There are 325 million people in the U.S. About 800,000 of them are federal workers furloughed or working without pay because of the shutdown. Even if you add in their families, employees of idled government contractors and their families, it's still a fraction of America. Most of us haven't felt the sting of this unprecedented impasse. Well, get ready for some nightmare scenarios: shutdowns get worse exponentially. —David E. Rovella

Here are today's top stories

Trying to split the opposition to his border wall, Trump's White House invitation to Democrats fell flat. Not even the possibility of leftover McNuggets could sway them.

Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected in spectacular fashion. On Wednesday, she may share a similar fate.

The Trump administration's attempt to add a citizenship question to the Census, seen by opponents as a bid to degrade representation of traditionally Democratic regions, was thrown out by a federal judge. 

China told some state enterprises to avoid business trips to the U.S. and its allies, and to take extra precautions to protect their devices.

Billionaire Trump donor and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has lobbied the Justice Department to reverse itself when it comes to allowing online gambling. On Tuesday, the Justice Department dealt him a full house.

Gillette bet that it could drum up business by infusing an advertisement with references to anti-bullying and #MeToo. It definitely got attention.

What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is talking pot again, specifically how the big cannabis bubble from 2018 seems to have deflated in the new year.

What you'll need to know tomorrow

• Trump's AG nominee says his report, not Mueller's, may go public.
• Walmart and CVS are in a fight over prescriptions costs.
• Asia's turnaround story of 2019 could be the Philippines.
• Real estate investors see riches in tax breaks meant for the poor.
• Burger King is trolling Trump about his spelling issues.
• Apple is selling iPhone cases with built-in batteries.
• Netflix is raising prices.

What you'll want to read tonight

The Headlight of the Future Might Be a Laser

A Nobel Prize-winning scientist has spent the past five years developing a laser-based lighting system. His company says the new design is 10 times brighter than today’s LEDs, capable of illuminating objects a kilometer away while using less power than current technology. And it won't blind oncoming traffic.

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