GOOD MORNING, BLOGTOWN! Need a little singing, ringing through the rafter. And we need a little snappy "Happy ever after." Need a little Christmas now. LET'S GO TO PRESS.

President Obama is outlining his administration's new policy on guns today—stay tuned for details. (Spoiler alert: Biden plays a big role.)

FACTOID: Gun deaths are expected to outpace car fatalities by 2015. (Ban guns AND cars!!)

House Speaker John Boehner trots out a "Plan B" which is designed to avoid the fiscal cliff, and will please absolutely NOBODY. (Especially Obama who has threatened to veto it.)

Robert H. Bork, who was denied entry to the Supreme Court, involved in the Watergate scandal, and possessed very controversial conservative viewpoints, has died at the age of 85. Read this obit—it's a fascinating glimpse into conservative politics.

The United Nations stops their polio-vaccine work in Pakistan after public health workers are attacked, and two are killed.

A new report slams the State Department for their role in failing to protect four ambassadors killed in the Libyan attack on September 11.

The first woman president of South Korea (and daughter of the country's former dictator), Park Geun-hye was elected today and has a very interesting platform: “I have no family to take care of,” she said. “I have no child to inherit my properties. You, the people, are my only family, and to make you happy is the reason I do politics. And if elected, I would govern like a mother dedicated to her family.” Ummm... thanks, mom?

Time magazine makes a fairly safe choice for their "person of the year."

Instagram furiously backpedals after the internet attacks them for claiming ownership of their users' images. (Ahh... nothing like the soft, glowing, sepia-toned look of FEAR.)

All the members of NBC news team that were kidnapped in Syria (most famously foreign correspondent Richard Engle) have been returned safely.

Now here's what's going on in your neck of the woods: Heavy rains today and tomorrow with lots o' snow in the mountains.

And finally, who wants to see a golden eagle attempt (and fail) to snatch a baby*? (In the bird's defense, it was a fat baby.)


*May be a hoax... but still funny.