Right-wing nutjobs' last stand: The debt limit endgame arrives  —  The fight over the debt limit is now eclipsing the ongoing government shutdown fight, and the way things are going, it almost seems like Republicans will grudgingly agree to avoid default so long as they don't have to simultaneously give …

What's happening in the Treasury bill market today should terrify you  —  This is likely the scariest graph you will see today.  It shows the interest rate for the Treasury bill maturing on Oct. 31.  It has spiked dramatically in the last 48 hours.  —  A lot of the market indicators …

Lawmakers arrested at immigration rally  —  Nationwide demonstrations calling for comprehensive immigration reform culminated with a rally in Washington on Tuesday to forcefully press lawmakers to overhaul the nation's immigration laws this year.  —  In an attempt to ramp up the heat on their colleagues …

‘Gestapo’ tactics meet senior citizens at Yellowstone  —  NEWBURYPORT — Pat Vaillancourt went on a trip last week that was intended to showcase some of America's greatest treasures.  Instead, the Salisbury resident said she and others on her tour bus witnessed an ugly spectacle that made her embarrassed, a

White House Nears Yellen Nomination as Fed Chief  —  President Barack Obama is preparing to announce that he will nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen to become the central bank's new leader in coming days, perhaps as soon as Wednesday.  —  The nomination would conclude …

The Latest Voter Suppression Fad: Two Tiers  —  Remember this phrase: two-tier voting.  You may be hearing more about it.  —  Officials in Arizona and Kansas are making preparations for elections with two categories of voters.  There will be those who provided proof of citizenship …

GOP Proposes New Supercommittee to Resolve Impasse (Updated)  —  Updated 12:12 p.m. |  House Republicans will bring to the floor a bill to create a bipartisan, bicameral committee to address the current fiscal impasse that has shut down much of the government and threatens a debt default.

Applying government shutdown logic to the baseball playoffs  —  Braves fan Paul Kaplan was quite upset that the Braves lost in the NLDS last night.  So upset that he wrote his congressman about it.  —  I have to say, I never would have considered this, but if this logic applies in baseball …

A Married Mom and Dad Really Do Matter: New Evidence from Canada  —  There is a new and significant piece of evidence in the social science debate about gay parenting and the unique contributions that mothers and fathers make to their children's flourishing.

Stewart to Sebelius on health care law “Am I a stupid man?”  —  (CNN) - “The Daily Show” took a more serious turn Monday night when host Jon Stewart introduced his guest for the evening, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  —  Sebelius, who has been on a media blitz …

Crisis?  What Crisis?  —  How House Republicans are convincing themselves that defaulting on the country's debt wouldn't be the disaster everybody claims it'd be.  —  For a couple of days last week, Texas Rep. Randy Neugebauer was the Republican face of the government shutdown.

The risk to the GOP House majority  —  In the current shutdown, John Boehner might be acting out of fear of losing his position.  If he doesn't appease the hardliners who are willing to take the government and economy over the brink for their goals, he could be ejected from the Speaker's seat.

U.S. Adults Fare Poorly in a Study of Skills  —  American adults lag well behind their counterparts in most other developed countries in the mathematical and technical skills needed for a modern workplace, according to a study released Tuesday.  —  The study, perhaps the most detailed of its kind …

Four Reasons Debt Ceiling Breach Means Default  —  A new idea is taking hold among House Republicans that perhaps breaching the debt ceiling isn't such a terrible idea after all.  One form this takes is the patently absurd remarks of Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) who muses that “I think, personally …

Exchange launch turns into inexcusable mess: Our view  —  Health sites generate more error messages than coverage.  —  CONNECT  —  Over the first four days the new online health insurance exchanges were open last week, more than 8 million people visited them, according to the Obama administration.

No healthcare questions at Obama presser  —  President Barack Obama sustained an hour-long press conference today without a single question about his signature healthcare law and the glitches that continue to plague the insurance exchanges — a point that frustrated several conservatives.