. >> brown: from california: spencer michels reports on a fierce fight over a proposal to build two tunnels to divert water from the northern part of the state to the south. >> woodruff: and paul solman talks to the former government watchdog for the bank bailouts, who says too much help went to wall street, not enough to main street. >> i didn't take an oath of office in order to cheerlead bad policies and to turn and look away when, when they did things that harmed, actually harmed people and protected the banks instead of what they were supposed to do. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." 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 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. >> woodruff: the civil war in syria claimed a high-profile diplomatic casualty today

. >> brown: from california: spencer michels reports on a fierce fight over a proposal to build two tunnelsdivert water from the northern part of the state to the south. >> woodruff: and paul solman talks to the former government watchdog for the bank bailouts, who says too much help went to wall street, not enough to main street. >> i didn't take an oath of office in order to cheerlead bad policies and to turn and look away when, when they did things that harmed, actually harmed people and protected the banks instead of what they were supposed to do. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." 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 ongoingpo

"newshour" correspondent spencer michels reports from the sacramento-san joaquin delta-- the area south of sacramento where most of the state's water converges and an area that's crucial to new plans. >> reporter: at the center of a century-long debate over california water is the delta-- a jumble of rivers, sloughs, canals and islands surrounded by levees. it's the spot where the water and snow that falls on the sierra nevada mountains ends up, on its way to san francisco bay and the pacific ocean. it's a beautiful area for fishing, boating and farming. the land is fertile. the water is plentiful. farmers can pump right out of the sacramento river for free and the crops are robust. much of this water is pumped across the delta and sent to where the people are: in the arid and populous southern part of the state and to some parts of the san francisco bay area. but residents of this half-a- million acre watery landscape, in northern california, are concerned that the state and federal governments along with powerful, thirsty interests further soh. some of them corporate farming operation

with jay parini, and some personal stories from writer gay talese and "newshour" correspondent spencer michelsus, you can watch a 2006 interview in which vidal reflects on his life and work. that's all on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. >> ifill: again, the other major developments of the day: runoff results from texas set republicans buzzing, after tea party favorite ted cruz easily won a u.s. senate nomination. and the federal reserve said the approved a bill that extend all of the bush tax cuts for another year. why are some world war ii veterans still waiting for recognition? hari sreenevasan has more on our online story. >> sreenivasan: they were filipino soldiers conscripted by president franklin roosevelt. about 4,000 of them-- some now in their '90s-- are seeking compensation for their service. find that story on the rundown. that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. gwen? >> ifill: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, we'll have the latest on the olympic games and the presidential campaign. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you onli

newshour correspondent spencer michels has this report. >> reporter: lightning lit the dense tippedder-dry forests since saturday >> i looked up and everything was black >> reporter: fast-spreading fires hit across northern/central california well north of sacramento >> this fire has been a very fast-moving fire due to the fact that conditions are just so dry. the brush, the grass, even the timber is incredibly dry >> reporter: in shaft a county thousands of homes are threatened. the red cross has set up evacuation centers. one of the new fires, dubbed ponderosa, started saturday and covers 15,000 acres. it is only 5% contained. to the west in another county, the pacifier covers another 5,000 acres. ten other fires are burning across dry expanses in northern california. so far this summer throughout the west, 13 states have major fires. hard-hit central rocky mountain regions have seen a bit of a reprieve but this map from the u.s. forest service shows an arc from western montana through idaho, even washington and oregon, parts of nevada and into california continues to blaze amid a brutal

michelle obama and ann romney are all hoping you pay a visit and like what you see. >> it's a place where you really don't need that many words. images speak for them receives. >> laura spencerng. even get extra dose of 7 news at our tint page. check it out when you have a little time. >> we continue tonight. family reunion. >> none of us expected to be here. >> up next. extra special moment when mitt romney accepts his party nomination for his party nomination for president >> heads up. be prepared for overnight delay through oakland next few week on 8 80. cal-trans demolishing northbound 80. work scheduled between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. tonight through september 19. so be prepared for that. >> politic once again and republican national convention going on in florida. abc news anchor diane sawyer spoke with with mitt romney 5 sons. they talk about their dad their mom and the high and low of a father running for president. >> none of us expected tuberculosis here so i think this is a big, you know, it will be a big moment for us to watch our dad go up there and accept the nomination. >> despite all the stuff he's still just dad to us. >> nerves work their way out early in