Federal agencies directed to hold off on shutdown raises

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agencies have been directed to hold off enacting pay raises for top administration officials during a government shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay.The guidance was issued Friday in a memo from Margaret Weichert, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.The raises were the result of a pay freeze for top federal officials, including the vice president and cabinet secretaries, that was on the verge of expirin