US President Donald Trump has announced a new deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government for three weeks.
Trump made the announcement this morning at the White House, where he thanked Americans for their patience.
Late Thursday, Trump said he'd consider a "reasonable agreement" worked out by Senate leaders in exchange for a "down payment" on a wall along the US Mexico border.
Trump's demand for US$5.7 billion for a border wall ‑ one of his signature campaign promises ‑ was at the centre of the budget standoff that triggered the shutdown.
The push to end the shutdown grew more urgent yesterday after the flights coming into New York's LaGuardia Airport were halted because of staffing shortage and other delays reported at airports in Boston, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Also yesterday, some 800,000 federal employees who have been on unpaid leave or working without pay missed their second paycheque since the shutdown began.
[Source: stuff.co]
