President Barack Obama and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner spoke by phone late on Tuesday after the two sides exchanged new proposals in “fiscal cliff” negotiations, an administration official said.

The White House sent the Republican leader’s office a revised offer on Monday and received a new counter-offer on Tuesday, said the official, who declined to provide further details. The phone conversation was the first contact between the two men since they met at the White House on Sunday.

(Reuters)