U.S. lawmakers approve stopgap bill to avert government shutdown

WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday approved a stopgap measure to avert a damaging election-year government shutdown, extending funding for several key federal agencies past a weekend deadline.

Five months into the fiscal year, Congress still has not approved the 12 annual spending bills that make up the federal budget, which were facing deadlines of midnight on Friday night and March 8 to keep the lights on.