Since 1992, American families have welcomed more than 60,000 Russian children into their homes, providing them with an opportunity to grow up in a family environment. The bill passed by Russia's parliament would prevent many children from enjoying this opportunity ... It is misguided to link the fate of children to unrelated political considerations." - U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell on Russia's proposed ban on Americans adopting Russian children. "The lines of communication remain open, and we will continue to work with our colleagues to avert the largest tax hike in American history, and to address the underlying problem, which is spending." - A statement by House Republican leaders saying they remain ready for 'fiscal cliff' talks as they resume Thursday. "The way I've been describing it is as a low-end blizzard, but that's sort of like saying a small Tyrannosaurus rex." - John Kwiatkowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, describing a winter storm system that pounded the nation's midsection and has started lashing the Northeast.