Republicans finally confronting reality: They're trapped!  —  Obama's ironclad resolve not to negotiate over the debt limit appears to finally be sinking in among GOP leaders  —  After struggling for weeks and weeks in stages one through four, Republicans are finally entering the final stage …

Bad blood: Four feuding leaders  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid privately told fellow Democratic senators this week what he really thought of Speaker John Boehner.  —  “He's a coward,” Reid angrily said, referring to Boehner's private push for federal health care contributions for lawmakers and their staff.

Boehner Pledges to Avoid Default, Republicans Say  —  WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner has privately told Republican lawmakers anxious about fallout from the government shutdown that he would not allow a potentially more crippling federal default as the atmosphere on Capitol Hill turned increasingly tense on Thursday.

Police suspect dental hygienist Miriam Carey was behind the wheel of Capitol chase  —  She had a toddler with her, confounding everyone who watched the car crash through barriers and lead police through the heart of high-security Washington.  —  Law enforcement officials said the black Infiniti …

Driver killed after car chase from White House to Capitol  —  A woman with a 1-year-old child in her car was fatally shot by police near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, after a chase through the heart of Washington that brought a new jolt of fear to a city already rattled by the recent Navy Yard shooting and the federal shutdown.

In shooting near Capitol, government workers rush into danger  —  THE ORDER went out to Capitol Hill personnel Thursday afternoon in capital letters: SHELTER IN PLACE.  It was a terrifying moment for a community already on edge.  The scare ended with less carnage than we have come to fear in such moments …