The Shutdown is Starting to Affect America More

The U.S. government has been operating under a partial shutdown since Dec. 22. The shutdown, driven by a political battle over funds for a wall along the border with Mexico, is touching the lives of more Americans in myriad ways. Nine federal departments (and some smaller agencies like NASA) are affected, at least in part, by the lapse in funding: Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation and the Treasury. Approximately 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed or are being required to work without pay. Congress had already passed appropriations bills funding about three-quarters of the federal government, so those departments and agencies remain operational. A lot of important things are not affected by this shutdown: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, disability checks and veterans' benefits. And the U.S. Postal Service, an independent agency whose operations are funded by sales of postage and services, not taxes, keeps delivering mail. But other things have been greatly impacted. Many Transportation Security Administration workers are considered "essential," so they are working without pay (with many calling in sick). Also affected: air traffic controllers, who are working unpaid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration furloughed about 40 percent of its staff, meaning that the FDA has suspended all routine inspections of food processing facilities in the U.S. Scientists for NOAA, NASA and other federal agencies can't work or travel for work because of the shutdown. The Coast Guard falls under Homeland Security. Although the government found a way to pay its military members on Dec. 31. The nearly 42,000 active duty members of the Coast Guard who are still working, as they are considered essential personnel, may not get a paycheck on Jan. 15. The country's immigration courts are closed, The federal judiciary estimates it only has enough money to sustain paid operations until Jan. 18. Many museums, parks, and institutions such as the Smithsonian have all closed.

In Other News Ford has unveiled a completely new version of the Explorer SUV, a model that helped fuel the SUV craze when it was first introduced in the 1990s. It's still one of the company's most popular products and will be even more important to Ford now that the automaker has announced it is dropping nearly all car models from its North American lineup in favor of SUVs, crossovers and trucks. Almost 8 million Explorers have been sold and Ford bills it as the "best-selling SUV of all time.” Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is one of the best catch-and-shoot guys in the NBA, and that was on full display during Tuesday's 122-95 win over the New York Knicks at Oracle Arena. Thompson had one of his best games of the season with 43 points, but he only dribbled the ball four times during the contest. A rare 1943 copper penny has been estimated to be worth at least $170,000. All US pennies were supposed to be made of zinc-coated steel that year to conserve the copper needed for wartime essentials like shell casings and telephone wire. But a small number of copper pennies were created by mistake. Only a few of them exist today, making them special to coin collectors. Apparently 10 to 15 of the 1943 copper pennies exist today.