Boehner Pledges to Avoid Default, Republicans Say  —  WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner has privately told Republican lawmakers anxious about fallout from the government shutdown that he would not allow a potentially more crippling federal default as the atmosphere on Capitol Hill turned increasingly tense on Thursday.

Attempt to Ram White House Gate Ends With Female Suspect Dead … An attempt to ram the White House gates ended with shots fired at the U.S. Capitol, senators put under lockdown and a female suspect dead, sources told ABC News.  —  A Capitol police officer was also reported shot, sources said.

Congressman Confronts Park Ranger Over Closed WWII Memorial  —  Conflict over the responsibility for the government shutdown got personal at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Wednesday when a member of Congress confronted a U.S. Park Service Ranger over access to the closed park land.

Out of ideas, House GOP considers Hail Mary  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE PAUL RYAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPUBLICAN PARTY HARRY REID JOHN BOEHNER DAVE CAMP GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN  —  As the partial government shutdown enters its third day, many House Republicans …

Chad Henderson Signed Up for Obamacare and Every... Single... Media Outlet Is on It!  —  On October 1, Chad Henderson successfully signed up for a health care exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act.  He was instantly catapulted into the national spotlight as the White House …

Live mic catches Senators McConnell and Paul talking strategy  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - WPSD Local 6 got an inside glimpse Wednesday night to how much the government shutdown is about the messaging for congressional lawmakers.  —  After finishing an interview with CNN, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul ran …

Congressman Mansplains The Shutdown To CNN Anchor: 'You're Beautiful But You Need To Be Honest'  —  CNN's Carol Costello confronted Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) over his party's continued crusade against Obamacare Thursday morning, pushing him to admit that Republicans' “divisive approach” …

Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law  —  A sweeping national effort to extend health coverage to millions of Americans will leave out two-thirds of the poor blacks and single mothers and more than half of the low-wage workers who do not have insurance, the very kinds of people …

Tropical storm undoes two furloughs  —  The National Hurricane Center called its top spokesman and FEMA coordinator back on the job after Tropical Storm Karen formed Thursday morning off the Yucatan Peninsula, with predictions that it will become a hurricane shortly before bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend.

The Shutdown Standoff Is One of the Worst Crises in American History  —  Welcome to Weimar America  —  The current government shutdown threatens to stall the already slow economic recovery from the Great Recession.  But more is at stake here.  Political philosophers from Aristotle to Locke …

The Republican Hardliners Aren't Conservatives, They're Radicals  —  The legislators driving the direction of the GOP aren't interested in smart, limited government.  They're aiming to eviscerate even the parts that work well.  —  In their third iteration of shutdown poker …