A young shooting victim wrestles with his fears

After the nightmares started, Davien Graham avoided his bicycle.

In his dreams, he pedaled his silver BMX bike through his neighborhood, heard gunfire and died.

If I stay off my bike, I'll be safe, he thought.

He placed it in a backyard shed, where it sat for months. But Jan. 12, 2008, dawned so spectacular that Davien decided to risk it.

He ate Cap'n Crunch Berries cereal, grabbed the bike and rode a half-mile west to Calvary Grace, a Southern Baptist church that was his haven.

Davien lived with an unemployed aunt and uncle, a former Crip, and five other kids in a cramped four-bedroom house in Monrovia, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles.

Yet as a 16-year-old junior at Monrovia High School, Davien earned A's and B's, played JV football and volunteered with the video club. He cleaned the church on Saturdays for minimum wage.

If I live right, God will protect me.

That afternoon, sweaty from cleaning, Davien reached for his wallet to buy a snack — only to realize he had forgotten it at home.

After returning to his house, he caught his reflection in the front window. He was 6 feet 2 and wiry. His skinny chest was beginning to broaden. He was trying to add weight to his 160-pound frame in time for varsity football tryouts.

He showered, told his aunt he would be right back and again jumped on his bike, size-14 Nike Jordans churning, heading for a convenience store near the church.

At the store, he bought Arizona fruit punch and lime chili Lay's potato chips. He recognized a kindergarten-age Latino boy and bought him Twinkies.

Davien pedaled down the empty sidewalk along Peck Road. He could hear kids playing basketball nearby. As he neared the church, a car passed, going in the opposite direction. He barely noticed.

He heard car tires crunching on asphalt behind him. He glanced back, expecting a friend.

Instead he heard: "Hey, fool."

The gun was gray. It had a slide. Davien recognized that much from watching the Military Channel.

Behind the barrel, he saw forearms braced to fire and the face of a Latino man, a former classmate.

The gunman shouted, "Dirt Rock!," cursing a local black gang, the Duroc Crips.

Davien's mind raced: Don't panic. Watch the barrel. Duck.

Suddenly, he was falling. Then he was on the ground, looking up at the church steeple and the cross.

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Summary: A look at the 4 new Kindle Fire models

Amazon.com Inc. started shipping a large-screen version of its Kindle Fire tablet computer on Thursday, ahead of schedule. Here is a look at the new Fires announced in September:

— Kindle Fire, with 7-inch screen, 1024 by 600 pixels. $ 159, with 8 gigabytes of storage. Weighs 14.1 ounces. Battery life of 8.5 hours. Started shipping Sept. 14.

— Kindle Fire HD, with 7-inch screen, 1280 by 800 pixels. $ 199 with 16 GB of storage or $ 249 with 32 GB of storage. Weighs 13.9 ounces. Battery life of 11 hours. Started shipping Sept. 14.

— Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, with 8.9-inch screen, 1920 by 1200 pixels. $ 299 with 16 GB of storage or $ 369 with 32 GB of storage. Weighs 20 ounces. Battery life of 10 hours. Started shipping Thursday.

— Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G LTE Wireless, with 8.9-inch screen, 1920 by 1200 pixels. $ 499 with 32 GB of storage or $ 599 with 64 GB of storage. Can connect to AT&T Inc.‘s 4G LTE wireless network. Weighs 20 ounces. Battery life of 10 hours. Will start shipping Tuesday.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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'Twilight' finale dawns with $141.3M weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The sun has set on the "Twilight" franchise with one last blockbuster opening for the supernatural romance.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" sucked up $141.3 million domestically over opening weekend and $199.6 million more overseas for a worldwide debut of $340.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The finale ranks eighth on the list of all-time domestic debuts, and leaves "Twilight" with three of the top-10 openings, joining 2009's "New Moon" (No. 7 with $142.8 million) and last year's "Breaking Dawn — Part 1" (No. 9 with $138.1 million).

Last May's "The Avengers" is No. 1 with $207.4 million. "Batman" is the only other franchise with more than one top-10 opening: July's "The Dark Knight Rises" (No. 3 with $160.9 million) and 2008's "The Dark Knight" (No. 4 with $158.4 million).

Though "Twilight" still is a female-driven franchise, with girls and women making up 79 percent of the opening-weekend audience, the finale drew the series' biggest male crowds. Action-minded guys had more to root for in the finale as Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner join in a colossal battle to end the story of warring vampires and werewolves.

"Our male audience particularly has enjoyed this film," said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Lionsgate, whose Summit Entertainment banner releases the "Twilight" movies. "With the action scenes in this one, we're hoping the holdover business will reflect the fact that males have kind of found it out."

The movie also helped lift Lionsgate into the big leagues among Hollywood studios. Paced by its $400 million smash with "The Hunger Games" and now the "Twilight" finale, Lionsgate surpassed $1 billion at the domestic box office for the first time.

Some box-office watchers had expected the last "Twilight" movie to open with a franchise record the way the "Harry Potter" finale did last year with $169.2 million, the second-best domestic debut on the charts.

"I thought that for the final installment, it might eclipse the franchise record, but to look at $141.3 million and say that's a disappointment, that's kind of crazy," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "It's one of the most consistently performing franchises of all time."

The "Twilight" finale took over the No. 1 spot from Sony's James Bond adventure "Skyfall," which slipped to second place with $41.5 million domestically in its second weekend. "Skyfall" raised its domestic total to $161.3 million.

The franchise's third film starring Daniel Craig as Bond, "Skyfall" began rolling out overseas in late October and has hit $507.9 million internationally at the box office. The film's global total climbed to $669.2 million, helping to lift Sony to its best year ever with $4 billion worldwide, topping the studio's $3.6 billion haul in 2009.

"Skyfall" passed the previous franchise high of $599.2 million worldwide for 2006's "Casino Royale."

Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis' Civil War drama "Lincoln" expanded nationwide after a week in limited release and came in at No. 3 with $21 million. Distributed by Disney, "Lincoln" lifted its domestic haul to $22.4 million.

The comic drama "Silver Linings Playbook," released by the Weinstein Co., got off to a good start in limited release, taking in $458,430 in 16 theaters for a solid average of $28,652 a cinema. By comparison, the "Twilight" finale averaged $34,717 in 4,070 theaters.

"Silver Linings Playbook" stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in a quirky romance involving a man fresh out of a psychiatric hospital and an emotionally troubled young widow.

Keira Knightley's period drama "Anna Karenina" also started well in limited release with $315,395 in 16 theaters, for an average of $19,712. The Focus Features film stars Knightley in the title role of Leo Tolstoy's tragic romance.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $141.3 million ($199.6 million international).

2. "Skyfall," $41.5 million ($49.6 million international).

3. "Lincoln," $21 million.

4. "Wreck-It Ralph," $18.3 million ($4.8 million international).

5. "Flight," $8.6 million ($1 million international).

6. "Argo," $4.1 million.

7. "Taken 2," $2.1 million ($2 million international).

8. "Pitch Perfect," $1.3 million ($4.1 million international).

9. "Here Comes the Boom," $1.2 million.

10 (tie). "Cloud Atlas," $900,000.

10 (tie). "Hotel Transylvania," $900,000.

10 (tie). "The Sessions," $900,000.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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The Neediest Cases: Emerging From a Bleak Life to Become Fabulous Phil

For years, Phillip Johnson was caught in what seemed like an endless trench of bad luck. He was fired from a job, experienced intensifying psychological problems, lost his apartment and spent time in homeless shelters. At one point, he was hospitalized after overdosing on an antipsychotic drug.

“I had a rough road,” he said.

Since his hospital stay two years ago, and despite setbacks, Mr. Johnson, 27, has been getting his life on track. At Brooklyn Community Services, where he goes for daily counseling and therapy, everybody knows him as Fabulous Phil.

“Phillip is a light, the way he evokes happiness in other people,” his former caseworker, Teresa O’Brien, said. “Phillip’s character led directly to his nickname.”

About six months ago, with Ms. O’Brien’s help, Mr. Johnson started an event: Fabulous Phil Friday Dance Party Fridays.

One recent afternoon at the agency, 30 clients and a few counselors were eating cake, drinking soft drinks and juice, and grooving for 45 minutes to Jay-Z and Drake pulsating from a boom box.

Mr. Johnson’s voice rose with excitement when he talked about the party. Clients and counselors, he said, “enjoy themselves.”

“They connect more; they communicate more,” he continued. “Everybody is celebrating and laughing.”

The leadership Mr. Johnson now displays seems to be a far cry from the excruciatingly introverted person he was.

As an only child living with his single mother in public housing in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, he said, he tended to isolate himself. “A lot of kids my age would say, ‘Come outside,’ but I would always stay in my room,” he said. He occupied himself by writing comic books or reading them, his favorites being Batman and Spiderman because, he said, “they were heroes who saved the day.”

After graduating from high school in 2003, he worked odd jobs until 2006, when he took a full-time position at a food court at La Guardia Airport, where he helped to clean up. The steady paycheck allowed him to leave his mother’s apartment and rent a room in Queens.

But the depression and bleak moods that had shadowed him throughout middle and high school asserted themselves.

“My thinking got confused,” he said. “Racing thoughts through my mind. Disorganized thoughts. I had a hard time focusing on one thing.”

In 2008, after two years on the job, Mr. Johnson was fired for loud and inappropriate behavior, and for being “unpredictable,” he said. The boss said he needed counseling. He moved back in with his mother, and in 2009 entered a program at an outpatient addiction treatment service, Bridge Back to Life. It was there, he said, that he received a diagnosis of schizophrenia and help with his depression and marijuana use.

But one evening in May 2010, he had a bout with insomnia.

He realized the antipsychotic medication he had been prescribed, Risperdal, made him feel tired, he said, so he took 12 of the pills, rather than his usual dosage of two pills twice a day. When 12 did not work, he took 6 more.

“The next morning when I woke up, it was hard for me to breathe,” he said.

He called an ambulance, which took to Woodhull Hospital. He was released after about a month.

Not long after, he returned to his mother’s apartment, but by February 2011, they both decided he should leave, and he relocated to a homeless shelter in East New York, where, he said, eight other people were crammed into his cubicle and there were “bedbugs, people lying in your bed, breaking into your locker to steal your stuff.”

In late spring 2011, he found a room for rent in Manhattan, but by Thanksgiving he was hospitalized again. Another stint in a shelter followed in April, when his building was sold.

Finally, in July, Mr. Johnson moved to supported housing on Staten Island, where he lives with a roommate. His monthly $900 Social Security disability check is sent to the residence, which deducts $600 for rent and gives him $175 in spending money; he has breakfast and lunch at the Brooklyn agency. To assist Mr. Johnson with unexpected expenses, a grant of $550 through The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund went to buy him a bed and pay a Medicare prescription plan fee for three months.

“I was so happy I have a bed to sleep on,” he said about the replacement for an air mattress. “When I have a long day, I have a bed to lay in, and I feel good about that.”

Mr. Johnson’s goals include getting his driver’s license — “I already have a learner’s permit,” he said, proudly — finishing his program at the agency, and then entering an apprenticeship program to become a plumber, carpenter or mechanic.

But seeing how his peers have benefited from Fabulous Phil Fridays has made him vow to remain involved with people dealing with mental illnesses or substance abuse.

He was asked at the party: Might he be like the comic-book heroes he loves? A smile spread across his face. He seemed to think so.

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A John Lautner-designed home in L.A.

Known for his forward-thinking engineering, architect John Lautner designed the Foster Carling house with a retractable wall of glass separating the outdoor part of the swimming pool from an interior portion in the living room. External steel beams support the hexagonal living space, which is free of internal columns.

Location: 7144 Hockey Trail, Los Angeles 90068

Asking price: $2.995 million

Year built: 1950

House size: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,999 square feet

Lot size: 16,002 square feet

Features: Redwood planking, raised fireplace, polished concrete floors, built-in furniture, bar, basement, alarm system, carport, skyline views.

About the area: In the third quarter, 86 single-family homes sold in the 90068 ZIP Code at a median price of $930,000, according to DataQuick. That was a 3.8% price increase from the third quarter last year.

Agent: John Galich, Rodeo Realty, (310) 461-0468

—Lauren Beale

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos on a CD, written permission from the photographer to publish the images and a description of the house to Lauren Beale, Business, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Send questions to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.

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Two council members assail LAFD over response times

The Los Angeles Fire Department, which has been embroiled in a months-long controversy over response-time data, has failed to move decisively to resolve the problem, two Los Angeles City Council members said Friday.

In a formal motion, council members Eric Garcetti and Mitch Englander demanded that fire officials appear before the full council as soon as possible to explain why the department has not presented specific actions that could be taken to improve response times by rescuers during life-and-death emergencies.

"The department's managers are either unwilling or unable to do their job to reduce response times and make L.A. safer," said Garcetti, who is running for mayor, in a statement.

Battalion Chief Armando Hogan said Fire Chief Brian Cummings would respond to issues regarding the agency's data on Tuesday at LAFD headquarters, after a regularly scheduled meeting of the Fire Commission.

Friday's comments by the council members were some of the most critical to date about Cummings and his department since the data controversy erupted in March. That's when the LAFD acknowledged it was using response time figures that made it appear that rescuers were reaching victims in need faster than they actually were.

The motion comes after a series of Times investigations on delays in processing 911 calls, dispatching rescuers and summoning the nearest firefighters from other jurisdictions in medical emergencies.

On Thursday, The Times reported that waits for medical aid vary dramatically across Los Angeles' diverse neighborhoods. Residents in some of the city's most exclusive hillside communities can wait twice as long for rescuers to arrive as people who live in densely packed areas in and around downtown, according to the analysis that mapped out more than 1 million LAFD dispatches since 2007.

A task force of experts formed by Cummings has found that inaccurate response time data were a result of systemic problems in the LAFD's 30-year-old computer-assisted dispatch system and a lack of training by LAFD personnel who were assigned to complex data analysis projects.

Earlier this year, Garcetti and other council members asked the LAFD to return with a five-year plan laying out what is needed to improve response times. The council members wanted specifics regarding technology, more firefighters and other resources.

"Six months later, we have bupkis, and that's unacceptable," said Garcetti's spokesman, Yusef Robb.

robert.lopez@latimes.com

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

ben.welsh@latimes.com

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Where do the 'Twilight' stars go from here?

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have walked their last "Twilight" red carpet with the arrival this weekend of the series finale "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2." Now, they must step into careers of their own using the superstardom the multi-billion-dollar franchise has provided them.

Making that transition from a beloved film series with a fervent fan base can be tricky. Do you stick to the same kinds of roles that people came to love you for and maintain the safety of familiarity? Or do you veer drastically in the other direction to prove to the world that you have range — that you're so much more than just a mopey teenage girl or a hunky set of abs?

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe, for example, has successfully made choices that showcase his versatility, from appearing on stage naked in a Broadway production of "Equus" to the gothic horror film "The Woman in Black." His "Harry Potter" co-star, Emma Watson, played a damaged party girl this year in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," a character who couldn't have been more different from the fastidious Hermione Granger.

The three core "Twilight" stars have all struck while the iron was hot, making a variety of films in between the five "Twilight Saga" installments about high schooler Bella Swan and the vampire and werewolf who competed for her affections.

Stewart was the best known of the "Twilight" trio before being cast as Bella. She'd played Jodie Foster's daughter in the 2002 thriller "Panic Room" and a commune singer who befriends Emile Hirsch's character in Sean Penn's Oscar-nominated "Into the Wild" (2007).

Her choices between the "Twilight" movies have run the gamut, from playing a young Joan Jett in the 2010 biopic "The Runaways" to a fairy-tale warrior princess in this summer's "Snow White and the Hunstman." Next month, she'll appear in "On the Road," based on the iconic Jack Kerouac novel.

"Kristen seems to do a lot of indie movies. 'Snow White and the Huntsman' is more of an outlier in terms of being a blockbuster," said blogger and "Twilight" expert Cleolinda Jones, author of the "Movies in 15 Minutes" series. "But it seems like she's got the kind of personality where she's got to do what she has to do ... she's not thinking in terms of career strategy."

Andrei Constantinescu of the Dallas-based Legacy Casting says he'd like to see Stewart mix it up even more.

"Her non-'Twilight' film choices are bold and different to a point, but her dark and broody acting style, similar to her real-life persona, is a bit played," said Constantinescu, whose work as an extras casting director includes the TNT series "Dallas." ''I'd love to see her in a romantic workplace comedy like 'The Devil Wears Prada.'"

Pattinson has made some of the most daring and impressive choices of the three of them. Before being cast as the swoony vampire Edward Cullen, the lanky British actor appeared in another blockbuster franchise as Hogwarts student Cedric Diggory in 2005's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." In 2009, he played Salvador Dali in the barely seen "Little Ashes," and last year he starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in the circus romance "Water for Elephants" — although Associated Press reviewer David Germain wrote there was "barely a spark" between the two.

But Pattinson also has worked with the likes of David Cronenberg, starring this year in the acclaimed Canadian director's financial drama "Cosmopolis," which takes place almost entirely inside a limousine. And he'll soon work with Cronenberg again in "Maps to the Stars," and also begin shooting Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert."

Jones says Pattison has wisely chosen to parlay his "Twilight" fame to collaborate with serious directors and actors.

"He knows he has a certain box office appeal so the fangirls are going to see him no matter what he's in," she said. "People are willing to work with him the first time, they see all this potential he has, then they want to come back and work with him again."

Constantinescu echoed those thoughts: "He's the one to watch for additional films down the line," he said. "We are just scratching the surface with Robert."

Then there's Lautner, who was just 15 when he auditioned for the role of the sensitive, muscular werewolf Jacob Black. He'd appeared in a few films by then, including playing the title character of Sharkboy in 2005's "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D." In between the "Twilight" films, he stuck to lighter fare. He was part of the ensemble cast of 2010's "Valentine's Day" in a romantic subplot opposite Taylor Swift.

But Lautner's leading-man debut was last year's "Abduction," a title that naturally inspired plenty of puns about his famously toned frame. The thriller from director John Singleton found Lautner playing a high-school student who gets caught up in a web of intrigue. AP reviewer Jake Coyle wrote that Lautner "handles himself reasonably well" but the script was the film's "major deficiency."

Constantinescu says he doesn't expect Lautner will stray far from crowd-pleasing fare.

"He's very good at playing the young, muscular jock or hero," he said. "Similar to Kristen, I'd love to see roles that offer Taylor different objectives than to be the hero, take his shirt off and save the day. However, I'm not sure that the public would believe him as anything more than the borderline superhero he has become famous for."

Jones agreed: "He's not going to be in the next mumblecore indie movie," she said of Lautner. "I'm not sure where he goes with this after age 30. His current trajectory is kind of clear, but I don't know what happens when he grows out of his dimples."

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AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire can be reached through Twitter: https://twitter.com/christylemire

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Well: Meatless Main Dishes for a Holiday Table

Most vegetarian diners are happy to fill their plates with delicious sides and salads, but if you want to make them feel special, consider one of these main course vegetarian dishes from Martha Rose Shulman. All of them are inspired by Greek cooking, which has a rich tradition of vegetarian meals.

I know that Greek food is not exactly what comes to mind when you hear the word “Thanksgiving,” yet why not consider this cuisine if you’re searching for a meatless main dish that will please a crowd? It’s certainly a better idea, in my mind, than Tofurky and all of the other overprocessed attempts at making a vegan turkey. If you want to serve something that will be somewhat reminiscent of a turkey, make the stuffed acorn squashes in this week’s selection, and once they’re out of the oven, stick some feathers in the “rump,” as I did for the first vegetarian Thanksgiving I ever cooked: I stuffed and baked a huge crookneck squash, then decorated it with turkey feathers. The filling wasn’t nearly as good as the one you’ll get this week, but the creation was fun.

Here are five new vegetarian recipes for your Thanksgiving table — or any time.

Giant Beans With Spinach, Tomatoes and Feta: This delicious, dill-infused dish is inspired by a northern Greek recipe from Diane Kochilas’s wonderful new cookbook, “The Country Cooking of Greece.”

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Northern Greek Mushroom and Onion Pie: Meaty portobello mushrooms make this a very substantial dish.

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Roasted Eggplant and Chickpeas With Cinnamon-Tinged Tomato Sauce and Feta: This fragrant and comforting dish can easily be modified for vegans.

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Coiled Greek Winter Squash Pie: The extra time this beautiful vegetable pie takes to assemble is worth it for a holiday dinner.

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Baked Acorn Squash Stuffed With Wild Rice and Kale Risotto: Serve one squash to each person at your Thanksgiving meal: They’ll be like miniature vegetarian (or vegan) turkeys.

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Black Friday: A survival guide

Shopping

The plan | The numbers | The gear | The strategy | The apps | The start

Black Friday, the most buzzed-about shopping day of the year, is starting even earlier this holiday season as retailers try to get a jump on the competition.

The official kickoff to the Christmas shopping rush, the day after Thanksgiving brings out millions of bargain hunters looking to score new tablets, flat-panel TVs, clothes and toys. Last year retailers raked in an estimated $11.4 billion on Black Friday, up 6.6% from 2010.

This year, major retailers including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us are opening their doors as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. That’s too bad for store employees, but good news if you’re a shopaholic who doesn’t mind hitting the shops before the turkey has cooled.

For those of you who are planning to brave the crowds, whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned veteran, here’s a guide to surviving the Black Friday rush.


-- Andrea Chang

Photo credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Photo credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Photo credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Photo credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Photo credit: Seong Joon Cho / Bloomberg

Photo credit: Associated Press

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Obama, Hill leaders optimistic on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON -- Emerging from a closed meeting with President Obama at the White House on Friday, the administration and congressional leaders sounded optimistic on areas of possible compromise over looming fiscal deadlines for tax hikes and spending cuts begin to come into focus.

“The president and the leadership had a constructive meeting and agreed to do everything possible to find a solution that averts the so-called ‘fiscal cliff,’” said Press Secretary Jay Carney. “Both sides agreed that while there may be differences in our preferred approaches, we will continue a constructive process to find a solution and come to a conclusion as soon as possible.”

Administration and congressional leadership staff plan to work while the president travels to Asia, and through the Thanksgiving holiday week, on a framework to discuss once the parties return.

“It’s going to be incumbent on my colleagues to show the American people we’re serious,” said House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio as the congressional leaders emerged from the White House to deliver brief comments.

“We have the cornerstones of being able to work something out,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “This is not something we’re going to wait until the last day of December to get done. We have a plan; we’re going to move forward on it.”

Both Republicans and Democrats remain far from a deal, which is needed by year-end to avoid a fiscal contraction that economists warn could launch another recession. But the outlines of a compromise can be seen as Boehner has signaled Republicans are open to new tax revenue and Obama has softened his insistence that income tax rates must rise to the top 39.6% rate from the Clinton era.

Friday’s closed-door gathering of the principle players is the first sit-down after the election, which emboldened Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill. Americans spoke at the polls, they maintain, preferring the Democratic approach, which asks the wealthiest taxpayers to contribute more revenue, while preventing steep cuts to domestic spending.

At the same time, rank-and-file Republicans emerged from the election with the take-away that voters want the GOP House majority to hold final “line of defense,” as Boehner puts it, against what they see as excessive government overreach. All tax rates will rise on Jan. 1 if no action is taken – about a $2,000 hit for average Americans.

During the meeting, Boehner presented the outline of a deal that resembles the framework he proposed in the days after the election – insisting that the details of a large deficit-reduction package could not be resolved in the short lame-duck session of this Congress.

Instead, the speaker wants the parties to agree to long-term “targets” for tax revenues and spending cuts that would be binding by statute.

Resolving the tax issue is, in many ways, the cornerstone to a deal, as both sides have found common ground in their desire to reverse the coming automatic spending cuts. On Jan. 2, massive across-the-board cuts would hit defense and domestic accounts, forced as part of  a deal last year when the two sides failed to develop a broader deficit reduction plan.

Tax revenue could be raised by closing tax loopholes or capping deductions for the wealthiest Americans, those couple earning incomes above $250,000, or $200,000 for singles -- though experts say that may not raise enough money toward a big deficit reduction deal that both parties want unless tax rates are also increased. Boehner has resisted lifting rates beyond the top bracket of 35%, which has been in place since the George W. Bush era.

As talks begin, both sides are aiming for a broad deficit-reduction deal that could slash some $4 trillion off the nation’s deficits over the next decade by tax and spending reforms.

Any deal on taxes would also require a compromise from Democrats to rein in spending on Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs that are drivers of the nation’s long-term deficit problems. Obama has put forward earlier plans to do that.

With the year-end deadline looming, Obama has repeatedly sought to pressure House Republicans to at least extend the expiring tax rates for middle-class families, while talks on the upper-income rates continue. The president has warned that even the threat of new taxes in the New Year could damper the coming holiday shopping season.

All sides have tried to resist drawing the lines of a stalemate. The meeting opened Friday with the cordial greetings officials use on such occasions.

In a moment of brevity, Obama offered birthday wishes to the Boehner – the speaker turns 63 on Saturday. And the two shook hands.

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Lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

Twitter: @LisaMascaroinDC

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