Congressional leaders are working on a renewed stopgap spending agreement to keep the federal government funded into March, potentially averting a shutdown starting Jan. 20. Another extension has moved into focus as Congress appears on track to miss two staggered deadlines — Jan. 19 for passage of four of the 12 annual government-funding bills and Feb. 2 for the other eight. The plan emerging Saturday among House and Senate leaders would buy more time for negotiations while maintaining the two-step structure: it would continue funding for the first batch of agencies at existing levels until March 1, and for the ... (full story)