The Daily Digest (New MNsure head apologizes, Senate passes budget deal)
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In Minnesota
The new head of Minnesota's troubled online health insurance marketplace apologized Wednesday for the operation's turmoil and vowed to take on its monumental challenges. (MPR News)
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Jennifer O'Rourke, chief of staff to Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak, will join Gov. Mark Dayton office as a deputy chief of staff. (Star Tribune)
State Rep. John Benson, DFL-Minnetonka, announced today that he will not seek re-election in 2014. (MPR News)
After meeting with the Minnesota Board of Nursing, Gov. Mark Dayton said he supports the board’s view that it needs structural changes to improve its ability to discipline problem nurses. (Star Tribune)
Plans for a new Minnesota Senate office building came into sharper focus with the unveiling of an updated design and scale model but criticism and questions remain about the project. (MPR News)
In Washington/National Politics
The U.S. Senate agreed to a budget deal Wednesday designed to prevent a government shutdown for the next two years. Minnesota's two senators voted for the agreement. (MPR News)
Facing criticism from conservatives about cuts to military pensions that are part of the deal, both Klobuchar and Franken have backed legislation to undo those cuts. (MinnPost)
The only Minnesota Democrat in the U.S. House to oppose the deal, Rep. Keith Ellison, explained his no vote on the Daily Circuit. (MPR News)
Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama’s health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care. (New York Times)
Sen. Max Baucus, the veteran Montana Democrat who has served in the Senate since 1978, is expected to be nominated by the White House to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China. (Politico)
A panel of outside advisers urged President Obama on Wednesday to impose major restrictions on the National Security Agency, arguing that in the past dozen years its powers had been enhanced at the expense of personal privacy. (New York Times)
A data breach involving credit- and debit-card information for millions of Target customers is being investigated by the company and the U.S. Secret Service. (MPR News)