George Wenschhof
Both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said they are closing in on an agreement to end a two-week-old government shutdown and stave off a default on the national debt come Thursday.
"We've made tremendous progress. Everyone just needs to be patient," Reid told colleagues on the Senate floor. "We hope that with good fortune and the support of all of you, recognizing how hard this is for everybody, that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day. We are not there yet. We hope we will be." NBC News has more details here.
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Senate Republicans Meeting Today - Senate Republicans are scheduled to gather Tuesday morning for a closed-door meeting. According to Roll Call, the meeting is expected to begin at 11 a.m. ET.
The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, but was postponed in order to give Senate leaders more time to iron out a deal to avert default and reopen the government. TPM.com has more here.
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Pressure on Boehner - Speaker John Boehner, who has wrestled with an unruly pack of conservatives for months, will soon be faced with an uncomfortable choice: Pass an emerging bipartisan Senate deal to lift the debt ceiling and fund the government, or don’t — and risk massive political and economic consequences.
As the contours of a bipartisan Senate deal became clear, Boehner’s leadership team, allies and rank-and-file lawmakers spent Monday saying that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are gearing up to send the House a crummy deal. Politico.com has more here.
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Iran Makes Proposals to End Nuclear Development Standoff - Iran said it presented "logical" proposals in talks with six world powers on Tuesday aimed at achieving a breakthrough in a decade-old standoff over its disputed nuclear program that has heightened the risk of a new Middle East war.
Tehran launched negotiations in earnest with the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, reflecting the election in June of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani, as new Iranian president, raising hopes for an end to the deadlock.
After years of ideological defiance, Iran appeared keen for a negotiated settlement to win relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy, slashed 60 percent of its daily oil export revenue and caused a steep devaluation of the rial currency. Reuters.com has more here.
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