• Congressional Committee Drills AIG Executives
• US Financial Update
• Making Some Sense of Europe's Financial Crisis with The Guardian's David Gow
• Street Beat: Southeastern Gas Crisis
• Gas Companies Seek Access to NY Watershed

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Congressional Committee Drills AIG Executives

Congress is in recess, but that didn't stop Oversight Committee Chair
Henry Waxman from calling a hearing on the AIG collapse. Lawmakers
expressed anger at what they saw as corporate excesses and explored
some of the causes of the financial crisis. Tanya Snyder reports from
Washington.

US Financial Update

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke offered a pessimistic view of the
economy, just hours after the Fed decided more unprecedented government
action is necessary to keep the financial markets afloat. Washington
Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell has the details.

Making Some Sense of Europe's Financial Crisis with The Guardian's David Gow

Markets from South America to the Middle East are plunging, and
governments around the world are strategizing to save their banks from
utter collapse. In Europe, stock indexes fell as much as nine percent –
and President Bush spent a good deal of time this morning calling the
leaders of the UK, France and Italy, to reassure them about US plans to
help stabilize various markets. David Gow is the European Business
Editor for The Guardian – he explains what the European markets are
contending with.

Street Beat: Southeastern Gas Crisis

Hurricane damage to oil refineries in Texas and Louisiana has led to
one of the worst gas shortages in recent memory in the southeastern US.
Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas have been hit hardest – the region
depends heavily on gas pumped through pipelines from Texas and
Louisiana. At one point in North Carolina last week, only one out of
seven gas stations was open, and prices rose to 3 dollars and 95 cents
per gallon – the fourth highest prices in the country. As panic swept
much of the region, provoked in part by news coverage of the "crisis",
many who could, stockpiled gas. Others were left with nothing. States
responded with different strategies: South Carolina restricted
non-essential travel by government employees, and North Carolina
officials made arrangements to truck in fuel. At the same time in
Georgia, drivers pumped with no restrictions, even as supplies dwindled
and stations shut down. In most Southeastern states, the gas shortage
eased by late last week, when power was restored to oil facilities that
had lost it during the storms. But many questions remain. Should
government and industry have done more to prevent disruptions in fuel
supplies? And what will happen next time oil refineries are damaged and
gas stops pumping? From Asheville, North Carolina, Evan Scott and  Puck
Lo bring us this Street Beat segment.

Gas Companies Seek Access to NY Watershed

Energy prices across the country are rising along – coupled with the
desire for energy independence. Now, regions with oil and gas reserves
once deemed too difficult to reach when prices were low, are seeing a
rush of leasing agents eager to acquire mineral rights from land
owners. And that means state and local governments are seeing more
permit applications to drill in places that have never seen drilling
before. On the east coast, the increased activity has centered on the
Marcellus shale gas deposit that stretches from southern New York
through Pennsylvania to West Virginia and over to Ohio. And in the
North East corner, lies the New York City watershed – where the city
gets 90 percent of its drinking water. Christine Black reports on
whether New York City can safeguard its water supply when the pressure
to drill is on.