captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. the report out just today from the feds, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, reads as follows. the 12 months ending this june were the warmest ever recorded. and to a certain extent that s all you need to know right there. it is hard to over state how hard this summer has already been in terms of weather extremes. and while the miserable and dangerous weather has broken in some parts of the country it s just getting cranked up in others. this most recent heat wave has taken 90 lives across this country and it s now very clear drought is going to emerge as an even bigger story before the end of 2012. we have two reports to start off with tonight beginning with nbc s john yang in nashville, illinois outside of st. louis. john, good evening. reporter: good evening, brian. the sizzling heat has left the midwe midwest. it was about 15 degrees cooler than two days here in southern illinois. look at wha
mr. mccain: after a year of bloodshed, the crisis in syria has reached a decisive moment. it s estimated that more than 7,500 lives have been lost. the united nations has declared that syrian security forces are guilty of crimes against humanity, including the indiscriminate shelling of civilians, the execution of defectors and the widespread torture of prisoners. bashar al-assad is now doing to homes what his father did to hamah. aerial photographs procured by human rights watch show a city that has been laid to waste by assad s tanks and artillery. a british photographer who was wounded and evacuated from the city described it as a quote , a medieval siege and slaughter, the kinds of mass atrocities that nato intervened in libya to prevent in benghazi are a reality in homes. indeed syria today is the scene of some of the worst state-sponsored violence since milosevic war of crimes in the balkans or russia s an n
we talk to newshour political editor david chalian. woodruff: we have two takes on china s crackdown on activists. we excerpt pbs frontline story about artist ai weiwei, who was detained by police yesterday. ifill: and jeffrey kaye reports from beijing on how some anti-government protests are tolerated, and some are not. critics here in china do have some latitude just as long as they don t overstep their limits. woodruff: jeffrey brown examines the justice department decision to hold military trials for alleged 9/11 mastermind khalid sheik mohammed and four other suspects at guantanamo bay. ifill: and tom bearden has the story of a program to heal wounded veterans just back from iraq and afghanistan. that s all ahead on tonight s newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: during the first year a humpback calf and its mother are almost inseparable. they lives her calf to its first breath of air and protects it on a long journey to their
story about artist ai weiwei, who was detained by police yesterday. ifill: and jeffrey kaye reports from beijing on how some anti-government protests are tolerated, and some are not. critics here in china do have some latitude just as long as they don t overstep their limits. woodruff: jeffrey brown examines the justice department decision to hold military trials for alleged 9/11 mastermind khalid sheik mohammed and four other suspects at guantanamo bay. ifill: and tom bearden has the story of a program to heal wounded veterans just back from iraq and afghanistan. that s all ahead on tonight s newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: during the first year a humpback calf and its mother are almost inseparable. they lives her calf to its first breath of air and protects it on a long journey to their feeding grounds. one of the most important things you can do is help the next generation. at pacific life, we offer financial solutions to accomp
story about artist ai weiwei, who was detained by police yesterday. ifill: and jeffrey kaye reports from beijing on how some anti-government protests are tolerated, and some are not. critics here in china do have some latitude just as long as they don t overstep their limits. woodruff: jeffrey brown examines the justice department decision to hold military trials for alleged 9/11 mastermind khalid sheik mohammed and four other suspects at guantanamo bay. ifill: and tom bearden has the story of a program to heal wounded veterans just back from iraq and afghanistan. that s all ahead on tonight s newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: during the first year a humpback calf and its mother are almost inseparable. they lives her calf to its first breath of air and protects it on a long journey to their feeding grounds. one of the most important things you can do is help the next generation. at pacific life, we offer financial solutions to accomp