there were six republican senators, scott brown, susan collins, mark kirk, lisa murkowski, olympia snowe, george voinovich all voted against the demint will which would have allowed the tax cuts to be permanent. did they understand the electorate in this election? >> i don't know. obviously, we were able to achieve, i think a significant success by extending all tax cuts. this mortgaging of our children's futures the debt and deficit. you look at it in one way we have a worse debt problem in the short term than greece and spain does. what have they don't this senate and the house? it is really an outrage an insult to the american people. i hope that our viewers will get active, call and jam up their phonelines, get going. let's charge. >> sean: senator thanks for being with us. coming up the prospect of a government shutdown is on the horizon. congresswoman michelle bachmann, margaret hoover, here. plus reaction from a school board meeting that you don't want to miss. wi the capital one venture card we get double miles on everyurchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice a

lisa murkowski, robert bennett, not simply that they disagreed with them substantively but they had to work with the democrats. boehner has people that he thinks shouldn't work with us. i wish we could expect more cooperation but this kind of name calling thaw just quoted it, that undermines any cooperation. >> i completely agree with your take. we've seen the republican party in the early stages of control in the house and taking the agenda of this president and congress hostage and taking the agenda that we need hostage. is there any hope and is this a vain hope on my part that the president will make an appeal to the nation, you could get the middle class tax cuts alone through the senate? could he persuade those wavering democrats and a few of the moderate republicans that this is good economics, that 60% of the american public wants it and it's critical to our future? >> i'm afraid not because i think he can move some of the democrats. here's the problem. my republican, including the moderate republicans, are frightened of what would happen in primaries. the most significant thing

. >>> "new york times" repts senor scott brown of massausetts, alaska lisa murkowski, and limpeo snow of maine all support the bill. the policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military picked up support when it moved from a larger defense spending bi. the senate will vote on it tomorrow. >>> democrats have dropped their efforts to pass a trillion dollar bill before they leave for theholidays. it includes $158 billion for military operations in iraq and afghanistan. senate majority leader harry id said there was no sense voting on a bill that would not pass. he said he is working with republicans to keep the government running into early next year. >>> his plan to cut almost $200 million from the state's bget. mcdonald proposed cutting vacant pog positioned, and continuing restrictions on discretionary spending to hp off set additional spending, including higher education and 150 million for transportation. in addition to the new plans, mcdonnell is asking for $54 illion for economic programs >> don't be surprised if a police officer asks to search your bag the next time you

candidate filed an appeal at the supreme court, three days after a rival for apparent winner lisa murkowski can be counted, even if they're misspelled. >>> jailed financier bernard madoff says he will not attend his son's funeral out of consideration for his family's privacy. 46-year-old mark madoff committed suicide on saturday. the second anniversary of his father's arrest of the biggest ponzi scheme in u.s. history. >>> and small consolation, but the statement that likely caused delaware senate candidate christine o'donnell the election did earn her the top spot on yale university's annual list of most notable quote for 2010 for declares, "i'm not a witch." o'donnell shares the honor with bp's tony hayward who infamously claimed, "i'd like my life back" during this summer's golf oil disaster. >>> and now here's an early look at how wall street kicked off the day. the dow opens at 11,428 after climbing 18 points. the s&p was up a fraction and the nasdaq fell 12 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 22 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng r

that after a judge cleared the way for incumbent lisa murkowski cleared the way by dismissing a lawsuit. joe miller claimed counting ballots with spelling errors violated state law and the u.s. constitution, but a federal judge disagreed confirming what would be the first official writing campaign for a senate seat since 1954. >>> russia's foreign ministry is lashing out at the u.s. and europe saying criticism of a second conviction of a jailed oil tycoon is, quote, unacceptable. earlier this week, white house officials raised questions about the verdict since mikhail khodorkovski has been a vocal opponent of vladimir putin. but yesterday the prime minister release add blunt statement saying for earn to mind their own business both at home and in the international arena. >>> in new orleans a tragic fire killed five people. homeless people were trying to keep warm inside the abandoned warehouse in new orleans ninth ward. firefighters have been unable to identify the victims from the smouldering rubble. this is the deadliest fire new orleans has seen in nearly 40 years. >> now here's a lo

lisa murkowski, they reelected republican from alaska, is an independent agent all of a sudden. don't ask, don't tell, start -- the republican leadership, if you recall, cut her loose. she apparently has a long memory. >> and she has cut them loose. >> she voted for all of these things. >> let me say one word about start. there is something so anachronistic about it. it is putting us and the russians back in the 1950's. the idea that we are going to curtail our arsenals by 10%, and that will make any difference, even if the russians wanted to triple their arsenal, it will not make a difference. who cares. the point is, obama wanted a victory of sorts, and this is the only one that he had in foreign affairs. intrinsically, it has almost no importance whatsoever. >> that is not a question of trust. it was not just rakowski. you have 13 republicans who did not follow leadership. >> the public does not give a darn about what the leadership thinks. maybe senators are getting the point. another thing on the deficit, mark warner of virginia, has been pulling together in this bipartisan

>> to re-elect lisa murkowski, you must fill in the oval and write in her name. >> murkowski, m-u-r-k-o-w-s-k-iator to win a write-in bid before alaska was a state, the murkowski campaign a a nominee she did run a horrible primary. >> fortunes can change. so without further ado -- >> gave away who is not getting it, by the way that last little shot. >> a tiebreaker. >> i don't know what the other one says. >> yes, document. >> do i? >> harry reid, congratulations. >> look. >> first of all, a democrat in this republican year, we told you everything he was up against. here is a look at what our friend john ralston called reid's terminator-like single-mindedness. >>. >> what do you call a candidate who says the way things are going, the time may be coming for second amendment rem chills are. >>'s crazy what she is actually talking about is armed resistance. >> she says she would phase out social security. that it's like welfare. >> she say it is you have been raped, you should be forced to have the baby. sharron angle, just too extreme. >> way too extreme. >> sharron angle, views so extreme, she c

. -- lisa murkowski called me after her loss and i got a dollar a little bit. people need to be cautious and watch their voting. moderate toed to go very conservative, you just need to be cautious about what you are supporting and voting on. you need to raise your dollars and keep your profile with your political party. i have been taught to by republicans and democrats to keep your political profile high with your own party and go from there. anybody who believes that the tea party movement and i was taken out by a group called the tea party express' is going to go away is very mistaken. after a few more cycles, in this presidential year coming up, they will be real players in the republican party. they will be real players in the congressional and senate seats. incoming members of congress who are not necessarily tied into the tea party as i was not should be very cautious about how they deal with this. >> who has been seeking your advice? >> i have talked to a number of people. mentionedcessarily names. it is fairly self-evident. it is moderate republicans i

. >>> alaska's governor certified lisa murkowski as the winner of the state's 2010 senate race, capping a remarkable comeback by the incumbent who was beaten in the republican primary by tea party backed joe miller, but managed to win the general election with a write-in campaign. she's only the second candidate in history to win a u.s. senate seat via write-in after strom thurmond in 1954. she'll be sworn in along with the rest of the senate next week. >>> on wall street today, stocks finished lower on the second to last trading day of the year. the dow was down almost 16 points on very light volume. >>> when nbc "nightly news" continues in a moment, is the government hiding information that could put lives at risk? >>> and later, the plan to build a highway that some are calling a road to ruin. >>> americans suffering from kidney disease have had their dialysis treatments paid for by the federal government for the past 40 years. but how safe are the clinics that perform the treatments? nbc news teamed with the independent nonprofit investigative group pro-publica to find information t

alaskan governor shawn parnell will officially certify lisa murkowski as the state's winner for the hotlytested race for u.s. senate. >>> in new york city, despite bus service still being crippled and subway lines still suspended in the wake of the blizzard, riders will be greeted with a fare hike. the price of a single ride goes 25 cents to $2.50. >>> and tiger woods whose most notable achievement of 2010 is not winning a golf tournament turns 35 today. >>> all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." >>> and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the very latest on the aftermath of the blizzard of 2010 from slow blizzard clean-up to travel delays. and find out which new trends, looks, and gadgets will be hot in 2011. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc sta

to the state supreme court three days after a lower court declared that write-in ballots for lisa murkowskian be counted even if they are misspelled. >>> jailed financier bernard madoff will not attend his son's funeral. 46-year-old mark madoff committed suicide saturday, the second anniversary of his father's arrest for the biggest ponzi scheme in u.s. history. >>> small consolation but the statement that likely cost delaware senate candidate christine o'donnell the election did earn her the top spot on yale university's annual list of most quotable quotes of declaring "i'm not a witch." o'donnell shares the honor with tony hayward who infamously complained "i'd like my life back" during the gulf oil disaster. >>> the first look at how wall street kicks off. it opens 11,428 after climbing 18 points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction and the nasdaq fell 12 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 22 while in hong kong the hang seng rose 113. on wall street trading was flat, slow and uncertain monday. starting off the final full week of business be

incumbent, lisa murkowski waged a successful write-in campaign to win the election. >>> nasa has beenmining cracks on the tank of "discovery." but the space agency says the flight in early february remains a possibility. "discovery" suffered a series of mishaps in preparation for its flight to the international space station. >>> thousands of new year's revelers are ready to pour into new york's times square. the big, annual ball drop. the weather is expected to be great. 40 degrees, no wind, no rain and no snow. >>> lottery players in 41 states and d.c., lining up to buy tickets to tonight's megamillions drawing jackpot. >>> local news next for some. but that's not the only story. it's got turn-by-turn navigation, onstar, an available six-speed automa remote keyless entry, and 10 air bags. it's a big story for a compact car. the all-new chevrolet cruze. get used to more. very well-qualified lessees can get a low-mileage lease on a 2011 chevrolet cruze ls for around $159 a month. call for details. took some foolish risks as a teenager. but i was still taking a foolish risk with my cho

vowed to support the end of don't ask, don't tell, including maine's olympia snowe, alaska's lisa murkowski and scott brown of massachusetts it remains unclear whether the so-called dream act has enough support to reach the 60 votes that are needed to bring it to the floor. that's the one about the children of illegal immigrants. the house has approved versions much each bill. the senate will be the last time before president obama signs them into law. >>> julian assange is under house arrest after being granted bail in a london court yesterday. it comes after prosecutors lost an appeal to keep him in prison where he's facing allegations of sex crimes. when he emerged from the court he thanked supporters and remained defiant hopes to, quote, continue to protest my innocence in this matter. he is staying at a friend's ten-bedroom mansion where he must observe curfew, wear a monitoring tag and report to a police station on a daily basis. however, he does have access to the internet, and will it continue his work for wikileaks. meanwhile the former head of the u.s. justice department national

>> i interpret turncoat as a positive think and lisa murkowski who left the republican party and was a write-in candidate and with the tea party, lived to tell the tale. >> what is she now? >> still a republican. >> but without a party. >> and turncoat of the year, army private first class bradley manning. that traitor went into a computer system, where he had access to top secret document, downloaded reames of these top secret documents, on to a lady gaga cd, and passed them off to wiki-leaks. >> the desecration of lady gaga, too. >> true. >> and lebron james is very good. and in that spirit though, if you have a winning team, you can make up for being a turncoat. and that's why my pick is barack obama's giving up on the tax breaks for the rich, and angering many democrats, but i think in the long run, it is going to be a winner for him. >> turncoat of the year. mosab yousef. the son of a founding member of hamas the notorious organization known for terrorism. despite the family ties to hamas, mosab yousef not only renounced hamas but changed his faith to christianity and then he an

. >>> lisa murkowski could be officially declared winner of the alaska senate race by thursday. challenger, joe miller, says he no longer objects to the state's approval of the election results. but that does not mean miller is giving up. he may still go to court to fight the way the state handled the race and counted the ballots. >>> a new discovery may force scientists to rethink the basics of human evolution. archaeologists -- and in central israel, i should say. they found 400,000-year-old teeth, believed to be the earliest evidence yet of modern man. >> until now, the oldest homo sapien remains had been 200,000 years old. and scientists say, it's premature to link the teeth to modern man. >> what a discovery. >>> switching gears now, the nfl playoff spots are filling up. >> they sure are. the latest tracks. and some of the high-flying college hoops. all the highlights from espn news. >> good morning. i'm steve weissman with your espn news update. we start with "monday night football." saints looking to clinch a playoff spot. taking on the falcons, looking to clinch home fie

. >>> finally official in alaska senator lisa murkowski will head back to washington. the paperwork was signed thursday giving her the win over tea party candidate joe miller. miller won the primary in august but murkowski decided to run for re-election as a write-in. the two have been battling out in court since the midterm elections. murkowski is the first u.s. senate candidate to win as a write-in in over 50 years. >>> good news in the job market this morning. a sharp drop in claims for unemployment benefits last week. the labor department reported 388,000 americans filed for unemployment for the first time, that's a drop of 34,000 from the week before. the fewest new claims since july of 2008. it also makes four straight weeks of flat or declining claims. it's another sign the economy may be making a turnaround. don teague reports. >> reporter: in suburban dallas, bill harris's computer repair business is doing something now it hasn't in two years, hiring new employees, three in just the last two weeks. >> i see a lot of businesses that have held back are now reali

lisa murkowski who just won that write-in race.hat do you think turned this into something of a bipartisan push? and i'm also hearing this rumor. i'd love it if you could tell me this was true. the word's out that once this comes to a vote and you pass the 60 mark that you're going to have a lot of republicans jump on the bandwagon at the last. >> that would be fantastic. i'd be delighted to welcome all of those republicans to be among those who believe this is a corrosive policy that has to be repealed. i think it's just a generational issue, chris. i think over time people's views have changed and people realize now that this is also about military readiness. that fundamentally we need all of these men and women serving because we've lost so many and think of the countless number of people who haven't joined the services because of this policy. so i think there's a lot of issues at play here. and from my part i also thk that it's the civil rights army of our generation. it's truly about equality about civil rights and equal right

. >>> the alaska board of elections is expected to officially certify lisa murkowski as the winner ofsenate race. a federal judge cleared the way, after denying claims by challenger joe miller. >>> and south korea's president says the best way to deal with north korea's nuclear program is through negotiation. he's now calling for new talks between the north and south after a military action this month. >>> for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues right after this. i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these symptoms or behaviors, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or ot

alaskan election officials say they will certify lisa murkowski as winner of that state's senate race murkowski won re-election in a historic write-in campaign. her tea party challenger joe miller says he'll decide tomorrow if he'll continue his legal challenge. >>> new york's mayor promises all the streets will be plowed later this morning. of course following sunday's big blizzard, that's a big task. >>> also in new york, transit fares went up at midnight during a week of widespread service complaints. >>> and the latest report on unemployment claims is released this morning. analysts tell the "wall street journal" they predict a slight drop in the number of layoffs. >>> and finally this half hour, new dads of course love capturing that magic moment in the delivery room, the very moment that a son or daughter is literally welcomed into the world. >> some hospitals are putting an end to that tradition. and it's upsetting many parents. here's john donvan. >> reporter: the shiplers of maryland have put it all on videotape for all of their kids. snapshots too. with another baby coming j

senator lisa murkowski won that race in a write-in campaign. >>> finally this half hour, something ofe-up call for those of you out there who might not be putting away enough money for that proverbial rainy day. >> it is the invention of a stanford university researcher who's giving his subjects what amounts to a crystal ball. john berman checked it out. >> reporter: the beatles get to the heart of a crucial question. ♪ will you still feed me when i'm 64 ♪ >> reporter: when i'm 64, what will i need? is this 20-something saving enough for when she becomes ms. 60-something? >> the average american, the average person, isn't taking a ton of ownership over their finances. >> reporter: researcher hal hirschfield had a novel idea. to get you ready for the future, show you the future. >> to literally walk a mile in the shoes of your future self. >> reporter: at the virtual human interaction lab at stanford university, he put people in a virtual reality world and had them look into a sort of aging mirror. an avatar version what was you'll look like in retirement. have you ever thought of your

you'll remember that lisa murkowski has declared victory.e-in in the general election because she lost the primary to joe miller. he's now challenging and has been challenging, counting of write-in ballots that had misspelled names for example, even though the board of election had decided before that voters' intent would be taken into account. if it was clear that it was just off by a letter or two and they were trying to vote for her, they would count that. a judge has also ruled that joe miller has not proven there was any election fraud. he's appealing all of this to the state supreme court. lisa murkowski wants this to be over as soon as possible. it's not going to affect which party is in control. >> ed henry for us. great to see you. thank you. your next political update in an hour. for the latest political news, you know where to to go. >>> hello, again, top of the hour. here are some of the people behind today's top stories. this american is a star in japan. why is that so shocking? we will share his amazing story with you. every ti

so let me say lisa murkowski again and not everybody who signed those probably said her name right. into account. if you get close to murkowski, that vote would count. but miller is counting that and says that he wants a hand count. congress late january comes into session and we're assuming that alaska will have a sitting u.s. senator by then. at the moment, it's tangled up in the courts. and while they are sort of busy, still stuck in 2010, there are a lot of folks out there thinking about 2012, as you know, the presidential race. one of them not so much a national household race. rick santorum, the senator from pennsylvania, he used to be. while he's looking like a candidate. he's making early states. and in sourt carolina, it's a huge state for any republican. it tends to be a firewall for republican candidates who may be rolling into there after a victory in new hampshire. or losses in new hampshire and iowa. so very important to say rick santorum is going there and then going back and looking very much like a presidential candidate. and, finally, the other thing that we have is

"new york times" reports senator scott brown of massachusetts, alaska lisa murkowski, and limpeo snow of maine all support e bill. the policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military picked up support when it moved from a larger defense spending bill. the senate will vote on t tomorrow. >>> senate democrats have dropped their efforts to pass a trillion dollar bill before they leave for the holidays. it includes $158 billion for military operations in iraq and afghanistan. after several republicans pulled back their support senate majority leader harry reid said there was no sense voting on a bill that would not pass. he said he is working with republicans to write a short-term funding bill to keep the government running into early next year. >>> mcdonald will cut almost $200illion from the state's budget. mcdonald proposed cutting vacant positioned, and continuing restrictions on discretionary spending. the cuts are to help offset additional spending, including $50 million for higher education and $150 million for transportation. in addition to the new plans, mcdonald is ask

susan collins, lisa murkowski, scott brown and olympia snowe. that is 61 votes.eed 60 to stop a filibuster. >> what do you make of the people who say there might not be enough time. shouldn't this be a priority? >> this must be a priority. this is an injustice. it is un-american to tell people who want to serve our country, we need them in the military to tell them no you can't do it because you are gay or lesbian. that is note the american way. the reality is that we've got the votes. it is up to senator reid now. we are on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty ratification, nuclear arms control. we are going back to the funding, that has to be done by saturday night. i believe instead of going back to the s.t.a.r.t. treaty we should go to the don't ask, don't tell saturday night and can get it done monday or tuesday at the latest and go back to the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. repeal repeals don't ask, don't tell has to be done this year. i'm worried that we won't have the votes to do it next year. the s.t.a.r.t. treaty can be ratified next year. >> what are you hearing from the senate

republicans scott brown of massachusetts, lisa murkowski of alaska and olympia snowe of maine support the bill. now that it's been separated the policy thatans homosexuals from serving openly in the military could soon be repealed. >>> after much debate the extension of bush era tax cuts are official. president obama signed that bill into law which extends the cuts for another two years. democrats and republicans sparred over many different aspec of the bill but finally came together before the cuts expired at the end the year. the bill extends the tax cuts for every tax bracket. it also reduces the social security payroll tax which helps businesses. unemployment benefits were also extended and th estate tax modified so families can pass up to $10 million to their heirs tax-free. president obama says this law will help a recovering economy. >> this is real money that's going to make a real difference in people's lives. rig now what all of us care about is growing the american economy and creating jobs for e american people. >> although there's bean l of noise about the cost the tax br

the most significant thing that happened this year was a defeat of not a liberal republican but lisa murkowski and robert bennett through mainstream conservatives, the defeat in colorado and in nevada, colorado, and clearly nowhere and not necessarily people wholly implausible. that's what my republican colleagues fear. there was a clear majority in the house and a consensus in -- well, there's a poll from the pentagon, a majority of the senate to get rid of don't ask, don't tell, that deprives the military of good people. every single republican, 42 of them, including the more liberal and moderate ones, signed a letter of the century saying, don't bring it up. we'll filibuster it. olympia snow in maine -- >> congressman frank, thank you for your time. >> kathleen, eliot, thank you. >>> later on, the most famous tongue in the world will be right here. gene simmons from the legendary band kiss will be with us. stay with us. >>> i think these guys are worried if we continue to have this 9 1/2 to 10% unemployment that it could be -- >> be specific. >> people get lines into very edgy and suicides

those republicans include susan collins of maine, scott brown of massachusetts, lisa murkowski of alaskand oh olympia snowe, also of maine. the case was made yesterday that repealing the.ban on don't ask, don't tell is also about addressing a civil rights issue. >> literally, we are telling men and women who want nothing but to serve this country and to die for this country that they cannot based on who they love. with this repeal, we will restore the civil liberties and civil rights of men and women who have dedicated themselves to our freedoms and our nations. that's why this vote is so critical. >> opponents of the repeal of don't ask, don't tell led largely by republican john mccain, his concern is really about timing, that basically the united states is in the middle of two wars and what affect it will have on the troops who are actually out there in the fight. he also questions the report that was done by the pentagon and questions the validity as to whether or not that report gets to the question of whether or not a repeal is even necessary or warranted. we'll find out at 10:30 ho

scott brown of massachusetts, lisa murkowski of alaska and olympia snowe also of maine. if those republicans join democrats, they will have the 60 and overcome the last hurdle and basically one more final vote that takes a simple majority to push that over the edge. a lot of things on the agenda. the votes start at about 10:30 this morning. alex? >> ken strickland, thanks so much. care about is growing the american economy and creating jobs for the american people. taken as a whole, that's what this package of tax relief is going to do. >> the law includes a provision president obama campaigned heavily against in 2008, that being extending tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% in this country. >>> so, across the pond this morning in europe, a huge storm is paralyzing countries across the continent. snow and ice all coming with one of the biggest storms to develop the region in 25 years. the storm was also having deadly consequences for drivers and air travelers. nbc's jenny wifl is in london where the weather is outside nieceless to say very frightful. i have seen you having to

well, lisa murkowski, the senator from alaska, republican, says she supports repeal. scott browne, senator from massachusetts, republican, he supports repeal. blanche lincoln, still senator from arkansas, she supports repeal but was at the dentist. >> she was at the dentist last time. >> maybe even joe manchin. so you just need two out of those four. it's getting awfully close. so forgive me for being a little optimistic. >> what do you think of the brouhaha over people's schedules. a week until christmas, i'm working today, you're working today, most of the country is working today. firefighters, policemen, people with important jobs work on christmas day, work on christmas eve. are senators' complaints making any sense here about, you know -- is this really the kind of argument that's going to fly with most americans that they don't want to work up until christmas? >> yeah, i don't think so, anderson. i have no sympathy for elected officials. they knew what they were signing on for when they decided to run for elected office and when they were campaigning and they'r

four moderate republicans like olympia snowe, susan collins, scott brown in massachusetts and lisa murkowski in alaska. will they break with their party if the rest of the party takes that approach, which i think they will. will those four or five, maybe dick lugar will join them, will they break with the party, say we've made excuses once, we're not going to do it now -- >> joe lieberman said the other day it's more important to get don't ask, don't tell done now and wait on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. >> you'll need 66 under the constitution, two-thirds of the senate. you only need 60 to break the filibuster for don't ask, don't tell. >> politically for president obama if he's looking to, you know, gain some points with the liberal wing of the democratic party or the democratic party passing don't ask, don't tell would seem would do that more than the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. >> that's huge. if you come to the end of this lame duck session, if you look at the polls, it's interesting the rank and file liberals aren't nearly upset but if you can counter that with, i've got $300 billion of stimulus in t

lisa murkowski, of course, broke that mold with a write-in in alaska.a group if you sat them in a room, they don't agree on everything, but feel that we need to take away the partisan shields and put no labels on people. where they can come to the table and address these problems not as a red or blue team, but for the red, white and blue. and i wanted to bring a nationwide network of people that do that. >> it can sound good in theory, but i guess i would ask you this. isn't the real problem not enough centrists being elected, but isn't the real problem that a liberal democrat and a conservative republican who are principled in big liberals and conservatives, who win their primaries, you know, can't compromise on one issue. i mean, isn't the issue really, let's get the conservatives and liberals in the room, but give them the room to compromise? >> exactly. you want to give them cover. so that they can move that. we've just seen this with the liberal democrats over in the uk, where they all signed a pledge saying they wouldn't raise taxes. we're asking

when did the associated press declare the race for senator lisa murkowski to be won by her?go. he's still fighting. alaska tea party joe miller remains firmly in denial. it's a long way from the river, nile. 27 days and counting, tonights "big number." >>> up next, michael steele stunned republicans last night when he announced, yes, he's running again for party chair. after the record of success he's had, be honest, look at the numbers. why shouldn't he stay on the job? cameras were rolling when a gunman burst into a school board meeting in florida and we're warning you the next video is dramatic. the gunman began making threats and opening fire without hitting anybody fortunately. school safety officer returned fire, wounding the gunman who then turned his own gun on himself. >>> a tornado tore right through the center of a small town in marion county, oregon. there's a lot of damage on the ground. >>> in london wikileaks founder julian assange is jail. lawyers challenge a judge eegs order to release him on $300,000 bail. >>> protesters clashed with police in italy. prime

alaska supreme court will hear joe miller's challenge to the results of his senate race with lisa murkowskip argues election workers should not have counted write-in ballots that misspelled senator murkowski's name. this is miller's final chance to make his case in state court. >>> and more than 1,500 companies are offering a one had-day-only day. place your order before midnight tonight and get free shipping with delivery by christmas eve. a full list of participating merchants on freeshipping.org. pretty good deal. >>> other stories making headlines this friday. u.s. officials on alert for threats to the u.s. and europe from al qaeda during this holiday season. the fbi and homeland security department sent a bulletin to state and local law enforcement reminding them to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior and to regularly change their security routines. officials have not released information, though, about specific threats. >>> one day after a snowstorm socked washington, d.c. causing flight cancellations and delays and bad traffic, forecasters say more severe weather could hit sunday

susan collins of maine, scott brown of massachusetts, lisa murkowski of alaska and oh olympia snowe also of maine. joe lieberman thinks there will be more republicans who will join in. >> continue to believe that we're going to end up with more support on our republican side than the four that we've talked about. let's say for now that i'm confident that we've got more than 60 votes. >> alex, after today, there's still a few other things left to be done. we've put up a list of things that they still have to do before they go home for christmas. they have to figure out how they're going to fund the government for next year. right now, there's only enough money to keep the government open until tuesday. democrats and republicans have assures us they will not have a government shutdown. but, of course, the 9/11 first responders health bill, a priority for new york democrats who say this must be done to take care of the first responders who are sick after trying to rescue people on 9/11. the votes start at 10:30. we think don't ask, don't tell is the thing that will take center stage. i woul

republicans scott brown, susan collins, olympia snowe and lisa murkowski are expected to join democrats tomorrow to give them the 60 votes needed to move the legislation along. >>> a crash of a drone in el paso, texas, is under investigation. at first, mexico denied the drone was theirs. then they admitted it was, quote, following a target. the mexican embassy in the u.s. said the device was being used in an operation with the u.s. government. >>> los angeles police say so far they've identified five women shown in photos in the home of the suspected grim sleeper serial killer. leads have been pouring in after they posted 100 photos, 180 photos online yesterday. police are trying to determine if any of the women in the photos were victims of the suspect. lonnie franklin jr. was arrested in july. he's pleaded not guilty to changes killing ten women starting in 1985. >>> and tonight on "360" at 10:00 p.m., 9/11 responders left in limbo. you'd think after touting the tireless work they did at ground zero, republicans would have no problem supporting a health bill for them. but that's not t

lisa murkowski who just won that write-in race.mething into a bipartisan push and i'm also hearing this rumor i love it if you could tell me it's true, the word's out that once this comes to a vote and you pass the 60 mark for getting it to a vote you know getting cloture and then you'll have a lot of republicans jump on the bandwagon at the last. >> that would be fantastic. i'd be delighted to welcome all of those republicans to be among those who believe this is a corrosive policy that has to be repealed. i think it's just a generational issue, chris. i think over time people's views have changed and people realize now that this is also about military readiness. that fundamentally we need all of these men and women serving because we've lost so many and think of the countless number of people who haven't joined the services because of this policy. so i think there's a lot of issues at play here. and from my part i also think that it's the civil rights marm of our generation. it's truly about equality about civil rights and equal

republican joe miller announced he will not try to block officials from certifying incumbent lisa murkowski as the winner. she finished first as a write-in candidate after losing in the republican primary. the state supreme court refused last week to overturn the results. miller said he will continue a challenge to how the vote was counted. wall street had a quiet day, as it began the final trading week of the year. the dow jones industrial average lost 18 points to close at 11.555. the nasdaq rose a point to close at 2667. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to margaret. >> warner: this past year, the struggle to enact health care reform was fought by the president and the congress in washington. now with the law on the books, the battlefield to shape it has expanded to states and the courts. this week we report from two states that are taking sharply different approaches since the election. first, wisconsin. new resistance there is aimed at many aspects of the law, especially at a program the law aims to expand to cover more people, medicaid. newshour health correspondent