Obama expresses doubt about a March 1 deal to head off cuts<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/obama-turns-local-tv-press-republicans-avert-cuts-011050686--business.html"><img src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/QqEQJDBnB0HjUMTwF0eAmA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9ODU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2013-02-21T232002Z_2_CBRE91K1GSN00_RTROPTP_2_USA-OBAMA-BUDGET.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="U.S. President Barack Obama talks against automatic budget cuts at the White House complex in Washington" align="left" title="U.S. President Barack Obama talks against automatic budget cuts at the White House complex in Washington" border="0" /></a>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama expressed doubt on Thursday that a deal can be struck with Republican lawmakers by a March 1 deadline to head off the start of $85 billion in spending cuts. His comments, made in an interview with radio talk show host Al Sharpton, suggested the White House was preparing for the possibility the March 1 deadline will pass with no deal. That would set off a chain reaction of automatic spending cuts that if left unchecked over the next few months could lead to thousands of job furloughs. ...</p><br clear="all"/>
Source: Obama expresses doubt about a March 1 deal to head off cuts (http://news.yahoo.com/obama-turns-local-tv-press-republicans-avert-cuts-011050686--business.html)