News on the go: Oct. 2, 2013

Carrie Blazina

Republicans and Democrats traded blame Tuesday as the government continued to be in a partial shutdown. President Barack Obama said Republicans were responsible for causing the closure as a result of their “ideological crusade” to defund the Affordable Care Act. Speaker of the House John Boehner said Democrats have shut the door on bipartisan talks. In the meantime, closures include national parks, landmarks and federal tax offices.

Many people who attempted to shop for health insurance at the new online marketplaces that opened Tuesday under the Affordable Care Act reported trouble setting up accounts. The open-enrollment period will continue for six months, so officials hope to make corrections quickly. By Tuesday afternoon, almost 3 million people visited the healthcare.gov website, the Medicare office said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Tuesday to the United Nations that his country would do anything to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has launched a “charm offensive:” he says he will negotiate but has not actually done anything. After hearing Netanyahu say Israel would stand alone against Iran if necessary, an Iranian diplomat shot back that Iran has not and would not attack anyone, unlike Israel.

In the aftermath of the deadly rockslide Monday on a Colorado hiking trail, the lone survivor says her father, one of the five people killed in the accident, shielded her from the boulders. Gracie Johnson, 13, was rescued Monday and airlifted to a Denver-area hospital with a broken leg, but the five people who died were all her immediate family members or cousins. The rockslide’s trigger was not immediately known, though officials said the area had heavy summer rains and a recent snowfall.