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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is turning the Senate toward a short-term spending bill as lawmakers face an Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown.  "I expect to move forward this week on a continuing resolution through Dec. 9 ... that includes funds for Zika control and for our veterans," the Senate Republican leader announced Monday on the Senate floor.  McConnell filed cloture on proceeding to a House legislative appropriations bill, which is expected to be the vehicle for the short-term continuing resolution (CR). (Carney, 9/12)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture Monday on an appropriations bill that would serve as a vehicle for a stopgap funding measure to keep the government open and provide money to fight the Zika virus and aid veterans’ programs. Negotiations are still ongoing on a potential package — which would hitch a ride on the Legislative Branch appropriations bill — with several provisions undecided. (Easley, 9/12)

When Democrats balked once more last week at approving legislation to combat the Zika virus because the measure included limits on Planned Parenthood, some Republicans indicated a willingness to re-evaluate their position. But the pressing question for Republicans who want to pass a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running after Sept. 30 is whether enough of their ranks are willing to leave Planned Parenthood out of the legislation. (Huetteman, 9/12)

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to craft compromise language on Zika funding that appeases both Republicans and Democrats on Planned Parenthood. One option under consideration would give the CDC authority to determine how to spend a Social Services Block Grant, Sen. John Thune told reporters after a meeting today in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. In a prior Zika funding bill, the block-grant language included many health entities but not Planned Parenthood’s partner in Puerto Rico, sparking outrage among Democrats. (Haberkorn, 9/12)

For those still skeptical that the Zika virus is causing brain defects in babies infected in the womb, a new study provides some pretty strong evidence. Researchers from the University of Washington reported Monday that they infected a pregnant pigtail macaque monkey, then monitored the development of her fetus. Within three weeks of infection, there were already signs that the fetus’s brain had sustained damage. The white matter stopped developing, as did the size of the head. (Branswell, 9/12)