Thune says a shutdown can still be...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is rejecting Democratic demands on health care as unserious but says a government shutdown is still “avoidable.” Thune tells The Associated Press in an interview he’s “a big believer that there’s always a way out.” Thune says Democrats are going to have to “dial back” their demands to immediately extend health insurance subsidies and reverse the health care policies Republicans passed over the summer. Absent that, the South Dakota Republican says, “we’re probably plunging forward toward the shutdown.” Democrats have shown little evidence of pulling back on their threats.