5 stories to follow: Oct. 3

Here's your quick look at five stories to know about today:

1. Still shutdown: The federal government remains shut down, as Congress still hasn't reached a deal to solve the budget impasse. The shutdown is beginning to take a toll on the Philadelphia region. A Hometown Heroes event at a local Air Force base is canceled, and workers near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst are ready for things to get back to normal. Back in Congress, five Philadelphia-area Republican representatives are among the first to break party lines and support a fiscal plan that doesn't include provisions to defund Obamacare.

2. Rittenhouse rats: You haven't been imagining it -- more rats have been calling Rittenhouse Square home in recent months. Those who live near the park and visit it aren't happy about the rise in rodent sightings. To try to curb the problem, trash pick-up has increased, metal liners have been installed in garbage cans and bait is being put in burrows more frequently.

3. Rite Aid slaying: Three more people, including an employee, have been arrested in the shooting death of a Rite Aid store manager in Chester.

4. School donations: Mayor Michael Nutter's donation fund to help the city's cash-strapped school district is falling short of its goal thus far. Today, the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation is slated to present Nutter and Superintendent William Hite with a check for $50,000, one of the largest donations to date. Nutter hopes to raise $500,000 by Oct. 15. (Global Citizen and Interstate General Media, which publishes Philly.com, the Inquirer and the Daily News, have also launched a drive to collect school supplies.)

5. Final Night Market: The final Night Market of the season is tonight. The last street-food festival of the year will take place in Chinatown starting at 7 p.m.