memeorandum: ATF official cites ‘miscommunication’ over NBC gun magazine flap (Mike M. Ahlers/CNN)

3:15 PM ET, December 28, 2012

Top Items:

Jonathan Allen / Politico:

Why they want to go over the cliff — Washington's Democratic and Republican power brokers have sent the message to the nation that going over the fiscal cliff is a worst-case scenario. But they're not acting that way, not at all. — Instead, many of them have calculated that it's better …

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, Salon, AMERICAblog, The Week, Business Insider, Politicker, neo-neocon, Connecting.the.Dots, The Caucus and Taylor Marsh

New York Times:

Narrower Tax Deal Floated as Lawmakers to Sit With Obama — WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders prepared for what was looming as a make-or-break White House meeting on the fiscal crisis Friday afternoon as top aides said they were exploring a scaled-back proposal that would prevent tax increases …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The logic of House GOP intransigence — The unruly House Republicans who emasculated Speaker John Boehner as the country flirts with fiscal havoc might've seemed like they were doing their best “Lord of the Flies” rendition. — But last week's mayhem had a certain logic — the logic of politicians wanting to keep their jobs.

Discussion: Wake up America, Booman Tribune, Washington Examiner, CNN, Guardian and Daily Kos

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Optimism for fiscal deal grows ahead of White House meeting — Senators are growing more optimistic of a deal to avoid part of the fiscal cliff as Senate Republican Mitch McConnell (Ky.) works with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and President Obama to craft a last-minute deal.

Manu Raju / Politico:
Obama will make scaled-back offer in White House meeting

Discussion: Daily Kos

Steven T. Dennis / Roll Call:
Pessimism Abounds as White House Calls Cliff Meeting

Discussion: The Other McCain

Chelsea Karnash / CBS Philly:

3 Officers Wounded After Suspect Opens Fire At Gloucester Township Police Station — CLEMENTON, NJ (CBS) — Police and rescue crews responded to the Gloucester County Municipal Building on Chews Landing Road this morning after shots were fired inside the Gloucester Township police station.

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, The Raw Story, Gawker and The Hinterland Gazette

WPVI-TV:

3 officers injured, gunman dead after NJ police station shooting — camden county, new jersey, shooting, police, local/state — Three officers were injured after gunfire erupted inside Gloucester Township police headquarters Friday morning. — Medics responded around 5:30 a.m. to the station …

Discussion: WFTS and ABCNEWS

Dallas Morning News:

Exclusive: David Dewhurst campaign says aide stole at least $600,000 — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (front), receiving an endorsement during his U.S. Senate campaign from former rival Craig James, had hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from his state political accounts by an aide, his campaign says.

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Ballot Box, The Fix and Post Politics

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:

Senate approves bill to reauthorize foreign surveillance programs — The Senate on Friday approved a bill reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in a 73-23 vote. — The bill will extend for five years the ability of U.S. intelligence authorities to conduct surveillance …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Maddow Blog and Hit & Run

Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:
GOP and Feinstein join to fulfill Obama's demand for renewed warrantless eavesdropping | Glenn Greenwald

Discussion: Firedoglake, Wired, msnbc.com, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and Techdirt

Trevor Timm / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Why We Should All Care About Today's Senate Vote on the FISA Amendments Act, the Warrantless Domestic Spying Bill

Discussion: Cato Institute, Hit & Run, Techdirt, The Raw Story, TechCrunch, The Atlantic Online and The Verge

Sky News:

Gang-Rape In India: Teen Victim Kills Herself — Video: Women mourn the death of the teenager — A 17-year-old Indian girl who was allegedly gang-raped killed herself after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, police and a relative said on Thursday.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, JONATHAN TURLEY and Gawker

Gregory L. White / Wall Street Journal:

Putin Signs Ban on U.S. Adoptions — Children at an orphanage in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. A new law would ban Americans from adopting Russians. — MOSCOW—President Vladimir Putin signed a bill Friday banning U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children, raising tensions with Washington …

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, LifeNews.com, Power Line and New York Times

CNN:
Russia's Putin signs anti-U.S. adoption bill

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation and The Gateway Pundit

Jason Volentine / KASW-TV:

Sheriff Arpaio sending armed posse to protect schools — PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday that he plans to deploy his armed volunteer posse to protect Valley schools from the kind of violence that happened in the Connecticut shooting tragedy.

Discussion: Mediaite and The National Memo

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

Summoned Back to Work, Senators Chafe at Inaction — WASHINGTON — Senators bid hasty goodbyes to families, donned ties and pantsuits in lieu of sweat pants and Christmas sweaters and one by one returned to the Capitol on Thursday to begin the business of doing nothing in particular.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly and ABCNEWS

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:

Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Commander in Gulf War, Dies at 78 — Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the American-led forces that crushed Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf war and became the nation's most acclaimed military hero since the midcentury exploits of Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Week, Crooks and Liars, americanthinker.com, Twitchy and National Review

Matt Schudel / Washington Post:
Retired Gen. Schwarzkopf dies at 78

Discussion: The Spectacle Blog, neo-neocon, Gawker and Foreign Policy

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Senate Republicans refuse to confirm Kerry until Hillary testifies about Benghazi — Isn't this pushing a jinx? If Senate Republicans insist on having Hillary Clinton testify before allowing John Kerry's confirmation to proceed, aren't they risking a torn ACL or turf toe for the outgoing Secretary of State?

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Pirate's Cove

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

112th Congress Set To Become Most Unproductive Since 1940s … REACT: — FOLLOW: — 112th Congress, Harry Reid , John Boehner, Republican Party, Congress Productivity, Olympia Snowe, Bipartisanship, Congress Unproductive, Fiscal Cliff, Unproductive Congress, Politics News

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, The Reaction and Gawker

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Senate votes to block Hurricane Sandy relief for tax cheats, dead people — The Senate on Friday approved an amendment to a Hurricane Sandy disaster relief bill that would prohibit dead people and anyone with “serious delinquent tax debts” from receiving the funds.

Discussion: Post Politics

Burgess Everett / Politico:

GOP senators propose $1 trillion debt ceiling deal — A pair of GOP senators, confident Congress will head off the tax hikes set to kick in within days, are already turning their attention to entitlements and the debt ceiling. — Tennessee Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander pitched …

Discussion: The National Memo

Chicago Tribune:

Grim milestone: Austin shooting apparently 500th homicide in Chicago — Gave Bates smiled through tears as she swiped her hand across her phone, flipping through pictures of her cousin playing around and striking goofy poses. — “He was a lot of fun, very good at imitating people,” Bates said of Nathaniel T. Jackson, 40.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Shot in the Dark

CBS News:

Bush aide: “Please put the harps back in the closet” — The chief of staff to former Pres. George H.W. Bush, who is in intensive care at Houston's Methodist Hospital, told Bush family and friends in an email today that the former president “would ask me to tell you to please put the harps back in the closet …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Post Politics, Mediaite and Politico

Des Moines Register:

Mississippi's low levels could halt river traffic — A shutdown of commercial use could come by next week, a group says — The feared shutdown of commercial traffic on the Mississippi River due to low water levels could happen as early as next week, a waterways group said Thursday.