Rumsfeld Says He Has Not Considered Resigning After Former Generals` Criticism.

Original Source: NEWSHOUR

JIM LEHRER: Good evening. I`m Jim Lehrer.

On the NewsHour tonight: the news of this Tuesday; then, a debate over the precedents and the fallouts from the retired generals` assault on Defense Secretary Rumsfeld; with the beginning of the Chinese president`s four-day visit to the U.S., a look at the Internet and the Western influences on China; and a conversation with the Pulitzer Prize-winner for fiction, Geraldine Brooks.

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JIM LEHRER: Stocks soared today on news the string of interest rate hikes could be near an end. That word came from the Federal Reserve`s top policymakers; they`ve raised rates 15 times in the last two years.

The rally pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 195 points today, to close above 11,268. It was the Dow`s largest point gain in nearly a year. The Nasdaq rose 45 points, nearly 2 percent, to close at 2,356.

The market surge came despite another record close for crude oil. Futures in New York gained nearly a dollar to finish above $71 a barrel for the first time. Also today, the Labor Department reported wholesale inflation was up 0.5 percent in March, due mostly to the spike in gasoline prices.