US government in shutdown after Senate fails to pass new budget

The US government has started to shut down after Congress failed to overcome a bitter standoff over spending and immigration, marking a choatic end to Donald Trump's first year as president.  Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter of a century. Social Security and most other safety net programmes are unaffected by the lapse in federal spending authority. Critic