this is deja vu news live from berlin a major ruling on america's opioid crisis a court in oklahoma ordering drug maker johnson and johnson to pay more than $500000000.00 for its part in fueling the epidemic that kills thousands in the u.s. every year also coming up. u.s. president donald trump ends the g.

7 summit by saying he would meet with iran's president if the conditions were right france president says the u.s. must take the 1st step. in the death of a towering figure in the auto industry. the former head of v.w. has died at 82. 2 i brian thomas thanks so much for joining us it is being called a watershed moment in america's opioid addiction crisis a court in oklahoma has ordered the consumer products company johnson and johnson to pay more than half a $1000000000.00 for its role in contributing to an epidemic that has killed thousands of americans it's the 1st case of its kind to go to trial and could provide a model for litigation elsewhere in the u.s.

the judge said the company was motivated by pure greed johnson and johnson denies any wrongdoing. he's probably needed box's son austin is one of 6000 oklahomans believed to have died from an opioid overdose since the start of the millennium a promising american footballer he died in his prime. austin was living a nightmare the nightmare at prescription drug abuse now the 1st of thousands of lawsuits aimed at holding manufacturers and distributors to account has made it through trial cleveland county district judge that borkman have said prosecutors had proven johnson and johnson to create a public nuisance that would take decades to repair. so on today judge walker has affirmed or position that johnson and johnson motivated by greed and

avarice is responsible for the opioid epidemic. johnson and johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addiction caused by their activities. the company was accused of flooding the market with painkillers and deceptively marketing them denies wrongdoing saying its sales claims were backed by science it plans to appeal against the oklahoma court's decision. we have sympathy . for all who suffer. from substance abuse. but johnson and johnson. did not cause the opioid abuse crisis here in oklahoma. anywhere in this country. so many more claimants disagree with the company with 2000 families go to court in ohio later this year. let's get more of this now with our business reporter

rob watts good morning rob. the opioid crisis has been ravaging communities across america for years now can you give us some background to this case i mean the numbers we're talking about as you say are enormous 400000 americans are thought to have died from opioid overdoses since 1999 as between 19992007 so that doesn't even include you know the more recent years among those are 6000 oklahomans and so we've had this very 1st occasion on which a drug company has been taken to trial its part in the opioid crisis lawyers in oklahoma said johnson and johnson had over many years been using marketing techniques that played down the addictiveness of their products and played to their benefits and said that as a result of that don't over prescribing these painkillers people were getting

addicted and people were dying for that johnson and johnson say that it didn't overstate the benefits of its products and all its claims with fact off ice science and it plans to appeal against this decision of you know prosecutors were looking at a case of deceptive marketing as you pointed out what about the judge in this case in oklahoma what did he say in his ruling when he was harsh against johnson and johnson his words were that they used false misleading and dangerous marketing campaigns exponentially increasing rates of addiction and overdose deaths he also accused them of increasing the number of babies being born already addicted to opioids so rather creates. he used oklahoma's laws against public nuisance to right he was program using us right yeah exactly and he fine and his $572000000.00 and what that's going to pay for is

a year of dealing with the after effects of this opioid. anti addiction programs. and we're hearing the dealing with this could take decades into the future to get this under control johnson and johnson of course has been getting out front and trying to protect itself it's going to says it's going to appeal the ruling well can we expect from johnson and johnson to say they immediately said they are going to appeal it and they just because they feel that the finding is not based on fact says that it's marketing was supported by science and therefore valid weirdly shares in johnson and johnson have risen on news of them being to pay this money now that's perhaps because they don't have a prosecutors have been seeking $17000000000.00 from drugs companies so this 572000000 seems comparatively like quite a small amounts like it could have been much worse for the company so other

claimants there around 2000 other potential court cases over this across the u.s. will be looking at this ruling if they were planning to take a similar approach to oklahoma that we're taking part in it ok that's the thinking right now this could be a model for further litigation in other states rob what's good of your business thanks very much. well rance president hassan rouhani says there will be no talks with the u.s. until sanctions are lifted he was speaking a day after u.s. present thrown from open the possibility of a meeting with rouhani if the conditions were right made those remarks at the end of the g. 7 summit in france with host president a manual mccoll no on the topic of iran french president to manual mccaughan said the 2 leaders had 2 things in common. before an addition there are 2 very clear things which are important to us that way ron must never have a nuclear weapon and this situation should not upset the stability of the region

mccaughan denied reports that he had not informed the us president before inviting iran's foreign minister to the summit in an effort to save the 2015 year killer deal i decided to invite as friends. minister zarif so i informed before making it i informed president front that it was my idea not to involve the united states not to see this is on behalf of you of everybody but you see our friends i think it would be a good idea to ask him to go back and try to negotiate something separately before making when pressed on whether he would be prepared to meet iran's president or honey trump indicated he would but only when the time was right if the circumstances were correct or the right i would certainly agree to that but in the meantime. they have to be good players you understand what that means and they

can't do what they were going to do because if they do that they're going to be met with really very violent force we have no choice. so despite the hugs and handshakes it's unclear whether g 7 host mccaughan succeeded in calming tensions between iran and the u.s. or whether the summit will ease any war it was on the world's financial markets. well the brazilian president hired also naro has rejected an offer of aid from g 7 countries to fight the fires blazing in the amazon the group of wealthy nations said it would give brazil $20000000.00 to help contain those blazes but also in ours at the g 7 was treating his country like a colony. the air is thick with smoke and it's hard to bring him in a tree and now on the ground in the states or from tonia which has been hardest hit by the blazes as soon as one fires under control the next one breaks out huge areas now resemble underneath the landscape. will fall if

there are as one or 2 big fires we could deal with them better than all the small ones. money shot was a cool since there have been widespread protests since the fire thought it on friday under international pressure brazil's president both narrowed deployed soldiers to the region to fight the places brazil has said it will accept aid from israel and argentina but also now responded shoppy to a pledge of $20000000.00 from t 7 leaders on twitter he accuses french president a minimal michael of having a colonialist attitude towards brazil. oh you know it will go again do you think someone gives money without wanting something in return save it for why do they have their eye on the amazon what do they want lorna to get as good a laugh since entering office both narrow has slashed environmental protection in the amazon and it paid to open up the area to industry and spur economic growth

through all scientists have recorded about 80000 fires in brazil since the beginning of the year half of them in the amazon region about half a 1000000 hectares of forest in neighboring bolivia are also thought to have also been destroyed by places the city of port have a go in the brazilian state of run donia is especially on edge correspondent mathias hébert is there earlier we asked him how long it might take for these fires to be put out. the firefighters see and run donya state they told us that they at least will be one more month here fighting in the different reserves indigenous reserves together with the military's so it will be a long process for them to fight all the fires here it will not disappear soon because new fire sources will appear as it was the case in the last days already so brazil is really looking towards a tough period of time the next days and weeks and i think that also more airplanes

are needed to military planes already fighting the fire sources but the offer from europe and canada should be accepted at least in order to be able to fight more rapidly the fires here in this room don't your region and the president johnson are also is really important in this issue if he changes his policy and his yeah not ignoring any more the threats to for the amazon then i think the fight would be much more effective and also the brazilians would take it seriously. this is the interview news live from berlin still to come on the show the automotive world is farewell to car executive then and the man who turned around a bit of his fortunes and made it one of the world's top car a look at his legacy. but 1st let's preview on some of the other stories making the news right now in new york court has postponed ari weinstein's sexual assault trial until january of next year now that's after prosecutors filed

a new indictment to allow testimony by another accuser the actor annabella for your disgraced film producer has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and predatory sexual assault. on kong leader kerry lamb says the escalation of violence in the chinese territories antigovernment protests is becoming more serious through speaking publicly for the 1st time since police used water cannon and fired live ammunition during last weekend's them straight since the protests in hong kong have been continuing for 12 weeks now. a spacecraft carrying a humanoid robot has successfully docked at the international space station the russian soyuz spacecraft had to make a new attempt for reaching the space station after it failed to dock on saturday years to robot named fade or it will spend 10 days on the i.r.s. s while learning to assist human organs for. well key regional

elections are taking place this weekend here in germany in the eastern states of brand burg and saxony they're being very carefully watched because traditional parties are expected to lose support in the far right is for forecasts to make big gains also for the 1st time the environmentalist green party is seeing a surge in its approval ratings in the. met up with the co-leader of the greens robert habeck to talk about the party's prospects in the idea that he could succeed. chancellor of germany this month cycling to a small town saxony could well be on his way to succeed angela merkel as germany's next chancellor in recent months all but havoc has taken his green party to new heights in the opinion polls they're expected to double their share of the vote in next sunday's regional elections in the eastern states of brandenburg and saxony a development that raises big questions about bigger ambitions. in my walking

through the countryside here with the future chancellor of germany. because most of all you're walking next to a party leader he's campaigning in saxony in brandenburg together with his colleagues at the beginning of the year everyone said sure you have a good opinion poll just what you would get all crushed in brandenburg and sectioning and then the opposite could happen as germany's big 10 parties lose support the greens have been going mainstream. the club the greens the new center force of jump politics. your visits nearly certainly hold positions other parties used to hold the forests and that have become part of germany's d.n.a. like the fact that a social market economy is there to serve the people and that we don't want to die hard capitalism and that europe has to be the core aim of germany foreign policy. the former rebel greens at ease with becoming establishment so again ready for

chancellor. that's a fair question as we've been around the 20 percent for a while now but it's too early for that opposition. in saxony the greens try to prove they are unafraid of the right wing populism that is dividing the country further north they're aiming even higher whereas this side of the road here in saxony the greens are unlikely to significantly change the political game just across the road in the neighboring state of brandenburg the greens are well on the way into regional government. here they have been able to score with voters in the race to offer alternatives to the far right if tea party the tightly contested race between those pushing for change and those promising the return to good old days seize the greens also an anonymous a trained doctor up against the f.t. parties and yes kind of gets an army veteran. because we cannot afford to fail on

our climate targets time and time again we finally need to get serious about meeting the 1.5 degree target of the paris accord we only have a couple of years left to do that the navy yard a liberal leaning crowd feels the a protest too much overt rhetoric on migration. we have to openly address the problems people have and that's what the f.d.a. is about we don't start fears. of the high hopes of the greens prove that the political battle in eastern germany is not simply about the rise of the far right it's also about who might replace uncle america as her political era draws to a close. and to talk about these bellwether german elections we're here with political correspondent manual shay's good morning to you emmanuel could this weekend state elections be a window into germany's political future a reorientation of voters away from the traditional parties and and toward the

greens on one hand and the f.t. on the other well let me give you some figures. the a.v. holds 21 percent of the voting attention and 25 percent in the states of sex and what what that means is that. could become the 1st party in the region followed by to see due to conservatives and the social democrats so we end this idiot a conservative and in saxony day of the would be set to become the 2nd in those elections now the greens. in the 5th place in banda vogue and into 4th place in saxony what that shows is that there's a cli loss of trust from the voters to was traditional party and that could be beneficial not only to the a.v. in terms of votes but others so and perhaps mostly to do greens because so far both in the book and in saxony the ruling president ministers that means the head of the

original party most category ruled out any clothing with a far right party over of the ok were they going to go listen with the greens potentially i mean i mean is that a possibility that would be that that would be a possibility now we have to to see how the greens fared so far in those regions compared to the a.v. if you look at the if the if he played on voters' frustrations and feedings of having been forgotten for a long time by the federal government at the time of the reign if a cation and the if he mobilized cinephile big and racist minorities in those wages using a populist with all rake and 90 migrant discourse why it's quite different for a drug. in part if you look at the history of the green party in does regions the green party started out in west and germany was a very different mentality where patients are very different defocus the name

indicates is trying to be on the environment. most of the patients are on the economy situation and that is where we have 2 worlds colliding how can a party like the greens promote renewable energy you know eastern germany why do you come with me relies heavily revolves heavier on coal mines for example yes it's a good question but the coal mining and the driving some of the voting there you know is the final results do come in with the statistics that you just mentioned there the if the leading right now by here in brandenburg just behind. you in saxony what would that mean for the governing coalition and for all america well that would be said for the ruling coalition once again you say date it shows that the voters don't place a trust in traditional parties anymore so that would confirm the far right party of the if he was a 1st opposition party outside. and that also puts into question the fact that none

of the traditional party actually wants any coalition with. our report looked at the green party co-chair robert habeck potentially becoming the next german chancellor is that green wishful thinking or is it something the country could be ready for well so far the greens are on the 2nd in devoting intentions in terms in case of general elections if general elections were to take place so we can still expect the leader of the conservative party to become chancellor because a conservative party c. is said to come for us and that would be i think stand i'm good at camp. that being sait robert had. has something that the 2 conservative parties both the c.d.u. end date as baby come on they hope for and that his charisma people know him people like him he's very popular that's something that i'm a guy calm combo a husband managed to achieve so far and also for the s.p.d.

to still getting they're still looking into getting a leader in the 1st place that's an all knowing who could be there is the human factor that is often so decisive is money well thanks so much for coming in this morning or staying in germany and he was one of the most powerful men in the global car industry had enough has died at the age of 82 as head of v.w. he's traded with reviving that company's fortunes and turning it into one of the world's biggest car makers. he had to v.w. in his d.n.a. ferdinand was a man practically born in the driver's seat p.s. grandfather was fed and porsche the man who designed the iconic folk fog and beetle . discovered his passion for cars and technology at an early age he studied mechanical engineering and after climbing the corporate ladder became c.e.o. of the v.w. group which was then 1000000 sold and transformed the company. it's good to him

look at the number one for there are always winners and losers. and with our partners which v.w. has across the whole world i intend to be the winner. within a few years v.w. was again making a profit that laid the cornerstone for his reputation as a visionary car executive when v.w. acquired porsche was already creep cham and the merger was a long time ambition of his the father of 12 children believed v.w. and pushup belongs to. that in 2015 p.s. found himself in a power struggle with the w.'s then c.e.o. mott inventor korn it was a struggle p.s. lost and he resigned an abrupt end to his story to korea. sports now in the last tennis grand slam tournament of the year u.s.

open got underway on monday roger federer and novak djokovic reaching the 2nd row while the match of the day sauce arena williams crushing her longtime rival maria sharapova williams wedding 6161 in just 59 that's as she looks to equal the record for grand slam singles titles that's 24 championships the american lost in last year's. well meanwhile the 1st major upset of that tournaments all germany's on julie kavner crashing out of the 1st round she lost to france's christina let in of it 2 sets to one it completes a bad year in grand slams where the champion of the 2016 u.s. open. only on your one t.v. video music awards brought the glitz and glamour to the city of new york newark new jersey pop superstar taylor swift won the award for best video the best are surprised going to carry on a grand day now there's also a special and many say a long overdue nod for one veteran. so. it

wouldn't be the music awards without a lot of wild and crazy. i think that her. and event dotted line make a star. after mega star for her their. fan presence was guaranteed. for. taylor swift won 2 of the iconic m.t.v. awards including video of the year for her gay pride anthem you need to calm down she said her win proved that fans want a world where all are treated equally. rap icon missy elliott received a lifetime achievement honor at the event. missy elliott is being honored tonight she's one of my favorite entertainers all time and i think that this honors overdue i love her as a person she has an amazing heart but as an entertainer she's

a game changer so i'm so excited to be in the building like. panda steamy is performance was delivered by shawn mendez and camilla cabello something to keep fans warm until next year's award season begins. get your reminder now of our top stories this hour cored new york state of oklahoma has ordered the consumer products company johnson and johnson to pay more than half a $1000000000.00 for fueling an opioid crisis that has killed thousands of americans as 1st piece is kind of trial and could provide a model for litigation elsewhere in the u.s. . and u.s. president donald trump says he might be willing to meet with the reigning president of the song ronny within weeks that is if the right conditions are met he made those remarks at the end of the g. 7 summit in france was host president among one across. the state of the news live

from the lead we have more coming up at the top of the hour up next from our sports department kickoff for a view of the business leaders week number 2 don't forget can always get the latest news on the web site as well for me brian thomas the entire team thanks so much. closer.

to. kick off a. treat is the magic number symbol in this league come. secure loose 3 points with a trio of goals dome and incline of the time against 3 men david couzin induce a little contact in minds freiburg out of lone wolves cold in the mean time i am slim and dusty with his own country again shall see. it.

don't. know nothing of the day. i just sometimes am but i'm still laughing when it happens me the german thinks deep into the german culture of looking at the stereotype clad in ears think the future of the country that i not blame. yet needed to be paid for this drama day out to me it's all about ok i know i'm a joke join me from the jet on the w. post and the hour starts rising people fight for some little money he's out of it when there's a flood water comes up to your waist when you close fast and everyone. but a lack of water is an equally dangerous. place and you can see people moving south

so they can plant crops and trying to meet the system. floods and droughts with climate change become the main driver of mass migration you could look right any going to matter if you want and probably more dependent on. the climate exodus starts september 5th on d. w. . obviously. everyone's talking about one of.