just to survive. >> there are ways to make legitimate money at holman.ke license plates and are paid 30 cents an hour. prisoners can spend their hard-earned cash on food items in holman's sandwich stores. >> i buy candy, cokes, zoo zoos, wham whams, honeybuns. i crave honey buns. i buy honey buns. >> we have our jumbo honey buns, we got the blueberry and we got the butterhorn. >> i can't buy no wine. i can't buy no kind of alcohol, nothing like that. >> armen power received a life sentence for auto theft after threatening to kill his trial judge. >> i told him to kiss my [ bleep ] i ain't going to take that, i'm going to kill him. and i jumped for him. and they jumped me. police got me walking me upstairs laughing at me. saying, i ain't never seen nobody short as i am jump a judge. they thought it was funny. i didn't think it was funny. >> power, who has worked at the tag plant since 1983, tries to stay optimistic, in spite of his circumstances. >> you're in prison. you might as well make the best of it. so that's what i'm doing. i'm making the best of i

kwame holman reports on sparring in the senate over proposals to change rules blamed for partisan gridlock. >> majority democrats want to put limits on the phil buster, a tactic used to delay legislation but republicans say the tool is key to protecting their minority rights. >> warner: on the eve of world aids day, ray suarez updates the hopes and frustrations in the fight against the deadly disease. >> brown: mark shields and david brooks analyze the weeks news. >> warner: and is the grand canyon 60 million years older than we've long thought? we ask science correspondent miles o'brien. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by bnsf railway. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... 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 too

newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman has our report. >> holman: house speaker john boehner went before cameras this morning just hours after he abandoned a vote on his "plan b". >> it's not the outcome that i wanted, but that was the will of the house. >> holman: boehner's plan would have raised tax rates for households making more than $1 million, whereas president obama would raise rates on incomes above $400,000. but last night, as the vote neared, it became clear that at least two dozen rank-and-file republicans still opposed any increase. so party leaders abruptly ended the session. >> the house will stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. >> holman: at that point, republicans called an emergency meeting here in their capitol conference room, and leaders told members they did not have the votes. ty announced the hoe would break until after christmas, but did not name a date when the chamber would reconvene. today, the speaker dismissed any suggestion that the turn of events was a rejection of his leadership. >> they weren't taking that out on me. they were de

he was serving life for two murders at the holman correctional center in alabama. one of the murders was committed on the outside and the other in prison. he told us both involved disputes over money. >> i killed somebody because i felt like they were taking something from me, and then i come from a world where everybody thinks they can take something from me. so, you know, you got a convergence of forces here. >> during our original 2006 shoot at holman he was battling the warden for a transfer closer to a prison near his elderly mother's home. you run this place. >> that's what i'm saying, that's your decision. >> i follow the regs. >> gilbert was denied the transfer for various intractions. when we shot our extended stay series at holman a year later, gilbert was still trying to get his transfer. >> bobby had a very close relationship with his mother. for her to visit him, it took a lot. it took money. it took time. none of which she had. i think she was his sole support system emotionally speaking and knew he was going to stay in prison for the rest of his life

here's kwame holman. >> holman: a car bomb exploded outside a compound used by a u.s. construction company in kabul, afghanistan, today. the firm builds facilities for the u.s. military. two afghan workers were killed, and more than a dozen others were wounded. the taliban claimed responsibility. and in the east, villagers held funerals for nine young girls who died in an explosion in nangarhar province. police said they may have triggered a land mine left over from the time of the soviet invasion. meanwhile, in northwest pakistan, a car bomb in a crowded market killed 17 people and wounded more than 40. the blast left a scene of scorched wreckage. in syria, the vice president now is warning that neither side will win the battle for control of the country. farouk al-sharaa is a longtime ally of president bashar al- assad's family. in an interview, he called for a national unity government with "broad powers." meanwhile, the violence raged on. rebel fighters claimed they captured an army infantry college near the northern city of aleppo. president obama and house speake

here's kwame holman. >> holman: optimism about a deficit deal in washington fueled a rally on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average gained 115 points to close just short of 13,351. the nasdaq rose almost 44 points to close at 3054. in egypt, another mass protest swarmed through cairo today. thousands demonstrated in the streets around tahrir square, and outside the presidential palace. they charged a draft constitution would curb basic rights and cement islamist control of the country. the draft won 56% of the vote in last week's first-round voting. the final round is slated for saturday. there were new clashes at a palestinian refugee camp in the syrian capital, damascus. syrian warplanes bombed the camp for the second time this week, trying to push back a rebel offensive. amateur video purported to show rebel fighters in the streets of the yarmouk camp. the rebel action began friday in an effort to drive out a pro- government palestinian faction. the chief foreign correspondent for nbc news, richard engel, has escaped from kidnappers in northern syria. he and his crew said

here's kwame holman. >> holman: wall street rallied on the final trading day of the year, hoping for a fiscal cliff deal. the dow jones industrial average gained 166 points to close at 13,104, up 7% for the year. the nasdaq rose 59 points to close at 3019, up nearly 16% this year. nearly two dozen people died in a string of attacks across iraq today. most of the violence targeted shiite communities and police. one of the blasts rocked baghdad's karrada neighborhood, sending smoke billowing above the skyline. the car bomb went off near a tent where shiite pilgrims were gathering. five people were killed there. in syria, elite troops, along with tanks, battled to dislodge rebels from a key southern suburb of damascus. the area is within firing distance of major government sites in the capital. amateur video also showed the aftermath of what appeared to be air strikes in the northeastern suburb of douma. the attacks toppled buildings and sent civilians fleeing. celebrations began today as the new year, 2013, dawned around the globe. we have a report from richard pallot of independent te

here's kwame holman. >> holman: the u.s. economy has dodged a potentially crippling strike at ports up and down the east coast and gulf coast at least, for now. the longshoremen's union agreed today to extend its existing contract by another month. that word came after the union and shipping lines worked out a deal on royalty payments for unloading containers. the contract extension gives the two sides time to resolve their remaining issues. wall street finished the week with its fifth straight losing session. stocks have been falling as concern mounts that washington will fail to get a budget deal. the dow jones industrial average lost 158 points today, to close at 12,938. the nasdaq fell 25 points to close at 2,960. for the week, both the dow and the nasdaq fell 2%. sectarian tensions flared across iraq today as tens of thousands of sunnis staged mass protests against the shi-ite-led government. there were rallies in fallujah and ramadi, where protests already had erupted earlier this week. today, mosul, tikrit and samarra

he will most likely not leave holman until his 30-year sentence is complete. >> i have two daughters. it from that perspective. do i want these people around my family? no. but there again, some day in this case robert teter is going to walk out this door free. so you have to look at it from that side. he's going to go free. he's going to eos his sentence in 2014 and he's coming out. and society's going to have to accept that. >> see you later. >>> coming up -- >> i'm making a birdhouse right now. >> two inmates seek a creative respite. from hell. >> art is my sanity and my salvation. that's what keeps me stable. ye. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. buy now. save later. but with advair, i'm brea

here's kwame holman. >> holman: wall street rallied on the final trading day of the year, hoping for a fiscal cliff deal. the dow jones industrial average gained 166 points to close at 13,104, up 7% for the year. the nasdaq rose 59 points to close at 3019, up nearly 16% this year. nearly two dozen people died in a string of attacks across iraq today. most of the violence targeted shiite communities and police. one of the blasts rocked baghdad's karrada neighborhood, sending smoke billowing above the skyline. the car bomb went off near a tent where shiite pilgrims were gathering. five people were killed there. in syria, elite troops, along with tanks, battled to dislodge rebels from a key southern suburb of damascus. the area is within firing distance of major government sites in the capital. amateur video also showed the aftermath of what appeared to be air strikes in the northeastern suburb of douma. the attacks toppled buildings and sent civilians fleeing. celebrations began today as the new year, 2013, dawned around the globe. we have a report from richard pallot of independent te

. >> about halfway through ten weeks of filming for our "extended stay" series at holman correctional facility in alabama, our crew experienced that reality firsthand. they had just finished a routine interview with an inmate in his cell. it was a little after 12:00 noon. >> there was a phone call, and one of our producers went back to get this phone call. and if it wasn't for that, we would have been gone, we would have been out to lunch. as we're standing there waiting for our producer to finish with their phone call, these officers run by. so obviously, i turn on the camera, press record and roll with them. >> suddenly all these officers ran by me and we heard all this commotion and i saw an inmate who was wearing white covered in blood. brian, our cameraman, and i both started filming immediately and realized that a stabbing had taken place. it was such a chaotic scene that i was trying to keep track of what everybody was doing. some of the officers were trying to rescue the stabbing victim. other officers were going after the assailant. >> i got a knife. >> the funny part about t

here's kwame holman. >> holman: wall street was down much of the day, but trimmed its losses after newst the house will convene sunday to focus on the fiscal cliff. in the end, the dow jones industrial average shed 18 points to close at 13,096. the nasdaq fell four points to close under 2,986. also today, the labor department reported the number of new claims for unemployment benefits fell this week to the lowest level since march of 2008. president obama is urging dockworkers and shippers to avoid a crippling strike at atlantic and gulf coast ports. it would be the first since 1977. the workers' union contract expires this weekend, and a white house spokesman said today the two sides need to agree on a contract extension as soon as possible. talks broke down last week in a dispute over wages and royalties. the christmas season storm that blasted the south and midwest swept across the upper northeast and new england today and the death count climbed to 16. the system dumped a foot or more of snow in parts of pennsylvania, upstate new york and new hampshire. in some places, snow brought

here's kwame holman. >> holman: toyota motor company agreed today to pay more than $1 billion and settle claims of sudden acceleration. court filings in california said the auto maker will install a brake override system in more than three million vehicles. it also will make direct payments to affected customers. the agreement is subject to approval by a federal judge. >> reporter: thousands of sunni demonstrators in western iraq staged a mass protest today against the shi-ite-dominated government, the third in less than a week. protesters filled the streets in ramadi in anbar province chanting "topple the regime." the demonstrations began after police arrested ten bodyguards assigned to the sunni finance minister. >> reporter: the parliament of japan has elected shinzo abe as the country's seventh prime minister in six years. abe was sworn in today after being chosen by his conservative-leaning liberal democratic party. the party won power in this month's elections, for the first time since 2009. abe has called for bold measures to bolster japan's ailing economy. he previously served as

here's kwame holman. >> holman: the u.s. economy has dodged a potentially crippling strike at ports up and down the east coast and gulf coast at least, for now. the longshoremen's union agreed today to extend its existing contract by another month. that word came after the union and shipping lines worked out a deal on royalty payments for unloading containers. the contract extension gives the two sides time to resolve their remaining issues. wall street finished the week with its fifth straight losing session. stocks have been falling as concern mounts that washington will fail to get a budget deal. the dow jones industrial average lost 158 points today, to close at 12,938. the nasdaq fell 25 points to close at 2,960. for the week, both the dow and the nasdaq fell 2%. sectarian tensions flared across iraq today as tens of thousands of sunnis staged mass protests against the shi-ite-led government. there were rallies in fallujah and ramadi, where protests already had erupted earlier this week. today, mosul, tikrit and samarra

but first, with the other news of the day, here's kwame holman. >> holman: police in webster, new york, found human remains today in the burned-out home where a gunman ambushed firefighters on christmas eve. the victim appeared to be william spengler's sister. he left a note saying he wanted to burn down the neighborhood and kill people. spengler set fire to his house, then shot four firefighters-- killing two-- before killing himself. he had a revolver, a shotgun, and a bushmaster rifle, the same model used in the newtown school shooting. >> i can't tell you at this time what the victims were shot with. we assume it was the rifle because of the distance. it's going to go to the medical examiner. they'll have the autopsies done. >> holman: two firefighters remained hospitalized today in stable condition. the fire spengler set ultimately burned seven homes. the election commission in egypt confirmed today the new constitution won nearly 64% of the vote in a referendum. the panel also reported turnout was just a third of the country's 52 million registered voters. president mohammed mors

here's kwame holman. >> holman: the christmas of 2012 began arriving around the world this evening. in bethlehem, manger square was adorned in decorations and lights, and christian pilgrims and others celebrated midnight mass at the church of the nativity. at the vatican, pope benedict xvi led an early version of midnight mass for hundreds of people in st. peter's basilica. thousands more gathered outside, in st. peter's square. and u.s. troops in afghanistan marked another holiday on the front lines with early christmas dinners. >> my family, however, this job comes with a price, many of the soldiers realize that price. even though we like to be with our families we realize the importance of what we're doing here and we believe in it. there also was another fatal shooting of an american in afghanistan today. a policewoman in kabul killed a u.s. civilian trainer who'd been working with the nato command. there've been more than 60 such "insider" attacks this year. this was the first committed by a woman. in syria, the u.n. envoy to syria met with president bashar al-assad in damascus