Crew members were evacuated. A paparazzi was killed while trying to get a picture of justin bieber. Hes free he says ill take care of business. All that a soldiers Surprise Homecoming at the rose parade in california. Oh, thats beautiful. Makes me cry. And all that matters. Members of congress are furious after the house went home without voting on a relief bill for Hurricane Sandy victims. Absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We have a moral obligation to hold this vote. On cbs this morning. The annual Polar Bear Plunge at coney island could help raise money for coverage. I lost my house, im going in the same water on new years day captioning funded by cbs welcome to cbs this morning. Im Norah Odonnell along with anthony mason. Charlie and gayle are off. No one in washington or the country seems to be happy about the outcome. Late last night the house joined the senate that passed a bill raises taxes for people earning more than 400,000 a year and families earning more than 450,000. The bill also extends longterm jobless benefits for a year and puts any significant spending cuts on hold until later in 2013. Nancy cordes is on capitol hill. Nancy, good morning. Reporter good morning, anthony. Well if this was high school youd say they turned in the assignment a little bit late. It was kind of a rush job, but at least they got it done. The house passed this bill with room to spare late last night. The votes were about 2 1, democratic, in favor of the bill, but that still qualifies as a big bipart son viktisan victory around here. The yeas are 257, the nays 167. Reporter with that vote the long contentious effort to prevent a middle class tax hike came to an end tuesday, though few on either side felt like celebrating. Reminds me of the jokes we used to have on lennox avenue someone stopped hitting you in the head with the hammer and youre supposed to say thank you so much for the relief. The bill before us is not the grand bargain that i and i think most of my colleagues had hoped that we would have been able to achieve. Reporter still, the bill is a milestone, finally settling a decadelong debate over the bush era tax cuts. Permanent tax relief for the middle class, more than 98 of american taxpayers, more than 97 of americas small businesses. Reporter the bill also permanently prevents the alternative minimum tax from hitting the middle class. Were witnessing something that theres been a great hunger among the American People for and that is to see finally democrats and republicans working together for the good of the united states. Bill passed the president made a point of recognizing republican leaders. In particular i want to thank the work that was done by my extraordinary Vice President , joe biden, as well as leader harry reid Speaker Boehner, nancy pelosi and Mitch Mcconnell. Reporter but many House Republicans were angry that this deal worked out by the white house and the senate did not include serious spending cuts. Im unwilling to gag down a deal, a bill theyve sent over here thats unacceptable. Reporter in the end they did not have the votes to change it and everyone acknowledged that this deal sets the stage for a big showdown over spending with a vote to raise the debt ceiling coming sometime in the next two months. The problem is we set up three more fiscal cliffs. Reporter one thing this bill doesnt address is the sequester, those acrosstheboard indiscriminate spending cuts to both defense and nondefense agencies. The bill just pushes off those cuts for two months so youre going to see congress and the white house fighting right away about how to replace the sequester with more sensible cuts once and for all. Nancy cordes thanks nancy. Shortly after the house vote president obama got on a plane to resume his christmas vacation in hawaii but first he complained to reporters about how hard it was to reach a deal and insisted it wont happen again when the debt ceiling battle comes around. I will not have another debate with this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that theyve already wracked up through the laws that they passed. The one thing that i think hopefully in the new year well focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much. Major garrett is in the White House Briefing room where the president made that announcement just hours ago. Major, good morning. Good morning. Major, just to start with what was the reaction from the white house once this deal finally passed . There was many reactions but i would say the three dominant words described as this relief a sense of triumph and also a sense of regret. Let me take those in order. There was genuine relief in the building that the deal got passed. There were hours of very profound anxiety here yesterday that the house would not pass. There really was not an alternative plan if the house amended the senate bill or sent it back or killed it entirely. The president felt slightly powerless watching House Republicans sort it out, by about 6 00 last night they xwan to feel this was going to happen. Also a sense of triumph resolving the tax increase debate on his terms, largely on his terms, for the first time getting republicans and the senate and the house to vote for higher income tax rates a year and a half ago said theyd never vote for any higher taxes, they wouldnt vote for higher income tax rates and now they have. Also resolving the debate without touching entitlements in any significant bay. The regret is this is not a grand bargain and as nancy cordes indicated there are more fights to come and theyre coming very soon. The president did stand his ground to some degree and won out, no spending cuts and the extension of the tax cuts for the middle class. What do you think the white house learned from this whole episode . First of all, necessity is the mother of invention. This deal needed to get done and everyone had to participate and the other thing the president learned is that things can change very quickly. For weeks and weeks and weeks Mitch Mcconnell the Senate Republican leader had nothing to do with the negotiations or had any prospect of resolving this. Suddenly he became the key player. Similarly Vice President biden stepped off the sidelines and became the number one negotiator representing the white house with Mitch Mcconnell. The president learned that combination can work in the future and also yesterday the white house gained new appreciation for Speaker Boehner, because though theyve doubted him in the past they saw he was able to put this deal through last night and avoid the fiscal cliff both for him, Senate Democrats and this white house. All right major garrett, thank you. And before the house vote retiring republican congressman Steve Latourette of ohio said the members of the congress who voted for this must have been drunk he voted yes and he joins us from capitol hill. Congressman, thank you for joining us. This was an extension of the tax cuts for most of the middle class and yet no spending cuts. How could you vote for that . Well because its that choice that if there was no deal taxes would have gone up on every american and the speakers staed objective was to always spare as many people in the country as he could from a tax increase. At the end of the day we got whooped. Had we put simpsonbowles the grand bargain on the floor last week i got a grand total of 38 votes on the big deal and 38 votes even in the math challenged person like myself is not what you need to win. Congressman, i know you were joking when awe cused some of the senators they must have been drunk when they voted for this but i have to tell you, youve left this country with a huge hangover because now youve got about 4 trillion in debt added to the deficit, and no spending cuts. I mean again, what is wrong with congress . Well its outrageous because no one will make the difficult decisions necessary to get this thing done. This is a problem that requires a had trillion to 6 trillion fix. Quite frankly the president wont see the leadership to do it on the entitlement side weve been slow to the dance on the revenue side and just about the senators being drunk, since you mentioned it twice, my wife has yelled at me and im supposed to say that nothing good happens after midnight on new years eve. Thats right. Congressman you make the point, there were no hard decisions made here. You havent dealt with the debt ceiling. You havent dealt with the deficit or spending cuts. Yes. Isnt this legislation by procrastination . Its worse than that. If you take the president s numbers on what the extra revenue is, about 66 billion a year. It has 600 billion in new spending so it not only doesnt cut spending but increases spending by a little bit and wore rowing 1 trillion. You dont have to be a math professor, we all knew the president was going to get his way, he campaigned on raising taxes, he wanted to raise taxes he wins but now its time for people to face up to the fact its not just on the revenue side. You really have to come to grips with some of these programs that have been around since the Great Depression and figure out how to make them viable and sustainable in 2012. Two quick questions, congressman real quick. Wouldnt you have been better off if boehner accepted the first deal with obama . At least you would have gotten some spending cuts. No, the president was never serious about spending cuts and the president s spending cuts put 300 billion over ten years, thats a joke as well. This required a big deal on taxes, on spending and everybodys afraid to make the deal. Congressman a lot of people are outraged the house canceled its plan to vote on a relief package for victims of superstorm sandy. Senator schumer called it heartless. Why was there a reverse . The reverse came about basically the same i call them chuckleheads and ill call them chuckleheads again, the same chuckleheads that jet ison planned b a week ago said the 60 billion or 27 and 33 isnt paid for and because its not paid for were not going to do anything about it. I guess they dont have tvs in their homes and they havent seen the suffering on Staten Island and coastal new jersey. It doesnt make any sense to me. An emergency is an emergency. These are americans who are suffering. We should have had the vote and i talked to the speaker in the cloak room at 11 00 last night. He says hes going to take care of it quickly. I hope he does. Because this is another example of people just not getting it. Congressman Steve Latourrette thank you for being with us. The dow has gained over 200 points since the opening. Rebecca jarvis says the relief may not last that long. Good morning. The markets liked this at first. They liked the fact that we have some certainty on tax policy for the American People the consumers, which drive this economy, 70 of our Economic Growth comes from the American Consumer how we spend. The fact that we now know what kind of taxes were going to be paying in 2013 creates that certainty. However theres still a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to what happens with spending which they kick down the road theyll be dealing with that and what happens with our 16. 4 trillion debt . Thats another debate thats coming in washington and there are people who are saying it could be as vitriolic if not more so than the one we just saw. Why is the market responding positively when a lot of people see this as a bad deal that didnt deal with some of the big issues spending and our deficits . Theres an irrationality in the market and short term thinking in the market. We saw this throughout the deal. If it looks like there might be a deal all of a sudden the market rallied. If it looked like the deal was falling apart, the market fell apart. The market isnt purely rational and also reactionary at this moment in time. Thats what were seeing. Longer term down the road what people on wall street are discussing theyre not giving each other high fives. Investors are saying theres more to come and we have to look at what happens to companies and what happens to Government Agencies once these spending cuts actually do take effect or once theyre discussed. Rebecca jarvis thanks. To find out specifically what the fiscal cliff agreement will mean for your taxes go to our website cbsnews. Com. Here in new york secretary of state Hillary Clinton is still in the hospital but her doctors say shes making excellent progress in recovering from a blood clot that is inside her skull. Margaret brennan is outside New York Presbyterian Hospital in northern manhattan. Margaret, what are they saying about secretary clintons status right now . Reporter good morning, norah. Secretary clinton is still undergoing treatment for that blood clot between her brain and her skull. Her spokesperson says that he will share new information when there is something to update. When clinton was hospitalized on sunday, that same spokesperson said that doctors would monitor her for 48 hours. We are now beyond that window but doctors tell cbs it often takes more than two days to establish the exact dosage of blood thinner. It can take weeks, even months to dissolve the clot and typically it can take up to six months for full recovery but it doesnt require hospitalization. So is there any talk about when she might return to d. C. . Reporter it isnt clear. Secretary clinton is expected to step down at the end of the month, once a replacement is confirmed. Senate staffers tell cbs that there is no word yet on when those confirmation hearings will begin to approve john kerry to be the next secretary of state. In the meantime clinton is not expected to travel. She hasnt made public appearances in three weeks because of these Health Issues but we are told she is still working from her recovery bed. Wow. Margaret brennan, thank you. And students from newtown, connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary School go back to class tomorrow. It has been nearly three weeks since a gunman killed 20 first graders and six staffers at sandy hook elementary. The students will not return to that school. Theyre going to go to a school in a neighboring town. Backpacks and other belongings they left at sandy hook have been moved and police and grief counselors will be in the hallways. Officials in alaska say calmer weather may allow the coast guard to inspect the Shell Oil Rig that ran aground monday. They say there are no signs that it is leaking. The rig is grounded on a Remote Island east of kodiak alaska. As lee cowan reports, high winds and rough seas are hampering efforts to get to the scene. Reporter aground on a rocky shoreline, shells 290 million drill barge is at the mercy of the merciless waves, some close to 50 feet high. Although all 18 crew members were evacuated by the u. S. Coast guard, what remains, more than 160,000 gallons of fuel and oil stored in her hull and that has captain paul meyler worried. Any time you have the risk this presents we have to take this as a big deal. Reporter for now the kulluk steel hull is holding. As a precaution as many as 500 people are staging equipment up and down the coast to help contain and clean up any leak or spill. Theres always the threat this vessel is on the rocks, and there are still very heavy seas so thats why were moving with all the response equipment and preparing. Reporter the kulluk doesnt have its own propulsion. It was being towed to seattle for routine maintenance when it broke loose from its tug in a massive storm. Its used largely for test drilling and part of shells effort to open arctic waters to oil production, one of the last untapped regions in the u. S. But that exploration has been opposed by environmentalists saying the conditions are too difficult in the gulf of alaskas frigid waters. For cbs this morning im lee cowan in los angeles. And time to show you some of this mornings headlines from around the globe. The New York Daily News says al qaeda has put a gold bounty on americas ambassador of yemen. They offered three kilos of gold worth 160,000. The ambassadors 94yearold mother says he hopes he has enough security. Pennsylvanias governor plans to sue the ncaa over sanctions from penns from penn pennstate from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The telegraph talk about a man swept into sea, williams helicopter turned back after battling 50 mooilmileanhour winds. The New York Times says north Korean Leader king a frosty start to the day. Some of the temperatures into the 20s and the 30s in the valleys. 28 in fairfield. 29 in concord. 27 degrees in santa rosa. Frost even inside the bay this morning. This afternoon, highs running up in the 50s. Maybe 57 in san jose. 53 in San Francisco. And 52 degrees in concord. Next couple of days, cold mornings, cool days ahead. She attended one of new york citys top private schools. He went to harvard. Now theyre accused of collecting bombmaking tools including a powerful explosive. Its extremely potent, which is one of the reasons why its so appealing for terrorists to use. This morning well look at the charges against the couple. And the faa orders inspections for dozens of older airliners, three years after a southwest 737 landed with a hole in the roof. Well ask Peter Greenburg if any planes out there are too old to fly, on cbs this morning. A ar this cold season, nasal congestion wont stop me. I made the clear choice. Claritind. 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