News Wrap: Georgia man pleads guilty to 4 of 8 Asian spa killings, gets life sentence

• Judy Woodruff:

  In the day's other news: Emotions ran high as a select congressional committee opened hearings on the January assault on the U.S. Capitol.

  Four Capitol Police officers shared harrowing stories of being assaulted and verbally abused by a mob of Trump supporters on January 6. We will get the details after the news summary.

  A man accused of killing eight people at a massage — or, rather, massage businesses around Atlanta pleaded guilty today to four of the murders. Robert Long was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He could still get the death penalty for the other killings in a separate proceeding. Most of the victims in the March attacks were women of Asian descent.

  A former U.S. Air Force analyst is facing 45 months in federal prison for leaking secrets about a military drone program to a news reporter. Daniel Hale was sentenced today in Alexandria, Virginia. His job was to help locate targets for drone strikes in Afghanistan, but he has said that the strikes killed too many civilians.

  Firefighters in parts of the Western U.S. were hoping for help from cooler weather today, but there's still no end in sight to a plague of wildfires, including one in Northern California that keeps growing.

  Stephanie Sy has our report.

• Stephanie Sy:

  In Indian Falls, California, charred homes, cars and keepsakes are all that's left, after the Dixie Fire tore through the enclave north of Sacramento. It's the largest active fire in the state, and one of more than 85 wildfires burning across the nation, mostly in the drought-stricken West.

  Unlike the sprawling Bootleg Fire in a sparsely populated area of Southern Oregon, California's Dixie Fire is threatening more than 10,000 homes.

  Cal Fire spokesman Jon Heggie says they're trying to get ahead of fire behavior that can turn aggressive quickly.

• Jon Heggie, Spokesman, Cal Fire:

  We're really being cautious to ensure that the safety of the public is taken care of, to make sure that we're giving ourselves enough lag time, because what we have seen is, throughout the summer and throughout the last few years, really, is that fires have that potential to grow exponentially within a few hours, really.

• Stephanie Sy:

  The fire ignited nearly two weeks ago. California's Pacific Gas & Electric utility said its equipment may have played a role in starting the fire, which has been fueled by a prolonged drought and erratic winds in steep hard-to-reach terrain.

  Heggie says it's all part of the perilous new reality firefighters face in wildfire season.

• Jon Heggie:

  The lack of rain we received last winter is really showing itself this summer as aggressive fires and big devastating fires.

  And, really, the 10-year drought that we saw, we're still paying a price for that, because all that fuel that was stressed and died during that 10-year drought is still on the landscape and still is available fuel. We're in a new era of firefighting. And understanding that environment and making that preparations for it is key.

• Stephanie Sy:

  In Indian Falls, at least three dozen homes and structures have been lost, but with the Dixie Fire less than 25 percent contained, the worst wreckage may lie ahead.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

• Judy Woodruff:

  In Hong Kong, for the first time, a court has convicted a pro-democracy protester under a new national security law imposed by China. Tong Ying-kit was found guilty today of inciting secession and terrorism. More than 100 other protesters are awaiting trial.

  A Roman Catholic cardinal and nine others went on trial today at a Vatican court in a church money scandal. The defendants face charges of embezzlement and criminal mismanagement. It's the largest criminal trial in the Vatican's modern history.

  The Tokyo Olympics went ahead today, despite another record number of COVID infections in the city. Japan's prime minister said it is not affecting the Games. In the competition, American star Simone Biles withdrew from the women's gymnastics team final. She said she needs to focus on her mental health.

  We will return to this later in the program.

  Back in this country, Wall Street pulled back from Monday's record highs, as tech stocks slumped. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 85 points to close at 35058. The Nasdaq fell 180 points, more than 1 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 20.

  And a passing to note. Former Republican Senator of Wyoming Mike Enzi died Monday after breaking his neck in a bicycling accident. He was injured and broke his neck last Friday near his home in Gillette. Enzi retired from the Senate this year after serving since 1996. He was 77 years old.

from:pbs