The White House is largely empty as the partial government shutdown hits Day 20 — only 156 of the Executive Mansion's 359 full-time employees are allowed to show up for work. Secret Service agents are working without pay, desks of furloughed employees sit empty, and "the White House has stopped paying its water bill," The New York Times reports. "With paychecks failing to fatten the bank accounts of some 800,000 federal workers, the pain of this partial shutdown bit into all corners of America — even the White House, where there is often very little sympathy for those whose job it is to keep Washington running."

It is DC Water's job to keep the water running, and on Jan. 2, the Treasury Department informed the D.C.-area water utility that its largest customer — the federal government — would pay only $11.5 million of its $16.5 million quarterly water bill because of the shutdown. This $5 million past-due bill "brings up an interesting question," DC Water chairman Tommy Wells said at a recent board meeting. "Is there a time from nonpayment when we cut someone's water off?" A second board member asked, "1600 Pennsylvania Ave., is that what you're talking about?" There was laughter, WAMU reports. But the answer is yes, after 30 days.

"Conceivably, DC Water can shut off service for nonpayment to any customer," spokesperson Vincent Morris told WAMU. DC Water knows that this particular customer, the federal General Services Administration, is good for the money, Morris said, but he agreed that using the threat of a water shutoff to force a government-opening agreement is "an interesting idea." "Water is leverage," Morris noted. "No one wants to go without it." In a follow-up story, WAMU noted that while DC Water owns the pipes, the Army Corps of Engineers owns the treatment plant, so the federal government could, theoretically, cut off the water for the entire D.C. area — which is also leverage.

In any case, the discussion was mostly hypothetical. "We are not turning off water to the White House," Morris told The New York Times on Thursday. Peter Weber

Having spent much of his career living in Maine (and writing about scary stuff happening in it), Stephen King is moving to the second spookiest state in America: Flooooooridaaaaa.

In preparation for the move, the author has received approval to re-zone his famous home in Maine as a nonprofit, which will serve as both a museum for King's archive and a retreat for up to five writers. And if you're thinking "five writers staying at Stephen King's mansion" sounds like a great setup for a horror novel, you should probably apply for a residency. Read more at People. Scott Meslow

The '90s teen movie Clueless became a breakout hit due, in large part, to Alicia Silverstone's star-making performance as the fashion-obsessed Cher Horowitz. So what is Hollywood, in its infinite wisdom, planning next? A Clueless reboot without Cher Horowitz.

The proposed Clueless TV series would follow Cher's best friend Dionne as she does her best to solve the mystery of Cher's disappearance — so let's hope they won't be taking the title Clueless too literally this time. Read more at The Hollywood Reporter. Scott Meslow

The President Trump x Mick Mulvaney collaboration is here.

In a Thursday press conference, the acting White House chief of staff unexpectedly admitted that yes, Trump had engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine, that it "happens all the time in foreign policy," and that reporters should "get over it." Mulvaney eventually walked back the entire statement, but for some reason, the latter phrase still became the subject of a Trump campaign T-shirt less than 24 hours later.

This shirt is best worn while sipping a Coke through a Trump disposable straw, preferably kept cold in a Witch Hunt tweet coozie. Kathryn Krawczyk

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich has officially backed President Trump's impeachment.

Kasich, who ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, announced his support for the president's impeachment Friday in a CNN interview after White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitted Trump withheld aid to Ukraine partly to secure an investigation into the 2016 Democratic National Committee email hack. Mulvaney backtracked on this hours later.

"When I heard what Mulvaney said ... it pushed me really across the Rubicon," Kasich told CNN, going on to say that Trump withholding aid so that "a political operation can't take place" is "totally inappropriate" and an "abuse of power." This does "rise to the level of impeachment," Kasich concluded.

"I say it with great sadness," Kasich said. "This is not something I really wanted to do ... But this behavior, in my opinion, cannot be tolerated, and action is going to have to be taken."

Kasich was hesitant last month to back impeachment, saying after the release of the rough transcript of Trump's conversation with Ukraine showing he pushed for investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and the DNC hack, "Does this process move to a place where Republicans can grudgingly say this is a problem. And right now, I don't see it."

The former Ohio governor has often been critical of Trump throughout his presidency, and his name was floated as a possible 2020 primary contender. In August, Kasich said he doesn't see a path to victory against Trump "right now" while adding, "that doesn't mean there wouldn't be a path down the road." Brendan Morrow

Joe Biden's ice cream problem is costing his campaign — $3,800, to be exact.

That's how much Biden spent in one go at Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio, during the 2020 campaign to purchase "donor gifts," Politico reports via public campaign finance reports. But it's far from a surprising purchase for the ice cream-loving former vice president. Well, at least not as surprising as how much Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) spent on shoelaces.

Campaign finance reports are often used to scrutinize how much candidates spend on private flights and other luxury-adjacent services. The charter flight crown has so far gone to Biden, who spent $924,000 on the service and also carbon offsets for the flights, his campaign says. But Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) tops the Uber pool, racking up nearly $23,000 on ride-hailing services of a combined $136,000 among candidates, Politico reports.

In more unusual purchases, candidates have so far spent more than $7,000 on flowers, with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg spending the most at $3,100. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang meanwhile bought $3,100 worth of "campaign attire," which is a Federal Election Commission violation Yang's campaign said it'd rectify.

Perhaps the most absurd purchase comes from Swalwell, who was one of the first candidates to drop out of the race. He later transferred his 2020 funds to his congressional re-election campaign, and used $7,000 of it to buy shoelaces printed with "#Swalwelling." Find more campaign spending highlights at Politico. Kathryn Krawczyk

Peggy Noonan, who served as a speechwriter for former President Ronald Reagan, is forecasting possible trouble ahead in President Trump's impeachment trial.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer in a new Wall Street Journal op-ed observes that Trump's acquittal in the Senate "is likely but not fated," seeing a "mood shift" on impeachment and writing that there are reasons to believe "the situation is more fluid than we realize."

She cites as one reason Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recently saying the Senate's probable impeachment trial could be fairly lengthy at between six and eight weeks; for comparison, the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton was five weeks.

"His decision also gives room for the unexpected — big and serious charges that sweep public opinion and change senators' votes," Noonan says. "...Serious and dramatic hearings would move the needle on public opinion, tripping it into seriously negative territory for the president. And if the needle moves, the Senate will move in the same direction."

Noonan does think that Trump pushing for Ukraine to conduct investigations that might benefit him politically "probably isn't enough," but what may be is "serious and sincere professionals who testify believably that the administration is corrupt and its corruption has harmed the country." And, she notes, it doesn't help that Trump continues to "let his inner crazy flourish daily and dramatically." Read the full op-ed at The Wall Street Journal. Brendan Morrow