Winners and losers of the debt-limit fight  —  The 2013 fiscal showdown was ugly, especially for Republicans.  —  Both parties have scoffed that there are winners and losers in the debate.  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently said, “This isn't a damn game!”

Ted Cruz left with few friends after Obamacare fight fails, government shutdown ends, debt limit rises  —  Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he wouldn't try to block the Senate agreement.  “There's nothing to be gained from delaying this vote one day or two days.  The outcome will be the same,” Cruz said.

Cory Booker makes history as he defeats Steve Lonegan in U.S. Senate election  —  NEWARK — Cory Booker's star-quality and his skill at surviving the roughhouse politics of New Jersey's biggest city took him from the mayor's office to the U.S. Senate today in a hard-fought victory over Republican iconoclast Steve Lonegan.

Ryan breaks from Boehner, votes ‘no’  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) split with his party's leadership and voted against the Senate fiscal agreement on Wednesday night.  —  In a statement, Ryan called the legislation to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling “a missed opportunity” to reduce the federal debt.

The Abysmal, Pathetic Obamacare Rollout  —  It's a colossal, expensive failure that projects a 1970s-era DMV experience into cyberspace.  Welcome to Healthcare.gov, the botched website of Obama's botched health-care reform, writes Nick Gillespie.  —  The best jokes about the absolutely abysmal rollout …

There's a little pork in that bill: The 5 most surprising provisions in the debt deal  —  (CNN) — So much for a “clean” bill.  The measure passed by Congress to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling also contains some goodies and gifts tucked into the 35-page bill.

Conservatives Learned The Wrong Lessons From The Shutdown Debacle  —  For a certain block of House conservatives, the ones who drove Speaker John Boehner toward a government shutdown and near-default against his will, the lesson of the last few weeks isn't that they overreached.

The Year of Living Carlos Dangerously  —  Anthony Weiner's sexting addiction nuked his political career (twice!), endangered his marriage (twice!), and turned him into a walking penis joke (forever!).  —  Marshall Sella tails Weiner through his doomed campaign for New York mayor …

Documents reveal NSA's extensive involvement in targeted killing program  —  It was an innocuous e-mail, one of millions sent every day by spouses with updates on the situation at home.  But this one was of particular interest to the National Security Agency and contained clues that put …

Mental Floss Exclusive: Our Interview with Bill Watterson! … For the December issue of mental_floss magazine, Jake Rossen managed to do something we thought was impossible—he snagged an interview with the legendary Bill Watterson!  Since we're guessing there are a few Calvin and Hobbes enthusiasts …

McCain: No more shutdowns, ‘I guarantee it’  —  Washington (CNN) - Sen. John McCain promised Thursday the government will not shut down again in the near future, and argued the President, as the victor in the recent showdown, will now have to engage with his political opponents on Capitol Hill.

Republicans are wasting no time in rewriting the history of their own defeat.  —  For the men and women of the U.S. Senate, Wednesday morning was a time of jubilation.  Hark—a deal was born!  Sens. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell came bearing a bipartisan agreement that punted the debt …

Kenya shopping mall attack: Chilling new footage from inside Westgate shows terrorists casually gunning down innocent shoppers  —  The video also shows terrorists calmly chatting on their mobile phones and taking turns to kneel down and pray  —  Warning: Video contains images that some may find disturbing.

Don't Execute the Man Who Paralyzed Me (Guest Column)  —  Joseph Paul Franklin, who has confessed to shooting Flynt in 1978 and been convicted in a series of racially motivated murders, is set for execution in Missouri in November.  Flynt writes for THR, “I have every reason to be overjoyed with that decision, but I am anything but.”

The Pro-Discrimination Left  —  Not everyone thinks white people have constitutional rights.  —  The Declaration of Independence declared that “all men are created equal,” but the U.S. Constitution as originally ratified did not live up to that principle.  By political necessity it permitted …

UN Security Council elects Nigeria, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania and Chile  —  UNITED NATIONS — Saudi Arabia and Chad easily won coveted seats on the U.N. Security Council Thursday, despite criticism from human rights groups.  Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile also won seats.

WATCH: Iowa Lawmakers React to Budget Deal  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - KCRG-TV9's Bruce Aune is in Washington D.C. Tonight.  He talked to Iowa lawmakers about extending the shutdown and debt ceiling.  Watch the story above to see what congressmen Bruce Braley and Steve King had to say.