New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- A midnight lapse turns federal life inside out, from airports to parks - and revives an old question: how long before Washington blinks.

After midnight on Wednesday, the federal government began a partial shutdown when competing funding measures died in the Senate and a stopgap failed to materialize. The lapse follows days of stalemate over health policy and spending levels, and it revives a familiar question for Americans who do not watch C-SPAN for sport: what breaks, what bends, and how long before Washington puts it back together. Within hours, agencies posted closure notices, unions briefed members, and economic calendars filled with blanks. The shutdown is the first since 2018-2019 and it lands at a moment when...