US websites suspended after federal shutdown

A number of US government websites and Twitter feeds have been suspended due to a partial US government shutdown.

Nasa's website was unavailable as non-essential services were closed, and the White House web page was not being updated, after a lapse in federal funding.

The US Department of Homeland Security was not responding to public emails submitted via its website.

US government employees affected by the shutdown were not able to access email.

Republican opposition to President Obama's healthcare reform law, the Affordable Care Act, lead to the the government shutdown on Tuesday.

The act, known also as Obamacare, has caused legislative deadlock. Congress failed to pass legislation to fund the government on Monday.

Thousands of federal workers who had been sent home on Tuesday were barred from accessing work emails as part of US government policy.

The same US law which gave the legal basis for the shutdown, the Antideficiency Act, also prohibited work "via mobile devices or remote computer connections" for employees who had been sent home.

Communications channels for members of the public were also affected by the shutdown.

US citizens can normally use federal websites and Twitter feeds to put queries to government institutions.

On Tuesday, email questions from the public were not being processed by US bodies including the US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.

:story: BBC News