At Katmai National Park in Alaska, the annual competition known as Fat Bear Week is being held now to avoid being cancelled in the event of a government shutdown.

Voting began last week and ends - in just a moment - at 21:00 ET (01:00 GMT) tonight.

The contest pitting the park’s bears against each other to determine adequate fatness to withstand the winter was moved to the last week in September. The shift “avoids any uncertainty regarding the National Park Service budget and a possible federal government shutdown”, organisers say.

Voters are asked to pick the bear that "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears". It’s currently down to two finalists, Chunk and bear No. 856.

Image source, Katmai National Park and Preserve

Unlike the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian has enough money to keep its museums open for a week.

“Smithsonian will use prior-year funds to remain open to the public at least through Monday, October 6, 2025,” the institution says.

The Smithsonian includes more than a dozen museums and galleries that hosted nearly 17 million visitors in 2024. The most popular are the National Museums of Natural History and American History and the National Air and Space Museum.

Image source, Reuters

Republican Leader John Thune spoke to reporters after the bill failed to pass, expressing disappointment - but also optimism that an agreement could be made to jumpstart government funding.

“Democrats may have chosen to shut down the government tonight, but we can reopen it tomorrow,” the South Dakota senator said.

“All it takes is a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to pass the clean, nonpartisan funding bill that's in front of us,” said Thune.

“And I hope, I really hope, that some of them will join us to reopen the government resume bipartisan appropriations work, and get back to the business of the American people.”

The White House Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum confirming that the government will indeed shutdown at midnight tonight, and blaming Democrats for the impasse.

"Affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown," the memo notes.

"It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict. Regardless, employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities."

The memo is signed by Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump White House.

Midnight deadline looms as both sides look to assign - and avoid - blamepublished at 00:40 BST 1 October

00:40 BST 1 October

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

In the end, two Democrats - and one independent who acts like a Democrat - broke ranks and voted with Republicans in an unsuccessful effort to pass a government-funding bill.

One of the Democrats, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has become a bit of a political wildcard over the past year. But the other's decision could hint at some of the doubts around the politics of this shutdown gambit.

Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada is a centrist but no party iconoclast. She is, however, up for re-election next year in a state that Donald Trump carried in 2024 and which has been slowly trending Republican for years. In her statement explaining her vote, she expressed concern about the economic toll government closure would have on her state. She might also be worried about the toll it could take on her political prospects as an incumbent on the ballot when voters turn angry.

She issued a call for compromise, but with the midnight deadline looming and both sides trying to assign – and avoid - blame, any kind of agreement seems very distant for the moment.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill

It’s been a long day on Capitol Hill for members of Congress and reporters alike.

Even still, not too much has changed over the ten hours that I've been here today.

Republicans and Democrats are no closer to a deal to keep the government open than they were when the day started, and the government is widely expected to shut down in just a few hours, when funding runs out.

Now that the last-ditch votes have taken place (and failed) in the Senate, the hallways are clearing and lawmakers, staffers and journalists are headed home.

The writing is on the wall: when Americans wake up on Wednesday morning, the US government won't be funded.

Image source, US Senate

A Republican-led proposal to avert a shutdown has also failed to meet the 60-senate vote threshold.

The final vote count was 55 in favour and 45 against the bill.

Large parts of the US government are now likely headed towards a shutdown in less than four hours.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who has occasionally voted with Democrats, tells reporters here at the Capitol that she's worried about the impact of a potential shutdown on the country's national parks.

Her state, Maine, is home to Acadia National Park, which could see its gates barricaded if the government shuts down. However, if the decision is made to leave the park open, the park could be damaged by unsupervised visitors, as many park rangers won't be on duty..

Collins tells us that she's been in contact with park authorities about what could happen next.

"Acadia National Park is at the peak of its visitor season because of the fall foliage," she says.

It will not have the staff to handle all the visitors, Collins continues.

"That's one of the consequences of this needless shutdown."

Voting has now started in the Senate on the second last-ditch funding bill of the night, this time the Republicans' proposal to fund the government past midnight and avert a shutdown.

You can watch live above to see lawmakers cast their ballots.

Image source, US Senate

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is speaking on the Senate floor after Schumer, calling for a vote on the next spending resolution, this one led by Republicans.

He criticises Democrats for failing to support GOP-led efforts to keep the government open and accuses them of bowing to pressure from the far-left to oppose anything President Donald Trump has done or plans to do.

He says it’s time to fund the government and "get back to the business of the American people".

Image source, US Senate

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is speaking now moments after a Democrat-led proposal failed to get enough votes to avert a shutdown.

"Democrats remain ready to get to work to negotiate a truly bipartisan agreement to keep the government open,"he says. "But we need to fix our healthcare system now."

"The issue can't wait," he adds.

Image source, US Senate

A Democrat-led proposal to fund the government has failed, bringing the US closer to a shutdown at midnight.

The funding bill failed with 53 senators voting against it and 47 voting for it, mostly along party lines. To keep the government open, the bill needed 60 of the 100 US senators to support it.

Up next, Republicans will put forward their own proposal which is expected to also fall short of the 60-vote threshold.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill

We just spoke with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, who is voting no on the Republican funding measure.

He expresses concern about cuts to healthcare benefits that could be made with the Republicans' stop-gap proposal.

Kaine is asked if he's concerned about government employees losing their jobs because of the looming shutdown, as Donald Trump has threatened permanent mass lay-offs if the government runs out of funding.

"It's a very real threat, it's just (that) he's already doing (it)," he says, in reference to Doge-led cuts to the federal workforce by the president earlier this year.

The Senate votes are now taking place.

As a reminder, Senators are voting on the temporary resolution by the Republicans that would keep the government running for seven more weeks, as well as a Democratic counter-proposal.

You can watch live above as senators cast their ballots, and we'll bring you the results when we get them, so stay tuned.

Last-ditch funding vote not likely to bring much drama - but could offer cluespublished at 22:49 BST 30 September

22:49 BST 30 September

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Senate votes can be high drama. Recall the late John McCain of Arizona dramatically casting a “thumbs-down” to foil his party’s efforts to repeal the Obamacare health-insurance programme in 2017, or the narrow fight to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh the following year.

This evening's last-ditch attempts to avert a government shutdown are unlikely to offer any such memorable moments.

Even with the battle lines firmly set, however, it will be interesting to see if any Democrats break ranks and side with the Republicans. If there are more than a handful, it could indicate that there are fractures within the party that could spread once the pressure – and political pain – increases as the shutdown gets fully underway.

Visitors hoping to browse the collections at the Library of Congress may want to start making other plans.

Unless Congress reaches a deal, "effective 12:01 am Wednesday, Oct. 1, all Library of Congress buildings will be CLOSED to the public and researchers", the library advises.

"All public events will be cancelled."

The library's Thomas Jefferson Building is currently featuring exhibitions on the legacy of George and Ira Gershwin, including personal correspondence and sheet music, and The Two Georges, a display highlighting the duelling positions of George Washington and King George III.

The library also has concerts planned in October, including by London's Consone Quartet.

Image source, US Library of Congress

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill

We’ve just seen our first senator, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski.

Like many senators when they don’t want to talk, she stayed in conversation with her staffers, ignoring reporters' questions.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Senators are expected to begin casting their votes for a last-ditch funding stopgap any minute now. I'm among the dozens of reporters waiting outside the Senate chamber in the Capitol for that vote to conclude.

I'm in a basement hallway, where cameras aren’t allowed but reporters are.

There were lots of folks like myself staked out here earlier in the day. Now, there's twice as many.

When senators finishing voting, they'll have to walk by us gathered press to leave the chamber. We're hoping they answer some of our questions.

I'll let you know what we hear from them.