Obama outlines fiscal cliff-deficit deal in stages

President Barack Obama spoke separately Friday with Speaker John Boehner and the top Senate Democrat to try to salvage a fiscal cliff deal by the end of year, after Republican disarray in the U.S. House put the negotiations in limbo.
In a previously unscheduled statement to reporters, Obama outlined a possible agreement that he said would include protecting middle-class Americans from a tax hike, extending unemployment benefits and setting a framework for future deficit reduction steps.
He called on Congress to pass the agreement after a Christmas break...