Wonkbook: How could taxes blow up debt talks?  —  (Susan Walsh - AP) It is remarkable to watch how Republicans have taken tax increases, which have long been present in deficit-reduction deals and generally considered the equivalent of spending cuts, and turned them into something vastly more extreme and unthinkable.

N.J. Assembly passes landmark employee benefits overhaul  —  TRENTON — New Jersey lawmakers tonight voted to enact a sweeping plan to cut public worker benefits after a long day of high-pitched political drama in the streets of Trenton and behind closed doors.