Health insurance exchange launched despite signs of serious problems  —  Days before the launch of President Obama's online health ­insurance marketplace, government officials and contractors tested a key part of the Web site to see whether it could handle tens of thousands of consumers at the same time.

There's a New Political Story Line—and it's Good for Republicans  —  Better to be two warring tribes than a single reviled one.  —  The story most Democrats and progressive have long told about the GOP is that it's a party that has been captured by its right wing.  It's a fairly simple story to tell.

Republican Mega-Donors Quietly Celebrate Chris Christie's Marriage Surrender  —  Activists are angry, but GOP elites are praising Christie's step away from culture war.  “I mean, he's a rare guy who's been able to appeal to people with sincerely held beliefs on both sides of this issue.”

HealthCare.gov feeds doubts about rollout: Our view  —  President vows action, but where has he been?  —  CONNECT  —  Three weeks after it opened, the HealthCare.gov website — where millions of people are supposed to get insurance under the Affordable Care Act — remains plagued by problems.

Texas Judge Quits GOP Over Social Issues, Shutdown (VIDEO)  —  Carlo Key, a Republican judge in Bexar County, Texas, announced Monday in a campaign ad that he was leaving the Republican party and will run for re-election as a Democrat.  —  “I cannot tolerate a political party that demeans Texans based …

2 Dead, 2 Boys Hurt in Nevada School Shooting  —  Police say two people are dead and two more are injured in a shooting at Sparks Middle School in northern Nevada Monday morning.  —  Washoe County School District Police didn't immediately offer details of the identities of the dead.

Poll: Major damage to GOP after shutdown, and broad dissatisfaction with government  —  Video: Will voters remember the shutdown next year?  Incumbents usually win elections.  But after a shutdown, near-default and historic lows in Congressional approval, voters are claiming they'll reverse that trend in 2014.

Medicaid expansion funding gets approval  —  Ending months of debate, a legislative oversight panel approved spending $2.56 billion in federal money today to expand Medicaid coverage to about 275,000 low-income Ohioans.  —  Almost immediately after the bipartisan 5-2 vote …

Why Obama Should Be Freaked Out Over Obamacare  —  It's worse than we know, this is the easy part, and millions of Americans could be hurt.  —  President Obama said Monday he's “frustrated” by the disastrous launch of an online computer marketplace for Obamacare.  Here are five reasons why frustration isn't enough.

At home in Houston, Cruz continues fight against Obamacare  —  Criticized by senior leaders in his own party and blamed by Democrats for inspiring a government shutdown they claim was a pricey, pointless and painful waste of time, Ted Cruz returned to his hometown Monday night …

Palin: Obamacare website glitches are a feature, not a bug, and will push U.S. into socialism  —  Sarah Palin says the glitches in the online rollout of the Affordable Care Act are a feature, not a bug.  —  The former half-term Alaska governor and failed vice presidential candidate suggested Sunday …

And that's a good thing.  —  See Slate's complete coverage of Obamacare.  David Auerbach explains what's gone wrong with healthcare.gov, and David Weigel explains why Republicans are calling for Kathleen Sebelius to be fired.  —  Last week Canada's Supreme Court ruled that doctors …

Lonegan: The government shutdown cost me the election  —  Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan (Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)  —  Though Republican Steve Lonegan publicly supported the shutdown of the federal government during his campaign for U.S. Senate …

At the White House: Obamacare success stories that aren't  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL WHITE HOUSE BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE PRESIDENT HEALTH CARE  —  President Obamainvited a number of people to stand behind him as he delivered his speech on the state of Obamacare at the White House Monday morning.