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:Rubio Sold Out Government Informants In Deal To Deport Migrants To Infamous Salvadorian PrisonSecretary of State Marco Rubio traded nine MS-13 gang leaders-turned-U.S. government informants for access to El Salvador's infamous Cecot prison, according to a bombshell report from the Washington Post published Sunday.Weeks before the U.S. deported hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to the maximum security complex in March, Rubio told Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele he would hand over a list of men, despite the fact that several had agreed to become state witnesses in exchange for U.S. protection, according to officials familiar with the conversation.Per the Post's sources, Bukele wanted the individuals back in his custody in an effort to undermine a U.S. investigation into an alleged truce the Salvadorian government made with MS-13 leaders to drastically cut down gang violence in the country.Relinquishing several of the men required Attorney General Pam Bondi to terminate the Justice Department’s arrangements with the individuals being protected in U.S. custody.Sources close to the investigation say Rubio's arrangement with Bukele has now critically undermined the Justice Department's credibility, threatening future inquiries and the safety of law enforcement officials.“Who would ever trust the word of U.S. law enforcement or prosecutors again?” Douglas Farah, a U.S. contractor who worked with federal officials to investigate MS-13, told the Post.You can read the complete report at the Washington Post.See All UpdatesClose