Winning!: Day 5. The focus of debate turned to the words of an anonymous “senior White House official” quoted as saying it doesn’t matter how long the federal shutdown lasts because,  “We are winning”. A flustered and frustrated House Speaker John Boehner blurted out in front of cameras, “This isn’t some damn game!!”

  President Obama, backpedalling, said, “There’s no winning when families don’t have certainty over whether they’re going to get paid or not.” He appeared in a sandwich shop giving discounts to federal workers on furlough.

 The House, with some support from Democrats, has passed bills to re-open the National Institutes of Health, pay the National Guard and veterans benefits, and re-open the national parks. They are scheduled to vote again today but there’s little hope the Senate will approve piecemeal funding of the government while healthcare is held at the point of a gun.

  In the Senate, chaplain Barry Black prayed for the legislators, asking God to “Remove from them that stubborn pride which imagines them to be above and beyond criticisms. Forgive them for the blunders they have committed.” We’ll find out whether God listens.

Error Message: The White House announced late Friday that the Healthcare.gov website is going down during off peak hours to fix the hitches that have stalled insurance shoppers. The site has had 8.5 million visitors since it went up Tuesday.

Immolation: A man set himself on fire yesterday near the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. Joggers and bystanders smothered the flames and the man was reported to be alive but critically burned.

World: Bad weather hampered the search for 200 passengers still missing after a small boat loaded with 480 African immigrants sank three days ago off the Mediterranean Island of Lampedusa. At least 111 are confirmed dead and 155 rescued. The disaster puts a spotlight on the traffic of poor immigrants to Europe in overloaded fishing boats.

• Shop owners returning to Nairobi’s Westgate mall have found their stores looted of jewelry, alcohol and cellphones. The security forces that retook the mall are suspected.

Storm Hit: About 200 miles of Interstate 90 through Wyoming and South Dakota were closed yesterday as an early winter storm dumped snow on the upper West. Up to 30 inches of snow was predicted in some areas. The City of Deadwood postponed its Oktoberfest polka dancing bar-crawling bender fest.

Storm Coming: Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for low-lying areas south of New Orleans as Tropical Storm Karen approaches. The National Hurricane Center is operating, despite the federal shutdown, and they’ve recalled their spokesman from furlough.  

The Voice: The woman who is the robotic-sounding voice for the iPhone’s “Siri’ has revealed herself as Atlanta actress Susan Bennett. Matching a face to the voice is a little creepy, but she seems very nice. In real life she doesn’t know where the nearest Starbucks is in Des Moines. 

-30-