On Thursday's NewsHour...

ON THE NEWSHOUR -- December 24, 2009 at 4:45 PM EDT

On Thursday's NewsHour...

HEALTH CARE: Full coverage of the dawn vote in the U.S. Senate on health care reform, and the negotiations that will now begin to harmonize the Senate and House versions of the legislation. Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser has the story from Capitol Hill tonight. Then, Judy Woodruff interviews Naftali Bendavid of the Wall Street Journal about the political battles that may lie ahead, and our old friend Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs, about what the proposed changes mean for all of us.

GLOBAL HEALTH: Yesterday on the PBS NewsHour, President Obama said observers around the world were justified to be "disappointed" in the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit. Tonight, Ray Suarez, who covered the summit for us, takes a look at the implications of a deferred decision on global warming for one particular area of policy: public health around the world.

YEMEN RAIDS: The government of Yemen claimed today that it had killed some 30 members of al-Qaida, reportedly including two regional leaders and a radical imam linked to the November shootings at Fort Hood. Jeff Brown has that story tonight, and interviews two guests about al-Qaida's presence in Yemen, and the implications of today's events.

D.C. SCHOOLS: We have another installment in our series about attempts to reform the public school system in Washington, D.C. Tonight, John Merrow's report, which first aired in the fall of 2008, looks at Chancellor Michelle Rhee's attempts to fire some teachers, but secure pay raises for others.

We'll have all that, plus an update from Hari Sreenivasan about the winter storm spreading throughout the Midwest and the day's other top news developments.

Our anchors tonight are Judy Woodruff and Jeffrey Brown. And the whole PBS NewsHour team wishes you an enjoyable and peaceful holiday season!

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**HEALTH CARE**: Full coverage of the dawn vote in the U.S. Senate on health care reform, and the negotiations that will now begin to harmonize the Senate and House versions of the legislation. Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser has the story from Capitol Hill tonight. Then, Judy Woodruff interviews [Naftali Bendavid](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126148236683801411.html) of the Wall Street Journal about the political battles that may lie ahead, and our old friend [Susan Dentzer](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/wherearetheynow.html), editor-in-chief of [Health Affairs](http://content.healthaffairs.org/index.dtl), about what the proposed changes mean for all of us. **GLOBAL HEALTH**: Yesterday on the PBS NewsHour, [President Obama said observers around the world were justified to be "disappointed"](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/july-dec09/obama_12-23.html) in the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit. Tonight, Ray Suarez, who [covered the summit for us](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2009/12/on-last-day-of-copenhagen-conference-a-look-back-at-newshour-coverage.html), takes a look at the implications of a deferred decision on global warming for one particular area of policy: [public health around the world](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/globalhealth/). **YEMEN RAIDS**: The government of [Yemen claimed today](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2009/12/imam-with-ties-to-fort-hood-shooter-reported-dead.html) that it had killed some 30 members of al-Qaida, reportedly including two regional leaders and a [radical imam linked to the November shootings at Fort Hood](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/religion/july-dec09/alawlaki_11-11.html). Jeff Brown has that story tonight, and interviews two guests about al-Qaida's presence in Yemen, and the implications of today's events. **D.C. SCHOOLS**: We have another installment in our series about attempts to reform the public school system in Washington, D.C. Tonight, [John Merrow's](http://learningmatters.tv/) report, which first aired in the fall of 2008, looks at Chancellor Michelle Rhee's attempts to fire some teachers, but secure pay raises for others. We'll have all that, plus an update from Hari Sreenivasan about the [winter storm](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121862006) spreading throughout the Midwest and the day's other top news developments. Our anchors tonight are Judy Woodruff and Jeffrey Brown. And the whole PBS NewsHour team wishes you an enjoyable and peaceful holiday season!