we will speak to the president of human rights campaign kelley robinson. into cornell west who has just announced he's running for president to challenge both the decratic a republin paies. >> in tse ble times, have cided toun for tth and juste which kes the rm of running r presidtf the ited stas as a cdidate f the ople's pty. enter in a questor tru. i ter io a quesforustice . and the esidencys just o vehicl to pursue that truth and justice, what i have been trying to do all my life. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. air quality alerts were issued across all people u.s. states and cities tuesday as well as today as thick, dark smoke from canada's hundreds of blazing wildfires blanketed the skies of the northeast, midwest, the ohio valley, and the mid-atlantic. the haze has triggered dangerous air pollution warnings, impacting tens of millions of people, with new york reporting the worst air quality in any major city worldwide tuesday. there are over 400 blazes burning

our final witness is kelley robinson from chicago, president of the human rights campaign, the first black clear it of queer woman to lead the organization. would you introduce them? >> matter sharpest senior counsel director of the center for legislative advocacy, alliance defending freedom in atlanta, georgia. director of the center for legislative advocacy and special counsel at the alliance. mr. sharp focuses on state and local legislative matters providing legal testimony, how proposed legislation would impact civil rights and constitutional freedom. he's advised governors, legislatures and policy organizations on the importance of protecting first amendment rights. in tennessee, riley gaines, single-sex basis for women, advocates for equality, stands up for women's safety and opportunities. miss gaines is a former 12 time all-american swimmer from the university of kentucky, has been a powerful voice speaking against biological males participating in women's sports. miss gaines has challenged various sports leagues and travels to raise awareness about the need to protect women

♪ >>> we're back with kelley robinson and basil smikle.erage of nikki haley and i got online this morning and was reading about the size of the trans population. i think it's about 1.2 million according to two newspaper sources, "the new york times" and the "washington post." and then i dug into the student athlete population. it's about 100. and then i looked to see if republicans were upset about all trans athletes and they're not. the only public statements i read about are student athletes that identify as women, as girls, and compete. so i wonder what you think can be done on the fact piece of this. that they're obsessing, that they're endangering, that they're pumping up and turbo charging with vitriol a political fight with the facts getting so far left behind from the political rhetoric. how do we sort of shrink that gap? >> i mean, it's sad really. we have to name it for what it is. mf these laws, these trans sports bans when they've gone into place, are impacting less than a handful of students, of young people, of children in th