US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS OVER

President Barack Obama signed early today a bill ending the two-week US government shutdown and extending the Treasury’s borrowing authority.The White House announcement was the final piece in a political drama that had raised the prospect of an unprecedented US debt default and rattled markets around the world. Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a separate statement that the government will try to get back to full operating status as smoothly as possible.“This has been a particularly challenging time for Federal employees and I want to thank our Nation’s dedicated civil servants for their continued commitment to serving the American people,” she wrote. Most employees that have been on a compulsory leave for the past two weeks are expected back to work soonest, Burwell said in a directive to federal agencies. Moving with stunning speed, Congress voted on Wednesday to end the 16-day-old government shutdown and avert the potential for the first major debt default in U.S. history in a deal that gave President Obama most of what he sought — an open government and more borrowing authority without denting Obamacare.The Senate voted 81-18 to approve the deal and sent it over to the House, which quickly followed suit with a 285-144 vote on the measure — amounting to an almost complete surrender for the GOP.