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Good morning, Northwest.

The federal government shutdown has entered its second day, and a spending agreement between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill seems to be far off.

Perhaps the biggest disagreement between the two parties are the changes to Medicaid made as part of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon spoke at length with OPB yesterday about concessions Democrats are seeking in a plan to fund the government. We start this morning with his remarks.

Also this morning, Oregon is tigthening eligibility requirements for food stamps in accordance with the aforementioned Big Beautiful Bill.

We close out today’s newsletter with coffee and beer.

Here’s your First Look at Thursday’s news.

—Bradley W. Parks

What you need to know about government shutdown

• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley joined OPB’s “Think Out Loud” yesterday to talk about the government shutdown. “The Republicans have shut down the government because they want to lock in their devastation of health care for American families. And we’re saying, ‘Hell no, this is not right.’” (Francisca Benitez and Sheraz Sadiq) 
• Effects of the government shutdown are beginning to ripple across the country. Some federal workers stayed home yesterday, national parks began to close down and people seeking services didn’t always find them. (Lexie Schapitl, Deirdre Walsh and Franco Ordoñez) 
• Mothers and their babies participating in Washington state’s Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, could lose access to their benefits in the case of a prolonged federal government shutdown. (Jake Goldstein-Street)

3 things to know this morning

• According to public records released yesterday, federal authorities pushing for National Guard deployment in Portland gave Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek a tight timeline Saturday: Either call up 200 guard members on her own authority in the next half day, or they would. (Dirk VanderHart)
• Oregon’s U.S. attorney sued several counties near the Portland metro area yesterday, accusing them of refusing to share information about people in the country unlawfully who have been convicted of violent crimes. (Troy Brynelson and Alex Zielinski)
• Oregon announced that it is tightening eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, starting this month. (Amelia Templeton)

📺 Watch the season premieres of “Oregon Art Beat” and “Oregon Field Guide”tonight on OPB TV or on the OPB Livestream.

“Oregon Art Beat” kicks off its season at 8 p.m. with a profile of Portland artist Melissa Monroe and novelist and screenwriter Jonathan Raymond. At 8:30 p.m., “Oregon Field Guide” explores the human story behind abandoned ships and visits the Oregon Donkey Sanctuary.

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Oregon faces a complex problem removing abandoned boats (Noah Thomas)
• Former US Attorney Billy Williams will stay on as Clackamas County counsel (Holly Bartholomew)
• Oregon rent increases capped at 9.5% in 2026 (Julia Shumway)
• Washington’s minimum wage to top $17 per hour in 2026 (Jake Goldstein-Street)
• Oregon lawmakers push for change to tsunami, earthquake preparedness (Zac Ziegler)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Southern Oregon University researchers lead statewide training effort to boost accessible tourism

☕ 🍺 Made-up holidays give us a chance to celebrate Northwest coffee and beer

National Coffee Day and National Drink Beer Day happened back-to-back at the end of last month. Even if they are made-up holidays, they’re still good excuses to celebrate two iconic beverages that have unique connections to the Pacific Northwest.

OPB has taken deep dives into both in our video series “Superabundant,” a show that highlights the region’s diverse food ecosystem and the people who make it happen.

Watch them both at the links below. (Crystal Ligori and Prakruti Bhatt)

Learn more about coffee

Learn more about beer

Subscribe to OPB’s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/02/government-shutdown-merkley-first-look/