10 things you need to know today: December 1, 2012

Fiscal-cliff turmoil continues, a Missouri family claims their Powerball prize, and more in our roundup of stories that are making the news and driving opinion

All work and no play: President Barack Obama speaks at a toy factory in Pennsylvania on Friday.
(Image credit: Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

1. OBAMA: GOP BLOCKING OF FISCAL DEAL UNACCEPTABLE

On Friday, President Obama accused a "handful of Republicans" in the House of holding up legislation to extend tax cuts for middle class Americans in order to try to preserve the cuts for the wealthy. "It's not acceptable to me and I don't think it's acceptable to you," Obama said during a visit to a toy factory in Pennsylvania. The president has laid out a proposal to address looming budget issues that calls for a $1.6 trillion tax increase over 10 years, $50 billion in new spending in 2013, and a change that would give the White House new power to raise the federal debt limit. But Republicans say the president's offer is a step backward, though they have not detailed their own plan. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) claimed that Obama's proposal is "not serious," leaving the negotiations at a "stalemate." He added, "Let's not kid ourselves. Right now, we're almost nowhere." [Reuters]

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.