WASHINGTON--Congress is out today. The Sequester kicks in. We are heading to some uncharted territory.

President Barack Obama meets with the four top congressional leaders at the White House today: Republicans Sen. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner and Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, but the huddle is highly unlikely to avert the automatic budget cuts referred to as the "sequester."

5 MYTHS ABOUT THE SEQUESTER: A smart, fast read by think tank scholars Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein in the Washington Post.

STATE OF PLAY: The latest in sequester by-play in the Washington Post.

DICTIONARY.COM DEFINES: se·ques·ter

/səˈkwestər/

Verb
Isolate or hide away (someone or something): "the artist sequestered himself in his studio for two years".
Noun
A general cut in government spending.
Synonyms
verb. sequestrate - seize - isolate - impound - insulate
noun. segregation - sequestration