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Early this morning, the Senate passed tax and spending measures in an effort to avoid the fiscal cliff. House Republican leadership meets this afternoon to discuss the deal and a possible vote. Host Neal Conan checks in with NPR's senior Washington editor Ron Elving about the current status of the agreement and today's potential outcomes.

As part of the "fiscal cliff" deal moving through Congress, a two-year-old payroll tax holiday comes to an end. Under the tax holiday, the 6.2 percent payroll tax was cut to 4.2 percent for all American workers. NPR's John Ydstie talks about what the change will mean for employees and the economy.

A Pakistani man who went to London to sell fish has become an unlikely YouTube music star, thanks to the catchy song he made up to lure customers. The video for the song, "One Pound Fish," became a Web hit, and even brought him a record deal.

Two out of three Americans living with hepatitis C infection are baby boomers, and many will never know the source of their infection. Drugs to treat the disease have many side effects, but dozens of new ones are in the pipeline.

The mayors of Denver and Baltimore made a friendly wager when their teams met in the NFL playoffs. When Baltimore won in overtime Saturday, it was disaster for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. The mayor must now dance like Ray Lewis. The soon-to-retire Baltimore star does an awkward but enthusiastic sideline dance before games.

Intelligent, gregarious and at times disarmingly personal, Justice Sonia Sotomayor's memoir, My Beloved World, recounts her trailblazing journey from a Bronx housing project to a bench on the Supreme Court.

President Obama is a week away from getting sworn into a second term in office — but he still has plenty of unfinished business. Four years ago, he vowed to shut down the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But the facility is still up and running. Host Michel Martin discusses what's next for Guantanamo.

The first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church will start work with the Center for American Progress, focusing on issues of faith and gay rights. "Gay is not something we do," he says. "It's something we are." His book God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage was published in September.

President Obama will be officially sworn in and begin his second term as the 44th President of the United States on Jan. 20. As Washington gears up for Inauguration Day, people across the country and the world are reflecting on what was gained and lost during Obama's first term.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched its first ever "Python Challenge." More than 800 hunters have registered for the month-long competition aimed at harvesting Burmese pythons. University of Florida professor Frank Mazzotti talks about the threat they present to the ecosystem of the Everglades.