Major League Soccer has wrapped up its regular season. Charlotte FC finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and last weekend beat the league’s best team — Philadelphia — to secure home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Crown will go into that game without one of their best players and will call on younger players to step up. A look at what to expect, this team’s importance to Charlotte and more.

The government shutdown rolls on and it is impacting North Carolina. The Senate is in session, but the House has been out for weeks. We’ll catch up on what has been happening and not happening on Capitol Hill and consider the possible impact in Washington D.C. of North Carolina’s plans to gerrymander districts for the midterms.

Early voting is underway in Charlotte’s municipal elections. The only competitive district race on Charlotte City Council is the one in District 6, formerly represented by Tariq Bokhari, who stepped down. Now his wife, Krista, is running as a Republican against Democrat Kimberly Owens. Last week we spent time with Owens. Today, a conversation with Bokhari about why she wants the job.

On the next Charlotte Talks, an exploration of storytelling and what makes for a good story with award-winning storyteller Donna Washington.

There's another gerrymander as North Carolina lawmakers say they’ll redraw districts to allow for one more Republican; an outside investigation clears Charlotte City Council of accusations of unethical, immoral or illegal conduct the CEO of LendingTree dies unexpectedly; and the Panthers have a chance at a winning record.

Early voting begins Thursday, and in Charlotte, races for city council, school board and mayor are on the ballot along with the transit referendum. We look at those and the integrity and security of the vote.

Mosquito-eating bats eat nearly their entire body weight in insects every night, but bats are under threat of extinction. This Halloween season, we look at efforts to reverse the trend.

Mecklenburg voters will decide on a referendum to levy a 1-cent sales tax to fund Charlotte’s transit plan. That tax would generate nearly $20 billion over 30 years for various transit projects. Proponents say the time is now to make this critical decision. Others urge a no vote because of who will be hurt by rising taxes. We look at both sides.

Early voting starts Thursday in Charlotte’s municipal elections. The only competitive race on the city council is in District 6, formerly represented by Tariq Bokhari, who stepped down. Now his wife, Krista, is running as a Republican against Democrat Kimberly Owens, who has been in Charlotte for more than 30 years, but this is her first time running for office. We sit down for a conversation about why she wants this job and more.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis pushes back on Attorney General Pam Bondi, telling her he’s struggling to make sense of National Guard Deployments. Charlotte hires a new city attorney. Charlotte City Council’s Transportation and Planning Committee opts not to advance part of the process for forming a new transit authority. And a big proposal from Tepper Sports.