White House's Hard Line on Shutdown, Debt Ceiling Has Risks Attached … President Barack Obama is sticking to his stance that he won't negotiate with Republicans over the government shutdown or the higher-stakes fight over the federal debt ceiling.  —  The question, for Republicans …

Obamacare Poster Boy Chad Henderson and His Dad Haven't Signed Up for Obamacare, Says His Father  —  An exclusive Reason.com interview with Bill Henderson.  —  Chad Henderson is the media's poster boy for Obamacare.  Reporters struggled this week to find individuals who said they had been able …

Democrats tap procedural trick to force House CR vote  —  House Democrats will use a parliamentary procedure to try to break a logjam over government funding and bring a “clean” continuing resolution to the floor, according to senior Democratic lawmakers and leadership aides.

Woman in DC chase may have thought Obama was stalking her, sources say  —  Investigators have found indications that the woman who led authorities on a chase from the White House to the Capitol before she was shot to death by police thought that President Barack Obama was stalking her, law enforcement sources told NBC News.

Dumbest extortion attempt ever: Republican scheme's perverse logic  —  GOP's demands are putting the economy and American presidency on the line — and now they can't back away from them  —  This is the fourth day of the GOP's government shutdown and the sequence of events that will ultimately end it …

The Emerging Offer  —  It hasn't been announced, and you won't hear about it today, but the final volley of the fiscal impasse, at least for House Republicans, is already being brokered.  And according to my top sources — both members and senior aides — it won't end with a clean CR, or with a sprawling, 2011-style budget agreement.

WWII Memorial Barricade Wired Shut  —  On Tuesday morning, seven National Park Service employees were seen erecting and tending to a barricade around the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. One NPS employee was operating a forklift.  There usually aren't any NPS employees working at the World War II memorial.

Arizona Gov. Brewer, local businesses fight to reopen Grand Canyon  —  Oct. 1, 2013: Sebastian Ramirez, 27, of Austin, Texas, hikes out of the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park.AP  —  With the partial suspension of U.S. government services showing no signs of ending …

Bad blood: Four feuding leaders  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid privately told fellow Democratic senators this week what he really thought of Speaker John Boehner.  —  “He's a coward,” Reid angrily said, referring to Boehner's private push for federal health care contributions for lawmakers and their staff.

Gov. compares same-sex marriage to incest  —  (CNN) - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett's stance on same-sex marriage is no secret, after bringing a legal challenge against a county clerk who tried to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples.  Friday, Corbett went a step further, comparing gay marriage to a union between siblings.

Obama And Biden Go Out For Lunch  —  President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walked out of the White House to grab lunch at a nearby restaurant.  —  The two headed for Taylor Gourmet, a sandwich shop a few blocks away.  —  Via taylorgourmet.com  —  Cable news had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Davis supporters sent to wrong site  —  Texas Democrat Wendy Davis's newly official bid for governor hit a minor snag on Thursday when the campaign sent thank-you emails to donors that linked to an anti-Davis website with a similar address to that of the campaign's actual site.

How A Rand Paul Republican From Alabama Learned To Love Obamacare  —  Joshua Pittman is a 31-year-old self-employed videographer from Montgomery, Alabama.  A libertarian Republican who voted for Ron Paul in 2012 and believes that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is the future of the GOP …

The question facing Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Stay or go?  —  Who dreamed up this bit of kismet?  How did the stars align to make this spot of New Mexico desert the best place in the world on a late summer evening to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg?  —  Ginsburg is doing what she always does this time of year.