BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - As Louisiana's special session appears to slowly crash and burn, finger-pointing has replaced efforts to reach a compromise on taxes to help close the state's ever-nearing budget shortfall.

The session, called by Gov. John Bel Edwards, could end as early as Monday, with no bills passed so far. It must end by Wednesday, leaving the narrowest of windows for Louisiana House lawmakers to break through the gridlock of the last two weeks.

Failure to broker a deal after repeated attempts, however, seems to have hardened positions and amplified mistrust.

If the Democratic governor and House factions can't bridge the divide, lawmakers will head into their regular session next week having to balance the budget for the year starting July 1 with nearly $700 million less than they had this year.