JIM LEHRER: Good evening. I'm Jim Lehrer.
On the NewsHour tonight: the news of this Thursday; then, back-to-back Iraq policy interviews, with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island; analysis of the stalled immigration reform debate, as the president signs a border fence bill; a Health Unit look at news about screening for lung cancer; and a guest essay by Nancy Gibbs on 300 million Americans and still counting.
JIM LEHRER: The U.S. military today announced the deaths of five more Americans in Iraq; that made 96 this month, the most since October of last year.
The latest casualties came in Anbar province. New operations to regain control of Ramadi are under way there. But U.S. Army Major General William Caldwell said violence in Baghdad is down this week with the end of Ramadan.
There was fresh violence today north of the capital; at least 12 Iraqi policemen were killed near Baquba, as security forces battled Shiite militiamen. Eighteen of the militia were killed, as well. The gunmen were followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric.
U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld today warned against a focus on setting benchmarks and timetables in Iraq. He said it's impossible to tell right now just when the Iraqis can take full control of their own security.
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. Secretary of Defense: You're looking for some sort of a guillotine to come flowing down if some date isn't met. That is not what this is about. This is complicated stuff. It's difficult. We're looking out in the future. No one can predict the future with absolute certainty. So you ought to just back off, take a look at it, relax, understand that it's complicated, it's difficult.
JIM LEHRER: Rumsfeld also said he's not satisfied with progress of the Iraqi forces. He said they'll be getting more funds, but he did not give any figures.
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki complained his troops are outgunned by militia fighters and terror groups. He told Reuters government forces could secure the country in six months, if properly trained and equipped. He went on to say, "If anyone is responsible for the poor security situation in Iraq, it is the U.S.-led coalition."
The U.S. national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, responded in an interview with the NewsHour. He said, "To the extent the security is not perfect -- and it is not -- we share responsibility on that." We'll have the interview with Hadley and a separate interview with Democratic Senator Jack Reed right after this news summary.
A U.S. Marine pleaded guilty today to assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Private First Class John Jodka was one of seven Marines accused in the killing of an Iraqi man last April. Prosecutors said the group shot the man, then tried to make it appear he'd been planting a bomb. A Navy corpsman pleaded guilty in the case earlier this month.
Officials in Afghanistan charged today NATO attacks killed up to 85 civilians this week. The alliance used artillery and air strikes, as fighting erupted in three villages west of Kandahar in the south. NATO said its initial reports found only 12 civilian deaths; a spokesman said Taliban militants were the targets.
LUKE KNITTIG, NATO Spokesman: We assessed that we have killed as many as 70 insurgents in these three engagements, them trying to keep us from doing our mission there. But we do take very seriously these credible reports of civilian casualties. And we will pay very close attention to the delegation that President Karzai has sent there to understand how people were affected.
JIM LEHRER: NATO launched a major offensive in that same region in September. It reported at least 500 militants killed then.
President Bush today signed a bill to build 700 miles of fence along the U.S. border with Mexico. Segments of the fence will cross parts of four states, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The total length of the border is more than 2,000 miles.
There's been no estimate of the total cost of the fence. An earlier spending bill included a down payment of $1.2 billion for the project. We'll have more on the story later in the program tonight.
Four members of a U.S. Forest Service fire crew were killed today battling a blaze in southern California. Another firefighter was critically injured. Their fire engine was engulfed, as high winds spread flames over more than six square miles near Palm Springs. Up to 400 people were trapped in a camper park, but they were in no immediate danger. Late today, officials said the fire was definitely arson.
This year's high oil prices showed up in Exxon-Mobil's earnings for the third quarter. The company made nearly $10.5 billion from July through September. It was the second-largest quarterly profit ever by a publicly traded U.S. company. The record also belongs to Exxon-Mobil, $10.7 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
New home prices dropped sharply in September by the most since 1970. The Commerce Department reported today the median price of a new home fell to $217,000; that was down nearly 10 percent from September of last year. Half of all sales went for more than that price and half for less.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 29 points to close above 12,163. The Nasdaq rose more than 22 points to close at 2,379.
And that's it for the news summary tonight.
