Lawmakers To Honor Staffer Killed In Tucson Shooting

The House is voting Wednesday on a resolution to name a room in the U.S. Capitol’s visitor center after Gabriel Zimmerman, a Congressional staffer killed in January’s shooting in Tucson.

The resolution was brought to the floor by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a close friend of Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.). The room will serving as a meeting space.

Gabriel “Gabe” Zimmerman was a community outreach director for Giffords and had worked for the Arizona Democrat since 2006. He was the first Congressional staffer to be killed while serving in his position.

Poll: Gingrich Leads Florida

A new poll shows Newt Gingrich holding a comfortable lead over Mitt Romney in Florida.

According to the survey conducted by InsiderAdvantage and Majority Opinion Research, the former Speaker of the House tops the GOP field with 41.4 percent among likely primary voters. Mitt Romney comes in second with 17.4 percent and Cain takes third with 12.7 percent. No other Republican candidate breaks double digits.

The poll was conducted among 513 likely voters on November 29th.

John McCain won Florida’s primary in 2008, leading Mitt Romney by approximately 5 points.

Today's Business Roundup

US Stocks

Despite a meeting between EU finance ministers and retailers raking in cash from Cyber Monday, US stocks closed mixed. The Dow gained 32.62 points to close at 11555.63 points. The S&P eeked out a gain of 2.65 points to finish at 1,195.20 — below the key technical level of 1,200. The Nasdaq ended the red at 11.83 points.

American Airlines

American Airlines parent company AMR Corp. filed for a Chapter 11 protection. The company has lost more than $10 billion since 2001. Former chief executive Robert Crandall said that this is a clear sign deregulation did not work in the 1970’s.

Reid Accuses GOP Of Playing Politics With Payroll Relief

By Tim Young

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused Republicans Tuesday of playing party politics over Democrats’ plan to extend and expand tax cuts for the middle class.

“Republicans know that raising tax on the middle class is the wrong thing to do,” said Reid following the Democratic Policy Committee’s weekly luncheon. “That’s why, in the past, they’ve always supported [breaks].”  

Reid claimed that the Republicans’ change of heart was made for the simple reason of stopping President Obama, “even if it means hitting the middle class with a thousand dollar tax increase.”

The Majority Leader specifically drew attention to Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) for supporting tax cuts in the past for the middle-class, a position which he contends has changed in recent times.

Report: Cain Reassessing Campaign

Herman Cain told campaign staffers Tuesday that he intends to reassess his campaign, according to a report from the Des Moines Register.

The announcement comes just one day after Atlanta woman Ginger White told the media that she had a 13 year affair with the ex Godfather’s Pizza CEO.

Late last month, Politico reported that the former businessman was accused of sexually harassing two female employees while serving as the head of the National Restaurant Association. Later, an additional woman claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Cain.

Although Cain said that he will be looking at his campaign in a new light, he indicated that he will stay in the race for the time being.