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Longtime GOP strategist Frank Luntz had a harsh warning for Capitol Hill on CNN Friday afternoon as the government shutdown drags on into its second week: don't let the two most electorally important groups become a casualty of the standoff, or they will blitz the ballot box with a vengeance.

There currently appears to be no end in sight to the impasse, with Democrats demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies for millions of people whose premiums are set to go up, and Republicans refusing to discuss the matter until a clean bill is passed reopening federal agencies. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is seizing on the chaos to lay off thousands more federal workers.

A WGN video producer was handcuffed and taken into custody by federal agents on Friday morning while documenting the arrest of a Latino man, and one legal analyst warned the move defied a court order.

Debbie Brockman was shown face down on the pavement with her pants pulled down. Chicago local Josh Thomas observed the situation and captured the incident on video. Brockman was seen repeating her name and indicating who she worked for, asking that the station be notified.

President Donald Trump's former national security advisor, John Bolton, appears to be next on the target list for the administration to charge, MSNBC investigative journalist Carol Leonnig reported Friday afternoon on air.

She explained that the Justice Department was seeking charges against him "as early as next week."

A firm that cut millions of dollars in donations to President Donald Trump's plan for a massive new ballroom wing of the White House has suddenly found one of its flagship energy projects canceled by the Bureau of Land Management with no explanation.

According to The New York Times, "The project, known as Esmeralda 7, would have comprised a sprawling network of solar panels and batteries across 118,000 acres of federally owned land in the Nevada desert northwest of Las Vegas. It was expected to produce up to 6.2 gigawatts of energy, enough to power nearly two million homes." It would have been one of the largest solar installations anywhere in the world.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) thumped Russ Vought, the White House budget chief, amid a planned mass purge of the federal government.

The Trump administration said Friday it began "substantial" layoffs of federal workers as the government shutdown approaches its 10th day and threatens to extend into another week.

The Supreme Court is hearing a number of high-profile cases this term, including one critical to the future of congressional representation. But they're also taking on a much lesser-known case, about postal service misconduct, that should not fall off anyone's radar, legal analyst Elie Mystal wrote for The Nation — because it could be "sneakily crucial" to democracy.

On the surface of it, wrote Mystal, U.S. Postal Service v. Konan, argued on Wednesday, isn't really about elections or voting rights at all. Rather, it's about just how much legal liability the U.S. Postal Service has if mail is intentionally withheld from recipients.

Friday morning, the Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) facility in Bucksnort, Tennessee, exploded. The company produces and stores explosives, including demolition kits and products used from the military and aerospace industry, its website says.

WSMV reported that there are "multiple" people who were presumed dead, and photos and videos of the building show significant damage.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) blasted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Friday for adjourning the chamber for another week, and thereby, sending lawmakers home amid the ongoing government shutdown despite Congress’s authority to continue legislative work.

“Running scared again,” wrote McGovern in a social media post on X Friday, sharing alongside his remarks a video of the House adjourning until Oct. 14, and establishing what’s known as a “district work period” through Oct. 19, allowing lawmakers to return to their home districts.