Federal government shutdown grinds into a second week, but quiet talks emerging

(AP) -snip- The Republicans who have majority control in Congress believe they have the upper hand politically, as they fend off Democratic demands to quickly fund health insurance subsidies as part of any plan to end the shutdown.

But so have Democrats dug in, convinced that Americans are on their side in the fight to prevent the looming health care price spikes and blaming Trump for the shutdown.

Behind the scenes, though, signs of discomfort are apparent.

A loosely formed collection of senators, Republicans and Democrats, have bantered about options for addressing the health insurance problem. One, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, has offered her own plans.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-shutdown-federal-workers-pay-health-care-415768faa14b4e54525d5e6d18ac97b4