University of Massachusetts Amherst

At a food rights panel at UMass Amherst, U.S. Rep. James McGovern, state Sen. Jo Comerford, and state Rep. Mindy Domb argued that food access should be enshrined as a constitutional right in Massachusetts, framing hunger as a solvable political problem rather than a resource shortage. Rising costs for food, housing, and health care have left roughly half of Americans unable to afford a basic standard of living, according to the Urban Institute, with one report finding 60% of Massachusetts college students now food insecure, up sharply from the prior year. Lawmakers also pointed to federal SNAP cuts as worsening local hunger, and said the state is exploring funding to help colleges address student food insecurity.

Tennessee Republican lawmakers are reconsidering the state's lethal injection protocol after the failed execution of Christa Pike, who reportedly remains unconscious on a ventilator after receiving two doses and surviving. Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) called it one of the worst cases he's heard of and said the state should consider a more humane method, including the firing squad, citing research showing it has had zero botched executions compared to higher failure rates for gas chambers and electrocution. Concerns had already been building since May, when eight Republican lawmakers demanded a review of the Department of Correction after officials failed to establish IV access for Tony Carruthers' execution.

Rep. Scott Cepicky wants Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session rather than wait for the legislature's January return. Lee has tapped former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to investigate the Pike execution, and the state's last scheduled 2026 execution has been called off. Gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn has proposed reviving the electric chair, injecting the issue into the 2026 governor's race.

Liz Wills-O'Gilvie, executive director of the Springfield Food Policy Council and Gardening the Community, fasted for 19 days to protest federal changes to SNAP that have made benefits harder to access. She began eating liquid foods again this week for health reasons, citing lupus and hypoglycemia, and plans to continue with one meal a day.

The changes stem from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which added work and paperwork requirements and cut eligibility for some legal residents. In Massachusetts, about 160,000 people, including 60,000 children, have lost SNAP benefits since last year, roughly a 15% drop, even though most working-age recipients already have jobs. Wills-O'Gilvie has pushed Gov. Maura Healey for more funding to help the state's Department of Transitional Assistance manage the bureaucratic backlog. She and allied groups, including the Rural Coalition, have launched a national "stand in hunger" campaign urging people to fast for a meal or a day and call their legislators to reverse the SNAP cuts.