Top Items:
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans' Optimism Wanes About Averting “Fiscal Cliff” — Obama, Democratic leaders see increase in approval on budget negotiations — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' optimism that President Barack Obama and congressional leaders will reach a budget agreement before Jan. 1 has waned somewhat over the past week.
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, The Hill and Business Insider
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Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Obama Returning to Capital to Seek Fiscal Deal — KAILUA, Hawaii — President Obama was planning to cut his Christmas vacation short and return to Washington to make a last-ditch push for a compromise on a tax and spending dispute that remains stubbornly unresolved.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Maddow Blog, americanthinker.com, Prairie Weather and Wall Street Journal
Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Frank Luntz: NRA not listening to public — Pollster Frank Luntz, who has studied attitudes about gun control, said on Wednesday that he doesn't “think the NRA is listening” to the American public in the wake of the massacre of 20 children at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and The Hinterland Gazette
Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
FreedomWorks tea party group nearly falls apart in fight between old and new guard — The day after Labor Day, just as campaign season was entering its final frenzy, FreedomWorks, the Washington-based tea party organization, went into free fall. — Richard K. Armey, the group's chairman …
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Business Insider, Hit & Run, Mediaite and Prairie Weather
Norman J. Ornstein / Washington Post:
Look beyond the Capitol for the next speaker — Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of “It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.”
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Katie Glueck / Politico:
Police probe NBC's David Gregory on gun clip — The Washington Metropolitan Police Department is investigating whether any city laws were violated when NBC's David Gregory displayed what appeared to be a 30-round gun magazine on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday, a spokesman confirmed to POLITICO.
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Warner Todd Huston / BREITBART.COM:
DC POLICE INVESTIGATING NBC'S GREGORY FOR BRANDISHING ILLEGAL MAGAZINE
DC POLICE INVESTIGATING NBC'S GREGORY FOR BRANDISHING ILLEGAL MAGAZINE
Discussion:
TheBlaze.com, TVNewser, Mediaite, Althouse and Twitchy
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
W.H. Petition: ‘Press Charges Against David Gregory’ for Breaking D.C. Gun Laws
W.H. Petition: ‘Press Charges Against David Gregory’ for Breaking D.C. Gun Laws
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and Power Line
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Virginia embodies GOP's woes — RICHMOND, Va. — Look no further than Virginia to catch a glimpse of the GOP's national dilemma. — As the Old Dominion becomes a firmly centrist state, more closely resembling the rest of the country demographically and politically, Virginia Republicans are shifting rightward.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Starbucks Coffee Company:
Let's Come Together, America — Posted by Howard S., Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer — There are moments in our lives when we have an opportunity to ignite tremendous positive change—not just in the lives of the customers and communities we serve every day, but in our country.
Discussion:
CNNMoney.com, Reuters, ABCNEWS and Mediaite
George M. Walsh / Associated Press:
Body found in Webster home is believed to be killer's sister — WEBSTER - An ex-con killed two firefighters with the same caliber and make military-style rifle used in the Connecticut school massacre after typing a note pledging to burn down his neighborhood and “do what I like doing best …
Discussion:
The Reaction
Joshua Green / Wonkblog:
Jack Klugman's secret, lifesaving legacy — The actor Jack Klugman died on Christmas Eve at age 90. Klugman was best known for his roles as the unkempt sportswriter in “The Odd Couple” and as the crusading medical examiner on “Quincy, M.E.” the wildly popular 1980s medical drama.
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Give Chuck a Chance — In case you haven't heard, President Obama is considering appointing Chuck Hagel, a former United States senator from Nebraska and a Purple Heart winner, as the next secretary of defense — and this has triggered a minifirefight among Hagel critics and supporters.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Washington Note and Israel Matzav
Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:
Petition To Deport CNN Host For Gun Control Support Reaches 60,000 Signatures — A petition to deport CNN host Piers Morgan over his heated comments on gun control has reached more than 62,000 signatures in just 4 days, far exceeding the threshold required for a White House response.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and Firedoglake
FRANCE 24:
Gunmen kill six at Nigerian Christmas service — Gunmen attacked a church in northern Nigeria during a midnight mass on Christmas Eve, killing six people including the pastor, before setting the building ablaze, residents and police said Tuesday. — Gunmen killed six people attending midnight mass …
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs
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