US enters government shutdown

The US federal government has shut down for the first time in seven years after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a spending bill in the Senate.

The deadline to approve the funds for running the government expired on Wednesday as both parties rejected each other’s spending plans in a back-to-back vote.

Democrats refused to back the Republican bill while demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, along with the reversal of Medicaid cuts. While the GOP framed their plan as a “clean,” non-partisan solution, Democrats argued it would endanger the healthcare of many Americans.

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