Politics
What is open, what is closed

WASHINGTON: US government services will be disrupted until President Donald Trump and Congress agree on a spending deal.
Federal agencies have ordered hundreds of thousands of federal employees not to work, deeming them not essential to protecting people and property.
This shutdown, opens new tab is different from past government closures because Trump has threatened to lay off more federal workers if lawmakers do not pass legislation to avert the closures. His administration had not outlined what cuts to expect as of Wednesday morning.
“We will be looking for opportunities” to reduce the size of the federal government, said White House budget director Russ Vought in a television interview on Tuesday.
Here is a guide to what will stay open and what will close in this government shutdown, according to details federal agencies released so far:
When and why did the government shut down?
Congress writes detailed spending legislation for most US government agencies each year, but rarely finishes before the fiscal year starts on October 1. Lawmakers typically pass stopgap spending bills to avoid disruption for several weeks or months while they finish their work.
The current stopgap bill expired on September 30. Republicans and Democrats have not reached an agreement on an extension. Wide swaths of the government lack funds to continue their operations.
What happens to social security, medicare and medicaid?
The Social Security Administration will keep issuing retirement and disability benefits, but will furlough 12% of its staff and pause marketing campaigns, according to the agency’s shutdown plan.
Payments will likewise continue under the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs.
Will food aid be continued under SNAP and WIC?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest food aid program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, will continue operations during a shutdown as funds allow, according to a shutdown planning document published by the US Department of Agriculture.
Does the mail get delivered?
The US Postal Service will be unaffected because it does not depend on Congress for funding, USPS said in a statement. Post offices will be open.
What does a shutdown mean for interal revenue service?
The IRS will be fully staffed for five days, according to agency shutdown plans published Monday.
The strategy does not say what the IRS, which lost about a quarter of its staff this year and now employs about 75,000 people, will do if the shutdown lasts longer than five business days. An agency spokesperson declined to comment.
What about the airports?
More than 13,000 air traffic controllers will continue working without pay until the shutdown ends, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Most TSA employees will continue working, according to an agency statement.
Will federal courts be fully operational?
The federal judiciary warned that the courts could run out of money to fully sustain operations after Oct. 17.
That is a shift. When the government shut down during Trump’s first term, the courts sustained operations for five weeks.
What does a shutdown mean for the military?
The 2 million US military personnel will remain at their posts without pay until the shutdown ends, according to a Department of Defense statement.
National Guard forces Trump has deployed to US cities must also continue to work.
Contracts awarded before the shutdown will continue, and the department can place new orders for supplies or services needed to protect national security.
Trump in September ordered the department to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress.
How Does a government shutdown affect law enforcement?
Agents at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Coast Guard and other federal law enforcement agencies will remain on the job.
What happens to borders and homeland security?
Justice Department staff that administer the immigration court system will largely stay on the job because Trump declared illegal immigration a national emergency, according to a department statement.
Employees that communicate with state and local officials about immigrant arrests will also keep working, according to the statement. Border patrol and immigration enforcement agents will stay at their posts, as would most customs officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s shutdown strategy.
Tariff collections will continue, according to the strategy.
Does a shutdown delay key economic data?
Publication, including employment and GDP reports of critical importance to policymakers and investors, will be suspended.
Does a government shutdown affect small businesses?
The Small Business Administration will furlough 24% of its staff, according to a statement. It will not approve new loans for small businesses to buy equipment and upgrade buildings. Lending to help businesses recover from natural disasters will continue.
What happens if there is a natural disaster?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has about $2.3 billion available in its Disaster Relief Fund, according to a September 15 report, meaning the agency should function if a hurricane or other natural disaster strikes. About 4,000 FEMA employees will be furloughed, according to an agency statement.
Politics
White House says Trump MRI was preventative, president in excellent health

WASHINGTON: The White House has said that President Donald Trump is in good health, even as people continue to question how his age may affect his performance as the country’s most powerful man.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that a recent MRI conducted on President Trump was preventative in nature and revealed that he was in good cardiovascular health.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing at the White House, Leavitt said men of Trump’s age benefited from such screenings.
‘President Trump’s cardiovascular imaging was perfectly normal, no evidence of arterial narrowing, impairing blood flow or abnormalities in the heart or major vessels,’ Leavitt said of the 79-year-old president.
‘The heart chambers are normal in size. The vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation or clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health. His abdominal imaging is also perfectly normal,’ Leavitt said.
Trump underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan during a recent medical evaluation, but did not disclose the purpose of the procedure, which is not typical for standard check-ups. The lack of details raised questions about whether full information regarding the president’s health is being released in a timely fashion by the White House.
Trump is sensitive about his age and well-being. He personally attacked a female New York Times reporter on social media last week over a story she co-wrote examining the ways that Trump’s age may be affecting his energy levels.
Politics
Tajikistan says five Chinese nationals killed in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan in past week

- China advises companies, personnel to evacuate border area.
- Embassy says Chinese citizens targeted in armed attack on Sunday.
- Another border attack on Friday killed three citizens: embassy.
Five Chinese nationals have been killed and five more injured in Tajikistan in attacks launched from neighbouring Afghanistan over the past week, Tajik authorities and China’s embassy in the Central Asian country said on Monday.
China’s embassy in Dushanbe, the capital, advised Chinese companies and personnel to urgently evacuate the border area.
It said that Chinese citizens had been targeted in an armed attack close to the Afghan border on Sunday. On Friday, it said that another border attack — which Tajik authorities said had involved drones dropping grenades — had killed three Chinese citizens.
Tajikistan, a mountainous former Soviet republic of around 11 million people with a secular government, has tense relations with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. It has previously warned of drug smugglers and illicit gold miners working along the remote frontier.
China, which also has a remote, mountainous border with Tajikistan, is a major investor in the country.
There was no immediate response on Monday from the authorities in Afghanistan to the Tajik statement.
But Afghanistan’s foreign ministry last week blamed an unnamed group, which it said was out to create instability, and said it would cooperate with Tajik authorities.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon’s press service said on Monday that Rahmon had met with the heads of his security agencies to discuss how to strengthen border security.
It said that Rahmon “strongly condemned the illegal and provocative actions of Afghan citizens and ordered that effective measures be taken to resolve the problem and prevent a recurrence of such incidents.”
Tajikistan endured a brutal civil war in the 1990s after independence from Moscow, during which Rahmon initially rose to power. The country is closely aligned with Russia, which maintains a military base there.
Millions of Tajiks, a Persian-speaking nation, live across the border in Afghanistan, with Tajikistan historically having backed Afghan Tajiks opposed to the Taliban.
Politics
Indian man kills wife, takes selfie with dead body

A man in India’s south brutally killed his estranged wife at a women’s hostel and took a selfie with her dead body, according to NDTV.
The victim, identified as Sripriya, employed at a private firm in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, had separated from her husband, Balamurugam, who was from Tirunelveli.
Police said the suspect arrived at the hostel on Sunday afternoon, concealing a sickle in his clothes, and was seeking to meet her.
They had an argument soon after the couple met, and the feud turned into a violent attack by Balamurugan, who drew the sickle and hacked the woman to death.
Furthermore, the police said he then took a selfie with her body and shared it on his WhatsApp status, accusing her of “betrayal”.
The incident spread panic and chaos in the hostel.
Following the brutal murder, the suspect did not escape from the spot but waited until the police arrived, and he was arrested at the crime scene. The murder weapon was recovered.
The initial investigation suggested that he suspected his wife of being in a relationship with another man.
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