. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we look back on the diplomat's life and legacy with former ambassador john negroponte and susan glasser of "foreign policy" magazine. >> lehrer: then we interview drug czar gil kerlikowske about the jump in marijuana use by teenagers. >> ifill: john merrow reports on an ohio school district where teachers evaluate each other. >> we like to think of it as a way to help people. but if they don't, the other option is, yes, they will be looked at for termination. >> lehrer: and judy woodruff has a book conversation about passing on life lessons, with co-authors andrew young and his godson, kabir sehgal. >> i would not listen to parents, but i found out that i absorbed.

thank you. >> once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. >> good evening, by the time we got work this morning, president obama had slipped out of a white house hanukkah party boarded air force one undercover of darkness to visit afghanistan for unannounced trip. >> we look forward to next week, the transition of afghan responsibility. weas do we continue to forge a partnership with the afghan people for the long term. >> yogi has been reporting in afghanistan for the last three weeks trying to assess the state of the war and including the promises can be kept. what did you find out about that, yogi? >> first it was, july 2011. now it's july to 2014. it's kind of hard to see how we get there. the afghan army is really, really far from being incapable of replacing us when we go. the relationship between karzai and obama is poison. the general can find statistics that makes you think this is doable. but when you look at the statistics they begin to fade. he said, more americans are diing from i.e.d. blasts, but there are fewer americans flying in the impled e.d. blasts. if

i'm gwen ifill. the lame duck congress jockeys for middle ground on taxes, the budget, national security, gays in the military and extending jobless benefits. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight: we talk to senators dick durbin and john barrasso about the deal- making ahead in the closing weeks of the session. >> ifill: then, debt commission co-chairs alan simpson and erskine bowles explain how they plan to win support for cutting the federal deficit. >> woodruff: two takes on the mexican drug wars-- tom bearden reports on the reach of the cartels 1,000 miles north of the border. >> the drug dealers are sent from mexico to run these cell organizations in small town america and their goal is to sell as much drugs and make as much money as they can. >> ifill: and margaret warner gets an update on the violence, and the crackdown, on drug kingpins from nicholas casey of the "wall street journal" in mexico city. >> woodruff: plus, we have a second look at spencer michels' story b

i'm gwen ifill. president obama has apparently secured more than enough senate votes to ratify the u.s.-russia start nuclear arms treaty. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, naftali ben david of the "wall street journal" looks at the shift in momentum as key republican senators lined up behind ratification. >> ifill: then, carl dinnen of independent television news has the latest on europe's travel troubles as some airports struggle to cope with unusually wintry weather. >> woodruff: there are more americans than ever living in different places. we look at new numbers with census director robert groves, and at the political fallout with david chalian and stuart rothenberg. >> ifill: ray suarez continues his reporting from havana. tonight he examines the cuban health care system's emphasis on preventive medicine. >> suarez: in a country with a struggling economy and very little money to spend on health care, they achieve some of the best results had the world. >> woodruff: and

once again, from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening, well where to begin. if anyone has suggested after the midterm elections we would be sitting around this table for the last show of the year talking about an obama comeback, he or she would have been laughed off the set. the president left town for his hawaiian vacation with a smile on his face with good reason. >> a lot of folks in this town predicted that after the mid-term elections, washington would be headed for more partisanship and more gridlock. and instead, this has been a season of progress for the american people. that progress is reflected -- is a reflection of the message the voters sent in november, a message that said, it's time to find common ground on challenges facing our country. that's a message that i will take to heart in the new year. and i hope my democratic and republican friends will do the same. gwen: let's explore that common ground, beginning with the president's victory on getting the senate, including 13 republicans to ratify the new start nuclear treaty with russia which tu

live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill. produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> we know why we're here. to give our war fighters every advantage. to deliver technologies that anticipate the future today. >> and help protect america everywhere, from the battle space to cyber space. >> around the globe, people of boeing are working together to give our best for america's best. >> that's why we're here. >> there's one thing dave always wanted to do when he retires, keep working. but for himself. so as a financial advisor, i took a look at everything he has. the 401k, insurance policy, even money he's invested elsewhere. we're building a retirement plan to help him launch a second career. go, dave. >> this week, when you need a financial investor fully invested in you, wells fargo advisors, together we'll go far. >> corporate funding is also provided by exxon mobil, and prudential financial. additional funding for "washington week" is provided by the ethics a

once again, live from washington, moderator, gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. congress tackled all the big political issues of the day this week, immigration, nuclear security, gay rights. even the normally placid harry reid was irate, though, at the lack of movement. >> what in the world do they accomplish by saying we're not going to allow you to do the start treaty, the defense authorization bill, until the tax bill is completed and spending is done. we know that before we leave here this year, we're going to have to do something to finance the government for the next year and the odds are we're going to do something on taxes. for them to have these, i repeat, artificial road blocks is foolishness. >> nothing stirred the blood like the debate that erupted after the president agreed to extend tax cuts republicans wanted to the wealthy. to the president, the deal was not a betrayal. >> i will be happy to see the republicans test whether or not i'm itching for a fight on a whole range of issues. i suspect they will find i am. and i think the american people wil

i'm gwen ifill. in a flurry of public debate and private negotiation today, the senate moved toward action on the start nuclear arms reduction treaty with russia. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, the movement on start comes after a weekend of votes on capitol hill. we recap what happened, and assess where things stand. >> ifill: judy woodruff examines the challenges ahead as the u.s. military prepares to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time. >> brown: ray suarez begins a series of reports from havana. tonight, the push for economic reform in cuba. >> suarez: in advance of next spring's communist party congress, the country is buzzing about what shape reform might take. what will the next cuba look like? >> ifill: and we talk to white house health reform director nancy-ann deparle and virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli on whether americans can be forced to pay for health coverage. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill on the "newshour" tonight. we get the latest on the legal battle from john schwartz of the "new york times." >> lehrer: then, we talk to two business executives who met with president obama today-- motorola c.e.o. greg brown and honeywell c.e.o. david cote. >> ifill: and we track the progress on congressional action to extend tax cuts. first, kwame holman reports on the its lopsided senate passage today. >> lehrer: and judy woodruff gets the views of two house members on changing the estate tax. >> ifill: margaret warner interviews elizabeth bumiller of the "new york times" about new intelligence reports on the afghanistan war. >> lehrer: and jeffrey brown profiles the unexpected partnership of a city and a leading dance company.çç hari sreenivasan almost three years ago, renown choreographer tray mcintire surprised a lot of people in the dance world by making boise, idaho, the home of his new company. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by

." >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight: political editor david chalian fills us in on the president's appeal for support and the response from his own party. >> lehrer: then, two takes on immigration. marcia coyle goes through today's supreme court arguments over sanctioning employers who hire illegal workers. >> ifill: and judy woodruff referees a debate on the dream act, a measure to allow the children of illegal immigrants to become citizens. >> lehrer: plus, spencer michels reports on the cyber attacks against wikileaks and the hackers who have come to the defense of wikileaks. >> right now there are like 500 web sites set up just by supporters mirroring wikileaks' content. wikileaks was never in danger of being pulled off the web. now it's only more popular than ever. ♪ attend the tale of "sweeney todd" ♪ >> ifill: and jeffrey brown talks to broadway legend stephen sondheim about his life, his times and the art of writing rhymes. >> if the lyric is too packed, then the ear, the audiences' ear,

i'm gwen ifill. work crews struggled again today to free snowbound and testy new yorkers, three days after a blizzard crippled much of the northeast. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the "newshour" tonight, we get the latest on the digging out and the political fallout from bob hennelly of wnyc radio. >> ifill: then we assess the dangerous political standoff building in the west african nation of ivory coast. >> suarez: we continue paul solman's encore reports on the mortgage crisis with the story of a boston nonprofit that offers homeowners in foreclosure a second chance. >> ifill: the second of judy woodruff's conversations with house lawmakers the voters sent home last november. tonight: south dakota representative stephanie herseth sandlin on being a moderate democrat. >> at times, the blue dogs felt somewhat unwelcome in our own caucus. we felt that we were being listened to but not heard. >> suarez: from new delhi, fred de sam lazaro examines how india's growth is straining its limited water s

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, paul krugman of the "new york times" and stephen moore of the wall street journal" assess the merits of the agreement and its real world impact. >> brown: then, as the founder of wikileaks is arrested in london, we get two views on whether the u.s. government can prosecute the web site for the release of secret documents. >> ifill: we have a report from dublin about what sparked ireland's economic crisis. >> brown: from cuba, ray suarez fills us in on his latest assignment and his upcoming reports. >> suarez: cuban society is debating future economic reforms, and this developing country is moving ahead with a first world industry, biotechnology. i'll have more from havana. >> ifill: and we talk with education secretary arne duncan about the state of u.s. schools. >> we have been complacent, and other countries have outeducated us, outinvested us. a big part of what i'm trying to do is raise the profile of education to get america to wake up. >> brown: that's a