WASHINGTON (AP) ? Bluster and hot rhetoric aside, the White House and House Republicans have identified areas of significant overlap that could form the basis for a final agreement after "fiscal cliff" posturing gives way to hard bargaining.
Both sides now concede that tax revenue and reductions in entitlement spending are essential elements of any deal. If the talks succeed, it probably will be because House Speaker John Boehner yields on raising tax rates for top earners and the White House bends on how to reduce spending on Medicare and accepts some changes in Social Security.
The White House and Boehner kept up the ridicule of each other's negotiating stances on Tuesday. But beneath the tough words were the possible makings of a deal that could borrow heavily from a near-bargain last year during debt-limit negotiations.
Then, Obama was willing to reduce cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries and increase the eligibility age for Medicare, as Boehner and other top Republicans have demanded. On Tuesday, Obama did not shut the door on Republican ideas on such entitlement programs.
"I'm prepared to make some tough decisions on some of these issues," Obama said, "but I can't ask folks who are, you know, middle class seniors who are on Medicare, young people who are trying to get student loans to go to college, I can't ask them to sacrifice and not ask anything of higher income folks."
"I'm happy to entertain other ideas that the Republicans may present," he added in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
At the core, the negotiations center on three key points: whether tax rates for upper income taxpayers should go up, how deeply to cut spending on entitlements such as Medicare and how to deal with raising the government's borrowing limit early next year.
White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed Boehner's proposals as "magic beans and fairy dust."
Boehner countered: "If the president really wants to avoid sending the economy over the fiscal cliff, he has done nothing to demonstrate it."
Tax rates have emerged as one of the most intractable issues, with Obama insisting the rates on the top 2 percent of earners must go up and Boehner standing steadfast that they must not.
Boehner, instead, has proposed raising $800 billion through unspecified loophole closings and limits on tax deductions.
On Tuesday, the president said he would consider lowering rates for the top 2 percent of earners ? next year, not now ? as part of a broader tax overhaul effort that would close loopholes, limit deductions and find other sources of government revenue. "It's possible that we may be able to lower rates by broadening the base at that point," Obama said.
On Medicare and Social Security, the Republican proposals would do relatively little to curb the deficit over the next decade, but the impact would grow over the longer term.
Raising the Medicare retirement age from 65 to 67, for instance, would wring $148 billion from the program over 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate last year, about one-fourth of the savings House Republicans hope to claim from federal health programs.
Another idea that gained currency during the Obama-Boehner talks last year would change the annual inflation measure used for Social Security cost-of-living increases and the indexation of tax brackets for inflation.
Many economists and government budget specialists believe the system is a more accurate measure of inflation because it takes into account changes in purchasing behavior
This "chained consumer price index" idea makes modest cuts to Social Security benefits at first ? curbing program costs by $112 billion over a decade according to the 2011 CBO report. But those reductions build up more over time in a fashion comparable to the way compound interest builds personal savings.
The White House has not foreclosed the idea of addressing Social Security cost-of living changes in a new deal, but it has not embraced it because Obama's aides argue Social Security is not contributing to the federal deficit.
The stingier inflation measure also could raise tax revenue by $87 billion over the coming decade. Taxes would slowly increase because annual adjustments to income tax brackets would be smaller, pushing more people into higher brackets.
But the alternative inflation measure, while a favorite of budget hawks, has run into fierce opposition from defenders of Social Security.
"I've never been a part of that," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a top Obama ally.
The two sides are also close, at least in theory, on curbing spending on a host of miscellaneous programs, as well as new fees. These could lead to higher airline ticket prices, for example, an end to Saturday mail delivery, fewer food stamps and lower farm subsidies.
Republicans claim they could glean $300 billion from such cuts and fees over 10 years; the White House promises $250 billion.
So far, the public seems ready to hold Republicans responsible if negotiations fail. A new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll shows that 53 percent say the Republicans would deserve blame if the nation tips over the fiscal cliff, and only 27 percent of those surveyed say Obama would be to blame.
Forty-nine percent don't believe Obama and Congress will reach a deal by Jan. 1, whereas 40 percent are more optimistic.
Republicans were quick to say on Tuesday that Boehner's plan was attracting criticism from the right, particularly from Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, a leader of tea party conservatives, and as such represented more of a compromise than Obama's stance. DeMint said Boehner's plan "will destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more."
___
Associated Press writer Donna Cassata contributed to this article.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/makings-fiscal-deal-behind-hot-rhetoric-222510858--finance.html
APLions coach Jim Schwartz told us Monday that wide receiver Titus Young wouldn?t be playing for the Lions again this season.
They made that official on Tuesday, but not in the manner you might assume. Young has been placed on injured reserve, according to Tim Twentyman of the Lions? website. There?s no indication of what injury Young might have suffered, although he did have a knee issue earlier in the season. Even though he hasn?t used that knee in weeks, we can be sure that there?s absolutely no designation to return.
It?s an odd move because the Lions told Young to stay away from the team two weeks ago after he allegedly lined up in the wrong place on purpose during a November 18th loss to the Packers. Young, who was given the boot from the team during the offseason after a fight with safety Louis Delmas at the team facility, rejoined the team briefly last week, but was inactive on Sunday and exiled again by Monday.
A suspension seemed more probable than injured reserve, but the end result looks like it works for everyone. They get rid of Young for the season and he gets paid without any fight about the suspension.
As previously reported, the Lions activated Kris Durham from the practice squad to add depth at wide receiver with Young and Ryan Broyles out. The team also made a change at safety, signing veteran Tyrell Johnson and releasing Erik Coleman.
Johnson, a former Vikings second rounder, was cut by the Dolphins in August. Coleman had an interception and 47 tackles in 12 games for the Lions, including seven starts.
Waldo Canyon fire nba finals K Michelle roger clemens multiple sclerosis falling skies rodney king
In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection. Authorities say the woman inexplicably took the girl from the hospital last week. Police say that if the catheter is left in too long it could lead to a deadly infection. The family?s identity is being withheld but they are calling the girl Emily. (AP Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection. Authorities say the woman inexplicably took the girl from the hospital last week. Police say that if the catheter is left in too long it could lead to a deadly infection. The family?s identity is being withheld but they are calling the girl Emily. (AP Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection. Authorities say the woman inexplicably took the girl from the hospital last week. Police say that if the catheter is left in too long it could lead to a deadly infection. The family?s identity is being withheld but they are calling the girl Emily. (AP Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
PHOENIX (AP) ? Emily has leukemia. She just underwent a month of chemotherapy and had her right arm amputated after suffering complications. Doctors say she is at risk of dying from an infection.
But the sick 11-year-old isn't in a hospital.
Her mother last week inexplicably unhooked a tube that had been carrying vital medication through the girl's heart, got her out of bed and changed her clothes. Then she did something police say is even more baffling ? she walked the child out of the hospital, the tiny tube still protruding from her chest.
Doctors say the device, if left unattended, could allow bacteria to quickly enter her body, leading to a potentially deadly infection.
Phoenix police are now on a desperate search for the mother and daughter, last seen nearly a week ago on surveillance video leaving Phoenix Children's Hospital, the mother pushing an IV stand, the small child with a bandaged arm amputated above the elbow walking beside her.
Authorities have no explanation for why 35-year-old Norma Bracamontes took her daughter from the hospital before her treatment was complete, but they say it's imperative she return her immediately. They're even considering criminal charges.
"Certainly from our standpoint, we are looking at it thinking, is this negligence in failing to provide Emily the proper medical care that she requires?" police Sgt. Steve Martos said Tuesday. "They should know by now what is required, what Emily needs, so it baffles us that anyone, any parent with a child like this, with leukemia and an amputated arm, and now you put them in this situation where it's potentially fatal, we just don't understand why they would not seek medical treatment."
Authorities speculate the mother might have been concerned with paying the child's hospital bill, but her motivation remains a mystery. The family lives a "nomadic" life without a permanent residence, but they have relatives in Arizona, California and Mexico, none of whom have been able to provide police with information about their whereabouts, Martos said.
U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the girl's father, Luis Bracamontes, 46, as he crossed into Arizona from Mexico over the weekend, but the man denied any involvement in removing his daughter from the hospital and said he didn't know where she was.
Martos said doctors, who can't discuss Emily's case publicly due to privacy laws, told authorities that when Emily's mother removed the tubing, she failed to put a cap on the open line leading into the girl's body. That's left the young girl susceptible to a potentially deadly infection.
The cap was found in the girl's hospital bathroom.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Emily's immune system is already compromised from the cancer and chemotherapy.
"If bacteria get into the blood stream, that can cause a serious infection," Schaffner said.
The open catheter could serve as a pathway for bacteria, he said, adding that an infection is not only possible, but likely.
"These are life-threatening infections, particularly in young children who've had leukemia and chemotherapy," Schaffner said.
And the longer the girl is away from medical care, the greater the risk of contamination.
If infection does set in, he said, the girl could die "in a few days or worse, hours."
Associated Presserin brockovich dodgeball 2012 pro bowl postsecret ufc on fox 2 supercross christina aguilera etta james funeral
16 hrs.
Surprise your significant other with a thoughtful tech gift that combines style and functionality. Need ideas? We?ve rounded up a selection of sure hits.
Cambridge Soundworks Oontz
Most affordable, portable Bluetooth speakers aren?t much better than your smartphone?s speaker. Not the case with the Cambridge Soundworks Oontz. This tiny speaker, which can easily rest on the palm of your hand, has great dynamic range and enough volume to fill an average bedroom. The secret sauce? High-quality drivers and a passive radiator to produce surprisingly good bass.
Price: $69.99 on amazon.com, $69.99 on cambridgesoundworks.com
Pear Pro
Whether your significant other is a couch potato looking to start a walk-to-run fitness plan or gearing up for a half marathon, he will benefit from a heart-rate based fitness plan and virtual coach to keep him in line. The Pear Pro monitors his heart rate, pace and distance and delivers audible prompts to guide him through each workout.?
Most plans are free, but you can also purchase one that?s customized just for him (starting at $160 for an 8-week program). The Pear Pro is a stand-alone unit that can also work with an iPod shuffle for those that like to run to music. It comes with a heart rate monitor, a good set of headphones and a foot pod to measure distance and pace.
Price: Pear Mobile, $149.99 on pearsports.com; Pear Pro, $249.99 on pearsports.com
Lenovo Yoga IdeaPad 13.3-inch ultrabook
If your gift recipient is frequently working on the go, they?ll love the versatility of the new Lenovo Yoga IdeaPad ultrabook 13.3-inch?touchscreen laptop.
The hinge lets you fold the screen all the way back, so you can use the Yoga as a laptop, a tablet or put it in ?tent? mode for watching movies. And it?s powerful enough to handle most tasks???for work or fun???with ease.
Price: $999.99 on bestbuy.com
Moshi iGlaze+ Versacover
The Moshi Versacover folds in multiple directions to support the iPad 3rd and 4th generation horizontally, vertically or in typing mode, and also has a clear plastic back to protect the iPad's back from scratches.
Like the Apple Smart cover, the Versacover has built-in magnets to automatically power on and off the display. But, the Versacover goes one step further with a magnet mount on the back to keep the front cover from flopping around when open.
Price: $59.95 on amazon.com, $60 on moshimonde.com
RHA SA 950i headphones
Great sound doesn?t have to come at a high price with the RHA SA950i headphones. These over-ear style cans are incredibly lightweight at 3.7 ounces.
?Nice touches include a fabric braided cable to combat tangling and in-line mic and audio controls.
Price: $59.95 on amazon.com
Liquid Image APEX HD+ Snow Goggles
If your significant other likes sharing his or her time on the slopes, they?ll love these goggle equipped with a built-in camera for live streaming using your phone?s Wi-Fi hotspot. The Liquid Image APEX HD+?s camera takes Full HD 1080p video and 12MP stills. The 135-degree wide-angle camera tilts 30 degrees to adjust the shot.
Price:?$399.99 on?liquidimageco.com
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 camera
The Sony RX100 packs more image quality and features into its tiny body than most larger cameras. Its 1-inch 20.2-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor and fast f/1.8 3.6x optical zoom lens take impressive?low-light photos.
?It can also capture images at up to 10 frames per second and acquire focus in as little as 0.13 seconds, ensuring your loved one will always get the shot.
Price: $648?on?amazon.com, $649.99 on?sony.com
Upper Street Bespoke shoes
If the woman in your life loves shoes, a gift card to Upper Street to design her own shoes is a very special gift. On Upper Street, she can choose from eight styles, including ballet flat, platform peep toe, and sandal and a variety of materials to design the perfect pair.?
There are leathers, patent, suede, Italian satins, snakeskin and calf in a variety of colors, including metallics. Shoes take about six weeks for delivery. All alterations are free and if she?s unhappy, she can return the pair or have them remade.
Prices:?Shoes start at $320, gift cards can be bought for any amount on upperstreet.com
Gear4 Renew Sleep Clock
Give the gift of ?waking up feeling refreshed? with the Gear4 Renew Sleep Clock. Even when you?ve clocked enough hours, you can still wake up groggy if the alarm pulls you out of a deep sleep cycle.?
The Gear4 Renew Sleep Clock works with iOS devices to monitor your significant other?s sleep cycles?without a wearable sensor?waking him or her up during the lightest sleep.
Price: $129.99 on gear4.com
Nespresso U
If your significant other loves an espresso in the morning, the Nespresso U makes a perfect cup every time. There are a variety of single-serve pods in different strengths and flavors to choose from, including seasonal specials?hazelnut, macadamia nut and coconut this holiday season. Choose the bundle with the Aeroccino Plus Automatic Milk Frother for cappuccinos and lattes.
Price: $149.25/$186.75 with Aeroccino, on amazon.com, $149.96/$187.46 with the Aeroccino on williams-sonoma.com
More from Techlicious:
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/tech-gifts-your-significant-other-1C7403330
royals nicole richie lyme disease symptoms esperanza spalding jessica sanchez robert kennedy cardinals
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ? A man who died in an apparent suicide this week in an Alaska jail after confessing to a string of killings across the country had sexually assaulted and strangled an Anchorage barista the day after he abducted her, then left her body in a shed while he went on a two-week cruise, the FBI said Tuesday.
In the most detailed account yet of what happened to Samantha Koenig, who disappeared in February, authorities said Israel Keyes told them he strangled the 18-year-old, then left her body in a shed outside his Anchorage house until he returned from his cruise from New Orleans.
Once home, Keyes posed Koenig's body to make it appear she was still alive and took a Polaroid photo of her tied up, along with a newspaper dated Feb. 13 ? 12 days after the abduction from a coffee stand. He later typed a ransom note demanding $30,000 from Koenig's family on the back of a photocopy of the photo, sending a text message from the woman's cellphone with directions where he'd left the note at a local dog park.
Keyes dismembered Koenig's body and disposed of the remains in a frozen lake north of Anchorage after he cut a hole in the ice, the FBI said in a release.
Keyes, 34, was arrested in Koenig's death in March in Texas, after using her stolen debit card at ATMs there and in Alaska, Arizona and New Mexico.
After his arrest, Keyes confessed to killing Koenig and at least seven other people across the U.S. over the past decade. His other known victims were Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vt., who disappeared in June 2011. Keyes told authorities he also sexually assaulted and strangled Lorraine Currier.
The couple's bodies have not been found.
Keyes confessed to other killings without identifying the victims or saying where their remains were, other than that four were killed in Washington state and one was killed on the East Coast with the body disposed of in New York. Keyes had lived in Washington state and had property in upstate New York.
Keyes, who faced a March trial in Koenig's death, was found dead Sunday in his Anchorage jail cell after he apparently killed himself.
Also Tuesday, authorities released video footage of Keyes abducting Koenig, caught by a surveillance camera. Another video shows him returning for her cellphone, followed four minutes later by a man identified by the FBI as Koenig's boyfriend, who was looking for her.
In the first video, Keyes wears a black ski mask as he climbs through the window of an Anchorage coffee kiosk. Before entering the stand, he orders an Americano coffee, which Koenig makes.
Koenig is seen putting her hands up several times, and at some point Keyes makes her turn off the light. The light switch was close to a panic button, but Koenig never pushed it, probably because she was too afraid, police said.
The video shows Keyes using zip ties to bind Koenig's hands behind her back, and leading her out. He told Koenig he would let her go if her family paid a ransom, but that was never his intention, police said.
"He knew all along he was going to kill her," Anchorage homicide Detective Monique Doll said.
Koenig's body was recovered from the lake in April after Keyes told authorities where he put it.
The other video shows a man identified as Keyes getting out of a white pickup truck parked in nearby parking lot just before the abduction took place, and returning with another person he appeared to be gripping tightly.
Police said Tuesday a license plate, green toolboxes and a ladder rack had been removed from the truck before the abduction, then reinstalled afterward so Keyes could disguise the vehicle, which had an extended bed.
In their investigation, the vehicle appeared twice in a list of 750 local white trucks of the same kind, but police scratched it off the list of possibilities because it looked so different.
Authorities say Keyes traveled extensively in the U.S., landing at one location and targeting victims randomly hundreds of miles away. Keyes told authorities he robbed several banks and used money he made as a general contractor to pay for his travel.
In the Koenig case, he stuck to his own town.
"He broke his own rule," Doll said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-alaska-barista-assaulted-dismembered-003613777.html
patriots bowl projections palestine powerball winner powerball winner steelers jessica simpson
If you wish sometimes that you had just an extra $500 or $1000 burning a hole in your pocket, you may want to consider hosting a home party. I am not talking about the kind of parties that require you to purchase an expensive product kit or demand you sell so much product each month. You know, the ones where your friends come because they feel obligated. Parties where you sit through an hour demonstration just to learn how to use a pizza knife. No, I am talking about a legitimate, no investment way to make decent part time money just by throwing a party. That?s it, just a simple, open your doors, put out a few snacks, kind of party.
What kind of party is this? It?s a GOLD PARTY!!
If you have ever tried to earn MLM income before and become frustrated, getting involved in the gold party business will bring a smile to your face and the faces of your guests. They have nothing to buy, part with no money and go home wealthier than they came!
Are You Ready to Throw a Party?
Who doesn?t like to throw a party? Getting together with friends and family can be a whole lot of fun. What makes a party more exciting is when you add in the possibility of your guests going home with some extra cash. That?s right, not only will you all have fun together catching up on the latest, but you will also make some money in the process. What kind of party is this you ask? Well, it is a gold party!!
Here is how it works?
Simply invite your friends and family to your home for a fun-filled evening. Tell them to bring any unwanted gold they may have. This might include coins, broken or mismatched jewelry, watches and more. The gold is examined by a Gold Refinery representative who values it and pays party guests top dollar. As the hostess, you will receive 10%. What could be easier or more fun? Unlike other MLM income opportunities, there is nothing to buy, no sales quotas, no cost for marketing materials and no extensive training sessions to attend. This is simply one of the best turnkey business opportunities available today.
This gets better?
If you think throwing a gold party sounds like fun, wait until you hear about what happens when your friends plan parties . For sure, you will have friends and family members that attended your party who want to host their own gold party after they see how successful yours has been. Once they book their party, you are guaranteed 5% of whatever is sold. That can add up quickly. There is no other way to earn MLM income like this.
And better?
There is not limitation to the number of parties that you can book and you can advance from the hostess to the position of company representative if desired. There is no limit to the income potential with this opportunity. Remember, there is no upfront or ever investment, no supplies, and no massive learning curve. Every day more and more people are learning how to create a win-win situation for friends and family by hosting a gold party.
Help yourself and your friends plan parties today. Learn more at www.thegoldrefinery.com.
crystal cathedral sxsw st. patrick s day brandon lloyd brandon lloyd celtic thunder fabrice muamba collapse
Tumblr gets hacked, voting for Facebook's new site governance policies begins, an Instagram vulnerability is found on iOS, and Verizon is shutting down Vcast.
Photo by photastic (Shutterstock), a2bb5s (Shutterstock), and Feng Yu (Shutterstock).
mlk school closures being human being human chicago news chicago news golden girls