U.S. Gov't Could Shut Down Within Hours

Legislators appear resigned to the prospect that no deal will be reached before midnight Friday.

Despite negotiators working through the night and President Barack Obama meeting with congressional leaders for the fourth time in 48 hours, a deal to avoid a partial shutdown of the U.S. government looks increasingly unlikely. Democrats and Republicans are deadlocked on budget legislation authorizing government spending, with the GOP seeking $60 billion in cuts from current levels. The Democrats, who have a majority in the Senate but a minority in the Republican-led House of Representatives, say they’ve agreed to all the Republican demands they could and have accepted cuts of up to $40 billion. If a deal is not reached by midnight tonight, non-essential government services will stop functioning and 800,000 federal workers will be asked to stay home.