from bisect import bisect_left

def binary_search(a, x, lo=0, hi=None):  # can't use a to specify default for hi
    hi = hi if hi is not None else len(a)  # hi defaults to len(a)   
    pos = bisect_left(a, x, lo, hi)  # find insertion position
    return (pos if pos != hi and a[pos] == x else -1)  # don't walk off the end

def binary_search(a, x, lo=0, hi=None):
    if hi is None:
        hi = len(a)
    while lo < hi:
        mid = (lo+hi)//2
        midval = a[mid]
        if midval < x:
            lo = mid+1
        elif midval > x:
            hi = mid
        else:
            return mid
    return -1