a better time zone for you than the current one. thanks so much again. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. make sure to follow me on twitter. also check out "the lead" show page. i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, day 11 of the partial government shutdown and senate republicans get their turn to sit down face to face with president obama over at the white house. just ahead, i'll speak with one of them live. senator bob corker of tennessee is here in "the situation room." plus, republican senator ted cruz's defiant effort to defund obama care slammed by some at a major conservative gathering in washington. and the ripple effects from the crisis starting to take a very serious toll as some of the last paychecks go out and money begins to dwindle. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

so it's day 11 of the government shutdown. more conversations seem to be taking place on both sides of the aisle. we just learned from the white house just a little while ago that president obama spoke with the house speaker, john boehner, take by phone. according to the speaker's spokesman, they agreed to keep talking. this after senate republicans had their chance to meet with the president face to face, a meeting that drew mixed reaction among those who were there. i'll speak with one of those senators, bob corker, in just a few minutes. first, our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, is up on capitol hill. our senior white house correspondent, jim acosta, is at the white house. dana, let me start with you. what is the latest republican, house republican offer that's on the table right now? >> reporter: well, what we know is so far, is what they sent over earlier today which is a lot like what we heard them talk about publicly even before the big and important white house

meeting last night. the idea would be to have a temporary increase in the debt ceiling, six weeks long, then appoint conferees or negotiators to talk about broad budget issues and also to sit down and begin discussions about reopening the government. that is something of course that the president we understand from inside the meeting last night made very clear that he didn't want to wait until last to do. he wanted to talk about everything simultaneously, particularly reopening the government. i can just tell you that down the hall behind me is the house speaker's office and there have been people coming in and out all day long, even members of the senate, republican senators have come in there. senior members like john cornyn and saxby chambliss, a close confidant of john boehner. there is just a feel here of high energy, high intensity, very different feel than 24 hours ago. they are really skrm bling to

figure out if there is a sweet spot to find with the white house to reopen the government. listening to jay carney just a moment ago at the white house, he certainly was sort of backing off the idea of anything that had to do with the short-term debt ceiling. unclear if that is part of the discussion, maybe a longer term extension of the debt ceiling which i know everyone around here would probably breathe a sigh of relief on because we would just be back in this crisis mode in six weeks. >> with the latest horrible poll numbers for republicans, is it fair to say, is it safe to assume that obama care at least for now is off the table in order to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government? >> reporter: as far as republicans go, no. it is not safe to assume that at all. having said that, talking to a couple of republican senators who were in a meeting with the president just today, he made clear again in private what he has said in public, which is fine, i know there are issues with obama care. nothing is perfect, especially something as big and important

as a health care law like this, but we're not going to talk about changing it until after the debt ceiling is raised, until after the government is reopened. but it doesn't sound like republicans are entirely giving up, at least not in big ways to change it like defunding it or delaying it, but at least some issues around the edges, again, lots of talk about things like repealing the medical device tax which helps pay for obama care which a lot of democrats do not like. things like that. but unclear how that is going in these talks, because everybody, republicans and democrats who have been so vocal just 24 hours ago about their disdain for the process are now very quiet which is a good sign, because they think they're making progress. >> let's see if they are. we should know fairly soon. stand by. let's go to our senior white house correspondent, jim acosta, right now. you just came out of that briefing from jay carney. that briefing was supposed to start at 1:00, it was delayed until 2:00, it really didn't

even get started until after 4:00 p.m. which immediately said to me they deliberately made a decision to wait until the stock markets closed because of what he was about to say. tell our viewers what he said. >> reporter: well, wolf, that's not a bad guess. i can't confirm to you that that's the reason why they delayed the briefing. but i can tell you that what that briefing entailed for reporters was not exactly great news for the financial markets. white house press secretary jay carney came out and yes, did confirm that the president and speaker boehner spoke by phone earlier this afternoon but what the president is saying at this point is he is not budging when it comes to this idea that he has, this negotiating position that he has that there must be a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government and a clean debt ceiling limit increase. what dana bash was saying a few moments ago i think is right, that the president is not willing to sign on to an increase in the nation's debt ceiling that is tied to budget

negotiations. jay carney said that that would be paying a ransom. he went back to that ransom talk. a clear sign that this president is not really in a negotiating mood right now and jay carney was asked about this repeatedly during the briefing, is there a negotiation going on. i asked him this question as well and he really would not even use that word. he said that the white house is listening and talking and here's more of what jay carney had to say. >> you said the position hasn't changed on the shutdown, the position hasn't changed on the debt ceiling. how is that negotiating? >> his position that it's unacceptable to demand a ransom from the american people in return for not defaulting, it's not going to change. it's not going to change now and not going to change in six weeks and not going to change at any point during his presidency. >> you're waiting for the white flag. you're waiting for total capitulation. >> he wants a situation where we can discuss and debate our differences and reach an agreement that reflects a

willingness by both sides to compromise. he believes that although we're not there yet, and there's not an agreement, that there are indications in these last 24 hours from republicans that -- of a new willingness to explore that possibility. >> reporter: at one point during that exchange, wolf, jay carney said that this isn't about winning and losing, but clearly the white house feels it has a major upper hand at this point because the president is essentially not budging all of that much and one thing that jay carney did say during that briefing that i thought was pretty illuminating, he said the president is concerned about this idea of a six-week extension of the nation's debt ceiling because it would put the country basically back on the edge of default if things have not changed by then in six weeks from now, which is essentially right around thanksgiving, right around the start of the holiday shopping season, and jay carney specifically said that the president does not want to go down that road of having a potential debt default right as

the holiday shopping season is getting started. so this sounded pretty gloomy when you compare it to all the optimism that we were sort of feeling and hearing from administration officials and from some of the lawmakers up on capitol hill who were expressing perhaps guarded cautious optimism. i would say at this point, it's a whole lot gloomier this evening. the white house is not really looking for that white puff of smoke out of the hill right now. it's almost as if they're looking for the white flag of surrender. >> good thing they waited until after the markets closed on wall street to do this briefing after 4:00. i agree with you. thanks very much, jim acosta, for that. joining us now, one of the republican senators inside that meeting with the president today, senator bob corker of tennessee. senator, thanks very much for coming in. >> wolf, good to be with you. >> so what's your assessment following that nearly two-hour meeting with the president? deal or no deal? >> well, look, certainly it wasn't the kind of forum for a deal to be had, but it was a good conversation. i have to say i wasn't expecting

much, but i was pleasantly surprised. i do think there is areas of commonality and my sense is over the next few days or week, there will be something that's worked out. there is no reason that i can see that that wouldn't be the case. >> give us an example of what made you pleased. what did you hear from the president that you liked? >> well, i think again, most of our conversation was not about the tactics of how short term, how long term, those kind of things, but more about the bigger policy issues. i think the thing that's interesting is finally, after weeks and weeks, we're on the right subject and that is fiscal issues. that's typically what you talk about around a debt ceiling and a c.r. so i think there was a little something from the president as to the kind of things he would be open about relative to the strength of our country fiscally. that was heartening to people who, like me, who have been involved in discussions around these issues for so long.

my guess is i had dinner with some of the house members last night that were part of the meeting yesterday, i just think there's too much commonality here to keep an agreement from happening. look, i do think that in fairness, a c.r. and a debt ceiling ought to be worked out simultaneously. i don't think it makes a lot of sense to have them done separately and i think that's the general feeling on our side of the building, on the senate republican side. >> what will it take, senator, for you to pass simultaneously a clean bill as it's called in the house that will end the government shutdown and at the same time, extend the debt ceiling? what do you want from the president as part of that? i take it obama care is off the table, right? >> well, i still think there are some elements that are being discussed that are not what i would call central issues to the health care bill. i do think those may be there. they're not things that again are central to its operating. there are things that candidly

might make it a little better. i do think there will be some conversations around that. as far as what it would take for me, look, i want to make sure that we're setting a precedent or setting the stage, if you will, to do something that's good for our country. after all that's occurred, i think those of us who fiscally care about our nation want to see an outcome here. i think that setting this up in such a way that you reopen government, you do some things along the way that are good in this initial step, and that you have the opportunity in another two or three months to do something that again, you get another bite at the apple from the standpoint of looking at mandatory spending, doing those things again that will put our country on a sounder path, and again, i think the president, without getting into any specifics, you know, showed a little lag on what he would be willing to look at. to me, that was a good thing. we still have to get the house, as you know, which has sometimes

a different point of view from senate republicans. we've got to synch up these things. my guess is over the next two or three days, we'll have the opportunity to do that. at some point soon, move ahead and begin focusing even more deeply on those things that matter most and that is strengthening our country fiscally. >> this latest "wall street journal"/nbc news poll shows, i will put it on the screen, who is more to blame for the shutdown. 31% said the president. 53%, the republicans in congress. both equally, 13%. you predicted this weeks ago when you said it was a real blunder on the part of senator ted cruz and others to demand defunding or delay even of obama care in exchange for allowing -- avoiding a government shutdown. you're not surprised by these numbers. >> no, i didn't say it exactly that way. the point i actually tried to focus on the strategy or the tactic and i did say that look, this defunding effort is a box

canyon and that's where we have ended up. what we should have been focused on and we wouldn't be where we are today, are the things we normally focus on at this time. again, that's spending and getting those kind of things under control. the fact that we've been on a three or four week major rabbit trail that took us no place but into this box canyon certainly has hurt the country and has hurt this process, but again, the good thing, wolf, is we're finally on the right subject matter and everybody is talking about the same subject matter, which is tremendous progress when you think about it, and i think again, just figuring out the format, how long the debt ceiling is, how long the c.r. is and what are some of the initial gains that can be had, those will be worked out i think pretty soon. >> the exact quote, i will read it to you, we've got to go, just want to make sure it was precise. i didn't go to harvard or princeton but i can count the defunding box canyon is a tactic

that will fail and weaken our position. i know you didn't go to harvard or princeton but senator ted cruz did go to princeton and then harvard law school. that was -- caused a little buzz at the time, as you well remember. >> well, i don't know, maybe you went to harvard -- >> i didn't. >> look, i was obviously trying to make a point. i think it's a point, i don't want to be one of those "i told you sos" but we are where we are. it's been something that certainly has not been a good thing for our nation. that's what comes first. it certainly hasn't been good for republicans, especially those that want to see good policies put in place. but again, we're back on the right page, and that's progress and i think we'll do something good over the next several days. >> where did you go to college? >> what's that? >> where did you go to college? >> i went to the great university of tennessee. i went to public schools all my life. >> i went to the university of buffalo. you and i.

we learned how to count when we were in college, i suppose, at the same time. thanks very much. >> thank you, wolf. have a good day. >> you, too. thank you very much, senator bob corker of tennessee. when we come back, fireworks at a major conservative gathering right here in washington. republican senator ted cruz rallies the crowd over his push to defund obama care in the face of a government shutdown. plus, a rising star in the gop compares the president's health care law to slavery. says this is the worst legislation since slavery. you will hear exactly what he said. no matter how busy your morning you can always do something better for yourself. and better is so easy with benefiber. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber.

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nthat's why they deserve... aer anbrake dance. get 50% off new brake pads and shoes. fireworks at a major conservative gathering here in washington. just a short while before visiting the white house, the republican senator ted cruz of texas rallied the crowd amidst his push to defund obama care, even in the face of a government shutdown. cnn's erin mcpike is there working the story. >> reporter: texas senator ted cruz took center stage at the values voter summit, angered over the direction the country is headed in. >> every man and woman in this room believes in your heart, in your gut, in your soul, that is utterly and completely unacceptable.

>> reporter: cruz rallied the faithful at a gathering of social conservatives here in washington and continued his fight against obama care, a position many members of his own party are starting to abandon. >> but i want to make the most of this moment. we have an opportunity here to pay down our national debt and jump-start our economy. this president, he won't agree to everything that we need to do. >> reporter: like paul ryan, who was on video, and ted cruz, senators marco rubio and rand paul are potential hopefuls for the 2016 gop presidential nomination. but rubio and paul avoided talking about obama care and the shutdown today. >> there's a worldwide war on christianity. >> reporter: it's taking a toll on the gop. a new "wall street journal"/nbc survey shows even republican voters, those who don't identify with the tea party at least, think congressional republicans are putting politics ahead of the good of the country. afterwards, cruz did attend a meeting at the white house where he later said there was a lot of talk. >> if i'm never seen again,

please send a search and rescue team. >> reporter: and while there is a growing divide within the gop, cruz was riding high with support here. >> we're supporting ted cruz because we think he's standing for the principles we believe in. >> i think they should stand their ground and what this is doing is really truly revealing who the true republicans are versus the rhinos which is republican in name only. it's becoming very apparent. i'm kind of glad that it's continuing. >> reporter: as for the leadership trying to cut a deal like john boehner -- >> we congratulate him for standing strong but now he's got to stand strong. >> i think john boehner has a good tan. >> reporter: now, cruz of course was the star of the show but he also had his fair share of detractors and he was heckled throughout the first half of his speech. we also want to bring to your attention ben carson. he's a surgeon and one of the leading critics in this country of obama care, as you may know.

he's a contributor on fox news. here's what he had to say about obama care. it was one of the most memorable moments of the day. >> and i have to tell you, you know, obama care is really i think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. and in a way it is slavery, because it is making all of us subservient to the government and it was never about health care. it was about control. >> reporter: so now even though a number of republican lawmakers want to move beyond health care as far as the government shutdown is concerned, it's not enough for this crowd. >> no. what a statement from ben carson. thanks very much. we will continue this

conversation. let's bring in our chief political analyst, gloria borger, our chief political correspondent, candy crowley, the anchor of "state of the union." these numbers for the republicans are especially bad right now. more numbers from the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. do you have a positive opinion of the democratic party, 39% said yes. republican party, 24%. the tea party, 21%. how bad is this right now for republicans? >> i think it's bad, terrible for the republican party, but there is also in this poll a broad disgust with the american political system and peter hart, the pollster, one of the pollsters who did this poll, wrote sort of an analysis of it. what was interesting to me was he said you know, there are very few times when you measure public opinion and it crystallizes in a moment and it remains, and he has the sense that this shutdown has been a real crystallizing moment for people and their attitudes toward the republican party. we'll have to see if he's right.

but he said what was stunning about this is how quickly it moved and how it has remained anti-republican. the people at the convention we just saw are one group in the republican party but i think they are so separate from the rest of the republican party that you may be looking at the dissolution of the republican party as we know it, because they disagree so vehemently not only on the strategy of obama care but they are really different parties right now. >> can the republicans repair this rift between the tea party wing and the more moderate republicans? >> let's remember sort of to a person the republicans on the hill said we want to get rid of obama care. the question is how do we go about doing that. so i think fundamentally, there's some large agreement under which they can go. i'm reminded of howard dean saying we cannot be the republican party light, the democrats, when he was running. he said these guys are all democratic but we've got to be

progressive. to me it's a party out of power that is struggling for its heart and soul. it can still get it together and by the way, it's a long time until the next election. we have some interesting elections coming up but a year is a long time in politics. i still continue to believe that the success of the president's health care plan next year as people join in and start to get health care insurance, and how that works, will be an overarching issue. if it works really well, i think that's great, it will be great for democrats. if not, another issue for republicans. >> to be determined. see how it works. candy, i know you have senator rand paul sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. on "state of the union." gloria, thanks to you as well. when we come back, is obama care off the table in the push to end the government shutdown? two key members of congress are standing by live. we will have a serious debate.

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government shutdown started as an effort by some house republicans to try to defund obama care, but 11 days into the crisis, hardly anyone is talking about the affordable care act

right now. they have other issues on the agenda. let's get some more with two members of congress. democrat sheila jackson-lee of texas and republican steve scalise of louisiana, chairman of the republican study committee. thanks very much for coming in. is obama care really for all practical purposes off the table right now in order to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling? >> no, wolf, everything is on the table. we're trying to put a lot of things on the table to get the government open, to make sure that the debt ceiling's extended and to get our economy moving again, and of course, obama care is one of those things that's holding our economy back. obviously there's a lot of big issues we want to address to get the economy moving again so that american families that were struggling before the shutdown are able to actually -- >> when the dust settles and there's no reference at all to obama care, will you vote to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling? if there's no mention of obama care in the legislation whatsoever? >> obviously i want to see what a deal is.

>> say there's no reference to it at all. what happens? >> i don't deal in hypotheticals but we're pushing to get the problems of obama care addressed. what about just fairness? the fact that president obama himself exempted members of congress from this law, if it's so good, shouldn't it apply to everybody? don't just exempt businesses. don't just exempt members of congress. exempt everybody if the law's not working. >> congresswoman, what do you say to that? >> this is my neighbor. i'm from the state of texas. let me give you two truths. millions of people are being helped by obama care as we speak. frankly, obama care is not the worst thing since slavery. it is helping millions, it's helping those with pre-existing disease and it is not an issue that should be tied to -- >> when you hear ben carson, distinguished physician at johns hopkins university, well known surgeon, when he says that this is the worst legislation since slavery in the united states, what do you think? >> well, dr. carson is a friend of mine. i have a great deal of respect for him. but obviously he has missed the

historical legacy here in this country although we overcame it, we interred the japanese, discriminated against the chinese, it saddens me because millions of people are being saved, lives saved, people coming out of hospice now being able to have, if you will, preventive care. let me just say this. i introduced legislation yesterday that said that never again will we tie a legislative debate or disagreement to the debt ceiling or the continuing of the government. this is for the house of representatives. we have not had it in the context, in the context of a law that has been passed and affirmed and continued to have the government shut down without saying that we will continue this debate later on. this is not the time, there are too many people hurting. >> i want you to weigh in on that. do you agree with dr. ben carson that obama care is the worst law in america since slavery? >> i didn't hear his comments. i don't think he said it's worse than slavery.

i think everybody -- what i will say is that millions of families are losing the good health care that they had before obama care and that was a promise, remember, if you like what you have, you can keep it. that promise has been broken. it will lower costs, that promise has been broken. families in louisiana are paying over 50% more for health care in the premiums that are coming out under obama care. you are seeing doctors leave the practice of medicine. you are seeing the irs -- >> what about the millions of people who never had health insurance who will now be eligible to get health insurance because of previous illnesses, pre-existing conditions or whatever. isn't that a good thing? >> the high risk pool under obama care that promised all those people with pre-existing conditions that they would be able to go in and get that health care, the president shut that off in february. he literally shut those people out starting in february. so you can't go into the high risk pool right now. this thing is so broken. the president is not acknowledging it's working. he has given a waiver to members of congress, of all people. he shouldn't do that. >> you want to respond? >> i absolutely do.

the extreme right are misrepresenting. what is open now to the american people is to go into the exchange. their existing insurance may go up but they are able to go into the exchange. there are people willing to testify to premiums of $100, $130, young men and women who would not have had insurance before are getting insurance but particularly the people with pre-existing disease. on the high risk, they are now able to go into the regular exchange. here's my point. if you have a disagreement about legislation approved by the united states supreme court, signed by the president and two branches of the congress, two houses of the congress, have the debate during the regular order but right now, we've got employees who will get 40% checks today. they are not able to pay mortgages, child care. we have people that will have to be on food stamps. what we're arguing for is the markets are going to take a devastating hit, one, if we don't open the government, then we raise the debt ceiling for only a few weeks, if we tie other things to it. what the president said is that when you open the government, a

clean bill on the floor, when you raise the debt ceiling, yes, we will open it up to a lot of things. the president said i may disagree, i may disagree with entitlement discussion or chain cpi but i will tell you the president has said all of us will have everything on the table. that's the right thing. >> first, for the president to say unless i get everything i want in a government funding bill, i won't sit at a table and negotiate. that's not how democracy works. we have divided government, we have democrats running the senate and the white house, republicans running the house. but what the american people expect is their leaders sit in a room and negotiate their differences. for weeks we have been saying let's get in a room and talk about our differences. the president said he won't negotiate. he still hasn't agreed to negotiate, by the way. we sat with him yesterday and said we'll raise the debt ceiling in exchange for the start of negotiations over our differences. so far, he hasn't agreed even to that. >> he wants you to reopen the

government and end the government shutdown and continue -- >> under 100% of his terms. clearly we have big difference on the funding of government. we passed 18 bills in the last two weeks to fund all or parts of government including agencies like veterans affairs. shouldn't we at least agree, pay our veterans benefits while negotiating over the other differences. >> those are political votes that are going nowhere. >> they shouldn't be going anywhere. they should be going to the president to sign. >> we have never run the government in that way. every vote we have had, they left out large elements of veterans services. that's why did veterans centers are closed. let me say this. in the meeting we had with the president, in the meeting we had with the president when democrats, when all of us were able to come, the president made it very clear. he made it very clear that he might make some democrats unhappy as he moves forward but what he said is i don't want to hold the american people in a hostage position. open the government, give us an opportunity to turn the markets in the right direction by raising the debt ceiling, and everything will open the

negotiation process. he said it to the republicans yesterday. paul ryan understood it. he said there was a meeting where we're discussing open the government. don't hold us hostage and not opening the government. >> the president is not calling it negotiations but for all practical purposes, what's going on right now are negotiations. >> we haven't really gotten agreement from the president to negotiate. his response was i haven't said yes and i haven't said no. this isn't a time to -- >> very quickly, will there be a deal in the next couple days? >> we can absolutely get a deal done if both sides sit in the room and negotiate the real differences we have to get our economy moving. >> will there be a deal? >> there should be a deal around a clean bill to reopen the government, raise the debt ceiling. i would like it to be longer than six to eight weeks. i like what the senate republicans seem to be open to that kind of compromise. frankly, let me say this. you can't put 18, 25 little bills on the floor and leave the rest of the government operating on half a tank of gas. we have to have an allegiance to more than our individual interests to the american people

and if we do that, we will have a deal. i believe that. >> a good debate. we'll see what happens. the stakes are enormous. shake hands. i like to see that. thanks very much. up next, time stands still in one corner of the capitol, thanks to the government shutdown. and the vatican misspells one word, you would think it would get right. how are things with the new guy? all we do is go out to dinner. that's it? i mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great...what? he's using you. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. so he's just racking up points with me. some people... ugh! no, i've got it. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee.to apply, go to citi.com/thankyoucards okay, who helps you focus on your recovery?

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take a quick look at some of the other top stories in "the

situation room" right now. the secretary of state john kerry caught a lot of us by surprise today by visiting afghanistan. he's trying to reach a deal with president hamid karzai in a plan to keep some, some u.s. forces in the country after all u.s. and nato troops are supposed to leave in 14 months. the two-star general in charge of the u.s. air force's nuclear missiles has been fired. the move follows an investigation into reports of misbehavior by major general michael kerry. the air force isn't giving any details. this is the second time in a week an officer in charge of the nation's nuclear arsenal has been relieved of command. bizarre charges against two new york rabbis. the fbi says they charged orthodox women thousands of dollars to orchestrate the kidnapping and torture of husbands who refuse to grant their wives a divorce under je law. one rabbi allegedly told an undercover agent he hired men who used plastic bags to cover the husbands' heads and electric

cattle prods to assault them. the rabbis have pleaded not guilty. an embarrassing blunder by the vatican. it misspelled the name of jesus on a new coin commemorating the papacy of pope francis. it spells the name with an "l" in the latin phrase that encircles the coin. about 6,000 were minted. all but a handful have been reportedly retrieved and those few are now a very rare collector's item. just ahead, who's really feeling the pain of the government shutdown? and who is next in line as the effects expand and expand at a very disturbing rate. i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes.

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all right. brace yourself. the effects of the shutdown are expanding. food aid, veterans programs, federal courts and much more could soon halt. cnn's tom foreman is here. he's working the story for us. tom, seems to be going from bad to so much worse. >> yeah, it really is. when the shutdown began, the effects were isolated. you may have felt the impact back here on day one if you lived in any one of these cities out here that have fairly large concentrations of federal centers, considering the 400,000 federal workers were furloughed, or if you planned to vacation out in a federal park, the national park, you might have had some other direct dealings with the federal government, that sort of thing. then you would have felt it. 11 days later, if we move up to this the consequences are growing. many federal workers may well receive their last paycheck soon. in many cases less than their

normal pay. federal courts all over are rapidly rationing their dwindling funds the big companies with big government contracts which means federal authorization to mean new jets can't get it with inspectors out, so they're warning of delays. a a salmonella outbreak that's affected around 300 people, forced the centers for disease control to bring back some furloughed workers to the office and food inspections by other agencies have been trimmed back. so have hospital and nursing home inspections. the living allowances for americorps volunteers have been cup. this is just a sample, wolf, of how these effects are expanding. indeed. some states, though, they are coming up with some creative ways to try to keep some of these programs afloat, despite the shutdown, aren't they? >> yes, they are, for example, in north carolina, they're saving some money to restart the wic program there, the program

for nutrition to women infants and children. they found some money to bring back into that. private donors have offered $10 million to help head start that program already closed for 19,000. utah is giving money to the national parks, so eight can be reopened in that state. some other states are trying that, too. but all of these are temporary measures. they cannot go on forever. if this goes on for 20 days or more, like the last big shutdown, we're likely to see cuts then in things like the food stamp program, welfare assistance for poor families, heisting assistance for people as they go into the cold weather, even could be a stoppage of the disability and pension benefits for almost 4 million veterans, on and on it goes. maybe you're among the people who did not see any effects among family and friends when this started, but as each day goes by, the odds of you seeing some kind of effect gets bigger

and bigger. wolf? >> it's an awful situation. tom, thanks very much. the u.s. capitol, washington, d.c., get this, also on the verge of going broke. right now because of the shutdown. just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights. my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and stadiums. but, of course, it's a good listener too. [ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everything works like never before. [ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. customer erin swenson ordebut they didn't fit.line customer's not happy, i'm not happy. sales go down, i'm not happy. merch comes back, i'm not happy. use ups. they make returns easy. unhappy customer becomes happy customer. then, repeat customer. easy returns, i'm happy.

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the international watch dog group has been awarded this year's nobel peace prize, but you may be surprised to find out thens still has not destroyed its own chemical weapons stockpiles. here's cnn investigative correspondent drew griffin. >> reporter: it was all right here. the u.s.' worst of the worst. in deadly concoctions. more than 13,000 tons of america's most dangerous chemical weapons. the government chose this barren desert near salt lake city as a storage facility during the

height of world war ii. the deseret was the perfect place, because jaap nine war planes couldn't touch it. >> that's one of the big reasons they did that. the japanese were able to hit the west coast, they wouldn't be able to fly from there to here without refueling. >> reporter: richard wasn't even born yet when the poisons began arriving. it grew to an eyou remember noous stockpile that the u.s. didn't start destroying until 1996. >> it never was used. it slowly began to deteriorate. >> reporter: true hilo would gro up here on base and spend a career working and living alongside more than 40% of the nation's chemical weapons stockpile. >> yes, it's all been destroyed. >> reporter: how hard was that to plan build and carry out?

>> you know, that whole task is nothing short of miraculous in my mind. >> reporter: the last of the depot's munitions were destroyed just last year, a process that took more than 17 years. >> one of amazing things is they destroyed all of that and there was no casualties, no -- it was all done safely. >> reporter: the department of defense told us to date 90% of the u.s. stockpile has been successfully and safely destroyed, which means 10% of the u.s. chemical weapons remain. in other words, we are still dealing with our own chemical weapons. while the world tries to deal with syria's, a topic the u.s. department of defense told cnn it did not want to discuss. in a statement, the department says -- it has been clear that its inacreal to draw parallels between the u.s. chemical demille tarization program and the international cooperation

that will be required to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile in syria. while that may be true in a strictly technical sense, getting rid of american chemical weapons on american soil took decades of planning, construction, and coordination between federal, state and local officials, and a very willing military. it also took billions and billions and it's still not complete. so how likely is it anything similar to what happened here in utah could take place in syria in a war zone under the guidance of a dictator who may not be as eager to get rid of his kem dale weapons? wade matthews is tukwila county's emergency manager. >> we had a government that insisted that it be done safely and that the community was protected, maximum protection, i think, was the frayed that was used. maximum protection for the

community when it was being destroyed. again, the funding was there. i don't know that those things are in place in syria. >> reporter: the final stockpile will be destroyed at two plants, mustard agent known as a blister chemical here in pueblo, the deadly bx, sarin, and more mustard at the bluegrass plant in kentucky, but it will take another ten years, not until 2023 to rid the united states of these ugly and insdrim nan weapons of war. drew griffin, cnn, tooele doubt, utah. happening now, a "the situation room" special report. government shutdown day 11. new contact between president obama and the house speaker john boehner with a gop compromise offer on the table. we're keeping you up to the minute on a potential deal and whether it's enough to defuse this crisis. plus a shutdown doomsday scenario that drove the decreases c. mayor to confront

the senate's top democrat. it was very tense and very public. and the ceo of starbucks is trying to get customers fired up about the shutdown and america's debt. it may help the country. could it hurt, though, his brand? we want to welcome our viewers in the united nations and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." personal meetings, private phone conversations, the of xun indication between the president and the republicans in congress seem to be open right now, but that does not necessarily mean they're any closer to finalizing a deal to avoid defaulting on america's debt, a nightmare that could begin in only six days. the big sticking point right now? a new republican offer doesn't resolve the other crisis hanging over washington, the continuing partial government shutdown. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is standing by, but let's go to our

senior white house correspondent jim acosta first. what is the white house say about the latest possible deal? i want well, the president, wolf, and house speaker john boehner did talks earlier this afc, but the president essentially rejected, a raise in the nation's debt ceiling. the president doesn't want to do that, according to white house press secretary jay carney, that would be pays a ransom in exchange for not going into default. the white house is continuing to drive a pretty hard bargain. the president wants both clean bills that would reopen the government and raise the nation's debt ceiling. here is how jay carney put it earlier this afternoon. >> his position that it's unacceptable to demand a ransom from the american people in return for not defaulting, it's not going to change, and it's not going to change now and not going to change in six weeks, and it's not going to change at any point during his presidency. >> reporter: you're waiting for the white flag?

you're waiting for total capitulation? >> you want to turn this into a game of winners and losers. the president made clear the other day in a situation where the government is shut down and, you know, one party in congress is threatening default, and some of their loudest voices are encouraging default? nobody wins. >> jay carney did say that the white house does feel that talks are moving in the right direction, that they have been productionive, that they are making progress. when you consider where they were just a few days ago, but wolf, one very important sticking point that came up during that briefing, jay carney told reports that the president has a lot of concerns about raising the debt ceiling for six weeks. we heard it talked about the last several days. the president is concerned that would simply raise the ceiling to the point where the christmas and hold day season would start right around thanksgiving. he doesn't want the nation again edging closer towards the

prospect of going towards default during that critical time for the nation ace economy. we may be back to the negotiating table when it comes to how far and how long that debt ceiling will have to be raised. one other thing i think should be some cause for opt missile. if you listen to all the assessments from senate republicans and from white house officials to that conversation that happened earlier today, wolf, they were talking about larger budget issues. it sounds as if the president is trying to buying republicans to say go along with me, get the clean bills, and we'll talk about all of these other things that you want to talk about. wile have to wait and see. >> jim acosta, thanks very much. it was interesting they waited until after the stock markets closed, because it was a gloomy assessment, even though the briefing had originally been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. let's go to dana bash, she's watching the latest developments the any positive movement?

ing in you're seeing happening? >> reporter: people are still huddled inside the office of speaker john boehner. members of the republican parties are coming in, from the house, from the senate, trying to figure out if there is something that can be done to negotiate with the white house. but even as that's happening, wolf, something else is happening on the senate side. it's with some of the john boehner's fellow republicans. they're growing impatient. i've talked to several who have said, look, we are going to give our friend john -- means john boehner -- some time to try to work this out, to try to do it first in the house, but they're already say that if things don't see fruition in the next 24 hours or so, that senators are likely to move forward more aggressively, more openly, on trying to get something passed in the senate, which is much more likely and doable because if you have senate republicans who are willing to work with

democrats, they can pass something there. in fact, i was told just this afternoon there was a group of about ten bipartisan senators led by republican susan collins, democrat joe manchin who met, already trying to figure out if they did have something ready to go on the senate floor soon. so that is going on. the other thing i wanted to mention, it's not just impatience primarily with reopening the government, but what you heard, jim, from the white house, a lot of concern about doing that six-week debt ceiling increase, a lot of republicans saying maybe we should go for something a lot lodger, but of course, they too will want something from it. the question is whatever conditions they ask for, the president will go for. there were a lot of discussions about some give-and-take inside the meeting i'm told. >> yeah, i think if it would have been just between the president and the senate, including the republicans, i think you would have had a deal a long time ago. a lot of house republicans are not happy with what's going on. dana, thanks very much.

still ahead, the nation's capital, that's right, washington decreases c., could run out of the cash as the shutdown drags on. the angry democratic mayor of washington is confronting fellow democrats in the senate, including the majority leader harry reid. i'll ask peter king about his latest jab at senator and fellow republican ted cruz. you snowe what? tweet us your suggested questions about the shutdown, the party's divisionsant don't forget to use the #sitroom. you♪ ♪ hooking up the country helping business run ♪ ♪ trains! they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪

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icaused by acid reflux disease, relieving heartburn, relief is at hand. for many, nexium provides 24-hour heartburn relief and may be available for just $18 a month. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. don't take nexium if you take clopidogrel. relief is at hand for just $18 a month. talk to your doctor about nexium. d.c. lottery winners, we're now hearing that no winning tickets already cashed starting tomorrow. "the washington post" reports that tickets will still be told, winners will eventually get their prices, but only after the shutdown ends. more, right after this. buzzing, and truck engine humming.

sfx: birds chirping sfx: birds chirping

sfx: oil gushing out of pipe. sfx: birds chirping. how embarrassing is this. ? is getting bitten hard by the partial government shutdown. on top of the furloughs, the city's cash supply is dwindling.

brian todd has been looking into this story. he's pleading and publicly angry. mayor vincent gray is furious with congressional leaders for not giving d.c. access to hundreds of millions to do that. he's calling them irresponsible. it's leaders of his own party who he's the most frustrated with. so angry he's willing to confront a top leader from his own party in public. >> we are not a of the government -- we have our own money. >> i'm on your side. don't screw it up. i'm on your side. >> it's not clear what he meant by don't screw it up, but it's very clear how vincent gray feels. >> we're being treated lie second-class citizens, almost as if we are children. >> reporter: he's in a unique

situation. gray can't spend a time without congress agrees. during the shutdown congress is not approving even routine spending. the city has a contingency fund that gray says is down to about $100 million. >> how much does it cost to run the city? >> $20 million a day. >> if he runs out of money, bus and subway service could be disrupted. >> what could shut down our clinics in the city? what could shut down? our aspects of public safety, procedures here in the district of columbia. when the federal government couldn't pay for trash to be picked up. mayor agree ordered now the mayor is worried he's not going to be along city residents streets.

what kind of a level? these gees pick up about 350 tons of trash a day. it's a practical health issue. >> and strangely -- they're ready to make exceptions, including one to allow d.c. to spend its money. democrats say reopen the entire government. >> what right do they have to pick and choose what part of government can be funded. >> so how is harry reid responding to mayor's gray criticism of him? we have tried, but have not gotten comment from reid's office. we have not also gotten clarification on what harry reid meant said, don't screw it up. >> he said that directly to mayor gray. >> yes, he did. >> they could pass -- within and be fine, but that's not happening.

mayor gray is warning about that. they also administer grants to neighboring counties like fairfax, montgomery county, to spend on firefighters. there's a vulnerability. thanks very much. people across the united states are angry, but some have bigger platforms to invent more power. the ceo of starbucks certain falls into that category. cnn's poppy harlow spoke with him. open the government immediately. how shultz wants you to do more. he wants you to sign a petition

to washington, demanding three things -- open the government, pay our debt and pass a long-term budget deal. >> we must provide a level of pressure and concern delivered to washington, so they understand that the american people are watching, the american people are serious. >> starbucks footprint is, well, enormous, with 45 million customers a week in the u.s. this megapeat is schultz' most recent jump into hot-button pot tick. >> we too have to do something. we can't wait for washington. >> in 2011, schultz, a registered democrat called for an end to all political donations until washington stopped the partisan gridlock. >> it seemed that people are interested in reelection, that's the lifeblood is fund-raising. >> he's spoken out supporting same-sex marriage. >> we said to embrace diversity in this company. >> reporter: last month he

joined the divice. >> guns should not be tart of the starbucks experience. >> reporter: but taking a political stand doesn't appear -- the stock has been on a tear nearly doubling in the past two years. does this help sell more -- >> it interjects the name in the conversation, so yeah, no down side. the shutdown is affecting everyone. if the ceo of an airline, they potential could lose routes. they have to apeat the government. you're note going to have a coffee tariff, because he's outspoken. >> is there a risk to being so outspoken on so many different issues? >> there is. you can alienate a bigger and big ought yen every time. he's making his statements known. most of them choose not to. he likes to stir it up a bit. >> poppy harlow, cnn, new york. we have late wort that so

far mo than a million people have signed the starbucks petiti petition. i'll speak with peter king. we'll talk about the shutdown. could it cost republicans control of the house of representatives? you know what? tweet us your suggested questions. don't forget to use th the #sitroom. a captain from "deadliest catch" tells congress the shutdown is killing his business. i wanted to ask you a couple questions.card. i've got nothing to hide. my bill's due today and i haven't paid yet.

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i'm asking congress to end the shutdown now. i'm a small business man in a big ocean with big bills. i need to go fishing. up next, much more on the shutdown, including my interview with the house republican peter king.

right now we are joined by someone who has become a relatively frequent critic of some members of his own country. peter king from new york is joining us. thanks very much for coming in. >> these poll numbers are awful, but awful for everyone right now. the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll vote to defeat every member of congress, 60% of the 34er7b people say, yes, 35% say no. you've been in washington, you've been around for a long time. has it ever been this bad, this lack of faith? congress. >> wolf, i don't think so. i was here during the impeachment, i've been here during some rough times, obviously here in 2008 during

the melt jon. no, i've never seen anything like this. i think the numbers are especially bad for republicans. the fact that the gap between democrats and republicans has widened. the fact we are down to 24. this was very predictable going back three, four weeks ago when ted cruz started us on this maniacal crusade. it couldn't go anywhere, it antagonized the american people and a totally fraudulent effort. now it's time to break loose from this, open the government, work the best arrangement we can on the debt ceiling. rather than getting bogged down and dragged into this morass by ted cruz. >> you just tweeted a little while ago, you said it's time to reject senator ted cruz and reach an agreement as soon as possible. i must say, you've been predicting the dismal numbers since the very beginning. you thought it was a major blunder to throw in obama care

in this effort to avoid the government shutdown, if you will, and deal with raising the nation's debt ceiling. but it's not just ted cruz. it's a whole bunch of other republicans as well, especially in the house of representatives? >> yeah, there's about 230 or 40 republicans in the house of representatives, who tie themselves to ted cruz. i voted against obama care 42 times. i want it repealed. the fact is you don't shut down the government 23 you don't get your ways, you elect more republicans and elect a republican president. that's the way you do it. we had a number of republicans who went against what the speaker did not want to do. the speaker did not want to go this route. they said they would bring everything to a halt, and the fact is ted cruz didn't take care of it. you mentioned the fact i had spoken out against this three or four weeks ago. i wish others had spoken out, but rather than stand back, it would have helped john boehner

if republicans had 13e68 set this is wrong. not just say that congress is dysfunctional, but actually a handful of people who have drich this, and they should have been targeted. i hope in the future that's one lesson we can learn and not alows this to happen again. >> if it goes on and on, you think it could cost the republicans the majority next week? >> it will hurt us. in competitive districts they're stuck between a republican base that could be energized with ted cruz, wo cost them tremendous amounts of money, then an energized democrat to run against. some of these very red districts, even if that person should lose a primary will still be republican wins, but in the competitive districts, districts in new york and new jersey, pennsylvania, ohio, you know, they're the districts that make the majority. there's a number of members there who are -- who should face real battles. these are good republicans absolutely committed

conservatives, but they don't want to shut the government down, and it leaves them vulnerable. >> we asked our twitter followers to send us some suggested questions. ask peter king when he is planning to switch parties. okay. go ahead. >> i actually resent that question. i aim a lifetime republican, i was at barley goldwater rallies. i have a conservative rating of 75%. there's nothing republican about shutting down the government when you don't get what you want. there's nothing republican build people like ted cruz and rand paul who want to filibuster against drones that defend americas. sfark i'm kernel they're the rhinos. i'med real republican. >> if you look at all the talk about that, it upstaged some of the glitches in the roll-out, a lot of people aren't necessarily pays attention to it because of this huge -- and understandable, a huge fight over the government

shutdown. how do you feel about that? >> i think president obama should send a campaign contribution to ted cruz. he has done more to booth obama care than anyone. the numbers have gone up by 7% during the worse week it should be having because of the such a terrible, terrible breakout that it had. it was just terrible. yet all the attention was on the go. shutdown. so, engood, ted cruz wanted to stop obama care, they want to defund it. that's what his supporters wanted to do. instead obama care is going ahead, being fully funded, not getting the criticism that it should. >> peter king, as usual thanks very much coming in. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. "crossfire" starts right now. tonight on "crossfire", the government is still closed, the debt limit -- but everyone is still talking, including the

president. >> he may not want to call it a gerks. that's what i would call it. >> reporter: are the republicans folding on obama care? on the left stephanie cutter, on the right s.e. kipp. montana's first democrat to hold the office in 20 years, and david schweiker, a tea party ally who wants speaker boehner to hold firm. going and coming, but can they get a deal? tonight on "crossfire." welcome to "crossfire." >> so republicans spend the day at the white house. they have agreed to keep talking with president obama, but what they are really discussing are the terms of their surrender. their tone has almost 14i69ed completely overnight. we're for longer talking about defunding or delaying obama care or defaulting on our dead. it's a major shift. more and more republicans are

coming out every today calling the ted cruz shutdown plan a dumb idea. it looks like republicans are finally listening to the country. >> well, before you unfurl the "mission accomplished" victory banners, let's call it like it is. nothing has changed yesterday. the government isn't reopened. the debt ceiling has not been lichted. the only thing is that president obama is finally back at the table after promising he would not negotiate and reportedly considering bills that might fundamentally change obama care. so let's see where this goes. in the crossfire tine. brian schweitzer, and -- now, for the sake of ease, gentlemen, you will be congressman, and you will be governor. i hope that's okay.