Americans who rely on the program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's demand follows warnings from over two dozen states about potential "catastrophic operational disruptions" if they aren't reimbursed for benefits authorized before the stay. Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general had sued to maintain the program, winning favorable rulings last week. Wisconsin, for example, loaded benefits for 700,000 residents but now faces financial strain.

A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to find the money to fully fund SNAP benefits for November. The ruling Thursday was in response to a challenge from cities and nonprofits complaining that the administration was only offering to cover 65% of the maximum benefit. The Trump administration said last month that it would not pay benefits at all for November because of the federal shutdown. Last week, two judges ordered the government to pay at least partial benefits using an emergency fund. It initially said it would cover half, but it now says it will cover 65%.

The Federal Aviation Administration is forcing airlines to cut 10% of their flights at 40 of the busiest airports across the nation to reduce pressure on air traffic controllers during the ongoing government shutdown and ensure that flying remains safe. The cuts will start to take effect on Friday. Travelers should check with their airlines to see if their flight has been affected. The airports impacted cover the busiest across the U.S. — including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. Multiple airports will be affected in some of the biggest cities, including New York, Houston and Chicago.