. >> i want first to introduce margaret cooley who writes nonfiction and poetry. also with us from boston but having stepped off the plain from dublina daniel to be lynn a writer at emer son college. i want to start by reflecting back that those of you folks endeavored to reveal hidden histories of your family lives. we have spoken in advanced of today's conversation. it's clear to me you pursued the stories of your families histories for decades through genealogical work and writing and reflection. i'm wondering if can describe how you dot work you do and where the seeds of your curiousity, how they were planted and want compelled you to do this work. >> i would say that i was have much inspired since i lived in san francisco, california. we are a country of immigrants. in san francisco in particular, we have so many first generation americans. my husband is just became an american citizen a couple of months ago. i have friendlieds who are first generation from vietnam. palestine, israel. mexico, as i watch them struggling with their cultural identities and tryin

. >> warner: and i'm margaret warner. on the "newshour" this christmas eve, we talk to retail analyst dana telsey about what's behind the strong sales numbers. >> brown: then, we hear from new mexico governor bill richardson, just back from north korea. >> warner: lindsey hilsum of "independent television news" reports on iraqi christians forced to flee in the face of anti-christian violence. >> christianity's been here for 2,000 years. but the killings, bombings and attacks of the last few weeks may have tipped the balance. people want to go. >> brown: we examine the uptick in illegal harvesting of holiday greenery from the forests of washington state. >> warner: mark shields and michael gerson analyze this week's news. ♪ >> brown: plus, we take a second look at paul solman's story about a great composer who was also a smart investor. that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> auto companies make huge profits. >> last year, chevron made a lot of money. >> where d

i brought copies that margaret give you earlier -- gave you earlier. president charles chase and vice-president of the historic preservation commission asked to be sure that you see their letter, because they are asking you to defer this vote today until they have time to consider the pending landmark domination of the boat house interior and exterior. they are very interested in the interior, no matter what your staff says. they're very interested in that. there is only one boat repair shop in golden gate park. they're very interested to evaluate it. in order not to be in conflict with their work, you must honor their request and for this vote. the outcome of the review may change what is possible for renovations, and that would imperil the city in costly litigation with a new tenant to signs of a lease only to discover later that what he was promised is impossible. you are all appointed by the mayor and serve at his pleasure. it is important that you not betrayed the people of san francisco, for whom you are sworn to serve, an exchange for pleasing o

we've all heard stories like margaret's. there are thousands like it. and for every one we hear, there are so many more who suffer silently, whose lives and livelihoods were devastated not because of something they did but because of who they are. men and women who were kicked out of the military and were forced to lie to everyone they work with, who go to sleep petrified they'll be found out and discharged, and who wake up dreading another day of mandated deceit and dishonesty. it's wrong. it needs to end. mr. president, don't ask, don't tell is depriving our armed services of talented men and women at a time when we need our best on the frontlines defending america. we're fighting wars in iraq and afghanistan and we cannot afford to lose critical' assets simply because they're gay. and finally, mr. president, we also now know that repealing don't ask, don't tell won't have an adverse impact on the military. we've heard from military leaders who support this repeal. and the pentagon recently came out with their report that showed that repealing this po

on behalf of all of us, john bridgeland. >> thank you so much, margaret. good to be with you. >> warner: thank you. >> woodruff: this is pledge week on public television. we'll be back in seven minutes with the latest on today's supreme court arguments. this sho break allows your >> lehrer: you can find a link to a longer version of scott shafer's story on our web site. >> woodruff: finally tonight, the supreme court hears arguments in a case involving overcrowded prisons in california. gwen ifill has the story. >> ifill: should california be required to move thousands of inmates out of the state's prisons to relieve drastic overcrowding? that was the question before the supreme court today. here are the underlying facts. california prisons currently house 144,000 inmates. in 2009 a three-judge panel ordered the state to reduce that number to 110,000 within two years. yet even if that goal is met, the system would still hold 30,000 more inmates than it is designed to. marcia coyle of the national law journal was at the court today for the arguments in this

on behalf of all of us, john bridgeland. >> thank you so much, margaret. good to be with you. >> warner: thank you. >> woodruff: this is pledge week on public television. we'll be back in seven minutes with the latest on today's supreme court arguments. this short break allows your >> thank you for joining us for another evening of the pbs news hour. you know, it's always reassuring to sit down at the end of a long, hard day and being greeted by this team of professionals as they deliver reports on the news of the day, isn't it. i'm paul anthony joined by marilyn cooley. we're inviting you to become a supporting member of weta. it's our singular purpose to deliver television programs that enlighten and educate our shared community. we're able to do that thanks to our members who are the very backbone of this organization. please consider becoming a part of what public television does best, delivering television perhaps with impact. with your call of financial support to the number on your screen right now. marilyn. >> here is a special bonus. when you pled

margaret thatcher gave me an award for bravery a couple of months later. without that award and the publicity that surrounded it, i would never have been selected as a conservative candidate for ec. -- for a safe tory defeat. >> but then you swam the river. >> that was at the age of 61. i guess my career was founded on the river. the river has always had a strange allure for me. i have a flat on the river looking across, further down. ever since i moved in 15 years ago, i said that i was going to swim across that river. you cannot live by the river and a swim to the other side. -- and never have swum to the other side. i kept telling people that i would then it became a joke. one evening, i suddenly thought that now was the night. i waited until what i thought was high tide. i did not realize that high tide is given in greenwich mean time. this was the british summer time. i got the time of the tide it wrong. of course, you want to swim at slack tide when there is no current. swam an hour before the tide turned and a friend came with me. we did not have li

. >> margaret, would you pull those other cards? >> we don't have a card from larry lee. >> we are trying to be respectful. we have been here since 2:00. >> i understand that, but there are other people who have been here since 2:00 as well. move as fast as you can. >> think. i am suzanne, the save the stow lake boat house. i brought copies that margaret give you earlier -- gave you earlier. president charles chase and vice-president of the historic preservation commission asked to be sure that you see their letter, because they are asking you to defer this vote today until they have time to consider the pending landmark domination of the boat house interior and exterior. they are very interested in the interior, no matter what your staff says. they're very interested in that. there is only one boat repair shop in golden gate park. they're very interested to evaluate it. in order not to be in conflict with their work, you must honor their request and for this vote. the outcome of the review may change what is possible for renovation

. >> warner: and i'm margaret warner. on the newshour tonight, we have the latest on efforts to get stranded passengers to their destinations after more than 5,000 flights were cancelled. >> brown: then betty ann bowser reports on challenges to the new federal health care reform law in one midwestern state. on november 2 republicans here in wisconsin took over everything from the state house to a number of u.s. congressional districts. we're here at the capitol in madison to see how lawmakers intend to use their new influence to put the health-care reform law on pause. >> warner: and we get perspective on where health care reform stands nationally and the battles ahead from julie rovner of npr. >> brown: plus, we examine political dissent and the law in russia, as oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky is found guilty of embezzlement. >> wanrer: we begin a week of encore reports from paul solman on the foreclosure crisis. tonight, troubles in florida as buyers snap up distressed homes. >> brown: and ray suarez looks at proposed

margaret? >> warner: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we'll have the next in paul solman's reports on the foreclosure crisis. i'm margaret warner. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> okay, listen. somebody has got to get serious. >> i think... >> we need renewable energy. >> ...renewable energy is vital to our planet. >> you hear about alternatives, right? wind, solar, algae. >> i think it's going to work an a big scale. only, i think it's going to be affordable. >> so, where are they? >> it has to work in the real world. at chevron, we're investing millions in solar and biofuel technology to make it work. >> we've got to get on this now. >> right now. >> and by bnsf railway. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. 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 pb

some may lose something but actually i received a lot of letters are asking ok what are you doing margaret you're working on the demographic situation on the two and now this is my benefit. what i said will be decreased for somebody's mother is of the so do you think this will help them or would put the situation but i'm with you i would like to see right now that i made a decision to go back to this issue and make some changes to that law and now the women we've got and we'll be able to make the role which with the shorts and decide how this benefit will be calculated and then all these problems will be resolved the reason i mention this now for everybody to hear it because i want everybody to realize that the authorities should be able to listen to people if they did something wrong and there is a problem and they should be able to correct that. mr president about the drugs you garbage called good from urals he tried to fight drugs in his own city. and our law enforcement agencies nearly put him to jail making the local drug lords happy and the public interfered you interfered until it d

thank you so much. >> thanks, margaret. >> ifill: this is pledge week on public television. we'll be back in seven minutes with an encore look at mark twain's autobiography. this short break allows your public television station to ask for your support that support that would have been considered very shocking in the day. >> reporter: the autobiography does include social and political material twain thought too hot for the times like these remarks about president theodore roosevelt's role in the massacre of fililpino guerillas after the spanish american war. >> "he knew perfectly well that to pen 600 hopeless and weaponless savages in a hole like rats in a trap and massacre them in detail during a stretch of a day and a half from a safe position on the heights above was no really feat of arms. he knew perfectly well that our uniformed assassins had not upheld the honor of the american flag." >> reporter: while he could rant on social issues like imperialism, letters he wrote indicated that he still pulled his punches on what he would reveal, even a century hence. >> he stru

. >> reporter: margaret witt of spokane was major margaret witt, a former air force flight nurse discharged after 18 years when the military learned she was a lesbian. she wants to serve again, but her dream may be delayed. >> but it is going to take some time. it's not going to happen overnight. >> reporter: that's because the law will only give the pentagon the power to end the ban if conditions are met. mirs, military leaders must certify that ending don't ask, don't tell won't adversely affect the military. then there is a 60-day waiting period. all this expected to take months. but margaret witt is willing to wait for her chance to serve again. >> people just shouldn't be treated as second class citizens especially when they want to serve you and serve the country. >> reporter: as i mentioned, it could be months. some suggest it may even take a year to actually lift this policy and the restrictions that come with it. the president very happy. he said that no longer will the nation be denied this service of thousands of patriotic americans who have been denied service just because they

thank you so much. >> thanks, margaret. >> ifill: this is pledge week on public television. we'll be back in seven minutes with an encore look at mark twain's autobiography. this short break allows your public television station to ask for your support that support helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations not taking a pledge break, the "newshour" continues now with an education story from ahshar quarashi of the chicago news cooperative. it's part of our newshour connect project.remarkable and e collection of letters, documents and writings that describe the life and passions of mark twain perhaps america's greatest and funniest writer. this rare and damaged film of twain late in his life is part of the archive as are early copies of huckleberry finn and tom sawyer, regarded as monumental american novels. overseeing the vault-- as the room is sometimes called-- is robert hirst, general editor of the mark twain project, which this year 2010 is finally publishing along with the university of california press twain's uncensored autobiography. fin

land mines hold the land hostage >> margaret we have just a few second left if you had one wish about land mines what would your wish wish be? >> anything is possible. save those children. >> wonderful. >> thank you. >> we do have to take a break. we'll continue our discussion in just a moment. when we come back we'll talk about a recent trip to israeli and vietnam. we'll be back with more beyond the headlines. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] yoplait's real fruit and the goodness of dairy... gives you a little slice of happy. and happiness comes in 25 delicious flavors. explore them all. yoplait. it is so good. now the yoplait you love in a new four pack. try it today. >>> welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings back is w us is heidi founder of roots of peace. we were talking about new initiatives. a special envoy for president obama to afghanistan and pakistan you were working with him. >> we honor the passion of the late ambassador richard holbrooke. he led the nonprofit invited to join that and the afghanistan-pakistan united states trilateral effort and that is double and triple the income of

. >> lehrer: then, margaret warner looks at the u.s. push to get pakistan to root out insurgents within its borders. >> brown: special correspondent stephanie hanes reports from the dominican republic on haitian immigrants living in a legal limbo. >> lehrer: outgoing white house economic advisor lawrence summers gives his take on the tax cut deal and more. >> compromise that was right with a weak economy in 2010 would be very wrong two years from now as the economy recovers and progresses. >> brown: and mark shields and david brooks analyze this week's news. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> auto companies make huge profits. >> last year, chevron made a lot of money. >> where does it go? >> every penny and more went into bringing energy to the world. >> the economy is tough right now, everywhere. >> we pumped $21 million into local economies, into small businesses, communities, equipment, materials. >> that money could make a big difference to a lot of people.

. >> warner: and i'm margaret warner. on the newshour tonight, we look at what's next for the agreement, and ask outgoing senators evan bayh and bob bennett about the art of compromise. >> lehrer: then, we update the post-election violence in haiti as officials say they'll verify the vote totals. >> warner: special correspondent dave iverson has the story of the therapeutic power of dance for parkinson's patients. >> many people with parkinson's feel like they are outside of the human experience and dance is a huge part of the human experience. so to come in and dance, you're human again. >> lehrer: judy woodruff interviews the u.s. surgeon- general about a new study on the health damage from even small amounts of cigarette smoke. >> warner: and with the holday shopping season underway, jeffrey brown talks to technology reporter david pogue about our obsession with gadgets and gizmos. >> people associate so heavily with their gadgets that if you insult the gadget its, you get hate mail as though you insulted them. >> lehr