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#2 ‘Wrong track’: Public sours on nation’s direction after shutdown
A partial government shutdown began at midnight on Dec. 22, 2018, when a funding agreement between the Congress and President Trump could not be reached. The 35-day shutdown has come to an end after he announced a deal on Jan. 25, 2019.
(Pictured) President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 2.
A demonstrator holds up a sign during a rally by federal workers at the Philadelphia International Airport to end the government shutdown on Jan. 25 in Philadelphia.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leaves the chamber after Senate Democrats blocked President Donald Trump's request for $5.7 billion to construct his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border, as a partial government shutdown continues for a 34th day, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 24.
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#3 Polar Vortex to drive record-smashing cold across much of nation
A major snowstorm pounding parts of the Midwest on Monday will give way to record-smashing cold this week as a powerful Polar Vortex drives a deep freeze across the nation, forecasters say.
The system could envelop a quarter of the continental U.S. in below-zero temperatures.
"Some locations in the Midwest will be below zero continuously for 48-72 hours," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.
Weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said a "blend of models" shows that 55 million people in 24% of the continental U.S. land could be at 0-degrees or lower Wednesday morning. In Chicago, wind chills as low as 55 below zero are "likely" midweek, the National Weather Service said.
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#4 TechThe digital drug: Internet addiction spawns U.S. treatment programs
(This Jan 27 story corrects location of Mason, Ohio)
By Gabriella Borter
CINCINNATI (Reuters) - When Danny Reagan was 13, he began exhibiting signs of what doctors usually associate with drug addiction. He became agitated, secretive and withdrew from friends. He had quit baseball and Boy Scouts, and he stopped doing homework and showering.
But he was not using drugs. He was hooked on YouTube and video games, to the point where he could do nothing else. As doctors would confirm, he was addicted to his electronics.
"After I got my console, I kind of fell in love with it," Danny, now 16 and a junior in a Cincinnati high school, said. "I liked being able to kind of shut everything out and just relax."
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#5 U.S. and Taliban Agree in Principle to Peace Framework, Envoy SaysU.S. and Taliban Agree in Principle to Peace Framework, Envoy Says
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#6 ‘Black Panther’ wins top honor at SAG Awards, ‘Maisel’ soars
NEW YORK — "Black Panther" took the top award at Sunday's 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards, giving Ryan Coogler's superhero sensation its most significant awards-season honor yet and potentially setting up Wakanda for a major role at next month's Academy Awards.
The two leading Oscar nominees — "Roma" and "The Favourite" — were bypassed by the actors guild for a best ensemble field that also included "BlacKkKlansman," ''Crazy Rich Asians," ''Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Star Is Born." Although "Black Panther" wasn't nominated for any individual SAG Awards, it took home the final award at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
© The Associated Press
Danai Gurira, from left, Isaach de Bankole, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o and Angela Bassett from the cast of "Black Panther," accept the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 25th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Before a stage full of actors, Chadwick Boseman tried to put into context the moment for the trailblazing "Black Panther," which also won for its stunt performer ensemble. "To be young, gifted and black," he said, quoting the Nina Simone song.
"We know what it's like to be told there isn't a screen for you to be featured on, a stage for you to be featured on. ... We know what's like to be beneath and not above. And that is what we went to work with every day," said Boseman. "We knew that we could create a world that exemplified a world we wanted to see. We knew that we had something to give."
The win puts "Black Panther" squarely in contention for best picture at the Academy Awards where it's nominated for seven honors including best picture. Actors make up the largest percentage of the academy, so their preferences can have an especially large impact on the Oscar race. In the last decade the SAG ensemble winner has gone on to win best picture at the Academy Awards half of the time.
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#7 Cases in Washington Measles Outbreak Continue to Rise
© Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Measles cases in a corner of southwestern Washington that is suffering an outbreak of the potentially deadly disease have hit 34, according to health officials.
Clark County Public Health said in a statement Sunday that 34 cases have been confirmed, with a further nine suspected.
The latest cases come after the county declared the spike in incidences of the highly contagious disease amounted to a public health emergency on January 18. The measure is designed to ensure the body has the resources to tackle the outbreak. By January 25, Governor Jan Inseel had declared a state of emergency.
Of the total cases, 24 were in children under the age of 10; nine involved those aged between 11 to 18; and one related to an individual aged between 19 to 29 years. One individual was hospitalized. 30 of the patients had not been vaccinated against the disease. It was as yet unclear if the remaining four had received their shots.
The health body urged anyone who has been exposed to measles and believes they have experienced its symptoms to “call their health care provider prior to visiting the medical office to make a plan that avoids exposing others in the waiting room.”
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#8 Migrants are being paid thousands of dollars to return home
KABUL, Afghanistan — A wave of anxiety washed over Mohammad Farooq Niazi as the plane touched down in his homeland.
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"I missed my country," he said, recalling his mindset on the day he returned to Afghanistan after almost three years of trying to build a new life in Europe. "But I wasn't feeling safe."
As traffic crawled into Kabul, Niazi worried he'd be killed in one of the regular attacks carried out by militant groups including the Taliban and the Islamic State.
Niazi, 27, is one of thousands of Afghan migrants who have been paid to return home by European governments. Austria gave him $3,100 and a one-way ticket to Kabul. The rest was up to him.
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#9 Canada’s relations with China were already bad. Then Trudeau fired his ambassador
Canada's diplomatic rift with China looks set to deepen following the dismissal of the country's top diplomat in Beijing.
The forced departure of John McCallum, announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday, is the latest unintended consequence stemming from the high-profile arrest of Chinese telecoms executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver last year.
The resignation comes just days after the former ambassador appeared to provide comments in support of China's assessment that Meng's arrest could be construed as politically motivated.
Meng, chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, was arrested by Canadian authorities acting on behalf of the United States on December 1. The US government alleges that Meng helped Huawei dodge US sanctions on Iran and has indicated it will file a formal extradition request by the January 30 deadline.
Speaking to Chinese-language reporters in Beijing last week, McCallum said that Meng stood a good chance of avoiding extradition to the United States, suggesting that remarks made by US President Donald Trump had potentially strengthened her case.
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#10 Venezuela’s opposition in talks with military and civilian officials to force out Maduro, Juan Guaidó says in interview
Venezuela's political turmoil has further deepened amid growing tension over President Nicolas Maduro's future as the country's leader. Maduro started a second term on January 10 following a widely boycotted election last year that many foreign governments refused to recognize.
On January 23, Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself the interim president.
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, accompanied by his wife Fabiana Rosales, speaks to the media after a holy mass in Caracas, on Jan. 27.
A supporter of Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido holds a document, regarding a proposed amnesty law for members of the military, police and civilians, as she explains it to the soldiers at the gate of Naval Command building in Caracas, on Jan. 27.
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