USDA says SNAP benefits won't be issued on Nov. 1

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday reversing an order from former President Joe Biden, allowing for mining in Alaska for "extraordinary resource potential."

"On day one, he signed in a very important executive order unleashing Alaska's extraordinary resource potential. And this is part of the continuation. There's a number of things that have already happened with Alaska that are moving forward. There's more to come. But big milestone today in reversing this Biden-era decision about the Ambler Road," Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said on Monday.

Ambler Mining District in Alaska has "some of the richest mining deposits," Burgum said.

"This was something that should have been long operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals and everything else that we're talking about," Trump said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is "working very hard to move the ball forward as quickly as we can" as the ceasefire talks are underway.

"Technical talks" are ongoing and joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, she said during a press briefing Monday afternoon.

"[President Donald Trump] wants to see a ceasefire. He wants to see the hostages released, and the technical teams are discussing that as we speak, to ensure that the environment is perfect to release those hostages," Leavitt said. "They're going over the lists of both the Israeli hostages and also the political prisoners who will be released."

Leavitt did not address how long the White House expects technical talks to last or if Trump is providing Hamas a new timeline to reach an agreement on his peace plan.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a judge blocking the Trump administration's attempt to deploy members of the California National Guard to Portland, Oregon, calling the judge "untethered in reality."

The judge, a Trump appointee, ordered that the conditions in Portland were "not significantly violent or disruptive" to justify federal takeover of the National Guard, and that the president's claims about the city were "simply untethered to the facts."

Leavitt also said Trump "wants to help these local leaders who have been completely ineffective in securing their own cities."

"It's a shame that we see in some cities that their mayors are refusing to cooperate because they don't like Donald Trump," Leavitt added.

Asked by a reporter during a press briefing whether President Donald Trump has spoken to any Democratic senators amid the shutdown, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he hasn't, to her knowledge.

She said he has been apprised of the ongoing shutdown and has spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, "who are in touch with, of course, moderate Democrats and Democrats across the board, who we understand, hopefully, want to do the right thing by their constituents to reopen the government."

"His position is very clear. There's nothing to negotiate. Just reopen the government and then we can talk about all the important issues facing our country," she said.