captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the "newshour" tonight, protestors in hong kong bring one of the world's busiest airports to a standstill, as fears grow over a chi military crackdown. then, new threats of extinction as the trump administration changes the rules of the endangered species actun and on the gat the iowa state fair, where butter sculptures and 2020 presidential hopefuls vie for voters' attention. >> i agree with what biden has toay, but i also agree wit warren and with sanders has to say, so i'm right w m kind of conflicted.. >> nawaz: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." or

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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: air traffikoc in hong was brought to a ground stop after a fourth day of protests inside the international airport. more than 150 flights were canceled. thousands of anti-government demonstrators tcupiedhe terminal, holding signs and chanting calls for democratic reforms. they're demanding the resignation of the teorrrs chief executive carrie lam, and an investigation into police use of force. we'll have more on this after the news summary. the trump administration finalized rollbacks on the nixon-era "endangered species act" today. the changes end automatic "endangered species" protection for those classified as "threatened."

they'll also allow economic cost to factor into whether or not b species shouprotected. conservation groups-- and at least ten attorneys general-- have warned the move could put more wildlife at risk for extinction. 'll take a look at the impact of today's rollback later in the program. in economic news: a sell-off in the banking and technology sectors caused stocks to plunge on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 391 points to close at 25,896. the nasdaq fell more than 95 points, and the s&p 500 slid 36. in eastern china the death toll from aeekend typhoon has now risen to at least 45 people. rescue workers are still evacuating residents stranded in buildings after their streets were submerged by floodwaters.n crews have brking to clean up debris left behind. meanwhile, in southern india, days of torrential ain and mudslides have now killed nearly 100 people and displaced 400,000 others.

in the worst-hit state of kerala, muddy water filled the roads as rescue workers in boatc helped people te. at least one crocodile found refuge on the roof of a submerged home. d ( translated ): it has been at least five to ss. everybody is stuck in flooded villages, animals and others all are stuck there. people are facing a lot of problems. water has come from all directions. water has entered all the houses. >> nawaz: last year's in congo, two experimental drugs are showing promise in the fight against ebola. they're part of a clinical trial that began last november. the therapies are the first of their kind to treat patients who've already contrachid the ly contagious disease. people who received the drugs shortly after becoming infected had a 90% survival rate. the ebola outbreak in congo killed more than 1,800 people over the past year. back in this country, a friend of the m who shot nine people

in dayton, ohio last weekend told investigatorse purchased e.e body armor and ammunition used in the ramp federal prosecutors unsealed charges against ethan kollie today. but they emphasized there was no evidence kollie knew about the attack. >> in the course of this ongoin investigatto the august 4 shooting, anyone who isov died to have any criminal culpability for any act that is ultimately discovered through the investigation or contributed in any way to the events on august 4 is going to be heldpo criminally rible. >> nawaz: kollie was charged today with lying on a federa firearms form used for an unrelated gun purchase. also today, lawyers for comedian bill cosby appeared pennsylvania appeals court today, in a bid to get his sexual assault conviction overturned. they argued a judge denied cosby a fair trial by letting additional accusers testify iner case that cod only one allegation. the 82-year-old is now serving a prison sentencof 3-10 years

for drugging and assaulting a woman in 2004. mdecision on the appeal is not expected for severths. still to come on the "newshour," protestors in hong kong shut down a major airport-- risking retribution from the chinese military. questions and conspiracy theories in the wake of billionaire sex offender jeffrey epstein's deat the trump administration moves to radically reduce the amount of legal immigration to the u.s. democratic hopefuls head to the storied iowa state fair and our politics monday team examines the state of the race. plus much more. >> nawaz: hong kong's airport was shut down today, occupied by thousands of protesters. the authorities in beijing again struck an ominous no comparing the mass protests to "terrorism" and, as thousands of chinese security psonnel

mustered on hong kong's border, beijing declared there should be "no leniency or mercory"he protesters. jonathan milleviof independent sion news reports. ( screams ) >> reporter: in air thick with tear gas inside an unrodeund station, hong kong police last night resorting to ever-haheher tactics,se protestors had been attempting to flee. ( crying ) across the harbor, outside a police station, a protester was shot in theye with a rubber veom a police shot gun. despite wearing protectioggles, her eyeball was ruptured and there are fears she could lose h eye. earlier in the same location, police fried tear gas fromsi in the station. a battle ensued, as otestors laid siege. then this: ( explosion )si

a policeman suffered burns to his legs. today an infuriated beijing lashed out, branding this terrorism. the state council, chinas cabinet, ratcheting up the ruthlessness of the rhetoricw leaving no rooto back down. "these were serious and sinister crimes," it said, "protestors reckless." hat thehad reached w spokesman called a critical juncture. >> ( translated ): such violent crimes must be resolutely cracked down on, iaccordance with the law. no leniency, no mercy, weng st support the hong kong police as they enforce the law strictly to bring the criminals to justice as soon as possible. ♪ ♪ there's been mounting alarm in hong kong, over whether china might order military onto the streets. but today, communist party papers released footage complete with sinister soundtrack, showing convoy of peopleinpolice

heto shinjin on hong kong's northern border. ♪ ♪ these paramilitary under command of central military council headed by president xi himself b han used to put down protest, often brutally, in other regions. growing outrage over police brutality led to thousands of demonstrators converging today on hong kong international airport, one of the busiest in the world.g force total cancellation of all flights in and out. "it's e protestors that were brutal today," the police said, exhibiting weapons tsahewere confiscated. most hong kongers wont buy that now trust is broken. there are 28 years still to go before china can taknte full col of hong kong. but beijing looks impatient rr bring the teitory under its authoritarian aegis.

among hong kongers, banks and businesses, a quiet but rising nic. >> nawaz: attorney general william barr today sharply criticized t management of the manhattan federal jail where wealthy financier je epstein was found dead in his cell this weekend. as john yang reports, epstn's death does not mean the end to the federal sex-trafficking t investigatit led to his arrest. >> reporter: amna, in histo remarky the attorney general also pledged that "any co-conspirators should not rest easy. the victims," barr said, "deserve justice and they will get it." so where does e case go now? jessica roth is a professor at yeshiva university's cardozo school of law.

jessicwhroth, thanks. do prosecutors in the case of the united states versus jeffrey epstein do n jeffrey epstein is dead? >> well, the case against jeffrey epstein mself will be dismissed because he's now deceased and you cat oceed with a criminal case against a person who's dead, but the overall criminal investigation will continue. over the weenend, u.s. att for the southern district of knowledge jeff berman issued a statement in which he made clear that the criminal investigation would continue and sd his office would continue to stand up for the victims, and, in particular, he point to the fact that jeffrey epstein had been charged in one count of the indictment with conspiring with hers to engage in sex trafficking and that's significant because the law of conspiracy requires proof that o or more persons agreed to commit a crime. what that means is mr. berman was prepared to prove in court that at least one other and poibly others were engaged in coop spiersy with jeffrey epstein. >> we know in the four that

highly cticized florida's non-prosecution agreement, that were named fouro potential co-conspirators that were not charge and in this new york indictment, there were three people cited though not named o also participated in this. do you think we're likely to see indictments against those folks coming up in the coming days? >> i don't know about the timeline, but certainly from everything that's been indicated by the u.s. attorney's office and what's been publicly reported, it wou seem that they have significant evidence against other people. i as you mentionthe indictment, there are people identified not by name but in terms of the role they played. clearly, the u.s. attorney's office has evidence against those other people and they will be pursuing that investination and loalso at the evidence that was collected surgt search of jeffrey epstein's home a the day of hest to see what that yields at the involvement ofo-conspirators and accomplices. b

itn rumored his pilots have been subpoenaed and questioned about who was involved in arranging the travel for e sex trafficking. so i think need to be painent while thstigators reorient to a case in which jeffrey epstein will not sit at the table but mr. berman made it ear the investigation is ongoing. >> reporter: even withouana convictionrosecutors go after his assets or, i guess, in this case, his estate? >> yes. so there's still a process through which the u.s. attorney's offe can go after assets that were used to facilitate the crimes that have en alleged here. so, for example, his manhattanle town house, dly, was used as a place where some of the unlawful activity occurred. if his properties in the virginr islandinvolved, they could be sought but a civil forfeiture

proceedings and any sets recovered distributed to victims for restitution through the federal government. it allows a proof by preponderance of evidence standard which is a civilrd stanf proof rather than the criminaleyond a reasonable doubt standard and allows the nrrative of what unfolded his crimes to be colchd, because f the proof to be offered would have been offered in a criminal trial against jeffr epstein. >> this doesn't do anything to the civil lawsuits that might be coming from accusers? >> no, those can proceed as well. the accusers have multiple avenues through which they can seek some measure of jtice. none will be the same as actually confronti jeffrey epstein in a criminal case. through the civil lawsuits, they can pursue his estate. as i mentioned, the civil asset foforfeiture proceedings is another avenue of potential

release and as we discussed a ment ago, there's a possibility of criminal proceedings against others who were hisccomplices and co-conspirators. >> reporter: jessica roth of the school of law, mhank you vech. >> thank you. >> nawaz: the trump administration announced ts ay that it pl implement new immigration rules and, as yamiche alcindor expins, its one of the most aggressive steps yet to limit legal iigtion. >> reporter: today's new rule from the trump administration limits who will be eligible to apply for a green card in th u.s. under current law, immigrants are already required to prove that they are t what the government deems a "public charge." today, the acting head of u.s. citizenship and immigration services ken cuccinei said any immigrants who use-- or might one day be eligible to use-- an expanded set of public benefits y not be eligible for legal status.

>> the benefits to taxpayers is a long term benefit of seeking to ensure that our immigration system is bringing people to join us as american citizens as legal permanent residents first who can stand on their own two feet, who will not reliant on thwelfare system, especially in the age of the modern welfare state which is so expansive and expensive frankly. >> reporter: under the new rule, the benefits involved willin ude common services afforded to immigrants under current law- - public housing, medicaid and food stamps. to break all this down i'm b jointheresa cardinal brown. she is the director of immigration and cross-border policy at the bipartisan policy center in washington. thanks so much, theresa, for being here. talk to me about how this will impact immigrants and the legal immigration process in the united states and who will be most impacted by this new rule. >> sure. so the rule applies to those who are applying to get ingreen cars he united states.

and, so, one of the long-standing issuesat in immin laws as you mentioned is whether or not some become a public charge. that has been broadly defined as somebody who has beemoly dependent on the government. it's a criteria that has been, i'd say, used sparingly, especially over the last couple of decades but has been a priority oisthis admation to implement. so it would look whether or not people who are applyinto be green cardholders are jewsic public benefits they might be eligible for. they are looking for privat imms and non-immigrants who are looking to extend or change their status. n you teter: what ca us about immigrants use benefits in comparison to native born americans. >> what we found is, in general, individual immigrants use benefits less often and at lower rates than u.s. citizens do, but some immigrant-headed

households, particularly with u.s. citizen childn may use itre because the children are eligible for bens that maybe the immigrant parents are not. >> critics of the new rule say this is the trump administration unfairly targeting immigrants. e are goingalks ther to be legal challenges to this. how does this new rulenteally factorhow the trump administration has overall used its immigration agenda to target different groups? >> well, particularly its regulatory agenda has been about legal immigrants, and one of the things that we have seen is that a lot of the regulatanges that have been implemented have been about reducing eligibility ler legal immigration, reducing the number of peho can qualified for legal immigration or slowing down the legal immigration process. >> reporter: you said the te public charge had been implemented sparingly.t tell us abe history of the term public charge and how certain immigravt groups been subject to that term and what it's meant overall and in the years coming. >> well, the idea of preventing

the poor or paupers from immigranting has been around basically since the beginninof the republic. initial why liwhen the united states was creed states had control over who could immigranf and would lo people who could not work or support themselves. in the 1800s, congress passed the chinese escalation act that included this public charge rule, but, over the years, it has been very subjtively enforced. during the ellis island days, they would look whether or not they thought somebody was physically able of performing work, did they have family members already here, sponsors, did they bring any money with them, so it was sort of on the fly. this has been a priority of this administration to ge charge rule published since the administration came in.er an executive oas issued early in the presidency asking for this to be done. so it's new in thawe don't know exactly how it's going to be implementedel. it's aive standard especially the prospective looking part is an iigrant

likely to be become a public charge, that's more eciffyse they're looking at is he going to have a work history, what's the education level, do they have health issues where they would become a public charge. we've already seen cbeome of ths use consulates overseas have been implementing this through the review process over the last year, already. >> reporter: now i want toa turn tjor story from last week. 680 immigrants were arrested at immigration raids in food processing centers in mississippi. what goes into such raids andat egal consequences if any do employers face? >> a raid of that size and scope has probably been in process for many, many months. it probably was based on informatioat immigration and customs enforcement received and they also collaterally arrested undocumented immigrants they found on the premises.

now i.c.e. will go through the documents they found during the search warrants to s ithey have another evidence to proceed with prosecutions of those employers, so when they see prosecutions, historically it's been much more difficult to osecute employers for knowingly hiring undocdumente immigrants than it has been to arrest the undocumented immigrants themselves and see them deported. >> reporter: thanks for joining us, theresa cardinal brown of the bipartisan policy center. >> tha you. >> nawaz: with six months befo the first-in-the-nation iowa caucuses, more than 20 presidential hopeful on the hawkeye state this weekend. as lisa desjardins reports, voters were navigating crowds people and the crowded candidate field. ♪ ♪ a> reporter: wcome to the i state fair a mix of high political stakes and high blood sugar-- all on a stick, or on a soapbox. >> hello iowa! >> you have a very important

choice to make. >> this is going to be a test for all of us. >> this is the moment we bring our people together. >> that's why m here asking for your support. >> reporter: the soapbox: where candates each get 20 minutes-- has never held more presidential weight. 23 contenders, incding one g.o.p. challenger to president trump, will come and goai throughout the and with each one comes a waing mosh pit of press attention.or none mso than former vice president joe biden... h >> rige, right here! >> i gotta get there >> reporter: ...who barely had room at his own press conference. biden has been here before-- in failed runs in 1988 and 2008. but he's never had the lead in iowa until now. and it's a large, nearly ten- point lead. >> go joe! >> reporter: his supporters feel they know him. they trust him. >> i like joe biden. i enjoyed him when he was with obama and stuff and so i think

oohe would definitely be a candidate for sure. >> reporter: but opponents question if biden sparks enough passion. >> how do you do that? >> look at the polls. so far so good. so i do it by being me. look, no one's ever including reporters cover me all the time. no one's ever doubted i mean etat i say. the problem is ses i say all that i mean >> the fair is everything. >> reporter: matt paul has deep roots with the democratic pa in iowa-- he ran hillary clinton's winning iowa campaign in 2016. despite biden's early lead, paul says the state is still up for abs. >> he's popular here, but he has work to do. he's got to be here more. i think he's got to talk about the future >> reporter: some voters are more blunt about biden. >> if he were the primary candidate i'd still vote for him. but i don't wa him to be the candidate. i want someone new and fresh >> reporter: among those angling new and fresh is california senator kamala harris, third in

iowa polls. her staff is energetic and her fair crowd was large, but she dipped in the last poll here, and admits she's still building. >> we have over 65 staff in iowa. d you know there are people in this race who have had national inofiles for many years. i'm still introdmyself to people. >> 2020 >> reporter: quickly surging here is massachusetts senator elizabeth warren, now second in the iowa polls, and captain of what many see as the best- ornized ground-game in the state-- with fired-up volunteers like joie otting. >> i think it's impousrtant that wetake a new, almost radical-- not to call elizabeth warren radical-- but take a big change in direction. >> reporter: this is a problem for bernie sanders.ma >> let me ke a majmeor announnt: pretty good. >> reporter: the vermont senator is still popular in iowa, butsi the most ground to warren. over one million people will come to the iowa state fair. that is a prime political audience, especially for the

many democrats trying break into the top tier. the problem: there are just so many candidates. and they're seemingly everywhere-- flipping pork, pouring beer, and counting corn kernels. and voters are overwhelmed. >> i a registered democrat. i'm an open-ticket voter, but i have n do.e what i'm going to >> buttigieg. um... biden. >> biden. i like beto, but-- but we'll see how it goes with that. >> i agree with what biden has to say. t i also agree with warren and with sanders has to say so i'm right now i'm kind of conflicted. >> reporter: and thus, candidates are self-separating in groups. the midwesterners... how do you break out? >> i think you do it the old fashioned way. you just keep reaching out to people and you meet peop. >> when people hear what i have to say, especially coming from ohio and being in iowa, it's very similar culturally and it's resonating. >> reporter: thosepefocused on

onal contact. >> i've had a lot of town halls, lots of events at breweries, and it makes a difference because peoplean get to know me, i can get to know them, make sure i'm lifting up their voices. >> i'm really focuse wd on is do whre doing out here today really getting down into communities here in iowa new hampshire and otheheparts of country. >> i believe that as the race gets smaller and smaller people pay more attention tato the candid. >> reporter: and the i-can-get- it-done policy folks... >> so the way we break out is by just keep hammering the message the amican people that we need solutions not soundbites and that it's not their imagination. >> i think when that-- when the field shrinks they're going to start focusing on ideas, who's got the .best ide who's the best person to beat trump. and that's when i think i can break through. ep i've just got to inding fresh ways to-- to talk about what we did in colorado. and most importantly how we brought people together. >> reporter: and then rsere's new je senator cory booker, who says he's already rising-- in less-noticed metrics like endorsements and staff. >> the people that have gone on are people more like me, the people like jimmy carter or

barack obama or bill people were considered long shots this far out. but what were they ws ere doing ey were building incredible organizations here in iowa. >> reporter: there's another issue for democrats g iowa-- beatesident trump in a state he won by nine points. >> i like ump. i like trump. j het... he's just a guy. he's not a politician. he's just a guy like me. >> reporter: here, democrats' move to the left for the primary is pushing some away. >> they're so liberal. they just don't even want to move on in this world. they want everything to be socialism. they wt everything to be calm and nice and everybody loves everybod but you know sometimes you got to get out and get a little aggressive. en reporter: at the iowa state fair this week, sces of whirling americana, rows of fried foods and some 40,000 prize ribbons. but, for candidates-- far less reward. traditionally ju the top three

finishers in iowa are thought to have a real shot at the nomination. the fair marks the end of summer for the state, but it's the beginning of the real heat in the race for president. for the pbs newsur, i'm lisa desjardins at the iowa state fair in des moines. >> nawaz: of course, the iowa state fair stretches on until next sunday-- and there are >> nawaz: of course, the iowatr state fairches on until next sunday-- and there are es for faiw candidat goers to see, including tomorrow's soapbox headliner, that's south bend, indiana mayor pete buttigieg. but for now, this a good place totart our "politics monday" round-up, with tamara keith of "npr" and co-host of thod"npr politicsst," and shawna thomas, d.c. bureau chief for "vice news". >> nawaz: the iowa state fair is supposed to be an opportunity for the candidates to break away from the pack, take a chance nu shine or conin the middle and fight for airport did anyone stand out in the last few days? i was there. o was technically on vacation. i did eat fried ds but also -- >> you played political tourist

can't turnf. so what i saw is that candidates like kamala harris and elizabeth warren who are not at the very top in the polls drew very large crowds of very interested people who came early and stayed late and watched their speeches. in fact,or warren, when she was speaking at the soap box you actually couldn't walk past the entire grand passageway or whatever it's called, the big road in the middle of the fairgrounds was completelyes cod with people who had stopped to watch her speak. r and that sort lects what you've seen in the polls, which is that elizabh warren, you know, taking as many selfies as she has to take at e,very eve has begun to sort of notch things up in iowa, i believe, in the latest iowa poll.

she's in seconds whined joe ttden. >> every selfie s at this stage but worth reminding people still overix months away before anyone in iowa casts a vote. how much does this atter, this cycle? much does the iowa stat fair matter in any cycle? what our correspondent on vice news was telling mand she was out there as well was there was so much media there that she was confused as to whether the candidates were actually able to speak to iowans one on one. you have the register soapbox which is a good way to get the candidates' stump speech out there, but historically they have been trying to have one-on-one interactions with iowans. ans are said all iow here. it's not just a democratic party event or some special interest event, you could run into anyone ubut it's hard to do with the amount of media there. some took advantage of having

conversations with people who wouldn't necessarily want or be able to to see them at a democratic event. >> not all attention is good. one of the story lines is how former vice president joe biden has done so far in sseome of t events. i want to play a couple of quick sound bytes from thursday, oneut from saturday,hese are the kinds of comments from biden then are getting atton now. take a listen. >> four kids who areas jus brave and talented as whit, kialthy kids -- (applause) >> i watched the kids from parkland when i was vice president. >> we'realling these as gaffes in the speech.ct he corhimself later. is it fair criticism of him now? >> it is joe biden.e den called himself a gaffe machine. is is sort of a trademark. he does this. he's done this his entire

political career. when he announced he was runniny for presiden knew this was going to happen and it has continued to happen all along. one thing that's very puzzlingis is this weekenhe weekend everyone is talking about, well, will joe biden's gaffes matter, and i think the way they could matter is if voters decide that it's an dicator of something larger, if it taps into a concern that voters have perhaps about his age or some other thing like that. but that joe biden would say the wrong words or stumble is not new. >> but i think when he says the wrong words and stbled historically when we both covered him before, it's uncle joe. it's, like, it's joe biden, he's great, wtever, like the awkward touching and that kind of thing. but whenou are the frontrunner to be president and everyone thinks you may have a shet at gettingemocratic nomination, everyone is going to

pay attention to every little stumble, and i think that is going to get worse. some of why this has been highlighted is trump's team is thone who pushed this narrative event. i am interested to see if a lower ti presidential candidate goes along this narrative. like a one who's actually on t s democrate, because, of course, president trump is going to push this. he wants to beat biden. he thinks biden is the guy to beat. but to the cory boers of the world or does someone else start trying to talk about joe biden'a age orthese gaffes, does it cause democratic infighting, and i think that's something to worry more about at this stage with biden. >> over the weekend donald trump retweeted a post froanm a come linking the clintons to the death of jeffrey epstein, the cused sex trafficker in jail this weekend. we're not showing it here because it's a conspiracy theory that traces back years to far right conspiracy theories. of all the things thide prt could be tweeting about this weekend, why this?

>> because he -- i m ieaan't get into the president's head and i can't pretend to be in the presidt's head, but he saw something, it attacked the clintons, he is still attacking the clintons, people still cheer lo her up at his campaign events, and, you know what? he pressed retweet, anthis is just what he does. he has spread other conspiracy theories. we can go all the way back to back obama's birth certificate. he could have been tweetings things like hey, does the bureau of prisons have staffing problems? there are real issues wi epstein and will his victims be able to be able see justice, but this is what the president likes to do and now we'rein taabout it. >> tammy, with 63 million twitter followers, i have been in countries where conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns are very active, it has an impact. are you worried about this here? >> we e also in a country where conspiracy theories have been active in recent years,

especially with social media, and president trump has at times retweeted or traffked in conspiracy theories. so thahe's doing this now is not really out of character. it's something that he does.at and i think e are in a time in this country where forpiracy theories, whatever reason, are particularly sticky, and especially on the righlybut not entin the right, also very much on the left con theories have taken hold. - this iss sort of - where we are. ue and the question really -- i mean, the largerstion that comes out of this conspiracy thing is what do we aut social media, and are we going to hold social mediataompanies accoe for the sproafd things that are not true? and this is something that congress has been talking about and they have been trying to talk about it but they hav't done anything yet. i think this reiterates that convertion is really important. >> another conversation to have another time.

shawna thomas and tamera keith, thanks to you both. >> you're welcome. >> nawaz: the trump administration is making some of the broadest changes in years to the endangered speciesct-- the landmark law signed by president richard nixon that's been credited with saving iconic species like the bald eagle anar the grizzly william brangham explores what today's changes could mean. >> reporter: that's right, amna. the endangered species act currently protects about 1,600 species in the u.s. by limiting the activities that could harm those species.ov and it's beewhelmingly successful in protecting those animals and plants. but the act has been a targetbl for rean lawmakers and industry groups for years. they argue these proctions cost too many jobs and too much money. now, the tru administration is proposing changes that one democratic lawmaker referred to as "taking a wrecking ball" to the act.

joining me now is "new york times" environmental reporter lisa friedman. lisa friedman, welcome back to the "newshour".nk >> tso much for having me. >> reporter: before to the administration's proposed changes, what species can we credit are alive tocause of the endangered species act? >> the endangered species act has helped to save f extinction some of the most a well-known plad animal species in the country -- the bald eagle, the izzly bear, the hump-back whe are all species who owe a tremendous amount to the protection of the endangered species act. >> reporter: as i mentioned before, the reblican lawmakers for decades have hated this law, wanted to dial it back, industry groups said the same thing, toot and it's not helping as much as it is hurting our industries. what is the trump administration proposing with these new changes? >> there are a number of changes in the final rules that were

issued today. a number of them are ones that environmental groups fear will severely weaken prots ectir plant and animal species. a list of just two othe big ones for now. one of them is a measure that would weaken the ability of scientists to protect species against the threats of climate e ange. another is a phrthat would introduce the ability of the federal government teo incl economic about sees. >> reporte an analysis that we're going to protect x species would cost us y ablght amount of money. >> exactly. currtly the law reads scientists can consider only one thing when considering to issue a species as threatened or endangered, the science, sit threatened, should it be listed. atat language is going to be

eliminated, and replaces it will give the federal government tto conduct analyses as you described to find out whether listing a species will cost money and perhaps lost development. the interior department has insisted that this won't change anything, that decions will still be made surely on the basis of science. they just wa to have the information and be able to knowh the informatio these listing possibilities come up. >> reporter: these cnges are coming amidst a lot of news about endangered species. we saw the u.n. a fegow months put out this report indicating upwards of a million plant and animal species globally could be threatened if we don't change our ways. help me understand what the administration is arguing. are they saying in the u.s. we are doing endangered species just fine or are they saying we

can it in a better way? what are they arguing? >> i think what we heard from the administration is it's possible to both be stewards of the environment while also cutting red tape, and their argument is that that is what shey're doing with t regulation today. >> reporter: is there a sense that ithese changes go through, any particular species that might be impacted? >> you know, one of the ones we hear about a lot are species that are affected by climate change andyou know, one that comes to mind easily is the polar bear.be the pola habitat is going to be affected dramatically by climate change. >> reporte their sea ice and habitat disappears year after .e >> exactly some of these changes are far into the future. whether this new regulation hamstrings scientists ability to take action to protect these species is something that the

environmental groups are very worried about. >> reporter: we know these arepr proposed rulesably going to be some lawsuits, right? what's the future look like? >> today, we heard from the attorneys general of liforniasetts and ca they have vowed to sue senatorne udall you med, he's going to be looking at legislative measures to block this in congress. seems with the makeup of this ngress, it's going to be very hard to pass anything that would block this legislatively. so i think the -- some of these questions about whether this regulation will stantest of time are going to be answered in the courts. >> reporter: lisa friedman of the "new york times," thank you. >> thank you. : >> nawmnast simone biles, who won an all-around gold medai at the 2016 ol, keeps making history. she won a rerd-tying sixth straight national championship in kansas city last night. and some of her moves were unpalleled.

>> reporter: simone biles is setting a standard that will be hardo top, reaching new heights in her routines and dazzling viewers with acrobatic feats, never dbefore. this weekend, she went a step further, becoming the first gymnast to successfully execute a triple double in her floor utine. that's two flips with three twists. ♪ ♪ her smiles yesterday were a dramomic contrast frer tears last week, when she railed against u.s.a. gymna biles is one of hundreds of athletes who said larry nassar had sexually assaulted them. >> i don't mean to cry, but it just-- it's hard coming here for an ovianization and had them fail us so many times. and we had one goal, and we'veth done everythin they've asked us for, even when we didn't want to. and they couldn't do one damn job. you had one job. you literally had one job and

u couldn't protect us. >> reporter: biles will he to the tokyo olympics next year as the favorite. >> nawaz: nancy armour is a sports today."t for "usa in her latest piece, armour said "simone biles isn't jut gymnast of her time, she's an athlete for the ages." she joins me now from chicago. nancy, thanks for being with us. so the triple-double is two flips with three twists. just how big a deal is this move? >> it is huge. it's the -- the physics of it alone are really unbelievable, almost. i mean, consider the fact that she is turning herself e over end twice, but at the same time, she is twisting her dy around three times. you have to have the physics of r yo exactly right o basically will stop in the air knd kind of plop to the ground. and she also has t exactly where she is in the air, otherwise, she couldo al

damage if she's off at all. the power and the strength that it takes to do this is really nothing short of amazing, and, obviously, this is why it's taken so long for a woman to even try it let alone land it like she did. >> nawaz: she got so much hype that if there was an suv on the floor she would have cleared it. eth one of two record-breaking moves she made, right? >> yes, she also did a double-double dismount off a balance people which is ado le-twisting double summersault, and what makes that so amazing is she's basically at a complete standstill before she does it. so imagine that you are trying to dunk a basketball from flat feet. it's not exactly comparable but pretty close. so what she's doing, the power and the strength thashe has to get these moves, it's unmatched, ornd not just gym enacts, but pretty much any t. >> nawaz: the peace we heards

from her dior to her giving this performance, the facts she's out there still competing for joseph koenig forc gymnastics, speaking ought about her abuse and then giving this performance, what does that say to you about simone biles? >> she's an amazing athlete d she's the best thing u.s.a. g gymnastics hng and has had going for years. she picks her spots w and what d e wants to say it, but she recognizes that she has an inheuence and that s can hold u.s.a. gymnastics' f teet fire and u.s.a. team toss cong she is the best gymnast in her sport and she has been failed and somebody has to answer that, and she continues to point that out and demand they do right noh just by her buother hundreds of women who were abused by larry nassar.

>> nawaz: nancy, there's a reason theove from this weekend has gone viral. people know they are watching greatness when they see it go by. you compared it to mohamed's ali to the rumble in the jungle. serena williams winning the u.s. open when pregnant. you mentioned simone biles being one of the best gymnasts of all time. is it fair to say she's one of the best athletes of all time? >> i think so. i was struck last night -- and i've seen her do manyr spectacuings, but this is one of those things that a decade or two decades from now,ly be able to picture it in my mind, if somebody says simone biles' tripple-trouble, this will middle east come to mind, and this is a mark of an athlete that transcended into sports and cross sports. if she doesn't qualify, i don't know who does. >> nawaz: we're lucky to watch ion.greatness in act nancy armour, thank you so much. >> thanks for having me.

>> nawaz: george lucas and george r.r. martin have cited him as an influence on their work helping them imagine what an adventure story might look like. now, n.c. wyeth gets a new looki in an tion of hisan illustrations d paintings. jerey brown reports for our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." >> reporter: the beautiful brandywine river valley in pennsylvania: inspiration and home to newell convers-- better known as "n.c." wyeth. today it's also home to the brandywine river museum of art, in chadds ford, which is giving wyeth a new look. it was robert louis stevenson who wrote the beloved adventure tale, "treasure island." but for millions of americans beginning in the early 20th centy, it was wyeth who created the lasting images of pirates and much more.

>> the personal paintings, the illustrations, he did mural work, he did advertising work. so, his reach into the different aspects of visual culture is so broad. >> reporter: christine podmaniczky is co-cutoof the exhibition, "n.c. wyeth: new perspectives." the goal here: to present a more well-rounded portrait of an artist who painted scenes of rural life here and in coastal maine, where he had residence, but who remains best known for his book illustrations-- the smaller reproductions of his large-scale paintings for such classic children's storiess" robin hood," "last of the mohicans," "king arthur." "wyeth's genius," says podmaniczky, "was to find just the right moment in the story to bring to life." as when ung jim hawkins first leaves home in "treasure island." >> i said goodbye to motr and the cove. that's all stevenson writes-- >> reporter: that's it? >> that's it, all he writes

about jim hawkins leaving home, going off on this exploit where he's to search for treasure. ut when you look at thesure. painting, you see how much n.c. wyeth has brought here in the form of emotion. first of all, the look on jim hawkins face. but his use of shadow, the sharp lines, the sort of cloud over the mother, posture, all sortsig of things en the sense of what's going on. >> reporter: wyeth's first breaktough, in 1902, was a cover for the "satur post," imagery of an already past and mythic american west. he created magazine advertisements, including for cream of wheat. it was a timbefore television and our own screen-saturated lives-- the "golden e of illustration," and wyeth was at its forefront. the commissions allo buy property here in pennsylvania and to support the

otchr part of his life for w he became best known: as patriarch of an american art family dynasty: father of five children, three of them painters, most famously the youngest, andrew. andrew wyeth would becthe one of biggest names in 20th century american art, also focusing on his hometown of chadds ford and summer home ing maine-- include celebrated" christina's world" from 1948. andrew's son-- and n.c.'s grandson-- jamie wyeth, is now >> my father told me that he 73 and also a prominent painter, who first learned to draw in the grand studio n.c. built here. jamie never knew his grandfather, who died in 1945, age 62, in a car accident at a

railroad crossing. the studio is owned by the brandywine museum. he painted this giant mural for a wilmington bank. >> my father told me ould watch his father walk up, put a brush stro and walk b all the distanack to see the effect that it had. >> up and back. pretty loosely done when you get up to it, but to do this expression and then get that knowing this thing would be 50 feet from the viewers, whatnot. r orter: all around, the collection of items he gathered for his book illustrations. >> coming to this studio was magical to me because here i was, full of costumes and cutlasses and flintlocks and a lot of his illustrations were still in the back room here. so i'd go thugh them for hours. >> reporter: this was like the

am ement park in a way. >> oh, my god, it was just magical. my father, of course, i would pumpim and ask him about n.c. wyeth and he said, "he wanted the paintings to leap out of the page as you read them, to grab you by the neck." and they surdo. >> reporter: as the show makes clear, though, n.c. also had larger ambitions: to be taken seriously as a "fine artist," rather than just a successful commercial illustrator. much of the exhibition's second floor displays the more personal paintings wyeth created laf,ely for himss well as several from his late-in-life, first solo exhibition in a new york gallery. among them: "island funeral," which uses paint wyeth made from dyes he received from the nearby dupont company >> that's how he gets these beewtiful, deep, sort of- go for th here that ocean. there's a lot of tension going on here between the old- fashioned bird's eye view, the new cutting-edge dyes that are

going on, thdeath of an island patriarch. well, n.c. wyeth is inis late 50's at this point, he is already been publicized, if you will, as the patriarch of his own family, so there are thoughts, i think, of mortality are. >> reporter: there also signs of wyeth, a traditional artist, flicking at more modern painting techniques of his time-- >> i mean, he tried so many >> you are trying to capture the light on the chain or armor and this is a magnificent piece of painting. brown: grandson jamie goes so far to see in this exhibition an unusual kind ofroup show all by one painter. and grandson jamie goes so far as to see in this exhibition an unusual kind of "group show," all by one painter. >> i mean, he tried so many different techniques, so many

different approaches, some are very cezanne-like-- broken color, impressionistic, triedic them all and, is wonderful, i guess. there's a wonderful little self- portit of him looking. it's just teeny and just very delicately don >> reporter: "painting," jamie says, "has been the family passion." >> i mean, it was sort of like another world, the comparing the three generations and so forth. and i haen to adore their work, i mean these two individuals, very different individuals, very dioafferent apes to painting. i mean, what a thing to build on. >> reporter: the eldf,er wyeth himshough, never achieved e recognition he craved. >> he looked at it and thought his life had just been doing these children's books it was hard for me to conceive that, though. i mean, he had to have looked at-- i remember my mother, shers said when she met him, she was very young and said, "oh, mr. wyeth, i love your illustrations, your 'treasure island!'" and he said, "you'll grow out of that." >> reporter: really? >> and he was wrong. >> reporter:n.c. wyeth: new perspectives" is at the eum of art river mus through september 15.

for the pbs newshour, i'mbr jeffren in chadds ford, pennsylvania.th >> nawazexhibit moves next to the portland museum of art in maine and, in 2020, the taft museum of art cincinnati. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. join us on-line and again here morrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language learning app that uses speech rengnit technology and teaches real-life conversations. daily 10-15 minute lessons a voiced by native speakers and are at babbel. babbel.com. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> consumer cellar. >> and by the alfred p. sloan

foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a moreve justant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporatron for publiccasting. and by contributions station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour producons, llc aptioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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