What we’re watching Friday

Fallout from the Government Shutdown

• The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hear testimony on the impact of the government shutdown so far. Witnesses include National Transportation Safety Board chair Deborah A.P. Hersman, American Association for the Advancement of Science CEO Alan I. Leshner, Alaskan fisherman Keith Colburn and Consumer Federation of America legislative director Rachel Weintraub. Watch a live stream of the hearing.

• JPMorgan Chase announced Thursday it has sold off all of its short-term U.S. government debt from its money market accounts. Divesting from government bonds that mature near the time the nation could hit its borrowing limit is a precautionary measure, the company wrote in a statement; it also said that the threat of a government default is low.
  – The Senate’s Ohio clock stopped running; its hands will remain frozen in place at 12:14 p.m. until furloughed Capital Hill employees can return to work.

• Independent truckers protest on the roads in and around Washington; they seek to impeach President Barack Obama and pressure Congress “restore our Constitutional Republic.”

Nobel Peace Prize goes to U.N. Organization

-The 2013 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons” and their recent work in Syria.

Cyclone nears Indian coast

• Cyclone “Phailin” fills entire Bay of Bengal with gales nearing speeds of 130 mph. As many as 64,000 have been evacuated before the cyclone hits land Saturday evening.

U.S. Oil Boom

• The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil producer by about 2017 and will become a net oil exporter by 2030, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. The U.S. also “is set to become the largest non?OPEC liquids producer by the second quarter of 2014, overtaking Russia.”