WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants government food assistance programs to foot the bill for rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
The senators this week introduced what they're calling the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, which would make the supermarket staple an eligible purchase under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
“America’s best (and delicious) affordability play is Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken,” said Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who joined Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia and others in sponsoring the bill. “It’s one of my family’s favorites, and I’m proud to join this bill with Sen. Justice for all to try. SNAP funds would be well spent to feed our nation’s families who need it.”
The SNAP program provides a monthly stipend for low-income families to buy groceries, but it doesn't pay for hot prepared foods. The exclusion, which dates back decades, was meant to promote home cooking. But critics say it's outdated and penalizes families that are already struggling to make ends meet, excluding convenient and nutritious options.
Lawmakers at the state and federal level have long debated which foods should be eligible for SNAP benefits. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pressed states to exclude junk food such as soda and candy. Twenty-two states, mostly led by Republicans, have requested or been granted permission to ban certain foods.
SNAP is a major piece of the U.S. social safety net used by nearly 42 million, or about 1 in 8, Americans to help buy groceries. On average, the monthly benefit per household is about $350, and the average benefit per person is about $190.
Besides Fetterman and Justice, the senators introducing the bill are Republican Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Democrat Michael Bennet of Colorado. Republican Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas has pushed for similar legislation in the House.
“We have to give people the option to put a healthy, protein-dense choice on the table that actually tastes good and doesn’t take an hour and a half to cook,” Justice said in a statement.
FILE - Rotisserie chickens are on display at a Sam's Club, Sept. 24, 2025, in Bentonville, Ark. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
A second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon was set to start Thursday in Washington, while the prospects of Iran-U.S. talks in Pakistan seemed dubious as the Islamic Republic accused the Americans of a “lack of good faith” in negotiations.
Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait, where 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.
Pakistan had planned to host another round of talks, but the White House suspended U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart the discussions.
In southern Lebanon, three separate Israeli strikes killed at least six people and wounded others, according to local authorities. Israel denied carrying out one of the strikes and did not immediately comment on the others.
The attacks came as Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors prepared for a new meeting in Washington toward extending a fragile 10-day ceasefire that began last week.
Here is the latest:
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi was splattered with red liquid Thursday as he left a building after a news conference in Berlin.
He waved to supporters in the aftermath and got into a car that drove away.
The alleged perpetrator was immediately detained by police.
Pahlavi has been in exile for nearly 50 years.
His father, Iran’s shah, was so widely hated that millions took to the streets in 1979, forcing him from power. Nevertheless, Pahlavi is trying to position himself as a player in his country’s future.
Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s exiled crown prince, criticized the ceasefire between the Unites States and Iran.
He argued Thursday that the agreement assumes the Iranian government’s behavior will change and “you’re going to deal with people who all of a sudden have become pragmatists.”
“I don’t see that happening,” he said during a news conference in Berlin. “I’m not saying that diplomacy should not be given a chance, but I think diplomacy has been given enough chance.”
Pahlavi has tried to position himself for a return to power should the Shiite theocracy fall and has supported the U.S.-Israeli military intervention in the Middle East.
Pahlavi called on Europeans to do more to support Iranian people fighting for democracy.
He claimed 19 political prisoners were executed by Iranian authorities in the past two weeks and another 20 people have been sentenced to death.
“Will the free world do something or watch the slaughter in silence,” Pahlavi wondered.
Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement Thursday he hoped for “positive progress” from Iran after a meeting with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker.
The meeting in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad included discussion of diplomatic efforts related to a second round of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks, which was delayed after Tehran did not confirm when it would send its delegation.
Naqvi said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir were making efforts “at every level” to support a peaceful settlement and hoped all sides would give diplomacy a chance.
Naqvi praised U.S. President Donald Trump for extending the ceasefire, calling it a welcome step toward de-escalation.
Baker appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in promoting peace, the statement said.
Iran said Thursday it hanged another member of the Iranain exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.
The Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary identified the man as Soltanali Shirzadi Fakhr.
It accused him of cooperating with the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, without offering specifics. It also did not say when or where it arrested him.
Iran has accused many it has hanged during the war as having links to Israel. Activists say Iran routinely tries capital cases behind closed doors, uses coerced confessions and doesn’t allow the accused to properly challenge the evidence against them.
This brings to nine the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.
Iran's Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of Shah Reza Pahlavi, waves to supporters after he was attacked with a red fluid following a news conference in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)
A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)
Amal Khalil, a Lebanese journalist working for the daily Al-Akhbar newspaper, reports near a destroyed bridge in Qasmiyeh, Lebanon, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
