The Morning Wrap

'Aloha': Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, died on Monday at age 88 from respiratory complications, Politico reports. His last word was "Aloha."

Connecticut Shootings: A couple of six-year-old boys killed during last week's massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., were the first victims buried on Monday, The New York Times reports. After attending a funeral for one of the boys, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (D) said, "You see little coffins and your heart has to ache."

Gun Rights: If Congress opens a serious debate on new federal restrictions on firearms in the wake of the Newtown school shootings, the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Second Amendment decision will be fodder for proponents and opponents, The National Law Journal reports. "The Supreme Court was clear in Heller that while law-abiding, responsible citizens have the right to a gun in the home for self defense, there is a wide variety of sensible gun laws that remain constitutional," said Jon Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

'Fiscal Cliff': President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) met at the White House on Monday for 45 minutes, moving closer to a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," The Washington Post reports.

DeMint's Replacement: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) appointed Representative Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to the U.S. Senate seat Republican Jim DeMint vacated, The State reports. Scott will be the first black senator from the South since Reconstruction.