UPDATED 12:22 PM EST, February 28, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government agencies are already taking steps to comply with automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect Friday.
—Defense Department
One of the Navy's premiere warships, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, sits pier-side in Norfolk, Va., its tour of duty delayed.
The carrier and its 5,000-person crew were to leave for the Persian Gulf on Feb. 8, along with the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg.
—Department of Homeland Security
Hundreds of illegal immigrants have been freed from jail across the country.
