Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison  —  Things surely would look far different with Sen. Hutchison in office in the nation's capital  —  Does anyone else miss Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison?  —  We're not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington …

Ted Cruz Admits Budget Standoff Was All About Building Fundraising Lists  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) conceded on Wednesday that he would not hold up a vote on an emerging Senate deal to re-open the federal government and avert federal default, but admitted that the three-week long budget standoff …

It's time to wrap up this comedy of political errors.  —  The Beltway budget melodrama rolls on to its predictable and dreary end, with both sides now split over increasingly small differences.  None of this is worth a partial government shutdown, much less the risk of a debt default, and both sides are looking like losers.

Senate leaders announce agreement to end shutdown, raise debt  —  Top senators struck a deal Wednesday to reopen the government and extend the federal government's borrowing authority into next year and both sides of the Capitol are hoping for quick action to reassure nervous financial markets eyeing …

Matt Drudge Predicts Pelosi Will Be Next Speaker  —  Conservative news aggregator Matt Drudge seemed to suggest Wednesday that Democrats will win back control of the House of Representatives next year.  —  In a message to his more than 200,000 followers on Twitter, Drudge predicted …

Breaking: Boehner to take vote on Senate compromise 1st, pass it with Dem votes  —  The endgame will arrive a little sooner than expected, thanks to a deal cut with John Boehner to take the first plunge on a bipartisan plan to end the budget standoff before the theoretical debt-ceiling limit gets breached.

White House: Obama supports deal  —  White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that President Obama supports the budget and debt ceiling agreement reached in the Senate.  —  Carney said the deal would reopen the government and “remove the threat of economic brinksmanship.”

Houston Chronicle Yanks Ted Cruz Endorsement  —  As the federal government enters its sixteenth day of shutdown and stands just hours away from defaulting on the national debt, the largest newspaper in Texas has pulled its endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Ted Cruz's Hometown Newspaper Regrets Endorsement  —  (Image Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)  —  Sen. Ted Cruz' hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, wishes it could take back its endorsement.  —  The Chronicle's editorial board, which endorsed Cruz, R-Texas, in his 2012 race …

Houston Chronicle Expresses Regrets For Endorsing Cruz  —  The editorial page of the Houston Chronicle expressed some buyer's remorse on Tuesday for endorsing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in last year's election.  —  In the editorial, the Chronicle lamented that Cruz did not take after his predecessor, fromer Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX).