WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said Sunday that "we need to" work out a debt deal within the next 10 days as he convened a meeting with congressional leaders, aiming to fashion a deficit reduction package that would allow the country to avoid first ever default on U.S. debt.
Obama and the eight top House and Senate leaders assembled in the White House Cabinet Room for about 90 minutes during a rare Sunday session, less than 24 hours after House Speaker John Boehner abandoned plans to negotiate a massive $4 trillion deal for reducing the debt.