. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening thanks for joining us. late last night the senate passed a sweeping $1.1 trillion spending bill, heading off a government shutdown for at least the next fiscal year. the president is expected to sign it. despite it's passage, the budget plan has drawn criticism from both democrats and tea party republicans. besides funding the military and fighting ebola, the bill also relaxes school nutrition standards, clears the way for much larger campaign contributions from wealthy individual donors, and includes a controversial rollback on bank regulations put in place after the financial cr

next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's whye ar your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, ari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good eveng. thanks for joining us. north korea today calledhe obama administration's clams that it was behind the cyber attack on sony "slander" and threatened to retaliate unless the united states agrees to conduct a joint investigation about the matter. its comments were included in a statement read on state- controlled television. american officials say the attack was similar to others carried t by the north koreans. chinese authorities have detained a 74-year-old american missionary, peter hahn. the incident occurred sterday near china's border with north korea. saying hundreds of christian missionaries have been

. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us. an american hostage has been killed in a failed rescue attempt in yemen. 33-year-old photojournalist luke somers had been held by al qaeda militants for nearly a year. the group recently issued a videotape, threatening his life. somers was fatally shot by his captors last night when u.s. special forces launched the raid on a village in the southern province of shabwa. he died from those wounds. one local tribal leader said commandos landed in helicopters, deployed concussion grenades and stormed four different houses. a south african captive was also ki

next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thanks for joining us. the pentagon announced today that the u.s. has transferred six detainees from guantanamo bay prison this weekend, sending them to uruguay. human rights activists say the six were never charged or given a trial during their 12 years of detention. this is the largest prisoner contingent to leave gitmo since 2009, and it's the first group of detainees sent to south america. the transfer has been in the works since january, but uruguay's presidential elections delayed the deal. the state department expressed its gratitude and called the transfer a "milestone in u.s. efforts to

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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: it's been a fruitless hunt so far for an air-asia jetliner that disappeared sunday morning off indonesia. 162 passengers and crew were on board and two days of searching has failed to find anything. alex thomson of independent television news has our report. >> reporter: dawn this morning on the java sea for the international search effort some hopes raised as an australian team reported seeing debris off shore. the sighted debris proved to be nothing o

. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening. thanks for joining us. as we speak, tens of thousands of demonstrators across the country are marching in the so- called day of resistance, protesting the killings by police of michael brown, eric garner and akai gurley. in new york and in many other cities, thousands joined in mostly peaceful demonstrations. new york city protesters planned to end their march in front of police headquarters. another protest led by the reverend al sharpton marched on the national mall in washington, d.c. today. sharpton is calling for congress to pass legislation putting federal prosecutors in ch

but first, it's pledge week on pbs.s break allows your public television station to ask for your support. and that support helps keep >> woodruff: now the substantial problems that native americans in the u.s. face, particularly with education. that was the focus of a new report issued today and a meeting president obama had with native americans in washington. the president announced a series of initiatives to prepare young american indians for college and the workforce. they include a push to strengthen tribal control of education on reservations. the federal bureau of indian education is responsible for educating nearly 50,000 students in 23 states. the high school graduation rate is for native americans the lowest of any ethnic or racial group. the bureau is part of the department of the interior and interior secretary sally jewell joins me now. welcome to the news hour. >> thank you very much. >> we know the problems in the native american community. they're deeply entrenchedment they go back a long time to the ver

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs has been provided by:ç >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. ç >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for t8and by contributions to your s station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a siege that gripped downtown sydney, australia all day and much of the night, is finally over. but it came at the cost of two hostages dead, along with the gunman who'd held them. our chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner reports. >> warner: the storming of this chocolate cafe in sydney began with loud bangs, in the wee hours of tuesday morning. after police swept into the building, a hostage appeared, helped down the street by officers. moments later, another hostageç was carried out sobbing. several other people were wheeled out o

but first, it's pledge week on pbs.s break allows your public television station to ask for your support. and that support helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations not taking a pledge break we take a second look at an ambitious new project starring two unlikely heroes and zombies. the newshour's mike melia reports. >> reporter: do you like skateboarding? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: why? >> it represents my wild side. >> reporter: these young men have a story to tell. >> it's going to be like between horror and comedy, drama kind of thing. ♪ ♪ >> we have every average, everyday teen drama, like love triangles, heartbreaks or betrayals or people living secret lives. >> or it could be a teenager's secret life. >> what i do to mattie is leave him behind. >> yeah >> and that is not cool. >> you can't leave a friend behind. >> reporter: sam and mattie are best friends. both have down syndrome. they first met at the special olympics when they were in grade school competing in track and field eve

. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening. thanks for joining us. it's been a week now since two new york city police officers were murdered by a man who apparently was seeking revenge for the killings of michael brown and eric garner by white police officers, deaths for which the police were not charged. and today, there was a funeral for one of the officers shot dead in his patrol car last saturday in brooklyn. the newshour's hannah yi has our report. >> reporter: thousands flooded the streets near a queens church this morning for the funeral of officer rafael ramos, a 40-year- old father of two teenaged boys who had be

next on pbs newshour weekend >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening. thanks for joining us. president obama has decried the murder of two new york city police officers in brooklyn yesterday. and so did the families of michael brown and eric garner, african-americans whose killings by white police officers set off nationwide protests. but former new york city mayor rudolph giuliani said today the protests send the message that "the police are bad, the police are racist," a conclusion, he said, that is completely wrong. meanwhile, the investigation into yesterday's incident is continuing. the newshour's william brangham reports. >> reporter: mourners gathered today at

but first, it's pledge week on pbs.s break allows your public television station to ask for your support. and that support helps >> woodruff: new questions and doubts are being raised about the story of an alleged gang rape at the university of virginia, an account that grabbed national attention, including ours. the story, first published in "rolling stone," detailed the alleged brutal rape of a freshman at a fraternity house two years ago. the victim said she was assaulted by seven men over three hours while two others watched, including her reported date. "rolling stone's" managing editor published a note today about discrepancies in the victim's story. he wrote, "we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced." the fraternity, phi kappa psi, disputed parts of her story and... >> the chapter did not have a date function or a scoail event during the weekend of september 28, 2012. ...there was no social event at the house on the night in question. we invited "rolling stone" and the reporter whom we

. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening. thanks for joining us. it's monday morning in asia and the search for a missing airasia jetliner carrying 162 people is resuming. the airbus disappeared from radar screens about 40 minutes after taking off from indonesia on route to singapore. the newshour's zachary green has more on the investigation. >> reporter: at singapore's changi airport, friends and relatives gathered to await news about airasia flight 8501, which disappeared early this morning. among those waiting, the fiance of a young man who had been traveling with relatives. >> ( translated ): it was supposed to be th

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: friends and relatives lined up this afternoon at the wake for a new york city policeman, rafael ramos. he was one of two officers shot dead last saturday by a gunman, who then killed himself. hundreds turned out at a church in queens, a day before the ramos funeral. at the same time, a spontaneous memorial of flowers and candles kept growing at the site of the shootings in brooklyn. meanwhile, in oakland, california, christmas night protests over recent police killings of black suspects turned violent. a crowd smashed windows and even wrecked a public ch

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: wall street sank into a week-ending swoon today, overwhelmed, again, by the plunging price of oil. a barrel of oil fell below $58 dollars a barrel in new york trading, down 12% this week alone. in turn, the dow jones industrial average slumped 315 points to close below 17,281. that was its worst week since late 2011. the s&p 500 dropped 33 points to close at 2,002, its worst week since spring of 2012. and the nasdaq fell 54, to finish at 4,653. financial expert hugh johnson says it underscores that lower oil prices present a trade-off. >> a decline in th

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> at bae systems, our pride and dedication show in everything we do; from electronics systems to intelligence analysis and cyber- operations; from combat vehicles and weapons to the maintenance and modernization of ships, aircraft, and critical infrastructure. knowing our work makes a difference inspires us everyday. that's bae systems. that's inspired work. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> supported by the john d. and >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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. >> woodruff: the people of pakistan were staggered today by the worst terror attack in at least seven years. when it was over, scores of young stude

but first, it's pledge week on pbs.s break allows your public television station to ask for your support. and that support helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> ifill: for those stations not taking a pledge break, we take a second look at a renowned ballerina raising the bar for young dancers. jeffrey brown has the story. >> brown: "the four temperaments," a dance choreographed by george balanchine in 1946. at the charlotte ballet recently, patricia mcbride taught it to her dancers. >> brown: for 28 years, mcbride herself performed the work of balanchine. as a principal dancer for the new york city ballet. and often the master choreographer created dances specifically for her. >> you would jump off a bridge if he said to jump off that bridge. we'd all jump, because we had so much trust in him. >> brown: in december, mcbride, now age 72, will follow in the footsteps of her mentor. as a kennedy center honoree for her life as a dancer and co- director of a vibrant ballet company. patricia mcbride's story began as a

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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: from holy places to battlefields, christians and others made ready today for the coming of christmas. in bethlehem, thousands of the faithful, along with tourists, crowded manger square, traditional birthplace of jesus, in advance of midnight mass. at the vatican, pope francis led midnight services before throngs of worshippers in st. peter's basilica. and in afghanistan, american troops ma

but first, it's pledge week on pbs.s break allows your public television station to ask for your support. and that support helps keep >> woodruff: finally tonight, the battle to contain ebola in west africa. the world health organization reported today that liberia and guinea have met two key targets. they're now isolating 70% of those infected, and ensuring safe burials for 70% of those who have died. more than 6,900 people have been killed by the virus during this outbreak. laurie garrett, of the council of foreign relations, is back from a recent trip to liberia and sierra leone. she has a new e-book called "ebola: story of an outbreak." she is symptom-free but since she is still being monitored, we spoke with her by skype from new york. laurie garrett, welcome. so there is some good news today from the w.h.o. about guinea and liberia. how do you size up the situation there, having just come back? >> well with, certainly in liberia, the american presence has made a difference. the staggering capacity of the liberian

for all of us here at the pbs newshour, 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. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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 report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. funded in part by -- thestreet.com and action alerts plus where jim cramer and fellow portfolio manager stephanie link share their investment strategies, stock picks and market insights. you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr. >>>>> in the fast lane, falling discounts got people into the auto showroom driving off with new cars as a handful of automakers post their best monthly sales figures in years. >> breakthrough d

but first, it's pledge week on pbs. this break allows your public television station to ask for your support.ill: last month, t. attorney for utah dropped charges against one of the protesters. a trial for the other four is set for december 22. >> ifill: finally tonight, personal reflections on the recent upheaval involving black men and white police officers in new york, ferguson, cleveland and beyond. they come from poet and playwright claudia rankine her book, "citizen" was a finalist for the national book award. >> i'm claudia rankine. a poet, a playwright. i also teach at pomona college. i see myself as a citizen, walking around, collecting stories. and using those stories to reflect our lives through poetry, through essays, creating these hybrid texts and plays that reflect back to us who we are. in my most recent book "citizen", i wanted to try to track the moments that disrupt interactions, especially between people of different races. the book contains two kinds of aggressions. what is often called micro- aggre

and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.nk you. >> woodruff: president obama calls it the most significant change in u.s. policy toward cuba in more than half a century. in a stunning move today, he laid out plans for a diplomatic rapprochement with havana. >> we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. >> woodruff: the president appeared in the cabinet room of the white house to make his momentous announcement. by executive action, he is re- establishing diplomatic ties with cuba. he also means to open an embassy in havana. expand economic ties with the communist island. and ease the ban on travel for family, government business and educational purposes. >> i do not expect the changes i'm announcing today to bring about a transformation of cuban society overnight, but i am convinced that through policy of engagement, we can more effectively stand up for our values, and help the cuban people help themselve

those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president obama said today that the united states would respond proportionally and at time of its choosing to the cyber attack on sony pictures entertainment. the f.b.i. confirmed this morning that north korea was behind the attack on the company. mr. obama spoke on that and other issues, at a year-end news conference. >> all i want for xmas is to take your questions. >> woodruff: it was a year-end review dominated by the events of one week. as the fallout continued from the sony hacking scandal, and the studio's decision to cancel the release of the mov