Path to cliff paved with good intentions

Several bipartisan groups of lawmakers have long worked to avoid a meltdown over debt Those efforts have largely failed, hampered by partisan bickering and differences Lawmakers will have to work swiftly and put egos aside to avert crisis, political experts say Washington (CNN) -- The current outcry over the fiscal cliff feels like déjà vu for those intimately familiar with previously failed debt talks. Congressional brinksmanship with the White House over the nation's debt and federal spending. Numerous eponymously named plans. Groups with catchy titles charged with finding a solution. Grand bargains. Raised hopes. Flared tempers. Bruised egos. As talks break down and partisan lines are drawn, the problem finally is kicked down the road. The current looming fiscal crisis is the result of that long punt. The failure of Congress to reach a bipartisan debt-reduction deal last year triggers automatic spending cuts starting on Jan. 2 designed to kick start $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. The fiscal cliff explained "Everyone wants to save face. Everyone wants to be able to create something they can call their own and they want to be able to say they gave something and they gained something," said David Walker, former comptroller general of the United States. At least, that's how it was inside the debt negotiations in 2010 and 2011 that led up to the showdown underway in Washington now. Deal or no deal in Washington? GOP deal rejected by White House Becerra: Elections have consequences Respected former U.S. Senator: 'What a nuthouse' In early 2010, President Barack Obama, still smarting from a grueling and deeply partisan health care reform battle, tried an old Washington trick to break the political logjam over solving the nation's fiscal woes. He appointed a bipartisan commission to come up with a proposal to balance the budget and cut the debt. That spring, former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Erskine Bowles, a former Democratic White House chief of staff, led a bipartisan cadre of congressional lawmakers and business leaders through months of marathon sessions. The members analyzed tax and entitlement regulations, gathered input from the public and, according to a source familiar with the conversation, engaged in tense internal conversations. The group's proposal for a blend of steep revenue increases and spending cuts failed to net convincing support among its own members. It landed in official Washington without the needed support for congressional consideration. "[Obama] created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, House Budget committee chairman, said later in 2012 when he ran as the GOP vice presidential nominee. Ryan also served on the Simpson-Bowles commission and he, like all but three Republicans on the panel, voted against the plan shortly after the conservative takeover of the House in the 2010 midterm election. The White House reacted coolly as well, issuing a thank you of sorts to the commission. Simpson and Bowles would later speak publicly about their disappointment. "The president wanted to make sure that we understood that he had had a strategy to take the framework of what we'd negotiated" on the commission, "and to use that as a vehicle to negotiate a deal," Bowles told the New York Times earlier this year of his subsequent conversation with Obama. Obama said that if he had "put his arms around" the plan immediately, Bowles told the newspaper, it "would have been savaged by Republicans and that would have killed it." The mouribund Simpson-Bowles recommendations did help trigger other efforts at deficit reduction -- all of which bore no fruit. House GOP offers plan to avoid fiscal cliff, but White House says no Vice President Joe Biden, a former Delaware senator, reached out to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, about a way forward. Those conversations went nowhere. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Georgia Republican who is a close friend of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio quietly began speaking with Virginia Democrat Mark Warner in early 2011 about using the Simpson-Bowles proposal to help put together another plan to create a debt reduction framework. That effort, which added more participants and became known as the "Gang of Six," generated no full-throated support. Secret talks between the White House and Boehner also foundered. A heated showdown over raising the debt ceiling -- the ability for the U.S. government to borrow more money to pay its bills -- led to a deal that created another bipartisan group to tackle the government's red ink. That congressional panel, called the "super committee," failed in late 2011 to reach a bipartisan agreement for at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction -- formally setting in motion the broad budget triggers that were negotiated in the debt ceiling deal and make up the spending cut part of the fiscal cliff equation. Democrats said at the time that Republicans undermined any prospect for genuine compromise by being unwilling to phase out the Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy Americans. Republicans accused Democrats of risking recession by proposing to raise taxes on small businesses and other drivers of job creation. Sound familiar? Walker, who has spent the past couple of years advising lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on crafting a solution to the nation's soaring debt, said now is not the time for "grand bargains" and stubborn politics. Instead, he said, they should heed the lessons of past efforts. That means steering clear of airing differences in public to avoid bruising egos or igniting tempers. "You need things to be more private when you're trying to deal with the key decision makers," Walker said. "They have to save face. They are human after all." CNN's Ted Barrett, Kate Bolduan, Samuel Burke, Jeanne Sahadi and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

Boehner: Rich will pay more taxes

House Republicans implore President Obama to negotiate Obama insists on holding down tax rates for all but the wealthy A fiscal cliff solution will likely be in two steps Without a deal, everyone's taxes go up in January and spending gets cut Washington (CNN) -- Taxes on the wealthy are going up, House Speaker John Boehner conceded on Wednesday in challenging President Barack Obama to sit down with him to hammer out a deal for avoiding the fiscal cliff. The statement to reporters reflected how negotiations on reducing the nation's chronic federal deficits and debt have evolved since Obama's re-election last month. Republicans once opposed to any new revenue in their quest to shrink government now realize Obama's victory and public support for the president's campaign theme of higher taxes on the wealthy leave them with little negotiating leverage. Less than four weeks from the automatic tax increases and spending cuts of the fiscal cliff, GOP leaders face a choice: Agreeing to Obama's demand to hold down tax rates on most Americans while allowing higher rates on the wealthiest 2%, or being blamed for everyone's taxes going up in 2013. The major unresolved question of negotiations involving the White House and congressional leaders is whether eliminating tax deductions and loopholes -- as proposed by House Republicans -- can raise enough revenue without hitting middle class Americans too hard. Counting down to fiscal cliff Compromise harder than 20 years ago No sign of fiscal cliff deal progress Andy Richter explains the fiscal cliff "We have got to cut spending and I believe it is appropriate to put revenues on the table," Boehner told reporters Wednesday. "Now, the revenues that we are putting on the table are going to come from guess who? The rich. "There are ways to limit deductions, close loopholes and have the same people pay more of their money to the federal government without raising tax rates, which we believe will harm our economy," Boehner said. Polls show that more Americans will blame Republicans, instead of Obama and Democrats, if there is no deal and the nation goes over the fiscal cliff. Economists warn that the cliff's automatic tax hikes and spending cuts would invite recession. A Washington Post/Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday put the margin at 53%-27% in citing Republicans or Obama. A CNN/ORC International poll released last week showed 45% would blame congressional Republicans compared to 34% who would hold Obama responsible. All signs point to a continuing standoff, at least for now. No formal negotiating sessions are known to be scheduled, and congressional aides say no back-channel discussions are taking place. Boehner and other Republican leaders implored through the media for Obama to talk to them about the deficit-reduction plan they offered earlier this week, which the White House rejected as unrealistic. Asked about Congress scheduling no further business this week with GOP members going home, Boehner said: "I'll be here and I'll be available at any moment to sit down with the president to get serious about solving this problem." Rep. Kevin McCarthy added a dramatic flair, calling the next 72 hours "critical" for the negotiations. If Obama "sits back and continue to play politics, that'll give your answer of where we're going," he said, calling the moment "an opportunity for the president to lead." At issue are competing proposals by Obama and House Republicans that coincide in some areas but differ on the tax-rate question. Obama demands that the House immediately pass a measure already approved by the Senate to extend tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year while allowing rates to return to higher Clinton-era levels for wealthier households. Both sides agree that the 98% of Americans making less than $250,000 a year should avoid a tax hike when the tax cuts from the Bush administration expire on December 31, Obama and Democrats argue. They call for the House to guarantee that outcome by passing the Senate measure now. Once that happens, Obama and Democratic leaders promise, they will work out compromises on other deficit reduction steps sought by Republicans, such as reforms to the Medicare and Medicaid entitlement programs as part of further spending cuts. In an interview with Bloomberg TV aired on Tuesday, Obama said Republicans need to accept the reality that deficit reduction requires higher tax rates on the wealthy. "The issue right now, that is relevant, is the acknowledgment that if we're going to raise revenues that are sufficient to balance with the very tough cuts that we have already made and the future reforms in entitlements that I'm prepared to make, then we are going to have to see the rates on the top 2% go up, " the president said. "We will not be able to get a deal without it." At the same time, Obama said negotiations next year on broader tax reform could bring lower rates. House Republicans led by Boehner made a major proposal on Monday by offering a series of steps to reduce the nation's chronic federal deficits by $2.2 trillion over 10 years. The GOP proposal includes $800 billion from tax reform, $600 billion from Medicare reforms and other health savings and $600 billion in other spending cuts, House Republican leadership aides said. It also pledges $200 billion in savings by revising the consumer price index, a measure of inflation. While the Republicans gave ground by calling for more revenue through tax reform, the plan only mentioned unspecified elimination of some deductions and loopholes. At the same time, they rejected the Democratic call for higher tax rates on wealthier Americans, contending the move would inhibit economic growth by raising taxes on small business owners, many of whom declare business profits on their personal income tax returns. The White House and Democratic leaders immediately rejected the Republican approach, saying it would require middle-class taxpayers to assume a greater burden while easing rates on the rich. On Tuesday, leading conservatives blasted the House Republican proposal that breaks with years of GOP orthodoxy by calling for more taxes to be paid by wealthier Americans. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, said the "offer of an $800 billion tax hike will destroy jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more." Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said it would be "a huge mistake to raise taxes. It will cripple the economy." However, some top Senate Republicans -- many of them conservatives -- withheld harsh criticism of the plan even as they refused to embrace it. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell sidestepped the question when asked directly if he backed the plan. "I commend the House Republican leadership for trying to move the process along and getting to a point where, hopefully, we can have a real discussion," McConnell said. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, a senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said he would support Boehner's plan to raise revenue, but only if there is a "willingness on the part of Democrats to accept spending cuts that are three-to-one or four-to-one." The current negotiations take place amid the lame-duck session of Congress before the newly elected legislators arrive in January. Possible outcomes include an agreement now to avoid the fiscal cliff and devise a framework for further negotiations in the new Congress on a broader deficit reduction deal.In an While the White House has made clear Obama will veto any measure that fails to increase tax rates on the wealthy, aides have signaled a possible willingness to negotiate the specific rate increase. Asked repeatedly Tuesday about whether Obama insisted on a return to the 1990s rates on income over $250,000 for families or $200,000 for individuals, White House spokesman Jay Carney responded by saying the president would refuse to sign any measure extending the current lower rates. In the interview with Bloomberg TV, Obama said lower tax rates for the wealthy could be negotiated as part of broader tax reform in 2013, but only after those rates increase now. Obama's deficit-reduction plan would increase taxes by almost $1 trillion over 10 years, a significant portion of a $4 trillion overall deficit-reduction goal. It also would close loopholes, limit deductions, raise the estate tax rate to 2009 levels and increases tax rates on capital gains and dividends. The Obama plan includes $50 billion in stimulus spending for programs intended to create jobs, such as repairing roads and bridges. Experts have said failing to reach a fiscal cliff deal and devise a framework for a broader deficit reduction package to be negotiated when the new Congress is seated in January will cause economic turmoil. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates that middle-class families would pay about $2,000 a year more in taxes without action. For now, the debate has the business community perplexed, said Fred Smith, the chief executive officer of FedEx Corp., considered a bellwether on the economy. Smith told CNN Tuesday that he and other top business leaders "look at the situation in Washington with complete amazement and dismay." "The problem is the ideological pinnings on both sides of this argument are so difficult to bridge," Smith said, adding it will "be hard for them to get a deal." CNN's Deirdre Walsh, Paul Steinhauser, Jessica Yellin and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

Snow, cold missing across much of the US

TODAY's Al Roker reports that temperatures across the country are much warmer than usual for this time of year, with some areas experiencing highs that are 20 to 30 degrees above normal. By Miguel Llanos, NBC News If you like your early Decembers mild and with just a touch of snow, this one's for you: Not only have temperatures been warm in many parts, just 7 percent of the continental U.S. is currently covered with snow — a much smaller footprint than the 32 percent this time last year. Some Midwest cities known for snow haven't seen any so far this season. Moreover, due to a warm spring, they are closing in on their records for most days without snow.  Chicago has gone 275 days without measurable snow through Tuesday, weather.com reported. The record, set in 1994, is 280 days. The city's average snow total by Dec. 4 is 2.2 inches. Milwaukee, Wis., and Des Moines, Iowa, are on similar tracks. Omaha, Neb., on Wednesday tied its no-snow record of 285 days. Data compiled by the National Weather Service since 2003 show that no other Dec. 5 was in single digits in terms of snow cover — and 2005 was up to 48 percent. As far as temperatures go, more than 1,600 daily warm temperatures were tied or broken during the week of Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, weather.com noted.  Wednesday's forecast included temperatures "anywhere from 10 to almost 30 degrees above normal" in some places, NBC News meteorologist Al Roker said on TODAY. Cities in that range include Billings, Mont.; Amarillo, Texas; Tucson, Ariz.; Columbia, S.C.; and St. Louis. On Tuesday, record highs for a Dec. 4 were set in various cities, including: Syracuse, N.Y. (70 degrees); Flint, Mich. (65); Georgetown, Del. (73); and Morgantown, W.Va. (69). Cold air has been "trapped in Canada and Alaska," weather.com said. But, starting Friday, the Midwest and Plains should turn cooler. By early next week temperatures will be below freezing and the system could produce "the season's first significant, plowable snow in many locations," weather.com stated. Chicago, which reached 70 degrees on Monday, might even get snow, but don't expect it on the East Coast. "Depending on how the storm develops, snow and wind could continue into Monday over the Great Lakes, including Chicago," weather.com noted. "By the time the frontal system gets into the East, rain looks likely to fall in most areas, including the I-95 urban corridor." In Minnesota, locals looking forward to the first measurable snow this season include the owner of a store that sells snow blowers, NBC affiliate KARE11.com reported. "Six inches would be great, just anything we can get that people have to get out in the driveway and clear the snowfall," said owner Ed Veits. Watch KARE11.com's report on the lack of snow in Minnesota More content from NBCNews.com: Chilling details released in Alaska barista's killing Conversion therapists: 'You can't say gay once, gay always' West Point cadet quits, cites 'criminal' behavior of officers Disability-compensation claims for veterans lag as 'VA backlog' worsens Video: Friend goes to get beer, finds kittens in freezer Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Fiscal cliff fears put Americans on edge

"The fiscal cliff is just one more thing that makes us wait, feel unsure," says iReporter Bobbie Cleave (right). Some people are postponing buying homes and cars due to the fiscal cliff A retired police officer says it won't be worth re-entering the work force if new taxes kick in One woman says the country needs to go over the cliff to improve the economy One man says fiscal cliff worries have made him financially responsible for the first time (CNN) -- Across the country, a sudden shift is taking place. Bobbie Cleave, a retired teacher in Utah, has put off plans to get a badly needed car. Brian Chandler, a data manager in metro Atlanta, is delaying buying a house, despite needing space for his second child due any day now. Retired police officer Richard Huffman of Michigan may ditch plans to re-enter the work force. No fiscal cliff deal in sight King: The battle over Medicare U.S. 27 days away from fiscal cliff And several families CNN spoke with said they're shrinking the gift pile beneath the Christmas tree. As the nation approaches the so-called "fiscal cliff," people are taking steps to cushion their families from the plunge. To them, the threat to the nation's economy requires preparation -- particularly with President Barack Obama warning that going off the cliff could cost the average family of four more than $2,000. But some say the fears are just hype. And others see an upside. "We need to go over the cliff," says Valerie Stayskal, 58-year-old owner of two small businesses in Addison, Illinois. As Congress and the White House battle over the $7 trillion worth of tax increases and spending cuts that could start to take effect in January, CNN reached out to people in various walks of life to find out how they're already being affected. From my home to the House: How to fix the fiscal cliff The country is 'stuck again' "The fiscal cliff is just one more thing that makes us wait, feel unsure," says Cleave, 61, who is also a wilderness ranger in Salt Lake City. She shared her perspective recently with CNN iReport. The economic collapse of 2008 left a lot of people "stuck," she says. She was "stuck" trying to sell her house, then felt "unstuck a bit" when Obama was first elected "because we hoped he could change things." But things didn't change enough. "We felt unstuck again this election," because the country seemed to send a resounding message about the kind of economic action it wants, including raising taxes on the wealthiest, she said. "But now we feel stuck again" because there's no sign of a compromise. "It means we freeze, we don't buy as much, we save, we wait." Cleave's family is Buddhist, "so we meditate on living with the feeling of uncertainty," she says. "It's part of life. But I think many people are in waiting and saving mode because they feel confused about how this will all play out." Lela Ladd is one of them. Her family in McCook, Nebraska, is "living frugally, anticipating future tax increases," she says. "My husband and I are not exchanging Christmas gifts. In the past, we spent about $500 on each other." The couple has three children and eight grandchildren -- each of whom will receive only one gift each from them this year That frugality was already spurred by the hard times of the last several years, but the "cliff" is adding to that stress. "It is hard not to be angry at our elected officials," says Ladd, 57, a self-employed insurance agent. "They have forgotten why we elected them: to watch out for our country. They really don't know what it is like to walk in our shoes. You have to be rich to be elected to anything anymore, so the working class is no longer represented." Surveys show most Americans want compromise on Capitol Hill. A Gallup Poll found 62% want Democrats and Republicans to reach a deal. But many doubt it will happen. A Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll found 49% of Americans do not expect an agreement by the end of the year, while 40% do. The frustration and fear could slice holiday sales, as people try to hold on to some cash, the National Retail Federation warns. It's too soon to know whether the cliff fears are having a Grinch-like impact, and sales so far have hit new highs. But the federation is concerned about the weeks ahead. "Before Thanksgiving, the threat of the fiscal cliff seemed remote to most Americans," says David French, the NRF's top lobbyist, who is pushing both parties for action on the issue. "Now, more and more people are focused on it, and the threat is becoming more real... It's uncomfortable for retailers." Same players, same disputes in fiscal cliff debate Government-style accounting would put a business 'in jail,' owner says Owners of two small businesses in New Jersey told CNN they're nervous and frustrated. Any business that followed the same "method of accounting as our government" would "be in jail," complains Bob Bellagamba, CEO of Concorde Worldwide, a limousine company. He wants a decision on the fiscal cliff "so I know how to run my business." Depending on the outcome, he may have to lay off some employees, he said. Charles Altiero, owner of Freehold Jewelers, said tax increases might help him in one way. "More people are going to have to sell their gold to pay their taxes." But it would hurt his customers' buying power. So, he said, he's open to the idea of paying more taxes to help avoid going off the "cliff." Quality Realty in Opal, Wyoming, has dropped an annual tradition. "We normally present our biggest customers with appreciation gifts. This year everyone gets a card," said office manager Mary Hall. That's due to the state of the economy in general, including the fiscal cliff, she said. Hall, a mother of five, is also the small town's mayor. "I can see it affecting the programs we participate in with regard to funding for capital improvements," she said. No programs have been cut yet due to the fiscal cliff, but "as the federal government starts cutting and limiting spending, the states tend to tighten their belts as well," she said. Tax increases would make it 'not worth' re-entering work force The belt-tightening many Americans have been doing for years prompted Richard Huffman,a 63-year-old retired cop and CNN iReporter in Saint Joseph, Michigan, to consider re-entering the work force. He has six daughters and 14 grandchildren. Now, he's changing his mind. "I will not go back into the work force if taxes are to go up on the middle class," he says. So much of the money he would make would go to taxes that it wouldn't be worth working. "These tax increases would take away from our income drastically." 'I'm being penalized for wealth' It's not just members of the middle class who are nervous about what lies ahead. Brian Chandler, a 34-year-old in Marietta, Georgia, says he's among those Americans with incomes over $250,000 whose taxes would go up under Obama's plan. "I am technically considered 'rich,'" says Chandler. "I did this through hard work, long hours, taking on work that clearly wasn't my responsibility, networking, etc. Now it sort of feels like I'm being penalized for that, in higher taxes, because of others' lack of financial responsibility." "I am concerned about the reduction of take-home income. I am also concerned taxing those above $250,000 a year may counter innovation and prevent some from working as hard as they do to earn that amount of money." He and his wife have a son, and their daughter is due this month. They need more space. But he's no longer looking for a bigger home. "I'm watching how it will all play out." The road to the fiscal cliff paved with good intentions In support of 'cliff' diving While polls show it to be a minority, there is a contingent of Americans who want the country to go off the fiscal cliff. "It will help because it will finally reduce the deficit with substance -- not just words," says Valerie Stayskal of Addison, Illinois. It will be painful for several years, but best in the long term, the mother of three and soon-to-be grandmother of twins argues. "I want my kids and their kids to have a good life in a country that is stable and flourishing. I want them to have opportunity. If we don't dig deep into the deficit, they are made to be burdened with this debt." Patrick Drake, of Norcross, Georgia, offers another upside. All the talk about the fiscal cliff "is very necessary for citizens and representatives to inform and engage," he says. "Definitely, I have never been a financially responsible individual until I began paying attention to the fiscal cliff discussions and the correlation to my personal finances." 'It's all hype!' But some others say they're sick of all the talk -- which, they believe, will ultimately prove to be another example of the government scaring the public about something drastic that does not end up happening. "This is government hype to the umpteenth degree," AnnMarie Blodgett wrote in our Facebook discussion. "Everything gets a name these days. None of it matters." "I want to ban the phrase 'fiscal cliff,'" added Monica Rodriguez. "There are other things happening in the world." But Dolores Casillas, who weighed in on Twitter, said she is very concerned about what may lie ahead. The 27-year-old is out of work and has already cut back expenses. "I was on a phone contract but since it is too expensive now I go prepaid. I always look for deals on everything and I bargain," she says. Now, with the "cliff" getting closer and closer, Casillas says she's considering dropping something many Americans can't imagine living without: coffee. "But it's hard when you need it to keep you up," she adds. Are concerns about the fiscal cliff affecting your life? Join our discussions at Facebook, Twitter, CNN iReport, or in the comments section below.

In 911 call, Belcher's mom begs girlfriend not to die

Jamie Squire / Getty Images Linebacker Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs watches from the sidelines during his final game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 25, 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri. By Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News While Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher was en route to Arrowhead Stadium early Saturday, about to kill himself, his mother placed a frantic 911 call to authorities during which she can be heard begging his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, not to die from her wounds. "She's still breathing, but barely," Cheryl Shepherd, Belcher's mother, told the 911 dispatcher Saturday morning, in a call released by the Kansas City Fire Department on Tuesday. "Please hurry. I don't know how many times he got her. They were arguing." As a dispatcher tells her help is on the way, Shepherd yells, "Kasandra, stay with me, the ambulance is on the way, you hear me? You hear me? Kasandra! Hey! Stay with me!" Belcher, 25, and Perkins, 22, lived together with their three-month-old daughter, Zoey, and Belcher's mother, Shepherd. The murder-suicide was described in detail by The Kansas City Star, which reported that the couple had been arguing over their relationship and finances.  On Saturday morning, Belcher allegedly shot Perkins, kissed her and Zoey, then headed to the team's practice facility, where he thanked his coached and fired a single shot in his head, saying, "I can't be here," according to sources. In the 911 call released Tuesday, a baby can be heard crying in the background while Shepherd speaks with the dispatcher. "Okay, listen ma'am, is she awake?" the dispatcher asks. "Just barely, she's just barely open," Shepherd responds. "Can she hear what you're saying?" "Yes, she is moving when I talk to her. Please, God," Shepherd says.   "Okay. Is she bleeding?" the dispatcher asks.  "Yes, she is," Shepherd says, as the baby began to cry.  "Where is she bleeding from?" "I can't tell, in the back, it looks like it," Shepherd tells her, anxiety rising in her voice. A second dispatcher from the Kansas City Police Department then gets on the line and asks Shepherd where her son is. "He left," Shepherd says. "Please just get this ambulance here. Please." Police arrived at the couple's home at about 7:50 a.m. Saturday morning to find Perkins' body on the floor of the master bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a police incident report.  Hours before the shooting, police found Belcher sleeping in his car outside an apartment complex about 10 miles away from his and Perkins' home. He told officers he was at the apartment to visit a woman he said was his girlfriend, but that she wasn't home. Belcher then made a phone call and a woman let him into the building, The Associated Press reported. It's not clear who the woman was. Belcher and Perkins had been living apart recently but got back together by Thanksgiving, friend Brianne York told The Associated Press. Belcher's mother has been given temporary custody of the child.  More content from NBCNews.com: Chilling details released in Alaska barista's killing Conversion therapists: 'You can't say gay once, gay always' West Point cadet quits, cites 'criminal' behavior of officers Disability-compensation claims for veterans lag as 'VA backlog' worsens Video: Friend goes to get beer, finds kittens in freezer Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Kurtz: No surprise that Post used pic

Howard Kurtz: New York Post ran degrading, exploitative pic of man about to be hit by subway Human response is one of horror, and reason paper did it: to grip New Yorkers, he says He says it's newsworthy for a tab, but worse offense is photog who didn't seem to help Kurtz: Post sensationalizes to sell papers and succeeded, but he wouldn't have run it Editor's note: Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and is Newsweek's Washington bureau chief. He is also a contributor to the website Daily Download. (CNN) -- It was a horrifying front-page photo in every sense of the word. It felt cheap, degrading and exploitative in a way that words could never match. The photo captures a Queens man, Ki-Suck Han, after he had been pushed onto the subway tracks Monday as an oncoming train roared toward him. The screaming headline says it all: "DOOMED." But the New York Post had every right to run the picture. This is what tabloids do -- milk tragedy for every ounce of emotional impact. No New York straphanger should have been surprised to see the photo. Perspective: 'Outraged' at NY subway death photo A typical reaction: "Sickening rubber-necking front page from the New York Post. Imagine how this man's family feels," tweeted an editor at The Guardian. Become a fan of CNNOpinion Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments. That, of course, is the normal human response. It also explains why Rupert Murdoch's paper did it, knowing that everyone in New York would be gripped by the image. Watch: Is the New York Post harassing Alec Baldwin in alleged stalker case? No one would dispute that the story is newsworthy. It is, in fact, every New Yorker's nightmare. Perhaps you have to have spent much of your life crowding onto narrow platforms with total strangers and trying to squeeze onto overcrowded subway cars, to understand the every-day fear that you could be groped, mugged or pushed into danger. Watch: Fox's Roger Ailes courted David Petraeus for possible presidential run Why, then, the visceral sense of revulsion? It's fine to look down your nose at the New York Post for showing such a horrific picture, to say it was grossly unethical. But what about all the media outlets that show equally horrific pictures from war zones? We've seen bloodied children in Gaza, Pakistani police machine-gunned by the Taliban, bodies being thrown off roofs in Syria. And we're horrified by a picture of a man who is about to die in New York? What's the difference? Is it any worse because it happens in the United States? The truth is that this picture seems more monstrously unfair because we can easily imagine being in the victim's place. We may complain about it, but if it's so clearly out of bounds, why have so many websites and television networks now run it? For the Post to run it was unfair to Han's family, but the media don't usually worry about such things. It was accurate and captured an important story. Watch: Are TV newsbabes dressing sexy for ratings? It was insensitive -- hard to imagine the photo running in The New York Times -- but people buy the Post for punch-in-the-gut tales, for the "headless body in topless bar," not for astute foreign policy analysis. The story is so sickening that we want to turn away but can't. The picture makes us so uncomfortable that we're mad at the Post for inflicting it on us. There are pictures of murder victims in the paper every day, part of the sad toll of urban life. But the difference is that we're not watching them being shot or stabbed. Watch: Media embrace cop who bought boots for homeless man One aspect of this tale that makes my blood boil is the role of the freelance photographer, R. Umar Abbasi. Instead of snapping two pictures of a man about to die, why didn't he try to pull him to safety? Abbasi claims he hoped the flash would warn the subway driver. I'm not buying it. His first instinct was to record death, not prevent it. Every editor has to strike a balance between depicting ugly reality and the sensibilities of readers and viewers. There are those who believe that the American media should run more pictures of dead or wounded soldiers, that we -- especially in television news -- sanitize war by shying away from showing its victims. Would I have run the front-page photo of Han? No way. But the New York Post has a different mission, to shock and sensationalize, especially when it comes to crime. On that point, the tabloid succeeded, which is why so many people are angry -- and everyone is buzzing about it. Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Howard Kurtz.

Outrage over pic of man on train track

"I had no idea what I was shooting," the photographer writes in a New York Post piece A media critic calls the photo "profit-motive journalism at its worst" The image shows a man moments before he's struck by a subway train Police say they have in custody a man who implicated himself in shoving the man (CNN) -- The photographer who snapped the now-famous image of a man about to be struck by a New York subway train is defending himself against critics who say he should have helped, as controversy also rages over the New York Post's decision to publish the picture. Freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi's image shows 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han desperately clawing at a New York Square subway platform after being shoved onto the tracks by a man with whom he had been arguing. Seconds after Abbasi captured the shot -- accidentally, in an effort to warn the train conductor, he says -- the train struck Han. He died at a hospital. Police say a man who has implicated himself in Han's death is in custody. In his Wednesday piece for the Post, Abbasi said people who've criticized him for the shot have no idea what they're talking about. "I had no idea what I was shooting. I'm not even sure it was registering with me what was happening. I was just looking at that train coming," Abbasi said in the piece. He said he was trying to get the train operator to slow down by furiously firing off his camera flash. Abbasi said he didn't look at the pictures before returning to the office and turning his camera's memory card over to police. The Post published them the next day. "Doomed" the headline screamed. "Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die." Readers and media critics quickly jumped on the newspaper's decision to use the image. On Twitter, users posted that it was cruel and "snuff porn." Lauren Ashburn, a media critic and editor in chief of the website Dailydownload.com, called it "profit-motive journalism at its worst." "It's insensitive, it's inappropriate, it's sickening rubbernecking," she said Wednesday. But Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and the Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast and Newsweek, said he sees an argument for publishing the image. "Because this is every New Yorker's nightmare," he said. "I do still wonder why the photographer's first instinct was to take pictures," he said. "I do wonder that." Jeff Sonderman, a fellow at the journalism think tank Poynter Institute, wrote on the organization's website that it appeared journalists were largely critical of the decision. "Even if you accept that that photographer and other bystanders did everything they could to try to save the man, it's a separate question of what the Post should have done with that photo," he wrote. "All journalists we've seen talking about it online concluded the Post was wrong to use the photo, especially on its front page." Kenny Irby, a senior faculty member for visual journalism and diversity programs at Poynter, said Tuesday that what the paper did wasn't necessarily wrong. "It was not illegal or unethical given that ethical guidelines and recommendations are not absolute," he said in an e-mail. But he also said the Post should have used another image. "This moment was such for me -- it was too private in my view," he wrote. "I am all for maximizing truth telling, while minimizing harm, which can be done by fully vetting the alternatives available and publishing with a sense of compassion and respect." The Post is no stranger to walking up to the lines of journalistic ethics -- and sometimes crossing them -- with its pithy, often lurid, coverage of crime and other news in the Big Apple. "HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR," the newspaper once famously shouted from its cover. Nor is the Post shot the first news photo to generate ethics concerns. An Agence France-Presse photo that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize generated controversy for its depiction of a girl in Afghanistan crying amid a number of bloody bodies. Also this year, the New York Times published a graphic image showing blood streaming from the body of a victim after a fatal August shooting at the Empire State Building. At the time, Poynter quoted a Times spokeswoman as saying the image was "a newsworthy photograph that shows the result and impact of a public act of violence." CNN's Pauline Kim, Yon Pomrenze and Mary Snow contributed to this report.