The US government has shut down for the first time in nearly seven years, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree a deal to keep the federal government funded.
A final round of voting in the US Senate on Tuesday failed to pass proposal to keep the government funded beyond midnight.
The shutdown will hit some public services and lead to hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed. It will also delay the release of vital data on the US economy.
Here is what you need to know.
Why is the US government on the verge of a shutdown?
Each year, Congress must pass spending bills by October 1st, the start of the fiscal year, to fund government departments and federal agencies
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