The government shutdown underscored President Donald Trump's whirlwind work week after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement in a stalemate that's anticipated to spur "thousands" of federal layoffs. Senate lawmakers, however, could not reach an agreement on the budget ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline, sparking the shutdown. Trump's Hamas ultimatumOutside of Capitol Hill buzzing about the shutdown, Trump also gave Hamas terrorists until Sunday to reach a peace agreement as the war with Israel, which started Oct. 7, 2023, continues raging. US in ‘non-international armed conflict’ with drug cartelsThe Trump administration also sent a memo to Congress Thursday explaining the United States is now "in a non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels, which administration officials have designated as "terrorist organizations." The White House said the memo was filed following a Sept. 15 strike on "a Designated Terrorist Organization."