McConnell ‘Burst Into Laughter’ as Geithner Outlined Obama's Plan  —  Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, says he “burst into laughter” Thursday when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined the administration proposal for averting the fiscal cliff.

Boehner Angered by Leak of Phone Call  —  Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio and Republican leaders are fuming after a late night phone call with President Barack Obama was leaked to the press, despite an agreement that it would not be, according to several GOP aides.

GOP Rejects Cliff Offer From Obama  —  President Barack Obama made an opening bid in budget talks with Republicans that calls for a $1.6 trillion tax increase, $50 billion in infrastructure spending in 2013 and new power to raise the federal debt limit, a provocative set of demands that Republicans …

Inside the talks: Fiscal framework emerges  —  Listen to top Democrats and Republicans talk on camera, and it sounds like they could not be further apart on a year-end tax-and-spending deal - a down payment on a $4 trillion grand bargain.  —  But behind the scenes, top officials …

The GOP's Medicare confusion  —  The austerity crisis talks have hit a peculiar impasse.  The problem isn't, as most analysts expected, taxes, where Republicans seem increasingly resigned to new revenue.  It's Medicare.  And the particular Medicare problem isn't that Democrats are refusing the GOP's proposed Medicare cuts.

General Assembly Grants Palestine Upgraded Status in U.N.  —  UNITED NATIONS — More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to grant Palestine the upgraded status of nonmember observer state in the United Nations, a stinging defeat for Israel and the United States and a boost for President Mahmoud Abbas …

What Kind of Palestinian State?  —  The U.N. should consider whether the world needs another nation that imports weapons and exports extremism and terror.  —  For more than a year, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has attempted to bypass peace negotiations with Israel …