The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Carrie Halperin, Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen and Will Cantine

FISCAL CLIFF

ABC News' Jonathan Karl: " Tom Coburn: 'We're Over the Cliff Already'" Regardless of whether or not the president and Republicans strike a deficit deal, taxes are going to increase and the U.S. government has already gone over the so-called fiscal cliff, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told ABC News LINK

The Boston Globe's Christopher Rowland: " Brown in a political dilemma on tax position" As Congress hurtles toward the fiscal cliff, each day brings Senator Scott Brown closer to the moment when he may be compelled to reverse his opposition to tax increases for the rich. LINK

The Washington Times' Dave Boyer: " Charities could be losers in tax plan" In the fiscal feud between President Obama and Republican lawmakers, economists agree that Washington could raise several hundred billion dollars by limiting tax deductions and closing loopholes for the wealthy, but charities likely would take a big hit in donations. At the center of the dispute between Mr. Obama and the GOP is whether they could raise enough revenue for a deal on deficit reduction without raising tax rates on families earning more than $250,000 per year. LINK

Politico's Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Carrie Budoff Brown: " W.H. to House GOP: We're not moving" If Wednesday's phone call between Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama seemed like a hopeful sign in the fiscal cliff standoff, think again. On Thursday, with the House out of session, White House congressional liaison Rob Nabors trekked to Capitol Hill and delivered a firm message: We aren't moving. LINK

USA Today's David Jackson: " Aides: Obama Cant Raise Debt Ceiling On His Own" The White House repeated Thursday that President Obama does not have the power to raise the debt ceiling on his own; Congress has to do it. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Laura Saunders and Hannah Karp: " Fiscal Talks Spur Charitable Giving" Tax uncertainty in Washington is setting off a mad scramble among wealthy taxpayers and charities to maximize donations before the end of the year. LINK

SUSAN RICE

Bloomberg's Flavia Krause-Jackson & Indira A.R. Lakshmanan: " Rice's Undiplomatic Route to Verge of Top Diplomatic Post" When Susan Rice was seven years old, her schoolmates' parents pegged her to become the first African- American president of the United States. She went on to punch the tickets of a striver - as valedictorian, student-council president and varsity tennis player at Washington's elite National Cathedral School, Phi Beta Kappa at Stanford, and then, as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. LINK

SENATOR DEMINT

The New York Times' Jennifer Steinhauer: " Tea Party Hero Is Leaving the Senate for a New Pulpit" With a disappointing election in his rear view mirror and a budget compromise he could never swallow on the horizon, Senator Jim DeMint, the conservative Republican from South Carolina who helped ignite the Tea Party movement, is leaving the Senate to become president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group. Just two years into his second term, Mr. DeMint, 61, whom many in his own party partly blame for Republicans failing to win Senate control two elections in a row, announced on Thursday that he has opted for a platform and a payday that the United States Senate could never provide him. LINK

The Washington Post's Paul Kane and David Fahrenthold: "Jim DeMint resigning from Senate to head conservative think tank" Jim DeMint was on the verge of being where every senator longs to be - holding a top position on an influential committee with oversight of industries critical to his state. But, as is so often the case with the maverick from South Carolina, DeMint turned his back on convention. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO

" Homeland Security Preps For Zombie Apocalypse" LINK

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