the 2000 presidential election and subsequent years when we were requesting across the country, deborah brown requested her top to bottom review. and the security concerns with all systems then in use in california. at the same time in san francisco, citizens here were also wanting input into the city selection process. a variety of questions were raised about how the city could acquire the best possible systems that have the highest level of integrity, transparency, and independence. in december 2007, the city did make a decision, selecting sequoya voting systems. sequoia was subsequently purchased by dominion. it is the voting system that has been in use since the february 2008 election. even though the city made the decision, the board of supervisors did want additional strategic guidance about how the next generation voting system could better take into account the variety of issues we're servicing across the whole spectrum of issues. it moved to create the city task force that i and my colleagues today are part of, and that was the voting system task force. the establishment occurred in

brown. on the newshour tonight, we look at today's courtroom proceedings, and examine where the prosecution's case stands now. >> lehrer: we get the latest on new clashes in syria from npr's deborah amos in damascus. >> the president wants to have a national dialogue, he says on july 10th. this group says nada, we are not your partners until the violence stops on the streets. >> brown: paul solman talks to the authors of a provocative new book on how fannie mae's push- for-profits helped pump up the housing bubble. >> if you are trying to enrich yourself, increase your profits, which fannie mae was absolutely determined to do then that becomes a per version of home ownership. >> lehrer: mark shields and michael gerson analyze the week's news. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> well, the best companies are driven by new ideas. >> our future depends on new ideas. we spend billions on advanced technologies. >> it's all about investing in the future. >> we can find new energy-- more cleaner, safer and smarter. >> collaborating with the best in the field. >> chevron works with the smartest people at leading universities