On Thursday’s NewsHour…

STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED IN THE GULF | Crews in the Gulf of Mexico continued attempts to contain a massive oil slick, now growing five times faster than expected because of an additional leak. Jeffrey Brown talks to correspondent Tom Bearden in Louisiana, as well as a BP spokeswoman and Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sally Brice O’Hara about mitigating the environmental damage.

LAWMAKERS EXAMINE IMMIGRATION REFORM | Senate Democrats are unveiling plans to act on federal immigration reform as the battle over Arizona’s new law faces challenges in the courts. Judy Woodruff talks to Roy Beck, executive director of Numbers USA and Clarissa Martinez, director of immigration and national campaigns for the National Council of La Raza about whether controversial reforms could happen before the midterm elections.

SEX ABUSE SCANDAL IN THE CHURCH | As part of a weeklong series of reports from the Vatican, Margaret Warner reports on the impact of the child sex abuse scandals on the faithful in Rome and on Pope Benedict the XVI.

Thursday’s anchors are Judy Woodruff and Jeffrey Brown. Hari Sreenivasan will have the day’s other top news stories and a look at Web features, including a conversation with two experts about what Florida Gov. Crist’s party switch means for the Sunshine State, a health care reform update about a measure that helps patients keep their policies and the winner of the Poetry Out Loud competition talks to Jeffrey Brown on Art Beat.

We hope you join us.