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Dangerous liaisons: Fatal animal attractions
Label: WorldPutin signs helicopter, jet deals with Indian PM
Label: Technology
NEW DELHI: Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin signed deals to sell 71 military helicopters and kits to build 42 fighter jets to India on Monday as he sought to firm up ties with a traditional ally.
The contract for Mi-17 helicopters was first signed in 2010 and India has now increased the order from 59 to 71, the ministry of external affairs said in its list of deals agreed by Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
India, which is one of the world's largest arms importers as it works to upgrade its military, depends on Russian-made military equipment that accounts for 70 per cent of its arms supplies.
"Russia is a key partner in our efforts to modernise our armed forces and enhance our defence preparedness," Singh said after holding talks with Putin and signing ten deals ranging from science and technology to education.
"A number of joint design, development and production projects are underway in high-technology areas. We expressed satisfaction that these projects are progressing well," Singh said.
Also among the deals were the delivery of parts for 42 Su-30MKI fighter planes for assembly in India. The original agreement for the jets was signed last year.
The value of the two deals was not known but Russian news agencies said they were worth about US$2.9 billion.
Russia once had a virtual monopoly over India's arms market, but New Delhi has been shopping around in recent years and Putin's visit is seen in Moscow as a chance to regain lost ground.
Moscow has been worried recently by New Delhi's increasing preference for Western suppliers, especially after Boeing was chosen last month over Russia's Mil plant for a major helicopter contract.
India has been unhappy about delays to deliveries of some naval equipment, notably the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which is being refurbished for the Indian Navy in Russia.
Russia was originally to deliver the upgraded vessel in August 2008, but the date has now been pushed back to the end of 2013 while the price has more than doubled to US$2.3 billion.
After the meeting on Monday, Putin said the dialogue was "substantial and constructive".
"We agreed to deepen ties in the areas of military and defence sectors," he said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, and the State Bank of India agreed to jointly invest up to US$2 billion to promote trade and economic cooperation projects.
The leaders also discussed the construction of India's largest nuclear power plant, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
First conceived in 1988, the Russian-built Kudankulam plant was expected to start operations in 2011. But protesters surrounded the compound after an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.
Singh said negotiations for the construction of Units 3 and 4 at Kudankulam had made good progress.
Bilateral trade has been growing steadily and is expected to reach around US$10 billion in 2012, up from US$7.5 billion in 2009, according to official figures.
"Our trade turnover has overcome the consequences of global crisis, and in 2012 we expect to reach record numbers, over US$10 billion. Our next goal is to reach US$20 billion already by 2015," Putin had said before the one-day visit.
Agreements in the pharmaceutical, chemical and cultural sectors were also signed on Monday.
The venue of the talks was switched to Singh's official residence due to violent protests in central New Delhi following the gang-rape of a student that has caused widespread public outrage.
- AFP/xq
Afghan police officer kills American contractor
Label: LifestyleBy Masoud Popalzai, CNN
updated 7:55 AM EST, Mon December 24, 2012
Afghan policemen stand guard at the site where a female police officer shot dead a foreign civilian adviser.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: The shooter was a police officer, an Interior Ministry spokesman said
- On Sunday, a police commander killed five officers
- Monday's incident is the first insider attack involving a female shooter
- A Pentagon report says there has been an overall increase in "insider attacks"
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A female Afghan police officer shot and killed an American contractor in the Kabul police headquarters early Monday, authorities said.
The shooting death comes a day after five policemen were killed by their commander in Jawzjan province, in the north.
The incidents add to the rising number of insider attacks by Afghan soldiers and police officers -- or attackers dressed like them.
More than 50 people have been killed in Afghanistan in similar attacks this year, which the Afghan government calls acts of terrorism.
Read more: SEAL commander's death in Afghanistan an apparent suicide, military says
Monday's incident was unusual because it was the first time that such an attack involved a female shooter, said Hagen Messer, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for Afghan Interior Ministry, said that the suspect has been a member of the police force for two years. The woman, around 40 years old, was arrested and has been questioned, he said.
The victim was a civilian contractor for ISAF who was working as an adviser to Afghan police, said Maj. Martyn Crighton, another ISAF spokesman. A coalition official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the contractor was an American.
Read more: Britain's Cameron pays surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan
A biannual Pentagon report to Congress this month said there's been an overall increase in "insider attacks" on U.S. or coalition training forces.
"The rise in insider attacks has the potential to adversely affect the coalition's political landscape," according to the report. "It remains clear that the insider threat is both an enemy tactic and has a cultural component," according to the report.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's attack. But a Taliban spokesman said it carried out Sunday's attack on the five policemen.
Read more: Karzai welcomes UK troop withdrawal plan
In that incident, the police commander who killed the men was a Taliban insurgent who had infiltrated the Afghan police, said Abdul Aziz Ghairat, police chief of Jawzjan province.
The Taliban spokesman said the commander was in touch with the militant group before the attack, and is now in a safe place in their midst.
The Pentagon report said Taliban insurgents have lost some of their punch since their 2010 peak, but they remain "resilient and determined" and "will likely attempt to regain lost ground and influence" through assassinations, high-profile attacks, the use of roadside bombs and other violence.
Also Monday, an ISAF service member was killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan.
Per policy, ISAF did not release the service member's name or nationality.
Read more: Landmine kills 10 girls collecting firewood
CNN's Samira Said and Neda Farshbaf contributed to this report.
Part of complete coverage on
updated 4:24 PM EST, Thu December 13, 2012
America's longest war is expected to conclude by the end of next year, when the United States plans to withdraw all its combat troops from Afghanistan.
updated 12:10 PM EST, Fri December 14, 2012
Erin Burnett speakes to a future Afghan space engineer and president. The family of Fawzia Koofi is OutFront.
U.S. underestimates importance of Islam in making Afghanistan a better place. Authors say Islam establishes protection and preservation of life, and dignity for all.
updated 9:28 PM EST, Thu November 29, 2012
The number of people forced to flee their homes in Afghanistan is increasing and the conditions for the displaced are falling well below international standards, a new study by the Norwegian Refugee Council found.
updated 7:06 AM EST, Fri December 14, 2012
Panetta seems optimistic about Afghan security. Erin Burnett talks to two individuals about the reality on the ground.
updated 6:01 AM EST, Fri December 14, 2012
It has been 11 years of war in Afghanistan. Erin Burnett reports on where things stand now and what's next?
updated 3:24 PM EDT, Fri June 8, 2012
Unexploded munitions from war games in Afghanistan make a dangerous play ground for local children
updated 4:45 PM EDT, Wed May 16, 2012
When it comes to negotiating with the Taliban, it's always one step forward, two steps back.
updated 12:03 PM EST, Wed December 12, 2012
Focused, determined and dedicated: that's how friends and neighbors describe Nicolas Checque, the Navy SEAL killed during the successful rescue of an American doctor kidnapped in Afghanistan.
updated 9:08 PM EST, Thu December 13, 2012
Erin Burnett talks to the Berndt family about their loved one, Sgt. 1st Class Josh Berndt being deployed in Afghanistan.
Her story of torture by the Taliban made her the iconic face of the oppression of women in Afghanistan.
American contractor killed by Afghan policewoman
Label: HealthUpdated 6:10 a.m. EST
KABUL, Afghanistan An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said.
The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt. Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the adviser with a pistol as he came out of a small shop with articles he had just bought, Kabul Governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa told The Associated Press.
The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack.
Earlier, she had asked bystanders where the governor's office was located, the governor said. As do many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name.
A NATO command spokesman, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lester T. Carroll, said the woman was arrested after the incident. The slain adviser was a contractor whose identity wasn't immediately released.
The attack occurred outside the police headquarters in a walled, highly secure compound which also houses the governor's office, courts and a prison. Kabul Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Daoud Amin said an investigation was under way.
"We can confirm that a civilian police adviser was shot and killed this morning by a suspected member of the Afghan uniformed police. The suspected shooter is in Afghan custody," Carroll said.
The slaying was apparently the first "insider attack" involving a female assailant.
The killing came just hours after an Afghan policeman shot five of his colleagues at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan late Monday. The attacker then stole his colleague's weapons and fled to join the Taliban, said deputy provincial governor in Jawzjan province, Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani.
More than 60 international allies, including troops and civilian advisers, have been killed by Afghan soldiers or police this year, and a number of other "insider attacks," as they are known, are still under investigation.
NATO forces, due to mostly withdraw from the country by 2014, have sped up efforts to train and advise Afghan military and police units before the pullout.
The surge in insider attacks is throwing doubt on the capability of the Afghan security forces to take over from international troops and has further undermined public support in NATO countries for the 11-year war. It has also stoked suspicion among some NATO units of their Afghan counterparts, although others enjoy close working relations with Afghan military and police.
As such attacks mounted this year, U.S. officials in Kabul and Washington insisted they were "isolated incidents" and withheld details. An AP investigation earlier this month showed that at least 63 coalition troops -- mostly Americans -- had been killed and more than 85 wounded in at least 46 insider attacks. That's an average of nearly one attack a week. In 2011, 21 insider attacks killed 35 coalition troops.
There have also been incidents of Taliban and other militants dressing in Afghan army and police uniforms to infiltrate NATO installations and attack foreigners.
In February, two U.S. soldiers,- Lt. Col. John D. Loftis and Maj. Robert J. Marchanti, died from wounds received during an attack by an Afghan policeman at the Interior Ministry in Kabul. The incident forced NATO to temporarily pull out their advisers from a number of ministries and police units and revise procedures in dealing with Afghan counterparts.
The latest known insider attack took place Nov. 11 when a British soldier, Capt. Walter Reid Barrie, was killed by an Afghan army soldier during a football match between British and Afghan soldiers in the restive southern province of Helmand.
More than 50 Afghan members of the government's security forces also have died this year in attacks by their own colleagues. Taliban militants claim such attacks reflect a growing popular opposition to both foreign military presence and the Kabul government.
In Sunday's attack, Jawzjani, the provincial official, said the attacker was an Afghan policeman manning a checkpoint in Dirzab District who turned his weapon on five colleagues before fleeing to the militant Islamist group.
Newtown Inspires Country to Spread Kindness
Label: Business
While the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School have no doubt left the nation shaken, they have also inspired an outpouring of acts of kindness from across the nation and around the world.
The central hub of many of these is on display in the U.S. Post Office in Newtown, Conn., a community shaken by the killing of 20 children and six school staff members by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who also killed his mother and shot himself.
Mountains of mail and packages are flowing in from all over the world. Some are simply addressed to "Newtown" or specific families who lost people in the shootings. They're coming with return addresses ranging from Idaho to Virginia Beach and far beyond.
"I think I saw Brazil, Australia, (one addressed to) 'Anybody in Newtown who needs a hug.' It is just amazing," said a postal employee in Newtown.
In the town hall, donated toys are piling up just in time for Christmas.
Kindness is even flowing from victims of other tragedies like Hurricane Sandy, who sent hundreds of teddy bears to hand out to children in the community.
"We've had so much help, we wanted to pay it forward and try to help somebody else," one woman said.
Now, Newtown is hoping people everywhere "pay it forward" in their own communities, with the memory of those lost in the shootings serving as inspiration.
It's a concept that seems to be spreading across America.
Gun Violence Victims, Survivors Share Thoughts After Newtown Massacre Watch Video
Newtown Shooting: Moment of Silence in Connecticut Watch Video
In Michigan, a secret Santa of sorts paid off everyone's layaway items at a store there.
Reports are streaming in on Twitter from around the nation of others receiving coffees or meals paid for anonymously by others.
In New Jersey, Kristen Albright told ABC News she found an anonymous card in her shopping cart at Target, where she had gone to buy ingredients for holiday cookies.
She looked down, and found a gift card to Target inserted into a greeting card that asked her to pay it forward to others, in honor of Newtown shooting victim Catherine Hubbard.
"It really made me stop. I was frozen. It made me think about that little girl," Albright said.
Inspired, she did what the card asked, and gave it to a bank teller at the other end of a deposit she was making. Albright says her 11-year-old son Jackson has begun randomly giving now too.
"It really made me think of the bigger picture and family and friends, and extending that kindness to strangers as well," Albright said.
Stacey Jones of Surprise, Arizona wrote ABC to say she too has been inspired.
"I went to Target, purchased two gift cards, put them in seperate envelopes along with the message and handed them to strangers as I exited the store and entered the parking lot," Jones said. :It really felt good to do a small kind deed for someone."
Nicole Reyes of Boston had never heard of the growing movement of kindness when she found a ziplock bag tucked underneath her windshield on her way to work this morning. Inside, she found a Christmas lollipop with a note on a Christmas card that said it was, "In memory of Emily Parker, 6." And urged her to "Pay it forward!"
"I took a minute to remind myself of how amazing it is that a community, and entire nation can come together in the wake of such tragedy," Reyes said. "I ran into my house to show my mother the note. After reading it she immediately started crying. It was a special moment for her and I."
If you would like to share other stories related to this or anything else you can do so by tweeting this correspondent @greenblattmark.
Today on New Scientist: 21 December 2012
Label: WorldCadaver stem cells offer new hope of life after death
Stem cells can be extracted from bone marrow five days after death to be used in life-saving treatments
Apple's patents under fire at US patent office
The tech firm is skating on thin ice with some of the patents that won it a $1 billion settlement against Samsung
Himalayan dam-building threatens endemic species
The world's highest mountains look set to become home to a huge number of dams - good news for clean energy but bad news for biodiversity
Astrophile: Black hole exposed as a dwarf in disguise
A white dwarf star caught mimicking a black hole's X-ray flashes may be the first in a new class of binary star systems
Blind juggling robot keeps a ball in the air for hours
The robot, which has no visual sensors, can juggle a ball flawlessly by analysing its trajectory
Studio sessions show how Bengalese finch stays in tune
This songbird doesn't need technological aids to stay in tune - and it's smart enough to not worry when it hears notes that are too far off to be true
Giant tooth hints at truly monumental dinosaur
A lone tooth found in Argentina may have belonged to a dinosaur even larger than those we know of, but what to call it?
Avian flu virus learns to fly without wings
A strain of bird flu that hit the Netherlands in 2003 travelled by air, a hitherto suspected by unproven route of transmission
Feedback: Are wind turbines really fans?
A tale of "disease-spreading" wind farms, the trouble with quantifying "don't know", the death of parody in the UK, and more
The link between devaluing animals and discrimination
Our feelings about other animals have important consequences for how we treat humans, say prejudice researchers Gordon Hodson and Kimberly Costello
Best videos of 2012: First motion MRI of unborn twins
Watch twins fight for space in the womb, as we reach number 6 in our countdown of the top videos of the year
2012 Flash Fiction winner: Sleep by Richard Clarke
Congratulations to Richard Clarke, who won the 2012 New Scientist Flash Fiction competition with a clever work of satire
Urban Byzantine monks gave in to temptation
They were supposed to live on an ascetic diet of mainly bread and water, but the monks in 6th-century Jerusalem were tucking into animal products
The pregnant promise of fetal medicine
As prenatal diagnosis and treatment advance, we are entering difficult ethical territory
2013 Smart Guide: Searching for human origins in Asia
Africa is where humanity began, where we took our first steps, but those interested in the latest cool stuff on our origins should now look to Asia instead
The end of the world is an opportunity, not a threat
Don't waste time bemoaning the demise of the old order; get on with building the new one
Victorian counting device gets speedy quantum makeover
A photon-based version of a 19th-century mechanical device could bring quantum computers a step closer
Did learning to fly give bats super-immunity?
When bats first took to the air, something changed in their DNA which may have triggered their incredible immunity to viruses
Van-sized space rock is a cosmic oddball
Fragments from a meteor that exploded over California in April are unusually low in amino acids, putting a twist on one theory of how life on Earth began
Norovirus kills six in Japanese hospital
Label: Technology
TOKYO: The norovirus has killed six elderly people in a rural Japanese hospital and infected dozens of other patients and staff, officials said on Sunday.
The winter bug, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, has killed six patients in their 70s and 80s since December 12, the officials from the Shunko-kai Higashi Hospital in southern Miyazaki prefecture said.
Another 24 patients and 14 staff are also infected, with five of the patients in a serious condition.
The hospital officials apologised and said the outbreak could have been caused by a caregiver who used a disposable apron throughout the day rather than replacing it after caring for each patient.
- AFP/xq
Thousands defy protest ban in anti-rape rallies in India
Label: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: A journalist is killed in Manipur covering a protest against sexual assault
- For a second day, protesters are blasted with water cannons in New Delhi
- Demonstrators slip under police vans to deflate tires
- Police say a woman was gang-raped and badly beaten on a bus
New Delhi (CNN) -- Thousands of protesters defied a ban on demonstrations in New Delhi on Sunday, venting their anger over a gang rape incident.
For a second day, demonstrators were blasted with water cannons in the Indian capital. While some dispersed, others huddled tightly in a circle to brave high-pressure streams in the cold December weather.
"We want justice!" the protesters shouted in chorus.
In addition to banners and cardboard placards, many demonstrators carried Indian flags as they scuffled with police. Authorities fired tear gas to try to break up crowds.
Earlier Sunday, authorities put up security barriers and banned protests in central New Delhi to prevent a repeat of clashes that broke out a day earlier.
Saturday's demonstration was prompted by public outrage over what police said was the gang-rape and beating of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in the capital on December 16.
Authorities haven't released the name of the rape victim, but protesters are calling her "Damini," which means "lightning" in Hindi.
"Damini" is also a 1993 Bollywood film whose lead female character fights for a housemaid, a victim of a sexual assault.
"We support you Damini. We'll keep fighting for you," a middle-aged woman at the historic India Gate said Sunday.
"Damini wants justice," read a placard at the protest.
Police bundled scores of young protesters into buses in the Raisina Hill area, home of the India Gate, the presidential palace, the parliament building and ministerial offices.
Demonstrators slipped under police vans to deflate tires and prevent them from driving off. Officers dragged them out.
The rape victim's injuries were so severe she spent days in intensive care in a city hospital, battling for her life. Police said Saturday that she had recovered enough to give a statement to a magistrate from her hospital bed the night before.
Surviving rape: iReporters speak out
Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said up to 35 protesters and nearly 40 police personnel were injured Saturday.
The protest was among a number of anti-rape demonstrations held across the country in the past week.
A video journalist was killed by police gunfire Sunday during a violent protest in India's remote northeastern state of Manipur, authorities said.
The journalist, Th. Nanao, was covering a protest against a separate molestation case in the provincial capital of Imphal, state police said. Protests have rocked Manipur over the alleged molestation of a local actress by a suspected militant on December 18, during a public performance.
Protesters had torched a vehicle, forcing police to open fire, officer Manik Longjam said Sunday.
Nanao died in the gunfire, Longjam said.
Police said the molester was still at large.
Official data show that rape cases have jumped almost 875% over the past 40 years -- from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011.
New Delhi alone reported 572 rapes last year and more than 600 in 2012.
Opinion: Rapes show that Indian society needs a new attitude
Six suspects, including the bus driver and a minor, have now been arrested in connection with the rape of "Damini."
As fury about the assault gathered pace, some Indian lawmakers called for treating rape as a capital crime.
"We'll work collectively to see we make a law which is deterrent and preventive," said New Delhi's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit.
India's Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters Saturday that the government would work toward increasing punishment in "rarest of the rare" rape cases.
But pressed on whether the administration would agree to demands for death by hanging in such instances, he said: "We'll have to see in what way it (the rape sentencing) can be enhanced."
Shinde said the government was pushing for a speedy trial for the attack.
Authorities are also taking a number of steps to improve security for women in New Delhi, particularly on public transport, he said.
"(The) government shares the widespread concern and support that has been expressed throughout society for the girl who has so suffered. Government also respects the right of legitimate protest," Shinde said.
"At the same time, there is need to exercise calm at this juncture and for everyone to work together to improve the safety and security environment."
In the meantime, the victim has been promised the best possible medical care, Shinde said.
A physician described the woman's condition Saturday as better than a day earlier, but said there was still a risk of infection. She is receiving psychological as well as medical care, he said.
Read more: Indian girl seeks justice after gang rape
Following the brutal assault, the country's human rights body sent notices to city police and federal authorities, demanding an explanation.
"The incident has raised the issue of declining public confidence in the law and order machinery in the city, especially in its capacity to ensure safety of women, as a number of such incidents have been reported in the national capital in the recent past," the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement Tuesday.
Home Secretary R. K. Singh announced the suspension of five police officers in the wake of the rape.
U.K. media: Rolling Stones guitarist Wood ties knot
Label: HealthIn this August 9, 2012 file photo, Sally Humphries and Ronnie Wood attend the Fashion for Relief charity dinner in London, England. / Tim Whitby/Getty Images
LONDON Two British newspapers say Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has married his fiancee Sally Humphreys at a ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel.
The Sun and the Daily Mirror carried photographs of the 65-year-old rocker with a pale boutonniere and a dark blue suit, and his 34-year-old bride in a traditional white gown and a clutch of matching white flowers.
The Rolling Stones hit NYC
The Sun quoted Wood as saying "I'm feeling great" as he and his bride kissed and posed for pictures outside the exclusive hotel in London's upscale Mayfair district.
The newspapers said the guests included singer Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster as well as ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell.
A call and an email to Wood's U.S.-based agent weren't immediately returned Saturday.
Obama, Congress Waving Bye-Bye Lower Taxes?
Label: Business
The first family arrived in the president's idyllic home state of Hawaii early today to celebrate the holidays, but President Obama, who along with Michelle will pay tribute Sunday to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, could be returning home to Washington sooner than he expected.
That's because the President didn't get his Christmas wish: a deal with Congress on the looming fiscal cliff.
Members of Congress streamed out of the Capitol Friday night with no agreement to avert the fiscal cliff -- a massive package of mandatory tax increases and federal spending cuts triggered if no deal is worked out to cut the deficit. Congress is expected to be back in session by Thursday.
It's unclear when President Obama may return from Hawaii. His limited vacation time will not be without updates on continuing talks. Staff members for both sides are expected to exchange emails and phone calls over the next couple of days.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House John Boehner is home in Ohio. He recorded the weekly GOP address before leaving Washington, stressing the president's role in the failure to reach an agreement on the cliff.
"What the president has offered so far simply won't do anything to solve our spending problem and begin to address our nation's crippling debt," he said in the recorded address, "The House has done its part to avert this entire fiscal cliff. ... The events of the past week make it clearer than ever that these measures reflect the will of the House."
Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Halted for Christmas Watch Video
Cliffhanger: Congress Heads Home after 'Plan B' Vote Pulled from House Floor Watch Video
Fiscal Cliff: Boehner Doesn't Have Votes for Plan B Watch Video
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed the sentiment while lamenting the failure to reach a compromise.
"I'm stuck here in Washington trying to prevent my fellow Kentuckians having to shell out more money to Uncle Sam next year," he said.
McConnell is also traveling to Hawaii to attend the Inouye service Sunday.
If the White House and Congress cannot reach a deficit-cutting budget agreement by year's end, by law the across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts -- the so called fiscal cliff -- will go into effect. Many economists say that will likely send the economy into a new recession.
Reports today shed light on how negotiations fell apart behind closed doors. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that when Boehner expressed his opposition to tax rate increases, the president allegedly responded, "You are asking me to accept Mitt Romney's tax plan. Why would I do that?"
The icy exchange continued when, in reference to Boehner's offer to secure $800 billion in revenue by limiting deductions, the speaker reportedly implored the president, "What do I get?"
The president's alleged response: "You get nothing. I get that for free."
The account is perhaps the most thorough and hostile released about the series of unsuccessful talks Obama and Boehner have had in an effort to reach an agreement about the cliff.
Unable to agree to a "big deal" on taxes and entitlements, the president is now reportedly hoping to reach a "small deal" with Republicans to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Such a deal would extend unemployment benefits and set the tone for a bigger deal with Republicans down the line.
In his own weekly address, Obama called this smaller deal "an achievable goal ... that can get done in 10 days."
But though there is no definitive way to say one way or the other whether it really is an achievable goal, one thing is for certain: Republican leadership does not agree with the president on this question.
Of reaching an agreement on the fiscal cliff by the deadline, Boehner said, "How we get there, God only knows."
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