here's kwame holman. >> holman: the fighting in afghanistan claimed more lives today-- an unidentifiedr was killed in the east. and the u.s. military announced three americans died in a bombing on saturday. the new combat casualties brought to 55 nato deaths in the month of may. the total included at let 31 americans, fewer than the 43 in april. meanwhile, afghan president hamid karzai ordered nato today to stop air strikes on afghan homes. it was his strongest statement yet on civilian casualties, and it followed a saturday strike that killed 14 women and children. >> the afghan people can no longer tolerate these attacks on their homes. one day the afghan government will be forced if you do not come to an understanding with us based on a negotiated solution to this, that is the prevention of bombardment of afghan homes, the afghan government will be forced to take a ewen eye lateral action in this regard. >> holman: karzai did not say what he meant by "unilateral action," but nato answered that its air strikes still are essential in fighting the taliban. syrian president bashar al-as

cities have hit the lowest levels in five years; and to kwame holman for what's on the newshour onlineholman: the newshour's web site is back up and running following yesterday's hacking incidents. we apologize for any inconvenience. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. gwen. >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we'll look at computer sabotage as a fact of life in this wired world. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. 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: >> okay, listen. somebody has got to get serious. >> i think... >> we need renewable energy. >> ...renewable energy is vital to our planet. >> you hear about alternatives, right? wind, solar, algae. >> i think it's got to work on a big scale. and i think it's got to be affordable. >> so, where are they? >> it has to work in the real world. at chevron, we're investing millions in solar and biofuel technology to make it work. >> we've got to get on this now. >> right now. >> and by

newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman reports. >> holman: the israeli leader drew a warm he entered the house chamber for the joint meeting of congress. then, amid frequent applause and more than two dozen standing ovations, benjamin netanyahu insisted israel is ready to seek peace with the palestinians. >> i am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace. as the leader of israel, it is my responsibility to lead my people to peace. now, this is not easy for me because i recognize that, in a genuine peace, we'll be required to give up parts of the ancestral jewish homeland. >> holman: it was the first time netanyahu explicitly acknowledged that israel would have to give up some west bank settlements. but he also insisted again, he will not accept borders that existed before 1967, when israel occupied the west bank and other territory in the six day war. >> we'll be generous about the size of the future palestinian state. but as president obama said, the border will be different than the one that existed on june 4, 1967. ( applause ) israel will not r

. >> 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 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. >> lehrer: the mississippi river flood played havoc with commerce today, while towns and cities in two states waited for worse to come. ray suarez has the story. >> reporter:

. >> brown: kwame holman reports on the politics of the debate over how much the federal government can borrow, after speaker boehner offered his opening bid. >> without significant spending cuts and changes in the way we spend the american people's money, there will be no increase in the debt limit. >> woodruff: we get two views of the obama administration's stepped-up criticism of china's human rights record. >> brown: from ukraine, special correspondent kira kay explores lessons being learned about fulfilling the promises of the 2004 revolution. >> from the failings of the orange government and the subsequent return of authoritarian concerns comes a warning for current activists in the middle east. democracy building is harder than it looks. >> woodruff: and we get the details of the microsoft deal to buy skype for $8.5 billion. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies make huge profits. >> last year, chevron made a lot of money. >> where does it go? >> every penny and more went into bringing energy to the world

. >> 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 funng for the pbs newshour has been provided by: in 1968, as whaling continued worldwide, the first recordings of humpback songs were released. ( whale singing ) public reaction led to international bans. whale populations began to recover. at pacific life, the whale symbolizes what is possible if people stop and think about the future. help protect your future with pacific life-- the power to

and to kwame holman for what's on the "newshour" online. hackers posted a fake story on the newshour website. it claimed that a man who died in 1996 was actually alive. the story was taken down this morning. the hacker said it was in retaliation for a documentary about wikileaks that aired on the pbs program front line last week. both the front line website and the newshour's were attacked. the executive producer of front line called it a disappointing and irresponsible act. >> brown: before we go, on this memorial day: here's an encore from poet wyatt prunty. we first ran his poem "the returning dead" in march of 2006. it was his response to the "newshour's" honor roll of service personnel killed in iraq and afghanistan. >> my name is wyatt prunty. i served in the navy in vietnam. i was a nearsighted gunnery officer and i don't think i hurt anyone. that was a difficult for many. difficult for some of us because while we disagreed with the war itself we believed we could not refuse to serve. years later i starteded this writers' conference.

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 like. >> from deep space. >> to a microbe. >> i can contribute to the world by pursuing my passion for scien

here's kwame holman. >> holman: government forces in yemen went on the attack today trying to recapture a town seized by islamic militants. warplanes attacked zinjibar in the sout at loust 30 militants, civilians and soldiers have been killed there since friday. meanwhile, amateur video from another city taiz showed masked men with rifles shooting from rooftops at protesters. one doctor reported at least 20 people were killed there today. the protesters have demanded that president ali abdullah saleh step down. instead, saleh increasingly has used force to crush the three- month-old uprising. protesters in syria have begun fighting back with guns and grenades. activists reported armed resistance today in two towns in the central part of the country. government troops had attacked the towns on sunday. the reports today said at least 14 people have been killed in the fighting. and, hundreds have been arrested. northern sudan warned southern sudan today to withdraw from a disputed border region, but the south refused. the standoff raised new fears of a wider conflict, with thousands of peo

our kwame holman has some excerpts. >> reporter: this week's blockbuster foreign policy development consumed the early part of the first republican presidential debate of the 2012 cycle held last night in greenville, south carolina. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty credited the president foracting against osama bin laden but stopped his praise there. >> i do congratulate president obama for the fine job that he did in taking some tough decisions and being decisive as it related to finding and killing osama bin laden. he did a good job, and i tip my cap to him in that moment, but that moment is not the sum total of america's foreign policy. >> holman: and former pennsylvania senator rick santorum was less taken by the president's actions. >> if you look at what president obama has done right in foreign policy, it has always been a continuation of the bush policies. he's done right by keeping gitmo open. he's done right by finishing the job in iraq. he has done right by trying to win in afghanistan. those were existing policies that were in place. >> holman: but the views of libertarian