The Associated Press

A government shutdown is having far-reaching consequences for some, but minimal impact on others. Mail is being delivered. Social Security and Medicare benefits continue to flow. But vacationers are being turned away from national parks and Smithsonian museums, and that's having a ripple effect on those businesses and communities that rely on tourism. Borrowers applying for a mortgage can expect delays, particularly many low-to-moderate income borrowers and first-time homebuyers. A look at how services have been affected, and sometimes not, by Congress failing to reach an agreement averting a partial government shutdown:

TRAVEL

Federal air traffic controllers remain on the job and airport screeners continue to funnel passengers through security checkpoints. Furloughs of safety inspectors had put inspections of planes, pilots and aircraft repair stations on hold, but the Federal Aviation Administration says it is asking 800 employees ‐ including some safety inspectors ‐ to return to work this week. More than 2,900 inspectors had been furloughed. The State Department continues processing foreign applications for visas and U.S. applications for passports, since fees are collected to finance those services. Embassies and consulates overseas remain open and are providing services for U.S. citizens abroad.

BENEFIT PAYMENTS

Social Security and Medicare benefits continue to be paid out, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications. Unemployment benefits are also still going out. The state of Arizona opted to stop welfare benefits averaging $207 a week to about 5,200 families, despite assurances from the federal officials that the state would be reimbursed.

FEDERAL COURTS

Federal courts have been using fees and other funds to operate since the shutdown began and will continue to do so until next Tuesday. After that, the courts will run out of money and shut down all non-essential work. A limited number of workers would perform essential work, while all others would be furloughed. Each court would make a determination on what is essential and non-essential. Judges would still be able to seat jurors, but the jurors won't be paid until Congress provides funding. Court-appointed lawyers would also not get paid. Lack of funds for the Justice Department has already led to delays in some civil cases in which the department is a party. The Supreme Court opened its term Monday and says its business will go on despite the ongoing shutdown.

RECREATION

All national parks are closed. Grand National Canyon National Park was shut down for only the second time since it was created in 1919. The Grand Canyon averages 18,000 tourists per day in October, which has left hotels, concessionaires and tour operators losing money by the hour. In Washington, monuments along the National Mall have been closed, as have the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo. Among the visitor centers that have closed: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Alcatraz Island near San Francisco. National Wildlife Refuges have been closed off to hunters and fishermen just as hunting season was getting underway in many states. Normally, hunting would be allowed on 329 wildlife refuges and fishing allowed on 271.

ENVIRONMENT

At the Environmental Protection Agency, the shutdown means the agency can no longer certify whether vehicles meet emissions standards, delaying some new models from reaching car lots. New pesticides and industrial chemicals are also in limbo because the EPA has halted reviews of their health and environmental effects. And the nation's environmental police are no longer checking to see if polluters are complying with agreements to reduce their pollution.

FOOD SAFETY

The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they can handle recalls and high-risk foodborne outbreaks, but discovering them will be more difficult because many of the people who investigate outbreaks have been furloughed. Routine food safety inspections conducted by FDA are suspended, so most food manufacturers won't have to worry about periodic visits from government inspectors to make sure their facilities are clean. U.S. food inspections abroad have also been halted, and border inspections could be slowed because there aren't many as many workers to analyze food samples. The CDC had furloughed most of its scientists who track food safety outbreaks. But they have recalled many of those employees in light of an outbreak of salmonella in raw chicken that has sickened more than 278 people. USDA's federal meat inspections are proceeding as usual. USDA inspectors are on the lines every day in meatpacking plants and are required to be there by law for the plants to stay open.

HEALTH

New patients are not being accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, but current patients continue to receive care. Medical research at the NIH has been disrupted as some studies have been delayed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been severely limited in spotting or investigating disease outbreaks such as the flu or that mysterious MERS virus from the Middle East. The FDA has halted the review and approval of new medical products and drugs.

EDUCATION

The impact of the shutdown on school districts, colleges and universities has been relatively minimal so far. Student loans have continued to be paid out. But school trips to national parks and museums have been cancelled, and some university researchers have been unable to apply for grant funding or access government databases. If the shutdown lingers longer, however, districts and higher education institutions that rely on federal grants dollars to fund programs such as those for special education students could begin to feel the pinch, the Education Department has said.