(CNN) -- The bill that backs the United States away from its fiscal cliff awaited President Barack Obama's signature Wednesday, but new battles over taxes and spending await Washington in the next few weeks.

Congress averted that self-built precipice late Tuesday when the House voted to stave off widespread tax increases and deep spending cuts by accepting a brokered Senate compromise. It makes permanent the Bush administration's tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 per year and couples earning less than $450,000.

It raises rates on those who make more than that from 35% to 39.6%, bringing back a top tax bracket from the Clinton administration, and will raise roughly $600 billion in new revenues over 10 years, according to various estimates.

The bill also extends unemployment insurance and delays for two months the threat of sequestration -- a series of automatic, across-the-board cuts in federal spending.

Economists had predicted the combination of those tax increases and spending cuts could have thrown the U.S. economy back into recession and driven unemployment back into the 9% range.

Meanwhile, a new Congress takes office on Thursday, and lawmakers will soon be confronted by the need to raise the federal debt ceiling and what to do about the still-hanging sequester -- a legacy of the last battle over the debt ceiling, in 2011.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said the legislation was sent to the White House on Wednesday. Obama said he would sign the bill into law, but he did not say when -- and after the vote, he flew to Hawaii to rejoin his wife and daughters on their winter vacation.

There's no urgency on the president's signature in practical terms. It's up to the Obama administration to implement the budget and tax changes, and since the president has said he will sign the measure, the administration can begin planning for the changes immediately.

"The sum total of all the budget agreements we've reached so far proves that there is a path forward that is possible, if we focus not on our politics but on what's right for the country," Obama told reporters late Tuesday. "And the one thing that I think, hopefully, in the new year, we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much."

The Bush tax cuts expired at midnight Monday, while sequestration had been scheduled to start when federal offices reopened Wednesday.

World markets rose after the late-night vote. U.S. stocks jumped, too, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising nearly 2% by mid-afternoon.

Tuesday night's 257-167 vote saw Boehner, R-Ohio, and about a third of the GOP majority lining up with Democrats against most of their own caucus, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor and party whip Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Nan Hayworth, an outgoing Republican representative from New York, said she was a "reluctant yes."

"This is the best we can do, given the Senate and the White House sentiment at this point in time, and it is at least a partial victory for the American people," Hayworth said. "I'll take that at this point."

The Senate plan was brokered by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and it passed that Democratic-led chamber 89-8. But many House Republicans complained the bill did too little to cut spending while raising taxes for them to support it.

Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, whose Americans for Tax Reform pushes candidates to sign a pledge never to raise taxes, said the plan preserves most of the Bush tax cuts and won't violate his group's beliefs.

"The Bush tax cuts lapsed at midnight last night," Norquist tweeted Tuesday. "Every (Republican) voting for Senate bill is cutting taxes and keeping his/her pledge."

But Rep. Jeff Landry, R-Louisiana, told CNN's "Early Start" that Obama convinced Boehner "to undo everything he promised he would do" after the 2010 elections that gave the GOP control of the House.

"They did a debt ceiling deal, gave the president $2.1 trillion," Landry said. "They turned that deal off for two months. That's going to be another fight on top of the sequestration, a debt ceiling fight."

Other Republicans warned that as they did in 2011, they'll be demanding additional cuts before they agree to raise the federal cap on borrowing.

"The president has maxed out his credit card, and he is not going to get an unlimited credit card," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, told CNN. "We're going to talk specifically about cuts and specifically focused on tax reform as well as helping to save and strengthen Medicare and Social Security. And that's the next discussion we're going to have in Washington."

The federal government bumped up against its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on Monday and has about two months before it runs out of ways to shuffle money around to keep Washington within its legal borrowing limit. Obama had sought to resolve the issue as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations, but the issue never made it to a final bill.

Tuesday night, the president warned Congress that he will not tolerate another round of brinksmanship that could have "catastrophic" effects on the global economy.

"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up through the laws that they've passed," he said.

The last debt-ceiling battle led to the sequester, a kind of fiscal doomsday device that Congress was supposed to disarm by agreeing to more than $1 trillion in other cuts over the next decade. They didn't, leaving federal agencies preparing to slash spending by $110 billion by the end of the 2013 budget year.

Before Tuesday night, the Defense Department had been preparing to issue furlough notices for its entire civilian work force of 800,000. Those notices were stayed on Wednesday -- but Pentagon officials say they're worried that unpaid leave may be harder to implement later in the fiscal year.

"We hope Congress can find a way to end sequester once and for all," Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

While the deal gives Obama bragging rights for raising income taxes on the wealthiest Americans -- the first rate increase for any Americans since 1993 -- it also leaves him breaking a promise.

Obama had vowed to raise tax rates for the top-earning 2% of Americans, including those with household income above $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000.

Raising the threshold for higher tax rates shrinks the number of Americans affected. While nearly 2% of filers have adjusted gross incomes over $250,000, only 0.6% have incomes above $500,000, according to the Tax Policy Center.

By comparison, Census Bureau figures put the median U.S. household income at just over $50,000.

And despite the last-minute fiscal cliff agreements, Americans are still likely to see their paychecks shrink somewhat because of a separate battle over payroll taxes.

The government temporarily lowered the payroll tax rate in 2011 from 6.2% to 4.2% to put more money in the pockets of Americans. That adjustment, which has cost about $120 billion each year, expired Monday.
Now, Americans earning $30,000 a year will take home $50 less per month. Those earning $113,700 will lose $189.50 a month.

The legislation also caps itemized deductions for individuals making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000. Taxes on inherited estates over $5 million will go up to 40% from 35%, and that threshold will be indexed for inflation.

The alternative minimum tax, a perennial issue, will be permanently adjusted for inflation. Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits will be renewed. The "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/02/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Some recent remarks made by Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in reference to potential mayoral rival Mike Duggan have the makings of old-fashioned political throwdown.

At a service held Tuesday at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church to remember the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Napoleon painted Duggan as an outsider who lacked a personal understanding of the city's challenges.

"[Duggan] cannot say he has the common experiences that Detroiters have," the Detroit News reported him saying.

Both men have set up exploratory committees to run for mayor of Detroit, although neither has formally announced themselves as candidates. Duggan, who previously worked as the CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, relocated from Livonia to Detroit's upscale Palmer Woods neighborhood last year.

Napoleon, who was born and raised in Detroit, also took a dig at his competitor's new digs during Tuesday's event.

"Hell, no," remarked Napoleon at the service, according to the News. "Palmer Woods is not Detroit."

On Wednesday, Duggan responded to the quip on his Facebook page.

"Benny Napoleon unveils his campaign platform: 'Hell no. Palmer Woods is not Detroit.'" Duggan said in a post. "Now we know what this campaign will be like and what's at stake for our community in 2013. Please don't sit on the sidelines."

Napoleon, formerly the top cop of the Detroit Police Department and a frequent HuffPost blogger later backtracked his remarks on Twitter.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/benny-napoleon-mike-duggan-detroit-mayor-palmer-woods_n_2398303.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - Grieving families are pleading for the public’s help to bring to justice the person responsible for the deaths of four people, murdered last month on Detroit’s east side.

A childcare worker, a 10th grader from Denby High, an aspiring rapper and a short order cook from St. Clair Shores were found shot to death execution style at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Dec. 4, at a home in the 15000 block of Tacoma at Brock Avenue.

Sheila Davis, mother of victim 34-year-old Dyrelle Davis, on Wednesday issued a heart-wrenching plea for answers. For her, his death has been too much to bear.

“A mother never expects to have her child taken away like that. We always believe that our kids are going to be the ones to bury us,” she said. “… Please help us solve this. There are so many unanswered questions. The biggest one is, ‘Why?’”

Police said the four victims were found shot to death execution style in a home at approximately 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2012, in the 15000 block of Tacoma at Brock Avenue.

Also killed were Janetta Harris, 22, Jason Koester, 28 and Shawn Bender, 16.

Mel Koester said his 22-year-old son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said the home was not a drug house, as has been reported.

“There was nobody in there, just the four people that were in there. My son was in there for one week and he was moving back out … he was just there one week for his girlfriend, to be with her,” Koester said.

Koester said he’s having a tough dealing with Jason’s death.

“Going to the doctor, she’s giving me medication; basically medicating me so I can get past this,” he said. “I get up in the morning and I think about him and I don’t stop thinking about him til at night when I’m asleep

“I just keep thinking about his last moments on earth. I just hope he didn’t know that it was coming. They just shot him like a dog in there

Koester said his son planned to get married this month.

This was the latest shocking crime to happen in Detroit, where homicides spiked this year, totaling 354 through Thanksgiving. In all of 2011, there were 344 killings.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for tips leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/01/02/reward-offered-in-quadruple-murder/

President Obama re-elected
On Nov. 6, President Obama secured a second term as the 44th president by defeating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Obama won 332 electoral and 65,455,010 popular votes vs. Romney’s 206 electoral and 60,771,703 popular votes.

Remembering Sam Logan
The year 2012 began on a somber note as the Michigan Chronicle staff dealt with the unexpected death of longtime publisher Sam Logan the previous December. Logan started at the Chronicle in sales and worked his way up to publisher over the decades.

Pancakes and Politics opens seventh season
Within days of the announcement that Gov. Snyder would be the keynote speaker for the March 12 Pancakes and Politics forum — the first of the seventh season — tickets were sold out.
Pancakes and Politics is a preeminent discussion series tackling critical issues facing Detroit and Southeast Michigan.

Detroit NAACP celebrates a century
In April, the Detroit Branch NAACP under the leadership of Rev. Wendell Anthony celebrated 100 years. It remains the only branch in the nation that has hosted presidents, secretaries of state, and international dignitaries at the annual Fight for Freedom Dinner. Attorney General Eric Holder was the keynote speaker at the 2012 dinner.

Police chief resigns amid scandal
Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee resigned from the Detroit Police Department in October. He had already been suspended for 30 days by Mayor Bing for his involvement in a sex scandal.

Bing won’t sell city assets
In February, Mayor Bing’s office struck down any talk of the selling assets owned by the city, such as Belle Isle, Detroit City Airport and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Roy Roberts speaks about the new DPS Action Plan

Detroit Public Schools System Emergency Manager Roy Roberts spoke to the Chronicle about a new action plan for the district. He said the biggest challenge will be getting people to accept change.The plan has four components: citywide accountability, local school stability, a redesigned central office, and a focus on financial stewardship.

Gov. Snyder vetoes gun bill
A bill sponsored by Republican lawmakers in the state legislature that would have allowed people to carry guns in schools, churches and other formerly restricted places was vetoed by Gov. Snyder. The bill was passed the same week that a madman shot 20 children and six adults to death in an elementary school in Connecticut.

Tuskegee Airmen host screening of ‘Red Tails’ in Detroit
The Detroit chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen hosted a special advance benefit screening of the movie “Red Tails” on Jan. 14. The movie centered on the first all African-American aerial combat unit, known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
The Detroit chapter is the founding chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., and home to the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, located on the grounds of Historic Fort Wayne.

Math Corps teaches in more ways than one
According to Math Corps Director Steve Kahn, director of the WSU Center for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics, the Wayne State University Math Corps, which began in 1992, is committed to providing as many kids as possible with the same kind of educational and lifetime opportunities other kids receive.
Math Corps runs six weeks in the summer, with 10-week Saturday sessions in both fall and winter. Students start the summer before seventh grade.

DMC building new heart hospital
The Detroit Medical Center broke ground on construction of the long-anticipated DMC Heart Hospital near the intersection of Mack and Brush streets.
DMC’s Cardiovascular Institute and its 45 heart care physicians will manage the DMC Heart Hospital once construction is completed in early 2014.

Innocence Clinic seeks to improve the legal system
The goal of the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School is to shine the light on the places where the criminal justice system goes wrong, so that the legal system can make improvements.
According to Bridget McCormack, co-director of the Innocence Clinic, those improvements will produce a system that’s more fair and has more integrity. McCormack was elected to the state supreme court in November.

Thousands rally in Detroit in memory of Trayvon Martin
On March 26, 1,500 to 2,000 people gathered at Hart Plaza for a justice rally for Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old who had been shot and killed in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer a month earlier. Martin had been walking back to his father’s home from a store. The case has sparked national outrage, especially since, at the time of the rally, the shooter — who claimed he was justified under Florida’s “stand your ground” law — had not been arrested. He since has been, but the case has yet to go to trial.

Ficano’s administration under federal scrutiny
The administration of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano fell under the gaze of the federal government, with investigations bringing charges against former Chief Information Officer Tahir Kazmi.

Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences receives $55,000 in donations
In March, the Pueblo, Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders delivered $55,000 in gifts and donations to the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences. Approximately 1,300 packed backpacks were delivered to a class assembly of about 300 students, along with a $1,000 donation to the school.

Boys and Girls Club showcased at Friendship Club Breakfast
On March 30, the Detroit Athletic Club hosted the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Michigan’s Friendship Breakfast, which also served as a fundraiser. The goal of the event was to raise more than $100,000, the amount raised last year.

The Clubs support 20,000 kids every year. Among those who spoke were Boys and Girls Clubs members Nia Anderson, Jennifer Henry and Da’Lano Bass, each of whom related how the clubs have helped them.
Michigan Chronicle publisher Hiram Jackson, a club alumnus and member of the Board of Directors, also spoke, saying the Boys and Girls Clubs saved his life.

Bella Marshall dies
Bella Marshall, widow of the late Don Barden, died on May 1. Marshall had been finance director under Mayor Young. She had also served as both Wayne County’s chief financial officer and its chief operating officer.

Fitch upgrades Wayne County Community College bond rating
In May, Wayne County Community College District under Chancellor Curtis Ivery received a bond rating upgrade to A+ by the national bond rating agency Fitch.

Parker leaves Wayne County Commission
That same month, Wayne County Commissioner Bernard Parker announced that he would be stepping down at the end of his term. He said his decision to leave was due to the impart of redistricting.

Covenant House connects with homeless kids
Covenant House Michigan, which provides shelter, an education and vocational programs to youth age 16-22, also has a mobile outreach unit which travels around metro Detroit to let young people know about the organization’s services.

The outreach team covers the entire metro area. They have gone as far away as Flint.

Southfield Mayor campaigned for congressional seat
Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence campaigned for the newly created 14th Congressional District. She ran in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Gary Peters (D- Bloomfield Hills), U.S. Rep Hansen Clarke (D- Detroit), and former State Rep Mary Waters. Peters ultimately won the seat. In 2008, Lawrence ran for Oakland county executive against incumbent L. Brooks Patterson, and in 2010 she was Virg Bernero’s running mate in his bid to become governor.

Detroit Night Walks launches
On may 23, approximately 30 religious leaders joined with Police Chief Ralph Godbee, Barbara McQuade, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and other community leaders at the community room of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners to announce the launch of Detroit Night Walks, a program designed to help prevent crime and stabilize neighborhoods.

Judge Willie Lipscomb, Jr. retires
36th District Court Judge Willie G. Lipscomb Jr. retired after nearly three decades on the bench.
Lipscomb, known across the country for his commitment to the Handgun Intervention Program, dedicated his Saturday mornings for almost two decades to conducting workshops and classes with defendants, as a condition of their bonds.

John Covington outlines EAA’s goals
John Covington, chancellor of the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA), told the Chronicle what makes EAA different from other school systems is flexibility and autonomy, thus allowing it to bring about the necessary changes everyone knows are needed to improve public education.

The last twelve months have been crucial for Detroit. And the next twelve months will be even more so for one of America’s major urban centers.

ANALYSIS

During the past year we saw how the city once hailed as the bastion of American manufacturing power and the arsenal of democracy is fighting to compete with other cities that have already claimed their rightful place on the stage of a global economy. With the comeback of General Motors and Chrysler salvaged by the Barack Obama administration, Detroit’s automotive glory is coming back.

The city once regarded as the last bastion of Black electoral power made possible by the era that informed Coleman Alexander Young, becoming the first Black mayor of Detroit, now sits at the crucible of a viable White mayoral candidate, Mike Duggan, forcing a transcending dialogue on issues, who is most capable of leading Detroit, while evoking the long narrative on race that defined the Eight Mile border.

The city whose obituary has been written repeatedly in national media because of its previous lack of concrete initiatives that make up the attributes of a comeback city, now boasts of a downtown that is booming with a proliferation of industries anchored around entrepreneurship.

Downtown Detroit is rapidly becoming the definition of a true business district with heavy investments of companies that are not only repositioning themselves in the wake of tangible prospects, but also offering incentives for their employees to live downtown.

Outside of downtown is Midtown which has become an entrepreneurial hub and a city within a city because of the amenities it provides to residents and small businesses in the area.

Once upon a time the mayor of Detroit garnered so much political power that it was not a stretch to suggest that such power matched the power of the governor in some respects.

Because the mayor of Detroit carried influence as head of Michigan’s largest city, the institutional power of the office and the power of the long history of this city’s cultural evolution and political struggles, that whenever the mayor spoke on key issues, it was decisive. But the last twelve months and before saw the gradual dwindling of the power and office of the mayor, and the frequent battles the mayor’s office has engaged in with not only the City Council, but also the corporation counsel whose powers were enhanced by the newly revised Detroit City Charter.

The cultural change in the power equation at city hall in 2012 and the delicate balancing act that the mayor must play in dealing with not only the legislative body and the corporation counsel, but also with the governor provides a more complex governance era and leadership demands for 2013.

And this cultural shift becomes even more fascinating with a mayoral election months away because it raises the question of how will the next mayor be effective in the wake of a broken government that is faced with stiff measures to correct its own books, including the real possibility of an emergency manager?

This shift adds another layer to the operation of the City Council, the institution that has been the most notable and vocal legislative body in the state, because voters would now have to elect council members by districts. That impacts the demographic, racial, gender and issue makeup of the council at a time when the legislative body has found itself in the middle of a perception nightmare.

The other shift is that some neighborhoods in the city are undergoing transformation with the support of the foundation community, while others are still lurking behind waiting on needed attention from city hall. A council by district will mitigate the lack of attention that some neighborhoods in Detroit have long been suffering from and the public safety nightmare they have been through.

he New Economy Initiative (NEI) is sparking a regional growth in Southeast Michigan, making Detroit a key focus of its operation and helping to enhance an entrepreneurial climate in the city while fostering the growth of already existing businesses. The approach by NEI and its collaborative vision of tackling diversity through New Michigan Media, an ethnic media entity that is forcing ethnic communities to the forefront of social engagement and diversity as an ingredient for meaningful growth, makes Detroit the centerpiece of a new cultural revolution of ideas and innovation.

As Detroit goes, so goes the rest of Michigan. We can all make a contribution to Detroit in 2013.

Happy New Year.

It’s 2013 and that means it’s game time for anyone suiting up for a season of Detroit politics. The upcoming months will be bursting with campaign quips, candidate smack talk and, as Mike Duggan throws his hat into the ring as the city’s first viable white mayoral candidate in decades, perhaps a bit more racial tension.

Former Detroit Medical Center (DMC) CEO Mike Duggan marked his last day on the job with a letter explaining why he wants to take charge of a city teetering on the edge of bankruptcy—not to mention neck-deep in a myriad of other big hairy problems—in a newsletter to DMC employees.

In the letter, written on new year’s eve, Duggan vows to start campaigning full-time starting Wednesday and also to “see people’s souls first” before the color of their skin.

“I’ve listened to people tell me I can’t get elected because I’m white,” Duggan wrote in the letter. “ I’ve listened to those same people say if I do get elected, it won’t matter, because most Michiganders won’t ever support Detroit’s recovery because most of our citizens are black. It can get really demoralizing if you believe that stuff.”

The new year is only in its second day, but the political smack talk has already started. In the newsletter Duggan took a swipe at State Rep. Fred Durhal, who announced his candidacy for mayor in November.

“We have a City a half-step from bankruptcy and the only other candidate with a realistic chance of getting elected has never successfully financially managed anything,” Duggan said of Durhal. “He admits this, but promises to “hire someone smart” to figure out the finances if he gets elected.

Can you imagine at my hiring in 2004 when DMC was near bankruptcy, if I had said my turnaround plan was to “hire someone” to help me understand the finances? I hate to think where DMC would be today.”

Duggan said he could not “sit by and watch” Detroit decline any longer and that, is why he plans to campaign for a job that current mayor Dave Bing calls “the second hardest job in the nation.”

Duggan, much like Bing, is a man who has run businesses in Detroit and moved into the city from the suburbs in order to be eligible to run for mayor. Unlike Bing, Duggan has a track record of success in turnaround giving him perhaps an edge in the race.

Still, Duggan’s toughest opponent may not be incumbent Bing. Bing has not indicated whether he plans to run for a second term and even if he did, Bing’s popularity is reportedly shaky as a recall petition is circulating to remove him from office. In fact, local pundits predict the race will mainly be fought between Duggan and prospective candidate Wayne County Sherriff Benny Napoleon.

While Napoleon has not announced a 2013 mayoral run, Signs point to this being the case as he ups is social media presence and recently had some fightin’ words aimed at Duggan.

"It's our Detroit, and we're going to keep it for Detroiters," Napoleon said from the pulpit of New Bethel Baptist Church the Detroit News reports.

"He (Duggan) cannot say he has the common experiences that Detroiters have," Napoleon told The News.

While Napoleon is busily pinning Duggan as an out-of-touch outsider, Duggan is doing a little soul searching to try and get the race issue out of the way.

“The great majority of DMC employees see people’s souls first, and see the color of their skin second, I see it every day in our employees as you interact with each other and as you interact with our patients,” Duggan wrote to DMC employees in his new year’s eve letter. “ I can’t help thinking: what if Detroiters and our fellow Michiganders came to see each other as souls first?”

Read Duggan’s letter to DMC employees HERE: http://intodetroit.com/article/duggan-announces-mayoral-run-via-employee-newsletter 

(CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was treated with blood thinners on Monday at a New York hospital to help dissolve a blood clot in her head and doctors were confident she would make a full recovery.

Clinton was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday due to the clot that was discovered during a follow-up exam related to a concussion she suffered this month, her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said.

The clot was located in the vein between the brain and and the skull behind Clinton's right ear and did not result in any stroke or neurological damage, her doctors said in a statement.

Clinton was treated with blood thinners to help dissolve the clot and would be released once the medication dose had been established, they said.

"In all other aspects of her recovery, the secretary is making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. She is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff," Clinton's doctors said.

Clinton, 65, was suffering from a stomach virus earlier this month when she fainted because of dehydration, causing the concussion.

Blood clots "are clumps that occur when blood hardens from a liquid to a solid," according to the National Institutes for Health.

Clots can form inside veins or arteries or even the heart, the NIH says. "A blockage in the vein will usually cause fluid buildup and swelling," the NIH website says. Among the possible threats: Sometimes, a "clot can break loose and travel from one location in the body to another."

Clinton spent the holidays with her family last week after working from home.

She was scheduled to return to work at the State Department this week after being sidelined for most of the past month.
Her illness forced her to bow out of testifying on December 20 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.

Clinton, a one-time presidential candidate who is the source of constant speculation she might run again in 2016, plans to step down from the State Department once a replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/31/politics/hillary-clinton-hospitalized/index.html?c=homepage-t

One of the most regrettable changes Detroit faced in the last year was a significant rise in homicides. 379 murders had taken place in the city as of Dec. 30, the Detroit News reports.

It's about a ten percent increase over the 344 murders that occurred in 2011, a milestone that had already been surpassed by Thanksgiving of 2012.

The figure brings the city's homicide rate to 53 per 100,000 residents, according to the News. That's the second highest for a city of more than 200,000 residents after New Orleans, which had a rate of 54 per 100,000 residents.

A high number of deaths involving children this year prompted local political and community leaders to pledge to curb the violence. The city's high murder rate also caused local funeral home operators to stage a hearse parade through several Detroit neighborhoods this past January.

2012 has seen a decline in some crimes, including rape, burglary and aggravated assault.

Earlier this month, Mayor Dave Bing announced the reopening of thirteen mini stations in coming months to improve policing in neighborhoods.

Still, Detroit police are struggling to get a handle on crime in an economic environment where less funds are available and precinct hours have been cut.

Concerns about reduced staff, a 10 percent pay cut and 12-hour shifts among police officers prompted some officers to hold a "enter Detroit at your own risk" rally at a downtown baseball game back in October.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/detroit-murder-rate-2012_n_2388862.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit

Washington (CNN) -- After exhaustive negotiations that strained the country's patience, the House approved a bill to avert the dreaded fiscal cliff, staving off widespread tax increases and deep spending cuts.

In the 257-167 vote late Tuesday, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans favored the bill; 16 Democrats and 151 Republicans opposed it.

The approved plan maintains tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 per year and couples earning less than $450,000. It will raise tax rates for those who make more, marking the first time in two decades the rates jump for the wealthiest Americans.

The bill also extends unemployment insurance and delays for two months a series of automatic cuts in federal spending.

World markets rose after the news. U.S. stocks were poised to rise, too.

Just hours before the bill passed, House Speaker John Boehner pitched to fellow Republicans the idea of amending the Senate-approved bill to add a package of spending cuts. He cautioned about the risk in such a strategy, saying there was no guarantee the Senate would act on it.

By the end of the night, he was among the Republicans who voted for the bill as written.

President Barack Obama said he would sign the bill into law, but he did not say when. After the vote, he flew to Hawaii to rejoin his wife and daughters on their winter vacation.

Had the House not acted, and the Bush-era tax cuts expired fully, broad tax increases would have kicked in. In addition, $110 billion in automatic cuts to domestic and military spending would have taken place.

The combined effect could have dampened economic growth by 0.5%, possibly tipping the U.S. economy back into a recession and driving unemployment from its current 7.7% back over 9%, according to economists' estimates.

While the package provides some short-term certainty, it leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

It doesn't mention the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling that the United States reached Monday.

It also puts off the so-called sequester, cuts in federal spending that would have taken effect Wednesday and reduced the budgets of most agencies and programs by 8% to 10%.

Come late February, Congress will have to tackle both those thorny issues.

Obama warned Congress that he will not tolerate another act of prolonged brinksmanship.

"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up through the laws that they've passed," he said after the Tuesday night vote.

"We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills in time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic -- far worse than the impact of the fiscal cliff."

A partial victory

While the deal gives Obama bragging rights for raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, it also leaves him breaking a promise.

Obama had vowed to raise tax rates for the top-earning 2% of Americans, including those with household income above $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000.

Raising the threshold for higher tax rates shrinks the number of Americans affected.

While nearly 2% of filers have adjusted gross incomes over $250,000, only 0.6% have incomes above $500,000, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Some House Republicans weren't exactly overjoyed in voting for the plan.

"I'm a very reluctant yes," said Rep. Nan Hayworth, an outgoing Republican representative from New York.

"This is the best we can do, given the Senate and the White House sentiment at this point in time, and it is at least a partial victory for the American people," she said. "I'll take that at this point."

Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, whose Americans for Tax Reform pushes candidates to sign a pledge never to raise taxes, said the plan preserves most of the Bush tax cuts and won't violate his group's beliefs.

"The Bush tax cuts lapsed at midnight last night," Norquist tweeted Tuesday. "Every (Republican) voting for Senate bill is cutting taxes and keeping his/her pledge."

The timing of the vote was crucial, as a new Congress is set to be sworn in Thursday. And without a breakthrough, the entire process would have had to start over.

Specifics of the plan

The legislation will raise roughly $600 billion in new revenues over 10 years, according to various estimates.

According to the deal:

-- The tax rate for individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000 will rise from the current 35% to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6%.
-- Itemized deductions will be capped for individuals making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000.
-- Taxes on inherited estates will go up to 40% from 35%.
-- Unemployment insurance will be extended for a year for 2 million people.
-- The alternative minimum tax, a perennial issue, will be permanently adjusted for inflation.
-- Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits will be renewed.
-- The "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

The Democratic-led Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill early Tuesday before passing it to the House.

As news about the fiscal cliff's deflection spread across the world, several markets reacted positively Wednesday.

Australia's ASX All Ordinaries index added 1.2%. South Korea's KOSPI gained 1.5%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1.9%. Tokyo's Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite remain closed for holiday celebrations but will reopen later in the week.

Payroll taxes still set to go up

Despite the last-minute fiscal cliff agreements, Americans are still likely to see their paychecks shrink somewhat because of a separate battle over payroll taxes.

The government temporarily lowered the payroll tax rate in 2011 from 6.2% to 4.2% to put more money in the pockets of Americans. That adjustment, which has cost about $120 billion each year, expired Monday.

Now, Americans earning $30,000 a year will take home $50 less per month. Those earning $113,700 will lose $189.50 a month.

With the latest battle round over, lawmakers will next set their sights on the other items on their docket of congressional squabbles over money: the debt ceiling and resolving the sequester.

Obama said he hopes leaders in Washington this year will focus on "seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship (and) not scare the heck out of folks quite as much."

He thanked bipartisan House and Senate leaders for finally reaching a resolution Tuesday, but said Congress' work this year is just beginning.

"I hope that everybody now gets at least a day off I guess, or a few days off, so that people can refresh themselves, because we're going to have a lot of work to do in 2013."

Angry rhetoric flew

In the tense days leading up to the deal, heated words flew between some Democrats and Republicans.

On Friday, after Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Boehner of holding a "dictatorship" in his chamber, the House speaker responded with a profanity.

"Go f— yourself," Boehner said to Reid, according to a source with knowledge of the exchange in a White House lobby.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/02/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

A number of professional male athletes have come forward on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in recent months, but it seems not everyone is comfortable with the idea of playing alongside a gay teammate.

Detroit Tigers right fielder Torri Hunter is making headlines for telling the Los Angeles Times he believes an out teammate would make him "uncomfortable."

"For me, as a Christian…I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it's not right," the former Angels outfielder told the publication. "It will be difficult and uncomfortable."

It isn't the first time the 37-year-old's remarks have sparked controversy. In 2010, he reportedly referred to dark-skinned Latino baseball players as "impostors" in a USA Today interview while discussing the changing demographics in baseball.

"People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they're African-American. They're not us. They're impostors," he told Bob Nightengale. He went on to note, "As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us...It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?'"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/torii-hunter-detroit-tiger-gay-teammate-uncomfortable_n_2387575.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit&ir=Detroit