On Thursday’s NewsHour…

GULF OIL LEAK UPDATE | BP had some success Thursday as undersea robots managed to cut the main pipe of the undersea oil, which may allow engineers to cap the gushing well. Judy Woodruff talks to Don Van Nieuwenhuise, a professor of petroleum geo-science at the University of Houston, and Nancy Kinner of the University of New Hampshire, about the next steps to shutting down the leak.

STATES STRUGGLE TO FUND SCHOOLS | Classroom cuts are looming, as the school year winds down in many states facing budget shortfalls. Jeffrey Brown reports on the potential layoffs and the new contract ratified by the teachers union in Washington D.C., and talks to Jennifer Cohen, an education policy analyst at the New America Foundation.

MISSISSIPPI’S FOOD DESERTS | As the government highlights the growing health risks of childhood obesity, Betty Ann Bowser reports from the Mississippi Delta on how “food deserts” in low-income neighborhoods limit access to fresh, healthy food.

CHINA’S GROWING HEALTH CRISIS | Ray Suarez wraps up his reporting trip to China with a discussion about the rising rates of obesity as the Middle Kingdom’s expanding middle class embraces Western eating and shopping habits.

FIGHTING HEPATITIS B IN ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES | Spencer Michels reports on the campaigns to fight hepatitis B among Asian-Americans and populations worldwide. The potentially fatal liver disease is100 times more likely to afflict Asians than non-Asians.

PAUL MCCARTNEY AT THE WHITE HOUSE | President Barack Obama presented former Beatles member Paul McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on behalf of the Library of Congress. Jim Lehrer has a look at McCartney’s serenade to the president and first lady at the White House.

Thursday’s anchors are Jim Lehrer and Judy Woodruff. Kwame Holman will have the day’s other top news stories and a look at Web features, including more on food deserts from Betty Ann Bowser and a story about teaching students to grow their own vegetables.

Plus, we examine the demographics of people watching video online in a conversation with the Pew Research Center’s associate director for research and explore Moscow’s latest foray into space with the Mars 500 project.