Blocked Shot: Day 12. President Obama this morning rejected a House Republican offer to raise the debt ceiling and end the shutdown Thursday. Republican leaders were described as angry as they left a closed-door meeting. House members are heading home for the weekend.

  The White House is now turning to consider a deal being pulled together in the Senate, which was working on a proposal to raise the national debt ceiling through January while re-opening and financing the government until the end of March. The plan would also call for the House and Senate to reach a budget agreement by the middle of January.

Boat People: Another migrant boat Carrying Syrians and Palestinians has capsized in the Mediterranean, killing 30 people. Maltese authorities say 200 people were rescued. Ten days ago at least 319 migrants died when their boat capsized and sank of the island of Lampedusa.

Snatched: The State Department has revealed that a week ago US forces captured senior Pakistan Taliban commander Latif Mehsud in an operation in Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported that Meshud was taken from Afghan intelligence agents who were trying to convince him to be a middleman in peace talks. The news broke yesterday just as Secy. of State John Kerry made a surprise visit to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was reported to be furious.

Zoo Tragedy: An elephant named Patience in a Missouri zoo yesterday crushed and killed a veteran keeper who was trying to guide her through a chute between the barn and the yard. Patience is described as having been aggressive in the past, but nothing will be done to her.

Button Men: The Air Force yesterday fired the two-star general in charge of intercontinental missiles for unspecified “personal” behavior. The service only said the reason wasn’t sex, drugs or security of the missile arsenal. Earlier this week the deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the US nuclear arsenal and space operations, was relieved after being discovered using counterfeit poker chips in a western Iowa casino. Officers in such sensitive positions are expected to have behavior beyond reproach.

Your Papers, Please: Kansas and Arizona are setting up two-tiered voting systems in which voters will be required to show proof of citizenship for state and local elections, but not federal. A recent Supreme Court decision prohibits demanding proof of citizenship for federal elections. But the two states saw a loophole in the ruling that allows them to establish new rules for their own elections. Requiring government ID tends to cut down voting among poor, minority and elderly voters.

A Billion Here, Billion There: JP Morgan Chase declared a quarterly loss yesterday, in large part because it had to set aside $9.2 billion …yes billion … to pay lawyers. Last month the bank agreed to pay a fine of nearly $1 billion for failure to oversee trading that lost $6 billion.  JP Morgan is also negotiating with the federal government over the sale of worthless mortgage securities. The bank is offering to pay a fine of $7 billion, plus $4 billion for upside down homeowners. As they say, pretty soon it adds up to real money.

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