Obama in fiscal cliff talks
US president Barack Obama and congressional leaders are holding crunch talks in the White House aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff".
Reports claim Mr Obama will offer a new deal to Republican leaders, with just four days remaining until hundreds of billions of dollars of tax rises and spending cuts take effect.
The president cut short his holiday in Hawaii to host the talks, but Senate leaders have expressed doubt in recent days that a deal can be reached.
Experts have warned that failure to reach an agreement could tip the US back into a recession.