Statue of Liberty to Reopen

The Statue of Liberty will reopen on Monday even if the U.S. government shutdown extends into the work week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday, vowing to use state funds to keep the landmark monument in operation, Reuters reported. 

Dozens of other national parks and monuments were expected to remain partially or entirely closed after Congress failed to agree on a spending plan to keep the government running past a Friday midnight deadline.

In the hours leading up to the shutdown, the Trump administration worked on ways to keep hundreds of parks open without staff in an effort to avoid public anger, although it was unclear which ones would close.

"Not all parks are fully open but we are all working hard to make as many areas as accessible to the public as possible," U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on Twitter on Saturday.

The hit-or-miss closures forced tourists and residents alike to alter their plans. In lower Manhattan, where ferries normally embark for the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, out-of-town visitors expressed frustration that the site was closed.

And San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman posted a photo of a "closed" sign outside Cabrillo National Monument on Twitter.

"I had planned to do some tide pool repeats to get some hill work in on my bicycle ride this morning," she wrote, referring to a local bike route. "Change of plans."

The National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, estimated that one-third of the 417 national park sites were shuttered, "including places like the Statue of Liberty, presidential homes, and other historic and cultural sites primarily made up of buildings that can be locked."

Yellowstone National...