US government shutdown after Congress fails to vote

The US government has shut down after Congress failed to pass a key budgetary measure on time.

Lawmakers had hoped to approve a new spending bill before federal funding expired at midnight (05:00 GMT).

But Republican Senator Rand Paul ended hopes for a quick vote when he demanded a debate in the chamber on his amendment to maintain spending caps.

In January, a similar failure to pass a bill led to a three-day government shutdown.

Late on Thursday, as Senator Paul continued to delay the vote, the White House said it was preparing for a possible shutdown.