FOXNews.com: Details of tentative deal that would avert fiscal crisis

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Details of tentative deal that would avert fiscal crisis Jan 1st 2013, 05:44 WASHINGTON –  Highlights of a tentative agreement Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect in the new year. The measure would raise taxes by about $600 billion over 10 years compared with tax policies that expire at midnight Monday. It would also delay for two months across-the-board spending cuts otherwise set to begin slashing the budgets of the Pentagon and numerous domestic agencies.    Highlights include:    --Income tax rates: Extends decade-old tax cuts on incomes up to $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for couples. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. Extends Clinton-era caps on itemized deductions and the phase-out of the personal exemption for individuals making more than $250,000 and couples earning more than $300,000.    --Estate tax: Estates would be taxed at a top rate of 40 percent, with the first $5 million in value exempted for individual estates and $10 million for family estates. In 2012, such estates were subject to a top rate of 35 percent.    --Capital gains, dividends: Taxes on capital gains and dividend income exceeding $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for families would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.    --Alternative minimum tax: Permanently addresses the alternative minimum tax and indexes it for inflation to prevent nearly 30 million middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from being hit with higher tax bills averaging almost $3,000. The tax was originally designed to ensure that the wealthy did not avoid owing taxes by using loopholes.    --Other tax changes: Extends for five years Obama-sought expansions of the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, and an up to $2,500 tax credit for college tuition. Also extends for one year accelerated "bonus" depreciation of business investments in new property and equipment, a tax credit for research and development costs and a tax credit for renewable energy such as wind-generated electricity.    --Unemployment benefits: Extends jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed for one year.    --Cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors: Blocks a 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors for one year. The cut is the product of an obsolete 1997 budget formula.    --Social Security payroll tax cut: Allows a 2 percentage point cut in the payroll tax first enacted two years ago to lapse, which restores the payroll tax to 6.2 percent.    --Across-the-board cuts: Delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts set to start striking the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week. Cost of $24 billion is divided between spending cuts and new revenues from rules changes on converting traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs.

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FOXNews.com: Senate leaders aim for vote on fiscal crisis deal, as Congress misses deadline

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Senate leaders aim for vote on fiscal crisis deal, as Congress misses deadline Jan 1st 2013, 05:00 Congress blew past the deadline for averting historic tax hikes as the ball dropped and Americans rang in 2013, but lawmakers were making seemingly steady progress toward a deal that could contain the damage in the days ahead. Senate leaders were trying to tee up a vote in the early morning hours, after White House and Senate Republican negotiators reached a late-night deal on the fiscal crisis. Negotiations were effectively capped after Vice President Biden visited the Hill in a bid to get rank-and-file Democrats on board. A senior official told Fox News that President Obama has gotten the sign-off from Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. But the official said they are "not spiking the ball" yet. Both chambers of Congress still must pass whatever is introduced, and negotiators could face some heavy lifting in selling the plan to skeptical House conservatives. Though Biden said he was feeling good about the Senate side, some liberal Democrats were still expressing reservations. For the near-term, it appears a tax hike will technically go into effect on Jan. 1, as the midnight deadline was missed. The House adjourned for the night, and while the Senate could act in the coming hours, taxpayers were nevertheless left without a clear answer on how much they'll be paying in 2013. In total, $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts are scheduled to hit in the new year. But the goal in Washington is to produce a bill that could patch up the problem in the coming days, sparing most Americans from any major or lasting blow to their paychecks. Senate leaders were tentatively moving toward a vote, after a marathon weekend of talks during which Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did much of the hard bargaining. According to a senior official, the White House and Senate Republicans struck an agreement Monday on the last major sticking point -- what to do about the $110 billion in automatic spending cuts set to kick in starting next month. The official said the two sides agreed to postpone the cuts by two months, in exchange for a 50-50 mix of revenue increases and spending cuts. Of those cuts, half would come from defense and half would come from other budgets. The deal also includes an extension of current tax rates for everyone except families making above $450,000 -- up from Obama's earlier threshold of $250,000. The draft framework would also extend long-term jobless benefits for a year and address other expiring provisions like the estate tax. The big question is whether the plan being drafted by Senate leaders can pass both chambers -- and if so, when. The longer the stalemate drags on, the greater the risk for the economy and taxpayers. House conservatives could take issue with the way the spending cuts were overhauled -- particularly the inclusion of additional tax increases. House Republican leaders made clear they were reserving judgment on the package. The House GOP leadership team said any decision on whether to accept or amend any Senate-passed bill would not be made until the House and the American people "have been able to review the legislation." On the other side, Democrats were crying foul all afternoon over the move to raise taxes only on those making over $450,000. "Looks like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said. But all sides were stressing the urgency of the situation. Of the looming tax hike, Obama said: "Middle class families can't afford it, businesses can't afford it, our economy can't afford it." The tax hikes, combined with the spending cuts, could trigger another recession if they are not dealt with soon, economists warn. The fiscal deal, though, still pushes off a permanent decision on the spending cuts until two months down the road, when lawmakers could find themselves in a similar position – only this time, with the debt ceiling playing a far more prominent role. Fox News' Ed Henry, Chad Pergram and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

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FOXNews.com: Congress misses fiscal crisis deadline amid ongoing talks – so what does it mean?

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Congress misses fiscal crisis deadline amid ongoing talks – so what does it mean? Jan 1st 2013, 05:27 Even if you didn't touch a drop of alcohol on New Year's Eve, you could be waking up Tuesday morning with the makings of a huge financial headache. With Congress missing the midnight deadline for averting the fiscal crisis, Americans are now on the receiving end of a wave of tax hikes – at least for the time being. Lawmakers are scrambling to contain or undo the damage, with the Senate aiming to take up legislation to cancel some of those increases as early as Tuesday morning. The House returns at noon to potentially consider the proposal. But the pain over any prolonged political indecision in Washington could be felt for months. So what's this mean for the average American? In the short term, taxes will go up. By how much and for how long is the question. Congress has the technical ability to rewind the clock and effectively undo any tax increases, but until lawmakers agree on a compromise and it's signed by President Obama, Americans are left paying for the pricey political stalemate playing out in Washington. Most will feel the first fiscal sting in their January paychecks. Starting today, a 2-percentage-point payroll tax holiday expires. That means workers will have 6.2 percent of their wages withheld to pay for Social Security, up from 4.2 percent over the past two years.  For households earning $50,000, they will have to pay $1,000 more in taxes in 2013. Despite both Democrats and Republicans saying they don't want to tax the middle class, this holiday is unlikely to be extended. Beyond the expiration of the payroll tax cut, paychecks could get even smaller in a matter of weeks if Congress does not pass legislation. Overnight, the Internal Revenue Service told payroll companies they would have until Feb. 15 to update their withholding tables, allowing them to use 2012 rates until then while making clear that payroll tax rates would certainly rise. But the reality is that a host of other tax provisions have technically expired and with them come renewed fears about the economy if unaddressed. "What won't change is the fact that the world's largest economy is about to start a year and no one knows what the tax rates will be," said Peter Tchir, founder of Connecticut-based TF Market Advisors. "There are lots of other uncertainties, but for me, that is the most basic one to look at. How can a country be so inept or corrupt in its governance that we can start a year with so much uncertainty?" At the heart of the tax debate are the rates put in place by President George W. Bush. The 2001 rates came with a sunset clause of 10 years; follow-up legislation in 2003 was also set to expire around the same time. The tax rates on income, capital gains, dividends and estates were originally set to go back last year to those under President Clinton. But in 2010, Obama and Congress extended the rates for an additional two years – pushing their expiration date to Jan. 1, 2013.  With all these provisions expiring, the Tax Policy Center estimates that households making between $50,000 and $75,000 would see a roughly $2,300 tax increase in 2013. That jumps to more than $3,500 for families making between $75,000 and $100,000. At first, families would see only a fraction of that should employers begin to withhold the extra amount. But the impact would spread. According to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the expired tax rates could eventually hit the housing industry hard. Struggling homeowners who had faced foreclosure or had trouble making their mortgages were given a helping hand with the lower rates.  "Going over the cliff has many secondary, largely ignored, negative impacts, including tax changes that could damage the housing recovery, as well as negatively impact education and alternative energy, among many others," Bank of America analysts said in a research note. "In the long term, if nothing concrete is hammered out soon, investor confidence could dive and the country's fragile economy could be pulled into another recession. Uncertainty in the market would also create a trickle-down effect that will cause problems for federal agencies, payroll processors, tax filers and thousands of other government workers who could be furloughed or lose their jobs." Congress has only a limited amount of time to get the job done before they're faced with more economic deadlines. As part of the framework for a fiscal deal, lawmakers pushed off a permanent decision on looming spending cuts another two months. That will have to be dealt with. And in February, the new congressional class will need to come to an agreement over the debt ceiling – the country was poised to hit the debt ceiling on Monday, though the Treasury Department took emergency measures to buy more time. The last debt-ceiling showdown took place over the summer of 2011 and rattled credit-rating agencies and investors. It won't get easier in March when a six-month budget resolution funding the fiscal 2013 federal operations is scheduled to run out. If lawmakers can't come to a compromise there, the government is at risk once more for a shutdown.  If Congress does pass a final fiscal deal in the coming days, it is likely some sliver of top earners will see a major income tax hike. The latest proposal would raise taxes on households making above $450,000, though that threshold could be amended by House lawmakers.

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FOXNews.com: Congress tightens belt, trims spy budget for 2013

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Congress tightens belt, trims spy budget for 2013 Dec 31st 2012, 23:26 Published December 31, 2012 Associated Press Congress is drastically trimming the budget for spies and satellites for 2013, though not quite as deeply as the White House wanted. House lawmakers voted Monday on a Senate-passed bill to slightly boost the president's $72 billion budget request for intelligence agencies including the CIA, adding extra cash for counterterrorism and counterintelligence. But that's down from roughly $80 billion in 2012, which marked the peak of intelligence spending since the 9/11 attacks. The bill was stripped of several measures meant to block the leaking of classified information, including a provision that would have limited which government officials could brief journalists on intelligence. But the bill still requires the White House to tell Congress when it decides to share classified information with reporters.

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FOXNews.com: Judge halts contraceptive mandate for Michigan firm owned by founder of Domino's Pizza

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Judge halts contraceptive mandate for Michigan firm owned by founder of Domino's Pizza Dec 31st 2012, 20:22 Published December 31, 2012 Associated Press A federal judge has ruled a property management company owned by the founder of Domino's Pizza doesn't have to immediately implement mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff ruled Sunday in favor of Tom Monaghan and his Domino's Farms Corp., near Ann Arbor. Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, says contraception isn't health care but a "gravely immoral" practice. Zatkoff granted Monaghan's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order until a final decision is made in the case. The mandate would have taken effect Tuesday. The government says the contraception mandate benefits women's health and removes financial barriers. There are about a dozen similar lawsuits pending nationwide. Monaghan sold most of his controlling stake in Domino's Pizza in 1998 to private equity company Bain Capital.

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FOXNews.com: Doctors: Blood clot located in Clinton's head

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Doctors: Blood clot located in Clinton's head Dec 31st 2012, 22:07 Published December 31, 2012 Associated Press Washington –  Doctors treating Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for a blood clot say the clot formed in her head but they stress that they are confident she will make a full recovery. In an update Monday on Clinton's condition, her doctors say the blood clot did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage. The clot is located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. Clinton's doctors say that to help dissolve the clot, they are treating her with blood thinners. They say she will be released once the medication dose has been established. In their update, the doctors say the 65-year-old secretary of state is making excellent progress and is in good spirits.

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FOXNews.com: US hits borrowing limit, moves to avoid default

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US hits borrowing limit, moves to avoid default Dec 31st 2012, 23:09 Published December 31, 2012 Associated Press WASHINGTON –  The U.S. government is running up against its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit and is taking steps to avoid default. Reaching the limit Monday sets up another dispute between the White House and Congress over taxes and spending in the new year. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the government will take a series of accounting measures to avoid defaulting on its debt. On Monday, it suspended the issuance of new debt for two government retirement funds. Last week, Geithner said the measures would save about $200 billion and avoid default for about two months. Geithner said it is difficult to predict how long default can be avoided because of ongoing negotiations over tax and budget policies. The debt limit is the amount the government can borrow to help finance its operations.

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FOXNews.com: Unions look for benefits from Obama re-election

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Unions look for benefits from Obama re-election Dec 31st 2012, 20:17 Going into his second term, President Obama may find himself more beholden than ever to America's labor unions, even as their membership continues to decline -- lately, to just 11.8 percent of the workforce.  The unions, as in 2008, contributed heavily in manpower and money to Obama's election this year. The president, in return, has made a point of supporting them -- like with his post-election visit to the Daimler Diesel Plant in Dearborn, Mich., on Dec. 10.  "You only have to look to Michigan where workers were instrumental in reviving the auto industry to see how unions have helped build not just a stronger middle class but a stronger America," Obama said.  But Obama could be going against the legislative tide. The president's dilemma was demonstrated in the fact that a day after that visit, the union stronghold of Michigan became the 24th state to pass a right-to-work law preventing unions from demanding dues from workers.  Hampered in the states by right-to-work momentum -- and in Washington by a divided Congress, and abroad by low-cost competition -- the unions may see limited options on the part of the president to reward them. But they still expect some payback.  "There are things a president can do alone, and we will be expecting that leadership from President Obama," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in the immediate aftermath of Obama's re-election victory.  Trumka may have been referencing the Obama administration's enthusiasm for new federal regulations and executive orders, some of which have benefitted unions and penalized non-union employers. More than 5,700 new regulations have been posted in the last 90 days alone.  But union leaders have also been exploring other options that address the fundamental realities of globalization that have decimated U.S. manufacturing. "The way to do it, from a union's perspective, is to raise those workers' pay around the world," said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi.  U.S. unions are trying to do just that, laying the groundwork, as Trumka said last year, "to protect workers from Detroit to Juarez and Shanghai to Bogota." Getting foreign governments and multi-national corporations to agree is, admittedly, a long-term strategy for labor organizers. But as standards of living increase in those third world countries, union organizers hope so too will workers' thirst for greater protections.  The most recent high-profile union fight has involved dockworkers all along the East and Gulf coasts. They had threatened a strike at 14 ports stretching from Massachusetts to Texas - but a 30-day contract extension agreed to by dockworkers, shippers and port operators last Friday temporarily averted the shut-down.  Mediators have said the major sticking point -- over fees paid to longshoremen based upon the weight of each individual container --  has largely been resolved. But they would not describe how it was resolved, as negotiations continue.

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FOXNews.com: Judge halts contraceptive mandate for Domino's Pizza

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Judge halts contraceptive mandate for Domino's Pizza Dec 31st 2012, 20:22 Published December 31, 2012 Associated Press A federal judge has ruled a property management company owned by the founder of Domino's Pizza doesn't have to immediately implement mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff ruled Sunday in favor of Tom Monaghan and his Domino's Farms Corp., near Ann Arbor. Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, says contraception isn't health care but a "gravely immoral" practice. Zatkoff granted Monaghan's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order until a final decision is made in the case. The mandate would have taken effect Tuesday. The government says the contraception mandate benefits women's health and removes financial barriers. There are about a dozen similar lawsuits pending nationwide. Monaghan sold most of his controlling stake in Domino's Pizza in 1998 to private equity company Bain Capital.

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FOXNews.com: Judge allows ban on funds to Planned Parenthood

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Judge allows ban on funds to Planned Parenthood Dec 31st 2012, 18:20 Published December 31, 2012 Associated Press A Texas judge has ruled that the state may cut off funding to Planned Parenthood's family planning programs for poor women. Attorney general spokeswoman Lauren Bean said Judge Gary Harger has ruled that Texas may exclude otherwise qualified doctors and clinics from receiving state funding just because they advocate for abortion rights. The state has long banned the use of state funds for abortion. At issue Monday was whether Planned Parenthood and other abortion-rights groups could continue to provide preventive health care to poor women as part of the Women's Health Program. The program provides check-ups and birth control to 110,000 poor women and 48,000 of them go to Planned Parenthood clinics. Planned Parenthood asked for a restraining order against enforcing the ban on them, arguing it violates state law.

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FOXNews.com: Maryland same-sex couples prepare for Jan. 1 marriages

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Maryland same-sex couples prepare for Jan. 1 marriages Dec 31st 2012, 17:34 ANNAPOLIS, Md. –  Gay couples are preparing for New Year's Day weddings in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line to allow same-sex marriage, which will become legal in Maryland on Tuesday. The new law takes effect at 12:01 a.m. and follows a legislative fight that pitted Gov. Martin O'Malley against leaders of his Catholic faith. Voters in the state, founded by Catholics in the 17th century, sealed the change by approving a November ballot question. "It's been a long time coming," said Jim Scales, who made a Christmas present of his marriage license to William Tasker, his partner of 35 years. Scales, 68, and Tasker, 60, plan to be married at a ceremony at Baltimore City Hall by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake shortly after midnight. Same-sex couples in Maryland have been able to get marriage licenses since Dec. 6, but they do not take effect until Tuesday. In 2011, same-sex marriage legislation passed in the state Senate but stalled in the House of Delegates. O'Malley hadn't made the issue a key part of his 2011 legislative agenda, but indicated that summer that he was considering backing a measure similar to New York's law, which includes exemptions for religious organizations. Shortly after, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore wrote to O'Malley that same-sex marriage went against the governor's faith. "As advocates for the truths we are compelled to uphold, we speak with equal intensity and urgency in opposition to your promoting a goal that so deeply conflicts with your faith, not to mention the best interests of our society," wrote O'Brien, who served as archbishop of the nation's first diocese from October 2007 to August 2011. The governor was not persuaded. He held a news conference in July 2011 to announce that he would make same-sex marriage a priority in the next legislative session. He wrote back to the archbishop that "when shortcomings in our laws bring about a result that is unjust, I have a public obligation to try to change that injustice." The measure, with exemptions for religious organizations that choose not to marry gay couples, passed the House of Delegates in February in a close vote. O'Malley signed it in March. Opponents then gathered enough signatures to put the bill to a statewide vote, and it passed with 52 percent in favor. Voters in Maine and Washington state also approved same-sex marriage at the ballot box in November. In total, nine states and the District of Columbia have approved same-sex marriage. The other states are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Scales and Tasker, as well as other same-sex couples, are now thanking the governor and lawmakers who supported the legislation. Ceremonies are scheduled across Maryland. On Tilghman Island in the Chesapeake Bay, six couples plan to get married at the Black Walnut Point Inn on Tuesday, two couples after midnight and four in the afternoon. Owners and same-sex couple Bob Zuber and Tracy Stables also plan to marry in a separate ceremony. "The entire island decided to join behind us in this event," Stables said.

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FOXNews.com: Obama approves pay raise for Congress

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Obama approves pay raise for Congress Dec 31st 2012, 14:44 Washington –  As Americans brace for across-the-board tax hikes, President Obama is giving members of Congress -- and his No. 2 -- a pay raise. Obama signed an executive order last week that will lift a ban on pay freezes for federal employees. So who benefits? Vice President Biden, for starters. According to disclosure forms, Biden made $225,521 last year. After his raise which goes into effect March 27, 2013, he'll be taking home $231,900.  Rank-and-file members of Congress, meanwhile, will see a $900 bump -- up from $174,000. Congressional leaders will receive a slightly higher raise, with the House speaker receiving a $1,100 salary increase to $224,600. The top two Senate leaders will see pay rise $1,000, to $194,400. They aren't the only ones who will see a bump in their paycheck. Obama also OK'd raises for circuit and district court judges. Some have questioned why the president would give Congress a pat on the back at a time when neither Republicans nor Democrats have been able to come to a compromise on how to head off $600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that will kick in Jan. 1, which could possibly drag the U.S. economy into another recession.

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FOXNews.com: Lawmakers struggle to produce fiscal deal as ball drop set to ring in tax hikes

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Lawmakers struggle to produce fiscal deal as ball drop set to ring in tax hikes Dec 31st 2012, 13:34 Lawmakers were racing Monday to produce at least the framework for a deal that can avert the imminent fiscal crisis, as it appeared increasingly likely that the New Year's Eve ball drop will coincide with massive tax hikes and spending cuts.  A last-ditch effort over the weekend by the Senate so far has failed to produce an agreement, bringing talks -- as they often are in Congress -- right down to the deadline.   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday afternoon that "there's still significant distance between the two sides." His Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell, continued talks on the sidelines with Vice President Biden well into the night, according to an aide.  While Biden was brought in Sunday to help referee, it's unclear whether the three figures might be able to produce a proposal at a reasonable hour Monday. President Obama has already made clear he will press Reid to call a vote on a separate White House plan if nothing is produced.  And even if a bill is produced, drafting it and passing it through both chambers before midnight would be a herculean task. As an alternative, lawmakers could potentially pass a bare-bones bridge bill extending current tax rates until a broader package can be approved. Or they could let the tax rates lapse, only to patch up the problem in early January.  Or, in the worst-case scenario, the stalemate drags on, and more than $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts kicks in with no relief in sight.  This scenario, economists warn, could easily trigger another recession.  Several stumbling blocks emerged Sunday in negotiations that could hold up a deal in the near-term. Initially, Democrats objected to a Republican proposal that would change the way Social Security benefits are calculated -- effectively reducing benefits over time.  But as Republicans began to ease off that demand, both sides continue to haggle over which Americans should see their taxes rise. Democrats want households making over $250,000 to see a hike, while Republicans want to raise that threshold significantly. Late Sunday, Republicans voiced the most concern about a Democratic push to use new tax revenue for new spending.  "The biggest obstacle we face is that President Obama and Majority Leader Reid continue to insist on new taxes that will be used to fund more new spending, not for meaningful deficit reduction," said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.  Reid said late Sunday afternoon the Social Security provision -- knows as chained CPI -- never should have been added to what would now be a basic, final-hour deal that would include taxes increases for top earners and perhaps an extension of unemployment insurance and a promise to negotiate later on spending cuts.  Reid mentioned in passing that he had a new proposal, but a Reid staffer clarified afterward that Democrats have yet to make a formal counter offer.  Should Congress fail to reach a deal, a mix of $600 billion on tax increases and federal cuts in 2013 would start to kick in Jan. 1.  "We can't accept a bad deal just because we're here," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. "It's real disturbing we were thrown in a change to Social Security at the last minute."  Signs that a deal was unraveling surfaced by mid-afternoon when Reid said his party could not make a counteroffer to Republicans. And McConnell said he had to call Biden to "jump-start" the negotiations.  The Senate got to work on a compromise plan after House Speaker John Boehner's proposal in the Republican-controlled House collapsed less than two weeks ago.  Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said earlier Sunday the chances of Congress cutting a deal before the deadline were "exceedingly good." However, he sounded downcast about the process and the outcome.  "Whatever we accomplish, political victory to the president," the South Carolina senator said on "Fox News Sunday." "He's going to get tax rate increases. ... And the sad news for the country is, that we have accomplished little in terms of not becoming Greece or getting out of debt."  If Reid and McConnell cannot reach a deal, Reid purportedly will present Obama's bare-boned plan of tax increases for families making more than $250,000 annually and extending unemployment insurance.  Obama said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Congress should "first and foremost" prevent taxes increases for the "vast majority" of Americans.  "We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over," the president said during the interview, taped Saturday. "They have had trouble saying yes to a number of repeated offers."  Republicans immediately criticized Obama's remarks.  "Americans elected President Obama to lead, not cast blame," Boehner said.  McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said Sunday: "While the president was taping those discordant remarks yesterday, Senator McConnell was in the office working to bring Republicans and Democrats together on a solution."

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FOXNews.com: California residents take fight against fitness fanatics in park to city council

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California residents take fight against fitness fanatics in park to city council Dec 31st 2012, 11:01 SANTA MONICA, Calif. –  Physical fitness is a way of life on the beautiful beachfront oasis of Santa Monica. From sunrise to sunset, there's huffing and puffing in the city's parks as trainers put their students through the paces of every form of exercise imaginable. All along the 420 acres of greenery paralleling the Pacific Ocean are groups of a dozen or more people furiously pumping iron, doing sit-ups, stepping on and off little benches and stretching on mats. Some flex their muscles with weight machines tied by big rubber bands to pretty much anything that's anchored to the ground. "It's starting to look like a 24-Hour Fitness gym out there," complained Johnny Gray, an assistant track coach at UCLA and former Olympic runner who says he's often forced to navigate around weight machines, barbells and other exercise impediments as he runs. In recent years, fitness classes have become as ubiquitous in Santa Monica's signature Palisades Park as dog walkers and senior citizens playing shuffleboard. Karen Ginsberg, the city's director of community and cultural services, said other park users are complaining about fitness enthusiasts not only blocking pedestrian walkways but also making too much noise, killing the park's grass with their weights and damaging its trees and benches with all the exercise gadgets they connect to them. "Some people have also expressed concerns about people operating a business on city land and putting the city at risk of liability because they aren't carrying insurance," she said. So now the City Council is considering requiring that fitness trainers who conduct workouts in Santa Monica's parks and on its beaches pay an annual $100 fee and turn over 15 percent of their gross revenues to the city. The council was to take up the issue of regulating fitness trainers this month, but that's now been pushed back to at least March. Meantime, Ginsberg said city officials are looking at what restrictions they might put on the use of weights, bands and other equipment. Although classes offering everything from fitness training to yoga to meditation can be found at several city parks and all over Santa Monica's beaches, Palisades Park, with its stunning ocean views, is by far the most popular place. As a result, city officials are considering limiting exercise class sizes there to no more than two students per trainer. Under the proposal being considered, other venues could still accommodate the larger groups as long as trainers pay the fees and provide proof of insurance. The trainers respond that, like any responsible business operators, many already are insured and also know CPR. They also point out that they currently pay the city for business licenses and police-issued permits to hold their classes in the park. Although they don't have to pay rent to anyone, they believe that's enough overhead. "I could easily go back indoors but that's what I wanted to get away from," said Ruben Lawrence, who has been offering boxing and fitness training classes at Palisades and other parks for six years. "I wanted to provide these programs to the masses at affordable rates to the community in a place people enjoy." Since the city began discussing the additional regulations, Lawrence said, he's moved most of his classes to other parks in Santa Monica. If he has to pay the additional fees, however, he said he'll likely just relocate to a gym. Raisa Lilling, who offers vigorous exercise classes to the mothers of newborns, said she and other trainers have been working to keep their students quiet and out of the way of dog walkers, camera-toting tourists and others. "I can absolutely see where they're coming from, but a complete ban, I think, is a little extreme," said Lilling, adding that the sides can always find a middle ground. Lilling offers Stroller Strides classes in which mothers push kids in strollers across the park. As part of their workout, they'll stop from time to time for vigorous bursts of cardio activity, including running up and down the park's steep stairways to the beach while Lilling watch the kids. "It's not just a stroll in the park," laughed the trainer, who is certified in CPR, carries insurance and also teaches yoga classes. Ginsberg, emphasizing that planners are still fine-tuning the proposed regulations, agreed there should be a middle ground. "I think we have to strike a balance between wanting an active community, which I think we do want, with the need to have some sort of ability for all users to enjoy our parks, particularly Palisades Park," she said.

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FOXNews.com: Reid: 'Significant distance' between sides as fiscal talks stall, carry into Monday

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Reid: 'Significant distance' between sides as fiscal talks stall, carry into Monday Dec 31st 2012, 05:00 Capitol Hill negotiations to avert a fiscal crisis before the New Year's deadline appeared to falter Sunday in the Senate, as lawmakers struggled to find common ground while bringing the country ever-closer to a 2013 shockwave of tax hikes and spending cuts. Senators spent the weekend trying to craft a new proposal that they originally claimed could be ready as early as Sunday. But Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid reported late in the day that there was significant distance between the two sides, following a tense afternoon during which Vice President Biden was brought in to referee.   Talks will now push on into Monday -- but President Obama has already made clear he will press Reid to call a vote on a separate White House plan if nothing is produced by then. The stumbling block Sunday initially appeared to be a provision in the Republican proposal that would change the way Social Security benefits are calculated -- effectively reducing benefits over time. But while that drew the ire of Democrats, some Republicans indicated they were willing to drop the provision. Instead, they voiced serious concern about a Democratic push to use new tax revenue for new spending. "The biggest obstacle we face is that President Obama and Majority Leader Reid continue to insist on new taxes that will be used to fund more new spending, not for meaningful deficit reduction," said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. Reid said late Sunday afternoon the Social Security provision -- knows as chained CPI -- never should have been added to what would now be a basic, final-hour deal that would include taxes increases for top earners and perhaps an extension of unemployment insurance and a promise to negotiate later on spending cuts.   Reid said later that he was gratified that Republicans had taken the provision off the table but added "there's still significant distance between the two sides." Reid mentioned in passing that he had a new proposal, but a Reid staffer clarified afterward that Democrats have yet to make a formal counter offer. Should Congress fail to reach a deal, a mix of $600 billion on tax increases and federal cuts in 2013 would start to kick in Jan. 1. "We can't accept a bad deal just because we're here," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. "It's real disturbing we were thrown in a change to Social Security at the last minute." Signs that a deal was unraveling surfaced by mid-afternoon when Reid said his party could not make a counteroffer to Republicans. And Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he had to call Biden to "jump-start" the negotiations. The Senate got to work on a compromise plan after House Speaker John Boehner's proposal in the Republican-controlled House collapsed less than two weeks ago. Before Sunday, Hill lawmakers and staffers were working behind the scenes to craft a deal that can pass in both chambers. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said earlier Sunday the chances of Congress cutting a deal before the deadline were "exceedingly good." However, he sounded downcast about the process and the outcome. "Whatever we accomplish, political victory to the president," the South Carolina senator said on "Fox News Sunday." "He's going to get tax rate increases. … And the sad news for the country is, that we have accomplished little in terms of not becoming Greece or getting out of debt." If Reid and McConnell cannot reach a deal, Reid purportedly will present Obama's bare-boned plan of tax increases for families making more than $250,000 annually and extending unemployment insurance. Obama said on "Meet the Press" that Congress should "first and foremost" prevent taxes increases for the "vast majority" of Americans. "We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over," the president said during the interview, taped Saturday. "They have had trouble saying yes to a number of repeated offers." Republicans immediately criticized Obama's remarks. "Americans elected President Obama to lead, not cast blame," Boehner said. McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said Sunday: "While the president was taping those discordant remarks yesterday, Senator McConnell was in the office working to bring Republicans and Democrats together on a solution." A House Democrat and a House Republican said Saturday they didn't expect a vote until after the weekend on any proposal to avert the looming fiscal crisis. Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, and John Yarmuth, D-Ky., both told Fox News they expected the Senate to work on a proposal through Sunday and perhaps into Monday morning before voting, then pass the legislation to the House for a final vote. Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle vowed late Friday to scramble over the weekend to produce a new bill, on the heels of a high-stakes White House meeting with Obama. At the time, several senior administration officials told Fox News that McConnell, R-Ky., was showing strong signs that he will help seal a deal. However, they acknowledged he will have a difficult time getting a deal passed in the Republican-controlled House, which has so far rejected any plan that includes allowing tax rates to increase for higher-earning Americans. The immediate challenge for negotiators, though, will be to craft a plan that does enough to spare most Americans a big hike without doing so much as to complicate the bill's passage. There is a host of expiring provisions next year -- from Medicare rates to doctors to payroll tax cuts -- that some lawmakers hoped to address before the end of the month. The more items added to the bill, the trickier it gets to pass it. Lawmakers have been hesitant to predict whether Congress will be able to arrive at any solution. Fox News' Ed Henry, Mike Emanuel, Chad Pergram and Fox Business Network's Rich Edson contributed to this report.

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FOXNews.com: Latest Senate committee report on Benghazi terrorist attack faults State Department

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Latest Senate committee report on Benghazi terrorist attack faults State Department Dec 31st 2012, 03:35 A scathing Senate committee report on the Benghazi terrorist attack faults the State Department for failing to adequately respond to mounting security threats in the lead-up to the assault. The report says the facility was woefully under-protected at a time when the region, according to a top department official, was "flashing red" -- yet security was not improved, and nobody recommended the compound be shut down. The report, produced by the Senate homeland security committee and obtained by Fox News, follows the release of a State Department-commissioned review earlier in the month. Both are highly critical of the department. Click to read the Senate report The Senate report noted the "large amount of evidence" in the months preceding the attack that Benghazi was "increasingly dangerous and unstable," with an attack on Americans becoming "much more likely." "While this intelligence was effectively shared within the Intelligence Community (IC) and with key officials at the Department of State, it did not lead to a commensurate increase in security at Benghazi nor to a decision to close the American mission there, either of which would have been more than justified by the intelligence presented," the report said. The report said it was "widely understood" that the Libyan government could not adequately protect U.S. personnel, yet the State Department did not move to fill the "security gap." The Senate committee said "no security standards" applied to the Benghazi post -- there were "few meaningful physical barriers," according to the report. Despite the increasing threat in the region and the apparent vulnerability of the compound, the Senate committee said it appears nobody recommended closing the facility or even temporarily shutting it down. "That was a grievous mistake," the report said. The investigation turned up details that show "a shocking irresponsibility to protect American diplomatic personnel in Benghazi," said Sen. Joe Liberman, I-Conn., the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Wall Street Journal, the report also cites past internal State Department accountability reports recommending security measures dating back to 1998 that were not widely implemented. According to the report, State Department Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy told lawmakers that Libya and Benghazi were "flashing red" by the time of the attack. Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

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FOXNews.com: Secretary Clinton in hospital with blood clot stemming from concussion

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Secretary Clinton in hospital with blood clot stemming from concussion Dec 31st 2012, 00:41 Published December 30, 2012 FoxNews.com Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been admitted to a hospital in New York with blood clot stemming from a concussion she sustained several weeks ago.

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FOXNews.com: Obama signs extension of overseas surveillance law

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Obama signs extension of overseas surveillance law Dec 31st 2012, 00:26 Published December 30, 2012 Associated Press WASHINGTON –  President Barack Obama has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government's authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists. The warrantless intercept program would have expired at the end of 2012 without the president's approval. The renewal bill won final passage in the Senate on Friday. Known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law allows the government to monitor overseas phone calls and emails without obtaining a court order for each intercept. The law does not apply to Americans. When Americans are targeted for surveillance, the government must get a warrant from a special 11-judge court of U.S. district judges appointed by the Supreme Court.

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