President Trump and his administration prepared to lay off thousands of federal workers on Friday, using the government shutdown as an opportunity to target agencies that aren't aligned with the president's views.
Why it matters: The mass layoffs could further decimatea federal workforce already down 200,000 employees since Trump retook office, sending away thousands more who are in charge of crafting America's health care, education and environmental policy.
The Trump administration started its expected layoffs, and says it plans to ultimately fire at least 4,100 employees across several agencies, per estimates in an administration official's court filing.
Why it matters: The Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced the layoffs on X Friday, following threats to use the government shutdown to enact the layoffs.
President Trump and pharma giant AstraZeneca on Friday announced a deal to lower drug prices that largely tracks with a pact the White House struck with Pfizer last week.
Why it matters: It's a continuation of drug industry efforts to avoid tariffs or onerous new regulations without taking a big hit to profits.
President Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods next month if China follows through on plans to tighten export controls on minerals critical to American industry.
Why it matters: It is the latest escalation of trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, just hours after Trump said he might cancel a planned meeting with President Xi Jinping.
The Trump administration is warning states that there will be "insufficient funds" to pay full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits if the government shutdown extends past October, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's the administration's latest warning of painful consequences if the shutdown continues, as military service members are set to miss their first paycheck and federal agencies begin mass layoffs.
Why it matters: The blowback includes Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who called the layoffs "arbitrary" and said she "strongly" opposes them.
Why it matters: "ORWELL: 2+2=5," opening in select theaters Friday, transforms Orwell's words from historical warning to urgent commentary, revealing how the struggles over truth and control that defined the 20th century still shape the world today.
First Lady Melania Trump revealed Friday she has held behind-the-scenestalks withRussian President Vladimir Putin for months to reunite Ukrainian children taken since his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Why it matters: This marks rare cooperation between Washington and Moscow over one of the war's most documented atrocities, the forced abduction of Ukrainian children.
Democrats railed against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday after he cancelled yet another week of House votes amid the ongoing government shutdown.
Why it matters: The move comes just as the shutdown is ratcheting up in severity, with the Trump administration announcing layoffs and military service members set to miss their first paycheck on Oct. 15.
The Trump administration is laying off additional federal health care workers during the government shutdown, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The cuts come after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already pushed outthousands of scientists and health workers earlier this year.
President Trump and Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, previously threatened mass federal worker layoffs during the shutdown.
What they're saying: "HHS employees across multiple divisions have received reduction-in-force notices as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown," a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
HHS did not immediately confirm how many staffers have received layoff notices or which offices were affected.
Zoom in: A contingency plan released last month said nearly 32,500 HHS employees, or more than 40% of the workforce, would be considered non-essential and would be furloughed in the event of a government shutdown.
"All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated non-essential by their respective divisions. HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again agenda," HHS said in a statement Friday.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday that more rescissions will be coming "in the days ahead," as the Trump administration announced it has begun its much anticipated layoffs of federal workers.
Why it matters: A fresh effort to claw back, or rescind, congressionally approved spending could threaten the little progress made toward reopening the government.
President Trump plans to hold a summit of world leaders on Gaza during his visit to Egypt next week, according to four sources with knowledge.
Why it matters: The summit could rally additional international support for Trump's Gaza peace plan, with difficult agreements still to be finalized on post-war governance, security and reconstruction.
MAGA is enraged that President Trump did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, claiming politics was at play in denying him the award for which he openly lobbied.
Why it matters: MAGA is inherently skeptical of established, international bodies and fiercely loyal to the president. His perceived snub hits two of the movement's most sensitive nerves.
The Consumer Price Index for September will publish Oct. 24 despite the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday.
Why it matters: Resuming the release demonstrates the political power of Social Security — the CPI is crucial to determining Social Security's annual cost of living adjustment, known as COLA.
New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by the Justice Department on Thursday, weeks after President Trump demanded her prosecution.
Why it matters: Each new indictment of a Trump critic normalizes retribution as a governing tool, drawing the U.S. closer to a justice system driven by presidential grievance.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, sidelining President Trump who has openly campaigned for the honor.
The big picture: The prize is considered the world's top diplomatic recognition, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee's pick rebuffs Trump's attempts to sell himself as the world's greatestpeacemaker.
The Senate late Thursday voted to cut off taxpayer funding to certain Chinese biotech companies deemed to pose national security risks.
Why it matters: The push for the Biosecure Act shows how national security concerns are making their way into the health care sector as Congress focuses on competition with China.
The CDC's vaccine advisory committeethis week announced the creation of a working group to review the childhood vaccination schedule, including the timing and order of different vaccines and the safety of certain ingredients.
An example topic for discussion, per the document, would be whether "either of the two different aluminum adjuvants increase the risk of asthma?"
The big picture: Vaccine skeptics, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have long questioned the scientific consensus that the small amount of aluminum used in vaccines is safe. Now, the federal government is poised to reopen the safety debate and potentially add guardrails.
Why it matters: President Trump has publicly campaigned for the prize for months, but missed out Friday when the committee announced the honor would go to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
The second Monday in October — Oct. 13 this year — is a federal holiday officially known as Columbus Day, but an increasing number of states and cities now mark it as Indigenous Peoples Day instead.
Why it matters: The shift reflects a growing national effort to recognize Native American history and resilience over honoring Christopher Columbus, whose legacy is tied to colonization and violence against Indigenous peoples.
President Trump is claiming he settled an "eighth" war this week, this time between Israel and Hamas.
Why it matters: Trump's touting of his peace deals became a common refrain in the lead up to the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize winner on Friday.
MAGA media is flexing its ability to shape the debate over antifa and violent crime in American cities, empowered by allies in the White House hungry for evidence of left-wing terrorism.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is using clips of violent street clashes — paired with testimony from MAGA-aligned reporters on the ground — to depict Democratic-led cities as engulfed in chaos.
As negotiations for a Gaza peace deal approached the finish line, President Trump provided a personal guarantee he wouldn't let Israel abandon it and resume the war, two U.S. officials revealed in a briefing with reporters.
Why it matters: Trump's assurances were a key factor in convincing Hamas to take the deal, the sources say. The ceasefire is now officially in effect after Israel's cabinet approved the deal early Friday morning local time.
President Trump is temporarily barred from sending the National Guard to Illinois to aid his immigration crackdown after a federal judge in part granted the state a temporary restraining order against the deployment.
Why it matters: The ruling will halt the president's plans — for now. The White House has indicated it will appeal the decision.
Federal agents in Chicago cannot target journalists and protesters with riot control weapons, a federal judge ruled in a temporary order Thursday.
Why it matters: The ruling for now provides added legal protection for journalists and protesters in Chicago who alleged they were targeted with "extreme brutality" outside an ICE facility while exercising their First Amendment right to cover immigration enforcement.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is calling some employees back from furlough to work on a key inflation report, a Trump administration official said Thursday night.
Why it matters: That data from the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, is crucial to figuring out the annual Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA — and has been delayed in the government shutdown.
