On today's podcast:
1) The White House budget office is telling federal agencies to prepare plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown. The move would represent a substantial escalation beyond normal shutdown protocols in recent years, under which government workers deemed nonessential in the case of a funding lapse were typically furloughed and eventually brought back when funding is restored — usually with back pay provided.

2) President Trump is scheduled to meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House, the latest sign of improving ties between the two nations. The meeting will be the first time Trump has hosted Sharif at the White House since the Pakistani leader took his country’s top office last year. It comes as relations between the US and Pakistan have been easing in recent months following years of tensions.

3) Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late-night TV on Tuesday drew 6.26 million viewers, Walt Disney Co.’s ABC network said in an emailed statement, the most ever in the show’s regular time slot. The total is significantly higher than the 1.55 million viewers Jimmy Kimmel Live! has averaged this year, according to Nielsen data. ABC suspended the program on Sept. 17 following comments the host made two nights earlier about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

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