By JANIE HAR, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration for now must stop firing workers during the government shutdown, a federal judge ordered on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco said the cuts appeared politically motivated and were being carried out without much thought.

“It’s very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost,” she said. “It’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”

She granted a temporary restraining order blocking the cuts sought by labor unions, saying she believed the evidence would ultimately show the job cuts were illegal and in excess of authority.

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The decision came after federal agencies on Friday started issuing layoff notices aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. The layoff notices are part of an effort by Trump’s Republican administration to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal labor unions had asked Illston for a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from issuing new layoff notices and implementing those that were already sent out. The unions said the firings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.

Illston’s order came as the shutdown, which started Oct. 1, entered its third week. Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government address their health care demands. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on those demands and reopen.

Democrats have demanded that health care subsidies, first put in place in 2021 and extended a year later, be extended again. They also want any government funding bill to reverse the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill passed this summer.

The Trump administration has been paying the military and pursuing its crackdown on immigration while slashing jobs in health and education, including in special education and after-school programs. Trump said programs favored by Democrats are being targeted and “they’re never going to come back, in many cases.”

In a court filing, the administration said it planned to fire more than 4,100 employees across eight agencies.

The unions say the layoff notices are an illegal attempt at political pressure and retribution and are based on the false premise that a temporary funding lapse eliminates Congress’ authorization of agency programs.

The government says the district court lacks jurisdiction to hear employment decisions made by federal agencies.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

The J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe’s, alleging the grocery chain’s new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are too similar to Smucker’s Uncrustables in their design and packaging.

In the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in federal court in Ohio, Smucker said the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe’s sells have the same pie-like crimp markings on their edges that Uncrustables do. Smucker said the design violates its trademarks.

Smucker also asserted that the boxes Trader Joe’s sandwiches come in violate the Orrville, Ohio-based company’s trademarks because they are the same blue color it uses for the lettering on “Uncrustables” packages.

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Trader Joe’s boxes also show a sandwich with a bite mark taken out of it, which is similar to the Uncrustables design, Smucker said.

“Smucker does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales,” the company said in its lawsuit.

A message seeking comment was left with Trader Joe’s, which is based in Monrovia, California.

Uncrustables were invented by two friends who began producing them in 1996 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Smucker bought their company in 1998 and secured patents for a “sealed, crustless sandwich” in 1999.

But it wasn’t easy to mass produce them. In the lawsuit, Smucker said it has spent more than $1 billion developing the Uncrustables brand over the last 20 years. Smucker spent years trying to perfect Uncrustables’ stretchy bread and developing new flavors like chocolate and hazelnut.

Smucker said Trader Joe’s sandwiches are so similar to Uncrustables that they were already confusing customers. In the lawsuit, Smucker showed a social media photo of a person claiming that Trader Joe’s is contracting with Smucker to make the sandwiches under its own private label.

This isn’t the first time Smucker has taken legal action to protect its Uncrustables brand. In 2022, it sent a cease and desist letter to a Minnesota company called Gallant Tiger, which was making upscale versions of crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with crimped edges.

Smucker’s lawsuit comes a few months after a similar lawsuit filed against the Aldi by Mondelez International, which claimed that Aldi’s store-brand cookies and crackers have packaging that is too similar to Mondelez brands like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Oreos.

Coming soon to Lake Elmo’s old fire station in the Old Village: Tap & Ladder, a self-pour taphouse and casual-dining restaurant with approximately 150 seats.

But that’s not all.

Lake Elmo’s former parks building, also in the Old Village, will become the second location of Machete Cocina Mexicana, “a bold, chef-driven concept already thriving on Woodbury’s southwest side,” city officials announced last week. “Known for its vibrant flavors, handcrafted tortillas, and signature ‘Quesadillota,’ Machete will bring authentic Mexican cuisine and a curated beverage program to the Old Village. A patio overlooking Lions Park will establish a lively connection between the restaurant and the surrounding public spaces.”

The Lake Elmo City Council last week approved proposals for the two restaurants. The developers are Brian Heidt and Amanda Urban, in partnership with Julian Ocampo.

City officials issued requests for proposals for the buildings in June and received nine proposals. Three finalists were selected and presented to the city’s Economic Development Authority RFP Committee, which voted 10-0 to recommend Tap & Ladder / Machete to the City Council.

Heidt and Urban, in partnership with Ocampo, are proposing to “transform these two historic properties into welcoming, locally-owned destinations that preserve their historic character while adding modern amenities,” city officials said.

The Old Fire Station in Lake Elmo on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The station was built in 1957 and has been added onto twice, the most recent time in 1979 when the ladder truck bay and kitchen were added to the west side. City officials have approved a plan for a new restaurant at the site. (Kathie Smith / City of Lake Elmo)

Tap & Ladder’s menu will “feature burgers, brats, fish fry, and unique signature dishes — alongside a 28-tap self-pour wall, craft sodas, and locally inspired cocktails,” city officials said. “Indoor areas will include flexible seating, a dedicated children’s play zone, and heritage displays honoring Lake Elmo’s fire service and local veterans. Full-view garage doors and a spacious patio will foster a seamless indoor-outdoor atmosphere, hosting seasonal events and community programs year-round.”

The site will be acquired in one joint plan, but will be divided proportionally (about 70 percent for the fire station and about 30 percent for the parks building) based on final project square footage and coordination with city officials.

The project includes off-street parking with an estimated 30 to 50 spaces, which may change upon full application, city officials said.

For more information, go to lakeelmo.gov.

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By CHRISTINE FERNANDO, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County’s top judge on Tuesday night signed an order barring ICE from arresting people at court. Cook County includes Chicago, which has seen a federal immigration crackdown in recent months.

Detaining residents outside courthouses has been a common tactic for federal agents, who have been stationed outside county courthouses for weeks, making arrests and drawing crowds of protesters.

The order, which took effect Wednesday, bars the civil arrest of any “party, witness, or potential witness” while going to court proceedings. It includes arrests inside courthouses and in parking lots, surrounding sidewalks and entryways.

“The fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest,” the order states.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended the practice of making arrests at courthouses, calling it “common sense.”

“We aren’t some medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,” DHS said in a Wednesday statement. “Nothing in the constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”

Local immigration and legal advocates, including the county’s public defender’s office, have called for an order like this, saying clients were avoiding court out of fear of being detained. The office has confirmed at least a dozen immigration arrests at or near county courthouses since the end of July, when representatives said they’ve seen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence outside courthouses increase.

“I have had numerous conversations with clients who are presented with a difficult decision of either missing court and receiving an arrest warrant or coming to court and risk being arrested by ICE,” Cruz Rodriguez, an assistant public defender with the office’s immigration division, said at a news conference earlier this month.

Domestic violence advocacy organizations also signed on to a petition earlier this month calling for Cook County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Evans to issue the order. This comes after advocates said a woman was was arrested by ICE last month while entering the domestic violence courthouse.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office, which filed the petition, said she was “gratified” by Evans’ order.

“This is a necessary and overdue action to ensure that the people of Cook County can access the courts without fear,” she said in a Wednesday statement to The Associated Press.

Evans said justice “depends on every individual’s ability to appear in court without fear or obstruction.”

“Our courthouses remain places where all people — regardless of their background or circumstance — should be able to safely and confidently participate in the judicial process,” Evans said in a statement.

The tactic of detaining people at courthouses in the Chicago area is part of a larger jump in courthouse immigration arrests across the country. The flurry of immigration enforcement operations at courthouses has been condemned by judicial officials and legal organizations, and has drawn lawsuits from some states and the adoption of bills seeking to block the practice.

In June, President Donald Trump’s administration sued the state of New York over a 2020 law barring federal immigration agents from making arrests at state, city and other municipal courthouses.

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Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker suggested federal agents may have violated a ruling by a federal judge last week that said they could not use tear gas, pepper spray and other weapons on journalists and peaceful protesters after a coalition of news outlets and protesters sued over the actions of federal agents during protests outside a Chicago-area ICE facility. Pritzker said he expected the attorneys involved to “go back to court to make sure that is enforced against ICE”

“ICE is causing this mayhem,” he said. “They’re the ones throwing tear gas when people are peacefully protesting.”

The comments also come after Pritzker denounced Border Patrol agents for using tear gas on protesters who gathered Tuesday after a high-speed chase on a residential street on Chicago’s South Side.

Community efforts to oppose ICE have also ramped up in the nation’s third-largest city, where neighborhood groups have assembled to monitor ICE activity and film any incidents involving federal agents in their areas.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people attended “Whistlemania” events across the city and made thousands of “whistle kits” with whistles, “Know Your Rights” flyers and instructions on how to use them to alert neighbors of when immigration enforcement agents are nearby.

An increasing number of GoFundMe pages have also been launched to pay for legal costs for community members detained by ICE, most recently a landscaper and father of three children detained earlier this month.