Dec. 31 Photo Brief: Fiscal cliff plan emerges, why 2012 was the worst year for elephants, 2013 celebrations
Fiscal cliff plan emerges in U.S. Congress, why 2012 was the worst year for elephants, 2013 celebrations and more in today’s daily photo brief.
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- U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks about the fiscal cliff negotiations in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House December 31, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama said he was hopeful that an agreement could be found to avert the fiscal cliff in Congress, which is closing in on a deal that would raise taxes on households that make more than $450,000 a year and individuals who make more than $400,000. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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- According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW, 2012 stands out as the ”annus horriblis” (Latin for ‘year of horrors’) for elephants. In 2012, 34 tons of poached ivory were seized, marking the biggest ever total of confiscated ivory in a single year, outstripping by almost 40 percent last year’s record of 24.3 tons. Earlier this year, in just six weeks, between January and March 2012, at least 50 percent of the elephants in Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park were slaughtered for their ivory by horseback bandits. Most illegal ivory is destined for Asia, in particular China, where it has soared in value as an investment vehicle and coveted as white gold. Photo taken on December 30, 2012 shows elephants at the Amboseli game reserve in Kenya. (Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A student prays during a vigil for a gang rape victim, who was assaulted in New Delhi, in Ahmedabad December 31, 2012. One of hundreds of attacks reported in New Delhi each year, the gang rape and murder of a medical student caught Indian authorities and political parties flat-footed, slow to see that the assault on a private bus had come to symbolize an epidemic of crime against women. (Amit Dave/Reuters)
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- Ayman al-Sahili, a Reuters cameraman who was shot in the leg while filming on the front line by a sniper loyal to Syrian President Bashar el-Assad is carried away in Syria’s north city of Aleppo December, 31, 2012. (Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)
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- A man walks past a mural depicting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Caracas December 31, 2012. Chavez has suffered more complications following complex cancer surgery in Cuba and remains in a “delicate” condition, the vice president said on Sunday. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)
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- A man throws bread to seagulls at a beach in Jumeirah in Dubai, December 31, 2012. (Jumana El Heloueh/Reuters)
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- A Cuban flag is seen on a wall as a man rides his bicycle in Havana December 31, 2012. (Enrique De La Osa/Reuters)
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- French soldiers work out at Warehouse base in Kabul on December 31, 2012. All French combat troops have now been withdrawn from Afghanistan and only training and logistics personnel remain there. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A man watches the tennis game between Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko and Victor Hanescu of Romania during their Qatar Open tennis match in Doha December 31, 2012. (Jamal Saidi /Reuters)
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- A security guard stands behind a New Year signboard at Myanmar’s first public New Year countdown celebrations on Myoma grounds in Yangon December 31, 2012. (Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)
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- Revelers gather in Time Square before celebrating the New Year in New York December 31, 2012. (Joshua Lott/Reuters)
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- A street vendor sells seeds in front of an exchange bureau in Cairo, December 31, 2012. Egypt’s pound fell to a record low on Monday as the president signaled his government would allow it to depreciate slowly for several more days to stop a drain on foreign reserves that has driven the economy into crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. (Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)
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- Soldiers from Congo Brazzaville, part of the Multinaional Force of the Economic Community of Central African States (FOMAC), unload military equipment as they arrive at the airport in Bangui, on December 31, 2012. Congo announced today the deployment of a battalion of 120 soldiers to the Central African Republic’s capital Bangui at the request of the Tchadian President Idriss Deby, who is currently the president of FOMAC. Meanwhile rebels in the Central African Republic vowed to take the last key town before the capital and renewed their call for the president to stand down, voicing scepticism over his pledge to make concessions. (Sia Kambousia/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Women take part in a Voodoo ceremony December 30, 2012 in the Petion-ville suburb of Port-au-Prince. The Haitian government declared Voodoo an official religion in 2003, granting Voodoo priests the authority to perform weddings and baptisms. (Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images)
‘Fiscal cliff’ tumble looms despite Senate efforts
Richard Cowan and Roberta Rampton
Reuters
4:54 p.m. EST, December 31, 2012
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States looked on track to tumble over the “fiscal cliff” at midnight on Monday, at least for a day, as lawmakers remained reluctant to back last-minute efforts by Senate leaders to avert severe tax increases and spending cuts.
The U.S. House of Representatives might not vote on any “fiscal cliff” plan before midnight, possibly pushing a legislative decision into New Year’s Day, when financial markets will be closed, said a Republican aide.
The Senate plan was heavy on tax increases and light on spending cuts, raising concerns that it would repel rank-and-file lawmakers, particularly in the Republican-controlled House.
As Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden kept working on unresolved parts of the deal, there was deep discontent among Senate Democrats.
“The caucus as a whole is not sold” on the proposal, said a Senate Democratic aide. “We just don’t have the votes for it.”
If Congress fails to act, about $600 billion in tax increases and government-wide spending cuts will begin taking effect after midnight, harsh measures that could push the U.S. economy into recession.
But lawmakers could still vote for any deal on New Year’s Day and prevent the worst of the fiscal cliff effect.
Under the Senate plan, those with household income above $450,000 or individual income above $400,000 would be taxed at 39.6 percent, up from 35 percent. Those with lower income would be taxed at the current, reduced tax rates put in place under former President George W. Bush.
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