Debt supercommittee members brace for failure

Admitting gridlock was at hand, lawmakers on the so-called supercommittee cast blame and pointed fingers at one another Sunday as the panel’s leaders prepared to formally acknowledge their failure early this week, bracing for the reaction from financial markets. Using the weekly Sunday political news shows as their outlet, Republicans and Democrats on Congress's special deficit committee did not officially throw in the towel on their mandate of finding $1.2 trillion in savings before Thanksgiving. However, most of the lawmakers spoke of their efforts in the past tense and said it would take something akin to a miracle to reach a deal, which unofficially must be unveiled before midnight Monday to meet the panel's parliamentary rules.