jeffrey brown talks to sting. >> reporter: call it "sting with strings."ting is rock 'n roll royalty-- an international pop star. the strings are part of the royal philharmonic concert orchestra, which is helping him re-create past hits with a very different sound. the singer and his band are in the midst of an american and world tour and have released a new recording, titled "symphonicities." ♪ born gordon sumner and raised in newcastle, england, sting burst on the rock scene in the 1970s as lead singer and bass player for the police, a three-member rock band that recorded numerous hit songs and sold millions of albums. ♪ the group split in 1984 and, other than a reunion tour several years back, sting has been on his own ever since with more hit songs and several unexpected twists. in 2006, he recorded the songs of elizabethan composer john dowland. ♪ and last year, sting and his wife, trudy styler, presented a theater performance based on the lives and words of composer robert schumann and his wife clara. now, at 58, he's got the orchestra, not for class

the first priority is a bit of >> lehrer: jeffrey brown gets a rare view from inside the failed state of somalia, from jeffrey gettleman of the "new york times." >> ifill: and spencer michels unveils the soon-to-be-published life story of a literary giant. >> mark twain decreed that his autobiography couldn't be published until 100 years after his death. that's this year. >> lehrer: 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 the 21st century. 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. >> ifill: nursing homes were evacuated, transit slowed and millions sought relief today as intense hot weather continued to grip the east coast. heat records were shattered all along the east coast this week, as early summer readings headed i

jeffrey brown has our story. >> brown: in korea today, stark reminders of tensions past and present,or two american officials-- secretary of state hillary clinton and secretary of defense robert gates. they got a first-hand look across the 160-mile heavily armed line that divides north and south-- the demilitarized zone along the 38th parallel. >> right where you see that brown tower, that's one of the north korean guard posts that's manned by about 30 north korean soldiers. >> brown: secretary gates, who'd been to the d.m.z. twice before, noted there'd been little progress across the border. >> looking out across the d.m.z., it's stunning how little has changed in the north, and yet how much south korea has continued to grow and prosper. the north, by contrast, >> brown: in fact, if anything, tensions have increased in recent months. the u.s. and south korea will soon begin joint military exercises. and in seoul, the two americans held security talks with their south korean counterparts and announced new sanctions against the north, which the u.s. says is pressing ahead with its nuc

jeffrey brown has our story. >> brown: the supreme court tackled issues from campaign-finance reformto gun control from gay rights to miranda rights. it was the first term for sonia soto mayor, and featured an unusual public spat between members of the court and the president. we take a look back at the term now with tlooet veteran court watches, tom goldstein a washington lawyer and founder of scotus blog.com, paul butler professor of law george washington university. and niomi rah who teaches at george mason university and served as associate counsel and special assistant to the president in the george w. bush white house. tom goldstein i will start with you. one of the themes of this term clearlys that to bement the extent to which we have seen the growth and solidification of what we have seen a roberts court. what does that mean. >> we're talking about the conservative majority lead by chief justice john roberts and the biggest cases that would lead the nuts hour in the evening, campaign finance, gun rights, cases you mentioned. the courts conservative did hold a majority and ad

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, spencer michels reports on the evacuation efforts at the rig site, and storm preparations underway in and around new orleans. >> lehrer: then, we talk to deborah solomon of "the wall street journal" about today's report from the administration's pay czar on executive bonuses given out at the height of the financial crisis. >> brown: judy woodruff reports on disillusioned democrats a year and a half into the obama administration. >> if you are elected as moses who is going to take everyone to the promised land, then you're bound to disappoint people. >> lehrer: mark shields and david brooks present their weekly analysis. >> brown: paul solman wraps up his series on europe's economic woes with a look at spain's unemployment problem. >> lehrer: and ray suarez interviews robert mccrum about how english has become the first worldwide language. >> if you said in say 800 or 900 b.c. in 2010 people would be discussing a global language, they would have looked at you i

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight: "newshour" political editor david chalian fills us in on the latest developments. >> lehrer: then, economists mark zandi and john taylor debate the effectiveness of government efforts to stimulate the economy. >> brown: ray suarez reports on what's next in arizona, after a federal judge blocked key parts of the state's immigration law. >> lehrer: then two stories on the mexican drug violence. yone grillo of "global post" talks to residents of ciudad juarez, mexico, about a city under attack. >> we are getting the kidnappings, the carjacking, especially the extortions. i mean, it has killed the city. >> brown: judy woodruff gets an update from reporter angela kocherga on the spread of violence from northern mexico. >> lehrer: and, fred de sam lazaro explores hands-on healing with physician and author abraham verghese. >> i'm the first to admit that the resolution of a hand feeling the belly doesn't compare with the resolution of a cat scan scanning the belly b

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight: the good news was tempered by other data that showed sinking homes sales and rising claims for unemployment benefits. we sort out the mixed picture with greg ip of "the economist." >> lehrer: we have the latest on the tropical storm threat to activities in the gulf. as senators roger wicker of mississippi and bill nelson of florida debate the offshore drilling moratorium. >> brown: spencer michels reports from louisiana on the controversy over the use of chemical oil dispersants. >> the key question that scientists are trying to figure out is whether oil dispsants in the deep ocean do more harm than good. >> lehrer: ray suarez gets two views on the legal challenges to arizona's immigration law. >> brown: and paul solman examines the housing slump in spain, as he continues his reporting on europe's economic troubles. >> see these four big towers? they are beautiful and they were built just before the crisis so they are empty. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on to

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, the afghan leader spoke at a meeting of the international community, and his words came on a day of new violence. we get two views on how much the u.s. and others can rely on the karzai government. >> brown: then we look at the new choice for director of national intelligence and his tough job ahead. >> brown: paul solman reports from greece on tough, new austerity measures and the anger they've brought on. >> lehrer: and margaret warner talks to dr. anthony fauci about promising new ways to prevent aids. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> lehrer: the president of afghanistan appealed for greater global support at today's kabul conference on security and development. as he spoke, the country's problems were underscored by events outside the afghan capital. zelikow president karzai addressed representatives from dozens of nations and organizations. and he called again for afghans to take charge of

i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. 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: 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 viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, authors steve coll and phil smucker assess what the secret material says about the conduct of the war. >> woodruff: phil shenon of the "daily beast" updates us on what is wikileaks and who is behind it. >> brown: fred de sam lazaro reports on the first sentence handed down by a war crimes tribunal to a member of cambodia's "killing fields" regime. >> woodruff: john merrow wraps up his series about the top to bottom efforts by a school superintendent to reform the new orleans public education system after hurricane katrina. >> making promises, talking publicly about all the big changes he's going to make in the schools. well, it's been three years, time for paul vallas's report card. >> brown: and we look at the impact of the americans with disabilities act on this, the 20th anniversary of the law. >> he didn't come because politicians thought it was a good idea. it came because people with disabilities fought and said we're going to be equal. we're going to ha

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, unemployment insurance has run out for more than a million americans. we look at the latest figures, and the debate over extending jobless benefits. >> woodruff: then, tom bearden reports from gulf shores, alabama, where the once-pristine beaches are now almost empty. >> people here are racking their brains trying to figure out some way to mitigate the economic affects of the bp oil spill. >> brown: ray suarez updates the surge in drug violence gripping mexico, killing thousands in the last year, including a candidate for governor. >> woodruff: mark shields and david brooks offer their weekly analysis. >> brown: and we close with remembrances of senator robert byrd from the memorial service held today in charleston, west virginia. >> this is a guy who continued to taste and smell and feel the suffering of the people of his state. he tasted it. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with

. >> woodruff: and jeffrey brown has a conversation with jean- michel cousteau about his famous father-- ocean explorer jacques cousteau. >> when people ask what do you expect to find? he would always say if i knew, i wouldn't go. so it was the sense of discovery which is, obviously, related it to adventure. >> 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 bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. 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. >> woodruff: the u.s. and russia put the legal machinery in motion today to exchange accu

. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight: b.p., the obama administration, and residents throughout the gulf are waiting to see if the gusher has finally been capped. we get the latest from joel aakenbach of the "washington post." >> lehrer: then, tom bearden examines the impact of the spill on louisiana's wildlife. >> federal scientists are keeping a close watch on critical pelican habitats, and so far, the news is pretty good. >> brown: we look at the sweeping financial reform bill passed by the senate today: what it means for wall street and main street. >> i regret i can't give you your job back, restore that foreclosed home, put retirement money back in your account. what i can do is to see to it that we never, ever again have to go through what this nation has been through. >> lehrer: ray suarez has the last of his stories from haiti six months after the earthquake. tonight: mental health problems of survivors. >> brown: and we attempt to unravel the mystery of the iranian nuclear scientist who