President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are one step closer to reaching an agreement on the so-called fiscal cliff — the $600 billion in government spending cuts and tax increases that will affect all Americans in January. Over the weekend Boehner reportedly lowered his resistance to raising new revenue by agreeing to increase taxes on incomes over $1 million.

Related: Boehner Caves on Taxing the Rich: Will Republicans Go Along?

He also signaled that he would extend the debt limit for a year, angering Republicans who are opposed to raising the nation's borrowing limit. Boehner's latest overture in the tense fiscal cliff discussions has led many to believe a deal will get done before Dec. 31.

Obama, eager to resolve the looming fiscal crisis, made Boehner an offer Monday that cut his proposed $1.4 trillion in new revenue over 10 years to $1.2 trillion. The president has also agreed to allow the Bush-era tax cuts to cover more Americans: he would extend the expiring cuts to

The highly anticipated "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" opened around the globe this weekend to record breaking ticket sales and lukewarm reviews.

The Peter Jackson-directed Lord of the Rings prequel raked in $84.8 million in the U.S. and beat out all previous December film releases including the previous record holder "I Am Legend," Will Smith's 2007 end-of-world thriller. ("I Am Legend" still holds the No. 1 December opening record when adjusting for inflation).

Fans came out in full force this weekend but critics were less enthralled by the production. On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregating website, the film has a 65% critic rating and an 81% audience rating.

According to The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott, "The Hobbit rises to weary, belated mediocrity." Scott Meslow of The Week outlined five ways in which "The Hobbit" was a failure and declared that Peter Jackson had succumbed to "George Lucas disease."

The three-hour film cost a reported $400 million to make and