We asked 1,000 Americans who they blame for the shutdown  —  Here's what they said.  —  Just now  —  How concerned are Americans about the partial shutdown of the federal government and whom do they blame for causing it?  The Washington Post texted a nationally representative sample of 1,010 people on Wednesday to ask.

Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown  —  The Trump administration has telegraphed that mass firings are coming, but officials have cautioned that such moves could violate appropriations law.  —  Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies …

Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown  —  The national surveys taken in the final days of September and the first day of the shutdown find that voters are more inclined to blame Trump and his party.  But many are uncertain.

Trump says US is in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels after ordering strikes in the Caribbean  —  President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” according to a Trump administration memo obtained …

Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown  —  Some employees at the Department of Education changed their responses back to the more neutral language, only to have it changed yet again to the partisan response, multiple sources tell WIRED.

Farmers, a key GOP constituency, hit hard by shutdown  —  The government shutdown is already hurting a key GOP constituency: farmers.  Thousands of USDA's Farm Service Agency offices that help producers across the country access loans and other services are completely shuttered and only available for “emergency scenarios.”