Lame Duck Debate Rages on Taxes, Deficit, Arms - CBS News

(CBS)  This year's lame duck session of Congress is turning into more of an excited goose, as both political parties have engaged in recent days in lively public negotiations over federal spending, unemployment benefits and nuclear weapons disarmament.

But foremost on the agenda is the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts and Republican leaders appear to be successfully wielding leverage to have the cuts extended across the board, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

"It looks like the president has come around to the idea, with encouragement from other Democrats, that we can't raise taxes in a recession," said Republican South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint on the CBS' "Early Show" on Thursday. "I would prefer a permanent extension of the current tax rate. I suspect the president is going push for something more temporary."

After meetings Wednesday between GOP leaders that many called civil and positive, Mr. Obama also voiced confidence that a compromise would be reached.

"There are gonna be ups and downs to this process but I'm confident that we're gonna be able to get it done," Mr. Obama said.

Democrats had been hoping to let the tax cuts for wealthy Americans - those making more than $200,000 individually and couples making more than $250,000 - to expire at the end of the year.

"We are going to extend tax breaks to all; it's just a matter of how long those extensions will be," said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Republicans issued an ultimatum in a letter stating they would not let any legislation move forward before funding the federal government and extending the tax cuts, providing leverage over the Democrats whose lame-duck agenda also includes extending long-term unemployment benefits which lapsed for 800,000 jobless Americans this week.

Republicans are insisting that the $65 billion benefits extension be paid for by cutting the budget elsewhere. Democrats say it's an emergency, exempt for the usual rules.

"This is not a big new welfare program," said Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. "This is extending employment benefits. I just don't get it. They'd rather do tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires."

Amid the wrangling over tax cuts and spending, President Barack Obama's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform began seeking votes for plan to rein in the massive federal deficit.

The commission made recommendations to add an average of 1,700 to the average American's tax bill, slash 200,000 federal jobs and raise the retirement age from 67 to 69 years old, Cordes reports. It remains doubtful the 18-member commission will get the necessary 14 votes to even bring their recommendations up for debate in the full Congress. Only seven panel members have indicated their support so far.

The White House is also pushing the Senate to ratify the U.S.-Russia nuclear disarmament treaty, or START. Republicans have been repeating rumors that the State Department made a side deal with Russia to limit a proposed missile defense shield in Europe in exchange for signing START, a nuclear disarmament treaty. Even though the State Department came out yesterday to vigorously deny the claims, DeMint repeated them on "The Early Show" this morning.

"Reports in the last couple of days suggest there have been side deals that would limit our missile defense capabilities," Sen. DeMint said. "My biggest concern about the START treaty is that it accepts parity with Russia and I think explicitly or implicitly limits our ability to develop missile defense which may be the most important of our defense system in the next ten years."

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Ronni Chasen Murder: Man Sought in Publicist Slaying Fatally Shoots Himself - ABC News

A man wanted for questioning in connection with the slaying of powerhouse Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen fatally shot himself Wednesday night as police closed in, authorities said.

Chasen, 64, who represented A-list movie stars and promoted some of Hollywood's top films, was driving home Nov. 16 after attending the premiere party for the movie "Burlesque" when she was gunned down.

Beverly Hills police confronted the man as they were conducting a follow up investigation in the case at the Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles police captain Kevin McClure said at a news conference Wednesday.

"While conducting that follow up, the person they were looking for showed up. They attempted to talk to the suspect. When they did, the suspect produced a hand gun and there was a self inflicted wound at that point," McClure said.

Police said the man killed himself in the lobby and was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to Los Angeles Times, sources told the newspaper that the shooting occurred after 6 p.m. as police were serving a search warrant. The sources said the dead man was a suspect in the case and may have been part of a wider probe of the shooting.

Police sources told ABC News that they plan to do a ballistics test to see if the gun used in the suicide is the gun used to kill Chasen.

Authorities haven't released the man's identity and won't say how the man was connected to Chasen's death.

Residents at the apartment building told the Los Angeles Times that they believed the man was in his 40s and went by the name of "Harold."

Brandon Harrison told the Times that Harold described himself to a neighbor as "an ex-convict who served two stints in state prison, the most recent for firearms and drug convictions" and "vowed he would never go to prison." He told the neighbor that he would be receiving $10,000, either for a job he had done or from a lawsuit.

Beverly Hills Police emphasized that the man "was a person of interest" -- not a suspect and the investigation was not over.

Earlier, investigators said they had no motive, witnesses or suspects in the powerhouse publicist's killing but an initial coroner's report revealed that the shooter appears to be an expert marksman.

According to the preliminary coroner's report, "there were three apparent gunshot wounds to the right side breast/chest area. There were two apparent gunshot wounds to the right shoulder. There was an apparent gunshot wound to the right upper back and the left upper back."

"One bullet was recovered from her back while at the hospital and is possibly a 9mm hollow point," the report said.

Detectives suspect the gunfire came from a SUV or truck pulling alongside Chasen's Mercedes Benz E530. Chasen was stopped at a red light Sunset Boulevard and Whittier Drive when the shooting occurred.

"After being struck by gunfire...she then made a left turn and drove for approximately a quarter mile before she crashed her car into a pole," the report said.

Detectives say it appears the shooter was an expert marksman.

"Normally they turn the gun sideways and this is something that was done with some skill," said Gill Carillo, who worked as a homicide detective in Los Angeles for more than 20 years. "I carried a gun for 38 years and had to fire it quarterly. I don't think that I could shoot and hit that mass like that."

No shell casings were recovered and only the car's right side passenger seats and windows were damaged.

Investigators told ABC News that the security cameras that used to monitor traffic at the intersection where Chasen was shot were removed several years ago to save money.

However, Beverly Hills police are seeking for any surveillance video that may provide more clues in solving Chasen's murder.

On Nov. 18, The Hollywood Reporter, cited an unnamed Beverly Hills official who said police believed the attack "was planned in advance and not the result of road rage or a carjacking gone awry."

The Reporter's website also said there was "relevant footage" from at least one security camera near the site of the shooting.

The trade paper reported the video came from the home of Sherry Hackett, widow of the late comedian and actor Buddy Hackett, who lived down the block.

In addition to surveillance video, investigators are combing through computer hard drives seized from Chasen's office and listening to 911 calls.

"On the profile of this woman, you certainly have to look at the potential that somebody wanted to harm her," said former FBI agent Brad Garrett.

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Snow strands hundreds of drivers in western NY - The Associated Press

Snow strands hundreds of drivers in western NY(AP) – 2 hours ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Hundreds of motorists were stranded on a western New York highway Thursday after an accident caused a backup and the idling cars became stuck overnight in heavy snow.

State Trooper Daniel Golinski said a 10-mile section of Interstate 90 was closed in both directions in Buffalo's eastern suburbs. The highway was closed shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday after vehicles backed up behind a truck accident became buried in blowing snow.

The truck jackknifed around 8 p.m. Wednesday and has been removed, but crews were still working Thursday morning to free the stranded vehicles, Golinski said.

"There's a lot of work to do yet," he said.

The lake-effect storm that began Wednesday dumped up to 23 inches on the Buffalo area, forcing dozens of schools to cancel classes Thursday. Power remains out for about 10,000 utility customers in eastern New York.

Snowmobiles and emergency vehicles were being used to check on the snowbound motorists. Drivers were also stranded on an intersecting 3-mile stretch of Interstate 190 that was closed.

Golinski described the scene as "13 miles of bumper-to-bumper cars, two lanes each — three lanes each depending on where they are."

Power remains out for about 10,000 utility customers in eastern New York. Most of the outages were National Grid customers in central New York and the Adirondacks.

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