Stephen Harper made no mention of the aboriginal protests in a statement on Friday announcing the January 11 meeting.

But the meeting is a key demand from native Chief Theresa Spence, who has been on a hunger strike for 25 days on an island within sight of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.

Spence's spokesman Danny Metatawabin told reporters, on the snowy ground outside her traditional teepee, that she would continue her hunger strike until she was satisfied with the outcome of next week's meeting.

Spence's hunger strike has been one of the most visible signs of a protest movement called Idle No More, which had announced plans for blockades on Saturday all along the U.S.-Canadian border.

It was not clear if these blockades would now be called off, or if there would be any disruptions at the border crossings between the two big trading partners.

The movement is not centrally organized, and Metatawabin said he would not tell others what to do. Several hours after Harper's announcement, the Idle No More website still had a call up for blockades on Saturday.

Demonstrators blocked a Canadian National Railway Co line in Sarnia, Ontario, for about two weeks until Wednesday, and there were shorter blockades elsewhere in the country, including one that delayed passenger trains between Montreal and Toronto for several hours on Sunday.

Harper said next Friday's meeting would address economic development, aboriginal rights and the treaty relationship between the government and native groups. He described it as a follow-up to a meeting with aboriginal leaders last January as well as talks in November with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo.

"While some progress has been made, there is more that must be done to improve outcomes for First Nations communities across Canada," Harper said in a statement.

DISMAL CONDITIONS

Many of Canada's 1.2 million aboriginals live on reserves where conditions are often dismal, with high rates of poverty, addiction and suicide.

Treaties with Ottawa signed a century ago finance their health and education in a way that many experts say is now dysfunctional.

Speaking to reporters in Oakville, Ontario, Harper sidestepped a question on whether he had agreed to the meeting because of Spence's hunger strike and fear the protests could snowball like last year's Occupy Movement.

Asked about the demonstrations, he said: "People have the right in our country to demonstrate and express their points of view peacefully as long as they obey the law, but I think the Canadian population expects everyone will obey the law in holding such protests."

Idle No More was sparked by legislation that activists say Harper rushed through Parliament without proper consultation with native groups and which affects their land and treaty rights. But it has broadened into a complaint about conditions in general for native Canadians.

In her meeting with reporters after Harper's announcement, Spence said she planned to attend the meeting in person along with three of her supporters and she wanted the governor general - Queen Elizabeth's representative - and the Ontario premier to attend as well.

She stood flanked by her daughter and several supporters, some of them holding up feathers. There were several minutes of drumming and singing before she and her spokesman began talking.

When asked what she needed to hear from the prime minister in order to start eating again, she said, "a positive result because there's a lot of issues we need to discuss" and that they should discuss the issues as equal partners.

(Additional reporting by Cameron French in Oakville, Ontario; Editing by Janet Guttsman and Eric Beech)

Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?

For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.

But after the grief and fear fades, psychiatrists say most of Newtown's young survivors probably will cope without long-term emotional problems.

"Kids do tend to be highly resilient," said Dr. Matthew Biel, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

And one way that younger children try to make sense of trauma is through play. Youngsters may pull out action figures or stuffed animals and re-enact what they witnessed, perhaps multiple times.

"That's the way they gain mastery over a situation that's overwhelming," Biel explained, saying it becomes a concern only if the child is clearly distressed while playing.

Nor is it unusual for children to chase each other playing cops-and-robbers, but now parents might see some also pretending they're dead, added Dr. Melissa Brymer of the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.

Among the challenges will be spotting which children are struggling enough that they may need professional help.

Newtown's tragedy is particularly heart-wrenching because of what such young children grappled with like the six first-graders who apparently had to run past their teacher's body to escape to safety.

There's little scientific research specifically on PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, in children exposed to a burst of violence, and even less to tell if a younger child will have a harder time healing than an older one.

Overall, scientists say studies of natural disasters and wars suggest most children eventually recover from traumatic experiences while a smaller proportion develop long-term disorders such as PTSD. Brymer says in her studies of school shootings, that fraction can range from 10 percent to a quarter of survivors, depending on what they actually experienced. A broader 2007 study found 13 percent of U.S. children exposed to different types of trauma reported some symptoms of PTSD, although less than 1 percent had enough for an official diagnosis.

Violence isn't all that rare in childhood. In many parts of the world and in inner-city neighborhoods in the U.S., too children witness it repeatedly. They don't become inured to it, Biel said, and more exposure means a greater chance of lasting psychological harm.

In Newtown, most at risk for longer-term problems are those who saw someone killed, said Dr. Carol North of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who has researched survivors of mass shootings.

Friday's shootings were mostly in two classrooms of Sandy Hook Elementary School, which has about 450 students through fourth-grade.

But those who weren't as close to the danger may be at extra risk, too, if this wasn't their first trauma or they already had problems such as anxiety disorders that increase their vulnerability, she said.

Right after a traumatic event, it's normal to have nightmares or trouble sleeping, to stick close to loved ones, and to be nervous or moody, Biel said.

To help, parents will have to follow their child's lead. Grilling a child about a traumatic experience isn't good, he stressed. Some children will ask a lot of questions, seeking reassurance, he said. Others will be quiet, thinking about the experience and maybe drawing or writing about it, or acting it out at playtime. Younger children may regress, becoming clingy or having tantrums.

Before second grade, their brains also are at a developmental stage some refer to as magical thinking, when it's difficult to distinguish reality and fantasy. Parents may have to help them understand that a friend who died isn't in pain or lonely but also isn't coming back, Brymer said.

When problem behaviors or signs of distress continue for several weeks, Brymer says it's time for an evaluation by a counselor or pediatrician.

Besides a supportive family, what helps? North advises getting children back into routines, together with their friends, and easing them back into a school setting. Studies of survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks found "the power of the support of the people who went through it with you is huge," she said.

Children as young as first-graders can benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy, Georgetown's Biel said. They can calm themselves with breathing techniques. They also can learn to identify and label their feelings anger, frustration, worry and how to balance, say, a worried thought with a brave one.

Finally, avoid watching TV coverage of the shooting, as children may think it's happening all over again, Biel added. He found that children who watched the 9/11 clips of planes hitting the World Trade Center thought they were seeing dozens of separate attacks.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Lawyer Peter A. Schulte told Reuters his client is "absolutely not guilty of this crime."

Police say Travis assaulted a man in a church parking lot in Plano in August while attempting to intervene in a disagreement between a woman he was with and the woman's estranged husband.

"He was actually being a good Samaritan at the time, stepping in to save two women from being assaulted," Schulte said. He said the woman Travis was with and his daughter were being harassed by two men.

The charge against Travis carries a maximum $500 fine and no jail time. The case is set for trial March 11.

The altercation occurred during a bad stretch for the 53-year-old Grammy winner. Earlier in August, Travis was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he was found lying naked near his wrecked car along a north Texas highway. He also was accused of threatening to shoot and kill the troopers investigating the case, according to a police report.

The North Carolina-born country singer, known for hits such as "Forever and Ever, Amen," also was arrested in February for drunken driving while sitting in his car in the parking lot of another north Texas church.

Schulte said Travis has been doing well since the two August incidents. He said his client was upbeat as he left the courtroom Friday.

"He turned and wished everybody who was there a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year," he said.

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Bill Trott)

Militants in the past have accused health workers of acting as spies for the U.S., alleging the vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile. Last month, nine people working on an anti-polio vaccination campaign were shot and killed. Four of those shootings were in the northwest where Tuesday's attack took place.

The attack was another reminder of the risks to women educators and aid workers from Islamic militants who oppose their work. It was in the same conservative province where militants shot and seriously wounded 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai, an outspoken young activist for girls' education, in October.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest shootings.

In a separate attack in the southern city of Karachi, also likely to have been carried out by militants, four people were killed and dozens injured when a bomb went off just as a large political rally was dispersing.

The teachers and aid workers in the northwest were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on their way home from a community center where they worked at a medical clinic and primary school.

The director of the group targeted Tuesday said he suspected that the workers were attacked because the non-governmental organization has been active in vaccination campaigns designed to wipe out polio.

Javed Akhtar, from Support With Working Solutions, said the clinic where the aid workers worked had helped vaccinate children, and many of the NGO's staff had taken part in vaccination campaigns.

That attack was in an area where Islamic militants often target women and girls trying to get an education or female teachers.

Militants in the province have blown up schools and killed female educators. They have also kidnapped and killed aid workers, viewing them as promoting a foreign agenda.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, formerly called the Northwest Frontier province, borders the tribal areas of Pakistan along the frontier with Afghanistan to the west. Militant groups such as the Taliban have used the tribal areas as a stronghold from which to wage war both in Afghanistan and against the Pakistani government. Often that violence has spilled over into the mostly Pashtun province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In 2007, the Taliban led by Maulana Fazlullah took over the scenic Swat Valley, marking the height of their strength there. The Pakistani military later pushed the militant group from the valley but the Taliban has repeatedly tried to reassert itself.

The teachers were killed along with two health workers, one man and one woman. Their driver was wounded. They were on their way home from a community center in the town of Swabi where they were working at a primary school for girls and adjoining medical center.

The injured driver told investigators that the gunmen stopped the vehicle and removed a boy the son of one of the women before indiscriminately opening fire, said police officer Fazal Malik.

Swabi police chief Abdur Rasheed said most of the women killed were between the ages of 20 and 22. He said four gunmen who used two motorcycles fled the scene and have not been apprehended.

The gunmen on motorcycles opened fire with automatic weapons, said Akhtar. The NGO conducts programs in the education and health sectors and runs the community center in Swabi, he said. The group has been active in the city since 1992, and started the Ujala Community Welfare Center in 2010, he added. Ujala means "light" in Urdu.

The center is financed by the Pakistani government's Poverty Alleviation Program and a German organization, said Akhtar.

He said the NGO also runs health and education projects in the South Waziristan tribal area, as well as health projects in the cities of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan and the regions of Lower Dir and Upper Kurram. All of those cities and regions are in northwest Pakistan, the area that has been most affected by the ongoing fight with militants opposed to the current government.

Aid groups such as Support With Working Solutions often provide a vital role in many areas of Pakistan where the government has been unable to provide services such as medical clinics or schools. In some areas like the northwest, they have had to work to overcome community fears that they are promoting a foreign agenda at odds with local traditions and values.

But many local residents in Swabi said the school and medical center provided a vital service to the community and mourned those who were killed.

Murad Khan said his daughter was studying at the primary school, which provided free books and uniforms to students. He said many people in the area are now worried that the school and clinic will close.

"This school is like a gift for all of us, the poor people of the village," he said. "People in our area are sad."

The NGO director said he has directed staff at all projects to stop working for the time being until security measures are reviewed but vowed that they would resume their work soon.

He said that the NGO had not received any threats before the attack.

In Karachi, senior police officer Asif Ejaz Shaikh said the bomb that killed four was planted in a motorcycle parked amid a crowd of buses for political workers returning from the rally held by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The MQM is the dominant political party in Karachi.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The provincial health minister Dr. Saghir Ahmed said four people were killed and 41 injured.

__

Associated Press writers Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Adil Jawad in Karachi contributed to this report.

South Africans are marveling at the endurance of a toad that got trapped in a cargo shipment from China to Cape Town after jumping into a porcelain candlestick that was made there. South African officials reportedly planned to put down the creature, fearing it would cause harm as an invasive species if it were let go in the wild.

But the toad got a last-minute reprieve. Mango Airlines, a South African airline, transported the toad on Friday to Johannesburg for delivery to an animal sanctuary after officials decided to find a way to let the globe-trotting toad live. The two-hour flight was a breeze compared to the trip from China, an odyssey of many weeks and thousands of kilometers (miles) across the Indian Ocean.

Airline spokesman Hein Kaiser said the toad got "first-class treatment," sitting in the cockpit in a transparent plastic container with escort Brett Glasby, an animal welfare inspector. There was even a mock ceremony in which the toad's boarding pass was handed to Glasby.

"He was the star of the show on the flight," Kaiser said of the amphibious passenger. "I think every passenger stopped to have a look."

On landing in Johannesburg, the toad, dubbed Jack B Nimble, was brought out of his container for a celebrity-style photo call.

Observers said the mottled brown toad seemed like a cool customer. "Pretty chilled," as Kaiser put it.

It belongs to the Asian Gold Toad species, which breeds during monsoon season. It is believed to have survived the trip from China by hardening its skin to prevent it drying out and also slowing its breathing and heart rate, methods that help the species survive in times of drought.

"We've had snakes in the imported timber, scorpions in fruit. We were called because it was right inside the candlestick and we had to break it to get it out," Glasby, the inspector, told The Star, a South African newspaper. "It was manufactured in China and the box was not opened between China and the store here, so we can deduce it has come all the way from China."

A startled customer at a store spotted a toad leg sticking out of the candle holder, according to the Cape Town region's animal protection agency, the SPCA.

Conservationists fed the toad worms and crickets after its rescue. By all accounts, the toad ate like a horse.

Its new home is the Montecasino entertainment complex in Johannesburg. The toad will be in quarantine for a couple of weeks and is slated for display next month.

The toad's adventures got rave reviews on the SPCA's Facebook site.

"What a special Christmas story!!" one posting said. Said another: "Most famous Toad in the world."

Newtown was the site of a school massacre on December 14 in which 20 young children and six adults were killed.

Five petitions posted on the White House website since the shootings have asked the government to name the church, based in Topeka, Kansas, as a hate group or end its tax-exempt status. The requests were among the most popular on the White House site on Thursday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization, has called the church "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America" because of the anti-gay signs its members have carried at hundreds of military funerals. The protests reflect their view that God is punishing America for tolerance of gays and lesbians.

The church has successfully defended its right to free speech in court. The church could not be immediately reached for comment.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether it would address the petitions.

The White House has a policy of responding to petitions that reach a threshold of 25,000 signatures but does not comment on certain law enforcement issues that are within the jurisdiction of federal agencies or courts, according to its website.

Obama last week asked Americans to pressure Congress to help tighten gun laws. He responded after several hundred thousand people signed a dozen petitions calling for tougher gun laws following the Newtown attack.

Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza used a military-style assault rifle to kill 20 elementary school children and seven adults, including his mother shot earlier at the family home, then he took his own life.

Obama has called for Congress to approve a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons and a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, as well as measures to ensure background checks for gun purchases at gun shows.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Peter Rudegeair; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

The exact causes ofare unknown.Research by RL Veech, SL de la Monte, JR Wands and others indicate that Alzheimers may be the .Insulin is vital for the brain cells to take up glucose (sugar) from the blood, using it to produce energy and make neurotransmitters so the neurons can communicate with each other.In Alzheimers disease, the brain cells practically starve to death as they become increasingly resistant to the effects of insulin.Over several decades, portions of the brain begin to atrophy.This results in impaired brain functioning, and eventually a loss of memory, speech, movement, and personality.

While insulin is made predominately by the pancreas, the neurons also are able to produce small amounts.Medical researchers have noted that patients with diabetes are twice as likely to develop Alzheimers later in life.This is further complicated by exposure to nitrosamines which causes type 2 diabetes and fatty liver.Nitrosamines are the result of nitrites which are used as meat preservatives, along with flavor and color enhancers, and nitrates used in fertilizers.

Dr. Richard L Veech of the National Institutes of Health has spent the last decade researching the effects of ketone bodies on the brain.The level of ketone bodies is usually very low except in cases of starvation or in a low carbohydrate/high ketone diet.When glucose is not available, the body will switch to using ketones as an alternative fuel source.Dr. Veech tested whether ketone bodies could be used to feed the brain when it was not able to use glucose due to insulin resistance.He found that medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) were very quickly converted into ketones by the liver, and were immediately taken up by the brain to make energy.Coconut oil is a readily available source of ketones as it contains 66% MCTs which are readily converted to ketones rather than being stored as fat as most oils are.Coconut oil has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain by 39%, which is critical for those with neurological diseases.Dr. Veechs research used a dose of 4 teaspoons of coconut daily, though he recommends using up to 8 teaspoons daily.It is best to start at 1 teaspoon daily and gradually increase over the next one to two weeks.

have published research demonstrating that coconut oil is also beneficial in the treatment and prevention of other neurological diseases such as, , Huntingtons, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrings disease, drug resistant epilepsy, dementia, schizophrenia, autism, and success with types 1 and 2 diabetes, acute heart attacks, and acute oxygen loss in the brain.

Dr. Mary Newport wrote the bookabout the experiences she and her husband Steve have gone through with his Alzheimers.Steve was developing advanced Alzheimers with short-term memory loss, inability to read, loss of emotions, and a very stiff walking gait.He could not draw the face on a clock with its numbers, nor remember what day it was after being repeatedly told.Dr. Newport, who runs the neonatology ward in a Tampa, Florida hospital, started to search the internet for any breakthroughs in treating Alzheimers.She came across Dr. Richard Veechs research, and began giving coconut oil to Steve.

After only two weeks of taking coconut oil, Steve Newports Alzheimer's began to show stunning improvements.As Mary noted, Steve had not been able to read for about a year and a half, but after only two months of taking coconut oil, he was able to read again."Instead of being very sluggish, not talking very much in the morning, he would come out in the morning with energy, talkative, and joking, and he could find his water and his utensils.The Newports credit the coconut oil with making these changes happen.

Using these research findings,has now added coconut oil to its package of Chiropractic, Naturopathy, and cold laser therapy for the natural treatment of neurological disorders.

Additional information about Chiropractic, Naturopathy, and other forms of natural health care has been provided by Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. at .

About:Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP

Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP attended the University of WisconsinSuperior where he majored in Physics and Mathematics, with a minor in art photography. While attending the University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, he assisted in research on ribosomal proteins. Completing his Chiropractic studies at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, he graduated Cum Laude (with high honors) in 1983. He started Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1983. In 1996, Dr. Moellendorf was awarded his Doctorate in Naturopathy from Trinity School of Natural Health. In 2001, he received Chiropractics most prestigious award, the honorary Legion of Chiropractic Philosophers degree, for his thesis The Workings of Innate Intelligence in Obsessive/Compulsive and Addictive Behaviors. This paper was chosen for publishing in the book Philosophic Contemplations vol. 2 in 2002. In June of 2012, Dr. Moellendorf authored his first book titled Healthcares Best Kept Secret which can be ordered on Amazon.Dr. Moellendorf can be contacted by phone (920) 493-2126, fax (920) 743-1145, email jgmoellendorf (at) itol (dot) com, his website at , or send a carrier pigeon to 44.84722N and 87.36416W.

Dr. J G MoellendorfMoellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd9204932126

Last 16

Wednesday, December 19

Heerenveen- Feyenoord 2-2 (halftime: 0-1, 90 mins: 2-2, penalty shootout: 6-7)

Feyenoord win 7-6 on penalties.

Vitesse Arnhem- ADO '20 (III) 10-1 (halftime: 2-0)

Go Ahead Eagles Deventer (II) - PEC Zwolle2-3 (halftime: 0-0, 90 mins: 1-1) AET

NAC Breda - Heracles Almelo 1-3 (halftime: 1-1)

Tuesday, December 18

Rijnsburgse Boys (III)- PSV Eindhoven 0-4 (halftime: 0-3)

Den Bosch (II)- SC Cambuur (II) 1-0 (halftime: 1-0)

FC Dordrecht (II) - AZ Alkmaar2-4 (halftime: 0-3)

Next Fixtures (GMT):

Thursday, December 20

Groningenv Ajax Amsterdam (1900)

But in a state that was rocked by the 1999 Columbine school massacre and the Aurora movie theater shooting less than six months ago, Friday's shootings renewed debate over why mass shootings keep occurring and whether gun control can stop them.

"Until we get our acts together and stop making these ... weapons available, this is going to keep happening," said an angry Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed in the theater shooting last July in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

Teves was choked up as he answered a reporter's call Friday. A work associate of his lives in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary. The connection chilled and angered him.

The 20-year-old killer, identified by a law enforcement official as Adam Lanza, carried out the attack with two handguns. A .223-caliber rifle was found in the back of a car.

The official was not authorized to speak on the record about the unfolding investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The shooting has once again stoked the never-ending debate over gun control laws.

This week, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper generated a storm of debate after declaring that it was time to start talking about gun control measures.

After Friday's school shooting, Hickenlooper told reporters there's no use waiting until news coverage fades.

"We can't postpone the discussion on a national level every time there's a shooting. They're too often," he said.

A visibly emotional President Barack Obama seemed willing to renew debate, calling for "meaningful action" to prevent similar shootings.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an advocate of greater limits on guns, responded directly to the president's remarks: "Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before."

Also Friday, Mark Kelly, the astronaut husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head during an attack that killed six people in Tucson, Ariz., last year, said the Connecticut shooting should "sound a call for our leaders to stand up and do what is right."

"This time our response must consist of more than regret, sorrow, and condolence," Kelly said on his Facebook page, calling for "a meaningful discussion about our gun laws and how they can be reformed and better enforced to prevent gun violence and death in America."

Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex also died in the Aurora theater shooting, welcomed the discussion. Sullivan and his wife spent part of the morning making sure relatives who live in the area were OK.

Sullivan said mental health, not gun control, is a more pressing concern.

"We all need someone in our lives to care," Sullivan said. "If we see a friend, a colleague, a co-worker and they're having a hard time, we need to reach out."

Sean Graves, who as a student was wounded at Columbine, said he was "disgusted" by the shootings but he didn't believe laws can prevent such violence.

If people "want to find a way to harm people, they're going to find a way to do it," Graves said.

Former U.S. attorney Troy Eid, who was part of a government panel that examined the Columbine shooting, said more must be done to examine what motivates such criminals.

"It's something that's become part of our culture. We have to study it and see what we can do to prevent it," Eid said.

Some shoppers interviewed at Oregon's Clackamas Town Center, where a gunman killed two people Tuesday before killing himself, had similar reactions.

"We need to pay more attention to the people close to us, because I think there's a lot of signs prior to things," said shopper Sierra Delgado of Happy Valley, Ore.

Mental health screenings alone aren't enough, other Colorado shooting survivors said.

Tom Mauser, who became a gun control advocate after his son Daniel was killed at Columbine, urged officials to stop "playing defense" on gun control.

"Let's not say once again, 'Oh, this is not the right time to talk about it.' It is the right time to talk about it.

"We are better than a nation that has people killing children and has people cowardly shooting people in shopping malls and schools and nursing homes. We're better than this."

Such emotional appeals didn't come only from gun control supporters. Friday's responses from both sides foretold a heart-wrenching debate.

"They're going to use the bodies of dead children to push their agenda," predicted Dudley Brown of the Denver group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Brian Skoloff in Phoenix; Terrence Petty in Portland, Ore.; and P. Solomon Banda, Dan Elliott, Ivan Moreno and Kristen Wyatt in Denver.

The aide, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel, said there would be no "read out" of the private discussion, the latest in recent days between the president and speaker as they try to reach a deal on deficit reduction to avoid triggering automatic spending cuts and tax increases next month.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)