memeorandum: Syria rebels ‘beheaded a Christian and fed him to the dogs’ as fears grow over Islamist atrocities (Nick Fagge/Daily Mail)

1:15 PM ET, December 31, 2012

Top Items:

Fiscal cliff: Major progress toward deal — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden engaged in furious overnight negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff and made major progress toward a year-end tax deal, giving sudden hope to high-stakes talks …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, MarketWatch, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh and Business Insider

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Why Is Obama Caving on Taxes? — The discouraging thing about the “fiscal cliff” negotiations is not that they have gone into the eleventh hour, or that they may go into the new year, or even that they won't resolve the long-term budget deficit. It's that President Obama has retreated on his hard line on taxes.

Discussion: The New Republic, Paul Krugman, Slate, The Week, The Daily Dish, theGrio, Washington Post, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Post Politics

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

2 Sides in Talks Inch Closer but No Fiscal Deal on Final Day — WASHINGTON — A frantic round of late-night negotiations on Sunday between Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, moved the Senate close to a deal to stave off hundreds …

bigstory.ap.org:

AP SOURCES: ‘FISCAL CLIFF’ DEAL EMERGING — You are here — Home » United States Congress » AP Sources: ‘Fiscal cliff’ deal emerging — WASHINGTON (AP) — The contours of a deal to avert the ‘fiscal cliff’ emerged Monday, with Democrats and Republicans agreeing to raise tax rates …

Discussion: National Review and Weasel Zippers

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Grover Norquist: Tax rates won't increase — Grover Norquist on Monday expressed confidence that any last-minute fiscal cliff deal would not hike tax rates. — “I'm working with all the folks who are trying to defend taxpayers here in Congress,” he said on CNN's “Starting Point.”

Discussion: The Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

Joshua Green / Business Week:

On the Fiscal Cliff, Republicans Are Blowing a Great Deal — On Sunday evening, after a long, fruitless day of haggling, talks between Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell to avert the fiscal cliff broke down and the Senate adjourned until Monday. Republicans had spent much of Sunday pushing …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog and The Mahablog

First Read:
First Thoughts: Farewell to the 112th Congress

Discussion: msnbc.com

Jamelle Bouie / The Plum Line:
Have Democrats lost their leverage on the fiscal cliff?

Discussion: Wonkblog, Post Politics, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

David Jackson / Associated Press:
Biden, McConnell discuss fiscal cliff deal

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Heritage Foundation and The Week

Washington Post:
Senate negotiators yet to reach ‘fiscal cliff’ deal as clock winds down

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, BuzzMachine, Business Insider, CNN, The Strata-Sphere, Firedoglake, Wonkblog, Post Politics, Prairie Weather, The New Republic, The Maddow Blog, Calculated Risk, The Fix, Daily Kos and New York Times

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Fiscal Cliff Talks Resume After GOP Caves On Social Security Cut

Discussion: Hullabaloo

BuzzFeed:

8 People Who Thought Hillary Clinton Was Faking Her Concussion — The Secretary of State was hospitalized Sunday night with a blood clot. — Former U.S. U.N. spokesman Richard Grenell — Via: @RichardGrenell — The New York Post — Via: nypost.com

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice, Fox News, Washington Monthly, CNN, The New Civil Rights Movement, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, Connecting.the.Dots, The Daily Dish and The Agonist

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama Most Admired in 2012 — Clinton has been Most Admired more than any other woman in Gallup's history — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans again this year name Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama as the Most Admired Woman and Most Admired Man living in any part of the world.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Fix, msnbc.com, The Greenroom, Politico, Washington Examiner and First Read

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

What's Happening to Hillary? Only a clod would say the clot is a plot! — Here are Senators Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein, interviewed by Chris Wallace (yesterday, on “Fox News Sunday"): … With all that assurance that Hillary Clinton would testify, later that day …

Discussion: Washington Wire, The New Civil Rights Movement, Daily Mail, The Daily Beast, The Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

NBC reporter raises Hillary Clinton questions — The top science reporter for NBC News raised questions Monday about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's hospitalization, raising the possibility the blood clot causing isn't linked to an earlier concussion. — “It's not exactly clear …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Matthew Lee / bigstory.ap.org:
HILLARY CLINTON HOSPITALIZED WITH BLOOD CLOT

Discussion: Mediaite, Daily Download, Politico, BuzzFeed, Politicker, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice, his vorpal sword, The Hill, Business Insider and The Hinterland Gazette

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot

Discussion: Truthdig

Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Clinton Admitted to Hospital With Blood Clot

Discussion: USA Today and The Week

Elise Labott / CNN:
Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors discover blood clot

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Hot Air, Fausta's Blog, Little Green Footballs and Gawker

NBC Politics:
Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors discover blood clot

Discussion: The Maddow Blog

New York Post:

Greenwich Village couple busted with cache of weapons, bombmaking explosives: sources — The privileged daughter of a prominent city doctor, and her boyfriend — a Harvard grad and Occupy Wall Street activist — have been busted for allegedly having a cache of weapons and a bombmaking explosive in their Greenwich Village apartment.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Lonely Conservative, The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers, The Greenroom, Wizbang and Small Dead Animals

Louis Michael Seidman / New York Times:

Let's Give Up on the Constitution — AS the nation teeters at the edge of fiscal chaos, observers are reaching the conclusion that the American system of government is broken. But almost no one blames the culprit: our insistence on obedience to the Constitution, with all its archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Cold Fury, Instapundit, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Right Sphere, Conservatives4Palin, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, National Review, The Lonely Conservative, Cafe Hayek, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Moonbattery

Dana Bash / CNN:

Harkin: Democrats unhappy; “We may object” to suggested deal — Washington (CNN) - Sen. Tom Harkin, a veteran Democrat and a leading liberal voice, told CNN Monday that he and other Democrats may try to block the fiscal cliff deal that's being furiously negotiated ahead of the year-end deadline.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Post Politics

Lisa Desjardins / CNN:
Sticking points in fiscal cliff talks

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
With no deal in hand, lawmakers spend New Year's Eve on the cliff

Discussion: Hot Air and Fox News Insider

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Citing Citizens United, Federal Appeals Court Blocks Access To Birth Control — On Friday, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in an order joined by two conservative Republican appointees, temporarily immunized a company from the Obama Administration's …

Discussion: The Raw Story

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

The Republican Party in one tweet — This is pretty much the Republican Party in one tweet: — Today's Republican Party thinks the key problem America faces is out-of-control entitlement spending. But cutting entitlement spending is unpopular and the GOP's coalition relies heavily on seniors.