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The odds are rising that any deal on a fifth coronavirus relief package will be tied to legislation to prevent a government shutdown. After weeks of stalemated talks, the timeline for the two fights have all but merged: The House is set to leave until after the election by Oct. 2, giving lawmakers only a matter of weeks to get a deal on another coronavirus bill. And government agencies cannot run when the next fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 without new funding from Congress. (Elis and Carney, 8/30)

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Sunday blamed the impasse on a new coronavirus relief bill on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying the Trump administration‘s offer of $1.3 trillion deserves the Democrats’ serious attention.“Listen, we’re not going to negotiate here because the speaker’s been very clear,” Meadows told Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” characterizing Pelosi as inflexible. ‘When she said $2.2 trillion, she said, ‘Don't do anything at all.'" (Semones, 8/30)

The Paycheck Protection Program isn’t accepting loan applications anymore, but the extent to which members of Congress and their families benefited from it continues to roll in. (Marquette, 8/28)

Massachusetts has one of the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the country, but the pandemic continues to take its toll on the job market, with at least 2,200 furloughs and permanent layoffs announced in the past two days by employers in key sectors of the local economy. (Edelman, 8/28)

A new wave of layoffs is washing over the U.S. as several big companies reassess staffing plans and settle in for a long period of uncertainty. MGM Resorts International and Stanley Black & Decker Inc. recently told some employees furloughed at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic that they wouldn’t be put back on the payroll. And companies bringing back the majority of furloughed workers, including Yelp Inc. and Cheesecake Factory Inc., are making reductions as they adjust to the new reality that many coronavirus-related closures won’t be resolved this fall. (Thomas, Chaney and Cutter, 8/28)

When Stephanie Clark was temporarily laid off from her administrative job for the city of Henderson, Nevada, on March 10, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was told she would be called back the next month. In early April, she was again assured that she would be rehired the following month. But on May 1, with the city’s finances pummeled by the shutdown of neighboring tourist mecca Las Vegas, Clark was permanently let go. (Davidson, 8/27)