Boehner: The Nation Will Be On ‘The Path’ To Default If Obama Doesn't Accept GOP Demands  —  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said the nation would default on its debt later this month if President Obama does not agree to GOP's demands to cut spending and change parts of the Affordable Care Act.

Lew: ‘Congress is playing with fire’ on debt ceiling  —  (CNN) - With 11 days left for Congress to vote to raise the nation's borrowing limit, and the government shut down, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew underscored the importance of raising the debt ceiling to avoid dire consequences domestically and around the world.

A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning  —  WASHINGTON — Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III gathered in the capital to plot strategy.  Their push to repeal …

Cuccinelli shuns Cruz limelight  —  RICHMOND, Va.— That was awkward.  —  In the clearest sign yet of the potent effect of the government shutdown on the Virginia governor's race, Republican Ken Cuccinelli avoided being photographed with Ted Cruz at a gala they headlined here Saturday night …

U.S. Raids in Libya and Somalia Strike Terror Targets  —  CAIRO — American commandos carried out raids on Saturday in two far-flung African countries in a powerful flex of military muscle aimed at capturing fugitive terrorist suspects.  Members of a Navy SEAL team emerged before dawn …

Welcome to Ted Cruz's Thunderdome  —  AN ape sits where Abe sat.  —  The year is 2084, in the capital of the land formerly called North America.  —  The peeling columns of the Lincoln Memorial, and Abe's majestic head, elegant hands and big feet are partially submerged in sludge.

The rise of the New Confederacy  —  It took on new force with fears of the federal government in Washington interfering with their cherished way of life.  It gathered steam with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.  And it all came into full flower when shore batteries fired on Fort Sumter.

Sir Bob Geldof: ‘All humans will die before 2030’  —  SIR BOB GELDOF has declared we ALL have less than 17 years to live.  —  The musician-turned-activist reckons the world will end in 2030 - leading to the extinction of humankind.  —  Sir Bob, 61, based his miserable prediction on the effects of climate change.

Shutdown Crisis: We Need a Hostage Negotiator  —  With Washington held hostage by the far-right, the shutdown crisis is stuck in stalemate.  John Avlon talks to a former FBI hostage negotiator about how to break the deadlock.  Yes, it's come to this.  —  With the government shutdown entering …

Shutdown's roots lie in deeply embedded divisions in America's politics  —  The government shutdown did not happen by accident.  It is the latest manifestation — an extreme one by any measure — of divisions long in the making and now deeply embedded in the country's politics.

NYT reporter: Obama admin “most closed, control-freak administration I've ever covered”  —  Remember when the media rushed to talk about transparency in the Barack Obama “Hope and Change” era?  Good times, good times.  Leonard Downie, who once worked as the executive editor of the Washington Post …

Pentagon to recall most furloughed workers, Hagel says  —  The Pentagon will recall most of its furloughed civilian workers in the coming days, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Saturday, in a move that could substantially ease the impact of the government shutdown on the federal workforce.

Experts: Arizona only state to halt welfare checks during shutdown  —  FONT:  —  Policy experts say Arizona appears to be the only state in the nation so far to have withheld welfare checks because of the federal shutdown, a move key state lawmakers want Gov. Jan Brewer to reverse.