Winnebago County vote-count change alters Supreme Court race  —  By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel  —  The latest vote count in the state Supreme Court race in Winnebago County indicates incumbent David Prosser is leading Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg in votes.

Obama: I'll veto funding for the troops  —  Consider this a trap well set and sprung.  Frustrated that the Senate won't pass any budget bill while the House continues to negotiate to the brink of a government shutdown, John Boehner proposed a one-week CR to keep government open for a week …

Does Ryan plan cause self-rationing?  - Coburn: Drop the riders - BCBSA tracks exchange bills - Arizona ‘no’ to waiver - Women's health rally on the hill  —  **With reporting contributions from J. Lester Feder and David Nather  —  CLOSING IN ON A BUDGET DEAL?

Breaking down Trump's numbers  —  There's been a lot of coverage of Donald Trump's good poll numbers with Republicans over the last week- what's gotten less attention is that Trump's popularity with GOP voters is a brand new development.  —  We did a national poll asking about Trump …

Riders Caused The Storm: Government Shutdown Looms Over Anti-Abortion And Anti-EPA Measures  —  If a government shutdown happens, it'll be because Republicans are demanding policy restrictions in addition to spending cuts before agreeing to fund the government through September.

The Trouble With Taxing Exclusively The Rich  —  In their sketch version of a budget (PDF) the Congressional Progressive Caucus makes a heroic effort to finance progressive government basically exclusively by raising taxes on rich people.  —  Specifically:

Tea Party senator: Obama might have planned shutdown with ‘malicious’ intent  —  Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) suggested Thursday that President Obama might have begun planning a government shutdown last year with “malicious” intent.  —  “Why was it that a few months ago ... when the president …

Iron Dome intercepts first rocket  —  Ashkelon residents report seeing Grad explode in midair as dozens of rockets fired at south, meanwhile Hamas says Israel taking advantage of Goldstone's regret over Gaza war report to bomb Strip  —  Latest Update:  —  Residents in Ashkelon reported …

Cathleen Black Is Out as City Schools Chancellor  —  Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott at a news conference at which he was introduced as the new schools chancellor by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.  Cathleen P. Black stepped down from the position Thursday.  —  Cathleen P. Black …

First homosexual caveman found  —  Archaeologists have unearthed the 5,000-year-old remains of what they believe may have been the world's oldest known gay caveman.  —  The male body - said to date back to between 2900-2500BC - was discovered buried in a way normally reserved only for women …

Eviscerating the Establishment Clause … In a decision earlier this week in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, the five conservative Justices on the Supreme Court (Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas and Alito) carved a large hole out of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.