major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> growing up in arctic norway, everybody took fish oil to stay healthy. when i moved to the united states almost 30 years ago, i could not find an omega-3 fish oil that worked for me. i became inspired to bring a new definition of fish oil quality to the world. today, nordic naturals is working to fulfill our mission of bringing omega-3s to everyone, because we believe omega-3s are essential to life.

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided 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. >> ifill: this was a day of medals and milestones for u.s. athletes at the london olympics. we take a look now at some of what went on, including marquee results from the competition. spoiler alert: if you don't want to know the results just yet, you might want to tune out for a moment. gray skies and puddles didn't keep the crowds away from day four of competition at london's olympic park. after some early disappoint, today proved to be with a good one for u.s. fans. the women's gymnastics team won its first team gold since 1996 and beating the russians handily. and with two trips to the medal podium today, american swimmer mike phelps b

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: bnsf carnegie corp 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 "great recession" officially ended three years ago, but the latest look at the u.s. economy today suggests a full recovery is still a long way off. the struggle was highlighted in a report from the commerce department. consumer spending powers the u.s. economy, but americans weren't hitting the stores this spring, and when they did, they weren't spending nearly as much. as a result, economic output, measured as the gross domestic product, rose at an annual rate of just 1.5% from april through june. the commerce department did raise its estimate of first quarter growth to 2%. still, that's not considered sufficient to encourage hiring and bring down unemployment. at the white house, spokesman jay carney pointed to 12 straight quarters of growth, but acknowledged it's not en

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. 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: five days after a storm that cut a path from the midwest to the mid-atlantic, many americans were still in the dark, sweating out this fourth of july. the death toll from those storms has now reached 26. in the west, scores of wildfires continued to rage, but that didn't stop the cookouts and the parades. temperatures approaching 100 degrees didn't stop hundreds from lining the streets in washington today for a neighborhood fourth of july parade and picnic. but even as americans from coast to coast celebrated the nation's independence, many longed for a different kind of dependence on electricity. >> everybody on the block has power but our house and the house across the street. neighbor next door lets me plug into her

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. 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 vo:geico, committed to providing service to its auto insurance customers for over 70 years. more information on auto insurance at geico.com or 1-800-947-auto any time of the day or night.

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am katty kay. our correspondent is in aleppo, witness to a ferocious battle. >> we know there are

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributns to your pbs station om vwersike you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: bnsf carnegie corporation 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: a fresh atrocity in syria stirred new condemnation today, and new despair over how to stop the killing. the opposition claimed the military and alawite militias loyal to president assad had slaughtered sunnis. accounts of how many died ranged from 70 to more than 200. we begin with a report from jonathan rugman of independent television news. a warning-- some of the images may be disturbing. >> reporter: "these are burned bodies," says a voice in a mosque which is clearly now a mortuary, and it's full of relatives from the village of taramseh, grieving from their dead. in these pictures, we counted 31 bodies laid out for burial. "it's just the first group," the cameraman says. tonight, the u.n. is confirming w

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. 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: >> bnsf railway. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and byontributio to ur p atiofrom 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: >> bnsf railway. 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 n.b.r. >> susie: good evening. i'm susie gharib. will the world's economic powers take action to boost the global economy? investors are waiting on key meetings at the federal reserve and european central bank. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. this week we're looking at regional banks. why smaller bank stocks are out- perfoming their bigger competitors. >> susie: and what's it going to take to make a new generation of innovators? we visit a camp teaching teenage girls about engineering. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r.!" >> tom: there are high expectations this week economic leaders in the u.s. and europe will take action to help their struggling ec

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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: syrian battle groups bore down on the country's commercial capital today. they targeted rebels in aleppo, where some three million people were already under air and artillery attack. we begin with alex thomson of "independent television news" reporting from damascus. >> reporter: damascus one week into the battle for city and video broadcast by syrian state television shows sustained fire fights yesterday in the city's outskirts. but its aleppo-- syria's biggest city-- where the latest major assault is likely. hounded again by the regime's forces from both the north and the south, helicopters move overhead as troops on the ground prepare for a

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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: tax politics returned to center stage in washington today, as president obama called for extending middle class tax cuts and mitt romney said the white house plan doesn't go nearly far enough. ( applause ) the white house east room was the backdrop for a presidential pivot today: moving away from talk of job loss to promises of tax cuts. >> the republicans say they don't want to raise taxes on the middle class. i don't want to raise taxes on the middle class. so we should all agree to extend the tax cuts for the middle class. let's agree to do what we agree on, right? ( applause ) that's what compromise is all about. let's not hold the vast majority of americans and our entire economy hostage while we debate the merits of another tax cut for the wealthy. >> ifill: the president is reviving his proposal t

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 yo >> woodruff: the past 12 months are the warmest ever recorded in the united states since record keeping began in 1895. that word comes as a new report from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration today says climate change, including human factors, has increased the odds of extreme weather. ( sirens ) the severe storms that finally broke the deadly heat wave in the united states blew in with their own set of dangers this week. in greensboro, north carolina, residents are struggling to recover from flooding and power outages brought on by slow moving storms yesterday. in fredericksbu

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> 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. >> brown: power grids in the eastern u.s. struggled to rebuild today, even as new storms did new damage overnight. the death toll reached 22 killed in six states since friday, and for many thousands of others, there was only stifling heat and no air conditioning. for a third day, utility crews logged long hours to restore power to some two million customers. for a third day many endured long hours of misery after losing power in violent storms that struck friday. it started around west chicago, illinois, with straight line winds reaching 90 miles an hour. from there, the storms blasted across indiana and o

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >. bnsf railway. >> and by the bill and melinda >> 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, shell, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for yo

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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: a major look at the f.b.i.'s handling of forensic evidence is underway. yesterday, the justice department announced it will conduct a review of thousands of criminal cases, dating back to 1985, where hair and fiber analysis led to convictions. e examinations were deiled in a front page article in today's "washington post." included were the stories of two men wrongfully convicted on flawed hair analysis. they've since been exonerated by d.n.a. testing-- one just yesterday. the justice department review comes after the "washington post" identified those two men, and others as part of a report on forensic errors by f.b.i. labs. national reporter spencer hsu wrote today's piece. he joins us now from the "washington post" newsroom. spencer, welcome. so this investigation of forensics mainly was triggered by

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: bnsf railway. 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: 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: syrian rebels dealt a stunning blow to the assad government today-- a bombing that wiped out part of the country's power elite. the attack in damascus raised new fears in washington and other capitals. the bomb exploded in a meeting of syrian cabinet and top security officers-- the most serious assault yet on the core of the regime. among the dead, the defense minister, dawoud rahja and president bashar al-assad's brother-in-law, asef shawkat, who was the widely-feared deputy defense minister. one other senior official was killed, too. state television confirmed the killings and blamed unspecified terrorists. >> ( translated ): the two field marshals today, the defense minister and deputy defense minister, are not the first of our martyrs, although we hope that they are the last martyrs. >> woodruff:

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: bnsf railway. 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 vo:geico, committed to providing service to its auto insurance customers for over 70 years. more information on auto insurance at geico.com or 1-800-947-auto any time of the day or night.

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 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. >> brown: penn state got the full story today on a football coach's sexual abuse of boys and the subsequent actions by officials and it was a damning one. the review ran 267 pages and followed an eight-month investigation. ray suarez begins our coverage. >> our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at penn state. >> suarez: former f.b.i. director louis freeh minced no words today. he charged there was a conspiracy of silence among top leaders at penn state about claims that jerry sa

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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: a major look at the f.b.i.'s handling of forensic evidence is underway. yesterday, the justice department announced it will conduct a review of thousands of criminal cases, dating back to 1985, where hair and fiber analysis led to convictions. the examinations were detailed in a front page article in today's "washington post." included were the stories of two men wrongfully convicted on flawed hair analysis. they've since been exonerated by d.n.a. testing-- one just yesterday. the justice department review comes after the "washington post" identified those two men, and others as part of a report on forensic errors by f.b.i. labs. national reporter spencer hsu wrote today's piece. he joins us now from the "washington post" newsroom. spencer, welcome. so this investigation of forensics mainly was trigge

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >. bnsf railway. >> and by the bill and melinda >> 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: 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. >> brown: recriminations flew at the united nations today after a new push to punish syria came to naught again. as diplomacy failed, a syrian human rights group reported more than 250 people died in fighting across the country and damascus itself slid closer to chaos. >> the security council has failed utterly in its most important task on its agenda this year. >> brown: the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. susan rice minced no words after russia and china once again vetoed a resolution that threatened sanctions on syria. >> one can only hope that one day before too many thousands more die, that russia and china will stop protecting assad and allow this council to play its proper role at

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. >> suarez: for the third straight month, job growth fell short of expectations, calling into question what can be done to jumpstart the economy. the weak numbers were yet another sign the recovery may be stalling. employers added just 80,000 jobs in june, below the 90,000 to 100,000 economists had predicted. that leaves the three-month average at just 75,000 jobs per month, a third the pace of this year's first quarter. the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.2%. this morning, mitt romney took a break from his vacation in wolfeboro, new hampshire, to say president obama has had his

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided 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. >> brown: the troubles with the u.s. economy-- and the possible fallout-- were on full display today. a task force report told of states facing ever-deeper budget holes. but the chairman of the federal reserve withheld any promise of immediate help. ben bernanke came before the senate banking committee acknowledging that the economy has suffered a series of setbacks. a slump in hiring and job growth, a slow down in manufacturing activity can reduce spending by consumers. while fighting the trend, the fed chair would not commit on if or when the central bank might act again to boost growth. >> we're looking very car

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. >> woodruff: the past 12 months are the warmest ever recorded in the united states since record keeping began in 1895. that word comes as a new report from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration today says climate change, including human factors, has increased the odds of extreme weather. ( sirens ) the severe storms that finally broke the deadly heat wave in the united states blew in with their own set of dangers this week. in greensboro, north carolina, residents are struggling to recover from flooding and power outages brought on by slow moving storms yesterday. in fredericks

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: 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 battle for syria raged today in the country's political and commercial capitals. government tanks and planes blasted whole neighborhoods, trying to rout rebel fighters. and there were ominous signs that al-qaeda is entering the fight. we begin with a report from alex thomson of "independent television news" in damascus. >> just when people in the capital thought the battle was over, cardam, in the southern suburbs today, and for much of the daylight hours, tank shells, machine guns, automatic rounds reverberate around this district. people flee the fighting any way they can. the atmosphere is tense, people are stressed out, even explaining to journalists what's happening openly is far too risky. "my family is still inside there in danger. it's the army. they're shelling our houses. lots of people

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> growing up in arctic norway, everybody took fish oil to stay healthy. when i moved to the united states almost 30 years ago, i could not find an omega-3 fish oil that worked for me. i became inspired to bring a new definition of fish oil quality to the world. today, nordic naturals is working to fulfill our mission of bringing omega-3s to everyone, because we believe omega-3s are essential to 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 head of the international monetary fund issued a warning to u.s. policymakers today. in an interview with the newshour," christine lagarde said washington must find a way to avoid overreacting to debt and fiscal deadlines at the end of the year. t

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> growing up in arctic norway, everybody took fish oil to stay healthy. when i moved to the united states almost 30 years ago, i could not find an omega-3 fish oil that worked for me. i became inspired to bring a new definition of fish oil quality to the world. today, nordic naturals is working to fulfill our mission of bringing omega-3s to everyone, because we believe omega-3s are essential to life. 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. >> woodruff: the debate over whether the health care mandate is a tax remained front and center in the campaign today, even as the president shifted his attention to economic issues at the start of a midwest bus tour. president obama was back on the stump today in ohio, touting his own ec

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. >> suarez: for the third straight month, job growth fell short of expectations, calling into question what can be done to jumpstart the economy. the weak numbers were yet another sign the recovery may be stalling. employers added just 80,000 jobs in june, below the 90,000 to 100,000 economists had predicted. that leaves the three-month average at just 75,000 jobs per month, a third the pace of this year's first quarter. the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.2%. this morning, mitt romney took a break from his vacation in wolfeboro, new hampshire, tototo president obama has had his