NEW LAW AVOIDS FISCAL CLIFF. After weeks of intense negotiations and last-minute voting in the early morning hours, Congress approved a plan that avoided falling in the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The measured signed by President Obama avoids raising taxes on 98 percent of the population, while it allows taxes to rise for the wealthiest, and extends emergency benefits for the unemployed. Our correspondent in Washington, DC José López Zamorano has the details.

GUN BILLS PROPOSED. A new Congress begins sessions this week and its agenda prominently features on the one hand, proposals to regulate assault weapons, and on the other, to allow concealed weapons in schools. This is a result of the public outcry stemming from the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting. In Radio Bilingüe’s national news show, Línea Abierta, executive producer Samuel Orozco addressed this topic. Larry Pratt, executive director of one of the largest pro-gun lobbying groups, Gun Owners of America, criticized the initiatives in favor of removing weapons of war from the streets.  Dana Sánchez Quist, spokesperson for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, says that never before has the public been more in favor of gun control and called for support for the initiatives before Congress this week.

WOMEN DRUMMERS, POETS INSPIRE OTHERS. In the art of poetry, the rhythm of words plays a key role. Now, if those verses are strengthened with the rhythm of drums, the rhythmic experience takes on another dimension. That is what is delivered to audiences by Maiko, a group of women who intertwine Latin, African and Brazilian percussion with poetry that seeks to inspire and liberate their audiences, especially women. Our reporter Farida Jhabvala Romero visited the group during a rehearsal at the San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild in California, and brings us this story. This report is part of our Raíces Series: Stories About Grassroots Artists.