Government shutdown begins as the nation faces a new period of uncertainty

Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by Trump’s Republican administration. Many offices will be shuttered, perhaps permanently, as Trump vows to “do things that are irreversible, that are bad” as retribution. His deportation agenda is expected to run full speed ahead, while education, environmental and other services sputter. The economic fallout is expected to ripple nationwide.

Part of a high-rise apartment building in New York City collapses

Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the largest housing authority in the nation, known as NYCHA. Tenants in the system’s have complained for decades about rodents, mold and heat and hot water outages. Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, ‘50s and ’60s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”

Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools

Some 80% of those bans originated in just three states that have enacted or attempted to enact laws calling for removal of books deemed objectionable – Florida, Texas and Tennessee. Reasons often cited for pulling a book include LGBTQ+ themes, depictions of race and passages with violence and sexual violence. An ongoing trend that PEN finds has only intensified: Thousands of books were taken off shelves in anticipation of community, political or legal pressure rather than in response to a direct threat.

Prediction markets see government shutdown lasting nearly two weeks

On Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market, the current forecast implies the stoppage will last 11.1 days, up sharply in recent days as negotiations on Capitol Hill have stalled. On Polymarket, traders see the highest likelihood that the government won’t reopen until Oct. 15 or later, with that outcome carrying about a 38% probability.

A ‘Godfather of AI’ Remains Concerned as Ever About Human Extinction

So the scenario in “2001: A Space Odyssey” is exactly like this. Recent experiments show that in some circumstances where the AI has no choice but between its preservation, which means the goals that it was given, and doing something that causes the death of a human, they might choose the death of the human to preserve their goals.