Hello and happy Monday everyone.
I'm Alison Chinchar in for Koi Wire.
I hope you had an awesome Halloween weekend.
My husband and I are both meteorologists, so our costumes we went with a weather theme this year.
I was April showers and he was May flowers.
Get it?
We would love to see some of your costumes, too.
Tag us at CNN 10 on Instagram.
We've got a ton of news to get to today and not a lot of time to do it.
So let's go.
We begin with an update on the ongoing federal government shutdown and its impact on a crucial program that helps feeds millions of Americans.
November.
SNAP benefit payments, also known as food stamps, have been delayed by the ongoing shutdown.
The program provides government funding to nearly one in eight Americans to help them afford groceries.
The delay has left many of them unsure if they will be able to feed their families if the money is not restored.
I'm very concerned.
I don't know what I'm going to do.
I'm at every food bank I can find to keep my kitchen full for my children.
It would be a matter of do we eat or do we pay rent?
And right now, the way things are going, it looks like, you know what, let's just pay rent.
Now, according to the USDA data, 12 percent of the US population nearly 42 million people rely on the program.
Nearly three quarters of the households that rely on the benefits fall below the federal poverty level.
And many of the recipients are children or elderly individuals.
Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to provide at least partial benefits.
But it remains unclear when and how that could happen.
The uncertainty has left many recipients turning to food pantries and other community food assistance programs.
But those groups have also been under pressure from rising food prices and increased need in recent years.
We have seen a significant jump in need just in the last week here in particular.
And this is on top of already sort of historic need that we are responding to.
Multiple state governments have said they will pour millions of dollars into their emergency food programs.
In the meantime,
But it will be far less than the typical federal funding in most cases.
Turning now to Jamaica, where communities are just now able to return home after last week's direct hit from Hurricane Melissa.
The Category 5 storm left a trail of devastation as it tore across the island, completely leveling some communities.
Our David Culver is on the ground and got a firsthand look at the recovery efforts underway.
Now, where we're headed is towards Black River, and that's an area that you've seen a lot of the devastation of some of the homes that have just been totally decimated.
And the folks who are on this path headed the direction that we're going and we can walk just a little bit here to keep traffic going.
Are folks who are many of them going back to their homes for the first time, or what's left of their homes?
You've got others who are bringing supplies with them and others who are bringing communication devices to try to see if they can get to individuals who they've not been able to be in touch with so far.
Now, here we are, several days out after this storm, and you're at a point where the adrenaline has started to wear down, the shock has started to subside and reality is starting to sink in.
We were talking to some of our local team here too, and as we were just sitting here, he looked up and he said it's not just the homes that were destroyed, but also the beauty of my country.
And he said, you should see what this was before.
And this was a beautiful canopy, bamboo avenue.
And you can look now and the bamboo is just shredded.
I mean, all of it just torn apart.
And he said, that's another thing that they're thinking about in mourning even.
Well, this is the issue.
I mean, everyone you speak with will have a story of someone they have yet to be in contact with.
And that tells you there are so many areas that are like this corridor, I mean, just so difficult to get through and cut off at this point.
So they're starting to mobilize quickly.
We're starting to see a lot of those efforts come internationally as well.
The military here is certainly playing a role in that.
But as of now, the latest death toll that we've seen is at 19.
It's expected to rise.
But again, it's trying to get to these areas that are next to impossible to go through.
I saw an ambulance trying to go through just a few minutes ago and it was just going as slow as we were.
I mean, it's a huge challenge.
A quick meteorological note in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.
The season is not over yet.
We still have 29 more days to get through.
Atlantic hurricane season typically sees an average of 14 named storms.
As of now, we are at 13.
Time for 10-second trivia.
During the Dia de los Muertos holiday, what do marigold flowers represent?
The fragility of life, wealth and good fortune, the sun, or friendship?
If you said the sun, you're on fire.
Marigolds or simpasuchil are placed on altars or around grave sites to represent the sun and the path that guides spirits back to their loved ones.
If you've seen the Pixar movie Coco, you may be familiar with Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, which took place this past Saturday and Sunday.
It is a Mexican holiday that celebrates and honors the lives of loved ones and pets who have passed away.
But instead of being sad or a scary occasion, it's a joyful celebration that welcomes the spirits of the dead back into the world of the living for a short period of time.
A California artist named Ophelia Esparza played a huge role in making Dia de los Muertos popular in the US And for the first time, her work is being featured in a solo show at a Los Angeles museum.
Check this out.
I'm a first generation here.
My mother came from Mexico.
This was a practice my mother had at home.
She had it all year long.
But for the special days, like the other Los Muertos she would dress it up with flowers from her garden, with a candle.
The altar is the centerpiece.
If people have a photograph, if not, also a token or a memento of that person's life.
The marigold flower.
It reflects the sun, of course, but also its aroma beckons the soul.
To that, here we are ready, waiting for you with our ofrenda.
When I started doing public altars was first at Self Hope Graphics, the art center in East Los Angeles.
But it wasn't really widespread known and it has grown over the years.
I just have continued it for so many years since I first started in around 1979.
This is the first for Ofelia.
And for us, it was important to highlight all aspects of her career.
In the gallery, we see what almost seven decades of art making, right?
Drawings, paintings, printmaking.
In addition to seven altars or ofrendas that we've recreated in the exhibition.
It is such a tremendous honor, especially in my own community.
We feel very strongly that Ofelia and her work has fundamentally transformed the story of American art and culture through her work as an altar maker as well as a visual artist.
And The oflenda is really a significant endeavor because our community is hurting but it has come together in a way that is empowering.
If you've ever wanted to walk the same path as some of history's most powerful emperors, you'll soon have the chance.
A 2,000-year-old tunnel below Rome's famed Colosseum is set to open to the public this month.
The subterranean path called the Passage of Commodus was used by emperors to enter and exit the Colosseum, unseen by the public.
That includes its namesake Commodus, who was famously portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott's Gladiator.
Some historians even believe the tunnel is the site of a failed assassination attempt against the emperor.
The restoration was done using the same methods and materials the Romans originally used.
Talk about a colossal undertaking.
If this sounds up your alley, you'd better book your trip soon.
Only 24 people per day will be permitted to explore it.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, a monkey on the loose.
And could it be more fitting that it happened in a spirit Halloween store?
Take a look.
On the call, there's a monkey running around.
There he is right there.
Not a costume or a prank.
Police in Plano Texas, were called to the costume store this week to find, as body camera footage shows a spider monkey swinging from the rafters.
Literally.
And just generally running loose throughout the store.
Plot twist?
Turns out it was someone's pet. who got spooked by the decorations.
Animal control was already on the way when they finally were able to entice the monkey with a cookie.
To well, stop monkeying around.
Is that your monkey?
You got a leash for it?
Yeah.
Okay, let's put it on.
Neither monkey nor officer nor trick-or-treater was hurt in the making of this story.
All right, superstars, that's all the time we have for today, but let's get you some shout-outs.
This first one is going to Mrs. Levitt from Chester Academy in Chester, New Hampshire.
Thank you for being such a loyal viewer of the show.
And this next shout-out goes to Miss Rakers at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago, Illinois.
Thank you so much for the calaveras, the sugar skulls that many people decorate for Dia de los Muertos.
Very cool.
Now, Coy will be back tomorrow, so we will see you then.
Thanks for having me.
I'm Alison Chinchar, and we are CNN 10.
