Automatic federal budget cuts of $85 billion looked certain to kick in after a pair of bills to replace them failed in the Senate on Thursday. Neither a Democratic nor a Republican bill aimed at replacing the so-called sequester was able to get enough support to win a test vote on Thursday. While senators from both parties hadn’t expected passage, the bills represented a last-ditch legislative effort to replace the across-the-board cuts to domestic and military spending. The Republican bill, which would have given Obama the opportunity to pick which cuts he’d like, garnered just 38 “yes” votes; the Democratic bill, ... (full story)