>> woodruff: then, ray suarez explores the spread of the home foreclosure epidemic with dante chinni, author of the book "patchwork nation" and rick sharga of realty trac. >> lehrer: margaret warner gets the latest on another deadly week in mexico's drug wars. >> over time, i've been building my castle of love... >> woodruff: and, jeffrey brown profiles a young jazz phenomenon bass player and singer esperanza spalding. >> when i got a taste of the spontaneity of improvisational music, right then i knew that was really kind of the gospel playing. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> this is the engine that connects abundant grain from the american heartland to haran's best selling whole wheat, while keeping 60 billion pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. bnsf, the engine that connects us. 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 foundati

dante chinni of the patchwork nation project says the population centers in the suburbs of lansing, ann arbor, and battle creek could make the difference. >> by square miles, this is a somewhat rural district, and it's not a very wealthy district. but again, miles don't vote, people vote. >> reporter: which is why the national democratic party sent bill clinton to a community college in battle creek to whip up the party faithful, and particularly the youth vote. >> facebook, youtube, twitter, all that stuff. you can email all your friends. you can put up signs at the student union. you can do all that. we can take this viral. this one place could change america. we could change 2,000 to 10,000 votes in every congressional district in america if you would put it out. would you do that for your future? ( cheers and applause ) ♪ >> reporter: a couple of days after mr. clinton's visit, at a much smaller gathering of the sweet adelines, a chorus of women who sing barbershop-style, women 18 to 80 spoke to us about how they have downsized their lives and their expectations of what politicians

dante chinni defines the "shifting middle," a new demographic in our patchwork nation, who live in 104 of the most crucial congressional districts going into the november elections. and on newshour extra, our web site for students and teachers, a teen who grew up in the roma community reflects on the romas' recent deportation from france. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> brown: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, we'll talk to elizabeth warren , president obama's choice to oversee the creation of a new consumer financial protection agency. i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. 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: h@

neither message seems to have caught fire in a district dante chinni of the "patchwork nation" project describes as much more than a manufacturing community, a district that voted for john mccain even as the state went for barack obama. republicans had a virtual lock- hold on this district until 2008. is that surprising for a district with manufacturing at its heart? >> well, i think it might be surprising to some, just because we think of manufacturing centers as being democratic. but the fact of the matter is, these places in particular, the type of district this is, this is small-town america. canton is the biggest city here, but really, when you stretch out the district, its a bunch of small towns along u.s. 30. >> reporter: as we traveled around stark county, the largest county in the 16th, we found a kind of weary resignation to the joblessness here. at st. john's catholic church in canton, where the local community center serves a free hot meal every thursday to anyone who needs it, virtually everyone we met is struggling. >> i was laid off about a month ago. it's getting kind o

but the 9th, like many districts, is a true cultural and political patchwork, according to dante chinnif the "patchwork nation" project. >> it's tough and most districts are like this. there's only 435 of them. you slice the country up, it's kind of hard to make sense of them. >> reporter: drive south in the 9th toward kentucky, and things look a world away from bloomington. indiana's 9th district makes up much of southern indiana along the kentucky border and the ohio river. north of that, here in jackson county, are vast stretches of farmland and deep pockets of frustration with government. friday night football in tiny brownstown, indiana, we got an earful across the street at the church chili supper in the school gym. what do you think of the job they've doing in washington over the last couple of years? >> i think it stinks. >> reporter: why do you think it stinks? >> we got too many career politicians. they're out of touch with the american people. >> reporter: you feel that way about baron hill, too? >> absolutely. he's had his chances. >> reporter: driving along indiana route 50

÷k >> sreenivasan: there's more from "patchwork nation's" dante chinni about ohio's 16th district on politics page. we look at life in somalia through the eyes of npr reporter frank langfitt, who has been on the ground there. he's narrated a photo essay for us. and for something very different-- we have an update on the science of the moon. nasa and a team of researchers reported today that the lunar surface not only has water but also has a long list of chemical compounds left behind by comet and asteroid collisions. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. jeff? >> brown: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> warner: and i'm margaret warner. we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i do a lot of exercise, but, basically, i'm a runner. last year, i had a bum knee that needed surgery, but it got complicated because i had an old injury. so, i wanted a doctor who had done this before. and united health