After a middle schooler on Long Island told a school counselor she was feeling depressed in February 2023, police ordered her parents to turn over their guns and suspended their pistol licenses while they investigated the child’s safety. The parents complied, but later sued Nassau County, claiming police violated their Second Amendment rights. Last week, a federal judge agreed with them and decided that the parents are entitled to get their guns and licenses back. The ruling spotlights the challenges local governments face as they try to keep people safe from gun violence while also protecting gun owners’ rights. It comes as courts continue to scrutinize what types of gun regulations are allowed in an evolving legal landscape. Attorneys on opposite ends of the political spectrum disagreed about the merits of the ruling and its potential impact. Second Amendment lawyer Peter Tilem said the decision bolsters gun owners’ constitutional rights. “ Just because you live in a house with someone who is a danger to themselves or others doesn't mean that everyone in the house loses their rights,” said Tilem, who often represents gun owners. In contrast, an attorney who advocates for gun safety policies called the ruling “dangerous,” “legally vulnerable” and likely to be overturned on appeal. “This is failing to protect a child,” said Douglas Letter, chief legal officer at the gun reform group Brady. The Nassau County Police Department declined to comment on pending legislation. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Second Amendment supporter running as the Republican candidate for governor, said in a statement that officials are “reviewing our processes to make sure there is no interference with constitutional rights.”

The line outside a South Bronx food pantry snaked down the block, across the avenue and down two more blocks on a recent summer day. People began lining up as early as 5 a.m., even though the pantry doesn't open until 10 a.m. Food pantries across New York City say they’re already seeing an increase in demand as schools that offer free meals close for the summer and gas prices remain stubbornly high. They say they have enough food for now but worry they’ll run out of supplies once more New Yorkers begin losing their benefits under the Trump administration’s changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “Demand's always going to be here, because with the cost of everything going high, food especially, and then with gas, whenever gas goes up, especially in summertime, prices go up,” said Christian Estrada, who runs the pantry and is the food services director for United Bronx Parents, an affiliate of the Acacia Network. Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump overhauled SNAP last summer. More expansive work rules took effect in New York earlier this year, requiring SNAP recipients between 18 and 64 years old to prove they are working, volunteering or in school in order to keep their benefits. People with a documented disability or medical condition can be exempt from the rules. City officials haven’t said how many New Yorkers were cut off their SNAP benefits last month as part of the first wave of shutoffs expected under the new work rules. But they have warned that as many as 42,000 people — 40% of whom are men between 18-30 years old — are at risk. In New Jersey, more than 31,000 people have had their SNAP benefits turned off since May, state officials said.

Kevin Smith talks about how the film business started in New Jersey but the state never gets its due.

The New Jersey governor signed a series of bills this week designed to do something about rising electricity bills in the state.

Listen to "On The Way," WNYC's weekly segment on "All Things Considered" breaking down the week's transportation news.