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It was the eve of a series of votes to end GOP filibusters of seven presidential appointees, and Democrats had vowed they would resort to the "nuclear option" and get rid of such filibusters altogether should any of those stalled nominees remain blocked.

All but two of the Senate's 100 members squeezed into the camera-free old chamber that the Senate used until just before the Civil War. Behind closed doors, they talked for more than three hours.

I buttonholed West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller as he stepped out of that Monday night meeting.

"Senator, is there any kind of a deal?"

"No, there's no deal, but there's a much better understanding."

And that "better understanding" likely did bring about a deal the next morning. In it, a group of Republicans would supply enough votes for the 54-member Democratic caucus to attain a 60-vote supermajority and shut down GOP filibusters of the seven Obama appointees.

In return, Democrats dropped their threat to unilaterally change Senate rules and strip the GOP minority of its right to filibuster executive branch nominees.

"We saw the Senate at its best, when reasonable people from both parties were willing to come together and find common ground," said New York Democrat Charles Schumer, who helped swing the deal. "That's how the Senate should work. That's the way things get done."

In reality, says Rutgers University Senate expert Ross Baker, while Democrats had the votes they needed to change the rules on the filibuster, they also knew doing so could actually make things even worse.

"I think it was a real dread that the atmosphere in the Senate — although to outsiders looks terribly poisoned, in actuality, there's a lot of cooperation that goes on under the radar — and that had the' nuclear button' been pushed, I think even that level of cooperation would probably have diminished," said Baker.

The end result, says No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, was that while none of the rules changed, that still remains a possibility.

"What we basically said is we still have our rights to change the rules, if things go to the extreme," explained Durbin. "And the other side has the right to take them to the extreme. But I think we both came to realize Monday night it wasn't in our best interest."

Arizona Republican John McCain led GOP efforts to avert the nuclear option; he's confident it's off the table, at least for now.

"People walked to the edge of the abyss and then we've walked back, so I don't think this is going to come up again anytime soon," said McCain. "It may, depending on what goes on in the Senate."

Like other Republicans, McCain is still willing to block nominations; he put a hold this week on the re-nomination of Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill expects a 60-vote supermajority will still be needed for just about anything the Senate does.

"There's still room for bad behavior," she said. "There's room for the Republicans to say, 'We're gonna, you know, require 60 on motherhood and apple pie.' And there's room for the Democrats to say, 'You're not gonna get any amendments, and we're gonna change the rules.' That's all still out there."

Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski shares such skepticism.

"We got through this week. And that's good," she said. "But I think there are many on both sides who are looking at ... where we are today and saying, 'Yeah, I'm not so good with it.'"

The problem, says Idaho Republican Jim Risch, is that a polarized Senate reflects a polarized nation

"Until the country makes a decision which way they're gonna go, and I don't mean by a 51-49 [percent margin], I mean by a cultural shift, I mean by a 60-40, I think there's going to continue to be polarization. There's gonna continue to be frustration in America."

And likely in the Senate as well.

Brace yourselves, Francophiles.

First, we broke the news about fast food overtaking restaurants in France. Then we reported the shocker that more than a third of French restaurants serve frozen meals. If these revelations ruin your impression of France as a bastion of culinary tradition, you may not want to read further.

A French vintner has just launched a bottled red wine flavored with cola.

Bordeaux-based winemaker Haussmann Famille has already had success with grapefruit- and passionfruit-flavored ross and whites. Their newest wine, Rouge Sucette, which translates to Red Lollipop, is made from 75 percent grapes and 25 percent water, with added sugar and cola flavoring. It is meant to be served chilled.

Why the break with tradition?

Wine consumption in France is down. In 1980, more than half of adults consumed wine almost daily, as the BBC reports, but the figure has dropped to just 17 percent today. And so according to Pauline Lacombe, company spokeswoman for Haussmann Famille, vintners need to attract younger drinkers and women.

"[The cola flavor] is to answer to a new kind of need and a market demand," she tells The Salt. "Tastes evolve in time and we have to adapt."

French restaurant and hospitality expert Fred Sirieix cites several factors behind the downward trend in wine drinking among the French: the financial crisis, which brought with it the death of the long lunch hour; reduced legal limits for driving under the influence of alcohol; and a general move towards healthier living.

Cola wine may seem out of step with French ways, but Sirieix tells The Salt that's because a lot of people have the wrong idea about what those ways really are.

"The puritanical view of French things is not realistic," he says. "We're changing with the times. We have a strong foundation of food and wine, and it gives this perception we don't mix Coca-Cola and red wine, but we do!"

In fact, the wine and cola mix has roots in the Basque region, where it's called kalimotxo, and calls for equal parts of each one.

Lacombe says market research indicates fast-growing demand for such "wine-based aromatized drinks." Of the different aromas that Haussmann Famille tested, "cola was the best mix," he says. "That intrigued many people, and there were curious to taste it."

The thirst for sweeter drinks isn't limited to France. Led by Moscato, sweet wine consumption is up in the U.S., too.

"Think about it: You have wine spritzers, you have Kir Royale, Bellinis, shandy, the Italian spritzers with Aperol and prosecco," says Sirieix. "You have all sorts of champagne cocktails. So what's the difference between [those and] red wine and Coca-Cola? It's about marketing and perception. It's about what we perceive to be acceptable and the sort of snootiness we have about Coca-Cola."

Lacombe insists Rouge Sucette isn't just wine doused with cola, anyway: It is 75 percent wine and contains only the essence of cola, making it perhaps a bit more refined, though with a very similar flavor.

So how does a Frenchman like Sirieix rate it?

"It's refreshing and kind of fun," he says. "I don't think I would buy it, but if I was going to drink it, I would make it myself, because I would feel a bit better about it."

Jack Bruschetti was born in 1999, the same year his grandfather, Leonard Carpenter, died from Alzheimer's disease.

But 13-year-old Jack wanted to know more about his grandfather, who worked as a tire builder for BFGoodrich in Akron, Ohio, where he also raised his family.

"It was very important for him to be in control at all times," Jack's mom, Lynne Bruschetti, said to him during a visit to StoryCorps in Atlanta. "We lived in the city, and we had very tiny yards, and he didn't use a lawnmower. He used clippers because he wanted every blade of grass to be exactly the same height. We could play in the driveway, on the sidewalk, in the middle of the street, but we were not allowed in that showplace yard of his."

Lynne said her father — who was 86 when he died — always kept a comb, handkerchief and penknife in his pockets.

"And the handkerchief was always clean and pressed, and he would use a handkerchief not to blow his nose but to clean. If there was like a mark on the side of our house, he would wipe it," she recounted. "And when I was a teenager, I was starting to lose respect for your grandpa Leonard."

Lynne said she resented her father for "always wanting to keep the house perfect and always being in control, and I was starting to realize that he wasn't that educated."

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With its bankruptcy filing Thursday, Detroit became the largest municipality in the United States to seek Chapter 9 protection.

As Scott reported, the city is saddled with $18.5 billion in debt.

Today, we ask, what happens next?

— CNN reports that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said today "should be a regular day." The lights won't be turned off, and city services should continue. Snyder said that, perhaps ironically, future city services may improve because the city is no longer burdened with what he called "legacy costs."

"I know many will see this as a low point in the city's history," he told CNN. "If anything, this gets us on the path towards improved services."

— As for what happens on the legal side: The Associated Press says because Detroit is such a massive bankruptcy, the case "could take years to resolve."

First, a bankruptcy judge has to approve Detroit's request. Then:

"... city assets could be liquidated to satisfy demands for payment. The city would propose a reorganization plan. The wide-ranging plan could include anything from selling assets, layoffs, changing union contracts and more. Then, the city would need the support of creditors to emerge from bankruptcy."