Politics

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"Today's votes were not a serious effort to pass a budget. Both sides of the aisle are at fault. Americans watching this debate witnessed exactly what they've come to expect from Washington: Republicans blaming Democrats, Democrats blaming Republicans." - Sen. Dean Heller, Nevada Republican

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"We've not only been able to do the tough things on revenues to balance the budget, but we've also been able to protect our priorities." - Governor Martin O'Malley, Maryland Democrat

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FILE - In this May 10, 2012, file photo House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, takes questions during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

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** FILE ** In this May 8, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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A vast majority of Wisconsin Republicans say embattled Gov. Scott Walker "provides strong leadership," among other traits.

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Rep. John Conyers, Michigan Democrat, noted that about 300 organizations voiced opposition to the House domestic-violence bill before the vote. "Who supports this bill? Who thinks this is a step in the right direction?" he asked. (Associated Press)

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A military aid holds the Medal of Honor for President Obama to award posthumously to Rose Mary Sabo-Brown, widow of Army Spc. Leslie H. Sabo Jr., on Wednesday. Sabo died protecting his comrades in Cambodia during the Vietnam War in 1970. (Associated Press)

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A member of Uganda's opposition ties up a banner in Uganda's capital Kampala Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, showing former long serving presidents, left to right, Ben Ali (Tunisia), Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), Moummar Gaddafi (Libya) and current Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni in preparation for celebrations for the downfall of these leaders, in Kampala on Friday. Uganda Police has warned that they will arrest whoever turns up for the celebrations. Other long serving African leaders are Mbasago of Equatorial Guinea (32 years since 1979), Jose Santos of Angola (32 years since 1979), Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (31 years since 1980), Paul Biya of Cameroon (29 years since 1982), Blaise Campore of Burkina Fasso ( 24 years since 1987), Mswati III of Swaziland (24 years since April 1986), Omar Bashir of Sudan ( 21 years since 1989), Idrissu Deby of Chad ( 21 years since 1990), Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea ( 18 years since 1993), Yahya Jammeh of Gambia (17 years since 1994) , Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia (16 years since 1995) , Pakalitha Mosisili of Lesotho (13 years since 1998), Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti ( 12 years since 1999), Mohammed VI of Morocco (12 years since 1999), Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal ( 11 years since 2000) and Paul Kagame of Rwanda (11 years since 2000). (AP Photo / Stephen Wandera)

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Pakistanis sit atop idle oil tankers that had been used to transport NATO fuel supplies to Afghanistan, while watching a cricket match (upper right) in Karachi, Pakistan, on Wednesday. A deal is said to be near that would reopen supply lines into Afghanistan that have been closed since November. That may explain an invitation to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (left) to a NATO summit. (Associated Press)

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U.S. Marine Sgt. Albert Winschel (right) demonstrates how to apply a tourniquet on fellow Marine Sgt. Preston Norton as they give medic training to soldiers with the Uganda People's Defense Force at the Singo training facility in Kakola. American military advisers there are drawing on experience from Iraq and Afghanistan. (Associated Press)

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State government documents lie scattered in a damaged building on Ita Oka Island near Lagos. The prison now sits in ruins as a haunting reminder of past abuses of power. But Nigeria plans to open another classified prison. (Associated Press)

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Crumbling masonry and metal and charred wood are all that remain of a former prison known as Tekunle. The prison was built in dense jungle that engulfs this island outside of Nigeria's largest city. It never officially existed, although many critics of the nation's military rule were kept here. (Associated Press)

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A sign marks the site of the former prison known as Tekunle on Ita Oko Island near Lagos, Nigeria. The island prison allowed Nigeria's military governments to make opponents disappear into the swamps of the Lekki Lagoon at a camp accessible only by boat and helicopter. (Associated Press)

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The International Criminal Court may expand its war-crimes indictment against Congolese Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, seen here in June 2010 at the 50th anniversary celebration of Congo's independence. (Associated Press)