--:-- Caitlin McCabe: What's driving the markets this week? What's on investors' minds as they look ahead? Find out in 10 minutes or less on the Markets podcast from Goldman Sachs. Listen now.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The U.S. government is officially shut down after lawmakers failed to negotiate a spending agreement. Our position is a simple one. Cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save health care. This country, no country can afford to pay for illegal immigration, health care for everybody that comes into the country. And that's what they're insisting. And obviously, I have an obligation to not accept that.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Plus, a federal judge rules the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by targeting students in pro-Palestinian campus protests. And the U.S. pulls the plug on a trade program that helped keep impoverished Haiti afloat.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: It's Wednesday, October 1st. I'm Caitlin McCabe for The Wall Street Journal. And here's the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Washington, D.C. has gone dark, at least for some non-essential government agencies. The federal government shut down for the first time in nearly seven years, just past midnight this morning, after lawmakers couldn't reach a deal to keep the government funded.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: In the past few days, the White House and Democrats made no real effort to reach a compromise. So here we are. Funding has lapsed. Many government programs are going to cease. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will likely be put on furlough, unpaid leave, and an uncertain economic and political moment has arrived.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: That's the Journal's Washington coverage chief, Damian Paletta. He says the shutdown feels different than previous ones.
--:-- Damian Paletta: Usually a shutdown is about a specific bill or a specific policy that both sides dig in on. This shutdown is almost more philosophical. Democrats are trying to dig in their heels. They feel like they've been pushed around by the White House for months, and they see this as a rare opportunity to try to push back and create some obstruction.
--:-- Damian Paletta: The White House, however, feels like they're winning this political debate and have almost no incentive to cut a deal with Democrats. President Trump likes being the one who's kind of pushing and in charge, and by making Democrats look weak, it actually helps him in his agenda going forward.
--:-- Damian Paletta: Both sides quickly pointed fingers at each other. Federal agencies sent emails to workers blaming Democrats, while a banner across the White House read, quote, Democrats have shut down the government.
--:-- Damian Paletta: Republicans have blamed Democrats for not supporting a stopgap bill that would fund the government through late November. Democrats, however, remained united in saying they wouldn't vote for any bill that didn't include the restoration of hundreds of billions of dollars of health care funding.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Here Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking shortly before the shutdown began.
--:-- Chuck Schumer: A few moments ago Republicans once again rejected Democrats' proposals to avoid a shutdown, fix health care premiums, and spare Americans the calamity of skyrocketing through the roof health care costs.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: What happens now isn't entirely clear. We do know some agencies will grind to a halt. This Friday's highly anticipated jobs report likely won't be published by the Labor Department, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop analyzing surveillance data for reportable diseases.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed, during which they won't receive pay. One of the biggest unknowns, however, is whether the Trump administration will move to permanently fire federal workers.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The Office of Management and Budget has asked agencies to consider firing employees whose work doesn't align with the president's priorities. President Trump reiterated that idea yesterday in a veiled threat to Democrats.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: So they're taking a risk by having a shutdown because because of the shutdown, we can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people out. We don't want to do that, but we don't want fraud, waste and abuse.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The fallout from the shutdown will likely depend on its length and scale, but any resolution could be at least several days away. House lawmakers aren't expected to return to Washington until next week, and any compromise funding proposal would need their approval.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Coming up, the rest of the day's news, including a key ruling on whether the Trump administration's deportation policies are in breach of the First Amendment. That story and more after the break.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Tonight on NBC, Jimmy Fallon and Bozema St. John host the highly anticipated new competition show. I hired 10 creatives from all walks of life. They will be battling it out to see who can impress the world's biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity. This is the battle for the next big idea. This is not play play. We're spending millions of dollars. I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you. Make the best idea win!
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: On brand with Jimmy Fallon, series premiere tonight on NBC.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The Bureau of Labor Statistics is still without a leader after the White House has withdrawn its nomination of conservative economist E.J. Antony. The agency has been left without a head since August after Trump fired the previous BLS leader.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The reason for the decision remains unclear but a White House official praised Antony and said the president will soon nominate a new candidate to lead the BLS. Antony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Staying with the White House we reported yesterday how the Trump administration was escalating its fight with Harvard University by starting a process that could strip the Ivy League school of federal funding. But now, President Trump has said his administration is nearing a $500 million deal with the university.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the proposed deal would involve Harvard investing in trade schools and focusing on AI and other vocational training. By opening up trade school, this would be a giant trade school series of trade schools. It would be run by Harvard.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Now, this is something that we're close to finalizing. We haven't done it yet, but they put up $500 million interest and everything else would go to that account, meaning go to the trade school. And, you know, it's a big investment in trade school, done by very smart people. And then their sins are forgiven.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: It comes as Harvard University and the Trump administration have been locked for months in a battle over allegations of anti-Semitism and concerns about diversity practices. Harvard didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And a federal judge has found the Trump administration violated the Constitution when it targeted non-U.S. citizens for deportation solely for supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge William Young agreed with several university associations that what they called an ideological deportation policy violated free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Ramya Krishnan is a senior staff attorney at the First Amendment Institute, which represented the plaintiffs.
--:-- Ramya Krishnan: Historic ruling that should have immediate implications for the Trump administration's policies. If the First Amendment means anything, it's that the government cannot imprison you because it doesn't like the speech that you have engaged in.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: A State Department spokesman said the administration's approach was well-founded and would continue.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: For two decades, the U.S. has thrown Haiti an economic lifeline, letting its garment industry export clothes to America duty-free. That ended at midnight. The end of the HOPE-slash-HELP Act will impact what's left of the impoverished Caribbean nation's largest industry, putting thousands of jobs at risk in factories that produce clothing for brands including Haynes, Calvin Klein, Gap, and Victoria's Secret.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: U.S. lawmakers and Haitian businesses warned that without those jobs, poverty will deepen in Haiti, exacerbating a hunger and refugee crisis as gangs have all but taken control of the country capital.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: European pharmaceutical stocks are trading sharply higher after President Trump yesterday unveiled plans to launch a government website dubbed TrumpRx for consumers to buy drugs directly from manufacturers.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The stock's Europe 600 healthcare index rose more than 3 percent, with Roche, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk leading the gains. While Tuesday's announcement was specific to drugs from Pfizer, analysts at Jeffree say it may represent a blueprint for broader cooperation between the pharma industry and the Trump administration, helping boost shares this morning.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And finally, Americans' lifespans are getting longer. And as it turns out, so are many of their careers. Almost 9% of Americans aged 75 and older were working or looking for work last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: The same trend applies to a slightly younger cohort of Americans, too, with over a quarter of those between the ages of 65 and 74 also participating in last year's workforce.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: Personal finance reporter Veronica Dagger says there are plenty of reasons why people delay retirement.
--:-- Veronica Dagger: Some folks are taking a later retirement because they're worried about money, but others simply love the work. Financial worries are, of course, a big part of the reason for some. And of course, Prices have increased so much in recent years, and that's stressing a lot of retirees out.
--:-- Veronica Dagger: But Veronica says those who do retire later tend to enjoy a broad array of benefits, too. People who work longer may be able to delay Social Security, which increases its payouts by up to 8% for every year they refrain from collecting a check between the ages of 62 and 70.
--:-- Veronica Dagger: Continuing to earn income means a person draws less from their savings, which helps them preserve more money for later in life or for their heirs. And enjoying work provides a social contact and mental and physical stimulation often, which is crucial for your overall health.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: On the flip side, when older workers remain in their positions, they may slow the pace of promotions and limit high-level job openings for younger generations.
--:-- Caitlin McCabe: And that's it for What's News for this Wednesday morning. Today's show is produced by Kate Bullivant and Rema McKenna. Our supervising producer is Sondra Kilhoff. And I'm Caitlin McCabe for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening. Thank you.
