President Obama says congressional Republicans have the power to end the government shutdown immediately by simply passing a spending bill with no partisan strings attached. The shutdown has already forced the president to cancel a plan to Asia trip, and it's idled some 800,000 government workers. 

 

“As long as they're off the job, nobody's winning, and that's the point. We should get this over with as soon as possible.” 

 

Obama spoke during a lunchtime visit to a sandwich shop. He’s threatened to veto Republican bills that would selectively reopen only parts of the federal government, and an administration statement says that piecemeal approach is neither serious nor responsible. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House. 

 

There are reports of tornados or a possible tornado's touching down this evening in Nebraska and Iowa. Meteorologist Phil Schumacher with the National Weather Service says powerful winds destroyed homes in the northeast Nebraska town of Wayne. Witnesses described a two-mile-wide tornado. 

 

“Right now, it still looks like these storms are still very well-organized to store the capability of producing tornados for at least the next hour, so that they continue to move east and northeast across northwestern Iowa, and so people in the path really need to prepare to take shelter.” 

 

Weather service says witnesses also reported at least two tornados touching down near Sioux City, Iowa. The extent of the damage's not known. Meanwhile, snow fell in South Dakota today. 

 

Leaders in one North Carolina school system are suspending the largest tablet computer initiative in US history. North Carolina Public Radio's Jeff Tiberii reports the school district is suspending the use of tablets made by a third party and supplied by a company called Amplify. 

 

About 10% of the 15,000 tablets that went out to teachers and students had cracked or damaged screens. There was one report of a tablet charger overheating and melting. Leaders in Guilford County, which includes the city of Greensboro, decided to collect all of the tablets until questions about safety and durability were answered. The tablets and content are provided by two for-profit companies. This initiative is funded by a 30-million-dollar federal grant. School officials cannot contact the Department of Education about the problems until the government shutdown ends. For NPR News, I'm Jeff Tiberii in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

 

According to authorities, the Connecticut woman who led police on a chase between the White House and the US Capitol yesterday before being killed by police was delusional and apparently believed the president was communicating with her. Federal law enforcement official says the woman, 34-year-old Miriam Carey, had reportedly been in deteriorating mental state and had been fired from a job as a dental hygienist. Carey tried to ram barricades at the White House, setting off the chase that resulted in her death when she crashed her car and shot by police on Capitol Hill. 

 

Stocks rebounded slightly to end the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 76 points to close at 15,072. You’re listening to NPR. 

 

One possible international casualty as a result of the current budget impasse in Washington may be US sanctions against Iran. Today White House spokesman Jay Carney says because of the widespread federal furloughs, the Treasury Office that normally handles sanctions is largely unstaffed. Carney says as a result the office can't sustain its core functions including new sanctions against Iran, Syria, terrorist groups and drug cartels. The White House says the president will be briefed on the matter. 

 

American Catholics like the new pope. That's according to new poll released today. As NPR's John Burnett explains, they approve of his recent statement that the church needs to get over its obsession with moral issues.

 

A new poll released by Quinnipiac University shows that two in three American Catholics (68%) agree with Pope Francis's opinion that the church is too hung up on gay marriage, abortion and contraception. The responses were similar among various age groups and among those who attend Mass weekly or infrequently. The national poll conducted in late September also shows that Americans are very fond of the new pontiff from Argentina. Eighty-nine percent feel him favorably or very favorably. Only 4% have a negative view of the pope. Moreover, the survey echoes past questionnaires. Six in ten US Catholics say they approve of same-sex marriage, which is slightly higher than the national approval rate of 56%. John Burnett, NPR News. 

 

Investors gobbled up stock in sandwich maker Potbelly today. The restaurant chain famous for its lunchtime menus. Its debut as a publicly traded company saw its stock more than double from its IPO price. Initially priced at 14 dollars a share, the stock rose quickly to more than doubling to close to 31.84 a share. That was well above expectations.