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.

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.

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 …

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Benghazi penalties are bogus  —  The four officials supposedly out of jobs because of their blunders in the run-up to the deadly Benghazi terror attack remain on the State Department payroll — and will all be back to work soon, The Post has learned.  —  The highest-ranking official caught …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …