industry. suzanne? >> thank you, mary. here in "the situation room," happening now, last minutes of the dramatic debate in the senate. lawmakers there are moving closer to a final vote on the tax cut compromise between president obama and republican leaders. also, will openly gay marines lead to more military deaths? a top u.s. marine is taking the opposition to repealing "don't ask, don't tell" to a whole new level. plus, new developments in the u.s. military's attempt to stop service members from reading the leaked cables released on the internet. what one of the branchs is now doing. we'd like to welcome our viewer ins the united states and around the world. breaking news, political headlines and jeanne moos are straight ahead. wolf blitzer is on assignment. i'm suzanne malveaux, and you i'm suzanne malveaux, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we reawaiting a critical