Durbin: Medical device tax repeal could be ‘on the table’  —  Washington (CNN) - A repeal of the medical device tax may be a point of compromise between the House and Senate as the two houses of Congress work to end the government shutdown, the number two Democrat in the Senate said Tuesday.

Democrats Mull Divulging Emails With Boehner Staff as Shutdown Fight Gets Personal  —  Reid's office is considering leaking emails between his chief of staff, David Krone, above, and Boehner's chief.  (CQ Roll Call File Photo)  —  Senate Democrats are considering leaking a series …

Surprise!  Obamacare health insurance exchange websites don't work; HealthCare.gov a total mess  —  No need to shut it down.  The Obamacare health insurance exchange websites don't work. … Who will be blamed for this mess? … [Update]  —  Welcome to HealthCare.gov!

CNN Poll: Will Obamacare help you?  —  Less than one in five Americans say their families will be better off under the new health care law, according to a new poll.  —  But a CNN/ORC International survey released Tuesday morning also indicates a majority say the Affordable Care Act …

Why This Is Not Just ‘Washington Breakdown,’ in 3 Graphs (and 1 Story)  —  Tea Party members say they are expressing the public's will.  Gee, if only there were some way to judge popular sentiment in a democracy.  —  From the Washington Post this morning:

Christie says shutdown debate would look very different if he was in charge  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Monday blamed President Barack Obama for “not bringing people together” during the government shutdown debate and said the president would be ultimately responsible for a funding stoppage.

Rand Paul: Open the government  —  Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday said he would support a short-term funding measure “to keep the government open while we negotiate.”  —  “I think what we could do is pass a very short term, maybe not six weeks, but what about one week, so we could negotiate over a week …

‘House Of Turds’: NY Daily News Mocks Boehner As Shutdown Arrives (PHOTO)  —  A prominent New York City tabloid marked the first government shutdown since 1996 on Tuesday with a cover that parodies a hit political drama and mocks House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

GOP's most shameful shutdown moment  —  There are many candidates, but comparing Obamacare to the Fugitive Slave Act reveals much — and may take the prize  —  Republicans in the House of Representatives have shut down the United States government - and are threatening to throw the nation into default …

In Congress, a not-so-brief case of delusion over government shutdown  —  I almost shut down the government.  —  As I waited outside a meeting of the House Republican caucus in the Capitol basement Monday afternoon, I put down my briefcase next to a flowerpot and walked around the corner to catch lawmakers as they exited.

FERC nominee bows out  —  President Barack Obama's nominee to lead FERC announced Tuesday that he had pulled his name from consideration in the face of mounting opposition from coal supporters and a stalemate in a crucial Senate committee.  —  The fall of the former Colorado utility regulator Ron Binz …

Ted Cruz's dad rips RINOs, Obamacare  —  Ted Cruz's father, Rafael, ripped into the 25 “Republican in name only” senators who broke with his son's budget brinksmanship, endorsing primary challenges against them, during a speech Friday night in Colorado.  —  The Republican senator's dad …

Jon Stewart's Rockin' Shutdown Eve  —  If President Obama can make a deal with the most intransigent mullahs in the world but not with House Republicans, maybe he is not the problem.  (07:20)

A Portrait of Jewish Americans  —  American Jews overwhelmingly say they are proud to be Jewish and have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people, according to a major new survey by the Pew Research Center.  But the survey also suggests that Jewish identity is changing in America …