gwen: campaigns, money and scandal. three of the four ingredients needed for a remarkable round table. tonight on "washington week." the 2012 campaign gets off to a stuttering, stumbling start. >> i don't think right wing social engineering is anymore desirable than left wing social engineering. >> but -- gwen: leading presidential hopefuls on the defensive. the leading g.o.p. candidates spent more time apologizing than campaigning. while another chose to defend rather than apologize in this case because of his work for a president he now seeks to defeat. >> i worked for the president of the united states and during a time of war, during a time of economic difficulty for our country. if i'm asked by my president to serve, i'll stand up and do it. gwen: meanwhile democrats aim their outside big money at the early frontrunner. >> with m.i.t. romney, you have to wonder, which page is he on today? gwen: but romney has raised $10 million in sing ale day. on the foreign policy front, the president's middle east speech revives

once again, from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. well, she's back. kind of. maybe. maybe not. of course we're talking about the latest potential twist in the 2012 republican presidential jockeying, and that's the return of sarah palin. we don't know if she's running yet. she is launching an east coast bus tour this weekend, but the possibility overshadows the certain candidates and worries those still on the sidelines. what are people saying about all this, the latest twists and turns? >> they can't stop talking about it. sarah palin has more or less been on the sideline through much of the spring, has not had a lot of public appearances, and suddenly on thursday, she announces that she's about to embark on this one-nation tour, which at first we thought was going to be a one-week tour starting in washington this weekend and going up the east coast. sometimes she will hit new hampshire as part of this. we don't quite know when yet, but she's going to be in new hampshire. but then we realize later in the day that this is a multi-week tour. she will go out for

gwen: as the u.s. braces for retaliation we learn more about what bin laden planned and what happens next in south is asia and the middle east. on the domestic campaign trail, more candidates join the republican fray. >> i'm newt gingrich and i'm announcing my candidacy for president of the united states because i believe we can return america to hope and opportunity. >> there is an old saying, three's a charm. gwen: and others edge toward the ring. how long can the democratic president capitalize on the g.o.p.'s uncertainty? covering the week, nancy youssef of mcclatchy newspapers, david sanger of "the new york times," dan balz of "the washington post," and john dickerson of "slate" magazine and cbs news. >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens, live from our nation's capital capital, this is "washington week with gwen ifill." produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> this rock has never stood still. si

and gwen would probably say the same thing. the interesting thing about this for both of us, we ended up having the most interesting conversation about race because we wrote these books. both of us had the good fortune of embarking on fairly large bookstores and we're fortunate and not everybody had the opportunity to do and as we traveled we found that people would read our books and read our stories and come forward and tell us their stories and come forward with their own questions and as a result of that, we wound up having a very intense and very intimate and very personal and always interesting conversations about race. and the title of this panel discussion is, does race still matter? i think we could probably have a very quick discussion and just say yes. [laughter] >> you know, and then move on because it's been my experience in talking to people about my book. i set out to write a very different book than the one i wrote. i was planning to write a book that i thought in some ways would sort of be a complement that gwe

i wasn't paying attention, gwen, i'm sorry. i should have known. but definitely looking forward to it. it was a great day. >> yes, it was. >> thank you -- thank you, gwen. >>> and a wrap up of the nfl playoffs. >> we're going to talk playoffs and the nfl. who do you blame, my friend? >> the blame game. i have plenty of blame. i am going to shock you. >> you always do. off the wall coming up next.  >>> making headlines in sports, the nfl draft is in the books. the skins made five trades over three days and have selected 12 players. their biggest haul since the 1980s. ryan kerrigan was the first rounder. jarvis jenkins and leonard hankerson were picked up in rounds two and three on friday. >>> and the skins drafted three players in a row from nebraska yesterday. in the fourth round it was running back roy hallu, in the 5th, dijon gems and wide receiver paul. and a westfield high school alum. and also albert robinson. coach shanna head said this is only the beginning. >> we're not going to address everything through the draft. we have a board and w

i'm gloria borger in for gwen ifill. the implications, tonight on "washington week." >> justice has been done. >> and with that declaration, president obama announced that the world's most notorious terrorist had been killed. how did the c.i.a. get him? >> we looked at several options that were discussed by the president and by the national security team. the details behind the mission. the team methodically cleared the compound moving from room to room in an operation lasting nearly 40 minutes. >> and an impact on an already rocky relationship with pakistan. >> we believe that that partnership is critically important to breaking the back of al-qaeda. >> and of course, the political fallout. >> it's an unmistakeable trance to our personnel. it's also a credit to our commander in chief, the present one and the former one. >> peter baker of the new york times. james kickfield of the "washington journal." and john babbington of "the "associated press"." >> live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we examine the latest housing numbers and what they mean for the struggling economy. >> woodruff: newshour political editor david chalian updates who's in and who's out of the race for the 2012 g.o.p. presidential nomination. >> woodruff: ray suarez talks to dr. anthony fauci abt a new clinical study showing early hiv/aids treatment can help prevent the spread of the disease. >> if you know you're infected and you get on a treatment program and you link to care you've a dual positive effect: good for the person and good to prevent infection. >> woodruff: from bahrain, margaret warner reports on the sectarian fault lines in the persian gulf kingdom. >> ifill: and jeffrey brown interviews science and technology author james gleick about his new book chronicling the evolution of information. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i mean, where would we be without small businesses? >> we nee

and gwen tells us it's going to be not bad of a day.ll be watching the skies just a bit. >> yes, we have to watch the skies a bit for our mothers as they celebrate mother's day. happy mother's day to all of our mothers, including melanie. >> thank you. >> let's get right to the. our top headline, of course, would have to be a mother's day greeting to all our mothers out there. we are also talking that we do have more clouds than sun as i said unfortunately. we are going to keep our eyes to the sky because we have the chance for a pop-up shower, but we've got some pleasant days ahead in our five-day forecast. our temperatures are going to be above seasonal. that's where they were yesterday. we hit 72 at national, 70 at dulles, and 72 at baltimore. so not bad at all. our temperatures this morning as we start out, fairly comfortable four. 58 at d.c. we've got 57 at manassas martinsburg at 53, 53 at baltimore. as we take a ride up the atlantic, 52 at boston, raleigh is 58, but take a look to the south. a little bit warmer airflow here. we'r

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the "newshour" tonight, tom bearden examines how the rising water is affecting the environment. they each picked up a lot of rain. those things have an impact. >> lehrer: then, we update the case against i.m.f. chief dominique strauss-kahn and explore the differences between u.s. and french laws and reactions. >> ifill: congressional correspondent kwame holman reports on two bills aimed at big oil and bringing down high gas prices. >> lehrer: paul solman explores the connection between new technologies and new jobs. >> ifill: reporting from bahrain, margaret warner interviews the foreign minister about the government crackdown on protesters. >> lehrer: and spencer michels reports on a california artist, who finds inspiration in everyday places and things. that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in

i'm gwen ifill. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the newshour tonight, tom bearden reports from louisiana on the decision to divert the river away from major cities, a move that's affecting families along the way. >> reporter: a number of small towns are bracing for what could be record high water. >> ifill: then we analyze the fallout from the arrest of i.m.f. chief dominique strauss- kahn on sexual assault charges. >> suarez: we talk with binyamin appelbaum of the "new york times" about raising the federal debt ceiling as the government hits its limit for borrowing today. >> ifill: in advance of tonight's pbs documentary about the "freedom riders," judy woodruff talks with two who reenacted the trip. >> you believe in something that is so right, so good and so necessary that you're prepared to stand up and be willing to die for it. >> suarez: plus, as the space shuttle launches, we profile poet tracy k. smith, who writes about exploring the universe and ourselves. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding

week" with gwen ifill. corporate funding is provided by -- >> we know why we're here. to connect our forces to what they need when they need it. to help troops see danger before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the brave and bring them safely home. >> around the globe the people of boing are working together to protect. that's why we're here. >> corporate funding is also providing by, prudential financial. additional funding for "washington week" is provided by the anenburg foundation. the corporation for public broadcasting and through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> once again live from washington sitting in for gwen ifill this week gloria borger of cnn. >> good evening. what a week as reporters scrambled on sunday with word from dramatic news of the president, 57 million americans tune in to hear president obama announce the death of osama bin laden. >> for over two decades bin laden has been al-qaeda leader and symbol and has continued to plot against our country. his death marks our most significant effort to defeat al-

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill on the "newshour" tonight. kwame holman has the latest on the destruction and the rescue operations in oklahoma, missouri, arkansas and kansas. >> woodruff: then, david chalian looks at how the medicare debate helped turn a new york house seat from red to blue. >> ifill: margaret warner updates the political upheaval in egypt, as former president hosni mubarak is ordered to stand trial on charges of corruption. >> woodruff: ray suarez talks to "global post" reporter james foley, recently released from six weeks in captivity by qadhafi forces in libya. >> when we hit that two-week mark i knew, okay, this is going to be a long time. they're telling us two to three days but they're just playing mind games with us. >> ifill: and we chronicle the 25-year run of cultural and business phenomenon oprah winfrey, as she ends her daily talk show. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i want to know what the universe... >> looks like. >> feels lik

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we devote the entire program to the death of the al qaeda leader. ray suarez has the latest on today's developments, including reaction here and abroad. >> lehrer: special correspondent saima mohsin reports from the pakistani town where bin laden was hiding in an elaborate compound. >> reporter: amongst their midst was osama bin laden and of course the irony that you can't walk 100 meters or so without seeing a military installation here. >> ifill: margaret warner walks us through the details of the planning and execution of yesterday's raid and intense gun battle. >> lehrer: we assess what the operation says about what could be next in the combat against terrorism. >> ifill: judy woodruff explores the reactions of americans across the country, from san francisco to washington, d.c. >> al qaeda needs to know that, yeah, you hit us at a bad point. but weary vent ally going to come after you. we're going to get you and we're going to stop this. >> lehrer: and we

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we have an on-the-ground account of the devastation. plus, we examine the power of the twisters that have ravaged the south and midwest this spring. >> brown: then, ray suarez talks to marcia coyle about today's supreme court ruling, ordering california to slash its overcrowded prison population. >> ifill: kwame holman looks at fractures within the g.o.p. over the future of medicare. >> reporter: one republican proposal would remake the federal health care program completely, but the discord is the plan is causing is reverberating at the national and local levels. >> brown: special correspondent saima mohsin reports on a program to provide affordable health care to pakistan's urban poor. >> reporter: the 40 million low-income families here, 99.3% of them don't have health insurance. >> ifill: and we update europe's economic woes, as president obama kicks off a six-day trip to the continent. >> brown: that's all ahead, on tonight's newshour. major funding for t

i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight, the announcement came as the president took time to honor the nation's servicemen and women this memorial day. we look at the day's events and the new military leadership. >> ifill: then, we get an update on efforts to rebuild joplin, missouri, one week after a deadly tornado ripped through the city. >> brown: and judy woodruff explores what's behind the recent uptick in severe weather, not just in joplin, but across the country. >> ifill: plus, ray suarez, in rome, reports on the catholic church's approach to hiv-aids prevention. >> the vatican has ended the debate but not the controversy over whether catholics or catholic organizations can use condoms to control the spread of aids. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> during its first year, the humpback calf and its mother are almost inseparable. she lifts her calf to its first breath of air, then protects it on the long journey to

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, jeffrey brown has the latest on the operation, and the reaction today in washington and elsewhere. >> lehrer: we have a newsmaker interview with c.i.a. director leon panetta, who was overseeing the mission from c.i.a. headquarters. >> ifill: margaret warner hears from special correspondent saima mohsin in pakistan. >> surprisingly pakistan's media have been very damning of both the government and military and somewhat pro united states which we rarely see in the press here. >> lehrer: we talk to senators mark udall and saxby chambliss about the u.s. pakistan relationship. >> ifill: and judy woodruff explores the impact of bin laden's death on americans, nearly a decade after the 9/11 attacks. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my make huge profits. >> last year, chevron made a lot of money. >> where does it go? >> every penny and more went into bringing energ