we re watching the breaking news on the floor of the united states senate right now. we re watching and they re close to a deal. close but not there yet. in the meantime, there are some procedural votes under way on the floor of the united states senate. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer reporting from washington. gloria borger, our chief political analyst, is here as well. we have our correspondents standing by on capitol hill as well as over at the white house. but gloria, let s set the scene right now. just saw live here on cnn an extraordinary exchange between senator dick durbin, the democrat from illinois, been a majority whip, the number two democrat in the united states senate, and john mccain, a republican senator from arizona. he was the republican presidential candidate back in 2008. and it was a perfect way to set the scene for this debate that s unfolding, the stakes, the economic stakes for the unite