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All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...

Shutdown Latest:  President Trump is once again preparing to issue a national emergency in order to secure funding for a border wall and re-open the government without approval from Congress. It would be a controversial decision, and for now, other options are still on the table. Another offer would re-open the government for three weeks, with a ‘down payment’ for the barrier. Top democrats say it's unreasonable. The Senate voted on two bills yesterday that would have ended the shutdown. Both bills failed, but at least the votes got the parties talking about a solution. It’s day 35 of the shutdown, and thousands of federal workers are now missing a second paycheck.
Read more: CNN, CNBC, AP, USA Today, Reuters, USA Today

2020 Election:  South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg announced his Democratic presidential bid this week. If he gets the nomination, he would be the first openly gay presidential nominee for a major party. At 37 years old, Buttigieg just clears the age requirement to run (you have to be at least 35), making him the first millennial to seek the office. Buttigieg would also be the first candidate who is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
Read more: NBC News, Politico, CNN

Cohen Subpoena:  President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, will honor a Senate committee’s subpoena to testify in front of Congress after all. Earlier this week, Cohen canceled plans to voluntarily testify in public next month.Now, he’ll likely meet with the Senate behind closed doors before going to prison in March.
Read more: Politico, NYT

Bank Shooting:  A bank shooting in Sebring, Florida left five people dead, and the gunman in custody. Authorities aren’t sure what motivated the attack, which happened at a Suntrust Bank about 85 miles south of Orlando.
Read more: CNN

Closs Reward:  The $25,000 reward to find once-missing teenager Jayme Closs will now go to Jayme herself. The 13-year old was kidnapped in October and escaped earlier this month. Both of her parents, who were killed in the ordeal, worked for the parent company of Jennie O Turkey, and the company offered the reward to help find her. Now, they say, she'll get the money.
Read more: NBC News, CBS News
 
Cold Weather:  Freezing cold temperatures begin to cover much of the U.S. today, with two more waves of winter weather on the way. The Midwest should expect lows around -10°F; the Northeast could see single digits. Another round next week may bring the coldest air the Midwest has seen in the last two years, falling to -20°F.
Read more: The Weather Channel
 
Space Tourists:  Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, has just completed its 10th test flight: a rocket that could carry six people flew 66 miles above Earth. Bezos expects to send passengers up to the edge of the atmosphere by the end of this year. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic also plans to use a rocket-powered plane to fly people to the edge of space after a successful test run with two pilots in December.
Read more: Space.com, Forbes
 
Google’s Response:  Google plans to fight a $57 million fine for an alleged privacy violation. It’s the first time a U.S. tech company has been penalized under the E.U.’s new privacy law. Google says its process of making personalized ads is straightforward and transparent, and the company will appeal the decision.
Read more: Business Insider, Irish Times
 
Tech Layoffs: There have been rumors about Apple’s secret project for a self-driving car, and now anonymous employees have reported that 200 workers from the so-called “Project Titan” have been laid off. Apple isn’t the only one laying off this week: BuzzFeed let 200 people go, which amounts to about 15 percent of its workforce. Verizon Media is cutting 800 jobs, and Tesla laid off 3,000 employees in its second round of layoffs in seven months.
Read more: CNBC, WSJ, NYT, CNBC
 
Mac Turns 35:  Happy birthday to the Mac computer! It turned 35 this week. The first Apple Macintosh sold for $2,500 in 1984; that’s equivalent to $5,000 today. It was the first computer with a built-in screen and a mouse. At 14 inches tall, it weighed almost 17 pounds.
Read more: Mashable, Fortune, TechRadar, Twitter
 
Netflix in Hotels: Netflix and Hilton are teaming up to allow guests to log into their Netflix through Hilton’s app to control what plays on the room’s TV.
Read more: TechCrunch

Sopranos Prequel: Groundbreaking HBO series The Sopranos is coming back with a prequel film in the works, and the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, will play the young Tony Soprano.
Read more: Deadline
 
SAG Awards:  The 25th annual SAG Awards are live this weekend. Unlike other awards shows, actors themselves vote on the best achievements in film and TV. Megan Mullally will host the awards show on Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on TBS and TNT.
Read more: People

Sundance: Stars and film lovers are also heading to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, which showcases indie films and runs through February 3.
Read more: The Atlantic, Sundance.org