0 cocktail heather: you ll be right in the middle of time square and you know it. gregg: happening now starts right now. jon: the clock is ticking. hours to go before we go over the fiscal cliff. a top lawmaker reporting progress in the last-ditch efforts to hammer out a deal in time. a health crisis lands secretary of state hillary clinton in the hospital, what doctors are telling us about her condition. plus, iran test firing a new range of weapons right near the strait of hormuz where a chunk of oil passes each day. the impact on the middle east and on our world, it s all happening now. reporter: there is a note of optimism in the race to avoid the fiscal cliff. hello, everybody, i m uma pemmaraju in for jenna lee today. jon: good to have you here. vice president joe biden and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell the republican leader have been the key figures in these negotiations after talks stalled over the weekend between mcconnell and senate majority leader harry reid