JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: The
government of Brazil moved to deploy troops
tomorrow to rein in raging wildfires across
the Amazon rain forest.
William Brangham reports.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Large parts of the Amazon
are being engulfed in record-breaking flames.
More than 9,500 fires have broken out this
past week.
Today, under increasing pressure to address
the crisis, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
talked of sending in the army, saying -- quote
-- "That's the plan."
He had conceded yesterday that the situation
is dire, and that his government lacked the
resources to fight it.
JAIR BOLSONARO, Brazilian President (through
translator): The Ministry of Justice can send
40 men to combat the fight, but do you understand
that, 40 men?
There are not enough resources.
We are in chaos.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Forest fires are common
in Brazil this time of year, but their numbers
have skyrocketed to more than 75,000 this
year.
That's up 80 percent from 2018.
And the smoke from them has turned Sao Paulo's
midday skies into total darkness.
Bolsonaro has said, with no evidence, that
nonprofit groups started the fires to undermine
him.
But scientists point to three main causes
all stemming from human activity that are
driving this crisis, first, rampant deforestation.
A staggering amount of the Amazon rain forest
gets cut down intentionally.
In June alone, an area half the size of Rhode
Island was lost.
Much of the logging is illegal, and driven
by rising agriculture in the region.
Fire is routinely used by farmers to clear
out the brush for farming and grazing.
Droughts have also played a key role.
They occur naturally, but scientists say climate
change is likely making them worse and more
frequent.
The right-wing populist president has relaxed
environmental protections and prioritized
opening up the rain forest for development.
Bolsonaro has called the fires an internal
matter for Brazilians to resolve, but international
pressure for action is mounting.
French President Emanuel Macron plans to highlight
the crisis at this weekend's G7 summit with
world leaders in France.
And Macron threatened to withdraw French support
for a trade deal between the European Union
and South American countries, including Brazil,
if immediate action is not taken.
Ireland quickly followed suit.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Assad regime in Syria scored
another victory today in its long fight to
reclaim control of the country.
Government forces seized a cluster of towns
in northern Hama province.
That's just south of Idlib province, the last
major rebel stronghold.
A Syrian military offensive in the region
has killed more than 2,000 people and forced
half-a-million to flee since April.
In Hong Kong, pro-democracy protesters formed
a human chain tonight.
People linked hands across the Chinese territory.
Organizers said it extended 25 miles to show
solidarity and appeal for international support.
It was inspired by a human chain in the Baltic
states 30 years ago today.
Some two million people took part in that
event to protest Soviet control.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is
free tonight after a month in a Moscow jail
for calling a protest without government permission.
Russian authorities clamped down on the mass
protests earlier this summer, detaining 1,400
people and arresting dozens of leaders.
Navalny walked free today, vowing to keep
up the pressure and warning of new repression.
ALEXEI NAVALNY, Russian Opposition Leader
(through translator): Now we see the final
stage of degradation of this political regime,
who used to exist thanks to lies and falsifications.
Now we see that lies and falsifications are
not enough.
It proves that the authorities have no support.
They feel it and fear it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The protests began after Moscow
barred nearly two dozen independent candidates
from running in city elections next month.
They are seen as a possible litmus test for
national elections in 2021.
Back in this country, the Trump administration
asked the U.S. Supreme Court today to rule
that federal law does not bar companies from
firing workers just because they are gay.
The Justice Department argued the 1964 Civil
Rights Act was not intended to ban discrimination
against gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender
people.
The department made a similar argument last
week in a case specific to transgender rights.
There is word that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
was treated this month for a tumor on her
pancreas.
A court statement today said the tumor was
malignant, but localized.
It said there is no evidence that the disease
has spread and no need for additional treatment.
Ginsburg is 86.
She has had several bouts with cancer since
1999.
One more Democratic presidential candidate
dropped out of the running today.
Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
had focused on mental health issues, but failed
to gain traction in the crowded Democratic
field.
Moulton is now the third candidate to quit
the race in recent days.
And David Koch has died.
He was a billionaire businessman, one-time
vice presidential nominee, and conservative
mega-donor.
John Yang looks at his life and legacy.
JOHN YANG: David Koch helped his brother Charles
expand the Wichita-based Koch Industries into
one of the largest privately-held corporations
in the world.
He quickly became a notable figure in elite
New York social circles.
The business eventually became the fuel behind
one of the highest-spending political action
groups in modern American politics, Americans
for Prosperity.
NARRATOR: Americans for Prosperity is responsible
for the content of this advertising.
JOHN YANG: The anti-tax, pro-small government
group poured hundreds of millions of dollars
into conservative candidates and causes, often
through untraceable so-called dark money contributions.
MAN: The president's doing a mediocre job.
JOHN YANG: The oil-and gas-based Koch network
spent just under $400 million on the 2012
election, an unparalleled sum at the time
that filled the airwaves with attack ads.
NARRATOR: President Obama's health care law
is actually one of the largest tax increases
in history.
JOHN YANG: Targeting President Obama and the
Affordable Care Act, while long denying climate
change.
DAVID KOCH, Co-Founder, Americans for Prosperity:
I'm basically a libertarian.
JOHN YANG: In a 2014 interview with ABC's
Barbara Walters, Koch defended his political
contributions.
BARBARA WALTERS, ABC News: Do you think it's
fair that just because you have billions of
dollars, you can influence elections?
DAVID KOCH: Well, I contribute to public candidate
campaigns, and there's a federal limit on
how much you can contribute to each individual
candidate.
I obey the law in that regard, and feel I'm
doing it properly.
JOHN YANG: Limits on corporate donations to
political candidates had been lifted four
years earlier, the result of the Citizens
United Supreme Court battle that the brothers
had helped fund.
The Koch brothers famously didn't endorse
Donald Trump in 2016, over concerns about
free trade.
But their group did target several Democratic
senators in the 2018 midterm elections.
In addition to politics, Koch gave millions
to cancer research, some PBS programs, and
a full wing of the Smithsonian's Natural History
Museum.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And still to come on the "NewsHour":
Mark Shields and Ramesh Ponnuru examine how
President Trump rattles the financial markets
and European allies; the science of giving,
what works and what doesn't and eating the
world's poorest individuals; plus, backstage
with Atticus Finch -- the star Broadway's
"To Kill a Mockingbird" gets into character.
