Boehner to House GOP: Don't make Christmas plans

Despite what looked like recent signs of progress on a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff," House Speaker John Boehner signaled today that Republicans and Democrats remain as far apart as ever in the negotiating process -- and is warning his fellow lawmakers that they might have to work through the Christmas holidays.

In a meeting with the House Republican Conference this morning, Boehner told members not to make plans for Christmas, CBS News has learned, and members leaving the meeting said there were no indications from Boehner's remarks that any real progress has been made between the two chief negotiators involved in the process: Boehner and President Obama.

Meanwhile, new information out of the White House suggests that Boehner continues to seek a permanent extension of all the Bush-era tax rates, even while the Obama administration insists that it will not accept such a deal.

The White House sent its most recent offer to the Capitol Monday for a compromise on staving off the "cliff," a series of tax hikes and spending cuts set to go into effect next year. That deal included $1.4 trillion worth of revenue, down from the president's initial $1.6 trillion bid, and Republicans reportedly counter-offered Tuesday. Later on Tuesday, Mr. Obama and Boehner spoke by telephone, which Boehner described on Wednesday as "deliberate."

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