Today's edition of quick hits:
* A shocking incident in Virginia: "State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) was stabbed on Tuesday morning at his Bath County home, apparently by his 24-year-old son Gus Deeds, who then shot himself to death, according to law enforcement authorities. The incident is being investigated as an attempted murder and suicide, Virginia State Police said."
* Beirut: "A devastating double explosion possibly carried out by suicide bombers rocked Iran's embassy compound in Beirut on Tuesday, the deadliest and most brazen assault on an Iranian target here since Iran emerged as the most powerful backer of the government side in Syria's civil war."
* Afghanistan: "While many Americans have been led to believe the war in Afghanistan will soon be over, a draft of a key U.S.-Afghan security deal obtained by NBC News shows the United States is prepared to maintain military outposts in Afghanistan for many years to come, and pay to support hundreds of thousands of Afghan security forces."
* Behind the scenes, the strains on U.S.-Israeli ties keep getting uglier as the Obama administration pursues a nuclear deal with Iran.
* A historic settlement: "JPMorgan has agreed to pay a record $13 billion to settle claims that the bank misled investors about mortgage-backed securities that went sour before the financial crisis."
* Midwest: "A deadly storm system which ripped through the Midwest on Sunday included the two most powerful November tornadoes that far north for more than 100 years, an expert said Tuesday. One of the two EF4 tornadoes recorded on Sunday devastated large parts of Washington, Ill., a town of 16,000 people some 140 miles from Chicago."
* Today's other poll: "Despite sharp divisions over the long-term impact of President Obama's health-reform law, fewer than two in five Americans say it should be repealed, virtually unchanged since last summer, the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll has found."
* Suzy Khimm on the unemployment cliff: "So far, emergency federal benefits have cushioned the blow of most of these cuts, kicking in after state benefits expire. But at the end of December, those federal benefits are scheduled to disappear as well, cutting off unemployment checks to 1.3 million jobless Americans and delivering a double whammy to states that have already reduced their benefit weeks to historic lows."
* Dud: "Larry Klayman predicted that his rally calling for the overthrow of President Obama would draw 'millions to occupy Washington D.C.' and that those millions would 'occupy parks, sidewalks, public areas' until the president leaves office. In the end, no more than a hundred people showed up for today's big event."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.