US Government Faces Partial Shutdown as Lawmakers Fail to Reach Agreement

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday failed to pass a short term spending bill to prevent the government from shutting down this weekend. Democrats blocked the bill that would extend federal spending authority into December. The current authority expires at midnight Friday. If Congress does not act before then, non-essential government services would be suspended. Zlatica Hoke reports such an impasse between the two parties is not uncommon at the end of a fiscal year.