(Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the House and Senate each passed a two-week extension to a stopgap continuting resolution.) The Defense Department is preparing for a government shutdown Friday, an event senior Pentagon officials say would halt pay for U.S. soldiers, damage military readiness and disrupt key defense contracts. "I cannot emphasize too much how destructive a shutdown is," Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist told reporters Thursday. "No one gets paid," he continued. "The disruption of...