When clock strikes midnight, does the government really shut down? Maybe not

foxnews.com - Washington is bracing for the clock to strike midnight, with a government shutdown expected if Congress cannot strike a budget deal -- but despite the frenzy, the government might not turn into a pumpkin right away.Everybody is talking about a midnight deadline, because that is the official time that all discretionary spending (which is the portion that Congress controls) halts as the federal government rolls over from fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2014 on Oct.