in a special report, pbs newshour's judy woodruff visits a central valley town to see how its young residents have been affected by the decade since the attacks. >> reporter: on that september morning, when terrorists struck in new york and washington, the sun had not yet come up in the small city of clovis. next to fresno in the heart of the state's fertile agricultural belt. by the time households began to stir, horrific images were filling the airwaves. >> it was a boeing 737. >> reporter: for almost all of the west coast younger generation, word came while they were at home getting ready for school. reid helsel who works on his family's ranch outside clovis was 13 on 9/11 and remembers hearing the news. >> in the morning when i woke up, went downstairs and the news was on and seeing the first tower hit and the smoke coming out of it, and then as the plane flew into the second one i remember running upstairs and telling my mom. >> reporter: nonny, a star track athlete at her clovis high school, and a freshman at princeton this fall, was just 7 at the time. >> i clearly remember waking up t

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> well, the best companies are driven by new ideas. >> our future depends on new ideas. we spend billions on advanced technologies. >> it's all about investing in the future. >> we can find new energy-- more cleaner, safer and smarter. >> collaborating with the best in the field. >> chevron works with the smartest people at leading universities and tech companies. >> and yet, it's really basic. >> it's paying off everyday. >> and by bnsf railway. >> 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. >> woodruff: the nation faced new tension over terror today. it stemmed from a possible plot timed around the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and aimed at the same cities. from times square in new york city to the subway system in washington, po

my guest tonight, the executive editor and anchor of pbs newshour, his new book is called "tension cityside the presidential debates from kennedy, nixon to obama obama/mccain." welcome back to the program jim lehrer. sir. (cheers and applause) nice to see you again. very nice to see you again. >> good to see you, sir. >> jon: how are you? the book is called "tension city" and how much of a donation do i have to make to get this included in my toth bag froincl? >> $25 in pennies. >> jon: nice. make them count it. you have moderated how many presidential debates? >> 11. >> jon: incredible. will you... have you seen it since when you started what has been the greatest change that you have seen in the evolution of these presidential debates? >> well, there's some format changes. when they first started you'd have a moderator and you'd have three journalist panels and now it's down... we've gone through several transformations. now we're down to basically a sole moderator format. one person with all the dine mate in one person's hands. >> jon: right. and now they do these youtube debates. pr

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. >> the economy is tough right now, everywhere. >> we pumped $21 million into local economies, into small businesses, communities, equipment, materials. >> that money could make a big difference to a lot of people. >> 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. >> brown: efforts to contain the debt crisis in europe took a major step forward today. the german government won a critical vote on expanding a continental bailout fund with greatly increased german financial support. it could ease the way to a partial default in greece. we begin our coverage with

the quilt will be featured in the newshour's special coverage of the 9/11 anniversary to be broadcast that night on most pbstations. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, newshour science correspondent miles o'brien looks at the design and building of skyscrapers in this post-9/11 world. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. 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: chevron. we may have more in common than you think. and by bnsf railway. 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. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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. >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf. 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 u.s. postmaster general, patrick donahoe, warned today that his agency is now on the "brink of default." it was the latest in a series

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. the engine that connects us. >> well, the best companies are driven by new ideas. >> our future depends on new ideas. we spend billions on advanced technologies. >> it's all about investing in the future. >> we can find new energy-- more, cleaner, safer and smarter. >> collaborating with the best in the field. >> chevron works with the smartest people at leading universities and tech companies. >> and yet, it's really basic. >> it's paying off every day. 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 u.s. war on al qaeda claimed another high- profile kill today-- this time, in yemen. the target was an american imam who preached at mosques in

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron.ave more in common than you think. and by bnsf railway. 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. >> safaris--for centuries, the epitome of adventure travel. once, they were about hunting; now they're about journeying in search of nature's greatest wonders. we've gathered together the most spectacular

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron.ave more in common than you think. and by bnsf railway. 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.

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i mean, where would we be without small businesses? >> we need small businesses. >> they're the ones that help drive growth. >> like electricians, mechanics, carpenters. >> they strengthen our communities. >> every year, chevron spends billions with small businesses. that goes right to the heart of local communities, providing jobs, keeping people at work. they depend on us. >> the economy depends on them. >> and we depend on them. ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. 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: president obama and his party faced the fallout today from losing a u.s. house seat they had long held. at the same time, new poll numbers showed growing unh

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron. we may have more in common than you think. bnsf. 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. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> this is "bbc world news america." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. ♪ ♪

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron. common than you think. and by bnsf railway. 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. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org who made an unexpected arrival. [ woman ] he was 4 months early, weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces. [ female announcer ] fortunately, sam was born at sutter health's alta bates summit medical center. [ woman ] the staff was remarkable. they made me feel safe, trusting, cared for. [ giggles ] they saved his life. i owe all of them my son. [ female announcer ] alta bates summit medical center and sutter health -- our story is you. >> this is "bbc world news >> this is "bbc worl

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i mean, where would we be without small businesses? >> we need small businesses. >> they're the ones that help drive growth. >> like electricians, mechanics, carpenters. >> they strengthen our communities. >> every year, chevron spends billions with small businesses. that goes right to the heart of local communities, providing jobs, keeping people at work. they depend on us. >> the economy depends on them. >> and we depend on them. 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 sought today to head off the palestinians' bid for recognition as a state by the united nations. he spoke to the u.n. general assembly for the third time since taking office. the president had made clear he would make middle east peace the focus of today's address. he set the stage by recounting what he called "a remarkable year," that saw the killing of osama bin laden, as well as arab spring uprisings that have brought down decades-

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron. we may have more in common than you think. and by bnsf railway. 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. >>

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years.f, the engine that connects us. we spend billions on advanced technologies. >> it's all about investing in the future. >> we can find new energy-- more cleaner, safer and smarter. >> collaborating with the best in the field. >> chevron works with the smartest people at leading universities and tech companies. >> and yet, it's really basic. >> it's paying off everyday. 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. >> suarez: the palestinians took their campaign for statehood to the u.n. today defying u.s. warnings. the israelis made their case as well, insisting any such move will only make an ultimate peace harder to come by. hours before their leaders spoke at the u.n., palestinian stone- throwers clashed with israeli troops in the west bank town of nabi saleh. and one man was killed in the town of qusra. but

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years.f, the engine that connects us. >> auto 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. >> the economy is tough right now, everywhere. >> we pumped $21 million into local economies, into small businesses, communities, equipment, materials. >> that money could make a big difference to a lot of people. 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 >> woodruff: investors worldwide had a rough ride today. sell-offs hit all the major markets amid downbeat reports from asia, europe and the u.s. federal reserve. at one point, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average was down well over 500 points. it finished with a loss of just under 400. traders at stock exchanges around the wo

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and the william and flora hewlett foundationrking 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 u forget it. yourself, so don't fall. u forget it. now he tells us. how far am i off the floor? about twelve inches. twelve whole inches?