Speaker of the House John Boehner listens as President Obama speaks during a meeting with bipartisan group of congressional leaders in November.

As the clock ticks, a resolution to stop steep spending cuts and tax increases seems far away. Republicans and Democrats seemed to be sticking to their guns.

The bottom line on the fiscal cliff negotiations on Capitol Hill is that things seem far from resolved. As Politico put it, the last we heard is that White House congressional liaison Rob Nabors went to Capitol Hill to tell lawmakers that President Obama is not budging.

If Congress does not come to an agreement, the country is facing steep spending cuts and tax hikes that economist warn could send the economy back into recession.

"In a meeting with leadership staff, Nabors reiterated the administration's hard line that tax rates on top earners must go up, according to Republican sources with knowledge of the meeting," Politico reports. "The White House is also insisting that Congress give it power to raise the debt limit on its own."

House Speaker John Boehner is scheduled for a press conference later this morning and Vice President Joe Biden will continue to publicize the president's proposal by having lunch with a group of middle-class Americans who will be hit by higher taxes if Congress doesn't come to an agreement.

With that, here are three useful stories about the fiscal cliff:

-- "Axelrod says he's encouraged by Boehner, Obama talks" (The Hill)

-- "In Talks on a Budget Deal, Boehner and Obama Stand Alone" (The New York Times)

-- "Debt Ceiling Bluff Called By Harry Reid, Leaving Mitch McConnell To Filibuster Himself" (HuffPost Politics)

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