The Shutdown Begins: What's Affected

For the first time in four decades, the US government is seeing a shutdown three times in one year. That stat cited in the Guardian came to pass Friday at midnight, when a partial shutdown was triggered by a lack of a deal between GOP and Dems in Congress, the main obstacle an agreement on $5 billion for President Trump's border wall, per the AP. Though Trump had warned earlier Friday the Democrats would own a shutdown (after initially vowing he'd claim it himself), Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer blamed a Trump "temper tantrum," per the AP. Politico looks at the "frantic negotiations," noting that even an 11th-hour group of senators that came together to keep the shutdown at bay "fell short." As a result, about 420,000 essential workers will now be working without pay, while another 380,000 or so are being furloughed, stuck home without a paycheck.

USA Today and the AP look at what could be affected by the shutdown (national parks, home buyers) and what's not (Social Security checks, Medicare benefits, and NORAD's "Santa Tracker"). USA Today wonders how the president and Congress are now going to get things back up and running, looking at various possible scenarios, including a "speedy agreement" that would send everyone home for the holidays. Trump, meanwhile, caught the attention of Twitter users earlier Friday with a tweet showing a mock-up of the "steel slat barrier" he's hoping to erect, a structure with spikes on top he says would be "totally effective while at the same time beautiful." The AP lists other noteworthy government shutdowns, including one in 2013 when Sen. Ted Cruz spoke on the Senate floor for more than 21 hours, even reading from the Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham. Negotiations in Congress are expected to continue on Saturday. More here and here. (More government shutdown stories.)