than the pbs newshour. (laughter) with jim lehrer.se) i have been getting phone calls nonstop on my rotary dial telephone. >> reporter: mostly economists were the butt of the jokes. >> i have a british knock-knock joke. i have to put on a terrible british accent for this. knock knock. >> who's there? >> economist. >> economist who? >> economist the financial crisis but i paopls i'll do better next time. (laughter) >> reporter: but if economists are ron ago control theory deficit, it's not that their they're enjoyment averse. in fact, merle hazard went to fair ways to maximizing their utility with his concluding number. ♪ give me that old time recession lord. ♪ it's good enough for me >> reporter: if john maynard keynes was right and animal spirits are what move the economy, maybe there were hints of an upturn even here. ♪ give me that old time recessions, give me that old time recession. ♪ lord, it's good enough for me >> lehrer: again, the major developments of the day. scott brown was sworn in as the new senator from massachusetts.

for the record, toyota is a pbs newshour funder. wall street had another good day, helped by encouraging numbers of home sales. the dow jones industrial average gained 111 points to close near 10,297. the nasdaq rose almost 19 points to close at 2,190. the crew of a regional airliner made critical errors before crashing near buffalo, new york, last february. the national transportation safety board panel released the findings today. the continental flight was operated by colgan air. it went into a stall and dove into a house, killing all 49 people aboard and one man in the house. investigators found the pilot should have been able to recover, but did the opposite of what he should have done. the president of iran said today his government is now willing to send uranium abroad for enrichment. mahmoud ahmadinejad said iran has no problem meeting the u.n. demand. he also said iran may be willing to trade three jailed american hikers for 11 iranians held in u.s. prisons. relatives of the americans-- shane bauer, sarah shourd and josh fa

. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "pbs newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> every business day, bank of america lends nearly $3 billion to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses in every corner of the economy. america-- growing stronger everyday. >> 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. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. grant thornton. 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. >> ifill: the president of toyota made an unprecedented appearance before a u.s. congressional commi

that's all ahead on tonight's "pbs newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy came from an energy company? every day, chevron invests $62 million in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. >> every business day bank of america lends nearly $3 billion to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations, and businesses in every corner of the economy. america. growing stronger every day. >> pacific life. the power to help you succeed. bnsf railway. and by grant thornton. 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. a

the question many people are asking >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's pbs "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy came from an energy company? everyday, chevron invests $62 million in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. this is the engine that connects zero emission technologies to breathing a little easier, while taking 4.6 million truckloads off the road every year. bnsf, the engine that connects us. bank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. 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. >> brown: president obama talked up his year-old economic stimulus program today and ma

. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "pbs newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> every business day, bank of america lends nearly $3 billion to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses in every corner of the econy. america-- growing stronger everyday. when someone you count on is not responsive, bad things could happen. grant thornton believes it's important to be responsive, through direct client access to our partners. grant thornton. this is the engine that connects zero emission technologies to breathing a little easier, while taking 4.6 million truckloads off the road every year. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. 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 fo

that's all ahead on tonight's "pbs newshour". major funding for the pbs newshour is 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. chevron this is the power of human energy. the national science foundation. supporting education and research across all fields of science and engineering. 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: the campaign to crush taliban resistance in afghanistan advanced on two fronts today. u.s. marines pushed deeper into a key town amid reports a top taliban official has been captured in pakistan. margaret warner begins our coverage. >> warner: 15,000 nato and afghan troops made new gains today in their offensive in southern afgh

. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "pbs newshour."ajor funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. >> 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. this is the power of human energy. chevron. bank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. grant thornton the national science foundation. supporting education and research across all fields of science and engineering. 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: another roundhouse blow from winter staggered much of the east coast today from virginia to connecticut. it pushed washington and baltimore to new records for the most snow ever, in a single wi

. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's pbs newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy came from an energy company? every day, chevron invests $62 million in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. pacific life. 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. >> ifill: from left to right, the national political scene was in ferment today. that followed president obama's latest appeal for bipartisanship, and sarah palin's latest turn on the national stage. >> it didn't

. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's pbs newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy came from an energy company? every day, chevron invests $62 million in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. bnsf, the engine that connects us. pacific life. 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. >> woodruff: the obama administration submitted its budget today for the coming fiscal year that boosts spending for education and cuts taxes on the we

major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy came from an energy company? every day, chevron invests in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy.

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy came from an energy company? million in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. bank of america-- committed to helping the nation's economic recovery. >> and by bnsf railway. grant thornton. >> 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. >> lehrer: the president and the republicans staked out their health care ground today in a nationally televised summit. >> woodruff: there was an air of suspense as the day, and the long-awaited event, got underway. >

and keep up with daily developments on the pbs "newshour" and we'll see you around the table again nexteek on "washington week." good night. join the "washington week" conversation online. email your questions for the webcast extra to washingtonweek online@pbs.org. >> corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> i've been growing algae for 35 years. most people try to get rid of algae and we're trying to grow it. algae are very beautiful. they come in blue or red. golden. green. algae can be converted into biofuels that we could someday prun our cars on -- run our cars on. using algae, not competing with the food supply and it absorbs co-2 and helps solve the green mouse problem as well. -- the greenhouse problems as well. we're making a commitment to see how algae can meet the fuel demand of the world. >> additional funding for "washington week" is provided by boeing. pepsi. the annenberg foundation. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

ifill is the managing editor ann moderator of washington week, a senior correspondent for the pbs newshourissues formerly chief congressional correspondent for nbc news. and she moderated the 2004 and 2009 -- 2008 as presidential debates. the miami book for hosted the event. for more information visit miami book fair.com. >> the deputy managing editor of time magazine recalls president ronald reagan's speech in west berlin on june 12th, 1987. were he pronounced to a crowd of 20,000 people mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. romesh ratnesar explores the genesis of the speech and the relationship between reagan and soviet leader mikhail gorbachev. the kansas city public library hosts the event. >> i do want to thank you. it's a real privilege to speak to you on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall and is particularly wonderful to be in kansas city which is such an appropriate setting because it was just a couple blocks from this building adds deborah arena as many remember that ronald reagan gave a speech 33 years ago that in many ways i think help catapult him to t