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Washington is bracing for what could be a prolonged federal shutdown after lawmakers deadlocked and missed the deadline for funding the government.

Republicans supported a short-term measure to fund the government generally at current levels through Nov 21, but Democrats blocked it, insisting the measure address their concerns on health care. They want to reverse the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s mega-bill passed this summer and extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable for millions of people who purchase through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans called the Democratic proposal a nonstarter that would cost taxpayers more than $1trn.

Neither side shows any signs of budging.

Here’s what to know about the shutdown that began Wednesday:

What happens in the shutdown?

Now that a lapse in funding has occurred, the law requires agencies to furlough their “non-excepted” employees. Excepted employees, who include those who work to protect life and property, stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.

The White House Office of Management and Budget begins the process with instructions to agencies that a lapse in appropriations has occurred and they should initiate orderly shutdown activities. That memo went out Tuesday evening.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, with the total daily cost of their compensation at roughly $400m.

What government work continues during a shutdown?

A great deal, actually.

FBI investigators, CIA officers, air traffic controllers and agents operating airport checkpoints keep working. So do members of the Armed Forces.

Those programs that rely on mandatory spending generally continue during a shutdown. Social Security payments still go out. Seniors relying on Medicare coverage can still see their doctors and health care providers can be reimbursed.

Veteran health care also continues during a shutdown. Veterans Affairs medical centers and outpatient clinics will be open, and VA benefits will be processed and delivered. Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries.

Will furloughed federal workers get paid?

Yes. In 2019, Congress passed a bill enshrining into law the requirement that furloughed employees get retroactive pay once operations resume.

While they’ll eventually get paid, the furloughed workers and those who remain on the job may have to go without one or more of their regular paychecks, depending upon how long the shutdown lasts.

Service members would also receive back pay for missed paychecks once federal funding resumes.

Will I still get mail?

Yes. The US Postal Service is unaffected by a government shutdown. It’s an independent entity funded through the sale of its products and services, not by tax dollars.

What closes during a shutdown?

All administrations get some leeway to choose which services to freeze or maintain in a shutdown.

The first Trump administration worked to blunt the impact of what became the country’s longest partial shutdown in 2018 and 2019. But on Tuesday, Trump threatened the possibility of increasing the pain that comes with a shutdown.

“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them,” Trump said of Democrats. “Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”

Each federal agency develops its own shutdown plan. The plans outline which workers would stay on the job during a shutdown and which would be furloughed.

In a provocative move, the Office of Management and Budget has threatened the mass firing of federal workers in a shutdown. An OMB memo said those programs that didn’t get funding through Trump’s mega-bill this summer would bear the brunt of a shutdown.

Agencies should consider issuing reduction-in-force notices for those programs whose funding expires, that don’t have alternative funding sources and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities,” the memo said.

That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when furloughed federal workers returned to their jobs once the shutdown was over. A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions, which would trigger another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that’s already faced major rounds of cuts due to efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in Trump’s Republican administration.

What agencies are planning

Health and Human Services will furlough about 41 percent of its staff out of nearly 80,000 employees, according to a contingency plan posted on its website.

As part of that plan, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would continue to monitor disease outbreaks, while activities that will stop include research into health risks and ways to prevent illness.

Meanwhile, research and patient care at the National Institutes of Health would be upended. Patients currently enrolled in studies at the research-only hospital nicknamed the House of Hope will continue to receive care. Additional sick patients hoping for access to experimental therapies can’t enroll except in special circumstances, and no new studies will begin.

At the Food and Drug Administration, its “ability to protect and promote public health and safety would be significantly impacted, with many activities delayed or paused.” For example, the agency would not accept new drug applications or medical device submissions that require payment of a user fee.

The National Park Service plans to furlough about two-thirds of its employees while keeping parks largely open to visitors during the federal shutdown, according to a contingency plan released Tuesday night. The plan says “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.”

The plan also allows parks to enter into agreements with states, tribes or local governments willing to make donations to keep national park sites open. The park service has more than 400 sites, including large national parks such as Yellowstone and Grand Canyon, national battlefields and historic sites.

Sites could close if damage is being done to park resources or garbage is building up.

Many national parks including Yellowstone and Yosemite stayed open during a 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term. Limited staffing led to vandalism, gates being pried open and other problems including an off-roader mowing down one of the namesake trees at Joshua Tree National Park in California.

Smithsonian Institution: Museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain open through at least Monday.

Impact on the economy

Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office, said a short shutdown doesn’t have a huge impact on the economy, especially since federal workers, by law, are paid retroactively. But “if a shutdown continues, then that can give rise to uncertainties about what is the role of government in our society, and what’s the financial impact on all the programs that the government funds.”

“The impact is not immediate, but over time, there is a negative impact of a shutdown on the economy,” he added.

Markets haven’t reacted strongly to past shutdowns, according to Goldman Sachs Research. At the close of the three prolonged shutdowns since the early 1990s, equity markets finished flat or up even after dipping initially.

A governmentwide shutdown would directly reduce growth by around 0.15 percentage points for each week it lasted, or about 0.2 percentage points per week once private-sector effects were included, and growth would rise by the same cumulative amount in the quarter following reopening, writes Alec Phillips, chief US political economist at Goldman Sachs.

AP

More than 611,657 people have left Kathmandu Valley during the nine days since Ghatasthapana, according to the Valley Traffic Police Office.

Data shows that from Ghatasthapana (September 22) to today, this number of passengers departed through various exit points. In the last 24 hours alone, 58,396 people left the Valley.

Traffic Police spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Nareshraj Subedi said that with the start of Dashain, the number of people leaving Kathmandu has surged. “The flow of vehicles entering and exiting the Valley is normal, though the number of outbound passengers has sharply increased,” he said.

In the past 24 hours, 13,326 passenger vehicles departed from the Valley, bringing the total to 113,415 vehicles since Ghatasthapana. Most of these passengers are heading to districts in the eastern, western, and far-western provinces.

Meanwhile, the Valley has also seen 319,015 arrivals in 77,545 vehicles during the same period. Major exit and entry points—including Koteshwor, Kalanki, Balkhu, New Bus Park, and Jagati—have witnessed heavy passenger movement.

Nepalis living abroad have been urged to contribute to Nepal’s Physical Infrastructure Reconstruction Fund, established to rebuild government structures destroyed during the recent GenZ Movement protests.

Nepal’s embassies and missions abroad have appealed to Nepalis overseas to extend financial support to the fund. The protests on Sept 8–9 led to arson and vandalism targeting major government institutions, including Singhadurbar, the Parliament building, the Prime Minister’s residence, the President’s Office, courts, police stations, and several other state structures. Many offices were completely destroyed in the violence.

To address the damage, the Cabinet meeting on Sept 21 issued the Infrastructure Reconstruction Committee (Formation) Order 2082 and established a reconstruction fund under the Ministry of Finance. The ministry has requested both domestic and overseas Nepalis to contribute.

The Nepali Embassy in Qatar has issued a public notice calling for contributions, highlighting that the fund will be used for reconstruction, economic recovery, and relief programs. Nepali missions in Iran, Kuwait, Israel, and Cyprus have made similar appeals through social media and official channels, urging Nepalis and Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) to take part in the national rebuilding campaign.

Meanwhile, NRN communities abroad have also begun organizing fundraising programs. The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has stressed that it is both a responsibility and a duty to contribute during the country’s crisis. NRNA President Mahesh Kumar Shrestha, in a statement, noted that the association has consistently supported Nepal during past disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and called on all NRNs worldwide to contribute to the reconstruction campaign.

The contributions, according to the NRNA, will help restore administrative services, ensure security, and support long-term national rebuilding efforts.

The shooting of the Nepali movie Malati Mangle has been completed. After 31 consecutive days of filming, the production wrapped up on Monday, according to executive producer Sagar Gyawali. The movie was shot across scenic locations in Tanahun and Syangja districts.

Before filming began, a script and camera worship ceremony was held last month at Mahadevsthan Temple in Koteshwor, Kathmandu. During the auspicious event, singer and producer Ramkrishna Dhakal’s father, Gopal Karmacharya, gave the first clap. Actor Vijay Baral and actress Barsha Raut featured in the first scene, officially marking the start of the shoot.

Produced under the banner of Rani Music International in collaboration with Uni Entertainment, the film is led by popular singer and producer Ramkrishna Dhakal. Co-producers include Babu Subedi, Rabin Shrestha, Bedana Karmacharya Shrestha, and Swikriti Basnet. Dhakal has promised to deliver a high-quality production with a heartfelt family love story rooted in social themes.

Directed by Praku Pandey, who also wrote the story, the screenplay and dialogues are penned by Guragain. The lead cast features Bijay Baral, Barsha Raut, and Maksam Gaudel, alongside Suvarna Thapa, Prakash Ghimire, Sarita Giri, Sushma Niraula, Sunil Tamang, Umesh Sunam, Shaku Shah, Suchitra Upreti, Dinesh Shahi, Rijan Pariyar, Tara Sharma, Geeta Shree, Raj Pangeni, Sushmita Gurung, and Sagar Bhattarai, among others.

The technical team includes cinematographer Mahesh Poudel, editor Romi Tandukar, colorist Krishna Bhandari, costume designer Ravi Pokharel, art director Manoj Bogati, and production designer Rijan Pariyar. Songs by lyricists Rajendra Thapa, Anand Adhikari, Gopal Adhikari, and Harka Saud are composed by Hari Lamsal, Rajanraj Siwakoti, SD Yogi, and Ujjwal Sagar.

The production team has announced that post-production work will now begin in full swing.

Thousands of devotees stood in serpentine lines to get blessings and worship Goddess Taleju Bhawani as the doors to the temple opened just for a day in the year. Devotees stood in line stretching across the Basantapur Durbar Square eves as goats were being sacrificed on the open square in front of Gaddhi Baithak.

Open once a year on the day of Maha Nawami, Taleju Bhawani is regarded as the main goddess of Newa, as well as the savior of children. The Taleju Bhawani temple situated within the Hanumandhoka Durbar area is opened only on the day of Mahanawami or Ashwin Shukla Nawami (the ninth day in the month of Asoj as per lunar calendar) every year.

Meanwhile, the Tulaja Bhawani goddess was taken amidst a ritualistic procession to the Mulchowk area of the Hanumandhoka Durbar Area at an auspicious hour. The statue of the goddess will be kept at Mulchowk where a special puja would be offered at midnight on Mahaastami by sacrificing 54 he-goats and 54 he-buffaloes.

The ancient temple which dates back to Malla-era opens only on the ninth day of the waxing moon in the month of Asoj as per the lunar calendar. Special worship is performed to Durga Bhawani on the occasion of the Mahanawami and the ‘jamara’ which have been germinated is offered to the goddesses at various shrines.

The Durga Saptasati and Devi Strota scriptures are also recited at homes and in temples on this day. As mentioned in the Markandeya Purana, Goddess Chamunda had slain the demon Raktabij on the day of Mahanawami. So, there is special worship of the goddess on this day with the offering of animal sacrifices. On this day, the security forces also perform what is called the ‘kot puja’ or worship of the armories.

The day of Maha Nawami is also considered as the final day to make sacrifices to Goddess Durga and her various incarnations during Dashain. The tenth day of the fortnightly festival of Dashain witnesses people touring round the house of their elders seeking blessings and Tika on the forehead.

It is believed that the sacrifices should be completed before putting on the tika on the forehead on the day of Bijaya Dashami or the tenth day of the festival. Starting from the tenth day, there is an existing culture where the tika on the forehead is offered till the day of Kojagrat Purnima or the 15th day of the festival of Dashain.

The grand statue of the goddess Taleju is placed at Mulchowk and worshipped until the day of Bijaya Dashami. It is taken to the temple sanctum sanctorum on the morning of Bijaya Dashami amidst a religious procession.

At least 69 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit a central Philippine province where dozens of peple were killed by a powerful earthquake Tuesday night.

The magnitude-6.9 earthquake that hit at about 10 pm trapped an unspecified number of residents in collapsed houses, nightclubs and other businesses in the hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province, officials said.

Rescuers scrambled to find survivors Wednesday. Army troops, police and civilian volunteers backed by backhoes and sniffer dogs were deployed Wednesday to carry out house-to-house searches for survivors.

The epicenter of the earthquake, which was set off by movement in an undersea fault line at a dangerously shallow depth of 5 kilometers, was about 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where about half of the deaths were reported, officials said.

The death toll in Bogo was expected to rise, according to officials, who said intermitted rain and damaged bridges and roads were hampering the race to save lives.

AP

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed ‘fat generals’ and diversity initiatives that he said led to decades of decay in the military and told a rare gathering of commanders on Tuesday they should resign if they do not support his agenda. Joining Hegseth was US President Donald Trump, who also delivered an address to the assembled admirals and generals in Quantico, Virginia that floated the idea of using deployments to US cities as “as training grounds for our military.”

The remarks by Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, and Trump, a former reality television star, had a made-for-TV element to them after top US military officials were summoned on short notice last week to the impromptu event. “Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department’,” Hegseth said as he kicked off the event. “But not anymore”

Addressing an auditorium full of top brass who flew in from around the world, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, including the top US general, who is Black, and the Navy’s top admiral, who is a woman. He said the officers he relieved were part of a broken culture.

He promised sweeping changes to how the Pentagon handles discrimination complaints and investigates accusations of wrongdoing. He said the current system has top brass walking on “egg shells.” “If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth said. “I know the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full.”

Hegseth said it was “completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.” He said all fitness tests would be set to male benchmarks only and emphasized the importance of grooming standards. “The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence.

Democrats broadly condemned the event, which they said sought to drive partisan politics deep into the US military.

Reuters

The BP Highway (Dhulikhel–Sindhuli–Bardibas) remains in a damaged state after floods and landslides struck in mid-September, causing daily hardship for commuters in areas like Katunjebesi, Mangalatar, and Nepal Thok.

With Dashain bringing thousands of travelers to the road, the situation has worsened. The diversion road built after the Roshi River flood damaged the highway is rough and dusty, making travel difficult and uncomfortable.

Officials say reconstruction of the severely damaged sections could cost around Rs 9.66bn, but funding has yet to be secured. Until then, travelers are forced to rely on the temporary dirt road. In Kavrepalanchok’s Namobuddha to Kaladhunga stretch, eight out of 12 kilometers were completely destroyed by the disaster. 

The 160-km BP Highway, built with grant assistance from Japan starting in fiscal year 1996/97 and officially handed over to Nepal in 2015, has now become a major travel bottleneck during the festive season.

Photos: Nepal Photo Library