Briefly

UNITED STATES

With shutdown looming, Senate offers budget fix

The US Senate drafted a last-ditch short-term budget proposal on Tuesday as time was running out for Congress to avoid a partial government shutdown, though the odds of it passing the House remained slim. With just days left before the Sept 30 deadline, both Democratic Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer and Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell endorsed the draft, which would keep the government open until Nov 17. But there was no immediate indication that the warring factions of House Republicans, who have forced the showdown over government funding, would take it up if passed in the Senate. If a deal is not reached by Saturday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be furloughed, curtailing a wide swath of government services.