here's kwame holman. >> holman: emergency declarations went out today as hurricane irene headed for akend assault on the u.s. east coast. the storm packed winds of 115 miles an hour as it blasted the bahamas. irene's wind and rain lashed and thrashed normally tranquil beaches in the bahamas, leaving reports of extensive damage. some of the smaller islands took a beating as the category three storm blew along the entire length of the archipelago. >> we had a two-day vacation. >> holman: and ahead of the growing storm, the exodus from beaches in north and south carolina grew, as new forecast tracks showed irene wobbling back to the west. north carolina governor bev perdue warned more than 200- thousand people to head for higher ground, with four coastal counties ordering mandatory evacuations. >> we're asking people all over eastern north carolina and our coastal regions to take this storm very seriously and to begin to implement their plans. >> holman: as always, some people decided to stay put, despite the warnings. >> we got chased off last year by the storm and it amounted to nothin

find more about the coming storm on our website, kwame holman has the details. kwame? >> holman: track hurricane irene's path using a special map with data from n.o.a.a., google and others. that's on the rundown blog. is eating healthy bad for your family's budget? our health unit examines the costs of good nutrition and offers strategies for smart shopping at the grocery store. plus we look at nasa research on how black holes can consume a star. watch an animation on our science page. all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. ray. >> suarez: and that's the

here's kwame holman. >> holman: a crackdown against anti-government protesters escalated in syria today. overnight the city of hama, north of damascus, was heavily shelled. tanks moved into the main square and electricity and water supplies were cut off. we have a report narrated by neil connery of "independent television news." >> for fourth day running, the streets echo to the sound of gunfire as the syrian regime tightens its grip. army tanks head deep into the center of this city of 800,000 people in their latest advance in this crack down on protests. these streets, which have been the focus of anti-government rally, now seemingly under the control of the regime. [gunfire] the dangers to those trapped here come from many fronts. these pictures, placed on the internet, reportedly show snipers at work on the rooftops. communication with the city is cut off along with water and electricity. in what could be a sign of cracks emerging within the military, a group of soldiers calling itself the serial free army union has posted a message saying it wants to encourage others to break away.

here's kwame holman. >> holman: bank of america.s largest bank, will cut 3,500 jobs by the end of september. that's 1% of the company's work force, and it follows a string of other cuts announced earlier this year. "the wall street journal" reported more layoffs could follow, possibly reaching 10,000. the entire banking industry has been contracting amid new regulations and the fallout from the financial meltdown in 2008. a suicide bomber struck a sunni mosque in pakistan today, killing nearly 50 people. the attack occurred in a village in the khyber tribal region. some 85 people were wounded. the attacker exploded the bomb as hundreds of worshippers, including anti-taliban tribal leaders, gathered for friday prayers during the holy month of ramadan. >> ( translated ): as joint prayers finished and some people were still busy with prayers, a blast took place. so many people were killed and so many were wounded. then we had to start moving the dead and wounded people to hospitals. the wound read inside the emergency ward. >> holman:

here's kwame holman. >> holman: wall street closed out the week with gains today. stocks rebounded from a sell-off after federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said the u.s. economy is on track for long- term growth. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 134 points to close at 11,284. the nasdaq rose 60 points to close near 2,480. for the week, the dow gained more than 4%; the nasdaq was up 2.5%. a car bomb attack in nigeria today killed at least 18 people at the main u.n. building. it happened in abuja, the african nation's capital. a radical muslim group claimed responsibility. we have a report narrated by rohit kachroo of independent television news. >> reporter: terrorists strike right at the heart of the u.n.'s headquarters in nigeria. this was the chaotic aftermath of the car bomb-- many dead, many more injured. the suicide bomber got through the gates and into the compound, detonating the bomb close to the main building. the likely target-- foreigners, aid workers, diplomats. these offices are home to many humanitarian agencies. >> this was an ass

here's kwame holman. >> holman: oil prices around the world fell today on the prospect crude from libya will return to the marketplace after months of political turmoil. in the u.s., benchmark crude in new york trading initially fell then climbed back up to settle just above $84 a barrel. and wall street had a more stable day, as investors moved to snap up cheap stocks. the dow jones industrial average gained 37 points to close above 10,854. the nasdaq rose more than three points to close at 2,345. at least three people were killed as anti-government protests continued across syria today. the demonstrations came after president bashar al-assad insisted on state television yesterday that his regime remains strong. he also repeated a pledge to make reforms. u.n. secretary general ban ki- moon said today it was troubling assad has broken his word to end the military operations against protesters and make reforms. and in geneva, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n.'s human rights council eileen chamberlain donahoe said it's time for assad to step aside. >> it is clear that president assad believ

kwame holman has the details. >> holman: we have a seismic map from the u.s.survey, and a tool that calculates the intensity of the quake by zip code. that's on the rundown blog. and our global health unit examines ethical questions that can emerge when pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials overseas. there's been a 2,000% increase in such testing in the past two decades. plus, if you're curious about what presidents read on vacation, "art beat" lists selections from president obama and others. all that and more is on our web site, newshour dot pbs dot org. ray. >> suarez: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we explore the rebel forces poised to lead libya, and update the path of hurricane irene. i'm ray suarez. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. 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: >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the

here's kwame holman. >> holman: a second bailout for greece-- totaling more than $150 billion-- ran into new trouble today. it followed news that greece agreed to put up cash as collateral to secure finland's part of the bailout. four other euro-zone nations austria, the netherlands, slovakia and slovenia said they want similar arrangements. that could mean greece will need even more bailout funding, to cover the cost of the collateral. the bond rating agency standard and poors is under federal investigation. today's "new york times" reported the justice department wants to know if s&p inflated ratings for mortgage securities prior to the financial meltdown in 2008. the probe began before s&p downgraded the u.s. government's credit rating this month. rebel fighters in libya scored a new advance today. they took control of an oil refinery in the western town of zawiyah just 30 miles outside tripoli-- moammar qaddafi's last stronghold. we have a report from lindsey hilsum of "independent television news." >> reporter: this is the rebels' latest prize-- the oil refinery at zawiya, along the

here's kwame holman. >> holman: egyptian troops used electrified clubs and fired shots into the air todayhrir square. several hundred protesters had camped there for several weeks, demanding faster political change. clashes erupted after soldiers began dismantling the protesters' tents. in the end, troops backed by armored vehicles and riot police cleared the entire square. in turkey, prime minister recep tayyip erdogan moved to tighten civilian control of the military after four top commanders resigned on friday. it was to protest the arrests of dozens of other generals allegedly involved in coup plots. today, erdogan opened a meeting of the country's supreme military council to discuss appointing new commanders. he also tried to show solidarity with the military, taking part in a traditional wreath-laying taking part in ceremony. >> i wish that the military council would be good and useful for our country and our public. i respectfully remember our parters who died for the protection of our country. >> holman: the meeting of the military council will run for four days. the international

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kwame holman explains. >> holman: the novelist reads from "conquistadora" on art beat. we have a photo essay from south dakota's black hills and more on the history of the native american land claim. plus read ray's blog post about somalis suffering from the famine and the political strife in mogadishu. that's on our global health page. all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. ray? >> suarez: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, we'll have a newsmaker interview with republican presidential hopeful and former utah governor jon huntsman. i'm ray suarez. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. 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: and 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 public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewe

and to kwame holman for what's on the newshour online. kwame. >> holman: what's prompted thousands of israelis to take to the streets and plan a million- man march for next month? the target is runaway inflation. find the numbers on our "rundown" blog. how much do market swings matter to average americans? "patchwork nation" charts stock ownership-- who owns what and how much-- in communities across the country. and on "art beat," jeff talks to composer philip glass about his new arts festival in california. 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. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. "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 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. chevron. we may have more in common than you think. >> and by the