PBS NewsHour

An organized sniper attack on an electrical substation near San Jose, Calif., last April raises unsettling questions about the vulnerability of our nation’s power grid. Judy Woodruff talks to Jon Wellinghoff, former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Mark Weatherford, former deputy undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, about future risks and protection.

As a new wave of tech enterprises gentrify San Francisco’s older, modest neighborhoods, an area known as the Tenderloin, populated by the city’s poorer residents, remains in the grips of drugs and crime. Special correspondent Spencer Michels explores the dilemma of whether upgrading the neighborhood will result in inhabitants being displaced en masse.

The Obama administration confirmed that it is considering targeting a U.S. citizen in Pakistan, believed to be involved in plotting terrorist attacks against Americans, with a drone strike. Mark Mazzetti of The New York Times joins Judy Woodruff to offer background on the government’s disclosure and the debate.

In our news wrap Tuesday, House Republicans gave up the hope of adding a provision on military pensions to legislation that would raise the debt ceiling. Also, in her first public comments as the chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen signaled she would preserve policy established by Ben Bernanke in reducing stimulus efforts.

On the PBS NewsHour tonight, we explore an additional delay announced for businesses that must comply with the Affordable Care Act. Also: more civilians are evacuated from Homs in Syria, an NFL draft prospect comes out as openly gay, plus a report on how sanctions affect daily life in Iran, a look at U.S.-Russia relations and robots take the stage for an opera about immortality and technology.

Composer, computer scientist and futurist Tod Machover has joined the power of technology with one of the great classical art forms. In "Death and the Powers," opera robots take the stage to sing about the search for immortality and how our humanity is transformed by tech. Jeffrey Brown reports on the preparations taking place at the MIT Media Lab for an upcoming interactive performance.

While Olympic competition on the slopes of Sochi has been sportsmanlike, the geopolitical competition between Russia and the U.S. over the past few decades has been frequently contentious. Margaret Warner interviews Angela Stent, the author of “The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century.”

Economic sanctions have been instrumental in getting Iran to the table for negotiations on its nuclear program. NewsHour Weekend correspondent William Brangham takes a closer look how sanctions have affected daily life in Iran, from air quality to health care to the price of a bar of soap.

With the National Football League draft a few months away, University of Missouri football standout Michael Sam came out as gay to the national media Sunday. Judy Woodruff talks to ESPN’s Kevin Blackistone and Wade Davis of the You Can Play Project about challenges Sam could face as he stands to be the NFL’s first openly gay, active player.

Aid officials rushed to evacuate more citizens as a humanitarian ceasefire in the blockaded Syrian city of Homs was extended three more days. Judy Woodruff talks to Patrick McDonnell, reporting from Damascus for the Los Angeles Times, about violence against the evacuation convoy and conditions for the people left in Homs.

The Obama administration announced that mid-sized businesses would get an additional year before being required to provide health insurance to its employees. Alex Wayne of Bloomberg News joins Judy Woodruff to explain the impetus behind the surprise delay, the reaction of the business community and how the decision affects workers.

In our news wrap Monday, a car bomb killed a group of 21 insurgents-in-training in Iraq when the explosive was accidentally detonated in an orchard; police arrested an additional two dozen suspects. Also, the Thames River burst its banks 20 miles upstream of London, adding to widespread flooding in Southern England.

If you pick up Nick Lantz’s new poetry collection, “How to Dance as the Roof Caves in,” you’ll recognize the "self-help" theme running through the titles. To name a few: “How to Travel Alone,” “How to Forgive a Promise Breaker,” “How to Dance When You Do Not Know How to Dance” and even “How to Appreciate Inorganic Matter.” When he first started composing poems for this book, he found a website with a bunch of “how-to” articles. Always on the lookout for a new project, Lantz was inspired.

On tonight’s program, Iran produces new information about its nuclear program. Later, in our signature segment, a look a how high-tech entrepreneurs are creating a startup culture in India. And, what growing income inequality means for middle class-serving businesses in the United States.

Businesses across the country are dealing with a serious post-recession reality: a shrinking middle class consumer base. How are shifting spending patterns playing out for businesses on high, low and middle tiers? Times reporter Nelson Schwartz joins Hari Sreenivasan for more.