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Automatic federal budget cuts that kicked in March 1 have had little initial impact in many parts of the government. In a few programs, however, the effect has been real and painful as the government has begun cutting $85 billion from its spending through the end of September.

The FAA has trimmed the number of towers it plans to close as it shrinks its budget in response to sequestration. Officials spared 40 airport towers it had previously planned to shutter.

The Obama administration disputed an earlier report with those numbers. Republican lawmakers have called the releases "outrageous."

Nearly 200 smaller airports, including Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa., are set to have their control towers closed this year as the FAA makes sequestration cuts. Although commercial flights will continue, some say safety is a concern.

A last-ditch meeting between the president and congressional leaders did not produce a deal, which means sequester cuts have begun.

Friday's deadline for President Obama to issue a sequestration order is neither the beginning nor the end of this year's budget battles in Washington. Here are five key moments over the next seven months, and what's at stake in each.

Once again lawmakers are up against a deadline. This time, it looks like they won't strike some sort of deal. That means about $85 billion worth of spending cuts will start to spread across many federal agencies.

The Congressional Budget Office has a new report saying the forced budget cuts coming tomorrow are actually smaller than the number used by the White House.

No rational person would try to cut nearly all government spending by a fixed amount, regardless of the individual merit of any given program. That's kind of the point.

Friday's deadline looms and "oh, it's gonna happen," says one Republican congressman. We continue to scour news outlets for stories that help make sense of the sequester.