The federal deficit is growing, and a former U.S. Treasury secretary is offering a solution: raising taxes! We’ll get into why talking tax hikes is a big no-no in Congress and why spending cuts may not cut it this time either. And, foreign nationals aren’t allowed to contribute to U.S. elections. But a loophole is seemingly allowing some foreign-influenced companies to do just that. Plus, the story of an astronaut and a dangerous ultimatum.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

- “Joe Manchin’s debt crusade” from Politico

- “Rubin Says US In a ‘Terrible Place’ on Deficit, Urges Tax Hikes” from Bloomberg

- “All these government shutdown close calls cost money” from Marketplace

- “Foreign-Influenced Corporate Money in State Elections” from Open Secrets

- “Jon Stewart Returns to ‘Daily Show’ as Monday Host, Executive Producer” from Variety

- “What happens when an astronaut in orbit says he’s not coming back?” from Ars Technica

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What Congress doesn’t want to talk about (tax hikes)

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