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WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama is thanking Congress for passing a bill that spares the middle class tax increases and halts spending cuts to domestic programs. The House passed the "fiscal cliff" legislation Tuesday night in a 257-167 vote. The Senate passed it less than 24 hours earlier.

WASHINGTON (AP) New York area-lawmakers are furious that the House Republican leadership has abandoned a vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy. New York Congressman Peter King calls the decision "inexcusable." The Senate had approved a more than $60 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states.

BANGKOK (AP) Stock markets in Asia are registering relief Wednesday, after lawmakers on Capitol Hill have staved off a "fiscal cliff" of budget cuts and tax increases for the middle class. Benchmarks in Australia and Hong Kong are up in the first trading day of the year. Asian markets had slipped on Monday, fearing that U.S. budget negotiations might collapse.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Police say a celebrity photographer was hit by a car and killed after taking photos of Justin Bieber's white Ferrari on a Los Angeles street. Police say the paparazzo, who hasn't been identified, was struck as he walked across the street after taking pictures. Police say no charges are likely to be filed against the motorist who hit the man.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) There's no sign that an oil drilling ship that went aground Monday in a severe Alaska storm is leaking fuel or that its hull has been breached. The rig is aground off a small island near Kodiak Island and is carrying about 143,000 gallons of diesel and about 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid.