Border Breakdown: Talks about paying for border security broke down yesterday as Democrats insisted on a limit to the number of illegal immigrants detained in the US. They want to cap it at the number of beds available, which would be 16,500.

  The deadline to reach agreement before another government shutdown is Friday.

 Democratic and Republican negotiators had hoped to have a deal by today. President Trump tweeted, “They don’t even want to take muderers (sic) into custody!,” an accusation that is pure fiction.

  It’s still a question whether Trump would approve the deal despite that hang-up over numbers in custody. Democrats have been offering up to $2 billion for security that would include some kind of vaguely described “barriers” on the border, not the $5.7 billion Trump wants for his wall.

The Gathering Crowd:Third-term Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced she’s a candidate for president yesterday. Standing in a blizzard in Minneapolis she said, “For too long, leaders in Washington have sat on the sidelines while others try to figure out what to do about our changing economy and its impact on our lives, what to do about the disruptive nature of new technologies, income inequality, the political and geographic divides, the changing climate, the tumult in our world.” 

  Eleven Democrats have declared they are running for president and six of them are women.

  Once again displaying his ignorance of the difference between climate and weather, President Trump tweeted, “Well, it happened again. Amy Klobuchar announced that she is running for President, talking proudly of fighting global warming while standing in a virtual blizzard of snow, ice and freezing temperatures.” 

  How to run against Donald Trump is a question all the Democrats will have to face long before the Democratic nomination is decided. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said yesterday that talking about Trump might be a waste of time. “By the time we get to 2020, Donald Trump may not even be president,” Warren said. “In fact, he may not even be a free person.”

Great Expectations:President Trump yesterday was touting his 50 percent approval in the Rasmussen poll, saying how hard he’s been working. Do you know anyone who came home to their mother celebrating that they got 50 percent on the test?

  Rasmussen always skews to the Republican side, which is why Trump loves that poll so much. Other polls in the past week have pegged Trump’s approval at between 38 and 47 percent.

  Trump was defending his leaked work schedule yesterday, which is loaded with “executive time” in which he’s doing who knows what. At least part of it watching television and tweeting. He generally doesn’t take a meeting until 11 or 11:30 in the morning.

  Yesterday he tweeted, “When the term Executive Time is used, I am generally working, not relaxing. In fact, I probably work more hours than almost any past President….. …The fact is, when I took over as President, our Country was a mess. Depleted Military, Endless Wars, a potential War with North Korea, V.A., High Taxes & too many Regulations, Border, Immigration & HealthCare problems, & much more. I had no choice but to work very long hours!”

Virginia Real:A Democratic member of the Virginia House last night distributed a draft resolution that would begin impeachment of Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who has been accused of sexual assault by two women. The resolution directs a House committee to determine whether the accusations “constitute conduct sufficient to provide grounds for impeachment.”

  The state’s Gov. Ralph Northam is trying to hang on after the revelation of a racist picture on his medical school yearbook page. He didn’t do himself any favors in an interview with CBS morning anchor Gayle King. He referred to the first African slaves to arrive in Virginia 400 years ago as “indentured servants.” 

The Roundup:Teachers in Denver went out on strike today for the first time in 25 years after failing to reach a contract agreement. — As President Trump builds up active-duty troops on the border, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is ordering his National Guard troops to pull out. He’s the second governor to do so. — Jurors resume deliberations today in the drug trafficking trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The jury has been out so long, and they’ve been asking so many questions, that some observers are wondering with astonishment whether they could actually be considering acquittal. 

The Obit Page:North Carolina Republican Rep. Walter Jones Jr., who fervently supported the Iraq war and argued that the French fries and French toast in House cafeterias should be called “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” because the French wouldn’t join the fight, died yesterday on his 76^thbirthday. 

  Jones later became as vocal a critic of the war as he had once been a cheerleader.

Spin:Kacey Musgraves and “Golden Hour” won album of the year at the Grammys last night. Alicia Keys hosted and Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance.
  Women dominated the awards, but rapper Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” beat out “Shallow,” “The Middle” and other hits for song of the year. “This Is America” won record of the year. What’s the difference between the “record” and “album” of the year? And does anyoneknow any of those songs?