Today's Times
- Susan E. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, hoped to smooth over a festering dispute with Republican senators on Tuesday with a conciliatory meeting about the attacks in Libya, Mark Landler and Jeremy W. Peters report. But lawmakers were anything but satisfied, saying they would still oppose Ms. Rice if she were nominated for secretary of state.
- Erskine B. Bowles, Democrat of North Carolina, and former Senator Alan K. Simpson, Republican of Wyoming, have perfected a wonks' version of a hit Off Broadway show, pushing the recommendations from their bipartisan fiscal commission in presentations around the nation, Jackie Calmes reports. That so many people talk about “Simpson-Bowles†as if it is shorthand for the solution to the nation's fiscal woes is a testament to the men's indefatigable efforts.
- Tuesday was a day of mixed signals about whether progress is being made to avoid the “fiscal cliff.†Jon athan Weisman writes that senior Democrats took a stern posture, saying President Obama would not accept any deficit reduction deal that did not include an extension of the debt ceiling. But a senior House Republican on Tuesday urged his party's leadership to work with the president now, embracing the immediate extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000, then fighting out the fate of higher-income tax breaks later.
- Lizette Alvarez delves into the grass-roots operation that resulted in a high voter turnout among Latinos.
Around the Web
- President Obama signed a bill that exempts United States airlines from European carbon emissions fees, despite objections from environmentalists, The Hill reports.
Happenings in Washington
- President Obama will host a cabinet meeting in the White House, followed by a meeting with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room.
- Vice Preside nt Joseph R. Biden Jr. will attend both gatherings with the president and meet with Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, as well.
- Michelle Obama will welcome military families to the White House to view this year's holiday decorations.
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