Thirty-one days into the government shutdown, and we’ve officially crossed from “temporary inconvenience” into “long-term relationship.” Congress is still arguing, the bills are still piling up, and at this point, even the interns are starting to grow beards. The glimmer of hope we saw earlier in the week has dimmed back down to a faint nightlight — the kind that flickers right before the ghost jumps out in a bad horror movie. And speaking of haunted things, we’ve got another big shakeup brewing in the media world. Gayle King — yes, that Gayle King — might be saying goodbye to CBS Mornings next year. It’s being called “a sign of the changing times,” but let’s be real — if Gayle leaves, that show’s going to need more than a new coffee mug set to keep viewers awake. It’s like if your favorite diner suddenly changed the cook. Sure, the eggs are still there, but they just don’t taste the same. Then there’s The Last Word: not everything goes the way you want on Halloween. You plan the perfect night, and suddenly it rains, your costume falls apart, and your candy bag rips open halfway down the block. Happens to the best of us. In my case, I’m still picking melted chocolate out of my jacket pocket from last year. Sometimes Halloween is more trick than treat, and you just have to laugh through it — preferably while eating someone else’s candy.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, two people died in flooded New York City basements during a rainstorm that shut down roadways and caused airport delays, authorities said.

We continue our coverage of The Road To City Hall. With 4 days to go until the general election, Younger New Yorkers are starting to make their mark at the ballot box — turning out at a higher clip over the past few days of early voting in the highly-watched mayoral race.

And go ahead and roll your eyes. Shrug your shoulders. Or maybe just juggle your hands in the air. Dictionary.com’s word of the year isn’t even really a word. It’s the viral term “6-7” that kids and teenagers can’t stop repeating and laughing about and parents and teachers can’t make any sense of.