1. Today is Day 13 of the government shutdown and there appears to be no end in sight. Thousands of employees from major federal agencies are out of their jobs, after President Trump followed through with his threat to fire them. According to a lawsuit, it's about four-thousand federal workers who had been furloughed but are now fired. The Trump Administration says that number will rise.
2. From the NLDS to the NLCS, the Brewers path to a championship continues tonight with game one of a best-of-seven series against the Dodgers. It's a rematch of the 2018 NLCS in which the Dodgers won in seven games. The Brewers had home field advantage in that series, and they have home field advantage this time around, as well. Keep an eye on the roster. The Brewers had 3 days off in the 5-game NLDS series against the Cubs. In the NLCS, the Brewers could have only two days off in a 7-game series. The Brewers have not yet communicated a starting pitcher for tonight's game. The Dodgers will send former Cy Young Award winning lefty Blake Snell to the mound.
3. President Trump is calling for a "new era of harmony" in the Middle East. Trump spoke today during a global summit in Egypt on Gaza’s future, trying to advance broader peace in the region after visiting Israel to celebrate a US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas. Hamas released all 20 remaining Israeli hostages and Israel released nearly two-thousand Palestinian prisoners. The exchange was part of a ceasefire plan Hamas agreed to last week.