Negotiators Seek U.S. Budget Deal With Deadline Two Days Off

With two days left to stop a package of higher taxes and spending cuts neither party wants, Democrats and Republicans are searching for a deal as lawmakers gather in Washington and President Barack Obama presses his case on television today.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Mitch McConnell, the chamber’s Republican leader, plan to brief party members in closed-door caucuses this afternoon on the status of private weekend talks between their staffs seeking an accord to avert the more than $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending reductions set to start in January.