captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown virginia tech officials said two people were shot and killed and the campus locked down today. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we get the latest on this fatal shooting at the same university where 33 people died in 2007 in the deadliest mass shooting in the united states in modern times. >> brown then, we look at president obama as he swings into full 2012 campaign mode this week. >> woodruff: we have reports from our pbs colleagues in san diego, oklahoma city and boise on the on-going face-offs between occupy protestors and

city officials. >> we're not going down with riot gear and batons and pepper spray. we're simply going to ask them to leave the park. >> brown we look at a high-level spat between the u.s. and russia, as prime minister putin accused secretary of state clinton of encouraging russian protestors demonstrating against election fraud. >> woodruff: and we get an update on a "washington post" report that over 200 incinerated remains of american troops were dumped in a virginia landfill >> brown that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> intelligent computing >> computing surrounds us. sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it's very surprising where you find it. soon, computing intelligence in unexpected places will change our lives in truly profound ways. technology can provide customized experiences, tailored to individual consumer

preferences, igniting a world of possibilities from the inside out. sponsoring tomorrow, starts today. >> 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 a shooting today on the campus of virginia tech university left two people dead and roused fears and memories of the tragedy that occurred there four years ago. officials reported that shortly

after noon today, a virginia tech police officer was shot and killed during a traffic stop. >> i could see face and covered in blood, crying they immediately started to revive him and two cops took off. >> brown the shooter then ran toward a parking lot where a second unidentified person was later found dead. a spokesman from the university spoke about the lock down in place earlier today. >> we're asking the campus community to shelter in place, to stay indoors. to secure themselves. we're asking for no visitors, for no one to come onto campus. >> reporter: a procession of police squad cars and swat team vehicles poured in this afternoon-- a scene this campus in blacksburg, virginia has seen before. just a short while ago, university officials held another press conference to announce they are satisfied that the campus is now secure. >> we have lifted the alert and

stand down, relieve campus activity. >> brown the university's president, charles steger spoke about the tragedy. >> tragedy struck again in wanton act of violence in routine traffic stop. our hearts are broken again. >> reporter: law enforcement officials would not talk about what kind of weapon was used or whether the second person found dead could be the shooter. >> i can't comment that. >> brown in 2007, virginia tech was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in modern u.s. history, when 33 people were killed. campus officials were criticized at the time for not locking down the campus and sending out emergency notifications quickly enough. just yesterday, in fact, parents

of victims in the 2007 shooting told an administrative law judge that they believe their children might have been saved if earlier warnings had been made. they spoke at a hearing on the university's appeal of a $55,000 fine levied by the u.s. department of education after the shootings. today, officials said the new alert system was in fact used successfully today. >> we continued to use v.t. alerts-- six times-- which as you know is a multifaceted, multi communications system. >> brown the law enforcement officials said it will continue speculate about any motive about today's shooting. >> woodruff: still to come on the "newshour": president obama's swing into campaign mode; occupy movements in san diego, oklahoma city and boise; the russian protests against election fraud and the mishandling of over 200 incinerated remains of american troops.

but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: leaders from across europe gathered in brussels today for a two-day summit to plan how to save the euro from collapse. before they arrived, the german and french leaders went to marseille, france to press fellow european conservatives to agree to closer economic and political ties. we have a report from gary gibbon of "independent television news" reporting from brussels. >> reporter: another e.u. summit starts with apocalyptic language and market tremors-- "they can't go on like this." that's the message of the eurozone leaders all 17 signed up in principle to imposing tighter rules on themselves so they don't run up chronic debts. david cameron arrives under pressure from his own backbenchers to claw back something big in return for letting the eurozone countires draw closer. >> we need to get that stability in the eurozone that is good for european country, good for britain as well, but also we need to protect britain's interests.

>> he maent in marseille, president sarkozy warned that europe desperately needed success at this summit. >> europe is face >> ( translated ): europe is faced with an extremely dangerous situation. if we want to find an agreement, and this is an absolute need, then we must come up with a relevant diagnosis. >> reporter: he said the euro needed new rules and if europe couldn't agree on that, it might never agree on anything. chancellor merkel issued what sounded like a pretty direct appeal to david cameron not to wield his veto as the eurzone countries tried to tighten the rules governing their economies and draw closer together. >> ( translated ): but i also ask for understanding from those who do not have euro, or who do not yet have the euro. we who have the common the currency need to send a signal that we are well equipped and are willing to work together, more so than we might have done in the past. >> reporter: david cameron believes staying outside the euro keeps britain economically

flexible and relatively safe. many gathering here think that this summit could ultimately prove to be a turning point, the eurozone crisis the moment when full european integration was embraced. >> sreenivasan: the european uncertainty sent stocks on wall street sliding. in the final minutes of trading, word came from the e.u. summit that germany had rejected some draft measures. and earlier, the european central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the second month in a row. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 198 points to close above 11,997. the nasdaq fell more than 52 points to close at 2,596. former u.s. senator jon corzine testified before his old congressional colleagues today over the role he played in the downfall of the securities firm m.f. global. corzine was c.e.o. of the now bankrupt company that had more than a billion dollars of clients' money go missing. his appearance before the house agriculture committee was the

first time he's spoken publicly since the firm went bankrupt. >> i simply do not know where the money is or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date. i apologize both personally and on behalf of the company to our customers, our employees, and our investors. i truly know they are bearing the brunt of the impact of our firm's bankruptcy. >> sreenivasan: corzine said he felt obligated to testify as a former member of congress, even though he could have invoked his right to silence. this was the first time in over 100 years congress has subpoenaed a former u.s. senator. senate republicans blocked president obama's nominee to a new consumer watchdog agency today. richard cordray did not receive enough votes to move forward toward confirmation. the consumer financial protection bureau was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from shoddy lending and mortgage practices. before the vote, democrats argued for cordray, whereas republicans said their issue is with the agency itself, not the

nominee. >> is bipartisan support and is eminently qualified. he has a long history of protecting consumers. >> all today's vote is about is accountability and transparency. it's a debate about whether we think americans need more oversight over washington or less. so once again democrats are using the senate floor this week to stage a little political theatre. they're setting up a vote they know will fail so they can act shocked about it later. >> after the vote president o >> sreenivasan: after the vote, president obama told reporters there was no reason cordray shouldn't be nominated. he vowed to keep fighting for the nomination, and left open the possibility of a recess appointment. attorney general eric holder came under heavy criticism today over what the justice department

knew about the gunrunning program called "operation fast and furious." it attempted to track illicit gun purchases in the u.s. as they made their way to mexican drug cartels. nearly 2,000 weapons went missing in the effort, and many of the weapons recovered were involved in crimes. speaking before the house judiciary committee, holder expressed regret and said it was a regional decision to use the so-called gun walking tactic. >> allowing guns to walk whether in this administration or the prior one is wholly unacceptable. use of this misguided tactic is inexcusable and it must never happen again. now, although the department has taken steps to ensure that such tactics are never used again it is an unfortunate reality that we will continue to feel the effects of this flawed operation for years to come. >> sreenivasan: the justice department has replaced three officials who played key roles in the operation and the department's inspector general launched an investigation. but republican lawmakers said that simply was not enough and called for more firings.

>> the american people need the truth. they haven't gotten the truth from what has come out of the justice department in the last year and they were relying on congress to get the truth. now you're here today and again i appreciate you being here today as a way to get the truth. but the answers that you have given so far are basically saying well, gee somebody else did it. >> sreenivasan: holder said he is prepared to make other personnel changes and would consider lawmakers requests. defense secretary leon panetta said he is comfortable with how the air force has handled the remains of america's war dead. a pentagon spokesman told reporters that today after a "washington post" report found the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 troops were dumped in a virginia landfill. but today, an air force spokesman said none of the families of the 274 individuals wanted to be notified if more

remains were found. >> i can-- i can understand their concerns and our concern is we don't want to do anything to increase the angst or reopen the wound of a family that said, you know, we have come to closure. we have the remained of our loved one. we have buried our loved one or intered them according to their family tradition. and we don't want to do anything to open that wound. >> sreenivasan: we'll have more on this story at the end of the program. the obama administration has plans to boost the number of job opportunities for disabled workers. the labor department has proposed a requirement that at least 7% of federal contractors' workforces include employees with disabilities. disabled americans currently have an unemployment rate of 13%. the rule is now subject to a 60- day public comment period before it is considered for final approval next year. in the presidential race, republican mitt romney's campaign began directly criticizing his competitor newt gingrich. for his part, gingrich said he'll keep his campaign focused

on remaining positive. meanwhile, john huntsman took both the frontrunners on during a speech in washington. he said romney will say anything to win and suggested gingrich is a washington insider. more than 20 fuel tankers were set on fire in pakistan today. unknown assailants fired rockets at a terminal for the tankers near the southwestern city of quetta. the tankers have been stuck there, awaiting the re-opening of the border crossing. it was closed in late november, after a nato airstrike killed 24 pakistani troops. the route is used to ferry fuel and other supplies to u.s. and nato troops in afghanistan. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy... >> woodruff: president obama is still waiting for republicans to pick a nominee to challenge him in next year's election, but that hasn't stopped him from entering the campaign fray. 11 months from election day 2012, the president took to the white house briefing room in full-blown campaign mode. mr. obama's appearance-- announced just minutes beforehand-- came shortly after senate republicans blocked his nominee to head the consumer

financial protection bureau. the president said he would continue to challenge republicans to defend their position. >> i will not take any options off the table when it comes to getting richard cordray in as director of the consumer finance protection board. we have a congress right now-- republicans in congress right now-- who seem to have entirely forgotten how we got into this mess. and part of the reason was because we did not empower our regulators to make sure that they were ensuring fair play. that's what the consumer finance protection board is designed to do. >> woodruff: the president also expressed frustration with the ongoing stalemate in congress over extending the payroll tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year. mr. obama pledged to delay his holiday plans for as long as it

took lawmakers to reach an agreement. >> independent economists you know, when i hear the speaker or the senate republican leader, you know, wanting to dicker, wanting to see, you know, what can they extract from us in order to get this done, my response to them is: just do the right thing. focus on the american people. focus on the economy right now. >> woodruff: those comments followed a kansas speech earlier this week in which the president said the country faced a make or break moment for the middle class. >> i believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules. ( applause ) >> woodruff: many saw those remarks as a general election preview. but they were not the only issues taking on a political context this week-- from the administration's announcement today about workers with disabilities-- to yesterday's

decision by health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius to block over-the- counter sales of the morning- after pill to young girls. mr. obama endorsed that policy today. >> as the father of two daughters, i think it is important for us to make sure that, you know, we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the- counter medicine. and as i understand it, the reason kathleen made this decision was she could not be confident that a ten-year-old or an 11-year-old going to a drug store should be able-- alongside bubblegum or batteries-- be able to buy a... a medication that

potentially, if not used properly, could end up having an adverse effect. and i think most parents would probably feel the same way. >> woodruff: the president also responded directly to criticism of his foreign policy by some republican presidential candidates. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al-qaida leaders who've been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement-- or whoever's left out there, ask them about that. >> woodruff: with election year around the corner, most moves the president makes going forward, will likely be seen through that lens. we are joined now by two political reporters covering the president's re-election campaign. anne kornblut, white house reporter for the "washington post." and jeff zeleny, national political correspondent for the "new york times"

it's good to you have both with us. jeff zeleny, let me start with you, how much is the campaign on the minds of the folks at the white house? are we right to see everything going forward now through the campaign lens? >> the campaign is entirely on their minds. i mean it's not unusual for that to be the case. it's always the case in a re-election. and everything is going to be viewed through this prism. the state of the union is going to be viewed through this prism and everything is. but the white house is still saying that they are focused on policy and focused on things but the speech in kansas earlier this week really sort of began to frame this argument that the spt going to make for the next 11 months about he is the defender of the middle class and he is out there fighting for you. and i think that everything he does is going to be viewed through that prism. you know, rightly or wrongly. he'll be criticized for it but that's how it goes when a president seeks re-election. >> woodruff: anne kornblut s that the theme they have seized on and if so, why? >> oh, absolutely. i think we should start counting the number of times we hear him talk about the

middle class. people in the re-election campaign are also taking note of when mitt romney and newt gingrich don't use the phrase "middle class" there is all about the economy. but they don't want to be talking about small bore economic issues. they don't even want to just be focusing on jobs because the thinking is they are to the going to be able to do too much to turn around unemployment between now and next november. instead they want to have a big picture discussion about philosophy and about economic philosophy. and as jeff said that's what the speech in kansas really was all about was some of the bigger, philosophical differences that the campaign hopes to set up between them. and whichever of the candidates is their nominee on the other side. >> jeff do they worry that things look too political at this point? or do they just assume that's the way it's going to be. >> i think they've stopped worry approximating about that i mean i think in the early days of the administration and even in the month leading it up to the mid attorney-- midterm elections last year, they were very careful about drawing a line. this is an official trip and this is -- a campaign trip.

now everything is sort of blurred. the speech in kansas this week, for example, was an official white house trip. and we're going to see more official trips than political trips that he's paying for out of the campaign fund. but look, it's just sort of how it is. he's going to get the upside and the downsides from running for re-election. and i mean everything is political. it just, i mean it's hard toes cape that it's not saying he's doing things only for political reasons. i mean obviously there are policy things here sws as well. but he'ses the music, the bunting, the banners and,he is running for re-election. >> woodruff: anne i asked that question because there was the announcement this week, yesterday by secretary sebelius about the contraceptive, so called plan b. we talked today about the decision coming out of the labor department about jobs for people with disabilities. how broadly does this campaign, i guess i'm asking does the umbrella cover everything. >> there's no way that it

won't. and of course we're going to look at all of these decisions during the lens. >> this white house is not been one that has often distributed all the goodies to the agencies, the very closely controlled white house. but when there are big controversy decisions that need to be made you're going seat cabinet secretaries doing it. that is why they have gone out of their way to say that in particular the plan b decision was one that was made by secretary sebelius for better or for worse. they don't want that one too closely tied to the president even though obviously de acknowledge that he agreed with today. but nonetheless on some of the trickier issues you are going to see those go back out to the agencies because they know too well it will look political no matter what they do. >> jeff zeleny on 9 one hand the president is dealing with the republicans in congress opposing all of what he wants to see passed but meantime he is facial the republicans running for

president. how is the white house reacting to the sudden emergence of newt gingrich? >> they're certainly intrigued by it. i mean they have been focused on almost a single focus on mitt romney. because they like most other people assume that he had a lot of advantages going in this and he might be the nominee. but the white house is trying to keep an open mind about the possibility of newt gingrich. it's interesting. if you talk to democrats who worked in washington during the clinton administration, they're sort of viewing newt gingrich through an old lens. but some of the obama political hands did not work in the white house or washington during that time. and they are trying to view him through a new lens. they're really trying to find out what he is tapping into out there. so the focus is still on romney but they are going to begin to sort of bring newt gingrich into the fold. and the added benefit here, a long campaign on the republican side, democrats think, the president's advisors think that that helps him at the end of the day. so we'll see. but they are intrigue-- intrigued and perhaps doing a bit of mischief making here by highlighting speaker

gingrich's rise a little. >> woodruff: what would you add to that, anne? what are you hearing about obama thinking about gingrich? >> well, jeff is absolutely right. hi will say there are few people, perhaps the ones who did live through the clinton era who are just the teensiest bit gleeful of the prospect of newt gingrich as the republican nominee. but he does have something that mitt romney doesn't that could be dangerous for the president. which is he has a way to tap into the hispanic vote. he has this expansive network that is latino. he has himself been learning to speak spanish. and the polling data suggests that he could do better among hispanics in certain key states. places like colorado and in the west and especially in florida. and that is something that if a republican nominee could do a teeny bit better with hispanics, could make it much more threatening to president obama. so that is something that his re-election campaign is keeping an eye on. >> but ann finally, for the longest time the white house has seen mitt romney as the

president's toughest potential opponent. do they still feel that way? >> in some ways, yes. they see him certainly as somebody who had at one point in time been able to tap into the sent rest vote and into some independence. but i think if anything they see him now as weaker than he was before. they do think he is going to have to run to the right of newt gingrich now that beginning rit has presented such a threat and they think that works to their advantage. >> woodruff: what dow hear about the white house about their view of romney who was, they assumed, the nominee forth republican party, i guess, many people thought. >> they definitely are not taking their eye off mitt romney because they believe that he is well disciplined, well financed, well structured. he's been thinking about running for president for a long time this is his second go-round so he is experienced in that front. so the white house, for the first time there is a bit of disagreement. they're not sure frankly who the nominee is going to be. but most people believe in their heart of hearts that mitt romney probably has a better shot at this and they

are still going to keep their focus on him. they believe at the end of the day all these flip-flops that he has had over the years on some social issues actually could make him more appealing to independent voters because he's flexible so the white house is very much not losing dpous on governor romney. >> woodruff: the whole thing is certainly gotten more active just in the last few days. jeff zeleny, anne kornblut, we thank you both. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> brown the occupy movement continued to be in the headlines this week as police broke up the san francisco camp and protesters in a boston park faced imminent eviction. but other groups are digging in and holding up in places we've heard about less. wesked our colleagues at three pbs stations to highlight their respective movements. we begin with katie orr from kpbs san diego. >> reporter: on a recent chilly morning, about a dozen protestors huddled in a patch of

sun near city hall. the san diego occupy site was quiet, though protestors were reeling from an early morning police raid that resulted in several arrests. protestors have been occupying san diego's civic center plaza since early october. it may not be the biggest movement in the country, but it has shown persistence. and protestors say, they're not leaving. protestor michael basillas has been occupying since the beginning. he says the movements strength comes from protestors dedication. >> physically, strength comes in numbers. but in the smaller group we have a very strong core, as a group. and we might not have the numbers to back it, but we have a very strong point people that really takes action. >> reporter: that action includes setting up voter registration tables in the plaza, which drew the attention of police. last week, former san diego congressional candidate ray lutz was arrested after using a table to register voters. police say lutz ess rrated for trespassing. his table was set up outside a

private office building on the plaza and not on public property. that distinction led to a confrontation with police the following day when protestors tried to set up a table again. attorney rachel scoma with the group canvass for a cause says the law allows them to do it. >> this is something we do every single day under robins vs. pruneyard. that's why were able to stand in front of targets and in shopping centers, registering voters. and so we have a very specific interest in making sure that free speech is upheld here in this privately owned section of the civic center. >> reporter: but the police disagreed. assistant chief boyd long told scoma registering voters was fine, but setting up the table wasn't allowed and could lead to someone being arrested. >> you do not have the right to have the tables here. you do have the right to be here and do voter registration and we're going to support that. thank you. >> then treat us equally, sir. >> mic check! >> mic check. >> mic check!

>> officer long, >> officer long, has informed >> has informed us, that we will be arrested, >> that we will be arrested, if we set up a table, >> if we set up a table, as is our right, >> as is our right, in this section, >> in this section, of the civic center, >> of the civic center. >> reporter: the police ultimately backed down. but so far, more than 120 people have been arrested on other charges during the course of the occupation. >> san diego's elected officials have largely stayed out the debate over the protest. but they say police have acted appropriately. mayor jerry sanders agrees. >> the police departments worked with the occupy movement and i think that we are trying to protect their right to protest. but, on the other hand, you can't just take over a piece of property and occupy it with tents and other things that deny that use to other folks. >> reporter: but the san diego protestors show little sign of going away. they say they'll take part in a national movement next week to block the city's port. >> reporter: this is steve bennett in oklahoma city, where city leaders are now trying to evict occupy o.k.c. protestors from a downtown park.

the group has maintained a continuous presence in the park since october, but officials last week announced plans to enforce a curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., citing what they said are safety concerns. >> as we started to get into the cold winter months, as we get into this period of time, when the park, there'll be a demolition of a building going on in the park. we decided at that point, that we could no longer issue a permit for the occupy group, to be in the park, and conduct camp activities in the park overnight. >> reporter: occupy organizers insist they have a right to peacefully assemble, and maintain the camp is a form of expression protected by the first amendment. attorney beth isbell, representing occupy o.k.c., believes politics are behind the move to shut down the tent city. >> they don't like our message, they don't think that we look right. we don't wear suits... we aren't business people down there, occupying the park.

we are simply trying to get the correct message across, which is that government is not doing the right thing by its citizens. >> reporter: a federal court judge has issued a temporary restraining order allowing protestors to remain in the park, pending a hearing on a preliminary injunction. city officials say if they do remove protestors from the park, they will do so peacefully. >> we're not going down with riot gear and batons and pepper spray. we're simply going to ask them to leave the park, and then it will be up to them as to what it takes to get them out of the park. >> reporter: regardless of the court's decision, occupy o.k.c. say it's not going away. there are currently about a dozen occupy groups in oklahoma. organizers with occupy o.k.c. are asking those organizations to come to oklahoma city friday, to show solidarity with the national movement. >> hey, hey, ho, ho, wells fargo, got to go!

>> reporter: this is marcia franklin in boise. earlier this week, members of occupy boise carried out what they called citizen foreclosures on downtown banks. >> we want our homes back! >> we want our homes back! >> reporter: the march was also a way to mark the one-month anniversary of their encampment. it's a protest that hasn't seenr the violence of other occupy movements. that's in large part because its tents are on state property, managed by the idaho department of administration. vagrancy laws don't apply here, as they do for city property. so the group can't be evicted unless the agency finds health and safety violations. the choice of land was deliberate for the occupiers, who didn't want to force a confrontation with law enforcement at this stage of their movement. >> it came down to a question of, where did we want to spend our limited legal resources? we'd rather spend it on the actual purpose for the occupy. >> reporter: just across the street here at the statehouse, there are rules that govern how

long a rally can be-- no longer than four hours. the director of the department of administration, teresa luna, declined an on-camera interview. but in a phone conversation, she told me she expects that when lawmakers come back to town in january, they'll look at extending the rules that apply here, across the street to the other state property. that would mean occupiers would face eviction. it doesn't worry daniel grad. >> i will take it elsewhere. i mean, there are a lot of us who recognize this movement is more important than the place we're staying. >> reporter: grad, who's camped out most of the month, says he's cold, but happy. >> it's fantastic when you wake up in the morning and there are five people around you, and you just look at them and say, "my god, we're going to do something today!" i love it. >> reporter: cyndi tiferet lost her job six months ago at a credit union. like most occupy boise members, she's not able to stay every night at the camp, but is determined to spend as many nights as she can.

>> i'm definitely one that likes it warm, and i will tell you that my goal in life with camping was never to go sleep on the grounds of the old courthouse in boise! but i'm passionate about making a difference. >> reporter: the movement has plans to occupy foreclosed homes, which may provoke their first encounters with law enforcement. but for now, it's been quiet. in part, gunderson attributes that to the libertarian leanings of the state. >> i think there's a strong respect for people who are willing to go through a particular hardship to make a point. >> reporter: and, he says, the group is more interested in starting a conversation with the community than alienating it. >> i think that the purpose of the occupation is not to disrupt the people of the country, but the purpose of the occupation is to ensure that good people can continue to live their good lives. i would love it if were here in the spring and we actually have to have a conversation about,

where should we be planting the potatoes? >> reporter: it remains to be seen whether lawmakers share that enthusiasm, and allow the group to stay. >> woodruff: thanks again to our public broadcasting colleagues at kpbs in san diego, oeta in oklahoma, and idaho public television for those reports. >> brown: now, in russia, an embattled vladimir putin turns on the united states. the war of words has spread from russia's streets to the world stage, where vladimir putin forcefully criticized secretary of state hillary clinton today for meddling in russia's internal politics. the russian prime minister claimed the u.s. was encouraging dissenters who've denounced sunday's parliamentary elections as rigged in favor of putin's party, united russia.

>> ( translated ): i've looked at the first reaction of our american partners and straight away the secretary of state assessed the elections as dishonest and unfair. she set the tone for some of our personalities inside the country and gave them a signal, and they heard this signal and, with support from the state department, started active work. >> brown in sunday's voting, putin's party came in first, though it actually lost ground from past elections. polling-place observers witnessed ballot-box stuffing and manipulation of vote counts. the next day, in germany, clinton spoke out forcefully against the election process >> concerning russia, you know, we're watching the election results with great interest. clearly, the duma is going to have a different make-up than it did before this election. and we do have serious concerns about the conduct of the elections. we think that the preliminary report just issued by the osce international mission raised a number of questions about the conduct of the elections. >> brown clinton reiterated that position at a nato meeting in brussells today, where the

russians and the alliance were also discussing contentious plans for a nato missile defense shield in europe. meanwhile, on the streets of moscow and st. petersburg, demonstrations have defied a heavy police presence this week to denounce the election results. the rallying cry was "russia without putin." and there's little doubt he's the main target. >> ( translated ): we are going to protest, using peaceful means, until a decision is taken to recount the votes. we don't recognize these authorities, we don't recognize the election results and we will demand their change. >> brown author leon aron said it's been a fast decline in popularity for putin. >> the problem is that putin tied his political fate to a large extent to united russia, the party that's the ruling party the party in power that is known in russia as the party of thieves and swindlers.

to such an extent that even if the regime begins repression that only increases the amount of resistence. >> brown authorities have arrested hundreds of protesters, seeking to douse the demonstrations. two top opposition figures were sentenced to 15-day jail terms. russian president dimitri medvedev has backed up his predecessor and benefactor putin. it was putin who handpicked then prime minister medvedev for the presidency in 2008 when he could not run for a third term. putin took the premier's job. in september, medvedev announced what amounted to another swap, with putin running for president in elections next march with medvedev as his prime minister. medvedev spoke in prague today: >> ( translated ): elections bring definitive results, which some may like and some may not. i think that the political structure that has now emerged as a result of the elections reflects the preferences of our citizens. for me, at least the result election results did not come as

a surprise. it is obvious that our russian society is becoming more competitive and is far from being dominated by one party. >> brown the last surviving leader of a one-party era-- mikhail gorbachev-- on monday denounced the election process and said he had little confidence that the present leadership had real reforms in mind. >> ( translated ): i don't believe that this team government will assume responsibility and offer us a plan of real modernization of all political structures, of the political base, and create conditions for people to move on. >> brown this week's events may be a breaking point, with lasting impact, says leon aron. >> the casualness, this kind of disdain for peoples opinion and then followed up by this clearly fraudulent election made people angry, there's no other way to put it.

>> looking forward to the march presidential election which matters to the russians more than the essentially meaningless parliamentary election. the regime may find itself on the horns of very unpalatable dilemma. either you truly turn from like a soft regime to truly repressive measures. su have thousands of people in the street, you can't control them, all sorts of things may lead to violence. or you retreat and in that case, you look weak and nobody knows where that retreat will end. so this is something, this is a dilemma that putin and his advisors, i'm sure, even as we speak, are trying to avoid. >> brown there were no signs of protests today in moscow, but opposition members are organizing nationwide demonstrations for saturday and hope to attract tens of thousands to the gates of the kremlin.

>> woodruff: we'll be back shortly with an update on the dumping of the incinerated remains of over 200 american troops in a landfill. but first: this is pledge week on pbs. this break allows your public television station to ask for your support. and that support helps ke >> thank you for joining us for tonight's edition of "the "pbs newshour"." i'm paul anthony along with patty kim. we're taking a brief intermission to ask you to take action -- to support outstanding journalism and weta. you can do it all with one call -- and by making a donation that reflects what the "pbs newshour" means to you. would you pay a quarter to watch this program tonight? 25 cents? if you multiply that donation for the whole year, that's a $65 pledge. there's an operator waiting to take you through the process right now. it's quick and easy. don't put it off. >> definitely easy to do. your pledge also shows your appreciation for the expertise

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if you haven't, there's still time to call the number on your screen. please take this opportunity to call the number on your screen and support this station and the "pbs newshour". >> brown: finally tonight, new questions about the disposal of remains of service members killed in action. the pentagon responded today to a "washington post" report that incinerated partial remains of 274 troops had been taken from dover air force base in delaware and disposed of in a landfill in virginia. this afternoon, the air force said that the practice was stopped three years ago. >> prior to 2008 we took the unidentified -- torsoes under military escort in a dignified manner to a local

funeral home and they were cremated. the remains were then turned over to a contractor as was the industry standard. if there was residual mat ter was handle in accordance with the-- the process at the time. in 2008, our own inspection, not driven by any outside force took a look at the process and said we can do better than that. here's a better way to provide dignity and honor to these families and our fallen heroes and we developed the retirement at sea process using a sea solid unfor our loved ones. >> joining us is craig whit lock from "the washington post". he broke the story last month and wrote today's followup. craig so, much bigger than recently known when you first reported thon a month ago. what has happened in that time? >> well, jeff, what happened was the air force initially told us and told the congress that it would be too difficult for them to go back through their records at dover air force base to figure out how many service members had their remains

disposed of in this way, that finally ended up in the landfill. we pressed them on this as part of our investigation. they have an electronic database there. and after we pressed them for this information they finally did come up with these figures just a couple of days ago that spelled over a four year period that there were 274 troops whose remains, part of their remains ended up in the landfill. >> brown: now four-year period. we know when it sended. do we know when it actually began? >> no, we don't. and the air force say these don't know either, jeff. and they said at this point they don't have plans to go back and try and find out. they say their current records date to late 2003. we have talked to individuals who say the practice went on prior to that. we, of course, have e-mail cost correspondent from mortuary officials to family members indicating that this went back at least to the mid 90s. it's possible and people in congress are asking if this went back even further to prior conflicts, to the first gulf war or even vietnam and we just don't know. >> brown: now you were at

the briefing where we heard general jones just now. fill in a little bit about their explanation of how or why this practice was undertaken. >> another very good question, and i think one that the air force has labored to give a clear answer for, they would first take these remains. these are ones that were either unidentified that they couldn't figure out who they belong to from catastrophic accidents in the war zone or they were ones that belonged to individuals whose family members had said look, if you find any additional remains we want to you dispose of them appropriately. they didn't know, of course, what in fact happened. which is the air force would first cremate them which is acceptable. and then after that for reasons they can't really explain, they mix them in with medical waste from the mortgage area, took them to an incinerate never baltimore and then took the leftovers to the landfill. and they have had a hard time saying why they did this. they said it was industry practice, standard industry practice. but we found talking to funeral home operators and people in that industry that that is not the case.

they are appalled by this. >> brown: and they said that family members have said they didn't want to be notified if more remains were found. but you found that that wasn't the case in all cases. >> well, that's right. they said they aren't going to go back and notify these families, these 274 troops what in fact happened. and the reason is they say these family members, their wishes were they didn't want to know if there were additional remains found. but as you said we've interviewed a woman, gary lynn smith from new jersey who say war widow of a soldier killed in iraq. and she spent four years trying to find out what had happened. >> now general jones said that the military has a new practice in 2008 at sea. >> that's right. since then they have been holding the ashes, retired them at sea. they started that this year. >> brown: so that is since 2008. >> that is something else that has been a little hard to explain. they stopped the landfill practice in 2008 but they didn't actually begin the burial at sea until early this year.

>> brown: now there was immediate criticism as there has been since your article first came out a month ago if it continues, from congress and other places, right? >> well, that's right. the house committee on oversight, government oversight and reform is investigating not only this but all burial practices by the military dating back ten years. there's also an internal pentagon investigation. so i think this will go on for some time. >> brown: and what might be the next step? >> well, i think we'll see what congress does. i don't think the air force has anything planned. there is a review right now of three supervisors at the dover air force base, secretary of defense leon panetta has ordered to determine whether appropriate discipline has been handed out. in this case and other problems at the mortgage area. and i think we'll find that out in the next few weeks. >> secretary panetta said today he was satisfied. now is there -- desh has ordered a full review, i think, of procedures at dover, where does all that stand? >> he has appointed a commission headed by retired

army general john abizaid and public health experts to look at the current mortuary operations. it's a little unclear if they are going to go back, to how far this landfill disposal went, if that is going to the scope or just check out things go now. >> craig whitlock of "the washington post", thanks some of. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day: two people were shot and killed at virginia tech, forcing the campus to go on lockdown for hours. late today, school officials said there was no longer an active threat. european leaders gathered in brussels for a two-day summit to plan how to save the euro from collapse. and former u.s. senator jon and to hari sreenivasan for what's on the "newshour" online. hari? >> paul: economics correspondent paul solman considers what would happen if the united stated defaulted on its debt to china. more on making sense. on our science page, we look at the art of science tattoos with carl zimmer, who compiled more than a thousand images of scientific body art-- from dna to galaxies-- for his book. judy woodruff looks at newt

gingrich's surge in the polls. that's on our politics page. 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. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online 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: 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.

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