Now i was doing it for free. Its not right, and you can do something about it if you want to. Ifill those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff our lead story tonight neither side gave ground in washingtons war over preventing a Government Shutdown next week. The senate worked on a bill to Fund Government operations, while republicans in the house kept demanding an end to funding for president obamas Health Care Reform law. Newshour Congressional Correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. I do not see that happening. Reporter Speaker John Boehner immediately quashed any notion House Republicans would accept a stopgap spending bill from the Democraticcontrolled Senate that simply removes a provision defunding the health care law. Boehner would not lay out republican demands, but he did insist again that they want to keep the government running. Ive made it clear now for months and months and months that we have no interest in seeing a government shut down. But weve got to address the spending problems that we have in this town. And so there will be options available to us. Reporter back in the senate, democratic leader harry reid said House Republicans are unsure what to do. If anyone here thinks the republicans in the house have a workable plan to avert a shutdown on monday, tell me about it. I get all kinds of reports from them. Were going to do this, were going to do that. So, well have to see what they decide to do because right now they dont know. Reporter the senate headed toward a vote tomorrow to strip out the defund obamacare provision. Republican minority leader mitch mcconnell, urged democrats to break with their party on the issue. This law is a mess. It needs to go. So i hope some of our democratic friends will look themselves in the mirror and think, truly think, about whether protecting the president s pride is really more important than helping the american people. Reporter meanwhile House Republicans readied a separate proposal raising the nations debt limit, but they also attached a oneyear delay of the health care law. President obama denounced that strategy during an event in largo, maryland. The entire world looks to us to make sure that the World Economy is stable. You dont mess with that. applause you dont mess with that. And thats why i will not negotiate on anything when it comes to the full faith and credit of the United States of america. applause reporter the immediate focus, though, is staving off a Government Shutdown. The stopgap spending bill is expected to win final Senate Passage by saturday, leaving the next move up to the house. Woodruff in another development, the Obama Administration announced new delays in Opening Health care exchanges to the uninsured next tuesday. It said Small Businesses and a latino Enrollment Service will not be able to enroll online for several weeks. Well have more on the spending fight and on obamacare later, but first, the other news of the day. The u. S. And russia reached agreement late today on the wording of a u. N. Resolution on disposing of syrias chemical arsenal. The u. S. Ambassador to the United Nations, samantha power, said the measure would be legally obligating on damascus to surrender all chemical weapons. The full u. N. Security council is meeting tonight on the resolution. Also at the u. N. , the u. S. And the other permanent members of the Security Council resumed Nuclear Talks with iran. The session is aimed at setting up a new round of fullscale negotiations, probably next month. More on this, later in the program. The death toll from tuesdays massive earthquake in southwestern pakistan kept rising today to 355. People were still digging through the rubble of flattened villages, looking for belongings. Survivors pleaded for aid and medical attention, and many complained help is not getting to remote areas. translated 48 hours have passed. The people here have nothing to eat. They dont have clean drinking water. No government teams have reached us so far. Woodruff the pakistani interior minister said today Security Problems are making it hard for rescuers. Hours later, a government helicopter surveying the quake damage narrowly missed being hit by two rockets. They were fired on by militants seeking independence for baluchistan. In iraq, a new round of bombings killed nearly two dozen people and wounded scores more. The attacks continued a wave of violence thats claimed nearly 6,000 lives this year. Most of todays victims died at a marketplace in a shiite Village North of baghdad. The somali Extremist Group that attacked a Shopping Mall in nairobi, kenya, has struck again. Alshabaab fighters assaulted two kenyan towns near the border with somalia today, killing three people. Meanwhile, kenyans have begun burying the 67 confirmed dead in the mall siege. We have a report from Lindsey Hilsum of independent television news. Reporter a hindu funeral for the marketing the director for one of kenyas biggest companies. International attention has turned to the investigation, but many here are still deep in mourning. Mr. Shah had the chance to escape from the top floor of west gate but he stayed to try and protect children there. This is just one of 67 funerals and we dont know how many more there will be because an unknown number of bodies are still lying in the rubble at west gate. People in kenya are going through grief, but also fear and uncertainty because the government still hasnt answered so many of their questions. The m. P. For the area paralyzed in a carjacking incident a few years back is angry about the intelligence failure that led to a terror attack in his constituency. They are not up to the job then we must get them out and get people who can work. Because if you are there, you are there to protect their lives and property and youre not doing it. Reporter the Kenyan Defense force released these pictures showing wrecked car which is tumbled down from the roof car park when it collapsed. We still dont know why. Today foreign forensic teams were seen on the sight. Others, including americans and germans arrived at the mortuary to examine bodies for clues, a painstaking process that would take some time. Woodruff alshabaab is known to have recruited among somalis living in the u. S. But in washington today, attorney general eric holder played down the potential for a domestic attack. I would not say that we have any specific, credible evidence that alshabaab is planning to do anything in the United States. Im not sure if they have the capacity to do anything in the United States. It doesnt mean, however, that were not taking the threat that they pose as we are taking that as a serious one. Woodruff holder also said there is no evidence that americans were involved in planning the nairobi attack. There will be no freedom for former liberian president charles taylor. The onetime leader looked on today as the International Criminal court upheld his convictions for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hed been found guilty of aiding rebels in sierra leone during a bloody civil war. Prosecutor Brenda Hollis welcomed the courts announcement, in the netherlands. This final decision affirms taylors responsibility for grave crimes which caused untold suffering to many thousands, if not tens of thousands of victims in sierra leone. Todays judgment brings some measure of justice to those victims who suffered so horribly because of charles taylor. Woodruff taylors conviction carries a 50year prison sentence. A former Montana High School teacher was released from prison today, after serving just 30 days for raping a student. Stacey rambold was convicted of assaulting a 14yearold girl, who later committed suicide. A state judge sentenced him in august, and appeared to suggest the girl was partly to blame for the rape. Prosecutors are appealing for a longer sentence. In economic news, firsttime jobless claims fell last week, coming close to their lowest levels in six years. That gave a boost to wall street. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 55 points to close at 15,328. The nasdaq rose 26 points to close at 3,787. Woodruff still to come on the newshour how deals actually get done on capital hill; reading the new push for diplomacy between the u. S. And iran; the legal battles over the value of interns; what Health Care Reform means for medicare; an execution in china thats sparked outrage online and wild tales from graham nashs life in rock n roll. Ifill as kwame reported, high noon appears to be approaching in congress. But whats the fight really about . Health care . Funding government . Paying our debts . And who has the upper hand . For a look at whats playing out behind the scenes, we turn to two capitol veterans whove spent their fair share of time in the backrooms where the deals are made. Ron bonjean, who worked as Communications Director for former House SpeakerDennis Hastert and chief of staff for the Senate Republican conference. And jim manley, who was a top advisor to Senate Majority leader harry reid and press secretary for the late senator ted kennedy. You guys have been in the battles before, youre happily on the sidelines now but as you watch the two debateds, ron bonjean, approaching, the government, the debt limit next month, funding the government, which is potentially more damaging for which party . Right now i think shutting down the government would be much more damaging for the republican party. But let me say this republicans want to negotiate with the president over avoiding all of this. They want to talk about reducing spending, they want to talk about delaying obamacare and the president is saying he wont negotiate and to republicans that is very surprising consider that the president is the saying he will negotiate with syria, will negotiate wpl Vladimir Putin and his secretary of state will be talking to iran. And why isnt he picking up the phone and calling john boehner. Ifill let me ask jim manley that question. We heard the president saying hes not going to negotiate about the full faith and credit of the u. S. Government and john boehner said it doesnt work that way. Well, hes about to find out that things have changed. The president learned a valuable lesson after his negotiations in 2011 with Speaker Boehner over the socalled debt limit then. He learned that you cant negotiate with hostage takers and that probably more importantly that Speaker Boehner doesnt have the ability to move his caucus. What they are trying to do right now is attach everything to the kitchen sink and see what sticks. To your question earlier, i think that the debt limit is clearly the most cataclysmic for the republican party. Again, calling into question the full faith and credit of the United States government, raising the specter of the economy tanking, 401 k s going down as well. Very, very dangerous game for the republicans. Ifill part of what weve seen play out on the capitol hill is trying to priorities those two fights. What is the current strategy for the republicans . Theyre developing the courant strategy. As of right now the c. R. Is primary. Ifill the c. R. . Continuing resolution, funding the government is coming first likely because we believe that the senate will vote on this and send it over to the house where theyll have to consider what to do next. The debt ceiling fight will come after that because treasury secretary jack lew said that the government treasury will default on october 17. So at this point we the two are delinked. Well see what happens. They could be joined together if the continuing resolution is put forward closer to the debt ceiling. Ifill one of the things that ties these two issues togethering is this fight over health care. Is this the fight has been so far in the house and the senate about whether to link defunding the Affordable Health care act from these two issues. Is there really a connection . I respectfully suggest not. And i say that in part because i spent a lot of time working to put togethering that bill when i worked in the senate. The fact of the matter is is that the only reason they are trying to do this is theyre trying to hurt go right at one of the key accomplishments of this president s agenda. They refuse to accept the results of the 2008 and 2012 elections where president obama won and they are doing everything they can to muddy the waters as they move toward the october 1 deadline. Ifill whose hot potato is this really, ron . This is going to be president obamas hot potato pretty soon because the republicans are likely going to have a delay of obamacare either on the continuing resolution or as part of this debt ceiling package and you know, the obamacare the obamacare law itself is already becoming delayed. We may not have to delay it at all. I mean, today we had Small Business exchanges, it was announced theyre going to be delayed. Yesterday it was the d. C. Exchanges that are going to be delayed. So i really think that this is going to be in president obamas court soon. You cant say you wont negotiate with the republican house. You can until a deal needs to be reached. Were on precipice of defaulting on our debt and the republicans are willing to negotiate. The president is in charge of the country. Americans will be very upset if we went over that cliff. Ifill jim . The president doesnt have anyone to negotiate with right now. Speaker boehner is incapable of controlling his cause of action and senator mcconnell, the republican leader of the senate, is so afraid of facing a tea Party Challenge that hes all but m. I. A. From the senate right now. And, again, the president has said both privately and publicly that hes not going to negotiate with hostagetakers so the sooner the House Republicans figure that out and get their act together, the better country going to be. Ifill is this fight among republicans we saw a minor spectacle on the Senate Floor Today between two republicans fighting about when this vote should happen doesnt seem like the democrats are part of this fight at all sometimes. Thats right. Right now you see a side fight going on about how they should proceed and behind the scenes but the fight is over obamacare. Its over now most likely delaying it. And republicans are on the side of the american people. The majority of americans dont like obamacare. Theyre very confused by it and its scaring a lot of people. Ifill what do you say to that . Well, again, the fact of the matter is that what weve seen in the last week is nothing but a waste of time. Nothing they can do legislatively can undermine obamacare. Its going to go into effect on october 1 and any threat to cause the government to default on the debt in midoctober is destined to fail and theyre going to play a terrible political price. Ifill is the government going to shut down . I dont think so. I think both parties will find consensus on this. President ifill how can there be consensus if theres no negotiationing . I think thats right for now. But as they get closer and closer to the shutdown i think we are not going to shut down. I have a lot of confidence were not going to shut down. I dont feel a crystal ball and can tell you that but Speaker Boehner said no, absolutely not. He does not want to shut this down. He wants to negotiate with the democrats. He wants to negotiate with the president. But the president keeps drawing a red line. Ifill jim, what is your gut . My gut tells me somehow i have no idea how theyll find a a way to avoid a Government Shutdown. Having said that, there are published reports that the House Republicans dont jet the votes to pass the debt limit plan they wanted to pass in the next couple days. The fact of the matter is its going to take some time for them to sort it all out. Well maybe have a one week c. R. While republicans try to get their act together internally. Ifill buy some time . Buy some time. The. Ifill ron bonjean, jim manley. Thank you both. Thank you. Woodruff for the first time in more than 30 years, the most senior diplomats of the United States and iran are talking face to face. Secretary of state john kerry and foreign minister Mohammad Javad zarif, plus other For