President Donald Trump traveled through Asia this week, sitting down for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which he described as “truly great,” while Americans at home bore the brunt of the ongoing government shutdown, which is entering its second month.Democrats now find themselves in a bind as they have succeeded in framing health care as the issue at the heart of the stalemate but are grappling with the lapse of federal food assistance for millions of Americans set to begin Saturday.The shutdown is also likely to lead to more flight delays as the Federal Aviation Administration grapples with staffing shortages. At the same time, federal employees are working without pay, and food banks are bracing for a surge in demand.The president, though, seems to have his mind focused elsewhere as he instructed the Pentagon to immediately resume testing of nuclear weapons to ensure the U.S. keeps up with its rivals.“With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also,” he told reporters after departing South Korea to return to the U.S.The Trump administration is continuing to add pressure on Venezuela, with the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, now accusing the U.S. of “fabricating a new eternal war.”See previous updates here, and read the latest below:Brown University Refuses To Bow Down To Trump In Return For Special TreatmentBrown University said Wednesday it is rejecting a White House deal that asked the Ivy League school to adopt Trump’s agenda in return for improved access to federal funding.In a letter to the White House, the university's president Christina Paxson said the so-called “compact” with the Trump administration would “restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance, critically compromising our ability to fulfill our mission.” The letter went on to warn that the provisions of the proposal would “damage the health and prosperity of Americans.”Brown becomes the second institution to dismiss the offer of special treatment after MIT said Friday it could not sign on to the deal. Seven more universities have yet to respond.The 10-page proposal asks universities to fall in line with Trump’s political agenda on issues including women’s sports and free speech.See All UpdatesClose