Deadlocked Congress brings US Govt to edge of shutdown

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Congress, still in partisan deadlock on Monday over Republican efforts to halt President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, was on the verge of shutting down most of the U.S. government starting on Tuesday morning.

With the law funding thousands of routine government activities set to expire at midnight, a 2 p.m. (7.00 p.m. British time) session of the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and a later meeting of the Republican-led House of Representative offered little chance of producing an agreement that would keep the government open.