SEQUESTER AX FALLS - President Barack Obama and the Republicans were able to avoid the fiscal cliff at the beginning of the year, but they could not avoid the sequester of 85 billions in budget cuts that go into effect on March 1st and threaten social, educational, and health programs. José López Zamorano reports from the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

BILL PROPOSED TO ENCOURAGE LATINO VOTE – The United States Supreme Court this week heard arguments about the current viability of the Voting Rights Act, which was passed in 1965 to protect the rights of African-American and other minority voters. Currently in several states around the country, there are attempts to revoke a series of state laws that, according to many experts, seek to limit the rights of African-American and Latino voters. In Florida, a bill was introduced this week to repeal changes in election law that activists say aimed to limit the Latino vote. Javier Aparisi has more details from Miami.

MUSICAL GROUP RESURGES 30 YEARS LATER – It’s not every day you hear stories like The Pyramids’. The musical group debuted in the 70’s, traveled to Africa to look for their roots, recorded a few albums with limited copies, and separated. More than 30 years later, their unique mix of jazz with world rhythms has found a new audience, this time worldwide. Now on tour again, the members of The Pyramids are beginning a new stage Our reporter Farida Jhabvala Romero went to one of their concerts in Oakland, California. This story is part of our series Raíces: Stories About Grassroots Artists.