Senate leaders scramble for last-minute fiscal deal

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio left the White House separately in Washington on Friday after a closed-door meeting between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders to negotiate the framework for a deal on the fiscal cliff. Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise today to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a "self-inflicted wound to the economy."