For the umpteenth time, the New England Patriots march into the Super Bowl. So that means the Philadelphia Eagles are the nation’s last hope. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)
1. Government shutdown
The premise of a game of chicken is that in the end, someone always flinches. But here we are on Day 3 of the shutdown and neither side is. Instead the divisions are deepening. The Senate votes at noon on a bill that would reopen the government and fund it for three weeks, but Democrats aren’t jazzed about it. That’s because they still don’t have assurances that a fix for DACA, or at least a big vote on immigration, will come out of it. Vice President Mike Pence has said there will be no immigration talks until the government reopens.
Today is really the first day the shutdown’s effects will be felt, as hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers stay home from their jobs.
Over the weekend, President Trump took a hands-off approach to the crisis, preferring instead to speak through his favorite bullhorn: Twitter. He blamed the Democrats and said the Senate should just exercise the “nuclear option,” as in: no more 60 votes to end a filibuster. His reelection campaign released an ad accusing Democrats of being “complicit in all murders” committed by undocumented immigrants.
So when this mess ends — and it will end, right? — who gets the blame? Going in to the shutdown, the conventional wisdom was the GOP, since it controls the White House and Congress. But a new CNN poll offers several red flags for the Dems: More Americans think avoiding a shutdown is more important than continuing DACA, it found. What’s more, the Dems’ advantage in the 2018 election is shrinking.
I found out for the first time last night that the person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, who’s been tasked with negotiating a deal with congressional leaders to fund the government and end the shutdown.
2. Women’s marches
This weekend, they marched. With one important goal: in November, they’ll vote. Tens of thousands of women rallied in marches worldwide over the weekend, highlighting the anniversaries of last year’s Women’s March in Washington and President Trump’s inauguration. The weekend demonstrations got new fuel thanks to the #MeToo movement. Power players like Supereme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Natalie Portman and Viola Davis, shared their stories of sexual harassment. Meanwhile political organizations vowed to use the marches as a springboard to register one million voters this year.
3. Kabul hotel attack
Gunmen hit the Intercontiental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, over the weekend, in a horrific attack that killed at least 18 people. Attackers roamed the halls of the hotel for hours, firing on guests and setting of explosives. Desperate hotel guests threw themselves to their deaths off balconies to escape the carnage. During the 12-hour standoff, Afghan security forces rescued 153 people and killed the attackers, who were part of the Pakistan-based terror group known as the Haqqani network. In 2011, terrorists attacked the same hotel over several hours, killing 11.
4. Turkey and Syria
A dangerous new front in the Syrian conflict may be opening up thanks to a key US ally: Turkey. The Turks hit US-backed Kurdish militia with airstrikes in northern Syria that killed at least eight people. Then, Turkish troops entered the area. This is sure to inflame tensions between the US and Turkey. The US supports and arms the Kurdish militias, because they help fight ISIS. But Turkey has long fought the groups because it doesn’t want them to create a Kurdish state along its borders.
5. SAG awards
Women took center stage at last night’s Screen Actors Guild, with calls for gender parity and honesty in the industry. The show featured its first-ever host, Kristen Bell, and a slate of all-female presenters. Rosanna Arquette, who accused Harvey Weinstein of sex harassment, called out the names of other women who have accused other powerful men. Nicole Kidman said women over 40 should still have a place in Hollywood. The casts of “This Is Us” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” celebrated the night’s big wins. Check out a two-minute recap of the show, the full list of winners and the colors that returned to the red carpet.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I found out for the first time last night that the person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool.”
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, who’s been tasked with negotiating a deal with congressional leaders to fund the government and end the shutdown.
