Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee suggested that his party should not have tried to defund the President's signature program. Read More
Dems call the shots in debt ceiling standoff
![Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, listens to a reporter's question about their meeting with Senate Republicans regarding the government shutdown and debt ceiling on Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. (Photo by Charles Dharapak/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap72610358724.jpg?w=400&h=300&crop=1)
Hopes for a debt ceiling deal have been reignited now that negotiations have shifted to Senate leaders. Read More
Cory Booker stumbles to finish line
Newark Mayor Cory Booker was supposed to stroll to an easy victory in next week’s New Jersey’s Senate election but the popular Democrat has seen his campaign stumble along the way. Read More
Voices
Melissa Harris-Perry11:53 AM on 10/12/2013
GOP governors ‘driving America’s comeback’? Not so much
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wants voters to believe Republican governors are more reliable leaders than their counterparts on Capitol Hill, but instead they're helping to set America back. … Read More
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto1:43 PM on 10/10/2013
Marco Rubio: The Great Houdini
The U.S. is in the midst of a government shutdown, yet Marco Rubio has been missing in action. … Read More
Editor's Picks
![Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks to the media at City Hall after meeting with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on April 10, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/166230805.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Relax, says Pres. Carter. We’re not going to default
"To default on America's debts would be a tragedy that would far exceed anything we've known financially in this country since the Founding Fathers created the Constitution," said President Carter. "I don't believe that's going to happen." Read More
![Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada leaves the Senate floor to meet with Democratic Senators on Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. (Photo by Charles Dharapak/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap974535636309.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Senate leaders take over
Talks hit an impasse heading into the weekend. Read More
![President Barack Obama talks about the continuing budget battle on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, in the Brady Press Room of the White House in Washington. (Photo by Martinez Monsivais/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap163236219841.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Obama calls shutdown ‘a Republican default tax’
"This is not normal," said Obama. "It's not supposed to be this way." He called GOP tactics "extortion." Read More
![Women in bridal gowns protest against domestic violence during an annual march through the Washington Heights neighborhood, in New York September 26, 2013. (Photo Joshua Lott/Reuters)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/rtx140zj.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Domestic abuse victims may lose havens and help
Programs may be forced to relocate some residents to homeless shelters if the shutdown is not resolved in time. Read More
![Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wait on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 23, 2013, for the arrival of University of Louisville men's basketball team being honored for their 2013 NCAA championship. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap542849190160.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
So it turns out, Kentucky does want Obamacare
Senators Paul and McConnell said citizens of their state "weren't buying" Obamacare. But more than 1,000 Kentuckians a day have been signing up. Read More
![A man with an umbrella walks as it rains at the U.S. Capitol in Washington October 10, 2013. U.S. House of Representatives Republicans are weighing a short-term debt limit increase with no added policy changes, such as deficit-reduction requirements, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/rtx1465h.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
The ‘X-date’ approaches
What’s the deal with the debt ceiling? MSNBC answers your default questions. Read More
![In this Sept. 27, 2013 file photo, Cindy Meneghin, left, kisses her partner Maureen Kilian, both from Butler, N.J., during a news conference at Garden State Equality in Montclair, N.J., hours after a Superior Court Judge ruled that New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry. (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap771548484403.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Marriage equality heading back to New Jersey Supreme Court
In a brief order issue Friday, the New Jersey state Supreme Court announced it would take over the case from lower courts and hear arguments from both sides as early as January 6, 2014. Read More
![n_baldwin_tease_131011](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/n_baldwin_tease_131011.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
De Blasio opens up to Baldwin
NYC mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio talked about his childhood and his opposition to Mayor Bloomberg's Stop and Frisk policy. Read More
![File Photo: Brad Schwarz, with his service dog Panzer, attends a Chicago Cubs game with a group of veterans from the Wounded Warrior Project at Wrigley Field on June 14, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Schwarz uses Panzer to help him cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) issues related to his 2008 tour in Iraq. In addition to suffering from PTSD Schwarz has memory loss related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and he must walk with a cane because of vertebrae and nerve damage in his back and legs. Ten days before he was scheduled to rotate home from a 15-month deployment in Iraq, his second, the Humvee in which he was riding was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Of the 5 soldiers riding in the vehicle, which caught fire after the explosion, Schwarz was the only one to survive. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images, File)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/147124973.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Shutdown threatens veterans benefits for millions
There are still more than 5 million veterans who are reliant on pensions and disability payments from the federal government, and those checks could be at risk as the shutdown continues. Read More
![Pennsylanvia Ave. and the U.S. Capitol is shown on a rainy morning on October 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/184047618.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Truckers make little impact in D.C.-area government protest
The "Ride for the Constitution" event has significantly slowed traffic in the D.C.-area, but its organizers have spouted some extreme rhetoric. Read More
![Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the Values Voter Summit, held by the Family Research Council Action, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, in Washington. (Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap732056510532.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
WATCH: Cruz blames Obama for hecklers
Protesters shouted at Sen. Ted Cruz multiple times as spoke at the Values Voter Summit in Washington Friday morning. The Texas senator knew just who to blame: the president. Read More
![First lady Michelle Obama speaks to mayors and other officials about the initiative, "Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties," on Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap362777723370.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Morale boost: First lady salutes White House staffers
First lady Michelle Obama appears in a White House video thanking staffers for keeping the office running even when 3 out of 4 staffers have been furloughed. Read More
![House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. (Photo by Evan Vucci/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap169139897163.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Debt deal remains elusive—but there’s a chance
Ongoing talks are being seen as a hopeful sign that the two sides can put an end to a potential economic disaster. Read More
![President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughter Malia meet with Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban a year ago, in the Oval Office, Oct. 11, 2013.
(Photo by Pete Souza/The White House)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/10216265403_f0a90f4c0a_o.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Teen Taliban survivor Malala meets with the Obamas
The Pakistani teen activist who could not be silenced by the Taliban missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize even as crowds cheered her along a U.S. tour. Read More
![A Marine honor guard stands holds open the door to the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. (Photo by Charles Dharapak/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap401580789391.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
House Republican: Meeting with president was ‘positive’
Rep. Buck McKeon said he is both hopeful and anxious to hear from leaders about the progress made overnight after President Obama met with House Republicans on Thursday. Read More
![Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell talks to an unidentified person in his office before a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill on Oct. 9, 2013. (Photo by Susan Walsh/AP)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ap977063601598-crop-e1381490411681.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
More Americans blame Republicans now than during the ’95 shutdown
A new poll found that 53% of the public has a negative view of the country's Republican leaders. Read More
![(L-R) U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA) leave after a news conference May 23, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/169331191-crop.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Republican women drive the deal
"If it were up to the women, this would be over already," said Senator Maria Cantwell. "There's still a lot of testosterone going around." Read More
![U.S. Army soldiers carry the flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Cody J. Patterson during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on October 9, 2013 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/183715217.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
After furor, president reinstates military death benefits
The bill restores payments for the families of fallen troops. "It's shameful that families of our military heroes have had to go through even a single day of this questioning," said Rep. Tammy Duckworth, herself a veteran. Read More
![People view the Statue of Liberty, one of New York's premiere tourist attractions, from the Staten Island Ferry on September 30, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)](http://web.archive.org./web/20131014040556im_/http://msnbctv.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/182545599.jpg?w=196&h=148&crop=1)
Furloughed worker living ‘paycheck to paycheck’ tells her story
"I'm not going to be able to pay the rent," said Liberty Island worker Lashante Austin. "I've got to put food on the table. I can't tell the bill collectors, 'Sorry, the government's shut down.'" Read More