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Humble coin toss thrust to heart of multiverse debate
Labels: WorldIsrael arresting Palestinians to preempt uprising: security
Labels: Technology
JERUSALEM: Israel plans to step up arrests of suspected militants in the occupied West Bank to prevent a rising tide of low-intensity conflict and civil unrest from turning into an uprising, security sources say.
"There is a certain (Palestinian) awakening," one source told AFP.
"As a consequence a decision was taken within the security establishment to increase intelligence activity and arrests among members of Hamas or activists against Israel," he added. "It started in the past few days and will increase."
Recent events, however, suggest that such a policy could backfire.
On Tuesday, undercover Israeli troops attempting to arrest a suspected Islamic Jihad militant were pelted with rocks by an angry crowd.
The squad made their arrest, but Palestinian security sources said dozens were lightly injured when soldiers fired rubber bullets, live rounds and tear gas at their attackers.
Israeli public radio's military affairs reporter quoted military sources on Wednesday as saying the arrest operation was routine, but the Palestinian response was anything but so.
"What is exceptional is the grave disturbances," she quoted her sources as saying. "An operation like this would not in the past have brought disturbances of this kind."
"There is a certain rise in disturbances in the territories but talk of a third intifada is premature," she added.
Earlier this month, troops in a southern West bank village were forced to abort an attempt to arrest a Palestinian policeman suspected of militant activity when crowds of local residents pelted them with rocks.
They seized the man later at a military checkpoint near Hebron.
The Palestinians have twice risen up against their Israeli occupiers in so-called intifadas (uprisings) -- in December 1987 and September 2000.
But neither movement succeeded in ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank that began in 1967. Now, with direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians on hold since September 2010, observers have raised the spectre of a third uprising breaking out.
Ghassan Khatib, a veteran of the first intifada, who later became a Palestinian cabinet minister and now teaches at the West Bank's Birzeit University, does not see a guiding hand in the current round of clashes.
Violence "spontaneous"
He considers as "spontaneous" the daily confrontations between Palestinian farmers and Jewish settlers, the hurling of rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli motorists in Palestinian areas and the clashes with troops.
"I don't think that it can be connected to any specific event; it's been building up gradually," he told AFP.
"I think it's a result of the dangerous combination of a complete absence of any political horizon together with serious economic and financial crisis that is leading to increased unemployment and poverty," he added, noting an increase in settlement activity.
"In my view the situation is not sustainable," he said.
Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service tied an upswing in clashes to November's eight-day battle between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
"In response to the operation, Jerusalem and the (West Bank) also saw an increase in the level of violence," Shin Bet said in its monthly summary for November.
It recorded 122 Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank, compared with 39 in October, and 44 incidents in Jerusalem, up from 31 the month before.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Palestinian youngsters seemed to be heavily involved in the unrest, which some Israeli media are already calling "a mini-intifada."
"In general there's been an increase in the number of incidents that have taken place, stone-throwing incidents as well as Molotov cocktails on the main highways," he told AFP.
"The majority of incidents take place in the morning when Palestinian children are on their way to school and in the afternoon when Palestinian children are returning from school," he said.
-AFP/ac
U.N.'s Syria death toll jumps dramatically to 60,000
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- United Nations' Navi Pillay: "We have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns"
- Syrian planes hit Damascus suburbs and other targets, killed dozens at a fuel station
- Al-Nusra Front is among three factions attacking the Taftanaz military air base in northern Syria
- The militant group is a cover for al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. State Department says
(CNN) -- The overall death toll in devastated Syria has surpassed an estimated 60,000 people, the United Nations said Wednesday, a dramatic figure that could skyrocket as the civil war persists.
To put it in perspective: 60,000 people is roughly the population of Terre Haute, Indiana; or Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's how many people would fit in Dodger Stadium, and it's more than the 50,000-plus U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam.
The figure is about 15,000 higher than the death toll CNN had cited from a collection of sources.
It's "truly shocking" and shameful, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who blamed the international community for inaction.
"Collectively we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns," she said. "While many details remain unclear, there can be no justification for the massive scale of the killing highlighted by this analysis."
Inside Syria, anti-government activists brought their personal perspective to the new death estimate: "No wonder!" Hama activist Mousab Alhamadee said. "We live on the ground and we see the massacres daily."
Western and Arab nations have denounced President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but they have been been reluctant to intervene in hopes of ending the warfare.
They haven't been successful in forging tough action against Syria at the U.N. Security Council because of opposition from Russia and China, both of which have long had friendly relations with and economic ties to Damascus. While some countries have passed along weapons to the rebels, the larger world community has avoided being drawn into a war, fearing a bloody quagmire, such as the Vietnam War for the United States or the invasion of Afghanistan for the Russians.
Echoing the fears of U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Pillay worried about more deaths "unless there is a quick resolution to the conflict."
"I fear thousands more will die or suffer terrible injuries as a result of those who harbor the obstinate belief that something can be achieved by more bloodshed, more torture and more mindless destruction," she said.
Pillay said the number of deaths is higher than expected.
"This massive loss of life could have been avoided if the Syrian government had chosen to take a different path than one of ruthless suppression of what were initially peaceful and legitimate protests by unarmed civilians," she said.
"As the situation has continued to degenerate, increasing numbers have also been killed by anti-government armed groups, and there has been a proliferation of serious crimes including war crimes, and -- most probably -- crimes against humanity, by both sides."
The 60,000, she said, "is likely to be an underestimate of the actual number of deaths." Citing the discovery of mass graves in newly liberated government bases, Alhamadee, the activist, said: "The number I think is far greater than this, and lots of people are missing."
"The recording and collection of accurate and reliable data has grown increasingly challenging due to the conflict raging in many parts of the country," Pillay said.
Rupert Colville, a U.N. spokesman, agrees that the number "is probably a minimum" and reflects a killing field of war crimes.
"There's not a shadow of doubt now that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed. That said, in each individual case, the final judgment has to be made by a court. It's hard to quantify at this point," he said.
"This is a classic case of a conflict that's spiraling downwards, becoming ever more ghastly. We've seen this before in the Balkans and other places. The worse it becomes, the more difficult it is to resolve."
Ahawa, who posted a reaction on CNN.com's comment section, sees a dark future for Syria, regardless. "Syria is doomed, no matter who wins, the terrorist rebels or the terrorist regime, the country ... will take tens of years to rebuild,' Ahawa wrote. "Even if Assad is toppled in the next few months, sectarian fighting will still go on for years."
Wimcorbijn, another CNN.com commenter, accused Western and Arab nations of wanting to topple al-Assad at any cost.
"I think the best bet for Syria now is to keep Assad as leader," wimcorbijn wrote. "It is the right time for (countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to step in and support to help to defeat the rebels. Once the rebels are defeated, they can force to introduce democracy as well as political reforms in Syria."
Air attacks, shelling, tank fire, bomb attacks, street-to-street fighting and sectarian fighting have all contributed to the rising toll, Pillay said. Deaths have increased from 1,000 a month in the summer of 2011 to more than 5,000 a month since July, she said.
Collectively we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns.
Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
Deaths have been most prevalent in Homs, the Damascus outskirts, Idlib, Aleppo, Daraa and Hama. More than three-quarters of the victims are male, and 7.5% are female, Pillay said. The gender of the others isn't clear, and analysts couldn't "differentiate clearly between combatants and non-combatants."
The inability of the U.N. Security Council and the international community to stop the violence "shames us all," she said.
Read more: Syria's grim toll continues into 2013
Death estimates have varied among opposition groups that have issued daily counts. For example, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 46,000 people have died since March 2011.
U.N. data specialists counted 59,648 people reported killed in Syria between March 15, 2011, and November 30, 2012, Pillay said. Scores of deaths were reported every day in December.
Related: 2013 prediction: 100,000 deaths
Latest clashes
On Wednesday, fighting sent the daily death toll higher. More than 207 people were killed, mostly in and around Damascus, according the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.
Syrian government warplanes hammered the Damascus suburbs and other targets. At least 74 people died and dozens were wounded in the Damascus suburb of Mleiha when government planes carried out an airstrike on a fuel station, the LCC said, citing initial reports. The toll of "martyrs" will probably rise "due to continuous pulling of the bodies from under the rubble," the LCC said.
Aerial shelling also was reported in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, in the cities of Aleppo and Deir Ezzor and other locations.
-Estimated Syrian civil war deaths: 60,000
-Estimated Syrian population: 22,530,746
-Percentage of Syrian population killed: .26%
Sources: CIA World Fact Book, United Nations
In Idlib province, Syrian rebels, including jihadists, fought to wrest a key military air base from government forces Wednesday, the opposition said, as anti-regime fighters kept up the heat on al-Assad's forces. Al-Nusra Front, a militant group that the United States designated last month as a terrorist movement, is among three rebel factions attacking the base, rebels said in a statement.
"The battle to liberate Taftanaz military airport has started," the rebels said. "Taftanaz airport has been delivering horrors to Muslims. The warplanes fly from there on a daily basis, to throw explosive barrels on villages and towns."
Read more: Deadly day in Syria as diplomats talk
The other factions participating in the effort are Battalions of Ahrar Al-shaam and the Islamic Forefront. Ahrar is an Islamist coalition with some Salafist elements that cooperates with the Free Syrian Army. The Islamic Forefront is a larger umbrella group of Islamist organizations; one of its members is Ahrar.
About 400 soldiers are based at the airport, along with a number of pro-government militia.
At the base are 30 planes, including transportation craft and fighting jets; seven armored vehicles, including tanks and armored personnel carriers; artillery and rocket launchers.
Casualties have been reported on both sides in the fighting, but precise numbers were not available because the government has restricted international journalists' access.
Read more: Refugee figures fail to give true picture of Syria crisis
Read more: Marriage destroyed by war
CNN's Joe Sterling, Salma Abdelaziz and Yousuf Basil reported from Atlanta, and Kareem Khadder contributed to this report from Jerusalem
Hillary Clinton discharged from hospital
Labels: HealthWASHINGTONSecretary of State Hillary Clinton was discharged from a New York hospital Wednesday, after spending 72 hours under observation following the discovery of a blood clot in her head, the State Department said.
In a statement, spokesperson Philippe Reines said: "Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery. She's eager to get back to the office."
Clinton and her family thanked her medical team "for the excellent care she received," Reines said.
Earlier Wednesday, Clinton had been seen in public for the first time in three weeks when she walked out of the Harkness Eye Institute in New York City and into a secure van along with a smiling Bill and Chelsea Clinton and accompanied by a security detail, reports CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan.
The State Department had said Secretary Clinton was active in speaking with staff and reviewing paperwork while she continued to recover at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital Sunday and was treated with blood thinners to dissolve a clot in the vein behind the right ear. Doctors found the clot during a follow-up exam stemming from a concussion she suffered in early December. She has been hospitalized for around 72 hours, which is a window of time during which it is possible to establish the proper blood thinner dosage that would be required prior to discharge according to doctors.
Clinton's doctors say there was no neurological damage.
Christie Calls Boehner's Sandy Decision 'Disgusting'
Labels: Business
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said today that it was "disgusting" that the House adjourned without voting on a $60 billion relief package for the victims of superstorm Sandy and put the blame squarely on a fellow Republican -- House Speaker John Boehner.
Christie, who is considered a possible Republican presidential candidate four years from now, said there was "only one group to blame, the Republican Party and Speaker Boehner."
The blunt talking New Jersey governor joined a chorus of Republicans from New York and New Jersey fuming over his decision to pull the bill at the last minute.
Christie in an angry news conference decried the "selfishness and duplicity," the "palace intrigue," "the callous indifference to the people of our state."
"Unfortunately people are putting politics ahead of their responsibilities... You do the right thing. Enough with all the politics," he said.
Christie said that when it comes to natural disasters, "We respond as Americans, at least we did until last night... it was disgusting to watch."
"In our hour of desperate need, we've been left waiting for help six times longer than the victims of Katrina with no end in sight," said Christie. "Sixty-six days and counting, shame on you. Shame on Congress."
The governor said his four calls to Boehner Tuesday night went unanswered, but he said he spoke to the House speaker today. Christie would not disclose any details of the conversation, but clearly his anger over the no-vote was not mollified.
Following Christie's press conference Republican representatives from New York and New Jersey announced that the speaker promised a vote on the bill on Jan. 15.
"Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations," Boehner said in a statement released late this afternoon.
Rep. Peter King Blasts Speaker Boehner on House Floor Watch Video
Boos as House Adjourns Without Hurricane Sandy Relief Watch Video
'Fiscal Cliff' Deal Passes House Despite GOP Holdouts Watch Video
Rep. Peter King, R-NY, whop spent much of the day criticizing Boehner, met with the speaker this afternoon and was confident that the speaker would keep his word and hold a vote later this month and offered for the first time a reason for why the bill was pulled.
"[Boehner] said there was much confusion and so much fighting going on over the fiscal cliff bill it would be damaging to the Republican caucus" to have voted on the relief bill Tuesday night.
Lawmakers were initially told by Boehner, R-Ohio, that the relief bill would get a vote on Tuesday night following an eleventh hour vote on the fiscal cliff bill. But in an unexpected switch, Boehner refused to put the relief bill to a vote, leading to lawmakers from parties yelling on the floor of the House.
Congress historically has responded to natural disasters by promptly funding relief efforts. It took just 11 days to pass a relief package for victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Senate already passed its version of the bill that would replenish an emergency fund set to run out of cash next week and which will help repair subways and tunnels in New York City and rebuild parts of the New Jersey shore devastated by superstorm Sandy.
Time is particularly pressing, given that a new Congress will be sworn in Thursday. The Senate will therefore have to vote on the bill again before it comes to the House, which could be as late as February or March.
"This was a betrayal," Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., told ABC News.com. "It's just reprehensible. It's an indefensible error in judgment not have given relief to these people that are so devastated."
Rep. King, took the floor of the House and to the airwaves and aimed his outrage squarely at Boehner, accusing him plunging "a cruel knife in the back" of storm-ravaged residents "who don't have shelter, don't have food," he said during a House session this morning.
"This is not the United States. This should not be the Republican Party. This shouldn't not be the Republican leadership," King said on the floor of the House.
He made no attempt to hide his anger, suggesting that residents in New York and New Jersey should stop sending money to Republicans and even questioning whether he could remain a member of the party.
"Anyone who donates one cent to the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee should have their head examined," King, a staunch conservative and Republican congressman for 10 years, told CNN.
"They have written off New York and New Jersey. They've written me off…. Party loyalty, I'm over that. When your people are literally freezing in the winter… Then why should I help the Republican Party?" he added.
He said that Boehner refused to talk to Republican members from New York and New Jersey when they tried to ask him about the vote Tuesday night.
"He just decided to sneak off in the dark of night," King said.
In-depth 2012: The best long reads of the year
Labels: WorldRead more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"
Dig deeper, look closer and think harder – these are the goals of New Scientist's in-depth articles. Each one is perfect for saving in your favourite read-it-later app and curling up in front of a glowing tablet for a good long read.
These are our editors' picks of our best features of the year, and all are prime examples of the amazing breadth of big ideas that were ripe for the tackling in 2012. When you have finished digesting these readable meals, visit our in-depth articles archive if you're hungry for more.
Richard Webb: "You might not have heard of the algorithm that runs the world." I certainly hadn't, or that its mathematical foundations are starting to look a little wobbly. An eye-opening examination of how seemingly abstruse mathematics is in fact deeply embedded in modern life: "The algorithm that runs the world"
Sally Adee: Gastric bypass surgery is the best surgery you're not getting, said Dr Oz on his popular medical advice show in the US. Because of enthusiasm from people like him, this operation has become massively popular – but by whimsically hacking at our stomach, might we might be messing with a system far more complicated than anyone really understands? Samantha Murphy had the surgery and began to realise that losing 45 kilograms could come with some profound neurological trade-offs: "Change your stomach, change your brain"
Michael Le Page: Nowadays most people either haven't heard of the 1970 book The Limits to Growth, or believe – wrongly – that the research it was based on has been discredited. But the main message of Limits is perhaps more relevant than ever – that a delayed response to mounting environmental problems leads to catastrophe further down the line: "Boom and doom: Revisiting prophecies of collapse"
Richard Fisher: This is a simple story about a scientific mystery. Strange rumbles, whistles and blasts have been reported all over the world for centuries. In New York state, they are called "Seneca guns"; in the Italian Apennines they are described as brontidi, which means thunder-like; in Japan they are yan; and along the coast of Belgium they are called mistpouffers – or fog belches. Yet the cause is often unexplained – what on Earth could be behind them? "Mystery booms: The source of a worldwide sonic enigma
Valerie Jamieson: It's been a sensational year for particle physics, but the Higgs boson isn't the only fascinating particle in town. Meet 11 more particles that change our understanding of the subatomic world: "11 particles for 11 physics puzzles
David Robson: What is the secret of the legendary "flow state" that seems to mark out genius in everyone from piano virtuosos to tennis champions? With the latest brain stimulation techniques, it may soon be within everyone's reach, and Sally Adee writes with panache as she describes her own use of the technology during a terrifying marksmanship training session. This has everything I want to read in a story – drama, a revolutionary idea and some practical advice for anyone to try at home: "Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus"
Graham Lawton: The writer of this article, Christopher Kemp, is a self-confessed lover of marginalia – nooks and crannies of science that are often overlooked. But as this beautifully written story reveals, those nooks and crannies often contain rich and fascinating material. Material, in fact, like ambergris: "Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale's gut"
Ben Crystall: Many people may remember the wonder material Starlite from an episode of BBC TV's Tomorrow's World – it seemed to have a miraculous ability to withstand fire and heat. So what happened to it? In this feature Richard Fisher uncovers the strange tale of Starlite and its eccentric inventor Maurice Ward, and on the way reveals fascinating details about Ward and his creation. And though Ward is dead, the story may not be over – it now looks like Starlite could get a second chance… "The power of cool: Whatever became of Starlite?"
Clare Wilson: I enjoyed working on this feature the most this year because to me it truly represents the future of medicine. New Scientist often predicts that some new medicine or technology will be available in five years' time. When it comes to using gene therapies or stem cell therapies on babies in the womb – the subject of this feature – the timeline is probably more uncertain, yet I don't see how anyone can doubt that some day it will happen: "Fetal healing: Curing congenital diseases in the womb"
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Colorado town in the thick of fracking dispute
Labels: Technology
Longmont, COLORADO: The US oil and gas industry is condemning a move by one Colorado town to impose its own ban on the practice of hydraulic fracturing.
Voters in Longmont have chosen to outlaw the controversial practice within city limits, but drillers and the state government said the city has overstepped its bounds.
Space for large houses with mountain views -- one of the reasons the population of the Colorado city of Longmont has grown steadily over the past twenty years. But some residents are not happy with a new neighbour that has moved in recent years.
Natural gas wells and pipelines have sprung up around Longmont - often very close to subdivisions.
Michael Bellmont, one of the activists involved in a recent campaign to ban hydraulic fracturing in Longmont, said modern fracking practices use chemicals that can contaminate surrounding air and water, and is dangerous to health.
He said: "if you live within half a mile of these wells, one is 250 per cent more likely to have negative and chronic health impacts, and 60 per cent more likely to get cancer."
The majority of Longmont voters agree with Bellmont -- in November, they approved the ban on hydraulic fracturing in the city by a 60 to 40 per cent margin.
That ban has triggered a row with the oil and gas industry, which already leases land and drills in Longmont, and maintains fracking is safe.
Colorado governor John Hickenlooper -- a supporter of the oil and gas industry -- expects drilling companies to sue to overturn the ban.
Tisha Conoly Schuller, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, said: "The oil and gas industry -- we're evaluating our options, and then the state government has also been looking at their options. So I imagine we will see a lawsuit in Longmont, and there's lots of different ways it could come about."
Environmentalists are locked in a heated debate with county and state regulators over the issue -- including proposed rules on how far wells should be from people's homes.
Dr William Fleckenstein of the Colorado School of Mines said: "It adds a lot of jobs, there's a lot of rigs that are there. But at the same time, the rigs that are drilling -- the pipelines are going to impact people's lives and the industry has to take into account those impacts."
In Longmont, the city is gearing up for a protracted and expensive legal battle -- one which could set a precedent for other towns and cities that want to take matters regarding fracking into their own hands.
-CNA/ac
What GOP hates in fiscal deal
Labels: Lifestyle
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61 killed in post-celebration stampede in Ivory Coast
Labels: HealthABIDJAN, Ivory CoastA crowd stampeded after leaving a New Year's fireworks show early Tuesday in Ivory Coast's main city, killing 61 people — many of them children and teenagers — and injuring more than 200, rescue workers said.
Thousands had gathered at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan's Plateau district to see the fireworks. It was only the second New Year's Eve fireworks display since peace returned to this West African nation after a bloody upheaval over presidential elections put the nation on the brink of civil war and turned this city into a battle zone.
With 2013 showing greater promise, people were in the mood to celebrate on New Year's Eve. Families brought children and they watched the rockets burst in the nighttime sky. But only an hour into the new year, as the crowds poured onto the Boulevard de la Republic after the show, something caused a stampede, said Col. Issa Sako of the fire department rescue team. How so many deaths occurred on the broad boulevard and how the tragedy started is likely to be the subject of an investigation.
Many of the younger ones in the crowd went down, trampled underfoot. Most of those killed were between 8 and 15 years old
"The flood of people leaving the stadium became a stampede which led to the deaths of more than 60 and injured more than 200," Sako told Ivory Coast state TV.
Desperate parents went to the city morgue, the hospital and to the stadium to try to find missing children. Mamadou Sanogo was searching for his 9-year-old son, Sayed.
"I have just seen all the bodies, but I cannot find my son," said a tearful Sanogo. "I don't know what to do."
State TV showed a woman sobbing in the back of an ambulance; another was bent over on the side of the street, apparently in pain; and another, barely conscious and wearing only a bra on her upper body, was hoisted by rescuers. There were also scenes of small children being treated in a hospital. One boy grimaced in pain and a girl with colored braids in her hair lay under a blanket with one hand bandaged. The death toll could rise, officials said.
After the sun came up, soldiers were patrolling the site that was littered with victims' clothes, shoes, torn sandals and other belongings. President Alassane Ouattara and his wife Dominique visited some of the injured in the hospital. Mrs. Ouattara leaned over one child who was on a bed in a crowded hospital ward and tried to console the youngster. The president pledged that the government would pay for their treatment, his office said.
The government organized the fireworks to celebrate Ivory Coast's peace, after several months of political violence in early 2011 following disputed elections.
This is not Ivory Coast's first stadium tragedy. In 2009, 22 people died and over 130 were injured in a stampede at a World Cup qualifying match at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium, prompting FIFA, soccer's global governing body, to impose a fine of tens of thousands of dollars on Ivory Coast's soccer federation. The stadium, which officially holds 35,000, was overcrowded at the time of the disaster.
A year later, two people were killed and 30 wounded in a stampede at a municipal stadium during a reggae concert in Bouake, the country's second-largest city. The concert was organized in the city, held by rebels at the time, to promote peace and reconciliation.
Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, growing more than 37 percent of the world's annual crop of cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate.
House Hesitates, Cites Cliff Deal Spending
Labels: Business
Top House Republicans today opposed a bipartisan compromise that passed the Senate in the wee hours of New Year's Day to avert the "fiscal cliff," amid concerns about the cost of spending and extending tax cuts in the plan.
If House Republicans tweak the legislation, as they seem likely to do, there's no clear path for its return to the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in Thursday.
GOP leaders emerged from a morning conference meeting disenchanted by the legislative package devised by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Biden early this morning, with several insisting they cannot vote on it as it now stands.
"I do not support the bill," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said as he left the meeting. "We're looking for the best path forward. No decisions have been made yet."
It's almost certain that Republicans will attempt to amend the bill in order to win over the support of more conservatives.
House Speaker John Boehner refused to comment on the meeting, but his spokesman said "the lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today's meeting."
"Conversations with members will continue throughout the afternoon on the path forward," Brendan Buck said in a statement.
As lawmakers wrestled with the legislation, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill's added spending combined with the cost of extending tax cuts for those making under $400,000 would actually add $3.9 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The Joint Committee on Taxation reached a similar conclusion.
Bill Clark/Roll Call/Getty Images
Fiscal Cliff Countdown: Missing the Deadline Watch Video
Obama on Fiscal Cliff: 'Agreement Within Sight' Watch Video
The impasse once again raised the specter of sweeping tax hikes on all Americans and deep spending cuts' taking effect later this week.
"This is all about time, and it's about time that we brought this to the floor," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said after emerging from a meeting with Democrats.
"It was a bill that was passed in the U.S. senate 89-8. Tell me when you've had that on a measure as controversial as this?" she said of the overwhelming vote.
Pelosi could not say, however, whether the measure had the backing of most House Democrats. "Our members are making their decisions now," she said.
Biden, who brokered the deal with McConnell, joined Democrats for a midday meeting on Capitol Hill seeking to shore up support for the plan.
While Congress technically missed the midnight Dec. 31 deadline to avert the so-called cliff, both sides have expressed eagerness to enact a post-facto fix before Americans go back to work and the stock market opens Wednesday.
"This may take a little while but, honestly, I would argue we should vote on it today," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who sits on the Budget Committee. "We know the essential details and I think putting this thing to bed before the markets is important.
"We ought to take this deal right now and we'll live to fight another day, and it is coming very soon on the spending front."
The Senate passed legislation shortly after 2 a.m. that would extend current tax rates on 98 percent of Americans, raise taxes on the wealthiest earners and delay by two months the pending automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, known as the "sequester."
The measure passed by an overwhelming majority vote of 89-8, boosting the prospects that enough House members would follow suit to make it law.
If the House amends the bill, however, the fragile compromise could get shattered. The Senate would need to reconvene to consider the changes.
A Senate Democratic leadership aide told ABC News, "we did our work, and McConnell's office said they were confident of House passage. All bets are off if they amend our bill."
Meanwhile, most Senators have already returned home, dismissed early this morning by Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid.
"I've said all along our most important priority is protecting middle-class Americans, this legislation does that," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said early this morning prior to the vote.
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