The federal government will send a record $46 billion to farmers this year, mostly in the South and Midwest, and the payments have "accelerated in recent weeks as the president looks to help his core supporters who have been hit hard by the double whammy of his combative trade practices and the coronavirus pandemic," The New York Times reports. "The breadth of the payments means that government support will account for about 40 percent of total farm income this year. If not for those subsidies, U.S. farm income would be poised to decline in 2020."

Even with the gush of cash from the White House, farmers are experiencing a rise in bankruptcies and declining sales, and bipartisan critics in Congress "have argued that small farmers have missed out on the bulk of the bailout, while large and some foreign-owned farms have benefited," the Times reports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture used an accounting trick to funnel some of the money to tobacco farms in North Carolina, savaged by China's retaliatory move to stop buying U.S. tobacco in 2018. Corn, soybeans, lobsters, and peanuts have also been pummeled by Trump's trade wars with China and Europe.

The Government Accountability Office found last month that $14.5 billion of farm aid in 2019 had been handed out with politics in mind, and the Office of Special Counsel determined last week that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue improperly boosted President Trump's re-election while touting the Farmers to Families Food Box Program in August during an official event in North Carolina.

"That's what's going to continue to happen — four more years — if America gets out and votes for this man, Donald J. Trump," Purdue told attendees. The USDA was ordered to reimburse taxpayers for Purdue's expenses attending the event, but the department is pushing back, insisting that Purdue did not "encourage attendees to vote for a candidate or party or advocate for a partisan political group."

"Farmers are not the only constituency benefiting from the president's largess," the Times notes. "He has promised $200 prescription drug cards to millions of seniors, approved $13 billion in aid to Puerto Rico, which could help his prospects in Florida, and he directed his Agriculture Department include letters signed by him in millions of food aid boxes that are being distributed to the poor." Read more at The New York Times. Peter Weber

About 45 minutes into an interview with 60 Minutes host Lesley Stahl Tuesday at the White House, President Trump abruptly got up and left, telling Stahl the network had enough material to use, several people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Trump was also supposed to sit for a joint interview with Vice President Mike Pence, but didn't come back to participate, the sources said. CNN reached out to the White House, and they did not dispute the reporting.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump — who has mocked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for wearing masks and doesn't make face coverings required at his rallies — tweeted a brief clip showing Stahl talking to two people. "Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me," Trump said. "Much more to come." A person familiar with the matter told CNN the video was filmed immediately after Trump left the room, and Stahl wore a mask until right before the interview started.

In a follow-up tweet, Trump said that for "the sake of accuracy in reporting," he is "considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME! This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about..." The interview — whatever can be cobbled together — is set to air on CBS Sunday night. Catherine Garcia

He campaigned against Vice President Joe Biden, but former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is backing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Steele, a lifelong Republican, joined The Lincoln Project in August as a senior adviser, and in a new ad released by the anti-Trump group on Tuesday, Steele officially endorsed Biden for president.

The video begins with Steele discussing a plot in 1861 to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln on his way to the inauguration. That would have plunged the country into "chaos," Steele says, but instead Lincoln safely made it to D.C. and "onto greatness."

"In the days ahead, we may face a crisis of similar proportion," Steele continues. "An outlaw president clinging to power and defying the will of the people. For four years, many have said there will come a moment — well, this is the moment, because this ballot is like none ever cast."

Steele said while he remains a Republican, "this ballot is how we restore the soul of our nation: electing a good man, Joe Biden, and a trailblazer, Kamala Harris, and ensure an orderly transfer of power, or plunge our country into chaos. America or Trump. I choose America." Catherine Garcia

At least two protesters in Nigeria were shot on Tuesday night when soldiers opened fire on anti-police brutality demonstrators in the Lekki neighborhood in Lagos, several witnesses told Reuters.

The protests began nearly two weeks ago, after video circulated that allegedly showed Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) officers shooting a man in Delta state. Thousands of people have been demonstrating nationwide every night since, despite a curfew in Lagos and other cities. For years, human rights groups accused SARS of committing murder, torture, extortion, and harassment, and while the unit was disbanded on Oct. 11, the protests continued.

Witness Inyene Akpan told Reuters that on Tuesday night, more than 20 soldiers showed up at the Lekki toll gate and began shooting at the crowd. A second witness, Akinbosola Ogunsanya, told Reuters he saw 10 or so people get shot, and then watched as soldiers removed bodies.

The condition of the people shot on Tuesday is unknown, and the Lagos state government said it is investigating the incident. Amnesty International says at least 15 demonstrators have been killed since the protests began. Catherine Garcia

A Miami police officer will face disciplinary action after he wore, while in uniform, a "Trump 2020" mask to an early voting site.

Steve Simeonidis, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democrats, tweeted a photo of the masked officer on Tuesday. Simeonidis called this an "egregious form of voter intimidation" and "a crime."

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the officer was at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami to cast his ballot, and he violated departmental policy by wearing political signage in uniform, NBC News reports. "It's inappropriate, it's against departmental orders," Suarez said. "Police officers are supposed to be impartial, so irrespective of who the person was, whatever sign it would have been, it would have been problematic."

Suarez said an investigation has been launched into the officer's visit to the polling place, and it's unclear if he was on duty. Officers are allowed to vote in uniform and while carrying their department-issued firearms. "One important fact is that the officer was voting," Suarez said. "Had he not been voting it would have been a much more serious situation." Catherine Garcia

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reportedly shut down all hope of passing a COVID-19 stimulus bill in the next two weeks.

Discussions regarding the next relief bill have gone on for months with no actual results after the last package — and the boosted unemployment insurance that came with it — expired after July. But despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) continuing discussions Tuesday, people familiar with the discussions say McConnell has called the whole thing off, The New York Times reports.

Mnuchin and Pelosi have been in talks for weeks, with Pelosi setting Tuesday as a deadline for both sides getting their "terms on the table." Yet negotiations didn't end as Democrats try to work at least $2 trillion in funding from the White House; Mnuchin offered up a $1.8 trillion package on Monday. McConnell meanwhile said Tuesday "if a presidentially supported bill clears the House at some point we'll bring it to the floor." But behind closed doors in a lunch with Senate Republicans, McConnell reportedly said he told the White House not to accept anything until after the election. He's looking to avoid making Republicans up for re-election avoid the "difficult choice of defying the president" by voting against the bill or "alienating their fiscally conservative base" by approving it, the Times reports.

President Trump had previously said he was ending the stimulus talks until after the election, only to change his mind just a few days later. McConnell has been pessimistic about negotiations for weeks. Kathryn Krawczyk

A juror in Breonna Taylor's case has some serious criticism of how it was handled.

On Tuesday, a state judge ruled grand jury records — usually kept sealed — could be released to determine if "publicly elected officials are being honest" about Taylor's case. That allowed jurists to speak freely about the case, including one who released a statement criticizing how Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron presented the case to the jury.

Taylor was shot and killed by police while they executed a no-knock warrant at her home. Only one of the officers involved was indicted on charges of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighbor's apartment; none were charged with Taylor's death. But as the anonymous juror said Tuesday, the grand jury in Taylor's case weren't allowed to do so.

After learning how "the grand jury normally operates," it was clear to this juror that Taylor's case was "quite different," the juror said. "The grand jury was not presented any other charges other than the three wanton endangerment charges" against former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison. "The grand jury did not have homicide offenses explained to them," nor anything regarding "self-defense or justification," the juror continued. "The grand jury didn't agree that certain actions were justified, nor did it decide the indictment should be the only charges in the Breonna Taylor case," the juror said.

Cameron recently said he hadn't recommended manslaughter charges to the grand jury investigating Taylor's case. Kathryn Krawczyk