s gulf oil spill, louisiana senator mary landrieu will join us. it's "nightly business report" for friday, april 20. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening, everyone. tom, that it's the traditional the u.s. economy is faltering. >> tom: susie, this has been the >> susie: we've seen some disappointing results in the housing market, some signs manufacturing is slowing and darren gersh takes a look at the downshift in expectations. >> let's start with the good news. even with higher oil prices, the after effects of the housing bubble and everything that is still going on in europe, the u.s. economy is growing. and it's proved stronger than the skeptics feared. but just one month ago, the economy seemed to be powering along at a 3% clip. now, that momentum is almost gone. >> i think some of the steam that we were picking up was, in fact, related to unusually warm weather and in sense was a hip fake of sorts, an economic hip f

we have been speaking with louisiana senator mary landrieu. >> i'm erika miller. stilahead on n.r.,rom hair forl clothes, kids are spending hundreds of dollars on a high school rite of passage. we look at the prom economy. >> tom: mcdonald's continues seeing business pick-up, but even the golden arches aren't immune to the mixed signals on the economy. the company called the economic climate challenging, yet earnings are growing. mcdonald's earned a $1.23 in the first quarter, right on target. its value menu remains a strong selling point for customers. in-coming c.e.o. don thompson is looking for a new extra value menu and the cherry berry chiller drink to help its summer business. >> susie: fellow dow component general electric also ended higher in today's session, thanks to better than expected first quarter results. g.e. says demand was strong for energy equipment and railroad locomotives. c.e.o. jeff immelt also confirmed the company is on track to post double digit earnings growth this year. g.e. earned 34 cents a share, a penny ahead of expectations. revenu

if you would join at the table senator mary landrieu. >>> uganda, central africa. these are very different circumstances. >> the night i first met jacob, he told me what he and other children in northern uganda were living through. >> after spending a few weeks with jacob, he told me something i will never forget. >> the world should know this war is complex. if it was not complex, it would not have stayed for 36 years. i have been in the forefront from day one. i felt that this can be an opportunity for someone else to see what was in northern uganda. i felt that, let's do something and let the world know. that is why our advocacy has been very strong. >> so while jolie lost invisible childrens programs on the ground, we came home and in 2005 began telling true stories with our friends affected by lra violence. because we have seen that stories can change lives. >> thank you. i am in awe of jolie and jacob's courage and strength and indeed agree that their stories have touched and saved millions of lives, just by participating in these videos. i am certain that yo

senator mary landrieu, thanks so much for joining us.bout what you have found so far pap it's hard to determine linkage but what what is the evidence to continuing damage to the environment and to the cycle? >> it's important to remember how huge and unprecedenced the spill was. it was over 5 million barrels is of oil spilled in the gulf of mexico. 600 miles of coastline along america's energy coast was oiled. we had about 87,000 square miles of fisheries were closed. and frankly, the sad part of this is we don't really know the extent of the daniel because we've never invested enough money in the science that would be required to give us some really firm answers, which is one of the reasons why we're pushing the restore act to make sure, andrea, that the penalties money that bp is going to pay comes back to this area so we can give people answers about what the short-term, intermediate and long-term daniel has been to this important coast for the country. >> now, there is some evidence according to the associated press of sick fish. wha

also tomorrow, we talk with louisiana senator mary landrieu about the b.p. oil spill two years on. that's it for us tonight. "nightly business report" for thursday, april 19. i'm tom hudson. we'll see you online and back here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

and we talk with louisiana senator mary landrieu about the changes to her state's economy two years after the b.p. spill. >> tom: if you need more evidence of globalization, just listen to this: an explosion at a chemical plant in germany threatens to put the brakes on the auto industry. the disaster comes after auto makers have been recovering from supply shortages caused by last year's earthquake and tsunami in japan. diane eastabrook has the details. >> reporter: this time around, the fly in the ointment for the global auto industry is a chemical used in the resin that coats brake and fuel lines. the only company that supplies the chemical was rocked by an explosion at a german plant late last month. rebecca lindland follows the auto industry for i.h.s. global insight. she says finding a replacement for the chemical could be costly and potentially dangerous. >> because it's used in safety- related supplies like brake lines, there could be future consequences because if anything would happen in the future with the performance of this product in a vehicle, you could have lawsuits, you co

also tomorrow, we talk with louisiana senator mary landrieu about the b.p. oil spill two years on. that's it for us tonight. "nightly business report" for thursday, april 19. i'm tom hudson. we'll see you online and back here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. , closed-captioning has been made possible in part by the hearing and speech agency, committed to better communication for all in maryland. www.hasa.org

he was introduced by senator mary landrieu. >> my good friend and colleague, senator landrieu of louisiana to introduce our panel, senator landrieu has been an advocate on these issues for many years. i'm honored she could join us here today because in a very real sense it's because of her that we had the opportunity to have you with us here today. senator landrieu. >> thank you, mr. chairman and i sincerely appreciate your leadership as the chair of the african subcommittee on this very important committee of the united states congress to use this platform and your time and attention to build support for the atrocities going on in this part of the world. they may not be the greatest, most widespread atrocities but they are atrocities nonetheless, and they have been brought to our attention in a very special and significant way. through the voices of children. it's very unusual for children of the world, maybe it's been done before in this way, i'm not sure. but this issue, with hundreds and millions of children around the world led by a child himself, has brought these atrocities to our a

if you would join us at the table, senator mary landrieu.e conversations] >> when i first met him in uganda's central africa, it was in barrett -- very different circumstances. he was running for his life. >> that is how you know english so well. how many have you seen here a long? >> the night i first met jacob, he told me what he and other children in northern uganda for living through. >> my brother tried to escape. >> what is it that you want to be when you grow up? >> i have been in the forefront from day one. i felt, let's do something and let the world know and that is why our focus has been very strong. >> while jolly launched programs on the ground we came home and in 2000 by began telling true stories of our friends affected by the ellery violence because we have seen that stories can change lives. >> just by participating in these videos i am certain that you have had that global impact and now i am grateful that you had the opportunity to join us here today. i turned to my good friend and colleague, senator landrieu of louisiana

caller: probably mary landrieu and we've got to get rid of her. she is an absolute democrat clone. she's got to get out of there. she wants to give away everything that she can. you know, there's what, 47% of the people in this country do not pay any taxes at all. and 50% of those get money back from the government. how in the hell does that happen? host: thanks for your call. in indiana, long-term incumbent is facing a primary challenge. this week, he had a primary senate debate with his competitor. let's listen in to a little bit of it. >> we need to protect social security and there are at least two votes when mr. luger went the other way. there were two calls go to people who were in the country illegally. i would have voted the opposite way in those votes. i would not have accepted those votes. that's the kind of protection we need to provide for that fund for our older citizens. >> that's unfair. i did not have votes for illegal social security payments to persons. host: just a glimpse of the senate race in indiana with longtime incumbent dick lugar. here is a reporting from

asking people like steve, and other congressional members, even mary landrieu, from louisiana, about what they think about safety and what we should have done in the aftermath. host: these drilling regulations dealing with safety in place before the oil spill, are they adequate today? guest: they were up -- i do not think that they were adequate. as a result of that tragic accident, i think that drilling is safer. but to put up a moratorium and say that we will wait, just like president obama is doing with keystone xl, waiting after the election, when the political climate is more favorable, that only spells economic disaster for the country. host: what about the panel? they are saying that congress needs to act. guest: i think all allegis threat -- legislation regarding drilling safety has been done. time to get the economy stimulated. host: they are saying not one piece has passed. guest: that is not true. i probably have a list of 30 different bills we have passed in the house that we have sent to the senate. they just stacked up on harry reid's best like firewood. he does not wan

these people need to be primar ied, like mary landrieu. the tax issue. if you people do not raise taxes, the democrats, for one -- we are not coming to vote because if we cannot get you to do anything for us, there is no reason to vote for you. host: tax policy is our topic, and up next on "washington journal" in about 10 minutes. go ahead. guest: raise taxes and cut spending so that he will not drive us back into another recession, and we will grow ourselves out of recession while at the same time cutting the deficit. the weight in which every budget experts as you get out of our recession when you have a big deficit is you begin gradually to cut the deficit while growing the economy. if you cut it to starkly, you cut your ability to grow. the caller makes a very good point. we have engaged the first time in american history in two wars without paying for them. he is talking about prescription drugs, where we did not pay for that. republicans in a sense are trying to make up for what they did pay for the 4. if you want to make up for it, make up for it

and the republicans, to be fair some democrats from oil producing states mary landrieu, voted against these sud subsid subsid-edes, they will raise gas prices. so they use gas prices for an excuse for continuing these sub did sid employees. why do they make sense today or do they? >> to be clear on one front, bill, thewhen the president proposed that and when senate democrats proposed that, that rolling back of the oil subsidies, everyone involved in that game knew that that vote was not going to pass. that was a straight-up, political kabuki. >> why shouldn't it pass? why should we could not welfare for exxon? >> at stake here is the oil/gas industry enjoys about $4,000,000,000 a year in tax brakes. >> yeah. ? >> some of those tax breaks have been in place nearly 100 years. >> right. >> they were put in place when the oil industry was very new and they were put in place to give this new -- the government kind of wanted to help out this new industry go forth. >> right. >> get some tax breaks in order to make these risky investments. it's not really a risky investment to go out and exp