Government shutdown could break record

On and on and on, the federal government shutdown has gone more than two weeks without a budget deal in sight, and it could break records as Americans begin to feel the outcome.

Hi there, This is America readers, Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent for USA TODAY.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned the country is "barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns" and if this goes until Nov. 5, it will be the longest-ever.

Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked as the Senate failed to muster enough votes for a House-passed GOP bill this week and neither side, nor President Donald Trump, seems willing to budge. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, is looking for an off ramp, assuring Democrats of a vote to extend healthcare subsidies if they agree to open the government.

In the meantime, the Trump administration is threatening more than 10,000 federal workers with potential layoffs on top of the more than 750,000 employees who have been furloughed.

Critical services are in jeopardy and uncertainty is spreading after the education department laid off practically every staffer in its special education division, for instance.

Those deemed essential, such as military personnel, law enforcement officers, border patrol and air traffic controllers, are required to report for duty without pay but Trump is looking to have active-duty military service members get paid, regardless of the shutdown.

For more on what's happening with the shutdown, check out USA TODAY Network's coverage:

Pause on the firings: A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's mass layoffs on Oct. 15 as the government shutdown drags on, pausing the job cuts for thousands of American workers.

What happens to food aid such as SNAP and WIC? These programs that feed the poor will continue operations as funds allow, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the federal agency and some states have warned that there will not be enough funding to pay the entirety of those benefits if the shutdown persists through November.

Who is getting the blame? Americans in both red and blue states are beginning to take notice, particularly those in battleground areas.

Exonerated after serving 40-plus years, he's now detained by ICE

America's immigration crackdown is playing out in the streets and on people's phones but one of the more compelling stories centers around Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, who was taken into ICE custody after being locked up for 43 years for a murder he apparently did not commit.

The Indian-born Vedam's exoneration for murder did not clear a 1988 deportation order based on a drug crime. Now his family, and other supporters, are hoping the deportation order will be waived in light of the exoneration and wrongful imprisonment.

It is a case that opponents of the Trump administration are pointing to as the president ramps up immigration enforcement across the country. Several Democratic-controlled cities, such as Los Angeles and Chicago, have seen a massive crackdown with protesters clashing with masked ICE agents.

Those behind Vedam argue that he has lived in the U.S. since he was a nine-month-old infant, that his family arrived as a lawful permanent residents and that he has little connection to his native land.

"All we want is for him to be home with us and to be able to move forward in life," Zoë Miller-Vedam told USA TODAY.