The lockdown has been lifted at U.S. Capitol following reports of shots fired outside the building.
The lockdown was put in place around 2:20 p.m. and was lifted just before 3 p.m. Thursday.
CBS News’ Bob Orr reported the incident began at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue after a car apparently tried to ram gate at the White House. The driver then fled toward Capitol, Orr reported.
The female driver of the vehicle was shot and wounded, Orr reported.
Source: CBS New York – CBS New York: Lockdown Lifted At U.S. Capitol Following Report Of Shots Fired
An attempt to ram the White House gates ended with shots fired, U.S. senators put under lockdown in the Capitol, and a female suspect dead, sources told ABC News.
A police officer was also reported shot, sources said.
Secret Service pursued a suspect from the White House to the Capitol. One agent in a marked Secret Service vehichle was injured when the car in which he was chasing the suspect was upended by an electronic barricade by the Capitol as it rose out of the ground.
Lawmakers reported hearing three pops that sounded like gunfire.
“We heard pops that sounded like shots,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
Source: ABC News – ABC News: Attempt to Ram White House Gate Ends With Female Suspect Dead
The U.S. Capitol building is on lockdown following reports of shots fired nearby.
WNEW’s Kevin Rincon reports that Capitol police rushed the building and a bomb squad is present. Fire trucks are blocking Constitution Avenue and 1st Street and the area is swamped with police cruisers.
There are unconfirmed reports that one police officer has been injured, according to the Associated Press.
People standing outside the Supreme Court across the street from Congress were hurried into the court building by authorities.
Source: CBS DC – CBS DC: Capitol On Lockdown After Shots Fired
The United States Capitol was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon following reports of shots fired in the vicinity of the chamber. At least one Capitol Police officer was injured.
The FBI was responding to the unconfirmed reports of shots, and a helicopter landed in front of the Capitol. A message from the Capitol Police ordered anyone in a House office to “shelter in place.”
“Close, lock and stay away from external doors and windows,” the message said.
The House recessed, and the Senate went into a quorum call — dispensing momentarily with its official business — shortly thereafter.
Source: NBC News – NBC News: U.S. Capitol placed on lockdown
President Obama and leaders of both houses of Congress left a 90-minute meeting at the White House this evening no more closer to ending a government shutdown.
Neither side gave any indication that the talks, however cordial, moved them toward a compromise.
“They will not negotiate,” House Speaker John Boehner told reporters after leaving the West Wing. “We had a nice conversation, a light conversation, but at some point we’ve got to allow the process the Congress gave us to work out.”
Boehner insists that Democrats in the Senate send negotiators to a conference with House Republicans to work out the differences between the two sides on the budget.
Source: ABC News – ABC News: No Shutdown Deal in Sight After White House Meeting
World War II veterans brought to Washington, D.C. to see the WWII memorial surged past barricades to lay flowers in memory of their fallen brothers-in-arms while the National Park Service revealed who ordered the monument to be barricaded.
Carol Johnson with the National Park Service stood outside the site of the WWII Memorial and told reporters that the closure of the site was ordered by the White House’s Office of Management & Budget. She made it clear the National Park Service itself did not do the decision.
Tuesday a Congressman from Mississippi’s 4th District brought colleagues to the memorial site to move the barricades for a group of 91 Mississippi WWII vets who had been flown to D.C.
The act of civil disobedience by the Congressman came after he was denied by the National Park Service, then the Department of Interior and then the White House to open the memorial for the veterans.
“They did not lift one finger to help these veterans,” Congressman Steven Palazzo told Fox News’ Todd Starnes. “It is sad that they would not even make an exception for our World War II veterans.”
Palazzo said that while Park police were on hand none of them made any moves to stop the veterans from honoring their fallen comrades.
“They did the honorable thing and stood down,” Palazzo said. “We don’t fault them or the staff there one bit.”
Palazzo added that because it is an open-air memorial, there is more cost to forcing the public to stay away.
“It actually requires more effort and expense to shut out these veterans from their Memorial than it would to simply let them through,” Palazzo said.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told Congressional leaders on Tuesday night that without an increase in the debt limit, the Treasury Department will be using their last set of accounting moves to allow the government to keep paying bills.
Lew said unless the debt ceiling is raised by October 17, payments could be delayed to U.S. debt holders, government contractors and Social Security recipients. He also said the government shutdown would have very little impact on the deadline date.
“If we have insufficient cash on hand, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,” he wrote. “For this reason, I respectfully urge Congress to act immediately to meet its responsibility by extending the nation’s borrowing authority.”
The Obama administration has said they will not negotiate over the debt ceiling on top of not negotiating over the government shutdown.
The U.S. Dollar has fallen to an 8-month low due to the government shutdown that has caused concern in major trading markets.
Analysts say the dollar index, which fell to 79.864, did not fall as far as it could have fallen because investors and traders had expected the shutdown. The dollar index tracks the Dollar against six major world currencies.
The dollar fell to an 8-month low against the Euro and an 18-month low against the Swiss franc.
The economic impact is being debated among economists and analysts. Goldman Sachs says a three-week government shutdown could end up lowering the country’s GDP by 0.9% this quarter.
Other analysts say the government’s lack of agreement on raising the “debt ceiling” is a bigger concern to world economic markets. The current debt ceiling is scheduled to be reached on October 17th.
Economists also say the shutdown will delay key reports from the Labor Department that assist in predicting financial outcomes and forecasts.
While many government workers will not be showing up at their jobs Tuesday because of the government shutdown, some workers will be looking at a financial windfall thanks to regulations.
Employees who are considered essential and “excepted” will not only continue to work but will be able to pick up overtime, compensatory time and other benefits. Continue reading →
The National Parks Service has admitted that because of the government shutdown, it will be illegal for anyone to walk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
“The mall theoretically is legally closed,” NPS Spokeswoman Carol Johnson told TheBlaze. “Now, obviously people walking across it … there is nothing much we can do, but it is legally closed.” Continue reading →
