Default looming, still no solution

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada takes the elevator after a rare Senate session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States moved perilously closer to an economy-rattling default and a partial government shutdown entered its 14th day as Senate Democratic and Republican leaders remained at odds over spending in their last-ditch negotiations to end the crises facing the nation.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke by phone Sunday but failed to agree on a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing authority above the $16.7 trillion debt limit or reopen the government. Congress is racing the clock with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warning that the U.S. will quickly exhaust its ability to pay the bills on Thursday.