UPDATE 1-Bill to avert government shutdown advances in US Senate

A bill to avert a partial U.S. government shutdown beginning this weekend cleared a first procedural hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday, as lawmakers scrambled to pass the measure through Congress before a Friday deadline. The legislation is intended to give the Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives more time to pass a $1.59 trillion spending measure for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The Senate voted 68-13 to begin debate on the temporary funding bill, moving it closer to passage.