"Non-essential" federal employees will be getting an extended weekend if Republicans and Democrats in Washington don't reach a spending agreement by midnight Friday.

How long workers would be off the job is anyone's guess, as congressional negotiators and President Barack Obama continued to spar into the night Thursday.

Roughly one in four workers who collect federal paychecks could be furloughed in a government shutdown beginning Saturday. Military personnel and Postal Service workers are exempt from any layoffs.

Inching toward agreement on a Medicaid overhaul, a Senate committee Wednesday eliminated a proposal that would have required HMOs to spend 90 percent of the money they receive on patient care.

Instead, the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee approved a profit-sharing plan backed by the managed-care industry. Under that plan, the state would receive a cut if HMOs make Medicaid profits of more than 5 percent.