It's official: Deal reached on “fiscal cliff”  —  As revelers in Times Square and cities and towns across the country wait for the ball to drop to ring in the new year, politicians in Washington have announced that a ball is not likely to drop on the average taxpayer.

Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached: White House, Hill Leaders Agree To Delay Sequester By Two Months … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Harry Reid , John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama , Barack Obama , Video, 2012 Fiscal Cliff, Harry Reid Fiscal Cliff, US Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff 2012 …

Focus turns to the House  —  The House returns to work on the first day of the new year, and will have to sort out its reaction to a Senate-passed bill meant to avoid the fiscal cliff.  —  The Senate bill, which the upper chamber approved in a 89-8 vote at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday …

Senate clears fiscal cliff deal 89-8  —  Congress lost a mad, New Year's Eve dash to beat the fiscal cliff deadline, cinching a deal with President Barack Obama to raise taxes on the wealthy and temporarily freeze deep spending cuts but failing to get it through both chambers before midnight.

Fiscal Cliff: Live Updates On Congress, White House Negotiations … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Barack Obama , Congress, Barack Obama , Video, Politics News, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff Deal, Fiscal Cliff Live Updates, Fiscal Cliff Negotiations, Fiscal Cliff Talks, Fiscal Cliff Updates, Obama Fiscal Cliff, Politics News

Senate to hold New Year's Eve vote on Biden-GOP fiscal cliff deal  —  The Senate will vote on legislation to extend tax rates on annual income under $450,000 on New Year's Eve.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the vote would be held after a Congressional Budget Office score …

Why the White House thinks it's winning the ‘fiscal cliff’  —  Consider the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations from the White House's perspective.  —  The specifics of the potential McConnell-Biden deal are fluid, but the bottom line, at the moment, seems to be this: It raises taxes …

Here's what Republicans really hated about Obama's news conference  —  President Obama's cheerful, mocking statement enraged Republicans.  But the bigger problem is he said something Republican leaders have been trying to hide from their members.  Obama said, clearly, that if the GOP wants …

Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks Spark Republican Threats To Blow Up Deal … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Congress Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff 2012, Fiscal Cliff Deal, Fiscal Cliff Negotiations, Fiscal Cliff Talks, John Boehner Fiscal Cliff, Mitch Mcconnell Fiscal Cliff, Obama Fiscal Cliff, Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks, Politics News

Conceder In Chief?  —  OK, I've had my own sorta-kinda briefing on the apparent fiscal cliff deal, and I'm pretty much with Noam Scheiber.  Viewed on its own, it's a bad and upsetting deal but not as terrible as initial rumors had it.  But the strategic consequences are likely to be very bad indeed, and in very short order too.

U.S. Budget Deal Is Sealed  —  The White House and Senate Republicans are closing in on a budget compromise that would raise tax rates on couples making more than $450,000 a year, increase taxes on large inheritances and extend unemployment benefits for a year.