ray suarez has the story. >> suarez: the president appeared outside philadelphia today, commencing afull-bore effort this week to win final passage of health care reform. >> we can't have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the american people. >> suarez: mr. obama defended his proposal as a way to rein in unfair practices by the insurance industry. at the same time, he charged republicans did nothing when they were in power. and he said their ideas would only make things worse. >> this is what we heard at the health care summit. they said you know what? if we had fewer regulations on the insurance companies ... (audience booing) ... whether it's consumer protections or basic standards on what kind of insurance they sell, somehow market forces will makes things better. well, we tried that. i'm concerned that would only give insurance companies more leeway to raise premiums and deny care. >> suarez: the president cited a recent report by goldman sachs that insurance abuses stem from a lack of competition. health and human services secretary kathleen

ray suarez has the story. >> we must make sacrifices. >> suarez: in a five-to-four vote last night, theansas city, missouri school board decided to close 29 of the district's 61 schools to stave off bankruptcy. the system will also lay off 700 employees, including about 285 teachers. emotions flared in the crowd of more than 200 people. some pleaded to keep schools open, and others said the closings were overdue. >> buildings don't count, children do. >> choosing not to choose is no longer an option and this district for too long has chosen not to choose. >> suarez: councilwoman sharon sanders brooks, felt her inner city district was unfairly targeted. >> this intentional continuation of the blighting of the urban core is scandalous and shameful. ( applause ) >> reporter: early today, at a news conference school superintendent john covington acknowledged it was painful, but he said it had to be done. >> it has been a difficult and closing schools and making the remaining schools much stronger academically is unquestionably the right thing to do. we were operating far too many schools. >

ray suarez begins our coverage. >> suarez: democrats descended on the white house this morning to watch history made. ( cheers and applause ) jubilant cheers greeted president obama as he entered the east room, and after nearly every sentence he spoke. he said the bill signing marked "a new season for america." >> today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the united states of america. ( applause ) today. >> suarez: the president also acknowledged the labors of decades, and especially this past year, to arrive at this day. >> it's been easy at times to succumb to the sense of cynicism about what's possible in this country. but today, we are affirming that essential truth, a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself-- that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations, we are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. ( applause ) >> suarez: with that, mr. obama signed the most extensive change in domestic policy since the 1960s. it's desig

and there's a reporter's notebook from ray suarez on his recent reporting trip to peru. ray looks at the peruvian economy and how it has changed in the last two decades all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. gwen. >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. 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: >> 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. chevron. bank of america intel, sponsors of tomorrow. bnsf railway. 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.

ray suarez has that. >> suarez: they came from across the nation, from arizona, illinois, new york, and pennsylvania, to implore the president and congress to reform the country's immigration law. >> it needs to be done now. today. not tomorrow. not the next year. it must be taken care of today. >> suarez: tens of thousands of frustrated immigrants and activists turned out. while congress focused on passing a health care reform act. the bulk of the protesters were hispanic. but they were joined by immigrants from the caribbean, africa and asia. with chance of president obama's campaign slogan, yes, we can in spanish and english, they demanded the president's focus now shift to immigration. >> he broke his promise. i know he's got got a lot and he's trying to fight for health reform but immigration reform was on his agenda too. >> suarez: that reform has been bitterly fought out in congress. the most recent attempt supported by former president george w. bush was defeated in 2007 after opponents said the amnesty programs rewarded illegal immigrants. president obama benefited from a huge

ray suarez has our report. >> suarez: it's been a week when democrats seemed bedeviled in their efforts to advance their agenda. topping that agenda-- president obama's drive to put health care firmly back on the to-do list. >> i believe the united states congress owes the american people a final vote on health care reform. >> suarez: but democratic leaders find themselves confronting an issue they thought they had put to rest, abortion. house speaker nancy pelosi insisted yesterday the bill passed by the senate and heading for the house would not let taxpayer dollars pay for abortions. >> there is no federally-funded abortion. that is the law of the land. it is not changed in this bill. there is no change in the access to abortion, no more or no less. it is abortion-neutral in terms of access or diminution of access. >> suarez: michigan congressman bart stupak said pelosi is simply wrong, and he warned he and 11 others will vote no. >> we will not compromise that principle, a number of us who will not vote on that. just asking for current law. >> suarez: the democrats' health care mess

ray suarez has our report. >> suarez: the day began with palestinians confronting israeli police in jerusalem. trouble erupted despite a 48- hour israeli lockdown of the west bank, and barricades and checkpoints to restrict access to jerusalem's old city, site of revered shrines for three religions. the protesters were enraged by this week's announcements that israel would expand settlements on bitterly-disputed land in east jerusalem, and on the west bank. the u.s. also confronted the israelis today. >> the united states considered the announcement a deeply negative signal about israel's approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the vice-president's trip. >> suarez: state department spokesman p.j. crowley said secretary of state hillary clinton complained directly to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in a telephone call. the source of clinton's complaint came tuesday as vice- president biden was visiting jerusalem, and shortly after he had reaffirmed u.s.-israel solidarity. >> progress occurs in the middle east when everyone knows there is simply no space be

ray suarez reports on efforts to tackle one of the world's biggest health problems. >> peru had a very high death rate for women in childbirth, especially here in the rural areas, but new strategies for the end of pregnancy are pushing those rates dramatically lower. >> brown: and, with the census deadline looming, we'll talk to director robert groves about the challenges of the once-a-decade count. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "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 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. monsanto. producing more. conserving more. improving farmers' lives. that's sustainable agriculture. more at producemoreconservemore.com. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people des

. >> ifill: ray suarez looks at the challenges facing haiti's government, as its president visits washington. >> lehrer: jeffrey brown reports on climate science under fire. >> ifill: and kwame holman reports on the hundreds of world war two pots-- all of them women-- honored at the capitol today. >> we were never in there for the glory. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: y >> 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. monsanto. producing more. conserving more. improving farmers' lives. that's sustainable agriculture. more at producemoreconservemore.com. >> 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

ray suarez spoke to her earlier today from the southern city of aden. >> suarez: parg receipt, well come. let's begin with the efforts of the government in yemen. have they been stepping up their attacks on al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. >> warner: they have very much, ray. in the last few months they've launched both raids on suspected hideouts as well as air strikes. one here on sunday was very well placed. they hit two men on a motorcycle in the province not far from here in aiden and killed both of them. there was another strike on monday. so clearly they are stepping up the level of attacks. and they say it's going to continue. >> suarez: does the yemeni government see al qaeda's presence in yemin as the kind of threat the united states does? >> yes, they do, ray. though they have competing sets of threats because as you know they have they had a rebellion in the north. currently there is a cease-fire and a secretary sessionist movement in the south. the central government, is also concerned with the threats that the president believes pose to his stability. but ever since there

ray suarez has our story. >> reporter: the white house was the critical stop on president rene preval'swashington tour, and he won a renewed commitment from president obama. >> as you declared during last month's national day of mourning, it is time to wipe away the tears. it is time for haiti to rebuild. and to you and to the haitian people, i say today, as you embark on the heavy work ahead, you will continue to have a steady and reliable partner in the united states of america. >> reporter: like much of the haitian capital, preval's own white house lies in ruins. crushed by the january 12th quake that killed an estimated 230,000 and left more than 1.2 million homeless. mr. obama lent some perspective: >> it's as if the united states, in a terrible incident, lost nearly eight million people, or it's as if one-third of our country-- 100 million americans -- suddenly had no home, no food or water. >> reporter: preval thanked americans for their public and private efforts and asked for continued assistance. >> ( translated ): we must deal with the need of rebuilding haiti, thanks to an e

ray suarez begins our coverage. >> reporter: it was clear on the senate floor-- republicans are not giving way on health care reform, yet. senator judd gregg of new hampshire warned against cutting medicare to pay for covering the un-insured. >> the claim is well, "we don't affect senior benefits." well, that's nice but that's like telling somebody you can have a car but no engine in it. i mean, the simple fact is, when you cut the providers of the seniors by as much as this bill cuts them clearly going to be harder for senior citizen to see a provider. >> reporter: arizona's john mccain insisted the projected medicare savings are a sham anyway. >> no one, no one, no one believes that the so-called doc fix that there will be a 21% cut in doctors' payment, physicians' payment for treatment of medicare patients is going to happen. this is a... you can put lipstick on a pig, mr. president, but this is still a pig. >> reporter: the fixes before the senate included: expanded medicaid funding for the states; higher taxes on upper-income americans; and improved drug coverage under medicare. democ

ray suarez begins our coverage. >> reporter: people were already lining up to vote early today when the first attack came. a rocket killed seven people about 500 yards from a not-yet- opened polling station. two suicide bombings followed, despite heavy security. one attacker detonated his explosive vest near soldiers lining up to vote, while another went after police. they joined hospital patients, medical workers and others among the hundreds of thousands of iraqis casting early ballots. >> we come here today to perform parliamentary elections for 2010. we hope that the next government pays heed to security. >> reporter: the goal of early voting was to make sure security forces and hospitals are fully staffed for sunday. millions of iraqis are expected to vote then with insurgents expected to carry out more attacks. overall, in the last two years, violence has dropped sharply in iraq, but there's been a series of bombings in the run-up to the voting. just yesterday, a string of suicide blasts in baqouba killed 32 iraqis. >> ( translated ): we condemn this cowardly and terrorist act. th

ray suarez has our report on the end game and the continuing aftermaths. >> reporter: after working late into the night, the senate was back this morning, to take up dozens more republican amendments. those ranged from protecting doctors doing pro bono work from lawsuits... >> we talk about making health care more affordable. well, one of the ways to do that is to encourage people to give away healthcare. >> reporter: ...to allowing americans to purchase insurance across state lines. >> the laws of land have created state by state monopolies that have not been responsive to american people and have run up costs. >> reporter: all those amendments all failed with the democratic majority. >> on this vote, there are 56 yeas 43 nays. >> reporter: the final vote on healthcare-- along party lines-- came early in the afternoon. >> on this vote, there are 56 yeas 43 nays. the bill as amended is passed. >> reporter: senate majority leader reid heralded the passage moments after. >> it's a healthcare bill, but it was also a jobs bill, an anti discrimination bill, an economic recovery bill and now i

and another preview of ray suarez's upcoming reports from peru. today's dispatch: peru's booming economy, its natural resources and trade partnerships. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. jeff? >> brown: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. 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 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. 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 w