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.

Virginia Governor: McAuliffe (D) 50%, Cuccinelli (R) 33%, Sarvis (L) 8%  —  Democrat Terry McAuliffe has jumped to a 17-point lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia gubernatorial race following the federal government shutdown that hit Northern Virginia hard and Hillary Clinton's weekend visit to the state.

For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana  —  Support surged 10 percentage points in past year, to 58%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — For marijuana advocates, the last 12 months have been a period of unprecedented success as Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

Gov. LePage lets slip what he really thinks about Maine people  —  At a speech to a conservative audience in Falmouth last week, Governor Paul LePage made a statement that is deeply revealing.  —  Informed that the event was wrapping up, LePage said he had two more points to make.

Alan Grayson Ties Tea Party to KKK (Updated)  —  Grayson sent a controversial fundraising email.  (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)  —  Updated 1:11 p.m. |  Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., an outspoken liberal, is taking heat from Republicans for raising money off an email that associates the tea party with the Ku Klux Klan.

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.

Liberal pundit fail: Rush to attack Obamacare site only aids unhinged right  —  Pundits breathlessly pivot from covering GOP extremism to Healthcare.gov glitches, with the backing of liberals  —  As predictably as night follows day, on Monday the media establishment pivoted away from obsessing …

Inside The Meeting Where Obama And Reid Vowed Not To Be ‘Taken In By These Crazy People’  —  WASHINGTON — Barack Obama and Harry Reid needed to clear the air.  The relationship between the president and the Senate majority leader had been deteriorating since 2011, with Reid losing respect …

GLENN BECK PRESENTS ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’ OF WHY YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO GROVER NORQUIST  —  Glenn Beck on Monday began what he said is “just the beginning” of his work to reveal the background and motivations of Grover Norquist, the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform.

Bill Young's wife warns Charlie Crist: Stay away  —  Watch out, Charlie Crist.  —  Beverly Young has sent a letter to the former Florida governor telling him not to attend Thursday's funeral service for her late husband, GOP Rep. Bill Young, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Confronted With Example Of Obamacare Success, GOP Rep Freaks Out  —  A CNN host confronted a Republican congresswoman on Tuesday for dismissing some of the successes uninsured people have has in signing up for Obamacare, accusing the GOP lawmaker of rooting for the law's failure.

Parent Accuses Football Coaches of Bullying After 91-0 Win  —  Parent files complaint with school district after Aledo defeats Western Hills 91-0  —  The parent of a North Texas high school football player has filed a bullying complaint against a rival team's coaching staff after a 91-0 loss.

McCain considering seeking reelection in 2016  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that he is considering running for another term in 2016, when he would be 80 years old.  —  “I'm seriously thinking about maybe giving another opportunity for you to vote for or against me in a few years from now …

HHS brings in Verizon to help HealthCare.gov  —  You might think that a website needed to help over 40 million people would be ready to accommodate those 40 million people.  Apparently, it's a little more complicated than that.  VPC  —  CONNECT  —  WASHINGTON — The international …

How Much Did Healthcare.gov Actually Cost?  —  The new healthcare exchange site has been the topic of several news stories these past few weeks.  Many of them are quoting vastly different numbers for how much it cost to build.  You'd think that sites like USASpending.gov or the Federal IT Dashboard1 would be able to give us some idea.