on the "newshour" tonight, paul solman breaks down the latest report. and we debate the benefits of extending unemployment insurance amid washington's fiscal uncertainty. >> woodruff: then we turn to the supreme court which agreed today to take up the issue of gay marriage. margaret warner looks at what's at stake with marcia coyle of "the national law journal." >> brown: hari sreenivasan reports on the threat to the shellfish industry from coast to coast, as ocean temperatures rise and the waters are more acidic. >> this is a very dramatic change that has not been seen in the worlds oceans for more than 50 million years. >> woodruff: mark shields and david brooks analyze the week's news. >> brown: and gwen ifill sits down with michael beschloss, whose recent foray into the twitter-verse has opened up a new way to view history in the digital age. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made p

paul solman sat down with the always outspoken massachusetts democrat barney frank. >> the notion that people would not go along with an important public policy because i hurt their feelings, i don't think that's true. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> 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. >> ifill: a major winter storm surged into the midwest and northeast, fouling flight schedules and ruining road conditions on this day after christmas. the huge weather system left a trail of destruction in the gulf coast region and at least six people dead. >> oh, wow, oh jesus, look at that tornado. >> ifill: the calm of christmas night was shattered by tornadoes dropping from the sky across much of the deep south. this one hit near downtown mobile, alabama, ripping apart a church, a high school and a number of homes. at least 34 tw

"newshour" economics correspondent paul solman has been exploring that question.t of his ongoing reporting on "making sense" of financial news. >> the economy is just terrible. i'm really worried about our future honey. >> i'm spending just as fast as i can to stimulate the economy. uh oh, i just maxed out my credit card. >> here, use mine. the economy can use all the spending it can get. >> stop right there. >> reporter: just in time for the holidays, a new video from the folks who created the keynes-hayek rap which we've featured in the past. this may look like a keynesian christmas carol, pushing consumption to boost the economy, as english economist john maynard keynes long ago advised. >> ♪ if you want a recovery buy toys, mountains of toys. >> reporter: in fact, it pitches the exact opposite: saving as the path to prosperity, as sung by keynes' conservative rival, friedrick hayek. >> ♪ delaying consumption of goods today, a better tomorrow ♪ we pave if growing prosperity is our ♪ goal the best thing we can do is save.♪ >> reporter: in real life, hayek's aust

>> woodruff: paul solman explores the tax deductions that could be on the chopping block in the quest to bring down the deficit. >> we estimate $1.1 trillion a year in revenue the government gives up because of all the tax breaks. that's enough to solve the revenue problem but it's not going to happen. >> ifill: ray suarez has a newsmaker interview with secretary of homeland security janet napolitano. >> you can discuss border security and immigration reform simultaneously now. we don't have to this kind of first this and then that. at this point they actually go together. >> woodruff: special correspondent rick karr reports on the polluted waters that spilled into new york homes and businesses in superstorm sandy, raising health concerns. >> everybody sort of got sick at the same time. all of us sort of attributed it to, well, we're all stressed out. it's very cold. but that said, there is a lot of nasty stuff hanging about. >> ifill: and hari sreenivasan has an update on the dangerous working conditions in bangladesh, where more than 100 workers have died over the past month. that's

on the "newshour" tonight, paul solman breaks down the latest report. and we debate the benefits of extending unemployment insurance amid washington's fiscal uncertainty. >> woodruff: then we turn to the

"newshour" economics correspondent paul solman begins our coverage. >> reporter: washington brightened yesterday when the annual switch was flipped; the white house christmas tree, relit. and this morning, more holiday cheer, it seemed, in the form of the monthly jobs numbers. 146,000 new jobs were created last month, according to the survey of employers; unemployment dropped again, to 7.7%, according to the survey of households. both numbers better than expected in the wake of hurricane sandy and fiscal cliff anxiety. >> so it looks like sandy will not affect the numbers even after revisions. >> reporter: georgetown's harry holzer, former chief economist for the labor department. >> in terms of the fiscal cliff, so far we are not seeing any big impact. >> reporter: not even an impact on retail which, for all the talk of online supplanting bricks-and-mortar buying, added 53,000 jobs last month-- much of it holiday hiring, no doubt-- but a healthy 140,000 overall increase in the past three months. not all the new numbers were festive, however. construction shed 20,000 jobs, though perha

i have a feeling paul solman is involved. hari sreenivasan gives us the answer. >> sreenivasan: our resident financial bard "merle hazard" re-imagines the fiscal cliff debate as a 1960s-style drag race between party leaders. you can watch his animated music video on paul's "making sense" page. we're introducing a new feature- - feed your science diet with "lunch in the lab," a virtual platter of science news, delivered fresh every monday, wednesday and friday. today's daily special-- the mars rover rumors. and on "need to know" tonight, an encore report about an investigation into alleged abuses by u.s. border patrol officers. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> warner: and again to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the afghanistan conflict. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. here, in silence, are eight more. >> warner: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm margaret warner. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen

and our own paul solman admits to a few as well as we come to the end of 2012. and you can look back at some of the most striking and oddest images captured by photojournalists this year. all that and more is on our web site newshour.pbs.org. margaret? >> warner: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on monday, we'll highlight the stories from the past year that are likely to make the history books i'm margaret warner. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> 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

and in a follow-up to yesterday's "making sense" story, paul solman pushes author james livingston on his view that spending is better than private investment. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, we'll have the latest on the connecticut shootings. before we go, we want to remind you about the special pbs broadcast tonight, "after newtown". the program will explore gun availability, mental health, and other issues which have come to the fore since the tragedy. gwen will host this collaboration of all our national news and science programs. check your local listings. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. we'll see you online and, as it's looking like the end is not upon us yet, again here monday evening. have a nice winter weekend. thanks for joining us. good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people

plus, paul solman takes viewers' questions about the pitfalls of investing in bonds.explains in making sense. site newshour.pbs.org. >> brown: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online. and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks among others. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

and on making sense, economics correspondent paul solman argues both sides of the capital gains tax debate and more is on our website newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> woodruff: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. 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. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

the newshour's economics correspondent paul solman was in washington recently to examine the possible impact of such a change. it's part of his ongoing reporting, "making sense of financial news." reporter: at saint martin's catholic church last thursday, they queued up early for clothing and food. the church, like any nonprofit, relies on charitable donations. but limiting or even charitable deductions could be part of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. one man of the tax policy center says given our national debt? sort of tax hikes are inevitable. >> one way is to tax the same income we have right now but get more revenue. the alternative is to tax more. get rid of the deductions and the exemptions, the things that reduce or taxable income. we tax more at today's rates and we bring in more revenue. >> reporter: itemized deductions are the first form of tax breaks on the table. used by 30% of tax payers they cost the government over $200 billion a year. about a fifth of this year's deficit. charitable donations alone cost $40 billion a year. but ending them is costly too. >> anybody w

and our own paul solman admits to a few as well as we come to the end of 2012. and you can look back at some of the most striking and oddest images captured by photojournalists this year. all that and more is on our web site newshour.pbs.org. margaret? >> warner: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on monday, we'll highlight the stories from the past year that are likely to make the history books i'm margaret warner. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributio