CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) -- A government shutdown could begin at midnight Wednesday as congressional lawmakers remain deadlocked over a short-term spending bill.

Funding is set to run out at 12:01 a.m. on October 1 unless Republicans and Democrats can reach a last-minute agreement on Tuesday to avert a shutdown.

"So every year, they're supposed to pass more than a dozen appropriation bills, and we just haven't done that," explained Dr. Mark Owens, an assistant professor of political science at The Citadel. "They continue to use these continuing resolutions, and today is the day that they have to come up with an idea of whether they will extend for a shorter period of time or be able to just extend all of the government funding for the next year."

The prospects of a compromise looked unli

See Full Page