lana zak has new details. good morning, lana. >> reporter: good morning, victor. good morning, janai. as this shutdown stretches on, we are increasingly hearing from agencies with concerns that it is making the country less safe. the national air traffic controllers association says that they are reaching the breaking point and that they worry that if the shutdown continues about the possibility for mistakes. today, several thousand federal workers are missing another paycheck. >> i received my last paycheck december 31st. >> i haven't been paid in over 33 days. >> reporter: the shutdown lasting so long that the federal courts are running out of money. civil cases are expected to be suspended now and many federal workers are reaching the breaking point. >> at what point do i resign from this agency? i can't continue to afford to fund my family out of my savings and continue to pay for myself to go to work. >> reporter: but for the first time in weeks, there are signs that washington leaders may be moving towards progress after both the republican and democrat spon

even posting a photoshopped image of head of the investigation, robert mueller. >> lana zak, thank you. >>> and this programming note, roger stone facing new questions tomorrow on "this week" in a very big interview with george stephanopoulos. be sure to tune in. >>> now to the case in st. louis raising many questions tonight. a police officer charged in the shooting death of a fellow officer, accused of playing a deadly game of russian roulette. abc's zachary kiesch picks up the story. >> reporter: tonight, one officer is dead and another has been charged with her death in what authorities are calling a game gone wrong. police say 24-year-old katlyn alix was off duty and hanging out with two fellow officers when she was shot and killed early thursday morning. two of them were allegedly playing with their service weapons at the apartment of 29-year-old officer nathaniel hendren, seen here at his 2017 graduation ceremony. according to prosecutors, hendren produced a revolver and initiated a game in which the gun's cylinder is emptied, then a bullet is put back in the gun. in what sounds

reporting live from washington, lana zak, abc 7 news. larry? we've heard that at the tsa the call-out rate is now 1 in 10. there is a new warning from the tsa. what is that? >> they say they are now in uncharted territory. they maintain that they will not -- that they will not endanger in any way the safety and security of passengers and travelers in the nation's airports, but they also are really confronted with a very serious situation. that's more than throw times the rate of call-outs from last year. and they also say that this could have a compounding effect. if it lasts until february 1 and their employees are faced with the reality of mortgage payments, rent bills, and other bills that they are forced to pay. it's really a dire situation. >> lana zak reporting live in washington. thank you. >>> it is day 31 of the government shutdown. it's really costing people money, not only government workers, but people who do business with them. >> and some of those people are trying to find solutions. wayne freedman has the story life on highway 1

reporting live from washington, lana zak, abc 7 news. >> lana, i have to admit, he keep hitting refresh on my tweet deck. have you seen any response from president trump? >> i've been watching myself. so far no response from the president himself. we have just heard moments ago from white house press secretary sara sanders. she said that the counts, the indictments against stone have nothing to do with the president because they are related to lying. of course, the argument would be made that the individual that directed roger stone could potentially be the president. that's one of the things that we're certainly waiting to learn more about. but we won't have answers to that until we hear more from roger stone and from the president himself. one other thing that i will say is that back in december when the president did speak about roger stone, he tweeted that it's good to know that some people still have guts when stone said he would never testify against the president. reggie? >> very interesting. lana zak, thank you so much. >>> we have been sending push alerts to this breaking story

lana zak, abc news, washington. >>> b.a.r.t. is taking extra steps to make sure that riders are actually, you know, paying their fare. >> fare evasion is one of the major problems plaguing the transit agency. amy hollyfield joins us live in walnut creek with more. amy? >> reporter: hi, alexis. it is a big issue. they will discuss it today at their board of directors meeting for b.a.r.t. they're having a workshop. this will come up. commuters say they think it's good news to hear that they will be adding fare inspectors. they bant people who jump through these fare gates to have to pay. b.a.r.t. used to have six fare inspectors. now they're going to have ten. instead of working monday through friday during the day, they will have inspectors working nights and weekends. don't be surprised if they come up to you and ask for proof of payment. they will scan your ticket or clipper card with their hand-held machines to see if you paid. one fare inspector we talked to said the program is working. >> we've encountered the same people wh

. >> lana zak with the story from washington, d.c. >> reporter: negotiations over the border wall and the government shutdown have completely broken down. >> well, unfortunately, the president just got up and walked out and we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn't get his way. >> we heard once again that democratic leaders are unwilling to even negotiate. they demanded once again that before any negotiations could begin, that we would have to agree to reopen the government. and the president called the question in the meeting. >> reporter: the president tweeted his meeting with democratic leaders was a total waste of time. but now on his 19th day the partial government shutdown is becoming painful for 800,000 federal workers, facing the u.s. government not making payroll. >> these are terrific patriots and they agree with what i'm doing. >> reporter: but nancy pelosi and chuck schumer appeared with federal workers who laughed at the president's claim of support. [ laughter ] >> we oppose being held hostage. >> if something happens to any of our professionals behind this distraction

. >> abc's lana zak is in washington with the details. good morning, lana. >> reporter: good morning, guys. the images coming in from mexico are stunning. the death toll jumping this morning to at least 66 killed. more than 70 others injured in this massive fire in a small town in the state of hidalgo, mexico, about 62 miles north of mexico city and authorities say a fuel pipeline ruptured by thieves exploded causing the pipe of line to spew fuel dozens of feet into the air. ambulances and doctors were sent to the scene immediately after the deadly explosion. the injured were rushed to hospitals in mexico city and all of the inhabitants in the area have been evacuated according to state oil company petroloes mexicanos. fire trucks are now tackling the vicious flames. mexico's new president andres manuel lopez obrador has been waging a campaign against fuel thieves and he has called on all branches of government to lend assistance to the victims. whit. >> all right. lana zak for us in washington. incredible images. thanks so much. >>> we wa

. >> abc's lana zak is on capitol hill on how government workers and many other average americans are already struggling because of this shutdown with the president and democrats digging in. good morning, lana. >> reporter: good morning. the president says he has the support of those federal workers but not everyone agrees. the national air traffic controllers association is now suing the trump administration. it is the third union to do so, and several prominent republicans are also speaking out against the possibility that president trump would use emergency declaration funds to end this shutdown. this morning, president trump weighing a plan to declare a national emergency to bypass congress and build a wall with disaster relief funds. >> i'd rather not do it because this is something that congress should easily do. >> reporter: negotiations between the president and congress breaking down beyond repair. earlier this week democrats say the president walked out of their meeting. >> a temper tantrum by the president. i'm a mother of five, grandmother of nine, i know a temper tantrum

abc's lana zak is on capitol hill with the ambitious first bill democrats are trying to pass. na, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, whit. democrats now have control of the house of representatives and a new power to set the agenda, but two days in and already there's disagreement about how that should be used when it comes to president trump. this morning the new congress taking aim at president trump. >> we are introducing hr-1 to hold legislation to clean up corruption and restore integrity to government. >> reporter: house democrats unveiling a sweeping political reform package that could target the president's tax returns. but what's happening outside the house chamber is also garnering attention. >> congresswoman. >> reporter: the spotlight on michigan's newly elected representative rashida tlaib for her use of profanity to describe the president. >> because we're going to go in there and impeach the [ bleep ]. >> reporter: some democrats not pleased. >> i think those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction. so i would say they are inappropriat

lana zak is at reagan national airport. >> reporter: tonight, the tsa telling abc news the agency is in uncharted territory as the number of employee callouts increases because of the government shutdown. now in day 30. tsa employing contingency plans, trying to avoid scenes like this from repeating itself. >> it's demoralizing. you go to work, and you expect pay for hard work. and you wake up and your bank account is empty. >> reporter: on saturday, 8% of all tsa employees did not show up for work. mostly for financial reasons. hitting hardest, many of the nation's largest airports like new york's jfk and chicago's o'hare. >> how long could i go without a paycheck? i'm in no-man's land. >> reporter: the hardships faced by tsa agents, an echo of 800,000 federal workers around the country. furloughed or working without pay. this weekend, president trump issuing what he calls a reasonable compromise to end the shutdown, extending dreamer protections for three years. in exchange for $5 billion for his border wall. but nancy pelosi calling it a nonstarter. and while the fight stretches o

abc's lana zak is at the capitol. >> reporter: tonight, the longest government shutdown in history showing no sign of ending any time soon. president trump tweeting today, i do have a plan on the shutdown. but no word yet on what that plan is, besides the democrats giving in on his request for a wall. for his part, the president says he will never back down. >> i swore to protect our country and -- >> reporter: releasing this campaign-style video on twitter, and asking democrats today to "come back" for more negotiations, even though it was the president who walked out of the last meeting. >> a temper tantrum by the president. i'm a mother of five, grandmother of nine. i know a temper tantrum when i see one. >> reporter: but while the politicians are at an impasse, everyday americans are caught in the crosshairs. >> it's a matter of life and death for me, because i have to pay out of pocket for my medical insurance. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of federal workers receiving empty paychecks. oliver garcia, a father of four, is selling his camper and car to make ends meet. >> if we can

lana zak, abc news, washington. >> thank you. >>> more every day americans are stepping up to help cashtrapped government workers across the country. >> volunteers are giving out stock up on produce and pet food. others are dropping off donated items. >>> the trump administration can go ahead with the ban on transgender people in the military, due to a ruling by the supreme court. however, lawsuits are moving through the lower courts. the pentagon says they will not implement changes to transgender policies while the cases are being heard. >>> for the second time this year, a u.s. service member has been killed in afghanistan. the military says the american was killed as a result of enemy small arms fire. officials say the incident took place in central afghanistan. last thursday, a u.s. srgt died from injuries in combat. >>> here at home, one of the busiest airports is back up to speed, following a drone incident. arrives at newark airport outside new york city were briefly suspended last night after two drone reports. the drone was spotted over another smaller airport in newark's flig