Beth Johnson is accustomed to the uncertainty that comes with being a military wife – picking up and moving her family every three years.

The crippling anxiety that comes with a US government shutdown, however, is not something she is used to.

She is one of the millions of Americans who sighed a deep breath of relief when politicians in Washington agreed to reopen the government earlier this week.

At 43 days, it was the longest shutdown in US history.

But that relief could be short-lived, as the funding agreement expires at the end of January, when Congress will face the same spending challenge once again.

“It really affects every part of your life when your family’s sole source of income comes from the federal government,” Ms Johnson said. “The uncertainty is crippling.”

The Tennessee mother of two has lived in seven states since her husband joined the military nearly 20 years ago.

Picking up and moving her family every three years means it is tough for her – and other service members’ spouses – to get work, so the Johnson family lives on one paycheque.

Not knowing whether or not military service members would receive their paycheques from the shuttered government left her family with difficult decisions.

Some 1.3 million active-duty personnel are required to serve during government shutdowns potentially without pay, but the Trump administration stepped in twice during the autumn shutdown to reallocate funds for those servicemembers.

But without certainty, many families had to tighten their belts. One of Ms Johnson’s sons even offered to get fewer Christmas Gifts – “it’s ok we don’t need them,” he said to his mother.

Ms Johnson is frustrated by what she described as unnecessary sacrifice from millions of Americans.

“What was it all for? Why were we suffering for over 40 days in uncertainty, not knowing what was going to happen,” she questioned. “What was the point? We’re just going to go through this again probably in January.”

The agreement Congress made this week funds the government for the next two months, guarantees that all federal workers will be paid for time during the shutdown, and funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) – which provides food aid to one in eight Americans – until next September.

Sierra Bird is one of the more than 42 million Americans who depend on funds from Snap to feed her family.

The Florida mother of four gets about $900 a month, but those funds were delayed because they were caught up in the spending bill.

Ms Bird said she “survived” the shutdown and her Snap card will be reloaded over the weekend.

She’ll return to some sense of normal, but she’s also weary another shutdown could be on the horizon and she said she would start stockpiling food, just in case.

“People are going to take what they need if they don’t have what they need,” Ms Bird said. “Don’t mess with people’s food.”

While Snap benefits have resumed, one thing that hasn’t come back is health-insurance subsidies. It was those subsidies that Democrats had said they were willing to fight for, which helped fuel the shutdown in the first place.

Democrats had said they would not approve the budget unless the subsidies continued. But on Tuesday, eight Democrats sided with Republicans to approve a spending plan without them.

“I swapped one stress for another,” Ms Bird said. “I would rather have the affordable healthcare than Snap, because I can feed them rice and beans and survive, but I need my medications.”

In addition to those struggling to put food on the table during the shutdown, more than 1.4 million federal employees went without pay for 43 days.

Sarah, a Utah Interior Department employee who asked her last name not be used, was among them.

She was furloughed from the start of the shutdown on 1 October and as the days and weeks went by she worried she would have to find another way to make money.

“I was trying to decide if I wanted to give up the federal sector altogether to find another career,” Sarah said.

As an archaeologist, she works in a unique, specialised role, making it hard to transfer her expertise to another job or industry.

Her worries were quelled on Thursday when she returned to work for the first time in weeks, following the government’s reopening, but she is already preparing for the prospect of another one come January.

“With the holidays coming up, I’m not going to spending a whole lot of money,” she said, noting she is putting off certain remodelling projects too.

“I would not be the least bit surprised if another shutdown happened.”

In the less than 80 days until the next potential government shutdown, Ms Johnson, the military wife, said she would be preparing, just in case.

“We’re making a huge effort to watch unnecessary spending and save money where we can so we have a bigger nest egg built up because if the government shuts down again in January there’s no guarantee that active duty military is going to get paid.”

Protesters demand justice over the nightclub fire that killed 63 people in the town of Kocani in March.

Thousands of protesters have marched in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, demanding justice for the 63 people who were killed in a fire at a nightclub in March.

The rally on Saturday comes ahead of the trial of the 34 people and three companies charged over the incident, which marked the deadliest blaze in North Macedonia’s history.

The fire broke out at the crowded Pulse club in the eastern town of Kocani during a hip-hop concert on March 16, triggering a stampede and killing 63 people. Some 200 others were injured.

Most of the victims were aged between 16 and 26.

Families of the victims and their supporters marched to the North Macedonian parliament on Saturday, dressed in black and carrying a huge banner with pictures of the victims, saying, “63 shadows will be following you”.

The protesters also chanted “justice for Kocani”.

The families blame corruption and greed for the deaths of their children at the unlicensed venue in Kocani. Authorities said the fire was sparked by a pyrotechnic flame that engulfed the roof of the club and that the venue had numerous and serious safety violations.

Natalija Gjorgjieska was among the families demanding justice on Saturday.

Her husband, musician Andrej Gjorgjieski, was killed in the fire. “We demand the truth. Where did the mistakes occur, who didn’t respond, which institutions were late, who had the responsibility to prevent [them] and did not?” she said.

The prosecution filed indictments for 34 people, among them the club owner, security guards and former mayors of Kocani, as well as representatives of three legal entities, including the security firm and the club owner’s companies.

They are accused of “serious crimes against public security”.

Other defendants include inspectors, civil servants and former economy ministers. If found guilty, they face up to 10 years in prison.

Corruption has long plagued North Macedonia. The Berlin-based monitor Transparency International ranked North Macedonia in 88th place globally on its Corruption Perception Index last year, one of the worst rankings in Europe.

Bribes to authorities to skip licensing requirements and skirt safety regulations are commonplace.

The European Union has repeatedly expressed concerns over pervasive corruption in the country, identifying it as a major obstacle to the nation’s accession to the bloc. North Macedonia is a veteran candidate country, waiting for entry into the EU since 2005.

Thousands of demonstrators marched in Mexico City to protest against violent crime and President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government.

The rally was organised by Gen Z youth groups, drawing support from citizens protesting high-profile killings, including the assassination just weeks ago of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo – who had called for tough action against cartels.

President Sheinbaum said the marches, which took place in other cities, had been funded by right-wing politicians who oppose her government.

On Saturday demonstrators dismantled parts of a barrier protecting the National Palace, where Sheinbaum lives. Police protecting the compound used tear gas on the crowds.

On Saturday, protesters waved banners with displaying messages including “We are all Carlos Manzo”, while others wore cowboy hats in tribute to him.

Manzo was shot on 1 November while he attended a Day of the Dead festival.

He was known for speaking openly about drug-trafficking gangs in his town and cartel violence.

He had been demanding tough action against armed cartel members who terrorise the country.

President Sheinbaum has been acting against cartels but resisting calls for another all-out war on drugs. Previous attempts by her predecessors have ended with bloody results.

Days before the march took place, the president said the demonstration was being promoted by bots online.

“We agree with freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration if there are young people who have demands, but the issue here is who is promoting the demonstration,” she said in a briefing.

“People should know how this demonstration was organised so that no one is used.”

Sheinbaum retains approval ratings above 70% in her first year in office, and has made in-roads in clamping down on fentanyl-trafficking – a key issue for her US counterpart, Donald Trump.

But she has been criticised for failing to halt the violence gripping the country and is facing increased hostility from nearby countries.

Earlier this month, Peru’s Congress voted to declare Sheinbaum a persona non grata – or unwelcome in the country.

The decision came days after Peru severed diplomatic ties with Mexico, after the Mexican government granted asylum to a former Peruvian prime minister facing charges for a 2022 coup attempt.