In U.S., Perceived Need for Third Party Reaches New High  —  Twenty-six percent believe Democratic and Republican parties do adequate job  —  This article is part of an ongoing series analyzing how the government shutdown and the debate over raising the debt ceiling are affecting Americans' views …

A Crisis of the President's Own Making  —  Unless Mr. Obama is willing to make a serious deal on spending, he will spend the next three years fighting the same budget wars over and over.  —  For months now, the GOP has been held hostage by a faction of its party that deluded itself …

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2013  —  The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2013 is to be awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.  —  During World War One, chemical weapons were used to a considerable degree.

C.I.A. Warning on Snowden in '09 Said to Slip Through the Cracks  —  WASHINGTON — Just as Edward J. Snowden was preparing to leave Geneva and a job as a C.I.A. technician in 2009, his supervisor wrote a derogatory report in his personnel file, noting a distinct change in the young man's behavior …

The Last Days of the GOP  —  We could be witnessing the death throes of the Republican Party  —  I once wrote about lobbying, and this week I called some Republicans I used to talk to (and some that they recommended I talk to) about the effect the shutdown is having on the Republican Party in Washington.

Obamacare Foes Using Shutdown Echo South's Nullifiers  —  The Tea Party-inspired drive to derail Obamacare is anchored in a place where opposition to the federal government is as old as the nation: the American South.  —  The current fight, a budget standoff that threatens the creditworthiness of the U.S …

Perkins: Cruz is de facto leader of Republican Party  —  Washington (CNN) — As trench warfare over the government shutdown drags into its 11th day, a number of Republicans with visible roles in the stalemate, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, will take a breather …

Will the Kamikaze Caucus Doom the GOP?  —  When Congress devolves into perpetual conflict, each party's more militant voices gain influence at the expense of its deal-makers.  —  When congressional insiders say John Boehner could lose his speakership if he moves to end the confrontations …

Dealing With Default  —  So Republicans may have decided to raise the debt ceiling without conditions attached — the details still aren't clear.  Maybe that's the end of that particular extortion tactic, but maybe not, because, at best, we're only looking at a very short-term extension.

Inside the Republican Suicide Machine  —  It's open warfare within the GOP - and all of America is caught in the crossfire  —  The day before Congress broke for its August recess, on an afternoon when most of official Washington was tying up loose ends and racing to get out of town …

EXCLUSIVE: Just 51,000 people completed Obamacare applications during the website's first week, out of tens of millions of Americans in 36 states  — Obamacare's main signup engine attracted just 6,200 new customers on its launch day and 51,000 after the first week

Gallup: Cruz's favorability rating plunges  —  Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) favorability rating has collapsed as the public has become more familiar with him, according to a Gallup survey released on Thursday.  —  The survey found that 26 percent have a favorable view of the Texas Republican, against 36 percent unfavorable.