There is something magical about animal migrations. Perhaps it's the fact that as more of us move to cities, the sight of congregating herds, schools of fish, or flocks of birds is increasingly rare.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- If the week-long government shutdown stretches to a month, it would mean a $50 billion blow to the U.S. economy.

(CNN) -- The Daily Show took a more serious turn Monday night when host Jon Stewart introduced his guest for the evening, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It was unusually positive language for a top U.S. official speaking about the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but there was Secretary of State John Kerry giving the Syrian leader a pat on the back.

(CNN) -- Moderate Republican Rep. Peter King said Sunday there's "no way" enough House Republicans will side with Democrats on passing a "clean" continuing resolution to fund the government and end the shutdown crisis. A "clean" resolution would be one that has no language that makes changes to Obamacare.

(CNN) -- A white U.S. soldier who friends say was celebrating his pending departure from the Army was fatally stabbed by at least one black assailant over the weekend in a racially charged confrontation, police in Washington state said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A pre-dawn raid by elite U.S. forces in southern Somalia, in the heart of territory controlled by the al Qaeda subsidiary Al-Shabaab, targeted an Al-Shabaab commander connected to one of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, a senior Obama administration official said Sunday.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Thursday that will allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses in his state.

More than seven out of 10 Americans disapprove of the government shutdown, and they say they're angrier than they've been about the way things are going in Washington.

The great government shutdown of 2013 is about Obamacare and budget priorities, but it also is about respect. In short, conservative House Republicans don't think they get enough of it from President Barack Obama and the Senate.