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Happening Today: Shutdown, Mike Pence, Health Care, SAG Awards

What to Know

  • The government shutdown is set to sow more disruption and political peril after the Senate inched closer but fell short of an agreement
  • The number of legal immigrants from Latin American nations who access public health services have dipped since President Trump took office
  • At the SAG Awards, William H. Macy said he's optimistic about pay equality for women in Hollywood, but also said some men feel under attack

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Senate Talks Fall Short, Shutdown Extends Into Workweek

The government shutdown is set to sow more disruption and political peril after the Senate inched closer but ultimately fell short of an agreement that would have reopened federal agencies before the beginning of the workweek. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said negotiations kept going late into the night, with a vote to break a Democratic filibuster on a short-term funding bill scheduled for noon Monday. Under the proposal taking shape, Democratic would agree to a three-week spending measure — until Feb. 8 — in return for a commitment from the Republican leadership in the Senate to address immigration policy and other pressing legislative matters in the coming weeks. But Democrats appeared to be holding out for a firmer commitment from McConnell. "We have yet to reach an agreement on a path forward," Schumer said. McConnell's comments followed hours of behind-the-scenes talks between the leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers over how to end the display of legislative dysfunction. Democrats have sought to use the spending bill to win concessions, including protections for roughly 700,000 younger immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

2 IEDs Detonated at a Florida Mall, No Injuries, Police Say

Police say two improvised explosive devices ignited inside a mall in central Florida. Lake Wales police Deputy Chief Troy Schulze tells news outlets that at 5:22 p.m., the Lake Wales Fire Department received an alarm call at the Eagle Ridge Mall. While en route to that call, their alarm for smoke was turned into a structure fire call. As they arrived, they found smoke in the service corridor just outside J.C. Penney. They discovered an IED that ignited or detonated inside that service corridor as they went inside. Schulze said they also found a book bag containing what they believed to be other devices inside. Officials say no one was injured, but the mall was evacuated. Authorities say witnesses described a person-of-interest. An investigation is ongoing.

An Honor ‘to Be in Israel's Capital, Jerusalem,’ Pence Says

Vice President Pence has kicked off his visit to Israel with a morning meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he said it was an honor "to be in Israel's capital, Jerusalem." Netanyahu thanked Pence for President Trump's "historic" recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and lauded the American-Israeli alliance, which he said has "never been stronger." The brief exchange was part of an incredibly warm welcome for Pence in Israel, which has praised the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The decision, though, has infuriated the Palestinians, with whom Pence is not meeting, and upset America's Arab allies as well. Pence placed his right hand over his heart as an honor guard greeted him with the American national anthem. White House Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, joined the ceremony and Pence chatted briefly with Israeli soldiers before beginning his meeting with Netanyahu. The vice president visited Egypt and Jordan prior to his arrival in Israel.

Deportation Fears Have Legal Immigrants Avoiding Health Care

The number of legal immigrants from Latin American nations who access public health services and enroll in federally subsidized insurance plans has dipped substantially since President Trump took office, many of them fearing their information could be used to identify and deport relatives living in the U.S. illegally, according to health advocates across the country. Trump based his campaign on promises to stop illegal immigration and deport any immigrants in the country illegally, but many legal residents and U.S. citizens are losing their health care as a result, advocates say. After Trump became president a year ago, "every single day families canceled" their Medicaid plans and "people really didn't access any of our programs," said Daniel Bouton, a director at the Community Council, a Dallas nonprofit that specializes in health care enrollment for low-income families. The trend stabilized a bit as the year went on, but it remains clear that the increasingly polarized immigration debate is having a chilling effect on Hispanic participation in health care programs, particularly during the enrollment season that ended in December.

Some Men Feel “Under Attack” in Wake of “Time's Up,” Actor Says

Backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, winner William H. Macy said he was optimistic about pay equality for women in Hollywood, but also said some men feel under attack. "It's inevitable, it's going to happen and it's going to happen quickly," the "Shameless" actor said of equal pay for male and female actors. He and his wife, Felicity Huffman, have two daughters, and Macy told the assembled reporters, "Girls are ascendant and I'm thrilled for them. It's a good time to be a girl." But asked what advice he would give younger actors about behaving themselves, given the raft of accusations of sexual harassment and assault flooding Hollywood and other industries, Macy hesitated. "That's a really, really complicated question," he said, adding that actors need to be able to express themselves and try things out. "We've got to be free." He's worked with many women and said "Shameless" creator John Wells has been proactive in creating diversity in the writers' room. And yet, ''it's hard to be a man these days,'' Macy said. "I think a lot of us feel like we're under attack."

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