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From Acadia in Maine to Zion in Utah to the North Cascades in Washington, America's 401 national park areas have gates blocking entrance roads. National forest and Bureau of Land Management lands would nearly be impossible to close because there are so many access points.

Payment of veterans' benefits is one of the most emotionally charged issues affected by the shutdown. Politicians of both parties have scrambled to show their support for vets. While the most serious consequences won't come unless the shutdown lasts for weeks, veterans applying for new benefits may already be suffering because of a backlog of claims.

On Wednesday, President Obama invited the top four congressional leaders to the White House for a chat. But after the meeting, no progress was reported on reopening the government. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been idled and services curbed across the country.

Also: Dave Eggers responds to allegations that he lifted another writer's work; Jim Crace on the new rules for the Man Booker prize; the problem of depicting female beauty in novels.

Former IT consultant Graeme Simsion's debut novel, The Rosie Project, is a scientific romp about a probably-Asperger's-affected genetics professor who falls in love with a free-spirited woman during a search for her biological father. Reviewer Heller McAlpin says it's an "utterly winning screwball comedy."

A Montana couple was on vacation when they stopped at a restaurant and left the dog in the car. When they came back, the dog had eaten 5 $100 bills. Pieces of the money was collected post digestion, and the couple has been reimbursed by the U.S. Treasury.

Conservatives have driven the debate and the showdown in Washington this week. But even as national polls have shown strong public disapproval of the government shutdown, conservative media outlets — on the air, on cable, and on the Internet — have provided a voice of support for Republicans on the Hill and created a like-minded community for their audience.

Mellissa Block talks to Democratic Senator Mark Begich about the government shutdown and what room, if any, there is for a compromise.

Audie Cornish speaks with Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who chairs the House Republican Conference, about the government shutdown and the next steps to moving forward to get to a resolution.

The Labor Department made it official this morning. It is postponing the September jobs report because of the partial government shutdown. So, at least for a a while, Wall Street will have to do without its favorite data point. Will the missing report really be a problem? And why didn't the Labor Department just declare the report essential?