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corporate fund for "washington week" is provided by -- norfolk southern, boeing. additional funding for "washington week" is provided by the annenburg foundation. the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ♪ a-wimoweh a-wimoweh a-wimoweh a-wimoweh eee... ♪ >> join us for "the weavers: wasn't that a time" -- the award-winning classic film that documents the career of america's premier folk-singing group and culminates with their historic farewell concert at carnegie hall -- here on pbs. >> ♪ a-wimoweh explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> one second. i'll tell you the truth. this is a wide-angle lens and i really shouldn't be using a wide-angle lens. >> we're going to come out looking like fish eyes. >> what? yeah, fish eyes! >> [ shutter clicking ] >> get those fish! get 'em!

corporate funding for washington >> week is provided by -- norfolk southern, boeing. additional funding for "washington week" is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcastingnd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >>> every single bite needed to be -- >> twinkies in there. it's like a great big hug. >> about as spicy as i can handle. my parents put chili powder in my baby food. >> french fries all over the table. >> a lot of chewing.

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additional funding is provided by the anenburg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. perhaps you took a break for the holidays. perhaps you gave thanks that the election was ofrlte then you dialed back in this week and discovered, no, we have apparently just entered a new phase in a political year that never ended. two big stories this week -- the impending fiscal cliff and the washington debates over who will succeed hillary clinton as secretary of state. first to the fiscal cliff. at the end of the year the buescher ra tax cuts will expire and the first wave of $1.2 trillion in spending cuts is scheduled to kick in. c.e.o.'s and economists alike are worried this will send the economy spiraling back into recession. the solution, $1. trillion in new revenue, much to come from raising taxes on wealthy americans. >> if congress does nothing, every family in america will see their income taxes automatically go up on january 1.

the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs stations for viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. if it seems like we have been here before, it's because we have. but this time the fatalities included 20 elementary school-aged children and 7 additional adults, including the shooter. shocking violence, innocent victims, expressions of outrage and from the president today, a promise to act. >> as a country we have been through this too many times, whether it's an elementary school in newtown or a shopping mall in oregon or a temple in wisconsin or a movie theater in aurora or a street corner in chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. and we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. gwen: but what if anything can or will government do about it? the newtown shootings provide more fodder for a debate that interestingly enough we didn't even have in the 2012 presidential

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this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thankou. >> woodruff: with 25 days left until the year-end fiscal cliff, and just 19 days until christmas, president obama warned lawmakers today not to add to the holiday pressures americans already feel, by letting the political stalemate drag on. but he also again insisted there would be no deal unless tax rates went up on the wealthy. >> the closer it gets to the brink, the more stressed we're going to be. >> woodruff: president obama made the short trip to northern virginia today to underline his plan to avert the fiscal cliff. at the home of what the white house called a typical middle class family, mr. obama said he's optimistic that agreement can be reached, but again drew a hard line for republicans in congress. >> everybody's is going to have to share in some sacrifice. but it starts with folks who are in the best position to sacrifice. who are in the best position to step up . just to be clear i'm not going to sign

spring. >> woodruff: "american graduate" is a public media initiative funded by the corporation for public broadcastinguarez: new year's day marks the 150th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation, and the national archive in washington, d.c., honors the occasion with a rare public viewing. . >> it's one of the defining documents of american democracy issued on january 1st, 1863 by president abraham lincoln. the emancipation proclamation declared it that all persons hell as slaves within any state or designated part of the state in rebellion against the united states are and hence forward shall be free. those words marked a turning point in the civil war staking a moral dimension to the union cause. and the document became a symbol of hope for the nearly 4 million slaves held in confederate states. reg nalted washington is a senior archivist with the national archive. >> it confirmed their belief that the war should always have been a war for-- not to preserve the union but a war to free the slaves. >> reporter: written on paper rather than more durable parchment the proclamation has faded over th

spring. >> woodruff: "american graduate" is a public media initiative funded by the corporation for public broadcasting suarez: new year's day marks the 150th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation, and the national archive in washington, d.c., honors the occasion with a rare public viewing. . >> it's one of the defining documents of american democracy, issued on january 1st, 1863 by president abraham lincoln. the emancipation proclamation declared it that all persons hell as slaves within any state or designated part of the state in rebellion against the united states are and hence forward shall be free. those words marked a turning point in the civil war, staking a moral dimension to the union cause. and the document became a symbol of hope for the nearly 4 million slaves held in confederate states. reg nalted washington is a senior archivist with the national archive. >> it confirmed their belief that the war should always have been a war for-- not to preserve the union but a war to free the slaves. >> reporter: written on paper rather than more durable parchment, the proclamation has faded ov

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support for frontliis ovidedy thjohn. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information is available at macfound.org. additional funding is provided by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, with grants from jon and jo ann hagler, on behalf of the jon l. hagler foundation. and scott nathan and laura debonis. >> my name is brittany smith, and i'm nine years old. it's tough because my mom and dad are poor. my dad just lost his job. it's kind of hard for us. monday i tried getting in the shower, and it was cold. i put the hot on all the way and no cold, and it was freezing. it felt like shoving your face in a bunch of snow. it was freezing! the hot water shut off because we didn't pay the bill in time. it was overdue. >> so what's the next bill due? >> electricity. it's going to be $318. we just need to put roger's ass to work. >> yea

public awareness of critical issues. and by tfrontline journalism fund, supporting investigative reporting and enterprise journalism. major funding for this program is provided by the bill and melinda gates foundation. and by the corporation for public broadcasting and its american graduate initiative for "middle school moment." >> be good. >> i won't. >> yeah, i know. >> my ninth grade year was probably the worst because i was constantly being beaten up and, you know, jumped and everything. i was pretty much an outcast. constantly in the office, like, literally every day. there were jumpings. somebody at the school got stabbed with a protractor and that was, like, the first two or three weeks of school. >> tenth grade year, i was only at school for a month, and that was just an accumulated 30 days, not even a month straight because i had to babysit for my younger sister while my mom was at work. so, i missed a complete year of school. truancy never knocked on our door, never gave us letters, never did anything. (sirens) >> it's disgraceful what is going on in public education in philadelphia. in most large urban cities, 50% of the kids are dropping out. almost every large urban district is dysfunctional. philadelphia is at the highest level of

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: gunfire tore at the nation's holiday mood again today, with the emotional wounds from a school massacre still fresh. there were more fatal shootings, including one in western new york, where an attacker lay in wait for a fire crew. >> responding firefighters when ty pulled up on the scene started receiving -- were fired upon. >> police speaking shortly after a home and car erupted in flames. it was arson they said later that turned out to be an ambush. >> it does appear that it was a trap that was set. for responding first responders. >> gunmen killed two volunteer firefighters and wounded two others then killed himself. police identified him as william spangler, he haddon time, 17 years for manslaughter but ha motive for today's attack was unknown. in houston a gunman killed a police officer and another man before being captured. spate of christmas eve attacks among renewed gun violence that flared t

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> warner: washington's clock ticked another day closer today to automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, the so-called "fiscal cliff". the president took to the road, while republicans warned there's a deadlock in efforts to reach a deficit deal. >> now, of course, santa delivers everywhere. i've been keeping my own naughty and nice lists for washington. >> warner: the president chose a seasonal setting, a toy factory in hatfield, pennsylvania, and holiday imagery to press again for extending tax cuts for the middle class. >> if congress does nothing, every family in america will see their income taxes automatically go up on january 1. i mean, i... i'm assuming that doesn't sound too good to you. >> no. >> that's sort of like the lump of coal you get for christmas. that's a scrooge christmas. >> warner: in washington, republicans portrayed the road trip as so much humbug, at a time, they said, when negotiations

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: house republicans today offered their counter- offer to the president's plan for a deal both sides say is needed to avoid year-end tax increases. the move was the latest volley in an increasingly tense face- off between the two branches of government. >> with 28 days left to come to a deal on the nation's fiscal cliff, the white house is holding firm on its proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy. spokesman jay carney. >> the obstacle remains at this point the refusal to acknowledge by republican leaders that there is no deal that achieves the kind of balance that is necessary without raising rates on the top 2% wealthiest americans. the math simply does not add up. >> ifill: the white house proposes raising $1.6 trillion in taxes over ten years, imposing higher rates on those making more than $250,000 a year. in a letter sent to the white house today, speaker of the house john boehner rejected the pres

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> warner: five days and counting with plenty of tit-for- tat charges, but no agreement in sight. that, in short, summed up the state of affairs in washington today as the fiscal cliff deadline loomed, january first. it would mean more than $600 billion in across-the-board tax increases and automatic spending cuts. >> come the first of this year, americans will have less income than they have today. if we go over the cliff, and it looks like that's where we're headed. >> warner: this morning, the senate's democratic majority leader, harry reid, was blunt about chances for a deal. and he blamed house speaker john boehner. just before christmas, boehner floated his so-called "plan b"-- letting taxes rise on millionaires. but faced with opposition in republican ranks, he pulled it, and sent the house home for the holiday. reid charged today politics explained why the speaker had not yet called the house back. >> john b

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.nd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad faced new pressure at home and abroad today. a coalition of opposition groups won recognition as the legitimate representative of the syrian people. and rebel fighters pressed their attacks in and around damascus. across the syrian capital, it was increasingly clear that no one and no place is safe. amateur video showed burned out cars from a blast near the justice ministry. and state television aired footage of emergency workers after three bombs exploded outside the interior ministry. the attacks highlighted an upsurge in rebel assaults around damascus and elsewhere. "the new york times" reported the syrian military is now fighting back with scud missiles, firing at least a half dozen in recent days. against that backdrop, president obama announced tuesday that the u.s. will now formally recognize the syrian opposition movement. >> we've made a decision t

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a holiday season that should have been alive with the joy of children is now, instead, a season of mourning their loss in newtown, connecticut. the first of the funerals took place today for the victims of the massacre at an elementary school. ray suarez begins our coverage. >> suarez: flowers streamed into funeral homes around newtown as the shock and horror of friday gave way to grim rituals of grief mourners in black waited under gray skies to attend services for jack pinto and noah, 20 of the... two of the 20 first graders killed at sandy hook elementary. townspeople are still reeling. >> really sad. i didn't want to go back to work today. it hit me hard because i got two kids too. the same age that happened to these kids. it really hit hard, like a parent, like a dad. >> suarez: a somber weekend had concluded with last night's vigil at newtown high school about a mile away from the scene of th

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: the school shootings that shook the nation sparked a new call to action at the white house today. the president vowed to have proposals ready for the new congress that convenes next month. somber scenes of mourning played out once again today in newtown, connecticut. while in washington, president obama walked into the white house briefing room named for james brady-- the press secretary critically wounded in the shooting of president reagan in 1981-- to talk abt g violence. >> the fact fact that this pros complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing. >> ifill: instead, in the wake of the massacre at sandy hook elementary school, mr. obama said, "this time, the words need to lead to action" on gun violence. >> the vast majority of responsible law abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say that we should be able to keep an irresponsible law breaking few from buying a weapon of war. i'

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund. supporting investigative reporting and enterprise journalism. >> go to work, go to work, go to work, go to work, go to work. let's go! >> we got to use what we have. >> whoa! >> pick it up, boys! >> ...14, 15, 16, 17... ( whistle blows ) >> let's go, get there, get there. >> let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. hey, tyler, get on up there, let's go. come on, let's go. ( whistle blows ) >> come on! >> come on, jacob! >> narrator: the summer of 2010 was one of the hottest on record in arkansas. >> you want to win or you want to coast through the season? right now, y

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers ke y. thank you. >> brown: the u.s. house of representatives headed toward approval this evening of a tax plan that republicans backed and democrats said was a waste of time. the division demonstrated that efforts to get a bi-partisan agreement and avoid the fiscal cliff are stuck in stalemate. >> the house will be in order. >> brown: house republicans pushed their plan b. despite a veto threat from the white house and the strong opposition of senate democrats. speaker john boehner insisted the president had left him with no alternative. >> for weeks the white house said if i moved on rates that they would make substantial concessions on spending cuts and entitlement reforms. i did my part. they've done nothing. >> brown: the public sniping continued: at the white house, press secretary jay carney fired back that the president had shown more of a willingness to compromise than republicans have. >> he ner said, either in private or in p

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: the final weekend has now arrived before the fiscal cliff hits on new year's day and with it, more than $600 million in tax hikes and spending cuts. in a last bid for a deal, president obama stated his terms face-to-face to top republicans and democrats. >> congressional leaders arrive ted white house this afternoon for their first group meeting with the president since november 16th. vice president biden and treasury secretary timothy geithner also attend. but there was little to suggest the makings of an 11th hour bargain. a source familiar with the meeting told the newshour its president is sticking with his offer from last friday. it included keeping the bu era tax break force the middle class but raisi tax rates on incomeser v ov 250,000 dollars a. year predeont alse wan a to extend unempyment w benefits omfor se 2 million americans who will lose them in the new year. and a proposal would delay a

. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a gunman at a school, mass casualties, and emergency crews-- the scene was eerily familiar and, once again, horrifying. this time, tragedy struck at a grade school in a small connecticut town. 20 of the 27 dead are children. we begin our coverage with president obama's emotional address to the nation this afternoon. >> we've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. and each time i learn the news, i react not as a president but as anybody else would, as a parent. and that was especially true today. i know there's not a parent in america who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. they had their entire lives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.nd by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: the nation's third- largest bank, citigroup, announced big job cuts as it continues to scale back in the wake of the financial crisis. the 11,000 employees to be laid off worldwide, make up about 4% of the company's workforce. more than 6,000 of those jobs are in consumer banking. the move comes less than two months since a shakeup at citi ousting former c.e.o., vikram pandit. he was succeeded by michael corbat. the bank nearly collapsed during the crisis and ultimately received bailouts totaling $45 billion, money that citi has since repaid. roben farzhad has long watched the changes at citi for bloomberg "businessweek" and joins us again tonight. roben, welcome. today we heard that stocks soared on the news of these layoffs. what does that tell us about what was going on at citi? >> it's sad, actually. citigroup is know-- you could say the financial crisis is over but in the throes of an existential c

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woouff: michigan, atate consided aradlof the union movement, today struck a blow against organized labor. the republican-dominated state legislature approved laws that deny unions the right to require membership in exchange for a job. more than 12,000 people gathered outside the state capitol in lansing to protest the move. inside, they chanted "shame on you!" at republican governor rick snyder. late today he signed the bill. for more, we're joined by micheline mayrd, a contribur to forbecom and former detroit bureau chief for the "new york times," and by bill ballenger, editor of "inside michigan politics." welcome to you both. mickey maynard. first, this has all happened very quickly. what precipitated this right now. >> there were two things that happened, judy. first of all in november there was a ballot proposal that unions floated that would have outlawed right-to-work. it would have put that into the

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president obama made another foray outside washington today, trying to build public support for a fiscal cliff agreement. it came a day after he resumed talking with the top house republican, and as a year-end deadline moved even closer. the president took his public campaign for a deficit deal on his terms to the daimler diesel plant in redford michigan. >> if congress doesn't act soon meaning in the next few weeks, starting on january 1, everybody is going to see their income taxes go up. it's true. y'all don't like that? >> no! woodruff: instead, mr. obama again pressed for raising tax rates on the top two percent of incomes. >> and that's a principle i won't compromise on because i'm not going to have a situation where the wealthiest among us, including folks like me, get to keep all our tax breaks and then we're asking students to pay higher student loans. >> woodruff: his michigan visit came a