Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are divided over whether to push the Democrats so hard for budget cuts that the government shuts down next Friday. What do Planned Parenthood, healthcare reform and NPR have to do with it? Also, President Obama pushes for lower oil imports, and Japan gives up on four troubled nuclear reactors.
Banner image: Social Security supporters attend a rally in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 28, 2011 in Washington, DC. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images