U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders are expected to meet Friday to continue talks on the federal budget, in hopes of ending the government partial shutdown and preventing the country from defaulting on its debt.
Friday's talks come as the shutdown enters its 11th day, with next week's deadline for raising the debt ceiling fast approaching.
Meanwhile, the political impact of the shutdown on the U.S. political landscape was illustrated Thursday by a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of 800 people. It indicated that 53 percent of respondents blame the shutdown on Republicans, while 31 percent blame it on Democrats.
On Thursday, President Obama held separate meetings with top congressional Democrats and Republicans.
Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner's office called the talks useful and productive, and said meetings at the staff level would continue throughout the night.