Shutdown: Bush’s Fault? (+video)

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MRCTV’s Dan Joseph had a question on his mind that he couldn’t shake: who bears the brunt of the blame for the government shutdown? Who really is responsible for the mess we’re in right now? Is it President Obama or former President George W. Bush? He decided to take these questions to the heart of our misery: Washington D.C.

Despite the fact that “Dubya” has been out of office for the past five years, most of the respondents said former President George W. Bush is to blame for the shutdown.

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Obama: Boehner Can’t Control “Extreme Faction” of His Caucus (+video)

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Photo Credit: APPresident Obama on Tuesday said talks over a budget deal had been complicated because Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) “can’t control his caucus.”

In an interview with WABC, the president was asked about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) proposal that the president and congressional leaders lock themselves in a room to hammer out a deal to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government.

But Obama said the problem with that solution is that one-on-one negotiations with the Boehner “isn’t necessarily good for the extreme faction in his caucus.”

“It weakens him,” Obama said. “So there have been repeated situations where we have agreements, then he goes back, and then it turns out that he can’t control his caucus. So, the challenge here is, ‘Can you deliver on agreements that are made?’ ”

“One thing that I’ve shown is that if I say I’m prepared to compromise on something, then I can deliver votes,” the president added.

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Must-See Video: Elk Chases Couple on Motorcycle

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Photo Credit: YouTube A couple taking in Montana’s scenic views on the back of a motorcycle were stunned when an elk approached their bike — then chased after them for more than a mile.

Heather Leigh was snapping photos of the scenery when the animal approached. After capturing several photos up close, Leigh’s boyfriend drove away with the elk in hot pursuit.

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Video- Obama: ‘Nobody Shares the Frustrations of the American People More Than I Do’

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Photo Credit: YouTube President Obama said “nobody shares the frustrations of the American people more than I do” Tuesday in an interview with WABC.

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Heavy Campaigning For Booker, Lonegan Day Before N.J. Senate Vote (+video)

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Photo Credit: Nick.FisherThe New Jersey U.S. Senate race was in a fight to the finish Tuesday, a day before voters were set to head to the polls in a special election.

As CBS 2’s Christine Sloan reported, Democrat Cory Booker is hitting the Democrat-favoring communities of Belleville, New Brunswick, Hoboken and Newark, where he is mayor.

Republican Steve Lonegan is campaigning Tuesday in Basking Ridge, Flemington, Belvidere, Morristown and Middletown — all places where Republicans usually get the most votes. He’s also stopping in Jersey City.

Lonegan also received the endorsement of former Jersey City Acting Mayor Joe Rokawski. And Lonegan attacked Booker for his performance as Newark mayor.

“Two people were shot to death on the streets of Newark last night. Unemployment in Newark has gone from 8 to 14 percent,” Lonegan said. “Mr. Booker has failed Newark. That’s extreme. See, he’s an extreme failure.”

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Senate Deal to End Government Shutdown, Raise Debt Limit Appears Near (+video)

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Photo Credit: Charles Dharapak/APA planned meeting between President Obama and congressional leaders Monday afternoon was postponed right as the meeting was supposed to take place – but that may actually be a sign that an end is in sight to the debt-limit negotiations as well as the two-week-old government shutdown.

Leadership from both parties expressed optimism that they were nearing an agreement that could end the standoff before Thursday’s deadline for raising the debt ceiling, and the White House, while it did not set a new date for the meeting, said in a statement that the meeting was postponed to “allow leaders in the Senate time to continue making important progress towards a solution that raises the debt limit and reopens the government.”

Earlier on Monday, Mr. Obama had warned lawmakers that if they don’t reach a resolution, the US has “a good chance of defaulting” – which could have devastating economic repercussions.

The Senate has been making steady progress toward a deal, and the current one gaining traction reportedly would fund the government through the end of the year and raise the debt ceiling until mid-February. It would also call for new budget negotiations to happen before the next round of sequestration cuts takes effect, and might make some minor concessions on the Affordable Care Act, including a delay of the tax on medical devices.

Senate leaders from both parties spoke on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, sounding the most optimistic they have since the shutdown began.

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Walmart Shelves in Springhill, Mansfield, Cleared in EBT Glitch (+video)

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Photo Credit: kslaShelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits.

The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended.

Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says Walmart was so packed, “It was worse than any black Friday” that he’s ever seen.

Lynd explained the cards weren’t showing limits and they called corporate Walmart, whose spokesman said to let the people use the cards anyway. From 7 to 9 p.m., people were loading up their carts, but when the cards began showing limits again around 9, one woman was detained because she rang up a bill of $700.00 and only had .49 on her card. She was held by police until corporate Walmart said they wouldn’t press charges if she left the food.

Lynd says at 9 p.m., when the cards came back online and it was announced over the loud speaker, people just left their carts full of food in the aisles and left.

KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather

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Feds Blocking Road to Open-Air Flight 93 Memorial (+video)

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Photo Credit: CNSNews.comAmericans who want to honor and reflect upon the memory of the crew and passengers who perished aboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001 will find that the federal government has blocked the road four miles down from the open-air memorial near Shanksville, Pa.

CNSNews.com photographed the spot of the road closure this past weekend. The steel barrier blocking vehicles from passing says: “Because of the federal government shutdown, this National Park Service facility is closed.”

United Flight 93 was scheduled to fly from Newark to San Francisco on Sept. 11, 2001. It was hijacked by four al Qaeda terrorists, who turned it around and started flying it toward Washington, D.C.

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Rand Paul: Dems Treating Government Shutdown as ‘a Parlor Game’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: Reuters On Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul slammed Democrats for trying to score political points by making the partial government shutdown as painful as possible.

Paul told host Candy Crowley the hit the Republican Party is taking is exaggerated and said that ultimately both sides will held accountable.

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Video: ‘Barrycades’ Torn Down, Dumped at White House

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Photo Credit: WNDThousands of Americans have taken the government shutdown into their own hands, literally, as they stormed into the nation’s capital, tearing down barricades blocking off the World War II Memorial on the National Mall Sunday morning.

“Barrycades are down,” tweeted Sherry Lucas, a reference to President Barack Obama’s childhood nickname of Barry.

Many of the barricades were then hand-carried by the protesters and dumped in front of the White House.

This weekend has seen the convergence of U.S. veterans and truckers on the nation’s capital, as many protest the closure of public memorials as well as the president’s policies.

Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, addressed the crowd at 9:30 a.m. and were later joined by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

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