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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Hillary Clinton to begin considering presidential run ‘sometime next year’  —  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a group of Long Island business and political leaders Friday that she would begin seriously considering a White House run sometime next year.

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.

Economic Confidence Plummets as Gov't Shutdown Begins  —  Current -34 three-day average is worst since December 2011  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy has dropped sharply as the partial government shutdown caused by Congress' inability to pass a spending bill has become reality.

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 …

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.

Fossil Fuel Divestment Statement  —  Climate change represents one of the world's most consequential challenges.  I very much respect the concern and commitment shown by the many members of our community who are working to confront this problem.  I, as well as members of our Corporation Committee …

Rodriguez Sues M.L.B., Claiming a ‘Witch Hunt’  —  Faced with baseball's longest doping suspension, Alex Rodriguez sued Major League Baseball late Thursday, accusing it of buying the cooperation of Anthony Bosch, the head of an anti-aging clinic at the center of a doping scandal …