EPA riders axed, lawmakers say  —  An evolving deal to avoid a government shutdown would include a study of the economic effect of environmental regulations rather than Republican riders to block EPA rules on climate change and mountaintop mining, senior Senate Democrats and a key House Republican say.

What Planned Parenthood actually does  —  With Planned Parenthood being either the major obstacle to a budget deal or one of the major obstacles to a budget deal, it's worth taking a minute explaining what they do — and what they don't do.  —  As you can see in the chart atop this post …

The Brave and Serious Mr. Ryan  —  I mentioned earlier that if asked to choose an adjective to describe the budget plan presented by Rep. Paul Ryan, I would suggest “partisan” or “gimmicky,” as opposed to “serious” or “brave.”  Most budget proposals are both partisan and gimmicky, so this is no particular knock against Rep. Ryan.

Huck to GOP: Cut a deal  —  Mike Huckabee urged his fellow Republicans to throw in the towel on the budget stalemate, saying the GOP has the “most to lose” and needs to show it understands the personal impact a government shutdown would have on everyday Americans.

Vote-Counting Error In Wisconsin Points to Incompetence, Not Conspiracy  —  When Kathy Nickolaus, the county clerk in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, spoke to the press on Thursday after revealing that she had failed to count more than 14,000 ballots in the hotly contested state supreme court election …

Rep. Louise Slaughter: GOP Freshmen Came to Washington ‘To Kill Women’  —  (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said today that the new Republicans elected to the House of Representatives last November came to Congress “to kill women.”  She also likened Republican efforts …

Not a Big Enough Fight  —  Since Republicans took the House majority in January I have been calling for our leadership to fight.  We must answer the bell that was rung last November when the American people called us to fight for deep cuts in spending, for the full repeal of ObamaCare …

Biden gets fed up during spending talks  —  Vice President Joe Biden got visibly upset during late night White House talks on avoiding a government shutdown.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Friday morning that Biden doesn't get upset very often …

Cathie Black vows to come back: “I'm a warrior”  —  Few career falls are as swift and spectacular as Cathie Black's.  —  It took just 95 days for the former boss of Hearst Magazines — and alum of the Fortune Most Powerful Women list — to get ousted as chancellor of New York City public schools.

Rep. Jim Moran Gets Testy With Veteran at Town Hall: Sit Down or Leave  —  Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) held a town hall meeting on April 7 about the possibility of a government shutdown.  During the event, a veteran stood up and questioned him why he isn't in Congress right now working out a deal so the troops can get funding.

Rush Limbaugh slammed for ‘avoiding’ eligibility  —  ‘Not 1 high Republican or you has ever really tried to nail’ Obama  —  Radio giant Rush Limbaugh came under fire today from a caller to his top-rated program accusing the host of avoiding the issue of Barack Obama's eligibility to be president.

G-A-Y Exclusive: National Organization For Marriage tour organizer/Facebook moderator does startling about-face; Exposure to NOM could lead to unintended side effects  —  Louis Marinelli first came on our radar late last spring, when he started independently Tweeting under the name “NOMUpdates”:

Schumer likens conservatives to a flea  —  Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) compared House conservatives to a flea Friday as rhetoric in the spending fight intensified.  —  Schumer, who has been criticizing Republicans all day, said in a floor speech Friday that conservatives were the flea controlling the dog …