good morning. happy new year. i'm chris jansing in for stephanie ruhle. we've got a lot to cover. starting with this new claim by president trump that he's just waiting to negotiate an end to the partial government shutdown that's now stretched into the new year. in the president's version of this shutdown stalemate, it's democrats who aren't doing their jobs. >> i'm in washington. i'm ready, willing and able. i'm in the white house. i'm ready to go. they can come over right now. they could have come over any time. i spent christmas in the white house. i spent new year's eve now in the white house. you know, i'm here. >> plus, about face? just days after saying he'd withdraw u.s. troops from syria, president trump now says it's not going to happen overnight.

>> i never said i'm going to rush out. we're going to get out. we're getting out of syria. we're bringing our young great troops home. we have to bring them home. we're going to do it in a very good way. >> and what does 2019 hold for the mueller investigation? when it's all said and done, will there be more indictments or more guilty pleas? we'll discuss that with our spectacular team of legal analysts in just a few minutes. let's begin this new year's day just two days away from an historic shift in congress. new names, new faces. a new dynamic driven by 63 house democrats about to get sworn in. what might their impact be? they're going to want those 800,000 workers to saturday getting paid again. but in new comments to fox news, trump doesn't sound like he's ready to make a deal. still insisting it's all about, quote, good old-fashioned wall. and in a new tweet, he's

encouraging the so-called haters to calm down and enjoy all the great things happening in our country. i've got a great team to help me break it all down. first, let me explain where we stand. again, 800,000 federal workers still caught up in the gears of this shutdown. if you thought prospects of a resolution were dim before, just wait until thursday. that's when nancy pelosi reclaims her position as speaker of the house and when those 63 new democrats will also be sworn in, including several young liberal rising stars and dozens of moderates from districts that trump won. the outgoing chair of the dccc says the new focus will be on getting things done but that commitment will be tested immediately. trump says he's able to discuss an end to this whole thing but he's not actually talking about concessions. in fact, when president trump's aides and supporters are trying

to soften his position when saying his demands for a wall were just a metaphor for border security, the president said no, he really did mean a wall. >> we have to have border security. a wall is part of border security. i hear so much about the wall is old-fashioned. the wall is not old-fashioned. the wall is 100% fool proof. you look at a wheel. i guess they'd say a wheel is old fashion bud it's been around for a long time. the wall is the only way to do it. nobody know morse about technology than me but technology is just the bells and whistles on the wall. >> both sides of this. nbc's hans nichols live at the white house. hans, so the president tweeting already this morning. is he picking up the phone, reaching out? >> not that we know of. it's one of sarcasm and snark.

if you look at the tweet. telling us to go along and enjoy the ride. great things are happening for our country. there is a credible offer from house democrats on how to get out of this impasse. from the president, we've heard nothing. it's been only silence. we don't know if he's actually engaging with this offer. he's here in washington. he isn't actually talking about the next steps. listen to how he said it in the fox news interview. >> i'm in washington, i'm ready, willing and able. i'm in the white house. i'm ready to go. they can come over right now. they could have come over any time. i spent christmas in the white house. i spent new year's eve now not white house. i'm here. a lot of people are looking to get their paycheck. so i'm ready to go.

>> you either counter offer or reject it, what we're getting from the president so far, just silence. >> let's go over to capitol hill. nobody's around. we wouldn't expect anybody to be around on new year's day. but they're going to be heading back soon. what are they going to see? especially all these new folks who are coming in. they're enthusiastic. what's going to get done? >> there's no warm-up for the incoming freshmen here in the house and senate. they're going to be dropped right into the middle of this shutdown showdown and asked to help find a way out of it. a president has not been interested in helping them. democrat's plans for their first day, first week in control here, have all shifted because of the shutdown. now includes this two pronged plan to reopen the government. or at least to put pressure on republicans to come to the negotiating table in a manner more favorable towards democrats. here's what democrats plan to do. separate these two issues. they'll try to pass six funding

bills to fund the vast majority of the remaining parts of the government through next year. then locking in this $1.3 billion for border security but not for a wall. it will last until february. and they can continue this political argument. in a statement they put out yesterday, wrote, the president is using the government shutdown to try to force an expensive and ineffective wall upon the american people. but democrats have offered two bills which separate the arguments over the wall from the government shutdown. if leader mcconnell and senate republicans refuse to support this bill without dhs funding, then they're complicit with president trump in continuing the shutdown. this is the bottom line here. does he stand with the president and keep the government partially shut down?

that's the democratic strategy right now. >> i want to bring in my panel. a.b. stoddard, associate editor for real clear politics. and our guest, senior adviser to moveon d moveon.org. this new class, they are coming in. did they even have a role in all this? where do you see this going? >> i think they do have a role. nancy pelosi understands how the game is played. look, at the end of the day, the democrats are in a power of, in

a position of power, if you will. they were voted by a landslide turnout. turnout that we have not seen in decades. also, we have to remember, a majority of americans do not want a border wall. they do not want to pay for it. also we've seen polls recently that have shown they are blaming donald trump for the wall and he has said, i will take full responsibility for the wall and not blame the democrats. clearly, that has changed in the last 10 to 12 days. >> that's a really important point. when you look at the polls, you see there's a very clear trend line. the associated press says administration officials say trump is in no rush for a resolution to the impasse. he now believes public opinion is on his side. and at the very least, his base of supporters behind him.

i mean, pirro is behind him. fox news, i think by one count, he's given his 41st true to as of last night. what polls is he looking at? >> i'm not sure. maybe some of the base is behind him no matter what. for a lot of americans, certainly for the 800,000 federal workers directly impacted by this. there are more. there are millions impacted by this. so this really is in the lap of the president who normally is not shy about making an offer or a counteroffer. in this case, there's a new sheriff in town. her name is nancy pelosi. americans spoke in a very cloud and clear way last november and elected a democratic house. we've got over 100 women in the house of representatives. that's a new thing and a great

thing for the country. if the president wants to test their mettle, he'll have a chance to do that. so they're prepared to talk about border security but they're not prepared to give him money for a wall. >> if this is going to be about semantics, we've already talked about this, you know, call it a wall, slats, border security. i mean, 800,000 people, you know, livelihoods are hanging in the balance. they can't pay their bills. is there a place that you see where there really could be compromise? >> they've tried to give him a climb down. senator lindsey graham says a wall say metaphor for border security. kellyanne conway says this is silly semantics. he was going into the steel slat fantasy. then the minute his outgoing chief of staff general kelly gave an interview to the "l.a.

times" in which he said the concrete wall has been off the table, president trump jumped back on the importance of a wall and talking about a we'll and a wheel and all that stuff. he continues to dig in every time he himself is looking for a face saving compromise. he's even told the public that a new wall has started. that's not true. it's refurbishing existing fencing. there's been a lot of ways. it's probably going to end up being a number closer to is $1.3 billion. it's not going to be border security. it's not going to be a concrete wall. it is true what you've said, he sees the truth he want it s to . mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader, he's not happy

about this. he knows cory gardner who's up in two years in colorado in a state clinton won was running from reporters trying to avoid questions about the shutdown. those workers are going to start talking. it is millions. some of them are in contract, not federal employees. they're not going to get paid. >> workers are going to start talking. because the anxiety among them. who thought this might be settled quickly is starting to build. you have everything from garbage piling up to people used to now getting back to their jobs. they work at dry-cleaners and restaurants and other places that surround where federal government works. their business is going to slowed if not bordering on the belly-up since nobody around there is going to be at work or have money to spend.

>> as a.d. was saying, there is a 2020 election happening. you have 22 republicans in the senate. that includes mitch mcconnell. the pressure is going to be on them. it's going to go to the senate. is he going to work with the democrats and get the government open? which is something that is the basic, the basic duty for congressional members. or is he going to capitulate to donald trump. republicans have to think about that. it has to be about the public interest. >> all three of you are going to stay with us on this new year's morning. real thank you for now. come back to you in a few. up next, not so fast. is president trump backtracking

on when he'll pull out u.s. troops from syria? and a look at how north korea brought in the new year. this is a dazzling fireworks show. onlookers packing a central square in pea yoyongyanpyongyan. kim warned the u.s. not to test patience with new sanctions in the new year. how will president trump respond in 2019? nd po in 2019? ♪ [ dog snoring ]

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>> i never said we're going to rush out. we're bringing our young troops home. >> that's president trump now saying there's no rush to pull thousands of american troops out of syria. a very different message from just a couple of weeks ago. >> our boys, our young women, our men. they're all coming back. and they're coming back now. we won. >> now, and then no rush. that abrupt initial decision you just saw prompted the resignation of now former defense secretary mattis who led the pentagon during what "the washington post" calls a period of uncertainty with no leadership now in place and shifting orders for american troops abroad. joining me now is jack jacobs, retired u.s. army colonel. now an msnbc military analyst. his former deputy of state.

let me start with that "washington post" period of uncertainty. how would you describe this period in the defense department? >> because the new secretary of defense has said he's going to abide by all the instructions in the general thrust of what trump likes to do with the military establishment which is basically withdraw from our influence around the world, not just in syria. so our perception of using the military as a way of projecting influence and power, that's up in the air. >> today is patrick shanahan's first day as acting secretary. the atlantic spoke to some of his friends and former boeing colleagues. says this, he's not going to dictate, he's going to follow

what the president's intent is. shanahan who is succeeding a man trump reportedly resented for slow walking his directives is an efficient doer of things. what does that tell you? >> we have another yes man in the cabinet and a follow on to the collapse of the trump national security team in 2018. we lost mattis, nikki haley, tillerson, mcmaster. all leading individuals who largely left because of personality disagreements with president trump and also clash with him on his america first ideology. it locks like that ideology is going to cement further in 2019. it's not good for american values or security. a yes man, if that's what he wants, he now has it in the pentagon and we'll see more problems rather than less. >> your old offices at the state department. the former presidential envoy for the campaign to defeat isis is now officially gone.

he did this on twitter, he wrote, today was my last day at the state department. i wish my former civilian and military colleagues well as they work under extremely difficult circumstances. what message do you read in that? >> i served alongside brett and he was a real survivor. it's a signal that he's concerned. there's really a lack of direction from the white house as colonel jacob said regarding our policy in syria, where we going in the middle east. how we going to defeat the terrorist organizations. there's a huge apparatus waiting for direction. with brett leaving, it's clearly a sign that direction is not coming. that's very dangerous. >> let's go from big picture to something very specific that we started with, colonel, which is the president who first said we're getting out now to --

we're kind inof in no hurry. what's the impact? >> the fact we're getting out at all is the real issue. not how fast we get out. we can't get out right away in any case. it's logistically -- >> seems to be changing tweet by tweet policy. >> he remembers only the last thing he was told. my guess is lindsey graham and others compelled him through some sort of logic that he can't get out right away and if he's going to withdraw, he has to withdraw over time. i think we're going to see the withdrawal of american forces from syria. at a very difficult time. it's going to open up the entire area for an expansion of russia's aims. at the end of the day, that's the worst thing for american

policy. >> kim jong-un addressed north korea on state television. he says he's ready for more talks but issued a warning. he says the u.s. better not test his patience. of course it wasn't so long ago that president trump and kim were shaking hands in singapore. >> that was the number one story out of 2018. the summit between president trump and kim. clearly, a nuclear insecurity is not gone. there's an incoherence in this diplomacy. really president trump is boxed in. his rhetoric is way ahead of his policy. we do need a resolution to this but there's no clarity about what the actual plan is to get a deal closed with north korea. >> we'll see if that second summit meeting he's talking about last night comes to fruition. very good to see you. happy new year. appreciate it. coming up, mueller time. could the special counsel's

russia probe finally wrap up in 2019? check out this spectacular kickoff to 2019 at the arc detriumph in the heart of paris. it's the site of a lot of those yellow vest protests in recent weeks but last night a stunning 20 minute light show. and fireworks display.

new laws in states all around the country from pay equality to would get who gets dog in a divorce. >> vermont will begin paying people to move there. up to $1$10,000 up to two years. >> we have a demographic problem in this state. we need more people. >> connecticut and hawaii make it illegal for employers to ask job applicants about their pay history. that brings to ten the number of states with similar bans intended to stop the cycle of pay discrimination against women and minorities. >> i think there's an element of

this that us competing, and we don't want to be known as the state where women can be -- >> in new york city, it's illegal to sell anything in foam containers made from polystyrene, something the city says cannot be recycled. a ban on clam shell containers. >> plastic works as good. same difference. less landfill. >> foam packing peanuts also banned in the city. washington state cracks down on people who misrepresent companion or emotional support pets as trained service animals. >> i've had my dog attacked twice in walmart and once in lowe's by nonservice dogs who were aggressive and bit my dog in the muzzle. >> in california as of january 1st, pets are now legally considered part of the family in divorces, not just property. judges can assign sole or joint custody based on the best interest of the pet. internet shoppers in six more

states,ing good georgia, iowa included will pay sales taxes on what they buy from out retail retailers. in colorado, all kinds of beer available in grocery stores starting january 1st, not just low alcohol brews. a vestige of pro business out with the old year. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> isn't that interesting? well, another interesting thing, the other big legal story that's going to dominate headlines in the new year as it did in 2018, special counsel robert mueller's russia probe. the nearly two year long investigation has loomed large over president trump and engulfed many in his -- at least once in his inner circle. what could mueller reveal in 2019? joining me now, msnbc legal analyst cynthia ox ny. doug burns. pete williams and ken dilanian reported exclusively mueller is likely to wrap up his investigation by mid-february. what do you think?

is the end game near? >> i don't really think the end game is near. there may be some kind of interim report, though they're obviously outstanding reporters. there's too much on the plate. there's the question of don jr. getting a target leader and perhaps being indicted. and perhaps being indicted in the mueller investigation for lying to congress. those are just a couple of things and a lot more. >> let's look directly at the president, including rudy giuliani who says collusion is not a crime. what exactly though does that mean? what are the implications if mueller does find the trump campaign was guilty? >> it's mostly s lly semantics. anybody in our field will tell you, you know, you have conspiracy, other concepts, so it's really -- that's mostly a

political sound bite, not a legal point. >> it depends on what the meaning of the wall is. >> right. it's my colleague's point. it's not clear what else is going to happen. i think there's equally an argument it will wrap up. i'm not so sure it will be an interim report, a final report. if they issue the report, they may still keep the -- they will keep the office of special counsel open to wrap up other loose ends. my view is once they issue the report, i don't think they're necessarily going to indict any others. >> to your point, cynthia, you talked to anybody who worked on a special counsel investigation, the whole point is follow the evidence. there always are tentacles going to places they never predicted or when they think they're wrapping up, suddenly they go off in another direction. nbc talked to one former federal prosecutor is says he's starting to believe that conspiracy with russian election meddling may not be the most serious crime

mueller is investigating. how far-reach doing you think this could be? >> what we're seeing coming into the fore is how much money was funneled from other places through the inaugural committee. that's another area still being explored. we understand this guy who was cooperating is continuing to cooperate. he knows a lot about that. so there are just -- it's like a pig tree and it keeps growing. we're just not close. >> wherever this tree ends or whenever the final branch is and whether somebody falls off, i guess one of the the key questions is what is the response if and when this report comes out? it looks like they're gearing up

a battle over executive privilege. >> the report is going to the acting attorney general. he has the discretion not to release that but forget that, it's going to be released. then it's one big rorschach test i heard one person say and i agree. people are going to see in it what they want to see. in fairness, i'm a lawyer. let's see the report. let's digest it. we don't know what confidential interviews are. it's a secret investigation. it's fine to read tea leaves all day long but we need to see the report. >> the one thing we know, there's a heck of a lot we don't know. happy new year. thanks for coming in. >> happy new year. >> coming up, market madness. 2018 proved to be the worst year for u.s. stocks in a decade. why some strategists say 2019 could be just as volatile.

as we go to break, take a look at the new year's eve celebration here in new york city. despite stormy si yy skies, just of 1 million people packed times square to ring in the new year. smile dad. i take medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. but they might not be enough to protect my heart. adding bayer aspirin can further reduce the risk of another heart attack. because my second chance matters. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

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boy, are investors hoping for a turnaround in the new year after a pruzing 2018.

all major indises in the red for the year. the markets tumbled open continued worries about china. the president's browbeating of the fed chairman over interest rates. here to help us navigate, we're joined by rick newman, senior columnist for yahoo! finance. yahoo! finance gave the president a failing grade for the final week of 2018 despite the markets ending on an up note. what should investors know? >> that's a fun feature we do. that's our second worst grade. our worst grade is sad on what we call the trump-o-meter. that was the week he was bashing the federal reserve which markets don't like. this weird incident where the treasury secretary said there's no problem with bank liquidity. everybody said what are you talking about? >> he was calling the banks? >> yes. >> what was that? >>, you know, the trade and the

trump trade war is just a kind of a black cloud over markets. investors really dislike that. that raises costs for consumers and businesses. and is not easy to win despite what trump says. there's a lot of concerns in the market now that things are not going to go so great in 2018. >> the comparison is so interesting. on the stock market track record of donald trump versus obama. from inauguration day to the following december, the market sored by 46% under obama. 9% under trump who has repeatedly said, you know, best, best, best, best, best. what's our takeaway? >> it's really a matter of time. it's kind of irresistible to compare the economies just because everybody cares about which favorite guy does better. really this is a matter of timing. trump came into office and will probably say is the latter stages of an economic expansion. he got the benefit of that early

on. the stock market actually did great in the first year of trump's administration. now we're seeing the pullback and the concern this expansion might be over. i don't think we'll have a c recession in 2019. but a possibility in 2020. perhaps right around the time of the presidential campaign heating up late in 2020. markets try to get what's going to happen in the future. they're not backward looking, they're forward looking. >> one of the -- tell me if my perception on this point is correct, there are certain jobs where just by their nature you can kind of step away from what's going on. at least for a few hours of every day, concentrate on something else. at least the people i know who are in financial services, you guys can, like us. people will literally stop me in the street and say i don't know how you do it, aren't you exhausted? is everybody exhausted? are they just on edge about what the next tweet might say or what

the next trade decision might be? >> we're fired up, you know, there's a lot of action. there's a lot to do to figure out what is going on. this is volatility. some traders actually benefit from volatility because there's more buying and selling and if you get paid open commission, that's good on you. for sure -- >> -- like it looks in the movies? >> no, it's mostly computers doing the work and people calmly sitting at a keyboard. >> calmly, really? >> absolutely. >> it's a good thing normal people are not paying attention to the stock market every day. you might think what should i do? nobody should normally be thinking about that. everybody wants to be thinking what should i do about my 401k? mostly, you just ignore it. let it sit. >> one expert would came on last week said what she was telling people to do was don't open your statement. >> don't even look. keep your eyes closed. >> is that good advice? i don't know. >> if you have time to wait,

absolutely. >> i've been following advice actually. denial is a wonderful thing. thank you. coming up, making the grade. did president trump deserve the "a"-plus he gave himself for job performance in 2018? and if you are already asleep when midnight reached las vegas, here's a look at how sin city rang in the new year with more than 300,000 people celebrating on the strip.

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so if you ask president trump and people do, he would give himself an "a"-plus for his job performance in 2018, the second year of his presidency. >> we have probably done more than any administration in its first two years in history. >> so i give myself an "a"-plus. i hate to do it, but i will do it, i will give myself an "a"-plus. is that enough? >> well, there were some wins. let's look at some of them in 2018. kavanaugh's confirmation to the

supreme court. rising wages. wages are up 3.1%. that's the biggest jump since 2009. and the passage of a sweeping criminal justice reform bill after working across the aisle with both democrats and republicans. joining me is presidential historian mark uuptegrove. were there any wins in 2018 for the president to get an "a"-plus? >> depends on who you talk to. you talk to the 38% of americans who support donald trump, they will say certainly enough wins, plus he's doing exactly what they wanted him to do, shaking things up. he's not -- he was not a traditional candidate and he hasn't been a traditional president. that's what they wanted. if you talk to the balance of the electorate, they see something different. they see somebody who is putting our country at risk in so many respects. i think it depends entirely on would you ask the question to.

>> presidents go through every year with wins and losses. you say some of his lows of last year were the russia investigation, five former members of his orbit convicted or pleading guilty. he lost a house to democrats in what was a blue wave. helsinki summit when he sided with russia against his own intelligence agencies. how do these compare in scope and significance to past presidents? >> they don't. again, he's been so different in some respects. if you look at a different president, george w. bush and barack obama, you could say they're apples and oranges. if you look at donald trump and every other president of my lifetime, it's like watermelons and walnuts. they're so dramatically different. you can't find another president to compare to. the helsinki summit to me was a low point of donald trump's presidency in 2018. >> joe, what do you think, big win, big loss for the president in 2018? >> i think probably a big win

was the confirmation, although it came at a tremendous cost. >> but huge for his base. >> yes, huge for his base. but hard for the rest of the country and one of the reasons why democrats won in sweeping numbers the house of representatives. i would say that would be the biggest loss, the loss of the house. he's going to feel that, certainly, the next few days. >> you can't look ahead, but as years go, how do you judge 2018? >> well, look, i think it was a terrible year, all things coming out of the white house, for sure. let's not forget we had the separation of children from immigrants on the southern border, the detaining of families. we have 3,000 americans who died in puerto rico after the hurricane last year. it goes on and on. we have a president who does daily casual racism, which has

been often. yes, he has 38%. his base may be happy. he is the president of the united states. there is more than 38% of us, clearly. he does not govern for the majority of the country and we all feel it. what happened on november 6th is that people responded. they responded in a resounding way giving democrats the majority of the house. he's going to feel that. there's going to be accountability and going to be a different year in 2019 though he is going to continue to be unhinged. >> i want to go back to accountability. kind of the result of all these events when you look at them, are there themes that emerged from that white house and the president himself? >> the difference between 2017 and 2018, i think in 2018, at the end of the year, we see all the grown ups gone. general mcmaster, general

mattis, general kelly, mr. tillerson left the state department. people that democrats and republicans, alike, were counting on to hold up the law, norms that help us preserve the world and support our long-term national security interest which much of the president's national security focus on plans and policies do not. i agree with everything people have said. i think the helsinki summit stands out as a low point of this presidency and the nation's history. what i saw in '18 was a new, unleashed president. those grown ups are gone, he is digging in and he, whether it's helsinki or abrupt withdrawal from syria, mattis' departure, no matter what it is, he doesn't feel he needs to turn to people

for advice or council or take a pause on impulsive decisions. he is now going to slowdown the withdrawal from syria but he's really pleased with his own direction and his gut, as he talks about. that is going to have a lot of effect in 2019. >> he doesn't let up on the chaos or the negativity. just a couple minutes ago, he tweeted again. here it is, quote, the democrats, as i suspected, allocated no money for a new wall. so imaginative. the problem, without a wall, there can be no border security and our country must have a strong and secure border. there's a shock for all of us that he thinks democrats aren't holding up their end of the bargain. they are not smart. they are not creative. >> democrats are very smart and very creative and they have offered up a solution to all of this. it's a matter of whether or not the president is willing to

accept it. there's a new reality. nancy pelosi is the speaker of the house in another day or two. coming up, the panel's predictions for the new year. as we go to break, a look at celebrations overnight. this is in cuba, filled with fireworks and toast to 2019. stay with us. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. great news for anyone wh- uh uh - i'm the one who delivers the news around here. ♪ liberty mutual has just announced that they can customize your car insurance so that you only pay for what you need. this is phoebe buckley, on location. uh... thanks, phoebe. ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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let that sink in for a moment and let's go back to our panel. i want to ask you about your predictions for 2019. joe? >> in a perfect world, the government back open and infrastructure get done. the greatest likelihood is transfixed by the fueler report and like wise by the democratic house. >> amy? >> i see a rocky road ahead for president trump's trade wars. i don't think there's an easy path. i also think we are going to have a long, divisive democratic party that lasts until late spring of 2020 and the party has long hidden their divisions, but they are about to unfold before the public. >> with the divided government, a gridlock congress and increasingly erratic president

as we have seen with the president talking about face news and haters. last, but not least, a big and huge diverse presidential primary for democrats, which will be good for the party. they do better, democrats doing better with a primary. >> thanks to all of you. it's great to have spent part of new year's day with you. that's going to do it for us on msnbc. look who is here? this is my family's dream hand off. you are my sister from another mother. >> this is my dream hand off. >> we worked together at the white house and my family adopted you. >> it's true. i can think of no better way to spend the new year. good morning to all of you from msnbc headquarters in new york, i'm kristin welker. we begin with shutdown showdown. the democrats are ready to take over the house and ready reopen

the government. does their plan have a chance to make it through a republican senate and white house. one day into 2019 and two days into warrens likely presidential campaign, president trump is taking sholts at his possible 2020 opponent. new year, new pass? kim jong-un is ready for more talks with president trump but issues a warning against continued sanctions. his list of demands for 2019. we begin with day 11 of the shutdown and the impact felt outside washington. look at this headline. park bathrooms overflowing with human waste. few staff on duty today. a problem likely to continue tomorrow when congress returns. the two sides just as far apart in 2019 as 2018. house democrats now in charge are