Tens of millions of Americans are spending the weekend anxious and hungry, as they await resolution of political and legal wrangling over federal food assistance.

The Supreme Court late on Nov. 7 allowed the federal government to make only partial payments for now. The dispute ended up in the highest court after the government appealed for a second time that day an order from a federal judge to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by the end of the day.

That judge, Rhode Island's John McConnell, had accused the government of playing political games with the lives of the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps.

Though appeals are a routine part of the judicial process, the timing of the Supreme Court's decision will keep SNAP recipients in limbo for at least

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