Democrats search for a path forward as key deadlines loom

Pelosi says talks moving in positive direction' as series of legislative and fiscal deadlines loom for Biden's $1tn public works measure

With the fate of Joe Biden's domestic agenda on the line, Democrats searched furiously for a path forward after negotiations over a once-in-a-generation expansion of the social safety net neared collapse and a vote on a smaller public works measure appeared increasingly unlikely.

With almost no margin for error and little time left to break an impasse that threatens to imperil its passage - and possibly the entirety of the president's program - Democrats charged ahead on Thursday, even as a crucial Democratic holdout called for shrinking the $3.5tn plan in half. But assurances of progress offered little comfort to nervous Democrats on Capitol Hill, where a series of legislative and fiscal deadlines loom.