Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, October 1st, 2025. This is USA Today's The Excert.

Today, the government has shut down. What's next? Plus, breaking down the meeting of top military commanders in Virginia yesterday,

and the baseball playoffs are here.

The federal government shut down at midnight as President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats blamed each other

for failing to reach an agreement in a bitter funding standoff.

It marks the 15th government shutdown since 1981, and there's no end in sight

as Democratic lawmakers demand health care policy changes that Trump and Republicans have refused

to entertain. Some 750,000 federal employees ranging from workers at national parks to financial

regulators could be furloughed under a shutdown, according to the nonpartisan

Congressional Budget Office withholding about $400 million in daily compensation.

Other workers in government services considered essential, like military members and law enforcement,

will continue to work but won't be paid until a deal is reached.

The government has shut down in large part over extending

insurance subsidies to millions of Americans who purchase plans on the state and federal

marketplaces. I spoke with USA Today senior national political correspondent Sarah DeWire to get a

better grasp of that issue. Hello, Sarah. Hi, how you doing? Good, busy week. So, you know,

a large part of this government shutdown is centered on the fight over extending insurance subsidies. Just refresh us on how this issue played out in recent weeks.

You know, to be honest, this is something that Congress knew was coming. They wrote the law extending these insurance subsidies. And they've definitely known for the past year because states have been harassing them

about making a decision on what to do.

Since August, Democrats have really pushed that these tax credits need to be extended.

These tax credits aren't just the credits everyone receives.

These are special tax credits called enhanced tax credits

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