once again, reporting from iowa this week, gwen ifill. gwen: hello from iowa. the summer kickoff to voting in the first caucus state next january. tomorrow there's a straw poll. last night there was a debate. in between we're here at the iowa state fair with dan balz of the "washington post," who's been with me here all week. what's been the most amazing thing you've seen? >> the debate on thursday night was such a contrast to what we saw two months ago in new hampshire. if that was a sleepy debate, this was an eruppings. we've been waiting for this race to heath up to get people engaged and we saw that thursday night. almost everyone in the group had something to prove. gwen: was there someone who came in with more to prove? >> governor pawlenty from minnesota clearly needs all the help he can get. his campaign has been struggling. the straw poll will be a big moment for him and i think he needed to take on congresswoman bachman because she's got more momentum. but governor huntsman wanted to make an impression. newt gingrich wanted to erase the idea that his

once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. it's been a dizzying week. good news followed by bad news followed by mystifying news, starting with today's new jobless numbers. the good news? better than expected job creation. for those who have been unemployed have been out of work much longer. >> the unemployment rate went down, not up. but while this marks the 17th month in a row of job growth in the private sector, nearly two and a half million new private sector jobs in all, we have to create more jobs than that each month to make up for the more than eight million jobs that the recession claimed. gwen: by the end of the day the dow jones industrial average was up 61 points after a 500 poiment develop yesterday. is the economy just recovering slowly or is it headed back into recession? >> if you asked six different economists, you'd probably get six different answers. we just don't know. this recovery has been unlike any we've seen in the past. the word mystifying is pretty accurate. for the economy and even the federal reser

gwen: so where is gaddafi? >> i think the preponderance of reporting suggests that he's still likely inside of libya. gwen: and what of u.s. policy toward the north african nation? while at home, the markets keep an eye on ben bernanke, and on an economy that just keeps slumping. and rick perry leaps to the top of the republican presidential field. covering the week, nancy youssef of "mcclatchy newspapers," doyle mcmanus of "the los angeles times," jim tankersly of "national journal," and michael duffy of "time" magazine. >> award-winning reporting and analysis. covering history as it happens. live from our nations capitol, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill, produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by >> we know why we're here. to give our war fighters every advantage. >> to deliver technologies that anticipate the future today. >> and help protect america everywhere, from the battle space to cyberspace. >> around the globe the people of boeing

gwen will be back next week. in the meantime be sure to go to our web site tore the -- for the "washington week" extra. we'll take you back to 1999 and the iowa straw poll that year. i'm john dickerson. have a good weekend. good night. gwen: every thursday get a preview of our topics and panel with our "washington week" emple mail alert available at "washington week" online at pbs.org. >> "washington week" was produced by weta, which is solely responsible for its content. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> funding for "washington week" swoosh provided by -- >> we know why we're here. to connect our forces to what they need when they need it. >> to help troops see danger before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the brave and bring them safely home. >> around the glow, the people of boeing are working together to support all who serve. that's why we're here. >> this is the network. a living, breathing intelligence. in here inventory can be taught to learn. machines have a voic

>> ifill: let the games begin. >> woodruff: gwen will be in iowa all weekend. margaret warner talked with her from the state fairgrounds a short time ago. >> warner: hi, gwen, look to be right in 9 middle of the action out there. >> ifill: i'm out here in the heartland. >> warner: so what's been the reaction among the players, other people you've talked to to last night's debate? >> ifill: well last night's debate was really a breakthrough for a lot of the candidates and a lot of the people watching carefully in a way as you saw in the piece haven't necessarily made up their minds. they wanted to see whether tim pawlenty was going to come alive, whether jon huntsman who is not participating in the straw poll will make his voice heard. instead what they got was an interesting sideshow, a fight between michele bachmann and tim pawlenty the two minnesotaans and they also begin to see what the front-runner looked like, mitt romney who also is not participating in the straw poll there are a lot of people in this race who were depending on last night's debate and tom

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight: we look at the top tier of g.o.p. hopefuls and political editor david chalian examines president obama's response as he kicks off a three-day "economy and jobs" bus tour in the midwest. >> ifill: then, margaret warner gets an update on the fighting in libya as rebels gain new ground. >> woodruff: we talk with the norwegian foreign minister about how his country is coping in the aftermath of mass killings that left 77 dead. >> we will be marked forever after by the 2nd of july. such an experience collect tifl has marked us in addition to the terrible suffering of those affected directly. >> ifill: and jeffrey brown talks with australian actors cate blanchett and richard roxburgh about the challenges of bringing chekov to the stage. >> it's very easy to make chekov very small and it's epic. it's epic moments in people's very small domestic lives. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we assess the first-ever downgrade of the u.s. credit rating and the market drop with economists paul krugman and kenneth rogoff and terry belton of j.p. morgan. >> ifill: then margaret warner examines the deadly helicopter crash that claimed the lives of 30 u.s. forces in afghanistan over the weekend. >> woodruff: plus, we have two education stories. special correspondent john tulenko reports on the cheating scandal that rocked atlanta's schools. >> the pressure to boost scores by any means necessary is so great that teachers think they have to get those scores up by hook or by crook. >> ifill: and the president issues a new executive order to circumvent congress and revamp the "no child left behind" law. >> where there's a high bar, the folks who are doing the right thick for children, we want to give them a lot more flexibility, frankly get out of the way and let them hit that higher bar. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for t

i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight, we get the latest on the death toll, the damage and the power outages and we talk to homeland security secretary janet napolitano about the federal response to the storm. >> it's been very costly. there have been questions raised about the amount of monies that we have available now that irene has hit. let me just assure your viewers that the survivors' needs will be met. they are our number one priority. >> ifill: then margaret warner gets an update the conflict in libya from simon denyer of the "washington post" as rebels advance toward moammar qaddafi's hometown. >> brown: we debate a proposed oil pipeline that would carry crude 1,700 miles from alberta, canada to the gulf coast in texas. >> ifill: betty anne bowser reports on prescription drugs in short supply forcing tough choices for patients and doctors. >> it really cripples our ability to treat properly. we have to become creative of how to treat patients because often the chemo patients can't wait

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we look at the federal reserve's decision to hold interest rates near zero for the next two years and assess its impact on a weakening economy. >> woodruff: then we get the latest on the riots and looting raging across london and spreading elsewhere in britain from ned temko of the "london observer." >> ifill: in a special report from global post, three syrian dissidents share stories of peaceful protests and violent crackdowns. >> for us, we use our hands. for them they use their guns. we need to film everything for media. >> woodruff: and ray suarez looks at a campaign linking teens around the world. >> for the girls in the united states, if they have a sense that they can really touch a girl in another country, it motivates them. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> okay, listen. somebody has got to get serious. >> i think... >> we need renewable energy. >> ...renewable energy is vi

gwen? >> brown: and again, to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the iraq and afghanistan conflicts. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. this is actually a repeat of last night's honor roll, because of some technical difficulties, it didn't air in all parts of the country. so here again, in silence, are those eight names. >> ifill: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, we assess what's next in libya, as top officials from around the world meet in paris. plus, a conversation about presidential nominees who were defeated, but still influenced history. i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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 fou

journalism heavy-hitters - including margaret warner, gwen ifill, jeffrey brown, judy woodruff and ray suarez - produce a high-quality newscast night in, night out. your pledge right now-- in any amount - is an investment in their work. and in the information you need. don't wait. call now. we know your days are full. and of course we can access news in so many ways - from podcasts and live streams, to social media sites and smart phones. the pbs newshour approaches new technology with you in mind: if it will help keep you more informed, they make it happen. in the past year, "the pbs newshour" nearly tripled its reach via new platforms. but like the nightly newscast, those technologies aren't free. viewers who pledged last year made this expansion possible. so, fund the future - make your contribution now. it only takes a minute to make or renew your pledge by calling the number on your screen. it's simple and rewarding. >> american strategy in iraq. what we're trying to figure out how to do is get this message across that the newshour is not just an archive online of last night's bro

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on the aftermath of the storm, and on the rescue and recovery efforts from senator patrick leahy. >> you see bridges out. roads that have just been torn apart. i've lived here all my life. i've never seen anything quite like this in vermont. >> brown: then, we assess the state of the housing crisis as home prices in some cities ticked up last spring, but fell overall during the past year. >> ifill: from brazil, fred de sam lazaro examines how the changing role of women has led to smaller families. >> brown: margaret warner talks to author joby warrick about his real-life thriller, the story of an al qaeda agent who infiltrated the cia and detonated a suicide bomb at a u.s. base in afghanistan. >> three layers of security without being checked or searched a single time until the moment he was within a few feet of a great number of operatives. >> ifill: and ray suarez profiles latin american poet and political activist ernesto cardenal. >> brow

an email from gwen is saying that gary was drunk on the air >> because you have a personality you are accused of being drunk? [laughter] the way that it is been going with the giants sanchez. this guy has to change the scenery. and if every day you go to work and say that we get ripped off signing you. you need a change of scenery i guess that it would be o.k. but if there knocked out. or if there are games where they are behind. i do not think there in the situations like that. >> what is your favorite sport event? >> i would say that when i was in college might to great champions were heavyweight championship fight. for younger people they do not know what we're talking about. lee frazier is still one of the best. >> to you think that brad pitt could be a hit in that movie. >> my answer is no. he half the concept of that movie is that he was using computers instead of actual players. >> i do not see brad pitt plan that part. >> i am a purist we will be back in one minute. 3. honey...? [ mom ] yes. honey, i can't find my internet cord. oh, i'll borrow hailey's. you're downloading mov

. >> ifill: i'm gwen ifill and here's what i want to know. is the u.s. any safer than before 9/11? >> woodruff: i'm judy woodruff. next question. was the course or direction of your life changed on 9/11? if so, how? >> suarez: i'm ray suarez with question number three. maybe you've heard it said over the last ten years that 9/11 changed everything. did it? >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. here's my question. how would you describe current relations between muslims and non-muslims in the united states? >> sreenivasan: here's our final question: have we achieved a balance between security and civil liberties? remember, you can send us your video response through our youtube channel at youtube.com keep your answer to under 90 second. we look forward to hearing what you have to say on this day of remember rens. >> warner: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, we'll look at the stakes for republican presidential contenders in tomorrow night's debate. i'm margaret warner. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and

by the way with you is in iowa is gwen ifill, she will be reporting tomorrow night on the race and state of the debate there. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: and david will answer your questions about the gop events in iowa and the 2012 election season. submit yours on the newshour's blog. and well >> warner: we'll be back shortly with a conversation with donald berwick, the man in charge of medicare and medicaid. but first, this is pledge week on pbs. this break allows your public television station to ask for your support. >> warner: finally tonight, a profile of one of president obama's leading players in implementing health care reform. health correspondent betty ann bowser has our look at the man and the controversy surrounding him. >> reporter: dr. don berwick is arguably the most important figure in health care reform today. as head of medicare and medicaid he's in charge of the health care of over one in three americans, equally important. he's a key person charged with implementing the federal health care reform law. a harvard trained pediatrician and reformer, berwick spent 30

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron. we may have more in common than you think. >> and by bnsf railway. >> 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. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

plus gwen ifill refcts on his "i have a dream" speech. and a reminder-- we've launched a new project ahead of the tenth anniversary of the september 11 attacks. we call it the "9/11 video quilt." together with our colleagues at pbs stations across the country, we've collected your thoughts on what's changed since 2001. here's a sampling of some of the responses we've received recently. >> because everybody is doing their little part, even if its-- even if you are's military, civilian or law enforcement, just like you ride the train or bus, there's messages every where you see something, say something so somebody can react on it. everybody gets involved. i would imagine it is. >> no, i don't. and the reason is that i don't think there's a way to prevent it i just don't think there is a way to prevent it. i really feel that if they wanted it to come back and do something, they'll come back and do something. >> i would rather be safe than sorry. based on the procedures which they have now, i think it is a positive. i rather save myself the e