desirable funding by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. finally, good news for the economy and, by extension, for the obama white house. a boost in hiring and a lower jobless rate. at 8.8% still high, but a full percentage point down from just last november. so is this the turnaround the administration has been counting on, greg? >> it's a little soon to declare, you know, the turn -round but it's definitely closer than we've been in this recovery so far. it's the first time, actually, -- actually, in over five years that we had back-to-back groce -- growths of payroll growth plus this nice news that the unemployment rate dropped. often we have months where the two go in opposite directions. this wasn't one. we've had good news on investment, on stock profits. it's never going to feel like a recovery for most americans until we see it in jobs. gwen: but the trend line is heading in the right direction? >> it's h

and the corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome. i'm bob abernathy. it's good to have you with us. this has been holy week for the world's more than 2 billion christians. eastern orthodox and western christians observed the season at the same time this year. more often than not, easter or pascha, for the eastern orthodox falls on different dates for the two traditions because of their differing calendars. in south america, worshippers marked the start of holy week with colorful parades honoring catholic saints. at maundy thursday services, clergy around the world performed the traditional washing of the feet for fellow clergy and congregants. in rome, pope benedict the xvi presided over a series of special events. this week is considered the most important time on the church calendar. saturday night vigils and joyful easter sunday celebrations are usually the best attended worship services of the year. >>> at the white house, president obama marked the holiday with an easter prayer breakfast. more than 100 orthodox christian, catholic and protestant le

for america's best. >> that's why we're here. corporate funding is also provided by prudent al-finlt additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

corporate funding is also provided by prudential financial. additional funding for "washington week" is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. if you've been following the ups and downs of the budget standoff in washington this week, you are by now understandably dizzy. short story -- as of 8:00 p.m. eastern time, there is no deal. but all week there has been plenty of finger-pointing. >> it's time to take a stand. we need to say to liberals, this far and no further. to borrow a line from another harry, we've got to say the debt stops here. >> i remain confident that if we're serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown. but it's going to require a sufficient sense of urgency from all parties involved. >> but we're not going to roll over and sell out the american people like has been done time and time again here in washington. when we say we're serious about cutting spending, we're damn serious about it. >>

and the corporation for public broadcasting. >> welcome! i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. religious groups were right in the middle of this week's budget battle in washington. as president obama and congressional leaders negotiated funding for this fiscal year, one of the sticking points was whether to cut taxpayer money for planned parenthood. liberal people of faith were among those who rallied in support of continued funding for planned parenthood and its reproductive health services. but conservatives pushed for cuts in those areas, as well as a ban on taxpayer funding of abortions in the district of combia. >>> meanwhile, several prominent religious leaders continued their fast to save programs that help poor people in the u.s. and around the world. they said more than 30,000 americans have joined the fast. >>> also this week, religious leaders condemned what they called "grave violations of human rights" amid the fighting in the ivory coast. more than 25,000 people sought refuge at a catholic mission after

the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. stations from viewers like you. thank you. >> you're watching pbs.

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, with a grant from millicent bell through the millicent and eugene bell foundation. additional funding for frontline's expanded broadcast season is provided by the bill & melinda gates foundation. >> narrator: before they filled liberation square in cairo, down a side street, in a small office, they are planning a revolution. they call themselves the april 6th youth movement. >> narrator: they have a list of demands, and a plan: a national protest fueled by the internet. ahmed maher is their leader. >> ahmed maher is a civil engineer. almost compulsively quiet, compulsively limelight-avo

look in the newspaper, and the cpp, the funding corp., congress is the money to the corporation for public broadcasting, the corporation for public broadcasting is a to stations and produces a public media. cpb emerge unscathed. what happened? >> i have always maintained, or were, that this is not a partisan issue. there are more republicans who would like to defund us than republicans. not all republicans have felt that day, and the chairman of the house communications subcommittee, has been at pains to say the house of representatives is one-half one- third of the federal government, and what the house does is only the beginning of a debate and not the end of it. what is -- what has happened in the course of this challenge here is that the democrats in the house and the senate have been quite firm in their support of public broadcasting, as has president obama. when you have a tripartite negotiations at the end of the continuing resolution process, with speaker boehner and majority leader harry reid and president obama in the room caught the forces who are opposed to public broadcasting are suddenly

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. mmitd to building a re justverdt, a peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, with a grant for "money and march madness" from scott fearon. additional funding for frontline's expanded broadcast season is provided by the bill & melinda gates foundation. ( crowds cheering ) >> bergman: it's march, and the nation has gone mad. ( crowds cheering ) nearly 140 million people tune in to see the biggest basketball tournament on the planet, which ends this weekend with the final four. march madness is a multibillion- dollar business. only the super bowl is bigger. >> the madness is back. >> bergman: the power behind this spectacle is the national collegiate athletic association. they

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. and by reva & david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund. additional funding for frontline's expanded broadcast season is provided by the bill and melinda gates foundation. >> trahant: this is a story that's been shrouded in secrecy for years. it takes place in an isolated part of alaska 200 miles south of the arctic circle. the village is called st. michael, and it's home to some 360 alaska native people. as a journalist, and as a member of the shoshone-bannock tribes, i've been writing about native americans my whole career, but little could prepare me for what happened in st. michael. many here still remember how innocently it all began. >> gr

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: rebels in libya suffered setbacks for the third day in a row. and loyalists to colonel moammar qaddafi recaptured more territory along the coast. geraint vincent of independent television news reports from the scene of the battle for the oil town of brega. >> reporter: just behind their front line, the rebels fire their missiles. nothing boosts their morale quite like a rocket launcher. at the actual front, it's breakfast for the brave or the foolhardy. ahead of them is a no-man's land. the road outside brega has become a firing range for the much more powerful government artillery. but these fighters are driving straight into it. within just a few minutes, qaddafi's big guns open up. suddenly, the rebel trucks are screaming back across the desert, the drivers with their feet on the floor, and the gunners firing futile shots at an enemy they can't see. in an army with no command structure, the fall

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: much of the south was left reeling today after the nation's worst outbreak of tornadoes in nearly 40 years. at least 280 people were killed in six states during wednesday night's barrage. that included more than 190 dead in alabama, where two major cities were hit. it was just after dinnertime wednesday, when a terrifying sight transfixed the people of tuscaloosa-- a tornado nearly a mile wide, that blasted its way across the city. >> goodness, look at that! that is huge. >> brown: the massive funnel cloud was spawned by a vast system of violent weather. it spun off severe storms and tornadoes that plowed furrows of destruction from mississippi to northwest georgia to virginia. the tuscaloosa twister tore through a city of 83,000 people. leaving in its wake, entire neighborhoods wiped off the map. by this morning, shell-shocked residents were out, trying to take stock. >> i couldn't get up. i was havi

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 u.s. today added a new weapon to the fighting in libya unmanned planes carrying missiles. that news came as rebels claimed they've seized a post on the tunisian border. but the libyan government claimed it holds more than 80% of misrata, after weeks of fighting there. the siege of misrata continued today with devastating effect and estimates of at least 600 dead so far. the forces of moammar qaddafi have libya's third-largest city surrounded on three sides firing mortars, rockets and tank shells night and day. in turn, the rebels stepped up their pleas this week that nato do more to defend the city. >> and that has to be done by any, any... any way or any how. either troops, or latest technology and latest weapons. >> lehrer: so far, the nato campaign has been limited to air strikes, under a u.n. mandate to protect libyan civilians. today, u.s. defense secretary gates announced armed predator dro

and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, with a grant from millicent bell through the millicent and eugene bell foundation. >> bergman: we all die, two and a half million americans every year. sometimes, the cause of death is no surprise. sometimes, death comes suddenly-- from accidents, heart attacks, homicides. there are medical experts whose job it is to figure out why and how people die. they are called forensic pathologists or medical examiners, and they perform the postmortem, the autopsy, your last physical exam. ( saw buzzing ) one of the leading forensic pathologists in america is dr. marcella fierro. >> when i was tr

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: severe flooding and tornado damage dominated the day across much of the midwest after a wave of violent weather overnight. at least ten people were killed in arkansas, with the search for victims continuing. and parts of missouri were being submerged. for the people of poplar bluff, in southeastern missouri, it was a day of slow torture, watching the waters of the black river rise, but helpless to stop it. >> it's very shocking. just... it's sad, it's sad. look at all these homes. >> brown: some 1,000 households in the town of 17,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and officials warned the total could swell to 6,000 homes if there's a full-scale levee break. several hundred people took shelter at the city's black river coliseum concert hall. they retreated there after deputies went door to door with a warning: >> "you need to get your children and some suitcases and get out as fast as you can. go to

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 federal government opened for business today as usual, no longer in immediate danger of being shut down. instead, washington's focus shifted to spending battles that will dwarf the deal fashioned on friday. . >> the action at the capitol was all behind the sciens today with lawmakers still negotiating out details on funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year. leaders reached agreement on a general framework late friday night just in time to avert a shut down of federal agencies. house speaker john boehner hailed the inclusion of 38 billion in spending cuts over the next six months. >> this has been a lot of discussion and a long fight. but we fought to keep the government spending down because it really will, in fact, help create a better environment for job creators in our country. >> reporter: in his own late night remarks president obama said both sides had made sacrifices. >> lik

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: president obama opened a campaign today to build public support for his ideas on cutting the federal budget deficit. it came at a time when public support for the president's performance in office is declining. the president went to annadale, virginia, just outside washington to road test a message he'll take across the nation this week. >> i want everybody to be in the game. i want you to hold me accountable. i want you to hold all of washington accountable. there is a way to solve this deficit problem in an intelligent way that is fair and shares sacrifices so that we can share opportunity all across america. >> woodruff: mr. obama said his way of solving the problem means cutting defense spending and health care costs and raising taxes on the wealthy. but some programs would remain intact. >> my view is we need to live within our means while still investing in our future. cutting where we can whi

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: congress finally finished work today on the budget for the current fiscal year and then, turned its attention to the coming year. "newshour" congressional correspondent kwame holman has our report. >> reporter: the vote in the house came six months into the 2011 budget year and only after last friday's late-night compromise prevented a government shutdown. speaker john boehner defended the $38 billion in spending cuts as real progress. >> this bill stops the bleeding. halts the binge and starts us moving back in right direction. does it cut enough, no. some claim spending cuts not real, that they're gimmicks. that's total nonsense. a cut is a cut. >> reporter: in fact, increased defense spending canceled out some of the cuts, and others were spread over multiple years. so, the non-partisan congressional budget office estimated the reduction for the current year works out to just more than $350 million

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 fallout from friday's event on southwest airlines flight 812 is still being felt. today the plane's manufacturer, boeing, said inspections of its 737's should be extended to older models, by all airlines. the f.a.a. said it would order an emergency safety order to require these special inspections, looking for cracks in the fuselage. all this, after southwest today canceled 70 more flights, on top of 600 canceled over the weekend. in the wake of friday's incident southwest airlines grounded 79 older boeing 737- 300s in its fleet. today three of them were found to have small sub surface cracks similar to those suspected of playing a role in the emergency landing of flight 812. it was about 18 minutes into that flight from phoenix to sacramento when a five-foot section at the top of the plane's fuselage came apart at a seam. the pilots had to descend quickly from about 36,000 feet and made an emer