House Spending Impasse Raises Risk of Shutdown.

WASHINGTON -- The House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, said Thursday that Republicans would not agree to a short-term extension of the spending measure now financing the federal government without additional cuts, sharply raising the stakes in a war of wills with Democrats that officials say could lead to a government shutdown early next month. The stopgap measure, which expires on March 4, has held spending generally to 2010 levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]