US Congress passes bill to avert government shutdown

The US Congress averted a government shutdown early Saturday after weeks of negotiations that went down to the wire, as the Senate rubber-stamped a bill passed earlier by the House to fund federal agencies through mid-March.

With the midnight deadline already expired by more than half an hour, senators fast-tracked the package to a vote, halting shutdown preparations and saving Christmas for more than 800,000 workers at risk of being sent home without pay.