WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will hold a news conference on Wednesday, his first since being re-elected to a second term.

White House press secretary Jay Carney says Obama will take questions from reporters on a variety of topics in the White House East Room. The news conference will take place two days before Obama meets with congressional leaders Nov. 16 on the fiscal cliff, the combination of pending tax increases and spending cuts that could plunge the economy back into a recession.

Obama has not taken questions from the White House media corps since August, when he made a surprise visit to the White House briefing room and took questions from four reporters.

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