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.

Tea Party's Image Turns More Negative  —  Ted Cruz's Popularity Soars among Tea Party Republicans  —  The Tea Party is less popular than ever, with even many Republicans now viewing the movement negatively.  Overall, nearly half of the public (49%) has an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party, while 30% have a favorable opinion.

McConnell Deal Includes Kentucky Kickback  —  Americans are familiar with the “Cornhusker Kickback” that U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) got in exchange for his vote on Obamacare.  —  Well now U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has an Obamacare earmark of his own.

U.S. eavesdropping agency chief, top deputy expected to depart soon  —  (Reuters) - The director of the U.S. National Security Agency and his deputy are expected to depart in the coming months, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in a development that could give President Barack Obama a chance to reshape the eavesdropping agency.

College Women: Stop Getting Drunk  —  It's closely associated with sexual assault.  And yet we're reluctant to tell women to stop doing it.  —  In one awful high-profile case after another—the U.S. Naval Academy; Steubenville, Ohio; now the allegations in Maryville, Mo.—we read about a young woman …

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 …

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?

‘Lying To The American People’: House Conservatives Blame Press For Shutdown Surrender  —  House conservatives conjured a familiar bogeyman Wednesday to explain their imminent surrender in the government shutdown fight: the liberal media.  —  Their tactics weren't to blame.

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.

Fox's Keith Ablow: Obama's Grandma 'Didn't Trust People of Color,' So He's Taking It Out on America  —  Psychiatrist and Fox News Medical A-Team member Keith Ablow engaged in some psychoanalysis of President Barack Obama on Wednesday's Fox & Friends.  He said that Obama sees himself as the …

Senate Votes To Re-Open Government, Raise Debt Limit  —  In the first step of a two-step process, the Senate voted Wednesday night to re-open the federal government and raise the debt ceiling.  —  The bill passed 81-18.  Among the senators who voted against the bill: Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn …

S&P: The Shutdown Took $24 Billion Out Of The US Economy  —  The S&P has cut the annualized U.S. growth view closer to 2% from 3%, Bloomberg is reporting.  —  The ratings agency — which recognizes the Senate deal will be approved — says that the shutdown has taken $24 billion out of the economy …

READ: Here's the bill that will end the government shutdown  —  Congressional leaders struck a deal earlier today to end the government shutdown.  The measure also raises the debt limit, gives back pay to furloughed federal workers and just barely touches Obamacare.