U.S. Senate passes funding extension to avert government shutdown

Voting on the U.S. Senate floor ... to keep the federal government open and running a few more days. Congress passed an extension of federal spending authority on Saturday that lasts through midnight Wednesday. The vote means a government shutdown -- that could have been triggered by early Sunday -- won't be happening. The real budget hurdle is still ahead. Senate leaders have yet to vote on a trillion-dollar spending bill that would fund all but one government agency through September of next year. The House of Representatives has already passed the measure.