Tonight, Mike Bloomberg will receive the Spirit of Service award at the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals awards in Washington.

The Sammies, known as the Oscars of government service, are named for the Partnership for Public Service’s late founder who was inspired by President Kennedy’s call to serve in 1963.

The awards honor individuals who are making government more effective by breaking down barriers, overcoming huge challenges and getting results.

Ahead of tonight’s event, where thirty U.S. federal government employees will be recognized for their work, the Washington Post published this oped by Mike Bloomberg:

Voters Must Demand 2020 Candidates Say How They’ll Implement Their Plans (Washington Post – Michael Bloomberg)

“Over the course of the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, candidates have been asked time and again to explain — often, in about 30 seconds — what they would do on a broad range of critically important issues, from climate change and gun violence to health care and taxes.

“And yet rarely are the candidates asked, and more rarely still do they talk about, how they would go about achieving their goals.

“The president of the United States runs the executive branch, with its hundreds of agencies and 4 million employees. The job’s essential skills primarily involve leadership and management, not policy analysis.

“With so much rancor in politics today, public servants … remind us of the power of the federal government to do good — and the importance of electing people capable of leading and managing it.

“The presidential aspirants are not short on big ideas. But voters must demand they explain how they intend to move from proposing plans to actually implementing them, including passing them through Congress.

“Those who dodge the question by speaking of revolution and the bully pulpit aren’t up to the job.”

Read the full oped here and share on Twitter here.

Read more about the Sammies honorees here, and read this Michael Lewis feature about one of the finalists on a U.S. Coast Guard oceanographer who pioneered and perfected a modeling program that predicts where people lost at sea will be found, cutting search and rescue times and saving thousands of lives during a 35-year career.

Today’s Headlines.

Syria Update: Shock Video Appears to Show Russian Soldiers in Abandoned U.S. Base in Syria (Washington Post)

Turks Embrace Nationalist Mood as Erdogan Vows to Complete Offensive (BBC News)

Global Markets Waking Up to Consequences of Hong Kong Protests (Bloomberg)

Recession Watch: U.S. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Drop in Sign Consumer Shaky (Bloomberg)

Brexit Impact: Dublin the Winner as Brexit Sends London Finance Firms Fleeing (Bloomberg)

2020 Watch.

Marathon Debate Recap: Rising Elizabeth Warren Weathers Democratic Debate Pile-On as Joe Biden Skates (Bloomberg)

Save Three Hours of TV: Six Takeaways from October Democratic Debate (New York Times)

Race for the House: Retired Army General Stanley McChrystal endorsing Alan Khazei, Candidate for Kennedy Congressional Seat (Boston Globe)

Impeachment Watch.

White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney Emerges as a Key Facilitator of the Campaign to Pressure Ukraine (Washington Post)

Climate Watch.

In Wake of Massive Typhoon: Japan Spent Mightily to Soften Nature’s Wrath, but Can It Ever Be Enough? (New York Times)

Another Attack on National Parks: Trump Administration Proposes Expanding Logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest (Washington Post)

Opinion section.

Judge Judy doubles down with an oped in today’s USA Today:

America is Fractured, but Michael Bloomberg’s No-Nonsense Approach Can Help us Heal (USA Today – Judith Sheindlin)

“An independent, tough-minded businessman, he represents our best chance to bring America together again and begin the long national process of healing.

“Unlike those on the far the right and the far left who use their bully pulpit to divide us, he’s a pragmatist, a man who has shown time and again that he knows how to get things done and cares more about results than ideology. That’s a skill in short supply these days…

“Americans can no longer afford to let shrill voices drown out all the others in our society, because that would be a distortion of everything we stand for.

Refresher: For More Than 20 Years, Judge Judy Has Dominated Daytime TV Ratings (New York Times)

Nearly 10 million Americans watch Judge Judy each day. By comparison, “Ellen” averages about 2.9 million viewers; “Dr. Phil,” about 3.9 million viewers.

Film preview.

WATCH: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and ‘Bombshell’ Cast Unveil New Trailer for Fox News Film (Hollywood Reporter)

Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie made a Tuesday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where they unveiled a new trailer for their upcoming film, Bombshell, which centers on Fox News’ late founder Roger Ailes which is set to hit U.S. theaters December 20.

At the start of the trailer, SNL’s Kate McKinnon plays a Fox News employee training a colleague as she starts her new job as a news producer and says:

“Ask yourself, ‘What would scare my grandmother or p*ss off my grandfather?’ And that’s a Fox News story.”

Watch the trailer here.

Best of late night.

On the Democratic presidential debate last night:

“There were 12 candidates onstage — an all-time record, which is a little weird. I mean, candidates aren’t supposed to multiply as the debates go on. So, please, America, remember to have your candidate spayed or neutered! We can’t handle any more.”
–Trevor Noah

“Why are there 12 candidates? In the last debate, there were 10. You can’t subtract candidates and then add some back. Have you ever watched a reality show or sports? You don’t go to the Final Four, then suddenly you’re back to the Elite Eight. It’s not the way it works!”
— Jimmy Kimmel

“The Democrats are like a nightclub on a Tuesday: everyone gets in. It’s just like: ‘Six guys in sandals? Come on in!’”
— Trevor Noah

For more best of late night from the New York Times, click here.