1/ The government shutdown entered day 21 as Congress left for the weekend following another round of stalled negotiations to end the shutdown – ensuring that the partial government shutdown will become the longest in history. The House and Senate, however, both passed a measure to ensure that federal workers who are furloughed receive back pay once the government reopens, which now goes to Trump for his signature. The House also passed another bill to reopen more government departments, but is likely DOA in the Senate because of a veto threat from Trump. The second-longest shutdown stretched for 21 days from December 1995 until January 1996, due to a dispute between Bill Clinton and the Republican-led Congress at the time. (CNN / Politico / Washington Post / Associated Press)

2/ An estimated 800,000 federal employees missed their first paycheck due to the shutdown. In particular, more than 24,000 FAA employees, including air traffic controllers, are working without pay, since their positions are considered vital for “life and safety,� and more than 17,000 other have been furloughed – told to stop doing their jobs. (NBC News / CNN / Washington Post / New York Times)

Federal crop payments have stopped flowing to farmers, who say they cannot get federally-backed operating loans to buy seed for their spring planting, or feed for their livestock because of the shutdown. Farmers also can’t look up government data about beef prices or soybean yields to make decisions about planting and selling their goods. Some farmers have said the loss of loans, payments and other services has pushed them to a breaking point. (New York Times)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has curtailed inspections due to the shutdown, while the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has suspended health exposure assessments. Cash assistance to buy groceries are funded through February. (The Guardian)

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett compared the shutdown to getting a free “vacation� for furloughed workers and that they might be “better off� after they return to work. (Politico)

3/ The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to declare a national emergency and possibly using a portion of the Army’s $13.9 billion disaster fund to pay for his border wall. The money is meant to fund civil works projects, including repairing storm-damaged areas of Puerto Rico through 2020. Jared Kushner, meanwhile, has urged Trump to try to find other approaches than declar...