With no deal and only hours to go, US economy heads toward 'fiscal cliff'

(CNN) -- With only hours left Monday to avert what economists predict will be a one-two punch to the U.S. economy, Senate Democrats and Republicans were trying to negotiate a last-minute deal aimed at heading off a year-end combination of spending cuts and tax increase that could trigger a new recession.

"Fiscal cliff" talks stall in final hours, no votes Sunday

(CNN) -- Senate Republicans and Democrats remain far apart in their effort to avert a year-end combination of spending cuts and tax increases that could trigger a new recession, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday.

Senate leaders will try to work out a fiscal cliff deal

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A political summit on Friday at the White House left it to the Senate's top Democrat and Republican to work out a possible compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff, participants said.

Obama, Congressional leaders to discuss fiscal cliff impasse

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and congressional leaders will discuss the looming fiscal cliff impasse Friday at the White House, spokespeople for the president and House Speaker John Boehner said.

Down to the fiscal cliff wire, with no solution in sight

(CNN) -- Call it a bigger, bolder version of the deadline-driven congressional stalemates over taxes and spending that have come to define Washington dysfunction of the past two years.

Boehner's fiscal cliff bill pulled amid dissension in GOP caucus

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner's proposal to avert the looming fiscal cliff's automatic tax increases failed to curry enough Republican support Thursday night, after which Congress left for the holiday with no clear end in sight in the high-stakes debate.

Pres. Obama: Proposals to address gun violence due by January

(CNN) -- The nation will have a set of recommendations to address widespread gun violence within weeks, President Barack Obama announced Wednesday.

Obama to lay out first steps in gun policy talks after Newtown tragedy

(CNN) -- With the shock and horror from Newtown giving way to anger and calls for action, President Barack Obama will announce his first concrete steps Wednesday in addressing the raging debate about gun policy.

Boehner proposes short-term tax fix; Democrats say no

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In the chess match of the fiscal cliff negotiations, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are narrowing the divide between their positions while contending with discontent among their respective ranks.

Sandy Hook tragedy sparks debate over gun control

OAK CREEK -- The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School is sparking a new, invigorated debate over gun control.

Dems cast Wisconsin's electoral votes for Pres. Obama

MADISON (AP) -- Wisconsin Democrats have cast the state's 10 electoral votes for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Pres. Obama, House Speaker Boehner meet again on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House on Monday after the leading Republican negotiator made expected concessions over the weekend that moved the negotiations to a new level.

President Obama attends memorial service in Newtown Sunday

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama attended a memorial service Sunday, December 16th in Newtown, Conn., the site of Friday's deadly elementary school shooting.

Obama remains committed to assault weapons ban, White House says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House said President Barack Obama supports reinstatement of a federal ban on assault weapons -- a position he took in the 2008 campaign but failed to press during his first term.

Boehner offers to include higher tax rates on wealthy to avoid fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker John Boehner has offered to include higher tax rates on the wealthiest Americans as part of a deficit-reduction deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, a source close to the talks confirmed to CNN on Saturday, December 15th.