Obama making final push to blunt Palestinian bid

Scrambling to head off a diplomatic clash, President Barack Obama will openly push for the Palestinians to fall a statehood bid when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.

Obama will follow up his speech with individual meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as he seeks to coax both parties back to direct peace talks.

At the same time, U.S. officials are conceding that they most likely cannot prevent Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas from going forward with a request to the U.N. Security Council for full Palestinian membership.