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No Last-Minute Deal On Sequester

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President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2013, following after meeting with congressional leaders regarding the automatic spending cuts. (Charles Dharapak/AP)
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2013, following after meeting with congressional leaders regarding the automatic spending cuts. (Charles Dharapak/AP)

No deal was struck at a meeting with congressional leaders and President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday, to avert across-the-board government spending cuts.

That means the cuts will begin to take effect, in spite of bipartisan agreement they should be stopped.

In a news conference after the meeting, the president said the automatic budget cuts are "not a win for anybody. This is a loss for the American people."

Republicans this week slammed Obama for exaggerating the effects of some of the cuts.

But starting next week, government agencies will begin to issue furlough notices telling federal workers such as air traffic controllers and meat inspectors when they'd be told not to come to work in the coming weeks.

What exactly will the effects be, and when will they start to be felt?

We speak with Washington Post national political correspondent Karen Tumulty, who tweeted this morning "Sequester has begun. Notice that slight shift of the earth on its axis?"

Guest:

Read more on what happens next:

This segment aired on March 1, 2013.

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