Senate Democratic and Republican leaders hold private talk on fiscal stalemate: senior aide

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had a private talk on Saturday, opening a "line of communication" between the two in a bid to end a government shutdown and raise the U.S. debt limit, a senior congressional aide said. The aide said the two met, at the request of McConnell, for about an hour in Reid's office. The aide described their meeting as cordial and productive, and perhaps the start of negotiations. (Reporting by Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Eric Beech)