Trump plans ‘major announcement’ on border, longest shutdown
By JILL COLVIN, LISA MASCARO, ZEKE MILLER and CATHERINE LUCEY, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he’ll be making a “major announcement” on the government shutdown and the southern border on Saturday afternoon as the standstill over his border wall continues into its fifth week.
Democrats are now proposing hundreds of millions of dollars for new immigration judges and improvements to ports of entry from Mexico but nothing for the wall, a House aide said, as the party begins fleshing out its vision of improving border security.
After days of bitter clashes between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it was unclear if the twin developments represented serious steps toward resolving the nasty partisan fight or posturing. But they were the first tangible signs of movement in a dispute that has caused a partial government shutdown, which Saturday was entering its record 29th day.
Trump’s refusal to sign spending bills that lack $5.7 billion he wants to start constructing that wall, which Democrats oppose, has prompted the shutdown.
The White House declined to provide details late Friday about what the president would be announcing. But Trump was not expected to sign the national emergency declaration he’s been threatening as an option to circumvent Congress, according to two people familiar with the planning.
Instead, Trump was expected to propose the outlines of a new deal that the administration believes could potentially pave the way to an end to the shutdown, according to one of the people. They were not authorized to discuss the announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The move, amid a shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without paychecks, represents the first major overture by the president since Jan. 8, when he delivered an Oval Office address making the public case for his border wall. Democrats have said they will not negotiate until the government reopens, raising questions about how Trump might move the ball forward.
Democrats were proposing $563 million to hire 75 more immigration judges, who currently face large backlogs processing cases, and $524 million to improve ports of entry in Calexico, California, and San Luis, Arizona, the Democratic House aide said. The money is to be added to spending bills, largely negotiated between the House and Senate, that the House plans to vote on next week.
In addition, Democrats were working toward adding money for more border security personnel and for sensors and other technology to a separate bill financing the Department of Homeland Security, but no funds for a wall or other physical barriers, the aide said.
It was possible Democrats would unveil that measure next week as the cornerstone of their border security alternative to Trump’s wall, the aide said. Earlier Friday, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., who chairs the House Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subcommittee, said in an interview that some Democrats were asking leaders, “What is our plan?”
The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the details publicly. The Democrats’ spending plans were first reported by The New York Times.
In a video posted on his Twitter feed late Friday, Trump said both sides should “take the politics out of it” and “get to work” to “make a deal.” But he also repeated his warnings, saying: “We have to secure our southern border. If we don’t do that, we’re a very, very sad and foolish lot.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said only that Trump was “going to continue fighting for border security” and “going to continue looking for the solution” to end what the administration had repeatedly referred to as a “humanitarian and national security crisis at the border.”
While few would argue that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding at the U.S.-Mexico border, as the demand for entry by migrants and the Trump administration’s hardline response overwhelm border resources, critics say Trump has dramatically exaggerated the security risks and argue that a wall would do little to solve existing problems.
Trump will be speaking from the Diplomatic Room at 3 p.m.
Trump’s Friday evening tweeted announcement came after Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday canceled her plans to travel by commercial plane to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan, saying Trump had caused a security risk by talking about the trip. The White House said there was no such leak.
It was the latest turn — and potentially the most dangerous — in the high-stakes brinkmanship between Trump and Pelosi that has been playing out against the stalled negotiations over how to end the partial government shutdown.
And it showed once again the willingness of the former hard-charging businessman to hit hard when challenged, as he was earlier this week when Pelosi suggested postponing his State of the Union address until after the shutdown.
It was an unusually combative week between the executive and legislative branches.
Tensions flared when Pelosi suggested Trump postpone the annual State of the Union address, a grand Washington tradition — and a platform for his border wall fight with Democrats — that was tentatively scheduled for Jan. 29.
Trump never responded directly. Instead, he abruptly canceled Pelosi’s military flight on Thursday, hours before she and a congressional delegation were to depart for Afghanistan on the previously undisclosed visit to U.S. troops.
Trump belittled the trip as a “public relations event” — even though he had just made a similar stop in a conflict zone during the shutdown — and said it would be best if Pelosi remained in Washington to negotiate to reopen the government.
Pelosi, undeterred, quietly began making her own preparations for the overseas trip.
But on Friday, Pelosi said her plan to travel by commercial plane had been “leaked” by the White House.
“The administration leaked that we were traveling commercially,” Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol. She said it was “very irresponsible on the part of the president.”
She said the State Department told her “the president outing” the original trip made the scene on the ground in Afghanistan “more dangerous because it’s a signal to the bad actors that we’re coming.”
The White House said it had leaked nothing that would cause a security risk.
Denying military aircraft to a senior lawmaker — let alone the speaker, who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, traveling to a combat region — is very rare.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California slammed Trump for revealing the closely held travel plan, calling it “completely and utterly irresponsible in every way.”
Some Republicans expressed frustration. Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted, “One sophomoric response does not deserve another.” He called Pelosi’s State of the Union move “very irresponsible and blatantly political” but said Trump’s reaction was “also inappropriate.”
___
For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. government shutdown: https://apnews.com/GovernmentShutdown
___
Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann, Kevin Freking, Jon Lemire, Matthew Daly, Andy Taylor, Mary Clare Jalonick, Matt Lee, Lolita C. Baldor and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Pennsylvania jobless rate stable as payrolls hit record high
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate stayed the same in December, at close to a two-decade low, although payrolls still jumped to a new record high.
The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent last month.
The national rate is 3.9 percent.
A survey of households found Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force grew by 21,000. Employment rose by 16,000 to a new record of nearly 6.2 million, while unemployment also rose by 5,000 to 274,000.
A separate survey of employers showed seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls rose by 13,200 in December. Education and health services and the leisure and hospitality sector grew by the biggest numbers. Manufacturing crept higher, as construction and the trade, transportation and utility sectors shrank.
Friday’s figures are preliminary and could change.

TSA agents rally at Pittsburgh airport, urge end to shutdown
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Transportation Security Administration workers are venting frustration with the current government shutdown at a rally inside the Pittsburgh airport.
The rally, organized by union leaders representing the 450 TSA workers in Pennsylvania, got underway Friday morning at the Pittsburgh International Airport’s ticketing level.
Union President William Reese says TSA employees in Pittsburgh and elsewhere are worried about feeding their families and paying bills. He says “morale is at an all-time low.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb is speaking at the rally, calling on his colleagues in Congress to end the shutdown.
TSA agents at other airports around the country are also planning rallies for Friday.
The partial government shutdown has reached its 28th day.

Winter storm slows travel in Plains states, heads east
CHICAGO (AP) — After leaving slick roads and runways in the Midwest, a winter storm inched its way toward New England, where it was forecast to dump up to 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for the weekend from the Dakotas, across the Great Lakes states and into New England. The weather service at one point warned that conditions in the Northeast “could approach blizzard criteria.” Ice was also a possibility in some areas in the storm’s path.
In Nebraska, where freezing drizzle was falling Friday afternoon, authorities closed Omaha’s Eppley Airfield after a Southwest Airlines plane slid off an ice-slicked runway. No one was injured.
In Iowa, the Department of Transportation warned that visibility was less than a half mile in many locations due to snow and wind. And in South Dakota, where snow was starting to pile up, authorities warned drivers to give plows extra room.
The storm was expected to bring between up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow to the Midwest before walloping the Northeast on Sunday. The National Weather Service in Albany, New York, said snow could fall at a rate of 1 to 3 inches (2.5-7.5 centimeters) an hour, creating “difficult to impossible travel conditions” in areas.
In New York City, the worst of the storm is expected from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, with snow accumulations of 3-6 inches (7.5-15 centimeters), followed by rain that could turn to ice as temperatures drop later Sunday. Single-digit temperatures could last into Monday. Strong wind gusts beginning Sunday afternoon could bring down snow- or ice-burdened tree limbs and power lines.
Officials warn of flight disruptions at airports, as well as possible changes in train schedules. The Chicago Department of Aviation reported more than 300 flights at O’Hare and Midway international airports had been canceled as of Friday evening. Amtrak canceled some trains Saturday from Chicago to Washington and New York and between New York and Boston and Pennsylvania on Sunday.
Chicago is forecast to receive as much as 8 inches by Saturday and wind gusts in the Chicago area are expected to reach 35 mph (56 kph).
Bitterly cold air was expected in the storm’s aftermath.
___
Associated Press writers Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, Blake Nicholson in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Verena Dobnik in New York City contributed to this report.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is ending any consideration of joining a potentially crowded Democratic field running for president in 2020, saying it’s not the right time. Casey’s statement today comes a couple months after he dropped hints that he was considering a run, fresh off easily winning a third term in the Senate.

Transportation Security Administration workers are venting frustration with the current government shutdown at a rally inside the Pittsburgh airport. A rally organized by union leaders representing the 450 TSA workers in Pennsylvania got underway Friday morning at the Pittsburgh International Airport’s ticketing level.

Most of Pennsylvania is under a winter storm watch or a winter storm warning ahead of a weekend storm that could pack a wallop of snow, followed by bitter cold and high winds, making travel hazardous. From Pittsburgh to the Poconos, communities are being warned about possibly heavy mixed precipitation, with snow totals ranging from a dusting to 15 inches. The storm should sweep into western Pennsylvania on Saturday morning, tracking its way across the state by afternoon.

CONGRESSMAN CONOR LAMB HAS ANNOUNCED THAT HE IS CO-SPONSORING A BILL TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…