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Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. The shutdown won’t end soon.

In a contentious meeting at the White House, President Trump and congressional leaders failed to break a deadlock that has kept the government partially shut down for nearly two weeks.

Mr. Trump threatened to keep agencies closed for “months or even years” unless Congress approved money for his proposed wall on the southern border. Above, in the Rose Garden after the meeting.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, whose party assumed control of the House this week, said Democrats were committed to securing the border but wanted government offices reopened while they negotiated. “We can do that best when government is open,” she said.

The impasse seems different from previous partisan funding fights, our chief Washington correspondent writes: Instead of trading proposals and counterproposals, this time Democrats and Republicans are trading blame.

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2. “It’s like a political chess game that they’re playing,” a corrections officer at a federal prison in Florida told us, “and we seem to be pawns.”

The partial government shutdown has left 800,000 federal workers furloughed or working without pay. We talked to many of them — and heard frustration, even disgust, that their elected leaders weren’t more concerned about their welfare. Above, a federal detention center in SeaTac, Wash.

By Saturday, the government will have been shut down for two weeks — a full pay cycle. And if the shutdown lasts beyond the following Saturday, it will be the longest in U.S. history.

The shutdown has been especially challenging to the nation’s courts and criminal justice system, and to those whose livelihoods depend on them. Court dockets are backing up. And guards are scrambling to figure out how to pay for child care, rent and medications.

We’re tracking what is — and isn’t — affected by the shutdown.

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3. Employment numbers ended the year with a flourish.

The Labor Department’s hiring and unemployment figures for December showed 312,000 jobs added last month.

It was the biggest monthly gain since February, and far ahead of Wall Street analysts’ predictions of an increase of about 180,000.

December’s figures do not account for workers furloughed during the partial government shutdown, which began after last month’s surveys were conducted.

Also, stocks surged after the Federal Reserve chairman said the central bank’s approach to monetary policy would remain flexible in the face of market turbulence. The S&P 500 rose more than 3 percent, while the Nasdaq was up more than 4 percent.

So what lies ahead? We spoke to an expert who accurately predicted the 2018 market plunge — and he’s still bearish.

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4. “My dad is the Sinaloa cartel’s leader.”

From an early age, Vicente Zambada Niebla was groomed to run the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel. He was a top lieutenant and the son of one of its leaders.

But on Thursday, he testified in the trial of his father’s former partner, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, betraying his father — and his birthright. Above, a courtroom sketch from the trial.

In more than five hours as a prosecution witness, Mr. Zambada gave details about smuggling routes, money-laundering schemes, bloody wars, vendettas and millions of dollars in bribes.

Mr. Zambada pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in 2013 in a secret deal in Chicago. His lawyers claimed that he was a longtime spy for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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5. For some teachers, their employer is also their landlord.

Our education reporter visited a school district in California that owns an apartment complex and rents to its teachers at below-market rates.

The unusual arrangement is catching on in regions awash in tech dollars, where school employees say they cannot afford to live comfortably on their salaries. Above, a high school teacher who lives at the complex.

But the districts’ efforts are not always welcomed by local homeowners, who fear their property values could drop. That has sparked new debates over gentrification and what obligations the tech sector has to the cities where it has offices.

“Families trust us with their kids from 8 to 3 every day,” said one teacher, whose commute can take nearly two hours each way. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be the case that they would trust us in their communities.”

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6. Marriott International said a massive cyberattack that exposed the private information of millions of guests was not quite as bad as first thought.

But the company conceded that its reservations system did not encrypt passport numbers for some five million guests. The breach was the biggest hack of personal information in history — one that experts believe was carried out by Chinese intelligence agencies.

Teams of forensic and data analysts have identified “approximately 383 million records as the upper limit” for the total number of guest reservations records lost, the company said, down from an earlier estimate of 500 million when the attack was revealed at the end of November. Above, in Chicago.

Separately, Twitter shut down an account that an unidentified hacker had been using for weeks to expose the personal details of dozens of German lawmakers.

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7. What keeps them going?

We have been following a small group of the “oldest old” — people over age 85, one of the fastest-growing age groups in the country. We wanted to see what made them tick, what they hoped for and what they feared.

Having gotten old in an aging culture that still worships youth, they have done the unthinkable: gotten older.

“Did you ever meet anyone like me?” one asked our reporter. “I’m special.”

You can find earlier installments of the ‘85 and Up’ series here.

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8. We’re introducing In Her Words, a newsletter that gives women’s voices the floor. It’s a direct descendant of our Gender Letter, and aimed at our female readers around the globe.

Our writer will break down news events, offer behind-the-scenes insights from Times journalists, share reader experiences and more. Most stories will be framed through the words of women, because it’s those words that too often have been scarce or shouted down.

You can sign up here to get future installments delivered to your inbox.

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9. Gaze into our Golden Globes crystal ball.

The Globes, which will be broadcast on Sunday, are the highest-profile pit stop on the way to the Academy Awards. And a win can help contenders remain front of mind on Monday, when Academy members begin to vote for Oscar nominations.

The Globe judges, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have their own quirky tastes, and the show can have its share of upsets. Here are our Carpetbagger columnist’s predictions.

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10. Finally, this Evening Briefing writer is signing off, filled with gratitude for our readers, and for the opportunity to work with a top-notch editing team, who will continue to guide you to the best Times journalism.

I’m heading over to Retro Report, an independent, nonprofit news organization that provides historical context to the fast-paced news of today.

You will find Retro Report’s collaborations with The Times here, including our most recent, on the history of a police ritual known as the perp walk. For future episodes, follow Retro Report on Twitter and YouTube.

Have a delightful weekend.

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