Dan Freedman reports in the Albany Times Union that the federal government has been shut down for a week now, and New York's Chuck Schumer seems in no hurry to negotiate with the president. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi released a joint statement reading, “Instead of bringing certainty into people’s lives, he’s continuing the Trump Shutdown just to please right-wing radio and TV hosts. The president wanted the shutdown, but he seems not to know how to get himself out of it.” Trump had a deal with Congressional Republicans and Democrats to fund the government through February, but backed out to demand $5 billion for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. In a Dec. 11 appearance with Schumer and Pelosi, the president said he would be “proud” to shut the government down and wouldn’t blame Democrats. Schumer has said he would vote for funding for a “virtual wall” of radio-controlled drones, motion detectors, and electronic sensors. But Trump dismissed high-tech methods along the border as “bells and whistles,” saying, “You have to have a wall; you have to have protection.” While most of the federal government is shut down, New York district and circuit courts can be funded for three weeks by court fees and long-term appropriations, but will have to close after Jan. 11. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.