live in the cnn newsroom, i'm ana cabrera in new york. thank you for being here. today it was the vice president's turn. for two straight weeks now, almost 15 days and counting, nobody has succeeded in negotiating an end to the partial government shutdown. a shutdown that has stopped paychecks to about 800,000 american federal workers. the president, whos has the por

to ending it right now, is hol out for money for the border wall. on the other side congressional democrats who insist he will not get that money. today vice president mike pence gathered congressional aide its and homeland security officials to see if they could make some headway where the top leaders in congre congress could not. sources inside the meeting say they had, quote, baby steps but pence would not move from that dollar amount. and a short time ago this tweet from the president. vice president mike pence and team just left the white house, briefed me on their meeting with the schumer/pelosi representatives. not much headway made today. second meeting set for tomorrow. after so many decades, must finally and permanently fix the problems on the southern border. let's get to our white house correspondent, boris sanchez. boris, not only is there no agreement on ending the shutdown, there apparently isn't even an agreement on whether today's meeting was productive or not. >> reporter: right, yeah. some of the sunnier perspectives that we heard came from vice

president mike pence's office saying today's talks were productive. we also heard from that source on capitol hill that they took baby steps today, indicating that essentially democrats asked republicans to officially justify that $5.6 billion request for border wall funding. republicans responding by saying they would get back to democrats either late tonight or tomorrow when they're scheduled to meet again as you noted. acting chief of staff mick mulvaney did not have that sunny perspective. he essentially said that democrats were trying to stall. in an interview that was recorded shortly after that meeting took place, he told jack tapper that no progress was made and he voiced his frustration. listen to this. >> i know that speaker pelosi had said she didn't want to give even more than $1 to the border wall. president trump has talked about $5.6 billion. is there any give in the $5.6 billion in terms of whether or not it has to be for a wall or whether it can be for more generally border security? >> i think the president said

for a long time that it's $5.6 billion for border security including the wall. we recognize that things like technology are important, border crossings are important, but certainly a barrier is important. we didn't make much progress at the meeting, which was surprising to me. i thought we had come in to talk about terms that we could agree on. places where we all agreed we should be spending more time, more attention, things we could do to improve our border security. yet the opening line from one of the lead democrat negotiators were they were not there to talk about any agreement. they were there in my mind to stall and we did not make much progress. >> we'll hear more from the acting chief of staff tomorrow on "state of the union" with jake tapper. mulvaney is scheduled to be in camp david tomorrow for a p.ooww to discuss top priorities for 2019. house speaker nancy pelosi essentially said that democrats would soon be voting on a number of individual appropriations bills that would fund specific parts of the government that are currently closed, like the

treasury department and the irs, for example. there is no doubt, though, that that faces an uphill climb when it comes to getting any voice in the senate. unlikely that republicans in the senate would take that up. far less likely that president trump would sign off on it. as you know, he's repeatedly said that this shutdown will continue as long as it has to for him to get money for that border wall. ana. >> boris sanchez at the white house, thank you. while this shutdown drags into its third week, cnn is learning hundreds of tsa employees who are required to work during the shutdown without pay are calling out sick. at the dallas-ft. worth airport alone, callouts have increased by up to 300%. while union officials say this is not part of an organized effort, they predict the number of callouts will likely increase. cnn's polo sandoval is following this for us. >> reporter: i'll give you another example. at jfk officials saying at least 170 tsa employees called in sick

every day last week. that is a number that according to union officials, at least heads of the unions for tsa employees, is likely to rise in the coming days. according to those same union officials, this is no organized protest but instead practical reasons. a lot of single parents may not be able to afford child care so they have to stay home with their children. other of those tsa employees perhaps have to find employment elsewhere because the shutdown continues and so does the obligations to pay their rent g and bills of course. this is also raising some potential concerns. you're talking about a highly secure area, at least these men and women who are responsible for ensuring the security of so many air travelers and in other locations as well. for example, some of those union presidents said that they are afraid that we could see fewer patdowns, fewer random checks as well. but the transportation security administration here weighing in hoping to calm those concerns, issued a statement, i believe, the last couple of days and said

security will not be compromised and that performance standards, that they will not change. however, that wait times could potentially be affected. when you put it altogether, you have less tsa personnel and, still, that workload continues to accumulate. that really difficult decision too. our colleague, randi kaye, spoke to one tsa officer yesterday out of philly who says, look, he's got to make that very tough decision. does he keep going to work, spending his money for gas or does that money eventually have to go to feed his family? yes, back pay will come, but the real decision they're faced with right now is what do they do? finally they do have a name for this. it's called the blue flu according to two government officials in contact with cnn. that in reference to the blue uniforms these men and women wear. >> now we're seeing the real impact of the government shutdown and what it's going to do for not just the people who are furloughed but what it would

mean for americans who are also impacted going on vacation or trying to get somewhere for work. thank you. president trump was asked what kind of assurances he can give federal workers who aren't getting paid right now and are worried about how they'll pay their mortgages or perhaps even buy food for their children. here's the exchange. >> you're saying months and possibly a year for this shutdown. do you have in mind a safety net for those who need their checks? well, the safety net is going to be having a strong border. many of the people that you're discussing, i really believe they agree with what we're doing. >> with us now the journalist behind that question, april ryan. she's a white house correspondent for american urban radio networks and a cnn analyst. april, what did you make of the president's answer to your question? >> well, he's determined about a wall. that's what i make of that answer to my question. it wasn't about the economics for the people that i heard.

he basically said that they want the wall as well and they're willing to sacrifice. ana, after that question, my twitter handle blew up and i got a lot of comments. many of those said they need their paycheck. i mean you've got democrats going back to work next week on the hill in the house and talking about actually trying to work to reopen the government, especially when it comes to treasury and irs, which you just heard from the report before, basically to help people get their refunds on time. there's a bottom line for people, money. they need to pay their bills. the president said, you know, in the rose garden that the landlords would understand, this person would understand. i'm not necessarily sure about that. we haven't heard an outcry from realtors, from landlords or from power companies to say we'll excuse those bills. >> right, but the president is brushing it off as it would be easy for people who are impacted

to negotiate. could what appears to be a lack of empathy end up hurting the president politically as we get further into the shutdown? >> yeah, it really could because this is about economics. it's not just about national economics. but when people cry out is when their pocketbook is affected, when they're personally affected. people are being personally affected now. i was getting calls from people in the secret service who didn't know if they were going to get paychecks. but i heard from sarah huckabee sanders, who said that they were essential. people from almost every sector that could be or are affected are very nervous about this, because the president is not putting a cap on, oh, we want this to be over in a few weeks. he's talking about months and years. if you go months and a year or years, what does that do to someone that bankrupts you, that puts you in poverty possibly, if you wait on that job? and does the government function? this has a ripple effect to cause hurt for the national economy and for people

personally. i talked to chuck schumer, the minority leader of the senate, who said, yeah, this is going to cause a problem economically the longer this goes on. he said that to me in my interview, my exclusive interview with him this week. >> so there were negotiations today between the vice president with mick mulvaney there, jared kushner there, kirstjen nielsen there all along with congressional staffers. trump said it was unproductive as we read his tweet at the top, but how productive can negotiations be if the president isn't taking part in them? because it seems like his advisers, they try to make a deal and then trump just goes back on it. is the white house on the same page? >> well, the white house is clear, the president is clear. $5.67 billion. that's what he wants. nothing short. and they are at the table. democrat sources, democratic sources are saying that's what they kept saying. they are not willing to put $5.6 or $5.7 billion to this wall.

they want border security, but not for a wall. they're even saying that really the president's numbers are low for a wall. they're talking really $70 billion. they don't know why he's saying $5 billion. so they say this is just absurd. so both sides are walled off, ana, they are walled off. and the twain shall not meet at this point. but the question is when will this end? the president is going to camp david with his staff tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. the question is will he concede? nancy pelosi said to me yesterday, she said the only way that there's compromise is once the government is open. and it's cyclical. he wants the wall, the president wants the wall to reopen the government. democrats are saying, no, they keep going in this circle. when will the circle end. >> we will watch and see. thank you, april ryan. good to have you with us. we're going to talk to a furloughed worker next hour. i'll ask her what she thinks about the president's comments,

the idea that the government workers who are furloughed currently want this shutdown. meantime, a winning campaign strategist once said it's the economy, stupid. and after an unexpectedly strong december jobs report, the dow surged on friday, so is the economy still roaring or are there warning signs ahead? we'll discuss that. plus, senator elizabeth warren is in iowa at this hour. these are live pictures. explaining why she took a dna test. hear her explanation just ahead. you're live in the cnn newsroom. i've always been amazed by what's next. and still going for my best, even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin... i want that too. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? reeling in a nice one. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke.

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the stock market roaring back to life, ending the first week of 2019 with a surging rally. wall street on friday celebrating a surprisingly strong blockbuster jobs report. the u.s. economy adding 312,000 jobs in december, the most in ten months. now, the dow has surged more than 1,600 points or 8% just since christmas eve. all of this comes, though, on the heels of wall street's dismal december, the worst month for stocks since the great depression. so let's talk all about this and where this goes from here. joining us now, former trump economic advisor, stephen moore, financial times associate editor and columnist, rona. i'll start with you. are the fundamentals of the real economy stronger perhaps than many anticipated? >> we're at a pretty good point. i frankly was predicting that we

would be in more of a slowdown at this point than we have been. part of that is some of the trump policies, that have jazzed up the economy, the tax cut, et cetera. i think those came too late in the cycle. i think they may be part of an overheating economy which is why the fed has been hiking rates. they have been indicating they may go a little slower because of what's happened in the markets but we're at a delicate point right now. if you look historically you tending to see downturns about ten years after recovery cycles. we've been in a recovery for ten years. we're due for a slowdown and a lot of people think we'll have one if not this year, then certainly next. >> when you look at some of the other numbers, stephen, u.s. manufacturing dipped to a two-year low in december, apple this week made a lot of ripples among the world's most wildly held stocks, badly missing it's world sales forecast. how do you square those reports with some of the more positive news?

>> so you started the segment by saying do we have a strong economy or are there warning signs in 2019. i think the answer is yes to both. i think we have a very strong economy right now. it really is a booming economy. we ended the year with 3% growth and obviously this is one of the best jobs reports we've had in 15 or 20 years. wages are growing. we got the lowest unemployment right in 50 years. if you're a worker looking for a job, there's probably no better time to be looking for a job than now. so very proud of what we achieved. i do think the tax cut and deregulations have had a lot to do with that. but you're also right and i think rana is right that there are worrisome signs in terms of the next six months to a year. number one, we've still got this overhang of the trade war with china. investors are very nervous about how this is going to turn out. you've got the two largest economies in the world that are

at each other's throats and i'd love to see that resolved with a good trade agreement where china backs down and buys more of our goods. if that happens, i think the economy will be strong. the other factor, and this is where i think rana and i disagree, i strongly oppose some of the actions the fed has taken. i think they're sucking some of the oxygen out of the economy. i mean the latest -- i think almost everyone agrees the latest rate hike by the fed was a major mistake. of course the markets have voted on that with a 2,500 point decline. i do worry if the fed were to continue to raise rates, that could cause the very recession that we have a fed to help us avoid. >> well, you know, it's interesting because i think that the fed really has a delicate balancing act right now. even before the trade war, even before the trump administration, there was actually a big debate going on about why aren't we seeing more inflation. some people think we're not seeing more inflation because of how technology is coming into all different sectors. and that actually goes to the point about china.

one of the reasons that you're seeing companies like apple downgrading earnings and saying, you know, we're not going to see the sales that we wanted in china is because china is having a slowdown, but also china is going a different direction with its own technology. it's got its own brand now. there are big brands that are actually more popular than apple, and it's possible that you could see a tri-polar world developing where china goes one way, europe goes another way, u.s. goes a third way and we're going to have a reset of globalization. >> let me throw one more thing into the mix here because right now we have a government shutdown. the president saying yesterday this could go on for months. hey, i'm willing to let this go on for years. according to "the washington post," more than $140 billion in tax refunds are at risk of being frozen or delayed if this government shutdown stretches into february. stephen, wouldn't that cause a big economic disruption? >> i don't know how big it would be, but certainly it's negative for the economy, no question about it. i think this is just a dumb

government shutdown. i heard your conversation, ana, with april. it's pretty clear what the solution is here. the democrats want $1 billion, republicans want $5 billion. you know, just cut it down the middle and get on with it. i think that would be good for the economy. but to this point, i am a little bit worried about a deflation in the economy right now. if you look at what's happened, look at what's happened to the price of oil. that's fallen by about 30%. that's good for people who are buying gasoline, but look at the price of lead, look at the price of everything from soybeans. ask farmers if they think there's too much inflation in the economy. they're not getting a lot of money for their commodities right now. that worries me, because a deflation in prices can be as negative for the economy as what we saw in the 1970s when we had runaway inflation. >> okay. stephen has the last word because rana, you got the first. thank you both. let's continue the conversation, good stuff. senator elizabeth warren is

in iowa this hour. we have live pictures from her latest event. she's been getting pressed by voters during this trip about her attempt to prove her native american ancestry. remember that video she posted, her dna test that she had? hear how she responded to a question next, live in the cnn newsroom. rated #1 in the nation by the experts, or the one awarded by the people? uh... correct! you don't have to choose, 'cause, uh... oh! (vo) switch to the network awarded by rootmetrics and j.d. power. buy the latest galaxy phones, get galaxy s9 free. the question isn't whether he should be impeached any more. he's the most corrupt president in american history. and we all know it. the question now is, how fast can we move past this president so we can build a more just and prosperous future? please, join the more than 6.5 million americans who are demanding action now.

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election. massachusetts senator elizabeth warren barnstorming the state of iowa today, continuing with event tonight. live pictures there on the right side of your screen. she announced that exploratory bid for president earlier this week and so now she's in iowa, the first state to caucus. an iowa voter out of the gate confronted warren over that controversial decision to use a dna test to prove her claim she has native american ancestry. here's warren's response. >> i am not a person of color. i am not a citizen of a tribe. when i first ran for public office the first time was in 2012, and the republicans honed in on this part of my history and thought they could make a lot of hay out of it. a lot of racial slurs and a lot of ugly stuff that went on. and so my decision was i'm just going to put it all out there. >> let's get right to cnn's

national political korn correspondent, m.j. lee in iowa tonight. you closely followed warren today along her tour. what stood out to you about that particular exchange about the dna test? >> reporter: this was such a fascinating exchange, particularly about this decision by senator warren to release the results of her dna test because it was seen by so many people as such a serious early misstep for her. the way that this question was asked was so interesting and important because the audience member who asked this question not only asked about the dna test but framed it as this. why did you release the results of the test and, therefore, give president trump much more fodder to bully you? i think it's worth playing senator warren's reaction to the trump part of that question. here it is. >> i can't stop donald trump from what he's going to do. i can't stop him from hurling

racial insults. i don't have any power to do that. well -- >> reporter: what's also fascinating is that when senator warren said that, another audience member actually yelled out, yes, you can. that to mean senator warren, yes, you can confront president trump. and so this is going to be, i think, representative of an important sort of balancing act that we see senator warren and potentially some of the other democratic candidates have to juggle, because there are going to be certainly people who feel like the democratic candidate in 2020, that they want them to confront president trump and really take him on. and there are going to be plenty of other people who do not want that. they don't want these democratic candidates to take on president trump or confront him or play his game or into his hand. so that is going to be a challenge for a lot of these democratic candidates.

ana, quickly, speaking of other potential democratic candidates, a lot of the folks that we're talking to this weekend here in iowa not surprisingly saying they want to do their homework. they are not yet decided on who they want to support. over the next couple of months, they want to meet folks like bernie sanders, like kamala harris, like sherrod brown. these are some of the names that we are hearing from the folks we have spoken to here. so the next couple of months they're only going to be making first impressions and it is going to be a long 13 months ahead. >> and in our last poll there in iowa, the first of the election season for the presidential election. that is we had bernie sanders as well as joe biden was on top and then bernie sanders and beto o'rourke were the top three according to iowa voters at that time. m.j. lee, thank you for that update. we know you'll keep us posted if there are any other major headlines that come from this event tonight with elizabeth warren. senator warren's controversial moment earlier telling iowa voters that she is not a person of color, that getting strong

reaction. i want to show reaction from simone sanders. >> i think that's exactly what she should be doing. you know, full disclosure, i spoke to senator warren about this a number of times because i am someone that was vocal when she put out the dna test, i think i tweeted and then i had an opportunity to speak with her about it. i said when i tweeted that it's unfortunate that she felt she had to do this, because this is something that republicans, donald trump included, just continue to bring up. and i do believe that senator warren understands the sensitivities around it, the issues around it, but i think it's important that while she's out here on the campaign trail that folks understand that, one, she knows that she has to marry her message with the real issues that folks are dealing with every single day in their lives. there are issues that people of color in this country deal with that nonpeople of color do not.

i think a lot of the policies that she's put forward understands that and demonstrates that via her policy. i think it's important that she says it. that is why she's saying i am not a person of color, pause it's an acknowledgement a number of people across this country need to hear. i am not a person of color but i understand the plight and i'm willing to be an ally. >> but she is a woman and that seems to be causing a little bit of a kerfuffle. this iowa trip comes amid the headlines of ones like this. politico, warren battles the ghost of hillary. from "the washington post" before you run against trump, you have to run against hillary if you're a woman. that article going on to say the women looking at white house campaigns continue to shoulder gender criticism and demands not placed on their male counterparts. to be strong but not too tough. to be assertive without being pushy. lest voters turn away for reasons they may not acknowledge

are sexist but researchers say they are. jennifer, is it sexist to compare elizabeth warren to hillary clinton? >> yeah, every woman is going to be compared to hillary clinton and every woman is going to be expected to be likeable and have that -- try to prove themselves to be likeable in a way that men don't have to. there's just research after research after research that shows if a woman seeks an office, if a woman looks like she's too ambitious, all of a sudden she's not likeable anymore. it's the women who are running for office have to deal with this all the time. women have to worry about the tone of their voice. people don't necessarily equate power with the timbre of a woman's voice. i say this to women who are running. look, you know it's out there. and to the media commentators and those who are covering this, you should know it's out there too and check yourself, check your own biases. but for the women who are running, just recognize that that underlying bias is there and know that people don't want

to elect someone they see as -- that they believe see themselves as a victim. they want to elect a warrior. so know that the stuff is out there, but be their champion, be their warrior. don't be a victim. and run like you believe that wholeheartedly because you want to be their voice and their fighter rather than someone who sees themselves as a victim. >> and hadadvice coming from somebody who has claimed victory in these races even despite some of the sexism that exists in our culture. but warren and even clinton were not the first candidates to deal with issues of likability, right? here's what was said about former vice president al gore in 2000 and republican mitt romney in 2012, both of whom are men. watch. >> the vice president really faces the challenge of communicating to people of the united states that he's a likeable, affable, effective personality.

>> i think what you want to see is whether or not al gore can take that coat hanger out of his jacket, hang loose, appear very warm and credible and be more likeable than george w. >> romney, he just can't be so stiff, he has to be more likeable. >> he needs to also smile, be likeable. he's got a likeability dpap. >> so it's not just about women here, symone. >> look, people often say that folks like somebody that they want to be their champion but somebody they want to have a beer with, somebody that they like. that's why oftentimes you'll hear people talk about a number of different elections being popularity contests, which frankly i don't think this 2020 presidential -- democratic presidential primary will be. with that being said, when folks talk about likability when it comes to women, they're talking about it in a way that says

she's not likeable because she's too strong, she comes off too shrill. if she were a man, nine times out of ten folks do not say that. i personally think we need to retire phrases like likeability, like electability, phrases like viability because oftentimes we're not -- when we talk about likeable, we talk about being electable and talk about being viable and we're talking about what's normal. what we think is possible. what we think is possible given what has previously happened in the past. these are not forward looking or forward-thinking terms that allow us to stretch our imagination that allowed us to elect the first black president of the united states, that allowed hillary clinton to be the first woman to be the party -- the nominee of either party. so that's why i think these terms are archaic terms that we need to get rid of and we need to start talking about values, issues and ideas. >> governor, go ahead. >> yeah, i agree that we want to talk about issues, but i also

think that likeability, whether you're a man or woman, is an important issue and that there is a sense of people wanting to relate. the beef that i had about this particular -- the initial part of this conversation was that she was being compared to hillary clinton. like all women are going to be compared to hillary clinton just because they're a woman. it's not like bernie sanders being compared to is he as likeable as barack obama. the bottom line is women and men are going to be running. this is going to be an awesome primary. you're going to have so many people. there's going to be such a chance to have conversations about how people will help everyday citizens, the middle class, et cetera. that is super exciting, regardless of their gender. i hope the folks in iowa and new hampshire and nevada and south carolina who are the first primary states have a really great chance to vet and see and have these conversations. i wish i were an iowan these days because it would be so awesome to have those conversations. hopefully people take people for who they are and not for the

shape of their plumbing and not for the color of their skin, but what is it they're going to do for them. if they're likeable, great. >> symone, i've got to ask you about the bernie sanders news this week since you served on his 2016 presidential campaign. senator sanders was criticized for his response to the allegations that came out in a "new york times" article, allegations of sexism and sexual harassment by staffers during the 2016 campaign. here's how he responded to the allegations. >> i certainly apologize to any woman who felt that she was not treated appropriately. and of course if i run, we will do better next time. >> and just to be clear, you seemed to indicate that you did not know at the time about the allegations, is that correct? >> yes. i was a little bit busy running around the country trying to make the case. >> now, among the allegations, one woman claims supervisors or

a supervisor, i should say, marginalized her after she declined an invite to his hotel room. multiple women claim they were asked to sleep in rooms along with male co-workers they didn't know. at least one woman claimed she was paid thousands of dollars less than her male counterpart. symone, did any of this hit home for you? did you ever feel mistreated? >> i never experienced sexual harassment or one of the terms used was sexual violence. it's not about what i experienced. the fact is that there are women out there who worked in our 2016 campaign who were mistreated, who said they felt marginalized, who did experience harassment. they deserve to have their voices heard. their concerns deserve not only to be elevated but addressed. i believe the friends of bernie sanders, his campaign arm, have took all of this information into consideration that came out. prior to it being reported in the media, i do believe, during his midterm campaign. now, if you ask me about the

senator's response, i don't think he should have said that i was a little too busy running around the country. >> what should he have said? >> if you asked him directly, i think he would regret that. what bernie has said about some of these types of issues in the past, and frankly what jeff weaver, his campaign manager has said, is that it's not acceptable, that it shouldn't have happened. they have taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen in the future. regardless if senator sanders runs for president or he doesn't, i think this is an opportunity to elevate the conversation and continue to elevate the conversation around the issues of sexual harassment, sexual violence, around the issues of pay equity so they can continue to be addressed throughout the -- not just in politics. we talk about business education everywhere in between because these things are still happening. >> thank you both for joining us, great to have you with us in the new year, the first week in the noo new year. thanks for being here. a judge has extended special counsel robert mueller's secret grand jury, so what does not say

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it's a sure sign yet that special counsel robert mueller is not ready just yet to end his investigation, perhaps nowhere near in fact. this weekend a federal judge has extended the grand jury so they can continue to meet and vote on criminal indictments for up to six more months.

they have already been at work for 18. with us now, former u.s. assistant attorney and cnn legal analyst ellie hoenig. now we know this investigation could go on for some time. who are you watching for? who's under scrutiny. >> who might get charged next. start with roger stone and jerome corsi. both expect to get indicted. these guys wrt liere the links between wikileaks and the trump campaign. so they face potential crimes for being intermediaries and lying about it. also donald trump jr., jared kushner, eric trump. the campaign finance, the hush money payments michael cohen was convicted of. those guilty plea papers mentioned executive 1 and executive 2 in the trump org. they are the people who authorized and made the

payments. if of any those people are don junior, eric trump, jared kushner, they could be on the hook. there was the trump tower meeting don junior was part with kushner. there's a couple of different areas i'd be looking at for them. >> and there are people that have already been indicted and pleaded guilty, already been convicted with manafort. those guys still have to be sentenced. what are you watching for? >> paul manafort is in a terrible spot. he's about to turn 70 years old. a year ago he was charged but a free man. since then he got thrown in jail because he violated his bail. he got convicted at trial. pled guilty to more crimes and got caught lying to mueller trying to cooperate. his sentence is coming up. he has a hearing later in january about whether he lied to mueller or not. the sentence that he's looking at could keep him behind bars for all or most of the rest of his life. his only hope is a pardon. michael flynn thought he was going to walk. turned out the judge was not impressed by his theory that he

had been set up by the fbi, raised the prospect of treason and then said go back. you need to prove that you're a valuable kwaup ratcooperator an back in march. >> he was like you may not want me to sentence you today. >> exactly. the game has changed in congress because democrats have control of the house. what are you watching for there? >> it's a whole new front with different rules. robert mueller has the heaviest hammer. he can bring criminal charges and put people in jail. most of what he does is done in secret behind closed doors with a grand jury and we get little peeks here and there. the congress can explore things publicly, very quickly and almost an up limited range of areas. so adam schiff has made clear, has his nadler, they intend to be aggressive. rudy giuliani is dug in. he's going to fight any attempt to subpoena, invoke executive privilege and we'll see multi-dimensional battles between congress, doj and the president. >> we don't know when robert mueller's report will drop.

we don't know what his conclusions will be. but you do know there's somewhat a process of what we can expect when that report comes. >> expect a big brawl there. the process is supposed to be mueller hands his report over to the ag. the ag reviews it and if approves sends it to congress. who will be a.g.? both guys have legitimate questions about their impartiality. they have both spoken attacking mueller, i think auditioning for the president, signaling i'll take care of you, don't worry. that's complication number one. giuliani is dug in. he said he's working on his 87-page already counterreport. i think we could see a legal fight over executive privilege. the president claiming i'm exempt from some of these processes. that was the same fight richard nixon brought unsuccessfully to the supreme court in 1974. >> we have so much to watch. you just gave us a ton of information. >> it's going to be interesting. >> we know you'll be along the ride for us. we have an update on an

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her cries were heard around the world after being separated from her mother. alison madrid did not speak a word of english when she came to the united states seven months ago, but you could feel her pain in her plea to immigration officials. [ crying ] at the time of that recording, the then 6-year-old's mother was

1,300 miles away from her. the two have since reunited in houston. >> reporter: she's enjoying the day at the children's museum in houston. are you happy today? a very different story from when she and her mother first came to this country. now they're getting ready for their first acsylum hearing, th start of a process to determine whether or not they will stay in the u.s. alison has been going to a public school in houston. when she arrived in the u.s., she did not speak a word of english. alison, do you have something to read? >> why i love america. i love my school. i love my church.

i love to smile. happy new year, america. >> reporter: happy new year to you too. her mother cindy is doing her best to learn english at her church. >> one, two, three, four. >> reporter: she cannot legally get a job at this stage in the asylum process but says she wants to work. she says she would like to have a job cleaning or at a restaurant or whatever job she can get, as long as she can do it with dignity. >> let's work together. they mix the crab apples. >> reporter: so what is the likelihood that daughter and mother will be granted asylum? their lawyer says she is hopeful, but -- >> there's a good chance it may not be granted. >> reporter: attorney garcia

says cindy madrid left to protect alison, her only child, from gang violence. alison told her her understanding of that threat. "the gang," she says, "they wanted to steal me." the attorney says if cindy madrid loses her case and is sent back to el salvador, that is not an overstatement. >> it could be death. they've had serious problems with gang violence, they have had no protection by the police as well. we're not expecting anything good if she's returned back home. >> reporter: alison says houston is now her home. >> it's a sunny day when friend stick together. >> reporter: the end! >> finished! >> reporter: but this legal battle is far from finished. gary tuchman, cnn, houston. >> remarkable, isn't it?

day 15 now of the government shutdown. what's the president's solution? he says he would consider declaring a national emergency to fund his wall. all of this over a mall thwall mexico was supposed to pay for. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. now no fruit is forbidden. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn?

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own words, "love gilda," airing tonight at 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. it is 8:00 eastern, 5:00 in the evening out west. i'm ana cabrera in new york. you're live in the cnn newsroom. thanks for being here. president trump figured out a way to make the government shutdown go away. his solution? just call it something else. people who were inside that white house meet with congressional leaders yesterday say the president prefers the term "strike" instead of "shutdown," never mind that it is a shutdown and the total opposite of a strike. first, today in washington vice president mike pence led what's being called a working group of congressional aides, and homeland security officials including dhs secretary kirstjen nielsen. that meeting lasted for two hours. it was more discussions on how to get the government fully restarted again. the shutdown has