Syria says rebels attack gas pipeline

In this Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters fire at enemy positions during heavy clashes with government forces, in the Salaheddine district in Aleppo, Syria. Activists say Syrian rebels have captured an oil pumping station in the north central province of Raqqa about 160 km east of Aleppo after days of fighting. (AP Photo/Abdullah Al-Yasin)

In this Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters fire at enemy positions during heavy clashes with government forces, in the Salaheddine district in Aleppo, Syria. Activists say Syrian rebels have captured an oil pumping station in the north central province of Raqqa about 160 km east of Aleppo after days of fighting. (AP Photo/Abdullah Al-Yasin)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria has blamed rebels for blowing up a natural gas pipeline Monday in the country's oil-rich east, disrupting distribution.

A statement carried by Syria's state news agency blamed a "terrorist group," the regime's description of rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad.

The news agency said the blast Monday some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Deir el-Zour caused the loss of around 1.5 million cubic meters of gas. It quoted an Oil Ministry official as saying the station fed electricity plants and a fertilizer factory and that engineers were repairing the leak.

Rebels have repeatedly targeted Syria's oil infrastructure in an effort to sap government finances. Last week, they reported seizing the al-Tanak oil field, also in eastern Syria.

In Damascus, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi acknowledged the difficulties to the Cabinet on Monday, blaming them on "unfair" international sanctions on Syria and rebel attacks on infrastructure.

"The armed terrorist groups targeted the productive and service institutions and caused huge damage to the national economy and the daily life of the citizens," he said.

Al-Halqi said the government was trying to reopen oil facilities to provide for Syrian's needs.

Anti-regime activists say more than 45,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011. Since then, it has evolved into a full-scale civil war with scores of armed groups across the country fighting regime forces.

The war has badly damaged Syria's economy, weakened its currency and led to shortages and price spikes for many basic goods.

Although Russia and China have vetoed efforts to sanction Syria in the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. and European Union have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-regime activist group, said rebels were clashing with government forces near a number of military bases in the country's north as well as in the central city of Homs and in suburbs southeast of the capital, Damascus.

The group also said 11 rebel fighters were killed in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh, and eight people, including four children and one woman, were killed in government shelling on the al-Marjah area of Aleppo.

Rebels have made gains in recent months, though few expect the war to end soon.

An international plan to end the civil war with a cease-fire and the formation of a transitional government has gone nowhere, mostly because both sides still seek a military victory.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-31-Syria/id-22fc573900354c73a3763ab682629c80

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Obama ?optimistic? Senate leaders will reach ?fiscal cliff? deal this weekend

(Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Following talks with congressional leaders that yielded no news of ?a "fiscal cliff" agreement, President Barack Obama on Friday evening pressured lawmakers to reach a deal this weekend as the public's patience wears thin.

"America wonders why it is that in this town for some reason they can't get stuff done in an organized timetable, why everything always has to wait for the last minute," Obama said during a statement delivered in the White House briefing room. "The American people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy, not right now."

The president confirmed that following his Friday afternoon meeting with congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and?Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have been tasked to reach an agreement to reduce the deficit and avoid the "fiscal cliff"?automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to go into effect Jan. 1.

But in the absence of a deal, Obama said he will "urge" Reid to "bring to the floor a basic package for an up-or-down vote" that would increase taxes on households earning more than $250,000, extend unemployment insurance and disarm a sequestration?provisions the president has supported.

But Republicans have been rejecting any tax increases, even for the wealthiest earners.

"If members of the House or Senate want to vote 'no,' they can," Obama said of his plan. "But we should let everybody vote. That's the way this is supposed to work."

The president referred to Friday's meeting, which also included House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, as "good and constructive" and said he remained "modestly optimistic" about Congress' ability to reach a deal.

But he blamed Congress for the 11th-hour holdup.

"The economy is growing, but sustaining that trend is going to require elected officials to do their jobs," Obama said.

No details on the proposals offered Friday were released by the White House or the lawmakers present.

According to a readout from the speaker's office, Boehner began the meeting by reminding those gathered "that the House has already acted to avert the entire fiscal cliff and is awaiting Senate action." Plan options were discussed and the speaker said the House will consider Senate-amended, House-passed legislation.

Following the meeting, McConnell said on the Senate floor that he was "hopeful and optimistic" about a deal.

"We had a good meeting down at the White House. We are engaged in discussions?the majority leader and myself and the White House?in the hopes that we can come forward as early as Sunday and have a recommendation that I can make to my conference and the majority leader can make to his conference," McConnell said. "And so we?ll be working hard to try to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-modestly-optimistic-senate-leaders-reach-fiscal-cliff-235659761--politics.html

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Test your knowledge of the year's news events!

Clockwise from top left: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during presidential debate; Felix Baumgartner; Lance Armstrong; Seal and Heidi Klum; Gen. David Petraeus; Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Test your memory of some of the year's most prominent newsmakers by matching each quote below with the person who said it.

How well do you think you'll do??Scroll down when you're ready to see the correct answers!

---

1. ?While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate, and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted.??
a) Lady Gaga
b) Psy
c) Chris Brown

2.?"I tripped and found myself inside the lifeboat with a number of passengers."
a) ?Silvio Berlusconi
b) ?Antonin Scalia
c) ?Francesco Schettino

3. "After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."
a) ?David Petraeus
b) ?Arnold Schwarzenegger
c) ?Rupert Sanders

4. "There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, ?Enough is enough.? For me, that time is now."
a) ?Lance Armstrong
b) ?Paul Ryan
c) ?Tiger Woods

5. ?We screwed up, and we are putting the weight of the company behind correcting it.?
a) Rupert Murdoch
b) Tim Cook
c) Donald Trump

6. ?While I do not believe I did anything illegal or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins.?
a) John Edwards
b) Peter Madoff
c) Roger Clemens

7. ?If it?s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.?
a) Richard Mourdock
b) Todd Akin
c) Michelle Bachmann

8. ?We want to keep matters affecting our family private and express our respect for each other's commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other?s roles as parents.?
a) Katy Perry and Russell Brand
b) Heidi Klum and Seal
c) Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

9.??Gold medals are made out of your sweat, blood and tears, and effort in the gym every day, and sacrificing a lot that you have to do.?
a) Gabby Douglas
b) Ryan Lochte
c) Sanya Richards-Ross

10.?"My maternity leave will be a few weeks long, and I'll work throughout it."
a) Reese Witherspoon
b) Kate Middleton
c) Marissa Mayer

11.??The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn?t be any more happy, comfortable with myself and proud.??
a) Ellen DeGeneres
b) Anderson Cooper
c)?Chely Wright

12.??Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are.??
a)?Sir Richard Branson
b)?Felix Baumgartner
c) Bill Maher

13. ?I was born in Harper Hospital. No one?s ever asked to see my birth certificate.??
a) Mitt Romney
b) Vice President Joe Biden
c) Paul Ryan

14.??The performance of the stock has obviously been disappointing.??
a) Tim Cook
b) Brian Dunn
c) Mark Zuckerberg

15.??Under current law, on January 1, 2013, there's going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases.??
a) Barack Obama
b) John Boehner
c) Ben Bernanke

FINISHED THE QUIZ? CHECK YOUR?ANSWERS HERE!?

Question 1: B, ?Gangnam Style? star Psy in a December apology for a 2004 song that called for killing Americans.

International rap sensation Psy took to the stage to perform for the president at a charity concert despite online videos showing some anti-U.S. performances he did less than a decade ago. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.

Question 2:?C, Francesco Schettino, captain of the sunken Costa Concordia, explaining in court why he didn?t go down with his ship in January.

The shifting ship is creating dangerous problems for the searchers who need to blast holes in the hull. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

Question 3:?A, David Petraeus in a statement announcing his resignation as CIA director in November.

The respected West Point graduate led combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before retiring from the military and leading the CIA. On Friday, he made the startling admission that he had engaged in an extramarital affair, and announced he was resigning from his post. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

Question 4: A, Cyclist Lance Armstrong, announcing in August that he was ending his fight against doping allegations.?

Top Talkers: Richard Haas joins a Morning Joe panel to discuss Lance Armstrong's refusal to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and his 2000 Olympic Games bronze medal and was banned from the sport.

Question 5:?B, Apple CEO Tim Cook, talking about the iPhone 5's glitchy maps application on ?Rock Center? in December.

Steve Jobs' hand-picked successor, current Apple CEO Tim Cook, talks to Rock Center Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams about Apple's battle with Samsung, glitches with its maps app, the prospect of Apple TV and the challenge of keeping Apple cutting edge.

Question 6: A, Former Sen. John Edwards after learning he would not be convicted of corruption charges in May.

The jury delivered a unanimous verdict on one of the six felony counts and found him not guilty of receiving illegal campaign contributions from heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. The judge declared a mistrial on the five other counts. Edwards later told reporters that he knew he had not done anything illegal but that he was accountable for his behavior. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.

Question 7:?B, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., in an August interview on his opposition to abortion in rape cases.

In a statement and a tweet, conservative U.S. Rep. Todd Akin says he "misspoke" during a local TV interview in which he made comments about "legitimate rape" and abortion. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

Question 8:?C, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes announcing their divorce agreement in July.

The Hollywood couple, whose five-year marriage was the subject of much speculation, issued a joint statement saying they were moving forward with daughter Suri's best interests in mind. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports.

Question 9:?A, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas after her win in the individual all-around in August.

Fresh from her historic gold medal win in the gymnastics individual all-around, Gabby Douglas said "it's so meaningful" to be the first African-American woman to win the title and shares details of her phone call with President Obama.

Question 10: C,?Marissa Mayer, revealing her pregnancy soon after being named Yahoo CEO in July.

The former Google executive was named CEO of Yahoo on Monday and made headlines for the fact that she is also pregnant, turning her into a test case of whether women can really have it all. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports, and Ivanka Trump and Rachel Campos-Duffy, author and wife of a congressman, discuss the motherhood balancing act.

Question 11: B,?CNN anchor Anderson Cooper in a coming-out email, in July.

In an email published by the Daily Beast website, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper ends years of speculation about his sexuality, acknowledging that he is "gay" and "proud." NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports.

Question 12: B,?Daredevil Felix Baumgartner after his 24-mile fall to earth in October.

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner makes a record-breaking jump from 24 miles above Earth, leaping from the edge of space to the New Mexico desert at speeds up to 833.9 mph. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

Question 13: A,?Mitt Romney at an August rally in Michigan.

Msnbc's Mark Halperin talks about GOP candidate Mitt Romney's apparent ad-lib reference to President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Question 14: C,?Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a September conference, discussing his company?s May IPO.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, "The performance of the stock is obviously disappointing," during a "fireside chat" at the San Francisco Disrupt conference organized by technology blog TechCrunch. Watch the entire interview.

Question 15: C,?Ben Bernanke at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in February.?

Top Talkers: A decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, two former senators -- Bob Graham of Florida and Bob Kerrey of Nebraska -- say they believe the Saudi government may have played a role in the attacks. The Morning Joe panel ? including financier Steven Rattner and Donny Deutsch ? discusses. The panel also discusses Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning about the economy.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/28/16167670-2012-quotes-quiz-test-your-knowledge-of-the-years-news-events?lite

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Amid outpouring of support, Kaczowka's family visits firehouse (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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Iran says defeats cyber attack on industrial sites

DUBAI (Reuters) - An Internet virus attacked computers at industrial sites in southern Iran, in an apparent extension of a covert cyber war that initially targeted the country's nuclear facilities, an Iranian official said.

Iran, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has tightened online security since its uranium enrichment centrifuges were hit in 2010 by the Stuxnet computer worm, which Tehran believes was planted by arch-adversaries Israel or the United States.

The unit tasked with fighting cyber attacks, the Passive Defence Organisation, said a virus had infected several sites in Hormozgan province in recent months but was neutralised.

"Enemies are constantly attacking Iran's industrial units through Internet networks in order to create disruptions," Ali Akbar Akhavan, head of the Hormozgan branch of the organisation, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency on Tuesday.

"This virus has even penetrated some manufacturing industries in Hormozgan province, but with timely measures and the cooperation of skilled hackers in the province, the progress of this virus was halted," Akhavan said.

"As an example, the Bandar Abbas Tavanir Co., a producer of electricity in the province and even adjacent provinces, has been the target of Internet attacks in recent months," he said.

Bandar Abbas is the capital of Hormozgan province on Iran's southern coast and home to an oil refinery and container port.

Israeli officials have threatened military action against Iranian nuclear facilities if Western sanctions on Tehran's banking and oil sectors do not persuade the Islamic Republic to shelve its disputed atomic program.

Western powers suspect Iran is trying to develop the means to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran says it is enriching uranium only for civilian energy.

Iranian authorities said in April that a computer virus was detected inside the control systems of Kharg Island - which handles the vast majority of Iran's crude oil exports - but the terminal had remained operational.

Cyber attackers also slowed Iran's Internet and attacked its offshore oil and gas platforms this year, Iranian officials have said.

(Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by William Maclean and Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-says-defeats-cyber-attack-industrial-sites-101435374.html

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Troy Ave And DJ Holiday Gift-Wrap White Christmas For December 25

'It felt organic, it felt like I was doin' it an injustice by not calling it White Christmas,' Troy Ave tells Mixtape Daily.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Ade Mangum

Troy Ave
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699369/troy-ave-mixtape-daily.jhtml

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'Jersey Shore's' 6 most outrageous moments

Seaside Heights Police Dept.

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was arrested by Seaside Heights policemen July 30, 2010, on the beach and charged with disorderly conduct.

By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor

It's almost over! After a steady stream of hits, hookups and countless fist pumps, "Jersey Shore's" cast of characters are about to say so long to the show that made them famous.

Before the sixth and last season of the reality TV phenomenon comes to an end, take a look back at the six most outrageous moments that made the show what it is.

Snooki's arrest
"I'm a (expletive) good person!" That was the repeated whine everyone's favorite hair-poof-lovin' "Shore" star delivered as a group of frustrated police officers removed her from the beach and delivered her to the back of a cruiser in the show's third season.

The hubbub began after Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi helped herself to a few too many daytime cocktails and then decided to take a walk -- right into the ocean (with her hat, her purse and thankfully, her protective roommates all on hand). In fact, it weren't for the efforts of Jenni "JWoww" Farley and Deena Cortese, who first asked police to help them get their extremely inebriated friend off the beach, drowning -- rather than a drunk and disorderly arrest -- might have been the then-party girl's fate.

Snooks, who later looked back on the incident with regret, said, "It was legit like my midlife crisis."

Cleaning the smush room
Of course, party time for the occupants of the Shore House didn't always mean drinking to the point of face-planting in the sand. Sometimes it just meant bringing a willing pal home for a few intimate moments, something the fellas did a whole lot of over the course of the series.

The ladies had their moments too, but it was usually the guys who made use of the spot that came to be known as the "smush room" -- sometimes more than one of the guys (with more than one gal pal) at a time. So when Snooki required the room one night in the show's second season, she and JWoww decided the room needed a proper disinfection.

Covered from head to toe in DIY hazmat gear (otherwise known as a whole lot of taped-together garbage bags and gloves) and armed with spray bottles, the ladies rid the space of condom wrappers, underpants and other "disgusting" guy things.

Ronnie and Sammi's epic break up
The ups and downs between Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Sammi "Sweatheart" Giancola were worthy of a show of their own. When the couple was caught up in their romance, they were madly in love. And when things turned bad, the pair was just as passionate about it.

In season three, after a series of "he said, she said" fights, infidelities and one contentious letter, everything fell apart. Correction: Ronnie tore everything apart.

See, going their separate ways just wasn't enough for the emotional pair. In the midst of yet another tear- and rage-filled fight, Ronnie destroyed Sam's belongings and even tried to throw her bed out with her still in it. In short, Ronnie Smash! And after a night at the club, Ronnie returned to smash some more.

When Sammi, who gave him some grief too, surveyed the damage, she left Ronnie and the Shore House behind. Of course, eventually, she came back (to both).

Snooki gets punched
Back in season one of the show, when many folks had never even heard of the GTL crowd, Snooki made headlines for being on the receiving end of a barroom punch. When the episode aired, viewers learned what led up to the incident.

The event kicked off when a guy at the bar decided to take ownership of some shots purchased by the "Shore" gang. Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino tried to play it cool by simply ordering more drinks, but the dude claimed those too.

That's when Snooki told him, "It's not for you!" And he responded with a punch to the face that sent her straight to the floor.

If it ever seems like the "Jersey Shore" roommates have trouble getting alone, just see how quickly Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Vinny Guadagnino and the rest of them form a united front when someone attacks one of their own -- especially the smallest girl in the group.

Deena shows it all
When season three kicked off (yes, season three again -- it was the best!), Deena moved in and joined the cast. And it didn't take long for the girl who called herself a "blast in a glass" to make a memorable first impression.

While having a flirty (and intoxicated) moment with Sitch, she decided to ... do something that only she really understood. Apparently her trick involved pulling down her shorts, but keeping her bikini bottom on.

Well, she got the first part right, but the second part? Not so much. She'd barely said "hello" before delivering her very first (televised) "kooka" flash.

Mike gets into a bad situation
The cast went to Italy to film the fourth season of the series, and soon news spread of a big fight between Ronnie and Mike. Paparazzi spotted The Situation sporting a neck brace, and that's all the rumor mill needed to decide Ron was the aggressor.

But when the all-important episode finally made its way to MTV, it was clear that Ronnie didn't do the damage.

Sure, there was a fight between the two hotheads, but after Mike repeatedly asked Ronnie, "You want to hit me?! You want to hit me, tough guy?!" he then threw himself into a wall -- head first.

See the Seaside Heights gang put their outrageous days behind them when MTV airs the series finale of "Jersey Shore" Thursday at 10 p.m.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/12/20/16023474-jersey-shores-6-most-outrageous-moments?lite

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VP Biden to head post-Newtown shooting review of U.S. policy (Washington Bureau)

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Former MLB All-Star Carter USF?s New Pitching Coach

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

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Personal finance startup Planwise helps you make ... - The Next Web

Personal finance planning startup Planwise has today launched an iPad app, its first foray into mobile apps.

The app is a mobile version of the Planwise decision-making tool, allowing users to create visual plans of their future and current financial situations on a device that is increasingly used to manage household budgets around the world.

Based on your situation information and the plans you create, Planwise will alert you to important information via the Alerts tab. For instance, if you have more than $5,000 in your bank account by a certain date, the app will present you with an alert to that effect under ?Celebrations?. If you are spending more than you are earning, on the other hand, you?ll get a ?Warning? alert to that effect.

Offers are also presented here where they could be beneficial to your plans. ?You could earn $8.40 cashback from Perkstreet over the next 7 months,? reads one example. Partnerships like this are likely the approach Planwise is taking towards monetization, in a way that may be useful to many users.

Though founded by an Australian in San Francisco, the products offered seem American-focused right now. The app is still very useful to those abroad, though, and this aspect may become more geographically expansive as the product matures.

With your current finances in place ? savings, income, spending, loans and property ? there are a variety of plans you can create to predict outcomes. Buy a House, Pay Off Debt, Lose Job and Change in Expenses are just a few of those available.

It is interesting to get an alert like ?You will run out of money on 17 Jan 2013.? when you play with a few too many plans at once, since you can see the combined effect of these plans on the home screen!

Many of the fundamental aspects of finance and money are being disrupted by technology now, an area that has lagged behind others in terms of the change wrought by the Web due to the heavy regulation and the glacial pace of existing institutions. Planwise is part of providing consumers with new tools to evaluate their finances and future opportunities.

Founder and CEO Vincent Turner ? who has written about the future of personal finance for The Next Web before ? says Planwise is currently working on the iPhone application, which will launch at some point in 2013.

? Planwise for iPad

Image Credit: Karen Bleier/Getty Images

Disclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. While we only ever write about products we think deserve to be on the pages of our site, The Next Web may earn a small commission if you click through and buy the product in question. For more information, please see our Terms of Service.

Source: http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/12/18/personal-finance-planning-startup-planwise-begins-move-into-mobile-with-ipad-app/

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Boehner opens door to tax hikes, shifts 'cliff' talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first real movement in the "fiscal cliff" talks began on Sunday, with Republican House Speaker John Boehner edging slightly closer to President Barack Obama's key demands as they try to avert the steep tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect unless Congress intervenes by December 31.

But Boehner's new positions, on tax rates and the total amount of new revenue to be included in a deficit-reduction deal, were still far from those held by Obama.

And the two sides have yet to make headway on tough issues such as entitlements, with the Republicans wanting far more than Democrats are likely to tolerate in cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, the government healthcare programs for the poor and seniors.

Sources familiar with the Obama-Boehner talks confirmed that Boehner proposed extending low tax rates for everyone who has earned less than $1 million, and rates would rise for wages above that. Obama wants that threshold set at $250,000.

Under current law, the 35 percent top tax rate is scheduled to expire on January 1, and would automatically go to 39.6 percent - where it was during the Clinton administration.

Boehner also has increased to $1 trillion his figure for total revenue, compared to Obama's figure of $1.4 trillion. The balance of a 10-year deficit-reduction plan would come from spending cuts.

The White House has not accepted the Boehner proposals.

The Boehner offer to accept a tax rate increase for the wealthiest Americans knocks down a key Republican road block to a deal resolving the year-end "fiscal cliff."

The question now boils down to what President Barack Obama offers in return. Such major questions, still unanswered so close to the end of the year suggest, however, that no spending and tax agreement is imminent.

With just over two weeks before the fiscal cliff's $600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts are triggered, threatening a new recession, there is little time to craft a comprehensive deal that will satisfy both Democrats and Republicans.

Until the latest Republican offer Boehner had insisted on extending all of the Bush era's lower tax rates. A rising chorus of business executives also had urged Republicans to agree to this.

Some lawmakers and congressional aides had predicted that Republicans, once serious negotiations began, might try to raise the $250,000 threshold, say to $500,000 or $1 million. They also speculated that Republicans, if forced into a tax rate hike on the upper-income groups, might seek a smaller increase, say to around 37 percent.

Although the White House has not accepted Boehner's gambit, it could push negotiations away from entrenched, ideological positions.

"Boehner has now accepted the premise of higher rates. So now we're just arguing over details. I think it's a significant step," said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research Group.

A framework deal spelling out tax revenue and spending cut targets to be finalized in the new year could be possible, Valliere said.

"Boehner's offer to allow tax rates to go up for taxpayers earning over $1 million fundamentally transforms fiscal cliff negotiations," added Sean West, U.S. policy analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.

In a note to clients, West wrote that it signals, significantly, that Boehner ultimately believes a deal to avoid the cliff is still possible.

"The political burden is now shifted back to the president, who must be willing to take on his party in order to get a deal Boehner can ultimately pass. We do not think the president will overreach: Obama will work with Boehner to get to a deal."

There are still several critical elements to a deal besides a tax rate increase on the wealthy, including Republican demands to cut spending on social programs.

Changes to the expensive Medicare and Medicaid health care programs for the elderly and the poor could be central to any deal, which must also include an increase in the federal debt limit needed by the end of February.

DEMANDS SOCIAL PROGRAM CUTS

Boehner conditioned his tax rate increase offer on Obama's agreement to cuts in social program spending, often called entitlements.

Many Republican lawmakers want to raise the eligibility age for Medicare to 67 from 65. They also want to link Medicare to the income of recipients, making wealthier retirees pay more for their care.

Currently, Medicare does have some means testing, charging higher premiums for coverage of doctors visits and prescription drugs to individuals earning more than $85,000 and married couples earning more than $170,000. Only about 5 percent of recipients pay these higher premiums.

Thus far, Obama has offered only about $400 billion in 10-year entitlement savings, mostly through small adjustments in reining in health care costs - not fundamental changes such as raising the eligibility age.

And just as Boehner faces opposition in his own party to raising any tax rates, Obama faces opposition to cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from Democrats, who pledged in election campaigns they would protect these programs.

A major bloc of congressional Democrats has already signaled they will not accept major cutbacks in Medicare as part of any fiscal cliff deal.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland are among the high ranking Democrats in the House who have come out forcefully in recent days against raising the age for eligibility for Medicare to 67 years of age.

"Given the level of savings that is being talked about from Medicare, you can't get it all from providers and drug makers," said Paul Heldman, an analyst at Potomac Research, which tracks Washington policy for investors.

"So opponents of raising the eligibility age have reason to believe beneficiaries will take some sort of hit if a mega-deal is cut," he said.

If Republicans are not successful in securing entitlement program cuts in exchange for a tax-rate increase on the wealthy, they are adamant about using a debt-limit increase as leverage to overhaul Social Security and Medicare.

The U.S. Treasury expects to reach its $16.4 trillion statutory debt cap by year-end, and will exhaust its remaining borrowing capacity around mid-February, risking a potential default.

Louisiana Republican Representative John Fleming, a member of the conservative Tea Party caucus who has never voted to increase the debt ceiling, said he would support a debt limit hike if it were part of a deal to make Medicare and Social Security sustainable.

The pace of activity could pick up the coming week.

House Republicans were told to prepare for a possible weekend session next week, potentially interrupting travel plans for the long Christmas holiday weekend.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor scheduled "possible legislation related to expiring provisions of law," a reference to the expiring tax cuts, for the end of the week, portending a weekend session. Cantor has said the House would meet through the Christmas holidays and beyond.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Rachelle Younglai, Richard Cowan and Kim Dixon; Editing by Fred Barbash, Todd Eastham and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-opens-door-tax-hikes-shifts-u-fiscal-003050766--business.html

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