memeorandum: Amid shutdown thaw, McConnell says it's time for ‘come together’ moment (Sam Youngman/Lexington Herald-Leader)

12:50 PM ET, October 12, 2013

Top Items:

Focus on Senate after Obama rejects House plan — Speaker John Boehner told House Republicans Saturday morning that his efforts to strike a deal with President Barack Obama are at a standstill. — There is no agreement, Boehner said in a room in the Capitol Saturday …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, PoliticusUSA and Business Insider

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Ted Cruz confronts President Obama at White House — Sen. Ted Cruz confronted President Barack Obama over his health care law during a meeting at the White House Friday attended by dozens of GOP senators. — Cruz told Obama that any deal to reopen the government must also provide relief for those negatively affected by Obamacare.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Gawker, Mediaite, CNN, Washington Examiner, Connecting.the.Dots, PoliticusUSA, The Gateway Pundit and Talking Points Memo

Joe Picard / The Hill:

Boehner reports no progress as focus shifts to Senate plan — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told House Republicans on Saturday morning that there has been little progress in negotiations with the White House to avert a U.S. default and end the government shutdown.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Liberaland and Daily Kos

Emma Dumain / Roll Call:

House GOP Talks With Obama Break Down as Both Look to Senate — Updated 11:09 a.m. | House Republican talks with President Barack Obama have broken down, with GOP leaders telling their conference Saturday that the White House rejected their offer for a short-term debt limit increase tied to negotiations over reopening the government.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The World's Greatest … and Booman Tribune

Jonathan Strong / National Review:

Paul Ryan Flashes Anger at Senate Republicans — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan lashed out at Senate Republicans for interfering with the House GOP's talks with the White House to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling, suggesting his colleagues on the other side of the Capitol were betraying Speaker John Boehner.

Washington Post:
Congressional Republicans rush to develop plan to reopen government

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Income Investing, Post Politics and The Lonely Conservative

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Obama tells Senate GOP he's willing to talk ObamaCare changes

Discussion: Washington Wire

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Cruzification of the GOP — When a poll came out this week showing that the government shutdown was putting Republican Mike Coffman in danger of losing his Colorado congressional seat, the lawmaker responded with the serenity of martyrs through the ages. — “Whatever the consequences …

Discussion: Salon, No More Mister Nice Blog and Los Angeles Times

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Ted Cruz Is Living On Another Planet

Discussion: National Review

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Pete King: Obama Should Donate To Ted Cruz

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

Jonathan Bernstein / A plain blog about politics:
Ted Cruz? Winnowed, Probably

Discussion: The American Conservative

Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:
ESTABLISHMENT GOPERS ASSAIL TEA PARTY ON SHUTDOWN

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, BuzzFeed and Washington Post

Sam Youngman / Lexington Herald-Leader:

Amid shutdown thaw, McConnell says it's time for ‘come together’ moment — WASHINGTON — As the standoff over the federal government shutdown appears to be thawing, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that it is time for a “come together” moment.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The World's Greatest …, msnbc.com, Taegan Goddard's …, Talking Points Memo and The Agonist

Hanna Rosin / CNN: Men dither while women lead in the world

Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:

'She's Got Really Hot Breasts, Man!' Lonegan Aide Bashes Booker With X-Rated Rant — A top aide to Republican New Jersey Senate hopeful Steve Lonegan went into decidedly not-safe-for-work territory when TPM asked why he thinks his candidate has been gaining on Democratic opponent Cory Booker in recent polls.

Discussion: Metropolis, Politico, MoreMonmouthMusings, Mediaite, RH Reality Check, Gothamist, The Raw Story, Gawker and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Brendan Sasso / The Hill:

Obama rules out short-term debt ceiling hike — President Obama signaled Saturday that he wouldn't accept the Republicans' offer for a short-term increase in the nation's debt limit. — “It wouldn't be wise, as some suggest, to just kick the debt ceiling can down the road for a couple months …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Jammie Wearing Fools

Brandon Bailey / Mercury News:

Mark Zuckerberg buys four houses near his Palo Alto home — PALO ALTO — Living the fantasy of every homeowner who's faced the prospect of a nuisance project next door, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has bought four homes adjacent to his own 5-bedroom crash pad in one of Palo Alto's toniest neighborhoods.

Discussion: NBCNews, Guardian, Gawker and Mashable

Paul Dacre / Guardian:

Why is the left obsessed by the Daily Mail? — The Guardian has published an extensive critique of the Daily Mail and its reporting of Labour, press regulation and the Snowden leaks. We invited Mail readers to join in that debate. Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief, asked for the opportunity to comment.

Discussion: BBC and Spectator

Lee Enterprises / Helena Independent Record:

Bullock: Montana won't pay to open national parks — Gov. Steve Bullock on Thursday said he has no interest in allowing national parks in Montana to be reopened if the state has to pick up the costs until the federal shutdown ends. — “Of course not,” said Bullock, a Democrat.

Discussion: E2-Wire and GovBeat

Darren Goode / Politico:
States pony up to open national parks, sights

Discussion: CNN

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:

Piers Morgan Expected to Lose 9PM Hour on CNN; Bill Weir to Move In? — Earlier this morning, we reported that Nightline anchor Bill Weir was departing ABC News for other pastures. — TVNewser beat us to the punch on the news that his new role is with CNN. But that is only part of the story.