CLEVELAND, Ohio - The federal government shut down just after midnight Wednesday, furloughing thousands of workers and closing government facilities across the country as lawmakers failed to reach an agreement to fund them.

In a shutdown , hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed or work without pay, government offices close, national parks may become inaccessible, and many federal services halt. Mail delivery and Social Security payments continue, but passport processing stops and new benefit claims face delays.

In the Cleveland area, many of NASA Glenn Research Center’s employees are furloughed, although exact numbers haven’t been disclosed. The agency’s shutdown notice indicated that 15,094 of its 18,218 total workers nationwide would be furloughed. NASA employees

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