US government shutdown: LIVE UPDATES
The first US government shutdown in 17 years closed major landmarks, halted some services, throwing as many as 800,000 federal employees out of work. A potential default looms, yet both Democrats and Republicans continue to talk past each other.
Sunday, October 13
16:15 GMT: Military veterans taking part in the ‘Tea Party’ protests have torn down barricades at the World War Two Memorial in Washington and carried them forward to barricade the White House. Meanwhile riot police have arrived in front of the White House.
Saturday, October 12
23:47 GMT: After a conference with Obama, Harry Reid and other Senate Democratic leaders left, saying nothing to reporters. A party aide however told Reuters that they had agreed that talks should continue between Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
“But Democrats' position remained the same: Democrats are willing to negotiate on anything Republicans want to discuss as soon as we reopen the government and pay our bills,” the aide added.
20:18 GMT: Barack Obama is planning to meet Senate Democratic leaders at the White House later on Saturday to discuss the fiscal stalemate, the White House said.
02:04 GMT: Despite the growing hope that US lawmakers will find a way to end the shutdown, hundreds of cancer patients hoping to receive special treatment methods at the National Institute of Health have been rebuffed since October 1. Michelle Langbehn, who was diagnosed with sarcoma in April 2012 at age 29, has been on a campaign to raise awareness on how a game of politics is putting actual lives at risk.
“As patients are looking for clinical trials, they’re not doing it because their doing well by any means,” she told RT. “Patients are looking at clinical trials because it might be a last resort so for a patient to be turned away or denied because this government shutdown is very difficult. This might just be the lifesaving treatment we’ve been looking for.”
Langbehn, the mother a young daughter, has attracted over 120,000 signatures to her petition on Change.org/shutdown. She said that when she meets with Washington lawmakers next week she hopes to explain what kind of risk their taking.
“I’d like them to know that lives are at stake, 200 people are trying to get into trials each week at NIH and as each week passes that’s another 200 who are turned away at this time,” Langbehn continued. “It’s a matter of life or death it’s not a matter of inconvenience or just an irritation for us. We need this treatment.”