Some furloughed federal employees have started driving for Uber and Lyft while airlines say they're near a "tipping point" thanks to the border wall shutdown. And there's no sign of relief: The Senate on Thursday failed to pass either a Democratic or Republican bill to fund the government. Tomorrow will be the 35th day of the unprecedented impasse. —Josh Petri

Special note: Please watch for the new Saturday morning version of this newsletter, Bloomberg's Weekend Reading, coming soon!

Here are today's top stories

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross downplayed expectations for an end to the trade war with China when both sides meet next week. As for the shutdown and struggling federal workers, he said they should take out loans. Marie Antoinette references came swiftly.

Airbus said it might be forced to move future investments out of the U.K., slamming the “madness” of Brexit supporters who assume the planemaker won’t abandon Britain.

Carlos Ghosn stood atop the global auto industry for two decades. His tenure at Renault, however, has ended in a more humble fashion.

Google, whose employees captured international attention through high-profile protests of workplace policies, has been quietly urging the U.S. government to narrow legal protections for workers just like them.

After four years of low crude oil prices, governments in the Middle East have high youth unemployment, a growing dependence on debt and less cash to placate their citizens.

The good news is the Doomsday Clock isn't moving. The bad news is we're still two minutes from annihilation, thanks to nuclear proliferation and climate change.

What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is pondering the future of media. Yesterday, the digital powerhouse BuzzFeed announced in an internal memo that it was cutting 15 percent of its employees. If after a decade of existence, media still hasn't found a sustainable business model, then that's ominous news for everyone.

What you'll need to know tomorrow

• Republican Senator Joni Ernst says she was raped in college.
• The new hedge fund manager flies economy and stays in hostels.
• Other bankers can buy a bottle of Scotch for the price of a Tesla.
• A Florida developer dismisses rising sea levels as "paranoia."
• The most exciting food in America isn't in New York City.
• But its most expensive home, at $238 million, certainly is.
• Wind turbines, already larger than jumbo jets, will get even bigger.

What you'll want to read tonight

What Happens When You Try to Sue Your Boss

If you have a job in the U.S., chances are good you’ve signed an arbitration agreement that will stop you from suing your bosses in court for pretty much any reason. About 60 million Americans, including workers in 2 out of 3 big nonunion companies, are bound by the agreements, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Arbitration has sucked in bakers, bankers, engineers, exterminators, nurses, plumbers, roofers, teachers, and truckers. And yet no one except those who’ve been through arbitration understands what it’s really like, how it works, or whether it leads to anything resembling justice. It can be hell.

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