"Prospects for a year-end congressional compromise on key tax and spending legislation grew more complicated," the Washington Post reports, "as the Republican House passed a controversial version of a payroll tax cut extension despite a veto threat from the White House."
"The increasingly contentious tax dispute threatens to derail what had been an emerging compromise on separate legislation to fund the government through next September, raising the specter of a possible government shutdown this weekend if the conflict is not resolved by Friday."