. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the newshour tonight, we have on-the-ground reports from libya's capitol, tripoli, and the rebel stronghold of benghazi, and a news maker interview with u.s. ambassador to the u.n., susan rice. >> brown: then, we get the latest on the radiation containment efforts in japan as the government there raises the alert level. >> suarez: plus jeffrey kaye, in beijing, has chinese reaction to the japanese nuclear crisis. >> the nation is in the process of building 37 new nuclear pourpts, and is now reexamining safety. >> brown: mark shields and david brooks provide their weekly analysis. >> suarez: and fred de sam lazaro gets a rare look inside syria, where the government is just beginning to be challenged by protesters. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. 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 alternat

award-winning journalist and author ray suarez. i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. >> so, ray, you're the senior correspondent at the news hour. everybody also knows you from talk of the nation on npr. but i want to ask you this-- when i was growing up in chicago, i remember seeing john quiñones on television. i remember seeing geraldo on television, doing reporting. and i thought maybe i could. but who did you see? when was the spark? >> well, growing up at the... around the same time in new york, when i turned on channel 2, i could see j.j. gonzales, aida alvarez who worked for channel 4 in new york. she's from my father's... >> she was on television there? >> yeah, from my father's hometown. so there were a few. i mean, this is a metropolitan area with two million latinos. and there were very few models of that kind. david diaz... >> so these guys were around when you were growing up in new york city? >> late '60s, early '70s, yeah. >> and did you actually say, "okay, there's someone out there who's latino who's on television, and so therefore,

. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the newshour tonight, we have on the ground reports from several towns on japan's northeastern coast, where the search for survivors continues. >> ifill: we update the international rescue effort aimed at getting food, shelter, and medical help to victims. >> suarez: and we talk to newshour science correspondent miles o'brien and radiation expert david brenner about the state of japan's nuclear reactors. >> ifill: plus, margaret warner examines saudi arabia's military move into neighboring bahrain after a weekend of protests. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: breathe in. breathe out. as volatile as the markets have been lately, having the security of a strong financial partner certainly lets you breathe easier. for more than 140 years, pacific life has helped millions of americans build a secure financial future. wouldn't it be nice to take a deep breath and relax? your financial professional can tell you abou

supreme court weighs in on public funding for state political campaigns, and to ray suarez. >> suarez: justices waded back in to the hot-button topic of campaign finance today, for the first time since last year's controversial ruling to allow corporations and unions to spend freely on national campaigns. at issue today is the constitutionality of an arizona law and its formula for providing public financing to political candidates. marcia coyle of the "national law journal" walks us through today's arguments. marcia, it's actually two joined cases. how did arizona free enterprise club versus bennett and... make it to the high court. >> it involves arizona's public financing law. under that law if a candidate qualifies and wants to participate, the candidate receives a lump sum grant at the beginning of the primary or general election. if during the campaign that grant is exceeded by a non-participating opponent's contributions and independent spending by organizations or groups supporting that non-participating opponent, then it triggers matching funds. the matching funds though are

. >> ifill: in his second story from guatemala, ray suarez looks at the roadblocks to family planning in a religious and traditional society. >> suarez: this country has the highest fertility rate in latin america. it's a distinction it would like to shed. we'll take a look at how. >> brown: judy woodruff examines what a cap on debit card fees would mean for consumers, banks, and retailers. >> ifill: and david brooks explores our inner lives in his new book, "the social animal." >> we're really good at talking about material things. really bad at talking about emotions, really good at stuff we can count. really bad at the deeper stuff that actually drives behavior. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep people healthy, and improve schools. >> and our communities. >> in angola chevron helps train engineers, teachers and farmers, launch child's programs. it's not just good bu

. >> brown: then, ray suarez has an update on libya, as the u.n. moves to a vote on establishing a no-fly zone over the country. >> woodruff: margaret warner talks to irish prime minister enda kenny about the celtic tiger's struggle to kick-start it's economy. >> brown: and tom bearden reports on a project to use private satellites to help stop genocide. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> you can't manufacture pride, but pride builds great cars. and you'll find it in the people at toyota, all across america. >> 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 by bnsf railway. pacific life. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedica

. >> ifill: and ray suarez examines the economic impact of the disaster, as stock markets plunge in japan and around the world. >> brown: plus, paul solman tells the tale of two ohio counties-- once very similar economically, now far apart. >> you could go to a lot of placess around the country and they're living in one high- income reality and a couple counties away it's a whole different world. >> brown: that's all ahead. on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep people healthy and improve schools. >> ...and our communities. >> in angola chevron helps train engineers, teachers and farmers; launch child's programs. it's not just good business. >> i'm hopeful about my country's future. >> it's my country's future. >> you can't manufacture pride, but pride builds great cars. and you'll find in the people at toyota, all across america. pacific life. and by bnsf railway. and the william and flora hewlett found

ray suarez has the story. >> suarez: the economy itself is continuing to show signs of a strengthening recovery with stronger consumer spending and a pickup in hiring. but new data released today shows a weak housing market. the s&p/case-shiller home price index of 20 leading cities found that prices fell in january for the sixth month in a row. the index is down nearly a third from its peak in 2006, before the housing bubble burst. and it's just 1% above its low in 2009. some explanation of all this now from robert shiller, of the aforementioned case shiller index. he's a professor of economics at yale university. professor, after all it is your index. when you look at the 20 city moving average, what does it tell you? >> well, we've been through the biggest housing bubble in u.s. history. at least since 1890. i'm pretty sure of all time. we became very speculative. you know, the real roots of this financial crisis seem to me to lie in complacency and excitement that led to a bubble. and it inevitably unwound. we're in the aftermath of that now. >> suarez: for a few months there were

thanks again. >> you're welcome. >> ifill: >> ifill: and ray suarez has the story in yemen. >> suarez: the nation at the tip of the arabian peninsula has become a haven for al qaeda but also a quiet u.s. ally in the fight against terrorism. now, its ruler of more than 30 years is under pressure from demonstrators, his generals, and diplomats to step aside. for more, we turn to christopher boucek, an associate in the middle east program of the carnegie endowment for international peace, and a frequent visitor to yemen. do these defections, regular resignation represent a real turning point in the strugate of the opposition against the president of yemen. >> a week ago i would have said no but i think there's a cumulative effect. what we're seeing today with the large number of foreign ambassadors that have resigned there's a cumulative effect. it shows decreasing support for the president and the regime. >> suarez: at the same time as major general resigned and took his armored division to key sights in the capital, other high-ranking generals declared their allegiance to the president

. >> ifill: and ray suarez examines what a merger between at&t and t-mobile would mean for consumers and the wireless industry. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep people healthy and improve schools. >> and our communities. >> in angola chevron helps train engineers, teachers and farmers, launch child's programs. it's not just good business. >> i'm hopeful about my country's future. >> it's my country's future. >> you can't manufacture pride, but pride builds great cars. and you'll find it in the people at toyota, all across america. pacific life. and by 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... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station

. >> lehrer: and ray suarez looks at new census numbers showing one in six americans is hispanic. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> you can't manufacture pride, but pride builds great cars. and you'll find in the people at toyota, all across america. >> 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 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 internatio

. >> ifill: ray suarez reports on how the north african nation of morocco is working to avoid becoming the next target of regional unrest. >> reporter: in washington, morocco's foreign minister gave us an overview of king mohammed's planned reforms for a country facing some of the same discontents as its neighbors. >> you know what i feel like? i feel all the time like a cat on a hot tin roof! >> lehrer: and jeffrey brown remembers legendary film star elizabeth taylor who died today at age 79. that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> 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 air campaign across libya zeroed in today on groun