Biden-led budget talks resume on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — With an early August deadline looming, lawmakers and the White House are finding out just how difficult it is to come up with $2.5 trillion in budget savings over the next decade. That's the price Republicans are demanding to let the government continue piling on debt.

Failure to raise the nation's debt ceiling could lead to a first-ever U.S. default on its obligations, sure to roil stock markets.

Vice President Joe Biden is leading the sixth in a series of high-level meetings to hunt for the spending cuts Thursday.

Among the topics on the agenda are the Obama administration proposals for increased revenue — an idea that Republicans strongly oppose. Lawmakers and the markets are hoping for a settlement well before the Aug. 2 deadline.