Sweeping US surveillance powers used by the National Security Agency expired at midnight after a dramatic showdown in the Senate.
Unlikely to be as pleasant on the eye, but no less explosive, that particular showdown is scheduled for Saturday, with the fixture generator having unwittingly maximised excitement among Iceland's football followers by pitting the Premier League's two potential title winners against each other on the final day of the season.
During a "showdown" with presenter Alex Brooker, who deployed a "bullshit buzzer" when he was unhappy with the quality of the Liberal Democrat leader's answers, Clegg faced a barrage of tricky questions.
Those powers expired with key provisions of the Patriot Act at 12.01am on Monday amid a showdown between defense hawks and civil liberties advocates.
Republicans failed in their latest attempt to wield the threat of a partial government shutdown as a weapon of protest against Barack Obama's immigration policies on Monday, with Democrats and the White House increasingly confident they have the upper-hand in the showdown.
The face value for tickets to the 2 May showdown ranged from $10,000, $7,500, $5,000, $3,500, $2,500 to $1,500, though none of the $10,000 tickets were said to be publicly available.
There could be bad blood between the partners – even without the prospect of a showdown in what used to be a staple of byelection sensations, a Lib Dem-Conservative marginal.
"No one was really expecting a major debt ceiling showdown or changes in tapering, but anticipation is one thing, and the experience is another," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.
Sweeping US surveillance powers, enjoyed by the National Security Agency since the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, shut down at midnight after a dramatic Senate showdown in which even the NSA's biggest supporters conceded that substantial reforms were inevitable.
Click here to watch video It's the titanic showdown we've all been waiting for: Hitchcock v Hitchcock.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who led Republican negotiations in the deal that succeeded, said there would not be a shutdown showdown next time the government needs re-funding, in mid-January.
