Stories of the Week | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

Amid long-running contract struggles with its 7,500 active pilots, American Airlines, the third largest passenger airline, has delayed or cancelled hundreds of flights in the last few weeks. Gwen Ifill talks to USA Today's Ben Mutzabaugh for more on the company's bankruptcy woes, toxic labor relations and maintenance concerns.

In other news Wednesday, mortar fire from Syria landed across the border in a Turkish town, killing five. Hours later, Turkish forces fired back at unnamed targets inside Syria. Also, three coordinated suicide car bombs exploded in a central square in Aleppo, Syria, killing at least 34 people and wounding 122.

NewsHour's Jim Lehrer will moderate what will be the first of three official debates between the two presidential candidates going into the 2012 elections. Judy Woodruff gets pre-debate analysis from NewsHour's political analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks on what to expect.

The firestorm over how to make Medicare more sustainable has consumed the health care debate this election season, but Medicaid, its counterpart for low-income, disabled and elderly Americans, actually covers more people. Hari Sreenivasan looks at how the candidates' two drastically different proposals offer reform.

NewsHour political analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the start of early voting, the challenge Mitt Romney faces in trying to recoup in the polls, and how the candidates should prepare for the first 2012 presidential debate.

As people flock to Williston, N.D., for jobs in the booming oil industry, the public systems struggle to keep up, converting one-room school houses to accommodate the rapid rise in student enrollment. Like much of Williston's infrastructure, there are financial hurdles to meet needs of teachers and students. Ray Suarez reports.

In other news Thursday, despite the fact that jobless claims filed last week were the lowest in 2 months, the Commerce Department revised economic growth estimates down by 0.4 percent to 1.3 percent. And the Obama and Romney campaigns used the latest economic numbers as fodder on the campaign trail.

Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu's comments about drawing a "red line" on Iran's nuclear aspirations added pressure to the U.S. mediation role. Judy Woodruff talks to Georgetown University's Paul Pillar and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Robert Satloff about whether Iran is a threat to Israel and the region.

At the 2012 U.N. General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the hour was "getting late" to stop Iran from succeeding in its development of nuclear weapons. Netanyahu urged the U.N. to take decisive action against Iran's nuclear program. Judy Woodruff reports.

Ray Suarez talks to Council of Chief State School Officers 2012 Teacher of the Year Rebecca Mieliwocki, about the learning curve for teachers in helping students succeed and graduate from middle school and high school. Mieliwocki believes that teachers are 'seekers' who uplift the natural talents of each individual student.

Turkey's prime minister Tayyip Erdogan voiced his outrage over violence in Syria, accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of "state terrorism." Margaret Warner talks to Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu for more on Turkish concerns over the Syria's civil war and why this is also a matter of internal security for Turkey.

As Mitt Romney and President Obama hit the campaign trail, the candidates know that a high young voter turnout may be the key to winning or losing swing states. But with polls saying 40 percent of young people are disappointed with the political system, the candidates have their work cut out for them. Judy Woodruff reports.

Protesters expressed their discontent with government austerity measures on the streets of Madrid and Athens this week. Gwen Ifill talks to Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics for the latest on the unrest in Greece and Spain as Europe comes to grips with its debt crisis.

With a bad economy and nearly everyone on the internet, one job opening promoted online can receive thousands of applications. So with competition fierce and many firms using software rather than human beings to hire, Paul Solman explores whether it is worth it to apply online or if there are better strategies to get employed.

NewsHour political analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the week's top political news with Judy Woodruff, including the release of Mitt Romney's 2011 tax returns, Romney's remarks on the '47 percent,' and President Obama's handling of the unrest and deadly protests over the American anti-Islam video.