memeorandum: Employers Must Offer Family Care, Affordable or Not (Robert Pear/New York Times)

1:40 PM ET, January 1, 2013

Top Items:

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Senate Passes Tax Increases on Wealthy Americans — WASHINGTON - The Senate, in a pre-dawn vote two hours after the deadline passed to avert automatic tax increases, overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday that would allow tax rates to rise only on affluent Americans …

Discussion: The Daily Banter, The Moderate Voice, Free exchange, Guardian, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hot Air, Ross Douthat, Daily Download, ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS, Conservatives4Palin and The Fix

Politico:

America awaits House action on cliff — House Republicans will hold a closed party meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, the first step in considering how to handle Senate passed legislation to avert tax increases and steep spending reductions that take hold this week.

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, The Maddow Blog, Weasel Zippers and Prairie Weather

Suzy Khimm / Wonkblog:

Your fiscal cliff deal cheat sheet — The White House and the Senate have finalized the details of their deal to avert the fiscal cliff. The bill basically follows the framework that came out earlier this afternoon from the McConnell-Biden talks, with key additional details.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Daily Kos, Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire, PoliPundit.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Tentative Deal Is Reached to Raise Taxes on the Wealthy — WASHINGTON — Furious last-minute negotiations between the White House and the Senate Republican leadership on Monday secured a tentative agreement to allow tax rates to rise on affluent Americans, but the measure was not going to pass …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Fox News, American Prospect, The National Memo, Twitchy, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, Althouse and UrbanGrounds

David Brooks / New York Times:

Another Fiscal Flop — Over the course of the 20th century, America built its welfare state. It was, by and large, a great achievement, expanding opportunity and security for millions. Unfortunately, as the population aged and health care costs surged, it became unaffordable.

Discussion: The American Conservative and Right Wing News

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Senate passes massive tax cut which raised taxes over $600 billion in middle of night without reading the bill — There are too many metaphors here applicable to the Senate's 89-8 passage of a “fiscal cliff” bill in the middle of the night (around 2 a.m. this morning).

Discussion: Business Insider, Post Politics and Twitchy

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

FISCAL CLIFF DEAL: $1 IN SPENDING CUTS FOR EVERY $41 IN TAX INCREASES — According to the Congressional Budget Office, the last-minute fiscal cliff deal reached by congressional leaders and President Barack Obama cuts only $15 billion in spending while increasing tax revenues by $620 billion …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, BuzzFeed, Politico, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, Chicago Boyz and Twitchy

Donovan Slack / Politico:

White House declares victory — The White House issued a “fact sheet” statement Tuesday declaring the fiscal cliff agreement a victory, though the House has yet to vote on the measure. — “At this make or break moment for the middle class, the President achieved a bipartisan solution …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Focus now turns to the House — The House returns to work on the first day of the new year, and will have to sort out its reaction to a Senate-passed bill meant to avoid the fiscal cliff. — The Senate bill, which the upper chamber approved in a 89-8 vote at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and The Week

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

House Takes On Fiscal Cliff — As the new year began on Tuesday, Congressional efforts to head off tax increases on most working Americans shifted to the House, where members began to pore over details of a plan passed by the Senate in the early morning hours as Republican leaders began …

Discussion: The Week

Fox News:
Fiscal crisis measure now heads to the House for approval

Discussion: protein wisdom and Fox News Insider

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Wonkbook: Everything you need to know about the fiscal cliff deal

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Angry Bear and The Mahablog

CBS News:
Fiscal cliff deal heads to House after Senate vote

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Calculated Risk

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached: White House, Hill Leaders Agree To Delay Sequester By Two Months

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, New York Post, AMERICAblog, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Post Politics

Sabrina Siddiqui / The Huffington Post:
Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks Spark Republican Threats To Blow Up Deal

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and CNN

Leigh Ann Caldwell / CBS News:
It's official: Deal reached on “fiscal cliff”

Discussion: Firedoglake, Associated Press, his vorpal sword and TalkLeft

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Here's what Republicans really hated about Obama's news conference

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine, Brad DeLong and Booman Tribune

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Budget Deal Is Sealed

Discussion: PoliPundit.com, American Power, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Wire and CNN

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Senate to hold New Year's Eve vote on Biden-GOP fiscal cliff deal

Discussion: Post Politics

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The case for the Dems' negotiating strategy

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wonkblog, Progressive Change …, Booman Tribune and CNN

Mollie Reilly / The Huffington Post:
Fiscal Cliff: Live Updates On Congress, White House Negotiations

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Hullabaloo

USA Today:
Washington poised to go over ‘fiscal cliff’

Discussion: Firedoglake and Associated Press

Nancy Cook / NationalJournal.com:
Fiscal Compromise Would Set Stage For a New Year of Mini-Cliffs

Discussion: naked capitalism, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's … and National Review

Paul Krugman:

Perspective on the Deal — To make sense of what just happened, we need to ask what is really at stake, and how much difference the budget deal makes in the larger picture. — So, what are the two sides really fighting about? Surely the answer is, the future of the welfare state.

Discussion: The Plum Line, Campaign for America's Future, ABCNEWS and Booman Tribune

Paul Krugman:
Conceder In Chief? — OK, I've had my own sorta-kinda briefing …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, The New Republic and Chicago Tribune

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Democrats' Cliff Compromise Is Bad; But the Strategic Consequences Are Disastrous

Discussion: News Desk, Talking Points Memo, The American Conservative, CNN, Angry Bear, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line and Daily Download

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Employers Must Offer Family Care, Affordable or Not — WASHINGTON — In a long-awaited interpretation of the new health care law, the Obama administration said Monday that employers must offer health insurance to employees and their children, but will not be subject to any penalties if family coverage is unaffordable to workers.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Via Meadia and The Raw Story

FRANCE 24:

Tunisians urged to spurn New Year greetings — AFP - A preacher from the hardline Salafist movement that has achieved growing prominence in Tunisia since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings told Tunisians on Monday that the exchange of New Year's greetings was un-Islamic.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Reuters:

Clinton suffers clot behind right ear, full recovery seen — (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a blood clot in a vein between her brain and skull behind her right ear but is expected to make a full recovery, her doctors said on Monday in a statement released by the State Department.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Atlantic Online