By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello!

Today’s newsletter focuses on the United States government shutdown, covering both the ‘s’ for ‘social’ and ‘g’ for ‘governance’ in ESG as we look at the damage it has caused and the number of people it has affected so far.

Here are the numbers:

         -  $1.7 trillion – the amount of funds frozen for agency operations due to the standoff in Congress. 

         -  2 million – the number of federal workers whose pay has been suspended.

         -  750,000 – roughly the number of federal workers ordered not to work and others, such as troops and Border Patrol agents, required to work without pay. 

        -  300,000 – the number of federal workers Trump is already on track to push out by the end of the year.

        -  60,000 – the number of men and women responsible for keeping American skies safe who have gone unpaid throughout the government shutdown.

        -  1,400 – the Treasury Department employees who were fired by the Trump administration, but the decision was put on temporary hold after a federal judge’s ruling last week.  

        -  1,250 – the number of people working in the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts who have all been furloughed, with some continuing to work “on excepted activities during the lapse in appropriations.”

Those are quite the figures. But why is this happening?

Let’s look at the background of the shutdown and the people affected.

Also on my radar today:

Travelers pass through a Transportation Security Administration security screening at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, U.S. REUTERS/Daniel Cole

Democrats and Republicans are typically at odds over spending, and it is not unusual for negotiations to run right up to the point where funding is due to expire.

Those tensions have been amplified under President Donald Trump, including during his first term which was the longest running shutdown lasting 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019.

Since taking office for his second term, Trump has dismantled several government agencies, overseen the departure of hundreds of thousands of civil servants, and refused to spend billions of dollars authorized by Congress.

Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but they will need at least seven Democratic votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass spending legislation.

Democrats are insisting that any spending bill must also ensure that expanded Affordable Care Act health subsidies do not expire at the end of the year. Republicans say they are open to extending those subsidies but say the issue should be handled separately.

Without an ACA extension, millions of Americans are girding for significant increases in their healthcare premiums, which Democrats have called "a healthcare crisis."

Without a funding agreement soon, many will be forced to dip into savings, rack up credit-card debt, or take on part-time jobs to make ends meet, several federal employees told Reuters.

The shutdown is now three weeks old and rapidly approaching the time when the tens of thousands of government employees who keep security lines moving and air traffic safe will miss a full paycheck.

Those workers last received paychecks in mid-October, and those checks were missing up to two days' worth of pay.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels said on Monday that controllers are going to get a pay stub on Thursday that shows no pay for next week, and many will face very hard choices.

 A TSA officer at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, who asked to be identified only as M., said he would take out a $3,000 loan to help cover his expenses.

"I'm more just disappointed that there's no true negotiations going on", said another TSA officer in Dayton, Ohio, adding that he did not understand why Congress was playing "political chess" with his paycheck.

Additionally, Trump has ensured that federal immigration agents, U.S. Border Patrol officers, FBI special agents and active-duty military personnel continue receiving paychecks during the government shutdown, even as hundreds of thousands of civilian federal workers are furloughed or are working without pay.

A prolonged shutdown could disrupt air travel, threaten food aid for millions of Americans, and weigh on exports and mortgage applications.

Bidaya Sleiman, a member of Houla's Municipal Council, stands on the rubble of her home in southern Lebanon, which was destroyed in an Israeli strike, Lebanon. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

A raft inside the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector about one km underground under Mount Ikeno near the city of Hida, Japan. ICRR/ University of Tokyo/Handout via REUTERS

What if I told you they are trillions of tiny particles that zip through your body every second without you noticing? Well, it’s a real thing and it’s the focus of today’s spotlight.

They are called neutrinos – tiny particles that can pass through everything, rarely interacting with matter. They are the universe's most abundant particles, yet scientists are still struggling to understand them.

A new study that combines results from two major neutrino experiments in Japan and the United States is now offering some of the best information to date about these ghostly particles. Click here to find out more about neutrinos.