government shutdown

Just after midnight on Oct. 1, the US federal government shut down after Congress failed to agree on a budget plan, leaving more than one million people working without pay and many more wondering what exactly this event entails. Here are some services and operations that will be closed, unavailable or otherwise affected during the government shutdown.

For years, the Obama administration has been preparing for the launch of new health insurance exchanges, intended to expand coverage to millions of Americans. But this is far from the grand opening President Barack Obama may have expected.

As of 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, the federal government closed down. Congressional leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate were unable to reach an agreement on a budget or a temporary fix, known as a continuing resolution, before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.