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Rescuers scoured the wide waters of a Volga River reservoir on Monday, searching with dimming hopes for survivors after an aged, overloaded cruise ship sank amid wind and rain. Thirteen people were confirmed dead, but more than 100 remained missing.

The military center that's supposed to lead the effort to find the best ways to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder is so dysfunctional that it's been hard to carry out its mission, the Government Accountability Office concludes in a new report.

Mark Schmitt, senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

Opinion polls consistently show that the U.S. military is the most trusted institution in America. Republicans have benefited indirectly from that hard-won reputation because since the 1970s they have been seen as the strong, hawkish party, while Democrats have had to fight the stigma that they are weak and dovish. Republicans wouldn't throw away that aura — one of their strongest electoral assets — just to reach a budget deal with President Obama. Or would they?

From The Two-Way:

There will surely be several more "decisive moments" in the seemingly never-ending negotiations between the White House, President Obama's fellow Democrats and Republican leaders over raising the federal debt limit, cutting federal budget deficits and generally putting the nation's fiscal books in order.

The weekend certainly brought its share.

There will surely be several more "decisive moments" in the seemingly never-ending negotiations between the White House, President Obama's fellow Democrats and Republican leaders over raising the federal debt limit, cutting federal budget deficits and generally putting the nation's fiscal books in order.

The weekend certainly brought its share.