Nation Briefly

Biden 'confident' budget talks will produce cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden says he's confident budget talks he's leading will produce deficit cuts "well beyond" $1 trillion. Biden says he hopes his group, which includes top lawmakers of both parties, will have a tentative agreement by Congress' July 4th recess.

That would leave plenty of time to draft and pass the deficit cuts - along with must-pass legislation allowing the government to continue to borrow to finance its operations and avoid defaulting on U.S. bonds.

Leaving the Capitol after the group's seventh negotiating session Tuesday, Biden said he's convinced the group can come up with an agreement that increases the so-called debt limit and "makes a real serious down payment" on President Barack Obama's promise to cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade or so.

Democrats hoping Weiner will quit

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats are counting on growing pressure from Rep. Anthony Weiner's colleagues, a suggestion from the president and the return of Weiner's pregnant wife from an overseas trip to persuade him to resign over a sexting scandal in which he sent lewd photos of himself and messages to several women.

The House's top Republican, Speaker John Boehner, joined the chorus of Democrats calling for the New York Democrat to quit. House Democrats went behind closed doors for their regular party meeting, but they decided against taking action against Weiner in hopes that he'll resign soon.

A fellow member of Weiner's New York Democratic delegation, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, said before the meeting, "Hopefully, we are hearing he might resign in a couple of days."

When she emerged later, she added: "He's waiting for his wife to come home. That's what we're hearing from his friends."

Weiner's wife, State Department official Huma Abedin, is due back from an overseas trip early Wednesday with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Weiner, meanwhile, has sought treatment at an undisclosed location and has been granted a two-week leave of absence from Congress.