Analysis: Republicans Are Working Out the Terms of Their Surrender  —  ANALYSIS:  —  Beware of irrational exuberance.  Thursday night's meeting between President Obama and House Republican leaders was clearly a breakthrough, but both sides are cautioning this morning that progress is fragile.

McCain To Fox News: No, The Shutdown Is The GOP's Fault (VIDEO)  —  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) channeled his inner-maverick Friday during an appearance on Fox News Channel, repeatedly reminding the conservative network that the government shutdown was brought about by the quixotic effort to halt the Affordable Care Act.

First Thoughts: A divided GOP cannot stand  —  Why Republicans are losing the shutdown fight per the NBC/WSJ poll: They're divided — just look at the Tea Party vs. non-Tea Party split... Why Democrats are winning: They're united... There's now a sense of urgency for both the GOP and Obama …

Ben Carson Says Obamacare Is ‘Worst Thing’ To Happen To America Since Slavery  —  Tea Party favorite Dr. Ben Carson said the Obama administration's healthcare reform law is the worst thing to happen to the United States since slavery.  —  “I have to tell you Obamacare is, really I think …

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.

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 …

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 …

Chemical Weapons Watchdog Wins Nobel Peace Prize  —  LONDON — The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2013 Peace Prize on Friday to the United Nations body charged with destroying Syria's stocks of chemical weapons under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States.

Budget Battle Ends Soon With Tea Party Loss: King, Corker  —  Congress will open the partially shuttered government and increase its borrowing limit on at least a short-term basis next week before the debt ceiling is reached Oct. 17, Senator Bob Corker said today.

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 …

Trucker protest hits Beltway but causes no major delays, authorities say  —  Heavy volumes of traffic were reported on the Beltway during Friday morning's commute because of the rain, police authorities said, but there were no major incidents related to a protest by about 30 tractor-trailers …