Agreement reached tonight, averting government shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP)

Perilously close to a government shutdown, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders forged agreement late tonight on a deal to cut more than $37 billion in federal spending and avert the first closure in 15 years.

Obama hailed the deal as "the biggest annual spending cut in history," and House Speaker John Boehner said that over the next decade it would cut government spending by $500 billion.