Americans worry about next meal as shutdown enters second month

Washington: The US government shutdown barreled towards its second month Friday and the pain is spreading fast with federal workers broke, food aid...

Washington: The US government shutdown barreled towards its second month Friday and the pain is spreading fast -- with federal workers broke, food aid under threat and millions of Americans caught in the crossfire.

What started on October 1 as a Washington sideshow has morphed into a slow-motion implosion of public services and a growing economic convulsion, with federal offices dark and President Donald Trump's government stuck in neutral.

Republicans have warned that millions will begin feeling the full force of the shutdown for the first time this weekend, as unresolved fights over funding for health care and food stamps make them hungrier and poorer.

"Most people haven't noticed up until this week. Thanks to Donald Trump finding a way to pay our troops last month, that pain was delayed," Republican House Whip Tom Emmer told Fox News. "But, starting this week... this is starting to become very real."

At the heart of the fight is the expiry of insurance subsidies that make health care affordable for more than 20 million people. Premiums are expected to skyrocket when the new sign-up period opens Saturday.