A ‘fiscal cliff’ deal is near: Here are the details  —  All at once, a “fiscal cliff” deal seems to be coming together.  Speaker John Boehner's latest offer doesn't go quite far enough for the White House to agree, but it goes far enough that many think they can see the agreement taking shape.

Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. senator, dies at 88  —  Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a highly decorated World War II combat veteran who used his status as one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington and the second-longest-serving senator in history to send billions of dollars to his home islands …

McArdle Wins Worst Newtown Reaction Award  —  In what can only be seen as a malicious plot by Newsweek's editors [Update: this is a long blog post, not a magazine piece] to ensure Megan McArdle's reputation does not outlive Newsweek, the Daily Beast has published a 4,000 word essay by its new hire …

Joe Scarborough: Newtown Shooting Made ‘Ideologies Of My Past’ On Guns Irrelevant (VIDEO)  —  Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Morning Joe, Morning Joe, Video, Joe Scarborough Gun Control, Joe Scarborough Gun Rights …

Barbarians at the Gates of Sandy Hook  —  Popular culture has made murder, rape, mayhem, hatred, and violence “cool”  —  The recent massacre at an elementary school in Connecticut (the ironically named Sandy Hook - it's been a bad year for anything named Sandy) has, predictably …

Michael Dukakis Will Not Be Interim Senator If Kerry Resigns  —  BOSTON (CBS) - Former Gov. Michael Dukakis says he will not be a candidate for appointment as interim senator should Sen. John Kerry resign to accept appointment as Secretary of State.  —  In a brief State House interview Monday …

Richard Engel and NBC News team freed from captors in Syria  —  Richard Engel at the end of a reporting trip in Syria in July of this year.  —  By Mike Brunker, NBC News  —  NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and members of his network production team were freed from captors …

Assault weapons in the cross hairs  —  Congress should re-enact the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and repeal a law protecting gun manufacturers from civil liability.  —  The National Law JournalSeptember 17, 2012  —  Imagine a product that serves no purpose but to kill people and each year causes many deaths.

North Alabama player tweets racist Obama comment after speech pre-empted NFL game, now gone from team  —  A North Alabama football player posted a racist tweet about President Barack Obama tonight in response to NBC pre-empting the 49ers-Patriots game on Sunday Night Football to show Obama's speech …

I'm Gay: The 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012  —  “The fact is, I'm gay.”  Anderson Cooper's long-awaited announcement sums what it meant to come out in 2012.  Again and again we heard the same sentiment — from pop singer Mika's equally anticipated confirmation, “If you ask me am I gay …