White House releases state-by-state breakdown of sequester's effects  —  The White House on Sunday detailed how deep spending cuts set to begin this week would affect programs in every state and the District, as President Obama launched a last-ditch effort to pressure congressional Republicans …

Nikki Finke's Oscar Live-Snark: Four Hours Of Unfunny Seth MacFarlane; Unnecessary Michelle Obama; ‘Argo’ Wins Best Picture  —  I'm live-snarking the 85th Oscars for the outstanding film achievements of 2012 starting at 5:30 PM PT tonight.  Comments will open when the show starts inside the Dolby Theatre.

Democrats and Republicans Miscalculate on Automatic Cuts  —  WASHINGTON — With Congress unlikely to stop deep automatic spending cuts that will strike hard at the military, the fiscal stalemate is highlighting a significant shift in the Republican Party: lawmakers most keenly dedicated …

John Kerry invents country of Kyrzakhstan  —  John Kerry has suffered his first gaffe as the new US secretary of state, inventing the nation of ‘Kyrzakhstan’  —  In an embarrassing slip of the tongue, Mr Kerry last week praised US diplomats working to secure “democratic institutions” in the Central Asian country, which does not exist.

Dems 2016: Will Hillary Clinton clear the field?  —  The ranks of Democratic governors are filled with ambitious politicians boasting records that would probably play well with primary voters in 2016.  —  But even as they eye a move from the statehouse to the White House …

Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns as Archbishop  —  Cardinal Keith O'Brien was to be Britain's only representative at the papal vote  —  Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, is stepping down as the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Gibbs: I was ordered not to acknowledge drone program existed  —  Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that he and other administration spokesmen often seem evasive about the government's drone program because they are told not to acknowledge the secret strikes.

Austerity, Italian Style  —  Two months ago, when Mario Monti stepped down as Italy's prime minister, The Economist opined that “The coming election campaign will be, above all, a test of the maturity and realism of Italian voters.”  The mature, realistic action, presumably …

Long-time escort confirms Senator Bob Menendez paid her for sex  —  A professional escort who travels the East Coast seeing clients in cities from Miami to Boston has identified a photo of Senator Bob Menendez as a man who paid her for sex.  The woman, in her late 30s, told The Daily Caller prior …

THE HOUSE OF PAIN … - DOUBLE TAKE - PHOTO BOOTH - DAILY SHOUTS - PAGE-TURNER - DAILY COMMENT - AMY DAVIDSON - JOHN CASSIDY - BOROWITZ - RICHARD BRODY

Rick Perry will speak at CPAC  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual gathering of top Republican rising stars.  —  This will be the first time Perry has stepped onto the national stage since his 2012 presidential campaign flamed out after a series of missteps and gaffes.

VIEWPOINT: The Debt Everyone Is Freaking Out About Does Not Exist  —  Between the new-and-improved Simpson-Bowles plan, Joe Scarborough's feud with Paul Krugman, the relentless drumbeat of the entire Republican Party, and the media blitzkrieg launched by the billionaire-driven “Fix the Debt” …