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President Obama returns to Washington Thursday as do members of the U.S. Senate. They're cutting holiday plans short in hopes of coming up with a deal to avoid the tax hikes and budget cuts set to take effect on Jan. 1.

The day is designed to say goodbye to the worst memories of 2012. In New York Friday, a mobile shredding truck along with a dumpster and sledgehammer, will help you say goodbye to things you don't need heading into the new year.

The storm that spread blizzards from Texas to the Great Lakes, and spawned tornadoes in the Southeast, will dump more snow before it heads off toward Canada and the Atlantic Ocean. It's been blamed for at least 15 deaths.

The nation's 41st president, George H.W. Bush, has been in a Houston hospital since just after Thanksgiving. He went there for treatment of a persistent cough. Since then, he's developed a fever. Doctors are working to bring it down. Bush, 88, is said to be alert and bantering with his nurses.

Angered by an American law barring some Russian officials from entering the U.S., parliament members in Moscow have retaliated. Putin has now said he sees no reason not to sign the adoption ban. More than 60,000 Russian children have been adopted by Americans since 1992, the State Department says.

Many Americans appear to be worried about what will happen to the economy if the federal government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff, the Conference Board reports. But there's also good news: The housing sector continues to recover.

HBO's new behind-the-anchor-desk drama follows in the footsteps of Sorkin's hit series The West Wing. "I like writing about heroes that don't wear capes or disguises," he says.

To keep pace with the nation's increasing racial and ethnic diversity, the Census Bureau could change how it asks about identity in the 2020 count.

New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey is currently the only knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues. His memoir, Wherever I Wind Up, explains how his life — and career — have mimicked the unpredictable trajectory of the difficult pitch he throws game after game.

Zany presidential candidates, Clint Eastwood's chair, and vice-presidential trips to Costco. 2012 was a significant, and perhaps odd, year for politics. Host Michel Martin is joined by former White House staffers to review some of the best and worst political moments of the year.