Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — More than 800 Idaho National Guard employees will start taking furlough days mandated by federal budget cuts. Idaho National Guard spokesman Col. Tim Marsano says about 860 full-time employees will have one unpaid day off each week between now and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Marsano says the federal budget cuts affect 860 military technicians and civilian workers. The federal budget cuts took effect when Congress failed to reach an agreement on a deficit reduction plan. For military families, the furloughs mean living with a 20 percent reduction in pay over the next several months. Marsano said it's also too soon to tell what kind of impact the furloughs will have on response to any disasters.