2 looming deadlines could be key to ending the government shutdown, expert says

With the government shutdown now in day four and no compromise in sight, a federal budget expert says two dates could send things "spiraling out of control": the first day essential federal workers go without pay and the first day service members miss a paycheck.

The next federal worker pay date is Oct. 10 and the next pay date for the military is Oct. 15, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and U.S. General Services Administration.

Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation...