Federal workers face grim prospect of lengthy shutdown

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Tourists walk past a sign near the embarkation point for the Statue of Liberty in New York, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will remain open despite the ongoing partial government shutdown, even as some national parks and monuments close down, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Washington • Three days, maybe four. That’s how long Ethan James, 21, says he can realistically miss work before he’s struggling.

So as the partial government shutdown stretched into its sixth day with no end in sight, James, a minimum-wage contractor sidelined from his job as an office worker at the Interior Department, was worried. “I live check to check…