WASHINGTON — This weekend, the pain of the shutdown will intensify in Alabama and across the country, as food aid benefits will lapse for the first time since the federal program began more than 60 years ago.

Senators left Washington Thursday with some bipartisan talks underway about funding the government, but no concrete deal to end the shutdown. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., has been involved in some of those chats, having conversations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, this week as the lawmakers work to find a way out, POLITICO reported.

In Alabama, roughly 752,000 residents, 331,000 of whom are children, will not receive their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits starting Saturday when funding for the food assistance will lapse because of the shu

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