Moderate Republican and Democratic senators held talks on Sunday to break a political impasse that has kept the U.S. government shut down for two days, but it was unclear if a deal could be struck to reopen federal agencies by the start of the work week. Some of the roughly two dozen senators involved in the discussions said they were making progress, but offered few details of a possible compromise. The ultimate decision was up to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his Democratic counterpart, Senator Chuck Schumer, they said. “We are moving in the right direction,” Republican Senator Johnny Isakson said of ... (full story)