PBS NewsHour; December 29, 2010 3:00pm-4:00pm PST

Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS

>> Ifill: GOOD EVENING. I'M GWEN IFILL. WORK CREWS STRUGGLED AGAIN TODAY TO FREE SNOWBOUND AND TESTY NEW YORKERS, THREE DAYS AFTER A BLIZZARD CRIPPLED MUCH OF THE NORTHEAST.

>> Suarez: AND I'M RAY SUAREZ. ON THE "NEWSHOUR" TONIGHT, WE GET THE LATEST ON THE DIGGING OUT AND THE POLITICAL FALLOUT FROM BOB HENNELLY OF WNYC RADIO.

>> Ifill: THEN WE ASSESS THE DANGEROUS POLITICAL STANDOFF BUILDING IN THE WEST AFRICAN NATION OF IVORY COAST.

>> Suarez: WE CONTINUE PAUL SOLMAN'S ENCORE REPORTS ON THE MORTGAGE CRISIS WITH THE STORY OF A BOSTON NONPROFIT THAT OFFERS HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE A SECOND CHANCE.

>> Ifill: THE SECOND OF JUDY WOODRUFF'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HOUSE LAWMAKERS THE VOTERS SENT HOME LAST NOVEMBER. TONIGHT: SOUTH DAKOTA REPRESENTATIVE STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN ON BEING A MODERATE DEMOCRAT.

>> AT TIMES, THE BLUE DOGS FELT SOMEWHAT UNWELCOME IN OUR OWN CAUCUS. WE FELT THAT WE WERE BEING LISTENED TO BUT NOT HEARD.

>> Suarez: FROM NEW DELHI, FRED DE SAM LAZARO EXAMINES HOW INDIA'S GROWTH IS STRAINING ITS LIMITED WATER SUPPLY.

>> Ifill: AND JEFFREY BROWN TALKS TO ROCKER PATTI SMITH ABOUT HER AWARD WINNING NEW MEMOIR.

>> IT WAS A TIME WHEN THE CULT OF CELEBRITY WASN'T SO BIG AND WE WEREN'T SO SEPARATED FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE CREATING OUR CULTURAL VOICE BECAUSE WE WERE ALSO TRYING TO ADD TO IT SIMULTANEOUSLY.

>> Ifill: THAT'S ALL AHEAD ON TONIGHT'S "NEWSHOUR." MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> FOR THREE HOURS A WEEK, I'M A COACH, BUT WHEN I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER, I NEEDED A COACH. OUR DOCTOR WAS GREAT, BUT WITH SO MANY TOUGH DECISIONS, I FELT LOST. UNITED HEALTHCARE OFFERED A SPECIALLY TRAINED R.N., WHO HELPED US WEIGH AND UNDERSTAND ALL OUR OPTIONS. FOR ME, CANCER WAS AS SCARY AS A FASTBALL IS TO SOME OF THESE KIDS, BUT MY COACH HAD HIT THAT PITCH BEFORE.

>> TURNING DATA INTO USEFUL ANSWERS. WE'RE 78,000 PEOPLE LOOKING OUT FOR 70 MILLION AMERICANS. THAT'S HEALTH IN NUMBERS. UNITED HEALTHCARE.

>> 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 TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU.

>> Suarez: THE NATION'S LARGEST CITY FACED ANOTHER DAY IN THE THROES OF SNOW, AS CREWS LABORED TO CLEAR STREETS. THERE WERE CALLS FOR AND PROMISES OF INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE AFTERMATH OF THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND BLIZZARD.

>> IT'S TERRIBLE, ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!

>> Suarez: THREE DAYS ON, AND NEW YORK STREETS WERE STILL LITTERED WITH NEARLY TWO FEET OF SNOW, WHILE PEOPLE TRIED TO DIG OUT CARS AND PATIENCE WORE THIN.

>> YOU'RE GONNA CLEAN THE MIDDLE OF 36TH STREET?

>> YES, YES, I HAVE TO.

>> WHY DO YOU HAVE TO.

>> BECAUSE WHO'S GOING DO IT?"

>> Suarez: ON BLOCK AFTER BLOCK, ABANDONED CARS CLOGGED STREETS, MAKING SNOW REMOVAL ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE. THE SUNDAY STORM ALSO TRAPPED 600 CITY BUSES. MOST WERE DUG OUT, BUT AT LEAST 50 REMAINED TRAPPED TODAY ON UNPLOWED ROADS. SCORES OF AMBULANCES AND OTHER EMERGENCY VEHICLES ALSO GOT STUCK TRYING TO ANSWER 911 CALLS.

>> YOU SEE, YOU CAN'T GET DOWN THAT STREET. YOU SEE, YOU CAN'T GET DOWN THERE. NOBODY.

>> Suarez: EVEN SNOW PLOWS WERE LEFT WITH WHEELS SPINNING IN THE STORM'S WAKE. THE MOST NOTORIOUS INCIDENT APPEARED IN THIS VIDEO POSTED ONLINE. IT SHOWED A CITY CREW CRASHING INTO PARKED CARS IN A BID TO FREE A CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE. THE BLIZZARD MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE WORST IN THE CITY'S HISTORY, BUT THAT DID LITTLE TO CALM THE CRITICISM. FROM LOCAL POLITICAL LEADERS...

>> THIS IS A ROYAL SCREW-UP, TO USE THE CURRENT TERMS!

>> Suarez: ...TO THE MAN ON THE STREET.

>> MAYOR, WEAR MY SHOES. WEAR MY SHOES AND TRY TO WALKED OWN HERE AND DO MY JOB.

>> Suarez: THE MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG WAS A PRINCIPAL TARGET FOR FRUSTRATED NEW YORKERS, ESPECIALLY AFTER HE DEFENDED THE CITY'S RESPONSE ON TUESDAY.

>> WE WON'T GET TO EVERYBODY EVERY TIME, WE WILL MAKE MISTAKES, BUT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE PLUGGING AHEAD. YELLING ABOUT IT AND COMPLAINING DOESN'T HELP.

>> Suarez: THAT ASSESSMENT BROUGHT QUICK REBUKES, EVEN FROM MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.

>> THE MAYOR NEEDS TO STOP ACTING LIKE BAGHDAD BOB AND SAYING, "EVERYTHING'S OKAY." WE CAN SEE WITH OUR OWN EYES, IT'S NOT OKAY.

>> Suarez: TODAY, AT A HARDWARE STORE IN THE BRONX, IT WAS A MORE CONTRITE MAYOR WHO SPOKE TO REPORTERS.

>> WE TAKE OUR EMERGENCY LIFE SAVING RESPONSIBILITIES VERY SERIOUSLY, AND I'M EXTREMELY DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS PERFORMED AND AS I ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT EVERYTHING WE DID TO SEE IF IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER.

>> WE DID NOT DO AS GOOD A JOB AS WE WANTED TO DO OR AS THE CITY HAS A RIGHT TO EXPECT.

>> Suarez: IN THE MEANTIME, ALL RUNWAYS WERE FINALLY OPEN AT THE THREE AIRPORTS SERVING THE NEW YORK AREA. BUT OFFICIALS CAUTIONED AGAIN IT COULD TAKE DAYS TO ACCOMMODATE THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS STRANDED NATIONWIDE. AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK NOW SAYS MOST STREETS SHOULD BE PLOWED BY TOMORROW MORNING. FOR MORE ON HOW THE CITY IS BEARING UP, WE TURN TO BOB HENNELLY, SENIOR REPORTER AT WNYC PUBLIC RADIO. THE EVENING OF THE THIRD FULL DAY, ARE 8.5 MILLION PEOPLE A LITTLE CLOSER TO GETTING BACK TO NORMAL LIFE?

>> INDEED THEY ARE. WE'RE DOWN TO JUST 50 OF THOSE FROM THE BUSES JAMMED UP. TO CONTRAST THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY'S RESPONSE, IT WAS THE SAME STORM BUT TWO VERY DIFFERENT TAKES WITH TO DIFFERENT RESULTS. THEIR ACTING GOVERNOR, STEVE SWEENEY, DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY AT 6:00 P.M. THE NIGHT BEFORE. THAT WOULD BE SUNDAY. THAT GAVE HIM THE POWER TO KEEP CARS AND VEHICLES OFF THE ROADS.

>> Suarez: AN INTERESTING CONTRAST WITH NEW JERSEY. WHAT ABOUT INSIDE THE CITY ITSELF. FIVE COUNTIES, OVER 300 SQUARE MILES. WERE SOME PLACES AFFECTED WORSE THAN OTHERS?

>> RIGHT NOW, AS WE SPEAK, WE HAVE SITUATIONS IN THE SOUTH -- BROOKLYN AREA, STATEN ISLAND, WESTERN QUEENS, PARTICULARLY PLACES WHERE WE SEE THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE MASS TRANSIT -- YOU KNOW, NEW YORK CITY IS NOT ALL INTEGRATED WITH SUBWAYS AND BUSES, SO PEOPLE ARE ALMOST A SUBURBAN EXISTENCE DEPENDENT ON THEIR CAR. THE OTHER THING WE LEARNED IS THE 911 SYSTEM WAS OVERWHELMED. THIS IS A CRITICAL PIECE OF INFORMATION. WE HAVE SOME 50,000 CALLS ON MONDAY. ONLY ONE IN FIVE, ACCORDING TO POLICE WERE ACTUALLY EMERGENCIES COMPARED TO 55,000 ON SEPTEMBER 11.

>> Suarez: HOW ABOUT NOW. IF YOU FEEL A SERIOUS ILLNESS COMING ON THIS EVENING AND YOU MAKE A 911 CALL AND YOU ARE ON AN OUTER BOROUGH SIDE STREET, IS SOMEBODY ABLE TO GET TO YOU?

>> I THINK THEY'RE IN MUCH BETTER SHAPE. THE PEOPLE WITH KIDNEY DIALYSIS WHO HAVE A DAILY RELATIONSHIP WITH A HOSPITAL, THAT'S WHERE NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTION MATTERS.

>> Suarez: THE MAYOR'S CHANGE IN TONE WAS STRIKING TODAY FROM A CAN OF-DO AND UPBEAT MESSAGE TO THE CITY EARLY ON TO A MORE SOMBER ONE.

>> I THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH AWARENESS AND HOW MIDDLE MANAGEMENT WAS GETTING HIM FACTS ON THE GROUND.

>> Suarez: SO WHAT'S CHANGED THERE? ARE THE POLICE? EVIDENCE? CAN THEY GET TO CALLS? ARE SANITATION WORKERS IN EVIDENCE ON THE STREET?

>> ABSOLUTELY, BUT WE DO HAVE TABLOID PRESS HOAR, SO WE HAD GRAPHIC PICTURES THAT SHOWED THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE CITY WAS HAMSTRUNG THROUGHOUT ALL FIVE BOROUGHS. THAT WAS VIVID FOR THE MAYOR.

>> Suarez: MAYORS DON'T CONTROL THE WEATHER BUT THEY DO CONTROL THE RESPONSE TO THE WEATHER. IS A LOT OF THE CRITICISM BEING CENTERED ON THE MAYOR THIS EVENING?

>> I THINK SO. IT'S A QUESTION OF MANAGING EXPECTATIONS, AND HISTORICALLY, THROUGHOUT HIS TWO TERMS, HE HAS DELIVERED ON THESE EXPECTATIONS, AND PERHAPS THE QUESTION IS, HAD HE TOLD PEOPLE TO BEEN MORE ADAMANT, HE TOLD PEOPLE TO STAY OFF THE ROADS BUT PERHAPS EVEN IF GOVERNOR PATERSON HAD JOINED HIM. IN THE PAST THIS HAS BEEN A MESSAGE TO DRIVE HOME TO PEOPLE THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE STORM WE FACE.

>> Suarez: WHAT ABOUT IT COMING DURING THIS PARTICULAR WEEK? WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE OFF? A LOT OF PEOPLE AWAY? BECAUSE THIS BLIZZARD HIT ON A SUNDAY AFTER A NATIONAL HOLIDAY, WAS THE CITY SORT OF IN A STANDING-DOWN POSTURE WHEN IT CAME?

>> NO, WHAT IT WAS WAS PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO GET BACK HOME FROM THE HOLIDAY TO GET BACK TO WORK ON MONDAY, SO THAT DID ADD TO THIS PROBLEM.

>> Suarez: THANKS FOR JOINING US. BON HENNELLY FROM WNYC.

>> Ifill: STILL TO COME ON THE "NEWSHOUR": A POLITICAL CRISIS IN IVORY COAST; HELPING HOMEOWNERS GET AFFORDABLE MORTGAGES; DEPARTING DEMOCRAT STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN; INDIA'S GROWING POPULATION PROBLEMS AND ROCKER PATTI SMITH'S AWARD-WINNING BOOK. BUT FIRST, THE OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY. HERE'S HARI SREENIVASAN.

>> Sreenivasan: THE COLD WAVE STRETCHING ALL THE WAY TO FLORIDA HAS DONE AT LEAST $115 MILLION IN CROP DAMAGE THERE. THE STATE AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMED THAT FIGURE TODAY. THE DEEP FREEZE HAS AFFECTED FRUITS, VEGETABLES, CITRUS AND FOLIAGE. AS FAR SOUTH AS MIAMI, PEOPLE WERE BUNDLED UP TODAY AGAINST THE RECORD BREAKING COLD. TEMPERATURES DIPPED INTO THE 30s IN SOME PLACES OVERNIGHT. FRUSTRATION MOUNTED IN NORTHERN IRELAND TODAY OVER A WATER CRISIS. UP TO 36,000 PEOPLE HAVE HAD NO WATER FOR MORE THAN A WEEK AFTER SEVERE COLD HEAVILY DAMAGED AGING PIPES. WE HAVE A REPORT FROM JANE DEETH OF INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS.

>> Reporter: MANY PEOPLE IN EAST BELFAST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SHOWER OR EVEN FLUSH THE TOILET FOR A WEEK. G.P.'S WARNINGS THAT BEING WITHOUT WATER TO WASH AND RISING CASES OF FLU AND THE WINTER VOMITING BUG COULD COMBINE TO CREATE A PUBLIC-HEALTH EMERGENCY. IT'S ALREADY A HEADACHE.

>> NOT ABLE TO PUT THE DINNER ON. GOING ON STUFF THAT'S IN THE FREEZER. IT'S JUST THE DISRUPTION OF NORMAL DAY TO DAY LIVING.

>> Reporter: WHEN NORTHERN IRELAND THAWED OUT AFTER THE DEEP FREEZE, PIPES BEGAN TO BURST ALL OVER THE GOVERNMENT-OWNED WATER NETWORK. RESERVOIRS HAVE RUN DRY. NORTHERN IRELAND WATER SAYS PEOPLE HAVE TO TAKE IT IN TURNS WITHOUT WATER TO CONSERVE WHAT THERE IS. NORTHERN IRELAND'S DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER, MARTIN MACINNES SAID THE COMPANY HAS LET PEOPLE DOWN.

>> WE'RE AS ANGRY AS ANYBODY ELSE ABOUT THE SITUATION THAT HAS BEEN INFLICTED ON CITIZENS OVER THE COURSE OF RECENT DAYS.

>> Reporter: THE NORTHERN IRELAND EXECUTIVE WILL HOLD AN EMERGENCY MEETING TOMORROW TO DISCUSS HOW TO GET THE WATER BACK ON.

>> Sreenivasan: IN ALL, WATER SUPPLIES HAVE BEEN DISRUPTED IN 80 TOWNS AND CITIES ACROSS NORTHERN IRELAND. IN IRAQ, THREE SUICIDE BOMBERS ATTACKED AND DESTROYED POLICE HEADQUARTERS IN MOSUL. THEIR TARGET WAS THE POLICE COMMANDER, WHO WAGED A CAMPAIGN AGAINST AL-QAEDA IN THE TENSE NORTHERN CITY. HE WAS KILLED IN THE BLAST, AFTER ESCAPING FIVE PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS. IRAN MAY BE AT LEAST THREE YEARS AWAY FROM BUILDING A NUCLEAR WEAPON, AS TECHNICAL PROBLEMS DELAY THE WORK. ISRAEL'S MINISTER OF STRATEGIC AFFAIRS OFFERED THAT ASSESSMENT TODAY. HE DID NOT GIVE DETAILS, BUT IN RECENT MONTHS A COMPUTER VIRUS DAMAGED IRAN'S EFFORTS TO ENRICH URANIUM. THE IRANIANS INSIST THEIR NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS PEACEFUL. THERE'S BEEN A SHARP INCREASE IN U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY THIS YEAR. A NATIONAL POLICE MEMORIAL FUND REPORTED TODAY THAT 160 OFFICERS HAVE DIED. THAT'S UP FROM 117 LAST YEAR, WHEN DEATHS REACHED A 50-YEAR LOW. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS REMAINED THE LEADING CAUSE, BUT THERE WAS ALSO AN INCREASE IN FATAL SHOOTINGS. WALL STREET EDGED HIGHER IN ANOTHER DAY OF LIGHT TRADING AHEAD OF THE NEW YEAR'S HOLIDAY. THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE GAINED NEARLY TEN POINTS TO CLOSE AT 11,585. THE NASDAQ ROSE FOUR POINTS TO CLOSE JUST UNDER 2,667. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S MAJOR STORIES. NOW, BACK TO GWEN.

>> Ifill: AS THE WEST AFRICAN NATION OF IVORY COAST TEETERS ON A POLITICAL PRECIPICE, THE U.N. AND OTHER NATIONS IN THE REGION ARE WORKING TO AVOID A CIVIL WAR. IVORY COAST REMAINED IN POLITICAL LIMBO TODAY, 31 DAYS AFTER A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DISSOLVED INTO STALEMATE. INCUMBENT PRESIDENT LAURENT GBAGBO HELD FAST TO POWER, DESPITE APPEALS TUESDAY BY A VISITING DELEGATION OF FELLOW WEST AFRICAN LEADERS. THEY URGED HIM TO GO INTO EXILE. INSTEAD, GBAGBO'S LAWYER TALKED TODAY OF A COMPROMISE WITH THE OPPOSITION THAT WOULD LEAVE HIM IN OFFICE.

>> MR. GBAGBO IS READY TO MAKE A COALITION GOVERNMENT. YOU KNOW, HE HAS BEEN ELECTED BY HIS PEOPLE, THEN THE OTHER GROUP SO, HE HAS ALREADY PROVED, HE HAS ALREADY SHOWN THAT HE IS WILLING HIS COUNTRY TO GET BACK TO PEACE AND TO DEVELOPMENT TO RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE.

>> Ifill: THE U.N., THE U.S. AND OTHERS HAVE REJECTED ANY POWER- SHARING PROPOSAL AS ANTI- DEMOCRATIC. THEY SAY OPPOSITION CANDIDATE ALASSANE OUATTARA WAS CLEARLY THE VICTOR IN THE NOVEMBER 28TH ELECTION. THE REGIONAL LEADERS WHO VISITED IVORY COAST YESTERDAY HAD ALSO THREATENED MILITARY INTERVENTION TO FORCE GBAGBO TO STEP DOWN. BUT TODAY, AFTER CONSULTING IN NIGERIA, THEY SAID THEY WILL CONTINUE TALKS WITH HIM NEXT WEEK. IN A STATEMENT, NIGERIAN PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN SAID, "IT IS DIALOGUE THAT WILL SOLVE ISSUES. THE DIALOGUE IS ON." FOR IVORY COAST, THE POLITICAL CRISIS IS THE LATEST IN A LONG SERIES OF PROBLEMS, INCLUDING A RECENT CIVIL WAR. AND, THERE ARE FEARS THE FORMER FRENCH COLONY-- ALSO KNOWN AS COTE D'IVOIRE-- WILL AGAIN BE ENGULFED IN VIOLENCE. AT LEAST 173 PEOPLE WERE REPORTED KILLED IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING THE DISPUTED ELECTION. A TENSE CALM HAS PREVAILED SINCE THEN, BUT GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS ATTACKED A CONVOY OF U.N. PEACEKEEPERS YESTERDAY. ONE OF THE SOLDIERS WAS WOUNDED. FEARING A FULL-SCALE CONFLICT, THE U.S. IS NOW PLANNING FOR THE POSSIBLE EVACUATION OF ITS EMBASSY IN ABIDJAN. FOR MORE WE TURN TO CHRISTOPHER FOMUNYOH, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FOR CENTRAL AND WEST AFRICA AT THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE. HE RETURNED RECENTLY FROM IVORY COAST.

>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

>> Ifill: TELL US ABOUT LAWRENCE GBAGBO. WHY IS IT THAT HE IS RESISTING SO VIGOROUSLY GIVING UP HIS JOB?

>> ACCORDING TO HIS SUPPORTERS, THE COUNTRY RULED IN FAVOR THAT HE HAD 1% AND HE CONSIDERS THAT GIVES HIM THE LEGAL RIGHT TO CONTINUE TO SIT AS PRESIDENT OF COTE D'IVOIRE, OR IVORY COAST.

>> Ifill: IS THERE REASON TO BELIEVE HE'S DOING THIS IN GOOD FAITH?

>> THAT'S WHY MANY IVOIRIANS WERE HOPEFUL. THEY HAD HOPED FOR THE MOST PART THAT THIS ELECTION WOULD BE THE CULMINATION OF ALL OF THE PEACE AGREEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATED OVER THE YEARS THAT HAVE POSTPONED THE ELECTIONS WHICH ORDINARILY WOULD HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED IN 2005, SO HERE WE ARE A MONTH AFTER THAT ELECTION, ALL OF THIS FIGHTING, PEOPLE STILL WAITING TO GET AN OUTCOME THAT CAN GIVE THEM THE SENSE THAT IVORY COAST IS IN THE PROCESS OF HEALING AND NATIONAL RECONCILIATION.

>> Ifill: ASSUMING THAT IS NOT IMMEDIATELY AT HAND, THAT OUTCOME, IS THERE STILL A DIPLOMATIC ALTERNATIVE ON THE TABLE?

>> MANY IVORIANS ARE HOPING, AND MANY AFRICANS TOO, BUT MANY AFRICANS AND IVORIANS ARE HOPING THAT THERE COULD STILL BE A CHANCE FOR A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT. I BELIEVE THAT THE DELEGATION THAT WENT IN LED BY WEST AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE FROM THREE COUNTRIES THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE ECOVAS IS PROBABLY THE LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO HAVE A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION BUT ULTIMATELY THIS IS GOING TO HAVE TO BE RESOLVED.

>> Ifill: THERE WAS TALK LAST WEEK, A STEP BACK FROM IT TODAY ABOUT A MILITARY SOLUTION, AND THAT IS SOMEONE GOING IN AND TAKING -- AND TAKING FORCIBLY MR. GBAGBO FROM OFFICE.

>> I UNDERSTAND THAT IS STILL BEING CONSIDERED AND THE HEADS OF STATE HAVE INDICATED THEY WOULD BE BACK ON MONDAY AND THEY HAVE ALSO STATED THAT IT WOULD BE THE LAST OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO REPEAT TO GBAGBO THAT EWOWAS HAS TOLD HIM SO FAR.

>> Ifill: ECOWAS, WHICH IS THE REGIONAL GROUP OF WEST AFRICAN NATIONS TRYING TO RESOLVE THIS HAVE INTERVENED IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE. HOW HAS THIS COMPARED?

>> IT'S TRUE THAT THE MILITARY INTERVENTIONS IN LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING ABOUT PEACE BUT COTE D'IVOIRE IS 20 MILLION, AND IS AN URBAN CITY SO I CAN IMAGINE -- THAT IF THE CONFLICT WERE TO GET TO THAT POINT COULD BE DISASTROUS FOR COTE D'IVOIRE AND COULD HURT THOSE PARTS RECOVERING FROM LONGSTANDING CONFLICT. MANY IVORIANS AND AFRICANS CANNOT STAND TO SEE COTE D'IVOIRE GO DOWN. IT'S NOT ONLY SUDAN, WE HAVE OTHER IMPORTANT ELECTIONS CHAMPIONSHIP IN AFRICA, NIGERIA DUE FOR ELECTIONS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2011, THE D.R.C., CONGO, IS TALKING ABOUT ELECTIONS IN 2011, ZIMBABWE, AND I THINK A LOT OF AFRICANS ARE LOOKING AT THIS TO GET A SENSE OF WHETHER ELECTIONS REALLY MATTER OR WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO ELECTIONS THAT EVERYONE CAN AGREE WITH.

>> Ifill: WE SAW MR. GBAGBO'S SPOKEN SAY HE'S FOR A COALITION GOVERNMENT AS WE SAW IN KENYA OR ZIMBABWE, SOMETHING THAT WE SAW HAPPEN. IS THAT AN OPTION?

>> I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE A WORKABLE OPTION BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE ARE CRITICAL OF WHAT HAPPENED IN KENYA AND ZIMBABWE AND EVEN THE PRIME MINISTER OF KENIA HIMSELF HAS SAID HE DOESN'T THINK A -- PRIME MINISTER OF KENYA HIMSELF HAS SAID HE DOESN'T THINK IT VIABLE.

>> Ifill: WHO HAS FORCE ON THEIR SIDE? WHO HAS THE ARMY? WHO HAS THE U.N. SUPPORT? THERE ARE 10,000 U.N. TROOPS ON THE GROUND THERE. HOW WOULD THAT PLAY OUT?

>> THAT'S PART OF THE DILEMMA RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FORCES, BUT ALSO THERE IS THE HOPE THAT IF ALL OF THE FORCES ARE ALIGNED ON ONE SIDE THAT THEY MAY SEND THE MESSAGE TO THE OTHER SIDE THAT THERE IS NO NEED TO RESORT TO FORCE. RIGHT NOW THE U.N. FORCES ARE -- IN ABIDJAN, WE HAVE THE FORMER REBEL FORCES WHO HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETELY DISARMED WHO HAVE PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE -- THEIR LOYALTY TO LATERA, SO IF WE WERE -- TO ALASSANE OUATTARA.

>> Ifill: WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN FOR CIVIL WAR TO BE AVOIDED, THIS MEETING WITH THE SAME THREE LEADERS WHEN THEY RETURN? DOES THERE HAVE TO BE SOMETHING ON THE TABLE? DOES SOMETHING HAVE TO COME OF THAT?

>> I THINK THAT MAY BE THE LAST BESTBEST HOPE IN THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO GET A SENSE THAT THIS MOVEMENT IS LEADING THE COUNTRY SOMEWHERE -- THE IVORIANS HAVE TO GET A SENSE THAT THIS PROCESS HAS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO BEGIN ANOTHER CIRCLE OF MEETINGS AND ENVOYS AND CONFERENCE FIST THAT'S NOT GOING TO RESOLVE THE CURRENT CRISIS AND LET'S REMEMBER THAT ALASSANE OUATTARA IS LIVING IN A HOTEL. IT'S ONLY SO LONG YOU CAN LIVE IN A HOTEL ESPECIALLY IF YOU BELIEVE YOU WON AN ELECTION AND OUGHT TO BE SWORN IN.

>> Ifill: AT SOME POINT SOMEBODY HAS TO GET A GOVERNMENT UP AND RUNNING. THANKS FOR ARE JOINING US.

>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

>> Suarez: AND TO THE NEXT INSTALLMENT IN "NEWSHOUR" ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT PAUL SOLMAN'S COVERAGE OF THE FORECLOSURE MESS THIS YEAR. WE TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT PAUL'S STORY ABOUT A NON-PROFIT FINANCIAL FIRM THAT'S BUYING FORECLOSED HOUSES AND SELLING THEM BACK TO THE FORMER OWNERS. IT'S PART OF HIS REGULAR REPORTING, "MAKING SENSE OF FINANCIAL NEWS."

>> WHEN WE SAID WE NEED THE DUMERANS FACE EVICTION. THE DUMERANS ARE PART OF A THREE-STEP MOVEMENT IN BOSTON. STEP ONE, PUBLIC PROTESTS LIKE THIS. STAGED BY NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVISTS CITY LIFE VITA URBANA. STEP TWO IS LITIGATION COURTESY OF HARVARD LEGAL AID TO DRAG OUT THE PROCESS.

>> I'M A STUDENT AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL.

>> DAVE GROSSMAN DIRECTS THE LEGAL EFFORT.

>> RELATIVELY SOON INTO IT, WE REALIZED WE WERE MISSING A PIECE, WHICH WAS THE END GAME. WE COULD STOP BANKS. WE COULD BEAT BANKS UP AND STOP THEM FROM EVICTING PEOPLE AFTER FORECLOSURE, BUT THEY STILL OWNED THE PROPERTY. THAT WASN'T A STABLE EQUILIBRIUM. WE HAD TO FIND SOMEONE TO BUY THE PROPERTY BACK AND THE OBVIOUS SOLUTION WAS LET THE FORMER OWNER BUY THE PROPERTY BACK.

>> ENTER B.C.C. OR BOSTON COMMUNITY CAPITAL, THE CRUCIAL THIRD STEP OF THE PROGRAM. IT'S TACKLING A PROBLEM MILLIONS OF UNDERWATER HOMEOWNERS FACE. THEY COULD AFFORD A MARKET-PRICED MORTGAGE BUT THEIR BANKS FORECLOSED INSTEAD SO THEY'LL HAVE TO SELL AT MARKET PRICE ANYWAY. ALICE CHERRY.

>> IF WE CAN FIND AN OWNER WHO HAS THE ABILITY TO PAY A MORTGAGE AT ROUGHLY MARKET RATE FOR THAT HOME, THEN WE GO OUT TO THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY, OR THE SERVICE, WHOEVER IT IS WHO HAS CHARGE OF THE MORTGAGE AND WE ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE A PURCHASE FROM THAT ENTITY. ONCE WE'VE BOUGHT, THEN WE CAN TURN AROUND AND SELL BACK TO THE HOMEOWNER.

>> Reporter: THE BULK OF B.C.C.'S FUNDING COMES FROM INVESTORS AND FOUNDATIONS ALONG WITH SOME GOVERNMENT MONEY. FIRST, B.C.C. BUYS A PROPERTY AT ROUGHLY MARKET VALUE, TYPICALLY HALF OR LESS OF WHAT THE FORECLOSED HOMEOWNER OWES. SECOND, B.C.C. SELLS IT BACK TO THE HOMEOWNER WITH A 30-YEAR MORTGAGE AT ABOUT 6% AT THE MOMENT, MARKING UP THE PURCHASE PRICE BY 25% AS A CUSHION AGAINST DEFAULT. TO FURTHER ENSURE THAT ITS INVESTORS GET THEIR MONEY BACK, B.C.C.'S EVALUATION IS TOUGH. LESS THAN HALF OF HOMEOWNERS QUALIFY. MOREOVER, ONCE ACCEPTED --

>> THERE ARE MORTGAGES THAT ARE PAID EVERY TWO WEEKS -- IN FACT, WHAT WOOF DONE IS TO TIE IT TO PEOPLE'S PAY CHECKS. WE REQUIRE AUTOMATIC DEPOSIT OF THE PAY CHECK AND AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWAL OF THE MORTGAGE.

>> Reporter: THESE ARE PRETTY STRINGENT TERMS.

>> YES, BUT WE'VE PUT ONTO IT SOMETHING WE CALL A SHARED-APPRECIATION MORTGAGE. WHAT THAT MEANS IN SIMPLE TERMS SHOULD THE MARKET COME BACK, SOMEONE WHO IS FINANCED WITH US AND PAYING ROUGHLY HALF OF WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE PAID IN THE PAST WILL ONLY BE ENTITLED TO ROUGHLY HALF OF WHAT THE APPRECIATION IS.

>> Reporter: SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, B.C.C. HAS FINANCED 90 PROPERTIES. NOT A ONE HAS DEFAULTED. PAMELA GING'S IS TIP CAMPT

>> THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY HAS GONE DOWN, SO I WAS LIKE OWING 50% MORE THAN THE PROPERTY WAS WORTH, AND WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT THEY COULD BUY IT BACK AT THE TRUE COST, I WAS JUST THRILLED.

>> Reporter: WHAT WAS YOUR OLD PAYMENT PER MONTH AND WHAT'S NEWT ONE?

>> LIKE $3,500. AND THE NEW ONE IS CLOSER TO $1,600.

>> Reporter: AND WERE YOU AMAZED?

>> I ATTRIBUTE IT TO MY STRONG FAITH THAT I HAD FAITH AND HOPE AND I THOUGHT IT WAS THE ANSWER TO PRAYER.

>> RIGHT NOW NOBODY BELIEVES THAT YOU CAN LEND TO PEOPLE WHO ARE IN FORECLOSURE AND GET YOUR MONEY BACK. RIGHT? PART OF WHAT WERE ABOUT IS PROVING THAT TO BE UNTRUE. I THINK THAT THE CRITICAL REASON THAT PEOPLE FAIL TO PAY IS BECAUSE THE MORTGAGE THAT THEY HAD AND THE MONTHLY PAYMENT THAT WAS REQUIRED FROM THEM WAS MUCH HIGHER THAN THEIR INCOME WOULD ALLOW.

>> Reporter: A RECENT MEETING OF CITY LIFE REFLECTED THE NEW ANTI-FORECLOSURE MOMENTUM.

>> HI, IM JEANETTE FORDE. MY HOUSE GOT FORECLOSED ON I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH BCC, WE'VE PUT IN OFFERS, THEY REFUSED IT, BUT THURSDAY THEY CALLED ME AND THEY WANT TO SELL CALLED ME AND THEY WANT TO SELL THE HOUSE BACK!

>> Reporter: WHEN YOU GOT THE FORECLOSURE NOTICE YOU ASSUMED YOU WOULD BE EVICTED?

>> I THOUGHT: WHERE AM I GOING TO GO? YOU KNOW I HAVE MYSELF, MY CHILDREN, I HAVE GRANDCHILDREN, AND OF COURSE YOU'RE DEVASTATED

>> Reporter: WHAT'S THE MORTGAGE FOR? HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH? AND I GUESS, HOW MUCH ARE YOU OFFERING?

>> YES, OVER THE YEARS, I'D TAKEN DIFFERENT EQUITY LOANS.

>> Reporter: SO YOU TOOK A LOT OF MONEY OUT OF THE HOUSE IN THE FORM OF HOME EQUITY LOANS, I TRUST, WHEN THE HOUSE HAD RISEN IN VALUE. SO DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THERE WILL BE PEOPLE IN OUR AUDIENCE WHO WILL SAY: WAIT A SECOND, SHE BORROWED THE MONEY WHEN TIMES WERE GOOD, ENTERED INTO A FORMAL CONTRACT TO DO SO, AND NOW IS ESSENTIALLY RENEGING ON THAT CONTRACT?

>> WELL, ACTUALLY AT THE END THE LAST MORTGAGE THAT WE RECEIVED, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE ADJUSTABLE INTEREST RATE MORTGAGES INTEREST RATE MORTGAGES AND WE WERE WORKING WITH THE MORTGAGE COMPANY TO GET A LOAN MODIFICATION BUT THEY REFUSED TO GIVE US A LOAN MODIFICATION. THEY JUST FORECLOSED ON US.

>> Reporter: CHERRY SAYS 90% OF BCCS OFFERS ARE ACCEPTED.

>> TYPICALLY WHAT A LENDER WOULD WANT IS TO BE ABLE TO SELL IN THE SHORT TERM AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE. OUR JOB IS TO PERSUADE THE LENDER THAT THE PRICE WERE OFFERING IS THE BEST PRICE FOR A DISTRESSED PROPERTY IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> Reporter: IT TURNS OUT, THE PRICE BCC OFFERED FOR THE DUMERANTS HOUSE WAS TOPPED. GMAC SOLD THE HOME TO ANOTHER INVESTOR. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM?

>> THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE THEIR HOME.

>> Reporter: YOU MEAN IF SOMEBODY ELSE IS OFFERING MORE THAN YOU ARE THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

>> WE SOMETIMES WILL GO BACK AND FORTH WITH A LENDER TO GET TO THE RIGHT PRICE BUT WE DON'T DO ANYBODY ANY GOOD IF WE BUY ABOVE MARKET BECAUSE FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE IF A HOMEOWNER GETS INTO TROUBLE SUBSEQUENT TO BORROWING MONEY FROM US, WE'VE GOT THE SAME PROBLEM ANY OTHER LENDER HAS, RIGHT, WHICH IS THAT WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET VALUE BACK OUT OF THAT HOME.

>> Reporter: THOUGH THE OUTLOOK MAY BE GRIM, PRUDHOMME DUMERANTS LAWYERS HAVE STAYED THE EVICTION FOR THE TIME-BEING. AND GIVEN THE NEW EVIDENCE THAT GMAC FORECLOSURES ARE LEGALLY SUSPECT, WHO KNOWS WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.

>> IF THERE IS ANY WAY TO GET THE PROPERTY BACK WE WILL FIGHT TO GET IT BACK UNTIL THE, UNTIL THE VERY END.

>> Reporter: BUT THE FACT THAT BCC HAS BEEN ABLE TO HELP ANYONE IN THE DUMERANTS' POSITION IS UNIQUE, SAYS LAWYER DAVE GROSSMAN.

>> THEY'RE THE ONLY CDFI IN THE COUNTRY WHO'S BEEN WILLING TO STEP UP AND PLAY THE ROLE THAT THEY HAVE HERE IN TRYING TO SOLVE THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS IN BOSTON. NOWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY IS A CDFI BEEN WILLING TO STEP IN AND FINANCE OWNERS TO BUY THEIR HOMES BACK WHICH HAS PROVEN TO BE A WONDERFUL MODEL HERE AND AS A RESULT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE MORE PEOPLES HOMES THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE COUNTRY.

>> Reporter: BUT IF ITS SUCH A WONDERFUL MODEL, WHY AREN'T THEY DOING IT IN OTHER CITIES?

>> BCC BY DEFINITION OF THE PROGRAM IS FINANCING PEOPLE WITH VERY POOR CREDIT, PEOPLE WHO FORECLOSURE. HAVE JUST GONE THROUGH FORECLOSURE. EVERYONE IN THE PROGRAM IS EITHER IN FORECLOSURE OR HAS GONE THROUGH FORECLOSURE AND FROM NORMAL UNDERWRITING STANDARDS THOSE ARE PEOPLE YOU DON'T UNDERWRITE.

>> Reporter: BUT THROUGH STRINGENT TERMS AND VIGILANT VETTING, BOSTON COMMUNITY CAPITAL HAS BEEN ABLE TO LEND.

>> Suarez: EARLIER THIS MONTH, HOMEOWNER JEANETTE FORDE GOT SOME BAD NEWS. J.P. MORGAN CHASE REFUSED TO SELL FORDE'S FORECLOSED PROPERTY TO B.C.C. PAUL'S REPORTING CONTINUES ONLINE, WHERE HE'S FOLLOWING UP ON OTHERS FEATURED IN THIS WEEK'S SERIES.

>> Ifill: NOW TO OUR SERIES OF EXIT INTERVIEWS WITH KEY DEMOCRATS WHO SUFFERED NARROW DEFEATS AT THE POLLS IN 2010. TONIGHT, SOUTH DAKOTA'S LONE MEMBER OF THE HOUSE, MODERATE STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN. JUDY SPOKE WITH HER LAST WEEK AS THE LAME DUCK SESSION WAS COMING TO A CLOSE.

>> REPRESENTATIVE STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN, THANK YOU FOR TALKING WITH US.

>> Woodruff: YOU WERE ELECTED IN 2004 WITH FANFARE, ONE OF THE YOUNGEST MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE FIRST WOMAN FROM SOUTH DAKOTA. SIX YEARS LATER, WHAT HAPPENED?

>> I THINK THERE WAS CLEARLY A WAVE OF DISCONTENT AGAINST WASHINGTON. IT WAS TAKEN OUT ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY BEING IN CONTROL OF BOTH THE WHITE HOUSE AND BOTH CHAMBERS OF THE CONGRESS, I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF UNDISCLOSED MONEY THAT CAME INTO SOUTH DAKOTA DRIVING A MESSAGE TO PAINT ME AS A WASHINGTON PARTISAN. WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE THAT I AM BUT IT WAS A MESSAGE THAT RESONATED AFTER POUNDING IT AWAY FOR A NUMBER OF WEEKS. AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SOUTH DAKOTANS -- YOU KNOW, WE THOUGHT WE COMMUNICATED EFFECTIVELY ABOUT A RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, AND WE KEPT IT CLOSE, BUT CLEARLY, GIVEN THAT IT WAS A WAVE ELECTION, GIVEN THE RESOURCES THAT WERE SPENT, I THINK THOSE ARE PROBABLY THE TWO MAIN FACTORS THAT CAUGHT ME HERE AS I WAS FINISHING UP MY FOURTH TERM IN CONGRESS.

>> Woodruff: YOU HAVE SAID THAT YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT YEAR, THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A TOUGH YEAR. IN RETROSPECT, WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY, IF ANYTHING?

>> I STAND BY THE RECORD. I THINK IF WE HAD HAD ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO DRIVE OUR MESSAGE HOME -- A MESSAGE OF INDEPENDENCE, A MESSAGE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, OUR GET-OUT-THE-VOTE EFFORT IF WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO TURN OUT VOTERS MORE EFFECTIVELY IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE STATE THAT MAY HAVE HELPED BUT IT'S SOMEWHAT OF A WASTE OF EMOTIONAL ENERGY TO KIND OF MONDAY-MORNING QUARTERBACK AT ALL, BUT I FEEL PROUD OF THE RACE THAT WE RAN.

>> Woodruff: IS IT YOUR SENSE THAT -- THAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGED IN WASHINGTON THAT CAUSED VOTERS THAT LOOK AT THIS ELECTION DIFFERENTLY?

>> I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE TRICKY, GIVEN THE ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES THE COUNTRY FOUND ITSELF IN, GIVEN THE VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF A LOST DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE ELECTORATE HAD OF PRESIDENT OBAMA, THAT IT WAS GOING TO CAUSE SOME CHALLENGES POLITICALLY AND IT DID AND I SENSED THAT EVEN AS EARLY AS THE SUMMER.

>> Woodruff: WHAT IS IT THAT VOTERS WERE LOOKING FOR THAT YOU COULDN'T DELIVER? IS IT REALISTIC --

>> I SURE TRIED TO HELP DELIVER COMPROMISE, CONSENSUS, BIPARTISANSHIP, BUT THE TONE OF THE CONGRESS GOT OFF TO A VERY BAD START WITH THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE BEING PASSED IN THE HOUSE ONLY WITH DEMOCRATIC VOTES, ONLY A COUPLE OF REPUBLICAN SENATORS SUPPORTING IT AND THEN I'M AFRAID THAT THERE WERE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT MOVING THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA THAT IN RETROSPECT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMY FIRST AND FOREMOST.

>> Woodruff: YOU HAVE NOT ALWAYS VOTED IN LOCKSTEP WITH YOUR PARTY.

>> I VOTED AGAINST THE CLIMATE-CHANGE LEGISLATION. NOT THAT I DON'T BELIEVE WE SHOULD MOVE TO A CLEAN-ENERGY ECONOMY AND IT CAN BE GOOD FOR SOUTH DAKOTA'S ECONOMY TO DO SO BUT IT WAS STARTED OUT AS A VERY PARTISAN BILL IN THE COMMITTEE AND IT HAD TO APPROXIMATE TO PASS ONLY WITH DEMOCRATIC VOTES AND THAT SET THE STAGE FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM.

>> Woodruff: THAT'S A DECISION BY THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP -- THAT AND HEALTH CARE REFORM COMING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.

>> WELL, I THINK THAT THE WHITE HOUSE UNDERSTANDABLY WANTED TO TACKLE HEALTH CARE REFORM EARLY. I THINK THAT THE PRESIDENT SHOULD HAVE INSISTED THAT IT BE FIRST AMONG EQUALS AND THAT'S WHERE THE HOUSE AND SENATE SHOULD HAVE ACTED FIRST. WALL STREET REFORM WAS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT AND A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN UNDER WAY, BUT I THINK THAT VOTERS -- ESPECIALLY VOTERS IN SOUTH DAKOTA, ONE OF THE REASONS I WAS SUCCESSFUL, IF I WAS IN MY PAST ELECTIONS THAT I WAS AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR THE STATE, I WORKED IN A BIPARTISAN WAY AND I THINK INDEPENDENT VOTERS WERE REALLY CRAVING THAT FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA AND BOTH PARTIES IN CONGRESS, AND I THINK THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT -- IN LEADERSHIP AND AT THE WHITE HOUSE WHO SHARE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY IN WHY WE DIDN'T GET MORE BIPARTISANSHIP IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.

>> Woodruff: WELL, IN THAT CONNECTION, YOU WERE A LEADER OF THE SO-CALLED BLUE-DOG DEMOCRATS --

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> Woodruff: MODERATE DEMOCRATS.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> Woodruff: WHO WERE DECIMATED. MORE THAN HALF THE BLUE DOGS WERE DEFEATED. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE PROSPECTS FOR WORKING ACROSS THE AISLE FROM MODERATES PERIOD GOING FORWARD?

>> I THINK IT'S VERY CHALLENGING. I THINK WHEN I LOOK AT THE MODERATE REPUBLICANS WHO LOST THEIR ELECTIONS IN 2006 AND 2008, IT'S IN PART BECAUSE THEY WERE HOLDING THE SEATS THAT WE COULD WIN. EVERYONE ELSE WAS IN A SAFE SEAT. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE, THAT'S THE SAME THING. I THINK REDISTRICTING IS ONE OF THE SIGNIFICANT THREATS THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND TO THAT -- OUR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION AND REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY. I THINK THAT AS AN AT-LARGE MEMBER, YOU ALWAYS SORT OF -- YOU CAN'T GET REDISTRICTED -- IT'S AN AT-LARGE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BUT I HAVE SEEN WHAT'S HAPPENED TO BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE OVER TIME AND I THINK THEY NEED TO AT SOME POINT REALLY JOIN FORCES BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THE FAR RIGHT AND THE FAR LEFT AND SOME OF THE SPECIAL-INTEREST GROUPS ALIGNED WITH THOSE INTERESTS REALLY TAKE IT TO CENTRISTS. BOTH PARTIES AT TIMES APPLY THEIR OWN PURITY TESTS AND THE BLUE DOGS HELD TOGETHER ON KEY FISCAL ISSUES AND WE CHANGED A SPENDING BILL EARLIER THIS YEAR, BROUGHT IT DOWN DRAMATICALLY, MADE IT FAR MORE RESPONSIBLE. WE WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING PAY-GO BACK ON THE BOOKS IN STATUTE, WE WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING THE PRESIDENT'S BIPARTISAN COMMISSION ESTABLISHED -- BUT WE'RE THE ONES THAT ARE SORT OF RIDICULED FROM THE RIGHT AND DEMONIZED AT TIMES ON THE LEFT -- LAMBASTED FROM THE LEFT AND SO IT'S A STRUGGLE FOR CENTRISTS IN BOTH PARTIES.

>> Woodruff: SO GIVEN THAT, GIVEN WHAT INDEPENDENT VOTERS ARE SAYING, ADVICE FOR YOUR FELLOW DEMOCRATS AS YOU WALK AWAY FROM THIS CONGRESS AND AS THEY CONFRONT THE CHALLENGES FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS?

>> SURE. IF THE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE OVERREAD US ITS MANDATE THE SAME WAY MANY MORE LIBERAL MEMBERS OF THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS OVERREAD OUR MANDATE AFTER THE 2008 ELECTION, TAKE ADVANTAGE. TAKE ADVANTAGE THE SAME WAY THE REPUBLICANS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE OTHER SIDE -- THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE, MY PARTY -- OVERREADING THE MANDATE IN 2008. I THINK -- NO ONE EVER WANTS TO TAKE THEIR POLITICAL BASE FOR GRANTED AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY EVER DOES, BUT INDEPENDENT VOTERS DESERVE A VOICE TOO, AND I BELIEVE THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAD A REAL OPPORTUNITY AFTER THE 28 ELECTION TO SHOW THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE A PARTY THAT COULD SPAN NOT JUST THE SPECTRUM OF DIVERSITY, OF RACIAL DIVERSITY, GENDER DIVERSITY, RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY BUT IDEALOGICAL DIVERSITY AND AT TIMES THE BLUE DOGS FELT SOMEWHAT UNWELCOME IN OUR OWN CAUCUS. WE FELT WE WERE BEING LISTENED TO BUT NOT HEARD AND CLEARLY OUR MESSAGE WAS INEFFECTIVE. WE WERE SPEAKING WITH -- WE DIDN'T HAVE A MESSENGER, WHEN WE DID WE HAD THREE OR FOUR OF THEM AND THEY WEREN'T ALL TALKING OFF THE SAME CLIFF NOTES SO WE HAVE TO BE MUCH MORE DISCIPLINED IN SPEAKING TO THE ELECTORATE AND NOT JUST TO THE DEMOCRATIC BASE BUT TO INDEPENDENT VOTERS AS WELL, AND IF THE REPUBLICANS OVERREAD THE MANDATE, IT HAS TO BE CLEAR TO INDEPENDENT VOTERS WHAT THEIR AGENDA MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR COMPETENT GOVERNMENT, AND WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY AND JOBS AND NOT RADICAL ONE WAY OR ON THE OTHER.

>> Woodruff: REPRESENTATIVE STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND ALL THE BEST TO YOU.

>> I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

>> Woodruff: THANKS.

>> Ifill: JUDY'S NEXT CONVERSATION IS WITH THE DEPARTING CHAIRMAN OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, 18-TERM MINNESOTA DEMOCRAT JAMES OBERSTAR. WHEN CONGRESS CONVENES NEXT MONTH, WE'LL TALK WITH MEMBERS OF THE NEW REPUBLICAN MAJORITY.

>> Suarez: NOW, WE BEGIN A YEAR- LONG PARTNERSHIP WITH "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC" MAGAZINE, WHICH WILL BE REPORTING ON POPULATION ISSUES THROUGHOUT 2011. TONIGHT, THE LOOMING CRISIS OF WATER SCARCITY IN INDIA. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT FRED DE SAM LAZARO REPORTS FROM THE INDIAN CAPITAL OF NEW DELHI.

>> Reporter: TO REALLY KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE IN AN OVERPOPULATED PLACE, WATCH THE DAILY VIGIL FOR THE MUNICIPAL WATER TANKER TRUCK HERE IN DELHI'S VASANT KUNJ OR THOUSANDS OF SIMILAR NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS URBAN INDIA. CHANDA LIVES IN AN ILLEGAL SETTLEMENT HERE IN THIS CITY OF 16 MILLION AND GROWING. ON THIS DAY, SHE LEFT HER JOB AS A DAILY LABORER MID-MORNING TO RUN BACK AND COLLECT SOME WATER. EXACTLY WHEN THE TRUCK ARRIVES IS ANYONE'S GUESS. EVERY DAY, THESE WOMEN SAY THEY SPEND FOUR HOURS A DAY-- THEIR CHILDREN OFTEN MISS SCHOOL-- JUST WAITING FOR THE ONLY SOURCE OF WATER FOR THEIR DAILY CONSUMPTION AND SANITATION.

>> ( translated ): WE HAVE TO USE THE OPEN AND THERE ARE MEN THERE AS WELL.

>> Reporter: JYOTHI SHARMA, A CONSERVATION ACTIVIST WHO RUNS A SMALL AID AGENCY SAYS THE CITY IS SIMPLY OVERWHELMED

>> EVERY YEAR, WE GET AN ADDITIONAL 500,000 TO 700,000 PEOPLE. THAT'S THE KIND OF POPULATION GROWTH, THE MAJORITY IS OF LOWER INCOME, WHO ARE POOR, TYPICALLY THEY COME AND SETTLE IN THESE KIND OF SETTLEMENTS. ONLY 27% OF THIS CITY IS A PLANNED CITY. YOU CANNOT STOP THEM COMING BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE THEY GET SOME LIVELIHOOD.

>> Reporter: SHARMA LIVES IN A MIDDLE CLASS ENCLAVE BEHIND A WALL BUT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE SLUM. WHEN IT COMES TO WATER SUPPLY, THEY'RE BETTER OFF HERE, BUT HARDLY WELL OFF.

>> IT DOES NOT GET VERY MUCH WATER, ABOUT 45 MINUTES IN THE MORNING. THESE ARE ALL PIPELINES LAID BY PEOPLE THEMSELVES. THESE PIPELINES THEN GO TO ONLINE MOTORS. THEY KNOW THE TIME WHEN WATER IS RELEASED INTO THE PIPELINE SYSTEM SO AT THAT TIME PEOPLE SWITCH ON THESE MOTORS AND THESE MOTORS SUCK WATER FROM THE PIPELINES INTO THESE STORAGE TANKS. AND AT SOME TIME DURING THE DAY THEY HAVE ANOTHER MOTOR WHICH PUMPS THIS UP TO THE ROOFTOP AND FROM THERE THEY GET THEIR SUPPLY OF WATER WHENEVER THEY WANT.

>> THESE MOTORS, THEY ACTUALLY CREATE A SUCTION VACUUM SO IF THERE IS NO WATER IN THE PIPELINES, ANY CRACK IN THE PIPE WILL ALLOW SEWAGE OR DIRTY WATER TO GET INTO THE PIPELINES AND THAT ACTUALLY BECOMES A BIG PROBLEM, CAUSE FOR DISEASES HERE.

>> Reporter: IN HER OWN KITCHEN, SHARMA HAS A FILTRATION SYSTEM AND LIKE OTHER MIDDLE CLASS INDIANS CAN BUY HER WAY TO A SECURE WATER SUPPLY. ACROSS THE STREET, MEANWHILE, RESIDENTS HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT DAY FOR THE NEXT WATER TANKER. DELHI'S WATER SITUATION IS RIPE FOR CONFLICT, SAYS SHARMA.

>> NOW THE DAY THESE TANKERS STOPS COMING, I'M SURE THAT JUST TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN THEY WILL COME THERE AND THEY'LL BREAK INTO WATER TANKS NEITHER ON THE SECURITY NOR HUMANITARIAN FRONTS, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STOP THEM, SO IF THE WATER WARS HAPPEN, THEY WILL HAPPEN IN PLACES LIKE THIS. POPULATIONS ARE DENSE, RESOURCES ARE DWINDLING ASPIRATIONS ARE HIGH, THIS IS WHERE THE CONFLICT WILL BE.

>> Reporter: TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, GROUNDWATER SUPPLIES ARE ALSO DWINDLING. THE CITY PIPES FRESH WATER IN FROM DAMS AS FAR AS AWAY AS 200 MILES. IT'S SIMPLY UNSUSTAINABLE, GIVEN NOT JUST POPULATION BUT ALSO ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDIA, SAYS ASHOK JATLEY, A SCHOLAR AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN DELHI.

>> IT'S NOT JUST THE PRESSURE OF NUMBERS. AS YOU HAVE RATES OF GROWTH, 8%, 9%, 10%, YOUR LIFESTYLE CHANGES; YOUR DIET IS DIFFERENT; YOU HAVE SHOWERS AND SWIMMING POOLS AND ALL THAT SORT OF THING. SO THE WHOLE LIFESTYLE CHANGES AND THAT RESULTS IN INCREASED PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF WATER. THAT ALSO NEEDS TO BE ATTENDED TO.

>> Reporter: HOWEVER, HE SAYS THERE'S BEEN LITTLE ENTHUSIASM FOR ADDRESSING WATER ISSUES OR FOR PASSING OVERALL WATER POLICIES. HE SAYS IT'S PARTICULARLY TRUE OF INDIA'S AGRICULTURE SECTOR, WHICH CONSUMES 80 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY'S FRESH WATER SUPPLY- HALF OF IT GOES TO WASTE. THE WATER TABLE IS DECLINING RAPIDLY IN THE BREADBASKET STATE OF PUNJAB, FOR EXAMPLE, SEVERELY IMPERILING UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS AND, ULTIMATELY FOOD PRODUCTION ITSELF. FOR PUNJAB'S FARMERS, THE WATER FLOWS FREELY AND IT FLOWS FOR FREE. SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS ARE SUBSIDIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT, WHICH ALSO PROVIDES ELECTRICITY AND WATER AT NO CHARGE TO FARMERS, GIVING THEM VIRTUALLY NO INCENTIVE TO CONSERVE.

>> THE FARMER LOBBY IS VERY POWERFUL AND ELECTORALLY IN INDIA. THEREFORE YOU HAVE THE POLITICS OF POPULISM, WHICH ENCOURAGES INEFFICIENT WATER MANAGEMENT AND WATER UTILIZATIONS. IT'S A VERY EMOTIVE AND POLITICAL ISSUE.

>> Reporter: SO IS THE ISSUE OF POPULATION CONTROL, EVEN THOUGH FEWER PEOPLE WOULD SEEM LIKE A SOLUTION TO DWINDLING RESOURCES. TO BEGIN, ASHISH BOSE SAYS ECONOMICS DETERMINES FAMILY SIZE, ESPECIALLY IN POOR FAMILIES WHERE CHILDREN ARE A SORT OF RETIREMENT PLAN.

>> IN INDIA, WE DON'T HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE, SO ONLY THEY HAVE TO RELY ON CHILDREN AND ONLY ON SONS.

>> Reporter: BOSE, ONE OF INDIA'S LEADING DEMOGRAPHERS, SAYS THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIRA GANDHI LAUNCHED FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS IN THE 1970s THAT WERE WIDELY PERCEIVED AS COERCIVE, LEADING TO THE GOVERNMENT'S DEFEAT AT THE BALLOT BOX. IT WAS A HUGE SETBACK TO ANY CONCERTED GOVERNMENT FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM. AND YET, EVEN AS THE GROWING POPULATION MAKES LIFE HARDER AND HARDER, BOSE SAYS THE PROBLEM IS RARELY TACKLED HEAD ON.

>> THEY CONCEDE THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE AND THAT EVERYWHERE YOU GO, THERE IS A LONG QUEUE. IF YOU GO FOR A FREE HEALTH, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY, THEY SAY, YOU COME AFTER THREE DAYS BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN LINE.

>> Reporter: COME AFTER THREE DAYS IN AN EMERGENCY?

>> YES! SO THEN HE HAS TO GO TO A PRIVATE DOCTOR, SHELL OUT MONEY, BORROW MONEY FROM A FRIEND AND GO TO A PRIVATE DOCTOR. SO THEY REALIZE BUT THEN THEY SAY GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE DONE ENOUGH FOR US BY DEVELOPING GOOD HOSPITALS FOR THE POOR. THEY BLAME THE GOVERNMENT FOR SLOW DEVELOPMENT.

>> Reporter: AND HE SAYS INDIA'S ONLY OPTION IS DEVELOPMENT. IMPROVING PEOPLE'S ECONOMIC SECURITY WILL REDUCE FAMILY SIZE.

>> IN ONE OF MY LECTURES, I'VE SAID THAT DEVELOPMENT IS THE BEST CONTRACEPTIVE. I STILL BELIEVE THAT.

>> Reporter: IRONICALLY, INDIA HAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S FASTEST RATES OF DEVELOPMENT, AT LEAST MEASURED BY ECONOMIC GROWTH. A POPULATION THAT'S PROJECTED TO REACH 1.6 BILLION BEFORE

>> Suarez: FRED'S REPORT WAS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PULITZER CENTER ON CRISIS REPORTING AND THE UNDER-TOLD STORIES PROJECT AT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY IN MINNESOTA.

>> Ifill: FINALLY TONIGHT, THE STORY OF LIFELONG FRIENDS-- AN ARTIST AND A ROCK STAR. JEFFREY BROWN HAS OUR BOOK CONVERSATION.

>> Reporter: IN LATE 1960'S AND EARLY 1970'S NEW YORK, PATTI SMITH AND ROBERT MAPLE THORPE WERE UNKNOWNS. YOUNG FRIENDS SETTING OUT TO MAKE THEMSELVES ARTISTS AGAINST CHANGE. MAPLETHORPE WENT ON TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ARTISTS OF HIS TIME BEFORE HE DIED OF AIDS. PATTI SMITH MERGED POETRY WITH ROCK AND ROLL. SHE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME IN 2007. SHE TELLS THE STORY OF THOSE EARLY YEARS IN A MEMOIR TITLED "JUST KIDS" WHICH WON THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION. PATTI SMITH JOINS ME. THIS BOOK GOES BACK TO BEFORE YOU WERE YOU, THE PUBLIC FIGURE. WHY DID YOU WANT TO LOOK AT THAT?

>> THE DAY BEFORE ROBERT DIED, WE KNEW HE WAS DYING AND BECAUSE WE HAD COLLABORATED FOR SO MANY YEARS, I ASKED HIM WHAT HE WANTED ME TO DO TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH HIM IN THE BEST WAY I COULD. THEN HE SAID, "WOULD YOU TELL OUR STORY. YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD TELL IT." OUR STORY STARTED WHEN WE WERE 20 YEARS OLD AND IT BEGAN, THE TWO OF US WERE UNKNOWN. WE EVOLVED AS ARTISTS AND HUMAN PECULIARS TOGETHER.

>> Ifill: YOU COULD SEE IT COMING THROUGH, THE ASPIRATION TO ART BUT TRYING TO CHANNEL IT SOMEHOW.

>> BOTH OF US HAD A MISSION. ROBERT REALLY BELIEVED IN HIMSELF. ROBERT WAS A VERY INTERESTING BOY, BECAUSE HE WAS QUITE SHY YET ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT IN HIS ABILITIES AND THAT HE WOULD SOMEDAY ACHIEVE ACCLAIM. HE SAW --

>> Reporter: HE KNEW THAT? HE FELT THAT?

>> ABSOLUTELY. I HAD A LOT OF BRAVADO IN THAT I COULD MAKE A LIVING, I HAD NO FEAR, BUT I DIDN'T HAVE AS MUCH CONFIDENCE IN MYSELF AS AN ARTIST AND I THINK ALCHEMICALLY WE TRADED OFF. HE INSTILLED HIS CONFIDENCE IN ME AND I HELPED TAKE CARE OF US SO WE HELPED EACH OTHER FIND OUR PATHS.

>> Reporter: THERE ARE A LOST FAMOUS PEOPLE THAT MOVE IN AND OUT OF THE STORY, SOMETIMES IN THE BACKGROUND, ROCK STARS JANIS JOPLIN, JI MI HENDRIX, AND YOU WRITE "I WAS THERE FOR THESE MOMENTS BUT SO YOUNG AND PREOCCUPIED WITH MY OWN THOUGHTS THAT I HARDLY RECOGNIZED THEM AS MOMENTS." IT'S INTERESTING THAT WE DON'T RECOGNIZE OUR MOMENTS AS WE'RE LIVING.

>> IT'S TRUE. I WAS SITTING AT THE FEET OF JANICE JOPLIN AS CHRIS KRISTOFFERSON WAS TEACHING HER BOBBY MCGEE AND PREOCCUPIED WITH A POEM I WAS TRYING TO WRITE. I THINK THAT'S NORMAL FOR YOUNG ARTISTS. THESE PEOPLE WERE ONLY A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN ME AND IT WAS A TIME WHERE THE CULT OF CELEBRITY WASN'T SO BIG, AND WE WEREN'T SO SEPARATED FROM -- FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE CREATING OUR CULTURAL VOICE, BECAUSE WE WERE ALSO TRYING TO ADD TO IT SIMULTANEOUSLY, AND WE WERE ALL LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE, THE CHELSEA HOTEL.

>> Reporter: WHICH WAS QUITE A PLACE IN ITSELF.

>> ABSOLUTELY. A LAND MARK.

>> Reporter: AT ONE TIME, YOU DESCRIBED YOUR WORK AS THREE CORDS MERGED WITH THE POWER OF THE WORD. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? HOW DO YOU SEE WHAT THE POWER OF -- WHAT DOES THAT BECOME FOR YOU?

>> I BEGAN, OF COURSE, AS A POET, BUT THE POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL -- ROCK AND ROLL WAS REALLY THE CANOPY OF OUR CULTURAL VOICE, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE 1960'S -- LATE 1960'S AND EARLY 1970'S, AND OUR ROCK STARS -- THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BUILDING THAT VOICE, WHETHER IT WAS JOHN LENNON OR NEIL YOUNG OR BOB DYLAN, WHOEVER IT WAS, THEY WERE INFUSING POLITICS AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, SEXUAL ENERGY, POETICS, ALL WITHIN THE CAN OPEN OF ROCK AND ROLL AND STRIVING TO MAKE THIS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. IT WAS A REAL MISSION. AND I WANTED TO ADD TO THAT. WRITING POETRY IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT WHEN I WAS YOUNG I WANTED TO BE PART OF THIS IMPORTANT CULTURAL VOICE, AND SO MERGING THE SIMPLISTIC ASPECTS OF ROCK AND ROLL -- THREE CHORDS, CLASSIC THREE CHORDS, SONGS LIKE "GLORIA" OR "LAND OF A THOUSAND DANCES" WITH MY OWN POETRY, THAT KIND OF FUSION IS WHAT PROPELLED ME ON -- MY BAND ON.

>> Reporter: YOU SAID -- IT WAS VERY INTERESTING -- AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY WHEN YOU WERE GIVEN THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD, YOU LOOKED BACK, WHICH IS ALSO TALKED ABOUT IN THE BOOK TO THE DAYS WHEN YOU WERE A CLERK AT A BOOK STORE --

>> GREGGNER'S.

>> Reporter: YOU SAID YOU DREAMED OF WRITING YOUR OWN BOOK.

>> I DREAMED OF WRITING A BOOK WHEN I WAS A CHILD, READING "LITTLE WOMEN," READING "PINNOCHIO," "MOBY DICK."

>> Reporter: BOOKS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU?

>> ALWAYS, ALWAYS.

>> Reporter: IT SEEMED LIKE YOUR WAY INTO ANOTHER LIFE.

>> I BEGGED MY MOTHER TO TEACH ME TO READ. MY POOR MOTHER WAS A WAITRESS AND DID IRONING AND HAD FOUR CHILDREN. I BEGGED HER TO TEACH ME. SHE WOULD COME HOME AND LABOR AND DO HER BEST AND SHE DID. SHE TAUGHT ME TO READ. I JUST DEVOURED EVERY BOOK IN SIGHT. I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED BOOKS.

>> Reporter: HOW MUCH DID IT MEAN TO NOT ONLY WRITE A BOOK BUT THEN WIN THIS MAJOR AWARD?

>> I WAS SO EXCITED. I MEAN, I -- I COULD HARDLY SPEAK. I REALLY -- I JUST BURST INTO TIERCE AND STILL, WHIWALK DOWN THE STREET, ALL OF A SUDDEN I STARTED SMILING. I'M SO HAPPY. IT'S NOT WHY WE DO OUR WORK. WE DON'T DO OUR WORK TO ACHIEVE ACCOLADES. WE DO OUR WORK TO DO GOOD WORK, BUT TO RECEIVE THEM IS -- IT'S -- WELL, IT'S EXCITING. IT MEANS -- THE OTHER THING IS THAT IT -- MORE THAN EVER, IT MEANS THAT THE STORY, WHICH MY MOTIVATION WAS TO GIVE ROBERT TO THE PEOPLE -- REALLY GIVES THE PEOPLE MORE HOLISTIC IMAGE OF ROBERT -- IS EVEN MORE POSSIBLE BECAUSE IT MAKES THE BOOK MORE ACCESSIBLE TO OTHERS.

>> Reporter: THE BOOK IS CALLED "JUST KIDS," PATTI SMITH, IT'S NICE TO TALK TO YOU.

>> Suarez: AGAIN, THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DAY: NEW YORK CITY STRUGGLED AGAIN TO FREE ITSELF FROM THE HOLD OF THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND BLIZZARD. AND WEST AFRICAN LEADERS BACKED OFF A THREAT TO OUST THE PRESIDENT OF IVORY COAST BY FORCE. HE REFUSED TO STEP DOWN AFTER LOSING LAST MONTH'S ELECTION. AND TO HARI SREENIVASAN FOR WHAT'S ON THE "NEWSHOUR" ONLINE. HARI?

>> Sreenivasan: PATTI SMITH READS MORE FROM HER MEMOIR ON "ART BEAT." RAY RESPONDS TO COMMENTS ABOUT HIS REPORTING FROM CUBA. PLUS, YOU CAN WATCH OUR TWO-PART LOOK AT WOMEN'S BOXING-- A SPORT MAKING ITS OLYMPIC DEBUT IN 2012. ALL THAT AND MORE IS ON OUR WEB SITE: newshour.pbs.org. RAY?

>> Suarez: AND THAT'S THE "NEWSHOUR" FOR TONIGHT. ON THURSDAY, WE'LL LOOK AT NEXT MONTH'S INDEPENDENCE VOTE IN SOUTHERN SUDAN. I'M RAY SUAREZ.

>> Ifill: AND I'M GWEN IFILL. A PROGRAM NOTE BEFORE WE GO, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR VIEWERS IN LOS ANGELES AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. AS YOU MAY KNOW, PBS PROGRAMS ARE MOVING TO A DIFFERENT STATION IN LOS ANGELES NEXT WEEK. STARTING MONDAY, THE "NEWSHOUR" WILL HAVE A NEW HOME ON CHANNEL 50-- THAT'S KOCE TV. SAME TIME-- 6:00 PM PACIFIC. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHANGES AT pbs.socal.org. WE'LL SEE YOU ON-LINE AND AGAIN HERE TOMORROW EVENING. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT. 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. AND THE WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION, WORKING TO SOLVE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD. 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 - BEACHES RESORTS IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY," CONNECTING BRIGHT IDEAS AND COUNTLESS OUTLETS FOR HIGH-ENERGY EXCITEMENT. Announcer: FIND YOUR VOICE AND SHARE IT. AMERICAN GREETINGS-- PROUD SPONSOR OF "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY." FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S READY TO LEARN GRANT, AND... - I'VE GOT 5 WORDS FOR YOU-- AMBASSADOR. AN AMBASSADOR HELPS PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT PLACES UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER.