Paychecks are grinding to a halt for federal employees as the government shutdown enters its third week. A 2019 law entitles furloughed workers to back pay (though the Trump administration is claiming otherwise), but there are no pay guarantees for millions of government contract workers, who outnumber federal employees nearly two to one. Also on the show: which new tariffs kicked in last night, and why megadeals are driving merger and acquisition activity.