president obama reached out to the business community again today and chose general electric c.e.o. jeffrey immelt to head a new jobs council. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, we look at the frayed relations between corporate america and the administration, and assess the president's moves to change the tone. >> lehrer: then, judy woodruff talks to two doctors about the road to recovery for brain injury patients like arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> brown: margaret warner files the last of her reports from south korea. tonight-- a look at the country's pressure-packed education system. >> i have to go to school in the morning like 6:20 and school ended up around midnight. so it was-- stressed out. and mark sh >> lehrer: and mark shields and david brooks analyze the week's news. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i mean, where would we be without small businesses? >> we need small businesses. >> they're the ones that help drive growth. >> like electricians, mechanics, carpenters. >>

general electric owns n.b.c. and b c has not taken any trouble to report on this massive environmental story. with the innocent face of mickey mouse as their trademark disney is the proud owner of a.b.c. when a.b.c. was bought by disney and there were some a.b.c. stories about improprieties at disneyland is the world does the killed those c.n.n. and time magazine belong to time warner joining the media giants are c.b.s. corporation towering over c.b.s. news and viacom a global entertainment content company running among others comedy central they're supposed to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted but when you have journalists treading lightly around corporate and governmental elites it almost defeats the reason for their even existing the purpose of existence for corporations is profit meaning investors interests are police to head of anything else that would matter in journalism good business is bad journalism good journalism is bad business broadcaster laura flanders says counting on getting facts

president obama named general electric's c.e.o. to head up a new jobs council and also made him his chief outside economic advisor. speaking at a g.e. plant in schnectady new york, the president said he chose jeff immelt because he can find new ways to promote private sector hiring. >> the past two years were about pulling our economy back from the brink. the next two years, our job now, is putting our economy into overdrive. >> susie: immelt's appointment came just hours after g.e. reported better than expected quarterly numbers and a big jump in new orders. g.e. earned 36 cents a share, four cents more than analyst estimates. that's a gain of 33% compared to a year ago. looking ahead, immelt said he expects earnings growth will continue this year and next. so what does g.e.'s positive forecast mean for the u.s. economy. suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: g.e. has long been considered a bellwether for the u.s. economy. that's because of its ginormous size and broad range of business-- everything from transportation to healthcare.

manufacturers: boeing, honeywell, caterpillar and general electric. g.e. inked several deals with the chinese, including one to make electrical systems for commercial aircraft. china is working aggressively to develop its own aviation industry, and as darren gersh reports, deals like the one with g.e. are critical for the asian nation's global ambitions. >> reporter: this model represents one of the toughest business challenges in the world today. the chinese market for jetliners is so large, u.s. companies can't afford to stay out. but the chinese government has developed a decades-long plan to compete with u.s. companies for global leadership of aviation. china analyst nicholas lardy says that's both an opportunity and a threat for aviation suppliers like g.e. >> the calculation of these companies is that, yes, china may be able to replicate this technology, eventually produce its own airplane engines, its own avionics. but by the time they're able to master these technologies, the frontier will have moved on. >> reporter: by the middle of this decade, c

the president traveled today to new york to general electric's birthplace. the ceo jeffrey immel said today manufacturing in the u.s. is a not a dead industry as some have claimed. he said exporting american products is key to adding jobs. >>> new numbers out tonight show california's jobless rate is moving in the wrong direction. the unemployment rate hit 12.5% in december. it had been 12.4% the previous month. in fact, the jobless rate here in california topped 12% throughout all of last year. compare that to the national unemployment rate of 9.4%. but as ktvu's janna katsuyama tells us tonight, some say there is a silver leaning to these latest numbers. >> this is our oldest one year. >> reporter: keith means says right now he doesn't have the means to support his wife and four children. >> every time i come out here i apply for 30 jobs a day and send out resumes. >> reporter: he is looking for a job just as his wife lost her job, he did, too. >> it is really hard. because one person just can't support the whole family it's harmed. >> reporter: hard for m

generated by solar power in june. this will integrate electricity from solar-powered generators and power produced at central plants. as efforts to build energy efficient communities are on the rise across the globe, japanese firms have attached importance to building overseas infrastructure and are vying to seize the initiative. >>> in the year ahead, japan faces a challenge of promoting free trade to revitalize its economy. with a new policy on japan's economic alliances, the government will step up its efforts to reach economic partnership agreements or epas. it will decide whether to join negotiations on a transpacific free trade pact as early as this summer. talks on the epa with australia have been stalled since april. but are scheduled to resume in february. japan also wants to start negotiations with the european union and the first half of the year. japan will send officials to the u.s. in january to gather information about the transpacific partnership or tpp. the government will decide whether to join negotiations on the tariff abolishing

this morning we are learning the president named the ceo chairman of general electric to head his economicory board. another embrace of the business community after the november election to say that this country at large is focusing on jobs, turning the economy around. this is where the president needs to be politically and for the major public policy issue that he's facing, and that is a recovery that appears to be a jobless recovery. i think that's primarily what he's going to talk about as he gets into the business of political discourse and working more positively in divided government with republicans in power. that's the real focus. >> right. there's so much talk of stability and that we'll see more of it. will it be a reality? >> well, i mean, you always want to hope so. i think this was a real moment in the country and certainly in washington in terms of political discourse and the demonization of the other in politics. it has to be a lesson taken to heart here. no matter if we are talking about a traffic did in tucson that appears to be the works of a mentally ill person. neverthe

the president traveled today to new york to general electric's birthplace. the ceo jeffrey immel said today manufacturing in the u.s. is a not a dead industry as some have claimed. he said exporting american products is key to adding jobs. >>> new numbers out tonight show california's jobless rate is moving in the wrong direction. the unemployment rate hit 12.5% in december. it had been 12.4% the previous month. in fact, the jobless rate here in california topped 12% throughout all of last year. compare that to the national unemployment rate of 9.4%. but as ktvu's janna katsuyama tells us tonight, some say there is a silver leaning to these latest numbers. >> this is our oldest one year. >> reporter: keith means says right now he doesn't have the means to support his wife and four children. >> every time i come out here i apply for 30 jobs a day and send out resumes. >> reporter: he is looking for a job just as his wife lost her job, he did, too. >> it is really hard. because one person just can't support the whole family it's harmed. >> reporter: hard for m

. >> check checking our headlines general electric profits triggered a rally today.nd the nasdaq was held back by a drop in stock. it's down $14 a share. and speaking of google the company announced plans to develop a coupon service offering discounts of local businesses. it will compete with groupon, which google tried to buy last month. stock prices might have gone higher today if it hadn't been fr b of a reporting a loss for the quarter because of the home loans that have soured and neeson today production delays put it behind schedule to bring it's new electric car. >> and coming up next, how your love for food can make you a successful business owner. w >>> so do you think you can be the next great chef? >> that is why success of a place called la cocina is remarkable. there is a kitchen helping entrepreneurs beat the odds. >> this is a nice fried chicken from my grand mom and mom's recipe. >> alicia makes a tasty tamales. >> this is like avocado salsa. >> she is cooking her creations at la cocina, a nonprofit kitchen help gg cooks turn an idea into a business.

general electric and google both boosting investigator optimism. we will find out what is happening when we get closer to that opening bell. >>> the name change is expected to be completed by the e. of march. gm debut is south korea largest car maker. >>> president obama will highlight economic success stories when he visits a general electric plan in new york. he will put a new spotlight on a new ge deal. ge ceo will head up a new white house council on settiveness. they will help to generate ideas. >>> a city in debt. the bad news for some people that are owed money in vallejo. >>> a terrifying phone call. this one turned out to be a prank. but the good that some people are saying came out of it. >>> it looks good so far. southbound 101 as we head down to the toll plaza. we'll tell you why over the weekend this commute could be impacted. >>> good morning. there is nothing there. in fact, we have cold lows. 30s on temperatures. highs in the 60s with lots of sunshine. >> all right steve. >>> welcome back. even though it happened years ago the unsol

if you have a company that wants to do business, general electric had to give up their technology to do business in china. okay? if you don't deal with these people strongly, right down the middle, and with great strength, they will take over this country which is bassy what they are looking to do. they are not our friends, neil. >>neil: this is andrews air force base, the chinese president hu has arrived and they are rolling out the red carpet in the red. >>guest: i don't have a television let me know if our president drops to his knees. >>neil: the vice president is there and you can do this with your president but right now we have a bit of equity and joe biden will be greeting president hu and he will bring with him, donald, his country's equivalent of commerce secretary and some of their biggest hedge fund investors and they will announce a lot of deals with president obama because they have a lot of cash to spend, a lot of green energy progresses and that sort of thing and so maybe this approach we are taking is working. >>guest: it is not working. it is not working. and the de

. >> fidel gets his electricity from an old diesel generator. he has lived for decades with this provisional power source. it is a symbol of poverty that many consider a thing of the past in spain, but fidel simply did not move with the times. there were around 12 huts on the building site. the council paid the residents to relocate, all of them except fidel agreed. what now? >> we have been looking for a solution for a long time. at first we offered compensation money, then we tried to find him a better home than the one that he currently has. we will just have to keep trying. >> fidel wants to stay because he still has some neighbors in nearby huts. they did not live on the construction site, so they can stay. they look out for him and think he would be better off staying here. >> when you up route a tree and plant it somewhere else, what happens? that is what moving fidel would be like. >> the digger is on what was once his garden. the council hopes that he will finally agree to a new home. he dreamed of one when he first came here decades ag

stocks appear to snap a two day losing streak after general electric reported strong quarterly profits but bank of america reported a loss. we'll see how investors balance the news and live report from the new york stock exchange coming up in 15 minutes. >> we begin with an oakland elementary school on administrative leave this morning while officials investigate shocking allegations from his classroom, specifically claims that his second graders engaged in sex acts with each other while class was in session. amy hollyfield is live at markham elementary schools. >> even school district officials are shocked and horrified, they are promising a full investigation and apologizing. the teacher will not be here today. he has been sent home until the investigation is concluded. he is not accused of engaging in any sexual act. his lack of supervision is being questioned. school districts confirm that both incidents happened in the same classroom. >> on one career, two students were engaged in sexually explicit acts where one performed oral sex on another. in a separate incident, students were

today he visited general electric's plant to as the head of new council. new plan replaces his economic advisory board and will focus on manufacturing, export, trade and innovation. president says they will work out the trade bill with china this week. >> during this meeting we struck a deal to open chinese markets to their products. they are selling here, but we want to sell there. we want to open up their markets so we got two way trade, not one way trade. >> the president also used the visit to praise g.e. new deal to build power to your types wniens india. >>> job news here, california's unemployment rate rose slightly in december. it went up to 12.5%. california's monthly jobless rate has remained above 12% for all of last year. state employment development department says the number of jobless americans rose to 2 million total. >>> what a beautiful day outside. >> actually a lot of sunshine but the haze is getting a little thicker. thankfully it's not too full of pollution. we'll talk about possibilities of near record highs and how long -- won't say

president obama will highlight economic success stories when he pays a visit to a general electric plant in new york. he will put a new spotlight on a new ge deal. he will announce that ge ceo jeffrey will be heading up a new white house council on jobs and competitiveness. the president wants them to help generate ideas from the private sector to speed up economic growth. >>> a city in debt. the bad news for some people that are owed money. >>> also state investigators are look for whoever made the frightening call to send hundreds of east bay students into a state of emergency. >>> good morning. traffic is moving along realtively well. it looks like we have slow traffic getting into san francisco. as i'm look agent the board chp doesn't know of anything yet. it looks like there could be something on that span. san mateo bridge traffic looks good as you head up to the high- rise. let's go back to the desk. >>> thank you. the unsolved murder of a tgif murder in san mateo is still haunting his family and friends. three years ago today 36-year- old doug castillo was found beaten to death.

before the market opening, general electric and slumber jay posted earnings that beat expectations.ht now the dow is currently up 61. s&p up 7. >>> president obama will highlight economic success stories when he visits a general electric plant in upstate new york. he'll put the spotlight on a new ge deal with india, and also announce to that g.e. ceo will lead a a new white house council. >>> while president obama's first term is just halfway over, there are some signs he is already getting a jump on running for re-election. the white house has made no secret of the fact that the president planning to run for a second term. early possibilities for republican opponents are mitt romney, sarah palin, and tim pawlenty. there's also a new poll out that shows an overwhelming majority of americans like president obama, but they think he's not done enough to boost the economy or change the way washington works. to the new associated press poll found that 83% of americans say the president is likable, but 53% don't like the way he has handled the economy. 34% say the president has not lived

. >> reporter: the president spoke there at a general electric plant in schenectady. 35% of americans believe that the economy has improved under president obama. the president reaffirmed his commitment to get people back to work and offered his faith in the talent of the u.s. work force. >> we see it right here at this plant. we see it right here at ge. america is still home to the most creative and most innovative businesses in the world. we have the most productive workers in the world. america's home to inventors and dreamers and builders and creators. >> the president also seized the occasion to introduce the panel on jobs creation. president obama welcomed the nation's mayors to washington before he flew to new york, including the new mayor of san francisco. the local leaders come to washington hoping to get federal funding for their cities. president obama told them the stimulus money that flowed into the cities over the past years has run out. >>> after interrupting a burglar, a hostage situation happened. the women all in their 70s called 911 and told police they were being h