Congressional Sources: White House Reviewing Terms of Spending Deal  —  The likelihood of a war-time federal government shutdown—the first in American history—diminished dramatically on Friday night as all parties began reviewing, with the goal of approving, a broad array of cuts …

Sidney Lumet, Director of American Film Classics, Dies at 86  —  Sidney Lumet, a director who preferred the streets of New York to the back lots of Hollywood and whose stories of conscience — “12 Angry Men,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Verdict,” “Network” — became modern American film classics …

Soldiers and Protesters Clash in Cairo  —  CAIRO (AP) — Demonstrators burned cars and barricaded themselves with barbed wire inside a central Cairo square demanding the resignation of the military's head after troops violently dispersed an overnight protest killing one and injuring 71.

Kyl Walks Back Planned Parenthood Claim: It ‘Was Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement’  —  As ThinkProgress reported earlier today, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) defended Republicans' willingness to shut down the government over funding for Planned Parenthood by falsely claiming that abortion is …

The Success Of Hostage-Taking Highlights The Importance of Elections  —  Details on the appropriations deal are still hard to come by, but you don't need the details to know that substantial short-term cuts in domestic discretionary spending will hurt the poor while harming macroeconomic performance.

Ending America as We Know It  —  Hey, it's the weekend, and everyone's singing the same maddeningly catchy refrain!  Rebecca Black's “Friday”?  Nah, that was last week's moronic singalong.  This week's is even perkier!  “Paul Ryan proposes to end Medicare as we know it,” sings former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta.

US to fund $20m remake of Sesame Street for Pakistan  —  The show will be set in a Pakistan village and be mostly in Urdu  —  The United States is funding a Pakistani remake of the popular TV children's show Sesame Street.  —  In a new effort to win hearts and minds in Pakistan, USAID …

Muslims offended by Trinny & Susannah  —  Channel 10 apologizes for ads showing British fashion advisors in immodest clothing against backdrop of al-Aqsa Mosque  —  Eran Baron  —  Channel 10 apologized for the incident on Wednesday evening and promised to change the ads immediately.