. >> and by bnsf railway. grant thornton. >> 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. >> lehrer: the president and the republicans staked out their health care ground today in a nationally televised summit. >> woodruff: there was an air of suspense as the day, and the long-awaited event, got underway. >> looking forward to listening. >> woodruff: president obama was upbeat this morning as he walked from the white house across the street to blair house. once inside, he and other top administration officials joined more than 40 democratic and republican congressional leaders, in a bid to revive health care reform. >> we all know this is urgent. and unfortunately, over the course of the year, despite all the hearings that took place and all the negotiations tha

. >> and by bnsf railway. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. 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. >> lehrer: american and afghan forces made a new effort today to root out resistance in a key taliban town. ray suarez begins our coverage. >> suarez: a week ago, hundreds of u.s. marines helicoptered into northern marjah in helmand province to begin the fighting. today, some two dozen members of elite reconnaissance teams dropped behind enemy lines to go after taliban snipers. other marine squads and afghan troops moved into southern parts of the city, under sniper and rocket fire. meanwhile, medevac helicopters were busy taking wounded troops out of the city. and nato, overseeing the offensive, reported another death today. on thursday, six foreign troop

bank of america >> and by bnsf railway. 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

bnsf railway. and by grant thornton. 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. >> lehrer: first lady michelle obama launched a campaign today against a virtual epidemic of obesity among american children. newshour health correspondent betty ann bowser begins our coverage. >> michelle obama. >> reporter: at a white house ceremony, mrs. obama said the numbers tell the story. >> over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in this country have tripled. >> reporter: the first lady outlined a national campaign called "let's move." surrounded by local pee wee football champions. >> these guys are the national football champions. right? ( applause ) >> reporter: today nearly one third of american-children are overweight or obese. later in life many w

bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. 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 vo:geico, committed to providing service to its auto insurance customers for over 70 years. more information on auto insurance at geico.com or 1-800-947-auto any time of the day or night.

bank of america bnsf railway. grant thornton a truly global 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. >> lehrer: there was new evidence today of rising public anger at washington. it comes as the midterm election year begins in earnest. judy woodruff has the story. >> woodruff: the nation's capital was frozen in place for real this week after the second blizzard in only six days. but around the country, growing unhappiness with washington has been heating up for some time. it was illustrated this week in a raft of polls, from "the washington post" and abc news, and "the new york times" partnering with cbs news; and, most recently, today from the pew research center. it found approval ratings for president obam

bnsf, the engine that connects us. bank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. 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. >> lehrer: the labor department announced today that the nation's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in five months, but that was only part of the story. >> brown: and the broader economic picture and prospects for a recovery remained uncertain. the labor department reported the jobless rate fell to 9.7% last month, down from 10% in december. as 541,000 americans said they found work last month. but overall, the economy lost 20,000 jobs in january. and today, while outlining new loan proposals f

bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. grant thornton. 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. >> ifill: the president of toyota made an unprecedented appearance before a u.s. congressional committee today. he delivered an apology for the problems that forced extensive recalls of the company's cars, and promised a course correction. "newshour" correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. >> reporter: amid a crush of cameras, the grandson of toyota's founder made his way to the witness table before the house oversight and government reform committee. he said he takes "full responsibility" for all that has happened. >> ( translated ): i am the grandson of the founder, and all the toyota vehicles bear my name. for me, when the cars

bnsf, the engine that connects us. bank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. >> 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. >> lehrer: the obama administration stepped up its defense today of how it's handling terror cases. that followed reports that a nigerian man is telling what he knows about the airliner bombing attack last december. "newshour" correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. >> reporter: it's not clear exactly what he's saying, but by all accounts, umar farouk abdulmutallab began cooperating with the f.b.i. last week. he allegedly tried to blow up an incoming transatlantic flight over detroit on christmas day. a

bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. 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. >> lehrer: the president signed an executive order today, setting up a bi-partisan commission on the federal deficit. he did so as the issue grows in political urgency. judy woodruff has our coverage. >> there you go. >> it was a simple pen-stroke to take on a gargantuan task: finding ways to cut red ink projected to hit $1.6 trillion this year alone. >> without action, the accumulated weight of that structural deficit of ever- increasing debt will hobble our economy. it will cloud our future. and it will saddle every child in america with an intolerable burden. this isn't news. since the budget surpluses at the end of the 1990s, federal debt

bnsf, the engine that connects us. this is the power of human energy. chevron.ank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. grant thornton the national science foundation. supporting education and research across all fields of science and engineering. 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. >> ifill: another roundhouse blow from winter staggered much of the east coast today from virginia to connecticut. it pushed washington and baltimore to new records for the most snow ever, in a single winter. rush hour, wednesday morning in washington, d.c. and not a soul in sight. for the second time in less than a week, a major winter storm crippled the nation's capital. this time, a foot of wind- whipped snow lashed d.c.-- still digging out days after 30 inches fell here over the weekend. a city that has trouble dealing with five inches of snow has now gotten five fee

bnsf, the engine that connects us. bank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. 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. >> brown: president obama talked up his year-old economic stimulus program today and made a fresh appeal to skeptics. at the same time, he conceded many americans don't see the benefits yet. >> one year later, it is largely thanks to the recovery act that a second depression is no longer a possibility. >> brown: president obama issued that declaration this morning, 12 months after he signed the stimulus act into law. >> it's one of the main reasons the economy has gone from shrinking by 6% to growing about 6%. and this morning, we learned that manufacturing production posted a strong gain. so far the recovery act is responsibility for the jobs of about two million americans who would otherwise

bnsf, the engine that connects us. bank of america pacific life.nd the national science foundation. supporting education and research across all fields of science and engineering. 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

bnsf, the engine that connects us. pacific life. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. 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 obama administration submitted its budget today for the coming fiscal year that boosts spending for education and cuts taxes on the wealthy. >> ifill: but the budget deficit would grow to more than 10% of the u.s. economy, the highest since the end of world war ii. >> the president's budge blueprint delivered to capitol hill this morning is 2400 pages long, and chalked full of record-breaking numbers. there's the price tag, $3.8 trillion. and the projected deficit, nearly $1.6 trillion. that figure would drop back to under $1-- 1.3 trillion next area if congress agrees to impose a three-year freeze in nonsecurity domestic spending, and all

bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. 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. >> lehrer: government supporters massed in tehran today. as the iranian regime worked to stop opposition forces from protesting. margaret warner has our story. >> warner: this was the view at freedom square in tehran today-- hundreds of thousands of iranians massing to mark the anniversary of the islamic revolution, 31 years ago. government supporters chanted the traditional "death to israel" and "death to america" and hoisted effigies of president obama. opponents of the government tried to stage their own rallies. but their numbers appeared small, compared with the huge

bnsf, the engine that connects us. this is the power of human energy. grant thornton. and the national science foundation. supporting education and research across all fields of science and engineering. 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. >> lehrer: there was more violent death today in the center of kabul, the afghan capitol suicide attackers and a car bomb killed at least 16 people, half of them foreigners. another 40 were wounded. the taliban, despite its continuing losses on battlefields elsewhere in afghanistan, claimed responsibility. >> warner: explosions and gunfire rattled the early morning calm of the afghan capital today as attackers detonated car bombs and suicide vests at guesthouses frequented by foreigners. >> when i was coming out, i found two, three dead bodies. >> warner: the blasts also blew out windows at an upscale shopping mall and hotel. jean mackenzie, a repor