Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis enters governor’s race

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Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis enters governor’s race

State Sen. Wendy Davis officially announced she’s running for Texas governor. Davis promised to be an advocate for those who feel they no longer have a voice in the halls of the Texas Capitol, to fight for more education dollars and to take on Republicans leaders who she said are listening to their campaign contributors instead of average Texans. … The GOP has painted Davis as a liberal who, in the words of prominent Republican activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, “wants to turn Texas blue by way of a sea of red ink and a flood of high taxes.” Davis, a Democrat, gained national attention after an 11-hour filibuster against a restrictive abortion bill in June. Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott announced his candidacy in July. This is the first Texas governor’s race without an incumbent since 1990. Photo: State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 29, 2013. (Bob Daemmrich / The Texas Tribune) The Texas Tribune

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Report: Boehner tells Republicans he won’t let the nation default

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Report: Boehner tells Republicans he won’t let the nation default

The New York Times reports that House Speaker John Boehner , R-Ohio, told colleagues he is willing to pass a debt-limit increase, according to a House Republican. The lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mr. Boehner had indicated he would be willing to violate the so-called Hastert Rule if necessary to pass a debt-limit increase. The informal rule refers to a policy of not bringing to the floor any measure that does not have a majority of Republican votes. Boehner’s spokesman wouldn’t confirm the report, but agreed “that a default would be disastrous for our economy.” Earlier, the Treasury Department said the debt-limit impasse could cause credit markets to freeze, the dollar to plummet and interest rates to rise.

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Congressional stalemate continues as shutdown enters day 2

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Congressional stalemate continues as shutdown enters day 2

The federal government shutdown entered its second day Wednesday forcing hundreds of thousands of government workers to stay home, while also keeping national parks and memorials shuttered. Estimates by an economic consulting firm put the cost of the government shutdown at about $12.5 million per hour. On Tuesday near the end of the first day of the shutdown, the House failed to pass a set of separate bills which would have restarted funding for veterans’ affairs, national parks and Washington, D.C. Most congressional democrats and the White House were against the measure. President Obama on Wednesday was forced to cut short part of his upcoming trip to Asia next week. Obama had been scheduled to visit Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia, but he will now only travel to Indonesia and Brunei. NBCNews

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Obama says federal workers are being treated like ‘punching bags’ in government shutdown

Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown Tuesday, forcing some 800,000 federal workers off the job as a protracted dispute over President Barack Obama’s signature health care law reached the boiling point. Obama readied a midday statement to the nation while Democrats and Republicans at the Capitol blamed each other for the first shutdown in nearly two decades. “Closed” signs and barricades sprang up early Tuesday at the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments, and the National Park Service was turning off 45 fountains around the capital city. National parks from Acadia in Maine to Denali in Alaska followed suit, as did many federal workplaces. Agencies like NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency were virtually shuttered. But people classified as essential government employees – such as air traffic controllers, Border Patrol agents and most food inspectors – continued to work. So did members of the military and employees whose jobs are financed through fees, such as State Department workers who issue passports and visas. (Photo: AFP Photo/Karen Bleir/AFP/Getty Images)’

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US government shutdown starts as Congress remains deadlocked

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US government shutdown starts as Congress remains deadlocked

A federal government shutdown began Tuesday morning as a deadlocked Congress failed to reach an agreement on a short-term funding measure by a 12:01 a.m. deadline. The shutdown was the first since 1997. On the Senate floor shortly after midnight, Senate Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said the shutdown was “an unnecessary blow to America.” Government officials told agencies to begin executing plans for a shutdown shortly before midnight Monday. In a memo to executive branch officers sent less than half an hour before the deadline, Office of Management and Budget director Sylvia Burwell said there was no “clear indication” that Congress would reach an agreement to keep the government operating. nbc news

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Israel’s Netanyahu warns White House about Iran

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Israel’s Netanyahu warns White House about Iran

Mortified that the world may be warming up to Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking an unpopular message to the White House and the United Nations this week: Don’t be fooled by Tehran’s new leadership. Netanyahu contends Iran is using conciliatory gestures as a smoke screen to conceal an unabated march toward a nuclear bomb. He will deliver those strong words of caution — and fresh intelligence — in an attempt to persuade the U.S. to maintain tough economic sanctions and not allow the Islamic republic to develop a bomb or even move closer to becoming a nuclear threshold state. With the White House cautiously optimistic about its dialogue with Iran, Monday’s meeting between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama could be tense. “I will tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and the onslaught of smiles,” Netanyahu said before boarding his flight to the U.S. on Sunday. “Telling the truth today is vital for the security and peace of the world and, of course, it is vital for the security of the state of Israel.” Israeli leaders watched with great dismay what they derisively call the “smiley campaign” by Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, last [...]

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Justice Department To Sue North Carolina Over Voter ID Law

The Justice Department is preparing to sue North Carolina over that state’s restrictive new voting law Monday. The lawsuit takes aim at provisions that limit early voting periods and require government photo ID as an illegal form of discrimination against minorities at the ballot box, according to a person briefed on the Justice Department’s plans. Federal authorities are expected to challenge four parts of the state law, passed soon after the Supreme Court in June invalidated a key part of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. Those provisions include: the state’s decision to cut back on early voting by a week; the elimination of same day registration during that early voting period; the prohibition on counting certain provisional ballots that are not prepared in a voter’s specific precinct; and the adoption of a strict photo identification requirement “without adequate protection” for voters who lack that required ID, the person said. npr

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House votes to avert government shutdown, delay Obamacare

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House votes to avert government shutdown, delay Obamacare

The U.S. House voted to delay the Affordable Care Act and repeal a tax on medical devices as part of a government funding bill. The White House issued a veto threat on the measure and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate would reject the health care language. To avoid a government shutdown, Congress must agree to a spending bill before the end of Monday. Undeterred, House Republicans pressed ahead with their latest attempt to squeeze a concession from the White House in exchange for letting the government open for business normally on Tuesday. “Obamacare is based on a limitless government, bureaucratic arrogance and a disregard of a will of the people,” said Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. The bill now goes back to the Senate, which isn’t schedule to meet until Monday afternoon. Photo: House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, walks to the House Floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. (Molly Riley / AP Photo) AP

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House GOP funding bill seeks health care delay

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House GOP funding bill seeks health care delay

The House is expected to vote on a measure to delay the Affordable Care Act for a year as a condition of funding government. The gambit significantly increases the odds of a government shutdown at the end of Monday. As the hours dwindle before the government runs out of money, there’s little time left for wrangling. The House proposal will be a non-starter in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats. To boot, the White House said flatly that Obama would veto the House bill if it were to ever reach his desk. In order to avoid a government shutdown, Congress has to pass a funding bill by the end of Monday. On Friday, the Senate approved a continuation of government spending at existing levels through Nov. 15, rejecting a defunding of Obamacare. NBC News

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