Cruz to House Conservatives: Oppose Boehner  —  On a Thursday conference call, a group of House conservatives consulted with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas about how to respond to the leadership's fiscal strategy.  Sources who were on the call say Cruz strongly advised them to oppose it, and hours later, Speaker John Boehner's plan fizzled.

Reid's parting shot to Boehner: Pass our bill, or it's a shutdown  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday that the Senate is done acting on legislation to avert a government shutdown and that House Republicans have no choice but to pass the Senate's bill if they want to keep the government open.

OBAMA SPEAKS TO ROUHANI, SAYS IRAN DEAL POSSIBLE  —  You are here  —  Home » United States government » Obama speaks to Rouhani, says Iran deal possible  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone Friday …

Your False-Equivalence Guide to the Days Ahead  —  A kind of politics we have not seen for more than 150 years  —  Two big examples of problematic self-government are upon us.  They are of course the possible partial shutdown of the federal government, following the long-running hamstringing …

Judge legalizes same-sex marriage in New Jersey  —  TRENTON — A state judge today ruled to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey, saying gay couples would be denied federal benefits if the state kept allowing only civil unions.  —  Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson granted an emergency request …

Kenya shopping mall attack: Nairobi hostages were tortured before they were killed, says police doctor  —  Rumours of rapes, disfigurement and beheadings are rife in Kenya's capital  —  A police doctor scouring Nairobi's Westgate mall for bodies after a four-day siege by Islamist gunmen …

A Republican Ransom Note  —  On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sent the House a very serious warning that, for the first time, the United States would be unable to pay its bills beginning on Oct. 17 if the debt ceiling is not lifted.  House leaders responded on Thursday …

Exclusive: McCain Hires Controversial Syria Analyst Elizabeth O'Bagy  —  Sen. John McCain has hired Elizabeth O'Bagy, the Syria analyst in Washington who was fired for padding her credentials, The Cable has learned.  She begins work Monday as a legislative assistant in McCain's office.

Seymour Hersh on Obama, NSA and the ‘pathetic’ American media  —  Pulitzer Prize winner explains how to fix journalism, saying press should 'fire 90% of editors and promote ones you can't control'  —  Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism - close down the news bureaus …

My State Needs Obamacare.  Now.  —  FRANKFORT, Ky. — SUNDAY morning news programs identify Kentucky as the red state with two high-profile Republican senators who claim their rhetoric represents an electorate that gave President Obama only about a third of its presidential vote in 2012.

First Thoughts: Boehner's bluff?  —  Back to talk of a government shutdown, but is it real or does Boehner blink? ...  If GOP had any hope of blaming Obama and Democrats for a shutdown, the Corker-Cruz spat on the Senate floor didn't help its cause ... Let's remember how we got here …

Editors' Note: September 27, 2013  —  The On Religion column on Saturday examined the crisis of faith of a minister, Teresa MacBain, who resigned her pulpit after concluding that she no longer believed in God.  After the article was published, questions were raised about her educational background.

Average Is Over—if We Want It to Be  —  Tyler Cowen's new book Average Is Over makes an excellent followup to his previous work The Great Stagnation and I expect it will set the intellectual agenda in much the way that its predecessor did.  I want to offer not so much a review as an effort at explication …

What Leading Scientists Want You to Know About Today's Frightening Climate Report  —  “We have five minutes before midnight.”  —  The polar icecaps are melting faster than we thought they would; seas are rising faster than we thought they would; extreme weather events are increasing.  Have a nice day!

Student Cited By Ted Cruz As Proof Of Obama's Failure Is Actually Grateful For Obamacare  —  During his 21-hour talkfest on the Senate floor earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) went through a litany of examples that he said highlighted the abject failures of President Barack Obama's policies.