Anne L. Kim

Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack. Dutton, $35 (608p) ISBN 978-0-593-18454-7 Actors Fitzgerald and McCormack—who played Carol Fitzpatrick and Kate Harper, respectively, on The West Wing (1999–2006)—deliver an entertaining history of the show grounded in extensive interviews with its stars, writers, and crew.

The Senate overwhelmingly voted Tuesday night in favor of the first procedural move needed to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of this week. The chamber voted 68-13 to end debate on the motion to proceed to the shell legislative vehicle for the stopgap spending measure, which would run to March 1 for four of the dozen annual appropriations bills and until March 8 for the remaining eight.

Colorado Republican Doug Lamborn, the nine-term congressman who chairs the House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal, intends to retire at the end of his term, his office confirmed on Friday. Speaking on the Richard Randall talk radio show, Lamborn thanked “the good people of El Paso County,” and God, for the opportunity to serve in the nation’s capital.