nbc's kelly o'donnell is on the nbc's kelly o'donnell is on the hill for us tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the spirit of the season was here when they got that tax cut compromise through. but then it all kind of fell apart over what else can get done. there's the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty with russia, required government spending bill, the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, and immigration reform. republicans accuse democrats of ignoring the importance of the christmas break by trying to get too much in for the second year in a row. >> the democrat leadership somehow thinks that by being here christmas week that that's an act of courage, that they're being courageous by having congress here, because we're doing all these important things. >> yes, i did say i thought it was disrespectful of one of the two major christmas holidays of the year. >> so it's offensive to me and millions of working americans across this country for any senator to suggest that working through the holidays is somehow sacreligious or disrespectful. >> you may remember

>> kelly o'donnell on the hill tonight. kelly, thanks. >>> another piece of business this lame duck democratic congress is trying to get done is passage of what's called the dream act. giving a path to legal citizenship to illegal immigrants. george lewis is covering this story in los angeles tonight. george, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the house of representatives is debating the dream act tonight and if it passes it heads to the senate, likely tomorrow where it faces tougher sledding. this as immigrant rights groups are pressing for passage of the measure. by the thousands, young people, who as children were brought here illegally by their parents, have been going public in support of the dream act. that act would grant legal residency to undocumented high school grads who came to this country before they were 16 years old, have lived here for five years, and have no criminal records, if they attend college or serve in the military for two years. >> it would be a waste if they graduated from high school

kelly o'donnell for us. thanks. >>> there's some apparent big news for the white house tonight coming from capitol hill. something the white house badly wanted. the new s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms control treaty with russia cleared a key obstacle in the senate. 11 republicans joined every democrat present to support ratification. that clears the way, we're told, for the final vote tomorrow. there's every indication the treaty will be approved before the senate closes up shop for the christmas break. the white house has been repeating over and over, the treaty has the support of every living republican secretary of state. >>> now to the big story in new england. big days at uconn. the university of connecticut. at last night's men's basketball game, the new president of the university, the first woman to be appointed to the job, susan herbst got a big welcome. tonight the women's basketball team could set a record as winningest team ever. men or women in college basketball. ron allen is there. >> reporter: practi

>> kelly o'donnell, thanks. tonight, defense secretary robert gates is applauding today's vote and in a statement said as soon as the president signs the bill, the pentagon will begin planning for the change. meantime, those who have served under the existing ban are reflecting on what those changes mean for them. nbc's kevin tibbles reports. >> reporter: retired u.s. navy captain joan dara and her partner lynn kennedy were married last night. as they prepare to celebrate at a party this evening, they took time out to watch the senate vote. >> there will always be this little fear in the back of my mind that somehow i had been outed and i was being called in to be told that my career was over. >> reporter: dara, a former naval intelligence officer, says for nearly 20 years she could never share her relationship with military colleagues and ultimately "don't ask, don't tell" influenced her retirement. >> it's not right to make people hide part of their lives. >> reporter: most recent poll numbers show that 70% of

>> kelly o'donnell with an update from the hill tonight. kelly, thanks. >>> in other news tonight, overseas, despite its threats, north korea has not retaliated and says it will not for the latest live fire military exercises by south korea. they took place overnight. the drills were conducted on the same island that north korea attacked nearly a month ago, killing four people. this time, as a precaution, south korea evacuated hundreds of people, sent others into underground bunkers. >>> in england, 12 young men were arrested this morning in a sweep targeting suspected terrorists. uk authorities say the suspects had been under surveillance for weeks and were planning a large-scale attack on targets inside great britain. counterterrorism experts here in the u.s. say there's no evidence of any connection to this country. >>> it was just last christmas day, you'll recall, that a man who came to be known as the underwear bomber tried to bring down a commercial airliner on final approach into detroit. because of the explosive he tried to use and

now to our congressional correspondent kelly o'donnell on the hill. kelly, starting with that 9/11 health and compensation bill, most americans are not used to seeing this amount of change where you are in such a short time. >> reporter: brian, it's amazing to think one day after emotional appeals from first responders, tons of media pressure and the clock ticking down toward christmas, congress did pass that 9/11 bill. it helps to pay for medical needs of survivors and workers at ground zero who are suffering serious, even deadly illnesses. first responder john seal says he finally has peace of mind. >> to me, that's better than opening any christmas present this year, and it's because of everybody's hard work that this christmas will be the best christmas that i've never known. >> reporter: it happened because democrats and republicans negotiated really hard this morning to cut down the overall cost of the bill to $4 billion, and to tighten up some of the program's requirements. brian? >> going back, and whether you agree with the legislation or not,

our own kelly o'donnell has more tonight from capitol hill. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. we've got a family feud among democrats. house liberals turned their back on the president over this tax cut deal and there is limited sympathy from the white house and senate democrats. >> it is not acceptable to the house democratic caucus. it's as simple as that. >> reporter: politically, liberal democrats feel ignored and claim the white house cut them out of negotiations in favor of republicans. >> we were told yesterday by the vice president this was a take it or leave it deal. we're saying leave it. >> reporter: substantively, liberals reject changes to the estate tax that would reduce how much wealthy families pay on big inheritances. >> the inheritance tax thing is something that goes far beyond anything that any of us anticipated. >> reporter: that one provision would allow wealthy families to save an estimated $70 billion over two years. liberals argue the rich just don't spend that money on the kind of essentials like f

the story from our own kelly o'donnell who is covering the hill tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: hi there, brian. this was overwhelming. more than 80 senators voted to take this critical procedural step that would prevent everyone's taxes from going up next month and keep unemployment checks coming. it is truly rare to see the white house, republicans and democrats in the senate, all together on this issue. even though there are some parts of it that each doesn't like. the president stopped by the briefing room late today to say this is proof that two parties can work together and urged the house to move quickly, too. that's a tougher sell, because this package adds to the deficit and many liberal members thinks it gives away too much to the wealthy. brian? >>> kelly o'donnell in washington tonight with the latest on that front. >>> now we turn to our ongoing coverage of what we've been calling "the war next door." the deadly war being waged by mexican drug cartels, south of the u.s. border. it's no secret that cartel's biggest drug market is here

>> kelly o'donnell on the hill for us tonight. kelly, thanks for that. >>> overseas, there has been a victory for the wikileaks founder, julian assange, in his fight to get out of prison. but tonight there has also been a catch. our own peter alexander remains outside the prison in southwest london tonight. the peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. he will remain here in the prison for at least one more night. returning to court by thursday after swedish authorities appeal the judge's decision, ordering his release on a bail. >> reporter: he is wanted on allegations of sexual misconduct. his lawyer called the appeal vindictive. photographers today captured these photos of him through tinted windows on his way into the courthouse at the hearing that the man who has made freedom of information his life's work, at the price of his own freedom. $315,000 cash bail with restrictions. a asange would have to reside at the friend's estate outside london, a man who is part of the exclusive club for journalists. he wou

kelly o'donnell on capitol hill with the list tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good eving, brian. they've moved on to one of the top foreign policy priorities for the president, the new s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms treaty with russia. but domestic politics could complicate that. republican senators met with the president and told him directly that the democratic majority leader harry reid could harm the treaty's chances. their complaint the democrats plan to vote tomorrow on don't ask, don't tell, alienates republicans who say if the treaty is so important, don't jump to those more controversial social issues. democrats say they have to act now, because they have the votes to fally repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military. will republicans who don't want to see that change retaliate by killing e treaty? republicans say harry reid has poisoned the well around here but claim they will vote on the treaty on its merits. but there's plenty of friction around here. >> kelly o'donnell in the capitol for us. kelly, thanks. more o

our own kelly o'donnell has been covering it all all day and with us tonight from capitol hill. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: hi there, brian. the urgency and the politics have ramped up here tonight, over a money crisis that has many scared about the cash in people's pockets today and for generations to come. a pivotal day for your money on capitol hill. the president sent his treasury secretary and budget director here to try to hammer out a deal to keep some or all income taxes from going up next month as scheduled. >> it's ridiculous what's going on around here. >> reporter: all 42 republicans promise to block everything, including extending unemployment benefits, until democrats agree to extend all tax cuts and fund government operations before they run out friday. >> we need to show the american people we care more about them and their ability to pay their bills than we do about the special interest groups legislative christmas lists. >> reporter: the president said he's not concerned. >> i think we got off to a good start yesterday. there are going to be ups and downs

kelly o'donnell, karen finny. she is now an msnbc political analyst, so is pat buchanan.sse jackson. moving forward on this, if this passes the senate and goes to the house, if all the lawmakers pass this tax cut compromise, what is your prediction for how it affects the nation? >> the price for the $56 million workers is a trillion dollar deal in the jaws of china. there is a tax cut for the wealthiest americans cutting revenue from our budget. by april they will say we have a deficit crisis let's cut spending. that is cut medicare. cut medicaid. cut social security and so it is tax cut in december, but it is spending cut in april and the most vulnerable americans will be in that cut. >> karen, let me ask you. this is expected to pass the senate and go on to the house. what is the likelihood amendments are offered in the house that delay or kill the tlegs? >> i think, unfortunately, most of the democratic -- fortunately, the democratic members of the house know there will not be an opportunity to make changes. the change would have to go back to the senate and that viola

kelly o'donnell joins us live on that. kelly, what is at stake with this start treaty. >> well, just in terms of the tempo of the day, this is a classic example of the difference between the house and the senate. lots of squabbling on the house side. a more serious, quiet, but still rough debate going on between the parties over the russia nuclear arms deal. and what's at stake for the white house is they called it one of the top foreign policy priorities. democrats want to get this done, and they'd like to get it done before this congress expires. republicans have been very frustrated by this because they claim there isn't enough time to do all the debate that should take place, and they have issues with what's in it, and they talk about things that really mean they don't trust the russians, that's sort of their phrasing. so they want to proceed very carefully about this deal. now in terms of procedure, it throws lots of things up in the air. finalizing the other things they hope to get done. like the repeal on don't ask,

kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. we're going to begin with kelly on capitol hill. walk me through what we're going to see over the next two and a half hours. and explain why they need two and a half hours. >> they're just finishing up the debate to wrap this up over the vote. we heard the democrat from colorado come out and say he will oppose this because he believes it gives too much to the rich. we've seen john mccain talking about the fact that he'll vote for it. and we saw chuck grassley of iowa saying if they don't act on this it's the biggest increase in tax cut history. it's past 3:00 now. what they are doing is holding it open to allow more members to get back to town. harry reid said he knew they were flying in. at least one senator was stranded in minneapolis. >> we know about the weather. >> exactly. so they'll give them extra time. but they don't suspect suspense. they believe they have enough votes and they've been checking to see who is around. we may wait for a while. but there's confidence among democrats and republicans who back this strongly, that

. >> kelly o'donnell is live in d.c. reid couldn't get the votes by going for a continued resolution. do republicans, do they want that, though? >> well, here's the situation. the majority leader was not able to get enough votes for a spending bill that covers all of the government's departments. it's a massive bill. $1.1 trillion. he wasn't able to get the votes in part because republicans felt there was too much excessive spending. that's an argument they often have here. so reid had to abandon that in order to eventually vote in the next day or two on a short-term fix to keep the governments bills paid for a couple of months. it was a very difficult thing for reid to do because he believes strongly in a lot of the underlying programs that are in the bill. some of the earmarks that he believes are worthwhile programs. and one of the things that he makes a point of is a frustration that he doesn't want bureaucrats or the executive branch to have too much power on where money is directed for various things around the cou

nbc's kelly o'donnell following the latest from the capitol hill.is was the unholy compromise hammered out by joe biden and mitch mcconnell. >> it was an overwhelming vote. that is what the white house wanted to see and senate republicans wanted to see. the bigger the numbers the greater the leverage on the house side. the liberals who believe it is too generous to the wealthy and conservatives who believe the tax cuts should be extended permanently and it adds to the deficit, an objection many have. 19 votes against is a rarity. we tend to see this when we are talking about nominations or things like that. we don't often get this broad stroke of bipartisan. so all the times we talk about them not getting along, here is an instance where they cooperate. it probably won't last long but one to put in the books. >> what are the prospects on the house side? we have heard a lot of anger and venting. is that mostly fury signifying nothing? >> it is frustration. members wanting their leadership, nancy pelosi, chris van hollen and team to not bring this to

. >> that was kelly o'donnell reporting. president obama says he and business leaders share a mission of building a stronger economy and is seeking their ideas to seize the promise of the moment. he spoke ahead of his meeting with more than 20 ceos. the session as part of a renewed out reached by the president to the corporate community with whom he has had a difficult relationship. a good samaritan comes to the aid of an officer during a traffic stop. why some believe she may have saved his life. researchers think they may have found a cure for hive. details straight ahead. -- researchers think they may have found a cure for hiv. first, a terrible scene at th [ female announcer ] safeway talks gift ideas. music makes a great gift. i like rock, hip-hop, country... and you are telling me this, why? i...uh...thought you might be my secret santa? no. i'm giving for skunk. uh, i can hear you. no. not you. the other skunk. [ female announcer ] safeway is the place to stock up on itunes gift cards. right now, save $6 on a $40 4-pa

kelly o'donnell joins us from the capital. kelly o, this is a big deal, and a procedural move as the first step for a dramatic week of tax cut votes this week? >> yes, it is a powerful signal, because fit gets through as expected, it will put much more pressure on the house democrats who have been reluctant to go through with the package to extend the bush era tax rates and extending unemployment benefits and tax cuts aimed for families and businesses expanding, so democrats in the house have been saying they would be willing to deal on some of this, but they cannot handle one piece of provision for estate taxes which would levy a tax on the families that inherit honey differently, and they will be calculating it differently. the house democrats say as much as they do not like this, they don't believe it will be scuttled, but some way to go forward, but they want to figure out a way to do some adjusting to the the package. many other people say that is not going to work, and that the time which is left. and what happens in the

. >> nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell is in washington for us. that long meeting last night, kelly. where do things stand right now? >> on the senate side right now tom coburn of oklahoma is talking to his colleagues and he is trying to make some changes to this tax cut package that is not likely to be successful but three senators will talk about things they like to do to tweak this. coburn's view is that it needs to be paid for. they have to find cuts somewhere else. on the house side they are talking this morning, too, some with a bit of resignation and frustration towards their own democratic leadership. the president and leaders in the house about being pushed in their words to vote for some things in this they do not like. others are saying it needs to be done because their constituents are waiting for those unemployment checks or the extension of the current tax rates. there are strong feelings on all sides. a big move forward today when we expect some time after probably 12:30 or so these things always slide a bit. after we get through a f

all right, kelly o'donnell on this. i heard from one democratic senator we may be here until the 23rd, meaning the president delays his trip as well oenchts, yes. >> kelly, thank you. >>> elsewhere on the hill, starting the business of ratifying s.t.a.r.t. strts. the nuclear arms treaty with russia. will they finish it? republican are digging in saying there's no way to get it done before the christmas break. joe biden told andrea mitchell that is just not acceptable. >> what do you say to senate senator kyl and the others who are dragging their feet? >> get out of the way. there's too much at stake. too much at stake for america's national security, and don't tell me about christmas. i understand christmas. i have been a senator for a long time. i have been there many years where we go right up to christmas. there's ten days between now and christmas. i hope i don't get in the way of your christmas shopping, but, this is the nation's business. this is a national security at stake. act. act. >> you can see andrea's entir

. >> and kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill, and what are you looking to the nr the test vote today, kelly? >> well, it is an important first step, because we expect the senate to move this to the next point which is debate and shapes the next week. it will not get going until 3:00 this afternoon and to give you a matter of the sense of what is going on. normally the votes go by quickly, but harry reid will leave the vote open for hours if necessary to allow the senators who are traveling back with the bad weather around the country today. and this vote will signal what people are prepared the do. you heard dick durbin saying that they have the democrats on the whole spectrum of the party willing to go along with this. some of them are very much concerned about the estate tax, and others are a little bit more calm about it saying that this is a compromise they can live with. lots of republicans are coming out saying they support it, so it is expected to move through. then of course, all of the attention goes right back to the house, and will they act on this? there is still real resis

>> all right, kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. 's going to be a crazy weekend, but who knows, maybe it gets wrapped up this weekend. kelly, thanks very much. and, of course, an earmark actually saves zero dollars in the budget the way it works. it just directs dollars. and i think sometimes that fact does get lost in the debate. all right. let's than 24 hours after being released from prison, wikileaks founder julian assange was defiant today, defending himself against the charges in sweden and responding to reports that he could be charged here in the u.s. for leaking classified information. >> we don't know what the grounds of that investigation is. in fact, like the swedish investigation, the whole damn thing is kept secret. something is wrong in the united states that such an investigation against me and in effect, my organization, and indeed now, we see serious calls against the "new york times," as well, that all that is to be conducted in secret. >> well, nbc's peter alexander is in suffolk, england. and peter in the intervi

kelly o'donnell is nbc news capitol hill correspondent. all right, kelly, how do we expect this to go? >> reporter: well, today the senate will, around noontime, start to take a couple of procedural votes. then we expect the big vote. and it should be overwhelming in favor of this. and even one of the democrats who had voted against the first step the other day, sherrod brown of ohio, says he's going to vote for it too. and a lot of people swallow hard, saying there are things they don't like about it, but enough benefits they want to get this done. and nobody wants to be blamed for allowing tax rates to go up for everybody in a couple of weeks. among house democrats, there was another one of those kind of spill your guts sessions last night where they got together, talked about their concerns, tried to figure out a way to fight this. and those who came out of the meeting told us that there was a lot of chance to talk about it, buts theren't a clear path as to how they would try to fight this. so there's a gaining sense of recognition that

kelly o'donnell, nbc news capitol hill correspondent, she joins us now. walk us through what time today we should expect the tax deal to pass the senate and what's going to happen on the house side. >> a couple of loose ends still. on the senate side, senator tom coburn, republican of oklahoma is trying to get some amendments there is a little bit of procedural stuff to get through with that, to be could happen late today to get a final passage vote, a couple of smaller hurdles still to go. late tonight, the house democrats, about 6:30, the end of the business day, they will all get together and meet behind closed doors. we know the last time they did that, they came out with a unified message of no to this plan, see if they revise their views a bit it is definitely moving forward. one of the things that has been pushing it along is the involvement of the president and he appeared in the briefing room yesterday, talked about it, but he also did something we don't see often and he talked to local supporterses who have invited and invited from states and ma

kelly o'donnell has the details. >> reporter: there was a talk marathon with some house democrats saying they have received phone calls from the president urging them to get it done and just before midnight, they did. so everyone's tax rates stay the same, unemployment benefit checks keep coming and $858 billion gets added to the deficit. a done deal. >> on this vote, the yays are 272, the nays are 148. the motion is adopted. >> reporter: but getting there was uglier than expected. after hours of delay, house liberals came up withary own changes to the president's tax cut compromise. >> to the house amendment, to the senate amendment, with the amendment adopted in the committee as a whole. >> reporter: that gave liberals a way to prove they fought against some tax breaks for the wealthy. >> there's nothing in this bill that's sanity. it's insanity. we fixed this debt by closing this tax loophole, shame on you. >> reporter: democrats blasted the size and costs of a more than $1 trillion bill to keep the government open for business. >> members on this side of the aisle increasingly felt c

capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has the latest on this. >> reporter: and the big issue today is your tax money, how much of it you get to keep and how much lawmakers want to spend on those pet projects they like so much. the senate is expected to pass today that package of tax cuts and unemployment benefit extensions and the house democrats, they're the ones who still don't like this. frustrated and fed up. did the leaders give you any idea what the way forward is? >> no, not yet. >> reporter: house democrats met for hours late tuesday night to demand again the tax breaks for the wealthy be scaled back in the president's compromise with republicans. >> in spite of what we're doing here which is $858 billion borrowed, adding $2 billion to the deficit, yeah, it's only $20 billion, but we got to start somewhere. >> reporter: it's time to do the deal on taxes before everyone's taxes go up on january 1. >> christmas is a week from saturday, i understand that, but i hope the republicans understand it also because we are going to complete our work. >> reporter: and there's a new pol

. >> let's go to nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. kelly, the signing is at 3:50, as i understand it, washington time. the white house is looking at this as a pretty good photo-op. >> certainly for them because they can make that point, again, that middle class tax cuts will stay in effect. and, so, at a signing ceremony, you don't have to address some of the things in the bill, now law, that you don't like. they can emphasize the positive and make that a big photo-op before the president will ultimately leave town to go to hawaii for the holidays. kilwa still waiting on some other hill business to get done. some other things will be bubbling. for that long tax compromise, there was a long vote. interestingly a large number of republicans and democrats who voted yet and there was bipartisan in that, but you had to look through a lot of grumbling and fighting to get to that. more than 100 democrats chose to vote no because they felt it was too generous to wealthy families and it adds to the debt. they wanted to have a narrower piece mor

kelly o'donnell is live on capitol hill. kelly, where do we stand. >> reporter: there is a lot of debate and a great deal of anger among many democrats who believe this is the wrong way to go. they will get the chance to take a vote on a piece that could take part of the estate tax out. wealthier families would have to pay more passing on their wealth. that is not expected to pass. if it does not pass the house will vote on the full package we have seen get through the senate. should that pass the president adds his signature and it becomes law and the whole issue about whether tax rates go up in january is resolved for two years. a day that looks like real progress will be made and an opportunity for emotion and differences to have a voice. >>> we are looking at the house repealing the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. now it is the senate's turn. i will ask senator joseph lieberman if he wrangled enough votes to pass that. an official asks whether it is about time all drugs are legalized. nobody in my family ever had

nbc's capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell, has the latest. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. there is a complication to this that can only happen one time a year and it is here, the politics of christmas. with pressure to get some important things done there is really a lot of fighting going on and democrats and republicans are not spreading holiday cheer. twas the fight before christmas. >> this is a terrible way to run the federal government's business. >> reporter: the senate to-do list is long. >> the senate will come to order. >> reporter: republicans say there is only time left to fund the government before the money runs out this saturday. >> we ought to pass the tax legislation and keep the lights on. everything else, mr. president, can wait. >> reporter: democrats say they are not leaving town. >> yet, some of my republican colleagues have the nerve to whine about having to stay in action, do the work of the american people. >> reporter: republicans' message to harry reid, don't mess with christmas. >> the democrat

. >> kelly o'donnell is nbc news capitol hill correspondent. kelly, good morning. i guess the senate gets started today, but all the suspense really still is in what the house will do. >> reporter: exactly. the phone lines have been burning up from leaders in both chambers and the white house, calling members to see where they are. and we have every indication that it should go through easily in the senate. this is the first step vote. and it's an important sign, of course. but on the house side, there was a real moment this weekend that seemed to change the shifting sands. when chris van hollen, who's part of the democratic leadership team, said that he didn't think his members would get in the way of this passing. but that really set off kind of looking at this in a new way, and even his office late last night sent out a release saying, no, there was a little bit more to it. he still wants to fight and believes that many liberal democrats want to fight for a change in that one piece that's a real sticking point, and that is the estate tax. van hollen says he's lo

that's an increase of almost 010% from a decade ago but it is slowing. >> kelly o'donnell for us this morning on capitol hill. thanks very much. david gregory is the moderator of "meet the press." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> if we had gotten together on november 3rd and we probably d-but if i said to you that morning that have the shellacking the democrats and president took, that the president by the end the year would piece together on tax cuts, don't-ask, don't-tell and s.t.a.r.t. treaty most people would have thought we were crazy. >> either one of us. that's exactly right. now you have to give the president his due. this is a much better lame duck congress anyone expected. he was able to for the politics under the republicans on the don't-ask, don't-tell and the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. the white house was able to clear away a lot of the underbrush politically to pave the way for these agreements. >> his approval rating has not been that great. it does help when you're leading. does any of this translate, in your opinion, into better approval ratings? >> well, i would be c

kelly o'donnell and ken strickland are both with me this hour. let's start off with kelly o. a lot happening, kelly. let's pick it up with the vote on tax cut. quite convincing there. >> absolutely. you can watch your congress multitasking today. with an overwhelming vote, the president got what he wanted, senate republicans got what most of them wanted, and many democrats went along as well. and the focus of this was trying to keep tax rates the same for everyone so in a couple of weeks, no one's tax bill goes up. and that is also important when you consider the wider economy. they think that move will boost the economy and create jobs. it also keeps unemployment checks coming for those who have been out of work, 2 million people would be affected by that. the senate has done its piece. it has to be passed by the house. we understand that vote will happen tomorrow. and then if it passes there, which is a tougher sell, then the president gets to sign it. this issue is settled for the next couple of years. a big, big fight here over issues like the deficit and who should get t

capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins me live now. if you listen to members of the senate today, they believe they will get to the 60 needed to move forward. >> exactly. they've done phone calls. harry reid says he'll take the coat. one unnamed senator is stuck in minneapolis due to weather. they will hold the vote open for some period of time to get everybody a chance to get here and vote. they believe the tax cut compromise package will go forward in the senate. it is one step towards late tomorrow and perhaps wednesday a final vote should go forward. all this really puts pressure on the house to see if they will go along with what the president wants and what we believe the senate will do. . and some top leaders say they believe there's an opportunity to make changes in the area of estate taxes. there's a general feeling this will go forward. senator, thanks so much for joining us. are you confident that the senate will move forward with what has been a hot topic since the president announced this compromise with republicans. >> ye

kelly o'donnell has details. kelly, good morning. >> good morning, matt.the vote comes this afternoon and could decide the fate of the president's compromise with republicans. extending job benefits and a whole bunch of tax credits. but some opposition from house liberals may not be enough to scuttle it. ♪ the newborn king >> while the first family enjoyed christmas cheer in washington sunday night, the president may get an early present on his tax compromise from republicans. >> we have a good cross section from left to right who are prepared to accept this. >> the house will be in order. >> reporter: and there is a real turn around from some house liberals, who say the president's compromise gives too many tax breaks to the rich. last week, they vowed to stop it. >> reporter: it is not acceptable to the house democratic caucus. it's as simple as that. >> reporter: by sunday, congressman chris van holland predicted it would pass. house liberals will try to re-work the deal to make wealthy families pay higher tax on inheritance. >> members will record thei

. >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill this morning. >>> it's now eight minutes after the hour, here's ann. >> another sad development in the bernie madoff saga, the death of his oldest son mark has now been ruled a suicide by the new york medical familiar never's office. this as his father serves a 156-year sentence in prison. >> reporter: as you mentioned, those official autopsy results are in this morning as expected. mark madoff's official cause of death is suicide by hanging. if he was trying to send a message here, he sure did it, taking his own life on the exact two-year anniversary of his father bernie madoff's arrest. we're getting our first look inside where it happened. with a fishing business and multiple mansions, mark madoff's charmed life came crashing down after the scandal and came to a shocking end on friday morning. this morning the "new york post" published an exclusive look inside. >> mark madoff was found hanging from a pipe in the living room of the apartment. >> reporter: sources say mark madoff was visibly depressed. just says ago he was sueded yet again, this

kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. good to see you. the president has a lot riding on this. he has been making phone calls and so has the secretary of state. the pentagon says it's vital to national security. only a couple of republicans are publicly saying they will ratify the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty. republican leaders say there are problems with this concerned about constraints on u.s. missile defense and would they really be able to know what russia has in the future. democrats say there has been enough debate and time to vote now. that could happen within a critical test vote today and we'll be watching. >> kelly o'donnell on the hill. >>> exchange students and other americans trying to fly home for the holidays are still being delayed today by wintry weather that grounded flights and even disrupted train service. >>> 22 years ago today pan am flight 23 was blown up over lockerbie, scotland killing 273 people and 88 americans. today, 44 senators will release their report on the decision to release the man convicted

kelly o'donnell has the details. >> reporter: suddenly there's a lot of talk of bipartisanship around here and this new spirit of cooperation centers on a package that would keep taxes from going up in a couple of weeks but it would add to the deficit in a big way. >> are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? >> reporter: a supersized vote tally in the senate. >> the -- on a package of tax cuts and unemployment benefits for 2 million who are out of work. the president had so much riding on this, he popped into the briefing room before the final votes were even counted. >> this proves that both parties can in fact work together to grow our economy and look out for the american people. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell gave the president credit for bending to give tax cuts for those with high incomes along with the middle class. >> we're telling people to keep money that's rightfully theirs so they can spend it and invest it as they please. >> reporter: the deal will add about $900 billion to the federal deficit. fear about that is also bipartisan. >> i sincerel