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2:40 PM ET, October 16, 2013

Top Items:

House to vote first on Senate plan — The House will vote first on an emerging Senate proposal to open government and lift the debt ceiling, a move that would expedite bipartisan legislation developed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Houston Chronicle:

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 …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Taegan Goddard's …, CNN, Politico, DownWithTyranny!, PoliticusUSA, Gawker, The Hinterland Gazette, The Dish, The Fix, The Hill, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

Wall Street Journal:

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.

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, KDVR.com, Bloomberg, CANNONFIRE, Talking Points Memo, NPR, ABC News, Washington Post, Roll Call, Questions and Observations, Connecting.the.Dots and The Hill

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

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 …

Discussion: Gallup and The Atlantic Wire

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

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 …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

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.

Discussion: Politico, ThinkProgress, The Strata-Sphere, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Independent Journal Review and Instapundit

ThinkProgress:

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).

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, theGrio and Connecting.the.Dots

Associated Press:

Senate leader announces bipartisan budget deal — WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leader Harry Reid says Senate leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid default and end the government shutdown, now in its 16th day. — Reid made the announcement at the start of the Senate session on Wednesday.

Discussion: The Verge and Outside the Beltway

Washington Times:

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 …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and Samizdata

Abby D. Phillip / ABC News:

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 …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and TheBlaze.com

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Prepares For Surrender On Debt Ceiling And Shutdown — Republicans demanded a king-size ransom and are poised to walk away with virtually nothing. — The majority House GOP has flamed out, unable to settle on any proposal to lift the debt ceiling and avert a catastrophic default.

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine, FreedomWorks, Liberaland and FIRST DRAFT

TIME:
John Boehner's Bad Night Clears a Path for a Deal

Discussion: The Dish, The American Conservative, Heritage Action for America, A plain blog about politics, PoliticusUSA, Politico and The Fix

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Cruz Blasts Senate GOP But Vows Not To Delay Vote On Deal (VIDEO)

Discussion: National Review and The Dish

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo: Houston Chronicle Expresses Regrets For Endorsing Cruz

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Boehner to allow House vote on emerging Senate debt-ceiling deal

Discussion: Daily Kos and Pat Dollard

New York Times:
Senate Paves Way to End Debt Impasse

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Washington Free Beacon and Corrente

Politico:
Senate reaches deal to end shutdown, avert default

Discussion: Reuters and The Hill

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:
Republicans Berate National Parks Director For Shutdown As Deal Is Announced (VIDEO)

Discussion: Mediaite

Jonathan Strong / National Review:
Stunned Republicans React to Canceled Vote

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, News Desk, The American Conservative, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Taegan Goddard's …, Hot Air and New York Times

Ashley Alman / The Huffington Post:
John Boehner Reportedly Tells Harry Reid He Will Move Quickly

Discussion: Liberaland

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
House Republicans Show Themselves To Be Dangerously Incompetent, Again

Discussion: The American Conservative, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, The Week, The Dish, Washington Examiner, The Moderate Voice and Daily Kos

Kelly Ayotte / CNN:
Republican senator wants Cruz to stay out of the way in debt vote

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:
Ayotte urges Cruz to allow quick vote in Senate on debt deal

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Carl Bernstein: GOP leadership ‘cancerous’ — Journalist and author Carl Bernstein said Wednesday that Republican Party leadership is “cancerous” and has put the United States at risk by letting the tea party lead the GOP. — “The Republican Party today has become a rabid organization from the top down.

Abby D. Phillip / ABC News:
Senate Leaders ‘Very Close’ to Debt, Shutdown Deal

Discussion: NBCNews, Hot Air, CNN, Mother Jones, ABC News and Shakesville

Politico:
Markets expect a deal — they better get one

Discussion: CNN and Taegan Goddard's …

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Shutdown hurts GOP Senate chances — New PPP polls of 6 key Senate races that will determine control of the body after next year's election finds voters extremely unhappy about the government shutdown. As a result Republicans trail in 5 of the 6 key races and are tied in the 6th.

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Daily Caller

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Bridge Burning and Bridge Building — House Republicans have signaled they are giving up. — They'll merge their ideas with Mitch McConnell's ideas. The result will be a funded government, raised debt ceiling, and nothing done with Obamacare. — Throughout this fight, Harry Reid has outsmarted Mitch McConnell.

Discussion: Liberaland, Slate, The Daily Beast, The New Republic, Hullabaloo, A plain blog about politics, Hot Air and The Dish

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

Move On Everybody, It Just Doesn't Matter — The ugliness of the GOP schism will probably have a long half life, as various parties feel the need to point fingers and shout “I didn't do it!” But if at all possible, I think conservatives and Republicans would be well-served by putting …

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air and alicublog

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Sorry, Kids. We Ate It All. — Eventually this shutdown crisis will end. And eventually the two parties will make another stab at a deal on taxes, investments and entitlements. But there's one outcome from such negotiations that I can absolutely guarantee: Seniors …

Discussion: American Prospect and Campaign for America's Future

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:

Obama Has Already Won The Shutdown Fight And He's Coming For Immigration Next — Immigration reform advocates plan an aggressive campaign to bring the issue back — and the White House has signaled it's on board. Can Obama emerge from the fiscal crisis with enough momentum to win the immigration fight?

Discussion: Reuters, National Review and The Daily Caller

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama to push immigration reform ‘day after’ budget deal

Discussion: Pat Dollard and Pirate's Cove

Carl Campanile / New York Post:

Obama adviser ‘architect’ of showdown: author — President Obama's top adviser Valerie Jarrett was behind a plan to force a showdown with Republicans over ObamaCare as part of a strategy to regain Democratic control of the House next year, claims author Ed Klein.

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Weasel Zippers and “The Lid”