Budget Talks at Impasse; Democrats Won't Agree on Spending Cuts

Senate Republicans and Democrats hit an impasse Sunday over spending in their last-ditch struggle to avoid an economy-jarring default in just four days and end a partial government shutdown that enters its third week.

After inconclusive talks between President Barack Obama and House Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took charge in trying to end the crises although no resolution seemed imminent.

"Americans want Congress to compromise," Reid said at the start of a rare Sunday session in the Senate in which he...