but first, with the other news of the day, here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: questions swirled again today about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. the associated press reported a state department document listed 230 security incidents in libya in the 12 months ending last july. then, last month, u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed when gunmen attacked the consulate. f.b.i. teams have had only limited access to the site, but attorney general eric holder today praised the libyan government's response. it's a challenging environment in which to operate but i think we have done pretty well given the circumstances in which we find ourselves and we found ourselves able to move about and do the things that we have wanted to do because of the assistance we've gotten from the libyan government as well as from some of our other allies >> sreenivasan: a u.s. house committee holds a hearing tomorrow on the consulate attack. in pakistan, a taliban gunman shot and wounded a 14-year-old activist known for promoting girls' education. malala yo

but first, with the other news of the day, here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: americans are showing greater confidence in the economy and buying more. the commerce department reported today that consumer spending rose .08% last month, the best showing since february. consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of the u.s. economy. the potential for government eavesdropping on americans was back before the u.s. supreme court today. lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists argued they should be allowed to challenge parts of the foreign intelligence surveillance act. they argued innocent americans could be caught up in electronic spying on foreign targets. the justice department called that claim a "cascade of speculation." in syria, heavy air raids pounded the suburbs of damascus, syria, after a temporary truce collapsed over the weekend. this was supposed to be the fourth and final day of a u.n.- backed cease-fire, timed to coincide with a muslim holiday. but today, as many as 60 government air strikes hit rebel targets around the country. a car bomb also went off in the capita

for that story, we turn again to hari sreenivasan. here we go sreenivasan: felix baumgartner was in the stratosphere more than 24 miles above earth when he emerged from a capsule on sunday >> there it is. there's the world out there >> sreenivasan: in his ear the voice of joe, the retired air force colonel who set a record in 1960 with a jump from 102,000 feet. >> the guard and angell will take care you >> sreenivasan: the 43-year-old daredevil began his own fall, four miles higher than ever attempted before. for 35 seconds, baumgartner's dive spun out of control. amid fears he could lose consciousness. then baumgartner regained control and continued his free fall for nearly four more minutes reaching a speed of almost 834 miles an hour at one point, faster than the speed of sound. another record. when he descendd to 5,000 feet baumgartner opened his parachute and eventually landed safely on his feet. ( cheers and applause ) >> a new world record holder sreenivasan: afterward he explained what happened in the first minute of his dive >

here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: some new data on jobs offered signs of encouragement today. the labor department reported first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in more than four years. that suggests slightly improved hiring. wall street rose on the news at first, then gave up the gains. the dow jones industrial average ended with a loss of 18 points to close at 13,326. the nasdaq dipped two points to close at 3,049. the international monetary fund warned today that european leaders still aren't moving fast enough to deal with their debt crisis. at the same time, the fund cautioned against forcing too much austerity on deeply indebted greece and spain. just yesterday, standard and poor's cut spain's credit rating to just above junk status. but the spanish government complained today that move will only make things worse. >> ( translated ): what everybody needs to have in mind is that political stability is also listed on the stock exchange, and there are a lot of everyday questions for government and citizens that depend on political stability.

hari sreenivasan has more. answer your question on finding th perfect j andoning your interview skills on our making sense page page. and just in time for halloween, we've updated our ad maker. now you can put yourself in a political ad starring americas latest menace, zombies. find the app on the rundown. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we'll go to wisconsin, where the ground game could make all the difference in a very tight presidential race. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. 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: >> intel. sponsors of tomorrow. >. 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 ublic br

hari sreenivasan explains. >> sreenivasan: he's a student at m.i.t.economics correspondent paul solman asked him about his bets and his winnings. read his interview on our making sense page. and npr's debbie elliott talks to independent voters in florida about the deluge of political ads there. that's part of our partnership with npr and cmag to examine spending on campaign ads this year. watch the video report on the rundown. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on thursday, we'll look at battleground new hampshire, where women candidates are on the ballot in three separate races. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. 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: >> united healthcare. viking river cruises. 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 institutio

but first, with the other news of the day, here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: wall street had one of its worst days of the year after a series of disappointing earnings reports from the likes of dupont, xerox, and ups. the dow jones industrial average lost 243 points to close at 13,102. the nasdaq fell 26 points to close at 2990. the country where the arab spring began, tunisia, marked an anniversary today with rival demonstrations. it's been one year since an islamist party took power in tunisia's first election since a longtime dictator was ousted. pro- and anti-government supporters gathered today outside the national assembly building in tunis. they waved signs and chanted slogans at one another. we are here to celebrate the first election of the constituent assembly, the first time in the history of tunisia. the day is considered as the second independence. the first time the tunisian people practicedded the election in a transparent way with the world as a witness. >> sreenivasan: opposition lawmakers boycotted a special legislative session marking the anniversary. they accu

hari sreenivasan explains. >> sreenivasan: so how much silk does spider-man need to swing through new york city? we talked to one physics professor who is trying to bring science fiction a little closer to science fact. plus, will the new health care law cover non-citizens? yes, if they're here legally. find that story from our partners at kaiser health news on the rundown. and on tonight's edition of "need to know," ray moderates a roundtable discussion about the fiscal cliff and congress's deadline to deal with expiring tax cuts and automatic spending cuts. find a link to "need to know" and much more at newshour.pbs.org. judy. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, we'll talk with npr's peter overby about spending by super-pacs on campaign ads. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 1

hari sreenivasan explains. >> sreenivasan: after nine months of record-breaking high temperatures, scientists at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration announced today the trend is likely to continue into the winter months. and on science thursday, get a glimpse of the earth some 250 million years ago. researchers have new data on a mass extinction from that period and the earth's slow recovery. and how trustworthy are polls? paul solman spent a day with a pollster to learn his methods. you can find his "q" and "a" on the business page. all that and more is on our website: newshour.pbs.org. margaret? >> warner: and this's the newshour for tonight. i'm susan wornick susan wornick. >> woodruff: and i'm judy wood rough. we'll see you online with mark shields and david brooks among others. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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 sponso