By HANNAH FINGERHUT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four Republican-led states agreed to settle lawsuits against the federal government over access to voters’ citizenship data, ending a dispute that began with the Biden administration in advance of the 2024 presidential election.

Related Articles

White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba is disqualified as top New Jersey prosecutor, US appeals court rules

Indiana Republicans could win 2 more US House seats under a new proposed map

Melania Trump reveals White House holiday decorations and her theme, ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’

Doctor says Trump had preventative screening MRI on heart, abdomen with ‘perfectly normal’ results

Officials in Florida, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio entered the settlement with the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem roughly a year after the states individually sued the agency under President Joe Biden. They had alleged the previous administration was withholding information about citizenship status that they needed to determine whether thousands of registered voters were actually eligible to cast a ballot.

Each of the states could soon run searches for thousands of voters using names, birthdays and Social Security numbers through the federal government’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program. It has been significantly upgraded under the Trump administration. In turn, the settlement reached Friday says the states may share driver’s license records with the Department of Homeland Security “to assist in improving and modernizing” its database.

The information sharing is likely to be a focal point of the 2026 midterm elections. Voting rights groups have already sued the administration over the expanded program, known as SAVE, arguing that the recent updates could result in eligible voters being unlawfully purged from voter lists. Separately, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has asked at least half the states for their complete voter rolls, a request that Democratic elections officials have questioned out of concern that the data would be provided to DHS.

Voting by noncitizens is illegal in federal elections and can lead to felony charges and deportation. State reviews show it is rare for noncitizen s to register to vote and even rarer that they actually cast a ballot.

Still, before the 2024 election, Trump pushed claims without evidence that noncitizens might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. Many Republican candidates and lawmakers nationally emphasize that even one instance of a noncitizen voting illegally is too many.

The SAVE program, which has been around for decades, is operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a branch of DHS. It has been widely used by local and state officials to check the citizenship status of people applying for public benefits by running them through a variety of federal databases.

DHS and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency updated the SAVE program earlier this year, according to public announcements. It is now free for election officials, allows searches for voters by the thousands instead of one at a time and no longer requires agencies to search using DHS-issued identification numbers. When a name, date of birth and government-issued number is entered, the database will return initial verification of citizenship status within 48 hours, according to the settlement.

As part of the settlement, Florida, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio will develop a memorandum of understanding with the federal government within 90 days on use of the SAVE program. The settlement also dictates that they will negotiate a new information-sharing agreement for “for the purpose of improving” the SAVE system. That may include providing DHS with 1,000 “randomly selected driver’s license records from their state” within 90 days.

Petey’s BBQ, the current culinary resident at Alary’s Bar in downtown St. Paul, will no longer be serving its smoked meats as of Dec. 26.

“We both worked together on different ways to connect Petey’s great BBQ with the new energy at Alary’s, but Petey’s has decided to move in a different direction,” Alary’s owner Bill Collins said in an email.

Petey’s will continue catering in the Twin Cities as they consider what’s next. Alary’s will remain open, and Collins said they’ll announce a new kitchen concept in the coming weeks.

The outfit lasted just more than a year — Petey’s started serving out of the Alary’s kitchen in September 2024.

Alary’s was purchased by Bill Collins, owner of Camp Bar on Robert Street, and reopened in June 2024.

You still have a few weeks to get to Alary’s to try the excellent array of smoked meats, sandwiches and sides before they close.

We will update you here when Collins announces what’s next for the kitchen at Alary’s.

Alary’s Bar: 139 E. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-224-7717; alarys.com

Related Articles

Recipe: Fruit, seeds, almonds and chestnut flour team up to make Energy Balls

Quick Fix: Easy Colorful Vegetable Stew

Recipe: This soup is the best way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey

Volière Spirits and CrowBar, new distillery and cocktail lounge, to open at Hamm’s Brewery site

What happens when pumpkin pie meets deep-dish pizza?

After a month-long delay caused by the federal government shutdown, New York households can now apply with the state for a subsidy to help them pay their winter heating bills. Assistance is doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Nearly 1 million New York City households used the assistance program last year to help cover their home heating costs. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

After a month-long delay caused by the federal government shutdown, New York households can now apply with the state for a subsidy to help them pay their winter heating bills.

New York opened applications Monday for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, which runs every winter and provides both emergency and one-time payments toward utility bills or the cost of fuel delivery.

Eligibility is based on household size, income (a four person family, for example, must earn below $80,160 a year to qualify), and other factors, like if the household includes someone who is 60 or older, 6 or younger, or permanently disabled. The amount of aid participants get also varies.

Assistance is doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis until the federal money that funds the program runs out. Last year, the state ran out of those funds in late January—months sooner than in previous years. Applications usually open in November, but were delayed for several weeks this fall because of the federal government shutdown.

“Hardworking New Yorkers count on this assistance to help with their utility bills and keep their homes warm during the cold winter months,” Gov. Kathy Hochul, who’d repeatedly called for the Trump administration to release the $400 million in program funds earlier, said in a statement Monday.

A report last year from the climate policy think tank Switchbox found that one out of every four New York residents is “energy burdened,” meaning they spend at least 6 percent of their income on utility costs. In the Bronx, 34 percent of households are energy burdened, among the highest of any New York county, the report found.

Nearly 1 million New York City households used the assistance last year. Applicants within the five boroughs should apply through the city’s Human Resources Administration, which administers the program locally.

Older adults can also get assistance with their HEAP applications by contacting their local office for the aging (the Department for the Aging here in New York City) or by calling the NY Connects helpline at 1-800-342-9871.

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post After Shutdown Delay, New York Opens Applications for Annual Heating Assistance Program appeared first on City Limits.

Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID will be charged a $45 fee beginning in February, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.

The updated ID has been required since May, but passengers without it have so far been allowed to clear security with additional screening and a warning. The Department of Homeland Security says 94% of passengers are already compliant and that the new fee is intended to encourage travelers to obtain the ID.

REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that meets enhanced requirements mandated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Related Articles

Here’s why everyone’s talking about a ‘K-shaped’ economy

White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

Federal review finds 44% of US trucking schools don’t comply with government rules

Babson College supports student deported to Honduras

National Guard member shot in DC has shown positive signs, West Virginia governor says

Obtaining the ID — indicated by a white star in a yellow circle in most states — means taking more documents to the motor vehicle agency than most states require for regular IDs. It was supposed to be rolled out in 2008 but the implementation had been repeatedly delayed.

Beginning Feb. 1, travelers 18 and older flying domestically without a REAL ID and who don’t have another accepted form of ID on them, such as a passport, will pay the non-refundable fee to verify their identity through TSA’s alternative “Confirm.ID” system.

TSA officials said that paying the fee does not guarantee verification, and travelers whose identities cannot be verified may be turned away. If approved, however, the verification covers a 10-day travel period.

The fee can be paid online before arriving at the airport. Travelers can also pay online at the airport before entering the security line, but officials said the process make take up to 30 minutes.

The TSA initially proposed an $18 charge for passengers without a REAL ID, but officials said Monday they raised it after realizing the alternative identification program would cost more than anticipated.

Other acceptable forms of ID include military IDs, permanent resident cards and photo IDs from federally recognized tribal nations. TSA also accepts digital IDs through platforms such as Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet at more than 250 airports in the U.S.