WASHINGTON >> A federal judge is expected to decide today if the Trump administration must continue to fund food stamps during the government shutdown, as state officials scramble to spare millions of low-income Americans from losing benefits starting Saturday.

The looming decision from Judge Indira Talwani, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, comes as the administration holds firm in its refusal to tap billions of dollars in reserve to aid roughly 42 million people at risk of hunger.

The legal wrangling concerns the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Without a last-minute intervention, the decades-old safety net program is set to run out of funds Saturday, exacting a substantial economic toll on the poorest families more than four weeks into a

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