we do this with the help of kim lawton, managing editor of this program, kevin eckstrom of religion news service, and e.j. dionne of the brookings institution, "the washington post," and georgetown university. before we begin our discussion, as we close out the first decade of the new millennium we remember some of the stories that set the stage for the news we expect to cover in 2011 and beyond. our managing editor kim lawton took a look back at the events of the last decade. >>> the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001 were perhaps the defining moment of the decade, and the repercussions are still being felt on many fronts. in the wake of the tragedy, mainstream muslim leaders tried to spread a message that islam is not synonymous with terrorism. but those efforts were complicated by an expanding extremist movement that recruits over the internet, as well as several high-profile arrests of muslims plotting more attacks. american muslims worked to define their place in u.s. society, but many felt unfairly targeted by enhanced security measures and what they saw as a rising tide of is

. >> our managing editor kim lawton has been following religious reaction to the president's address. kim? >> i actually moderated a conversation for our website with religious people giving their reactions to the address. i've heard from and talked to many others, and a lot of their reaction did split in predictable partisan lines. those who support the president were more positive, those who don't, weren't. that was predictable. but onthinthat struck me w among conservatives and libels i heard disappointment that there wasn't more attention on the poor. the president never actually said the poor but when he was talking about all of the budget problems and possible cuts, he did mention he didn't want to do that on the backs of the most vulnerable in the nation. but this is an area that a lot of faith-based groups are concerned about when we're talking about making big cuts and dealing with that. how is that going to affect the poor and marginalized? and so those are going to be some big battles coming. >> the least of these. >> exactly. >> and what about the language? >> well, i hear

our managing editor kim lawton visited haiti after the earthquake and is just back from another trip there last week. >> reporter: driving through downtown port-au-prince, it's difficult at first to see much change since we were last here nine months ago. the presidential palace is still in ruins. thousands are living in a massive tent city across the street, and according to aid officials, more than a million haitians are still homeless. around the corner from the palace, people are living in tents on the grounds of the destroyed roman catholic cathedral. there, piles of rubble and broken stained glass still fill what was once a beautiful 100-year-old sanctuary. but despite appearances, faith-based workers who have been active here over the past year insist there has been progress in dealing with this humanitarian catastrophe. >> the progress is slow, maybe not as quick as other emergencies, but we're moving forward. >> reporter: nicole peter is the haiti operations director for the christian group world vision, which has already spent more than $100 million in post-earthquake work.

i'm kim lawton in washington. >> on our calendar this week it's new year's for tibetan buddhists.egins on wednesday. celebrations include traditional dancing and other ceremonies. finally, thousands of orthodox christians gathered on both sides of the jordan river this week to celebrate epiphany when they com pmemorate the birth da of jesus. on the west bank side pilgrim his to coordinate their visit with the military. they opened a tourism sent on their side as well, but there may be a problem. activists say the site is still littered with land mines. it's been working to clear away mines. it will be a completely mind-free zone. that's our program for now. i'm bob abernathy. we want to hear from you, you can comment on our website and share them. audio and video podcasts are available, find us on twitter, youtube and find us any time anywhere on smartphones and iphones with our mobile web app. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, more from the turkish olympiad in houston. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ community development and education. additional funding by mutual of america, designing customize