Warnings, egypts government has yet to crack down on mass protests supporting the ousted president. Margaret warner talks with egypts foreign minister. Brown new education standards taken up by many states outline what kids should learn but not how. John merrow looks at teachers and students adjusting to the common core. With mathematics, it used to be this is how you do it, here are your steps, if you dont do it that way, youre wrong. Now the common core says do it any way you want, just be able to do it and justify your answer. Woodruff and luck strikes 16 maintenance workers in new jersey. We hear from the group who recently won a big lottery jackpot. Thats all ahead on tonights newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Brown the u. S. Department of justice moved today to block the latest and largest merger in the airline world. It means the deal joining American Airlines and u. S. Airways may be grounded permanently. laughter it was all smiles and backslaps six months ago as the airlines c. E. O. S announced plans to merge. This really is about taking two airlines, putting them together and providing Better Service to our customers. Our view is, it increases competition, doesnt decrease competition. Brown but today, the Justice Department said it will hurt competition. Justice, and attorneys general from six states plus the District Of Columbia, filed suit in federal court to ground the 11 billion merger at the 11th hour. The Department Said such a merger would leave just three socalled legacy carriers and make flying more expensive. The new american would have been the Worlds Largest carrier, dominating some u. S. Domestic markets. At washingtons Reagan National airport, it would control 69 of the space and 63 of the routes. In a Conference Call with reporters, assistant attorney general william baer said the merger would substantially lessen competition. He labeled the deal pretty messed up; its bad for consumers. For its part, a. M. R. , the Parent Company of american said in a statement employees, creditors and shareholders of the two airlines, plus the european union, had already okayed the deal. And the Justice Department did approve a series of earlier deals, including deltas acquisition of northwest in 2008, uniteds merger with continental in 2010, and Southwest Airlines purchase of air tran a year after that. Phil mattingly is covering the story for Bloomberg News and joins me now. Phil, this came as a surprise at least for those of you following this. Exactly. Look at the marketplace. U. S. Airways down 13 today, a. M. R. Down in overthecounter trading. We spoke to some analysts who were rating this a 99 chance is deal would approved and theres a reason. Theres really no precedent for the Justice Department to step in. As was mentioned, weve had a series of big merger deals consolidations in this industry. I dont think anybody expected this. Brown tell us about the reasoning of the Justice Department. What specifically did they say would make this anticompetitive . The antitrust chief had a call with reporters, he said one, this is going to increase fares, increase the fees that i think frustrate everybody on bags, leg room, that sort of thing, but it will lead the airlines to decrease service in some specific areas. Most importantly, i think when you look at u. S. Airways, they have a program theyve been utilizing where they look to deliberately undercut these legacy airline, the three airlines they compete with on one stop flights, trying to undercut nonstop flights. Theyre saying theres no more economic rationale if this deal goes through for u. S. Airways to cut that program. Brown were talking about d. O. J. , department of justice, but states and the District Of Columbia, what are they arguing . Theres state interests here. You look at hubs, direct flights, you have texas which, oddly enough in the last couple weeks, has not been the greatest friend of the Justice Department. Their attorney general was happy to get on board on this. Obviously dallas being the headquarters. So what you have is you have state interests, youve got jobs, prestige and states really see this as an opportunity to get on board and block something that will have a negative impact on their state economy. Brown part of the reasoning from justices saying that these two are big and strong you have no go it alone in spite of what they themselves say, i guess, right . Right. Its an interesting statement because American Airlines, obviously, is coming out of bankruptcy right now. Actually, in 48 hours theyre supposed to introduce their reorganization plan for approval in new york. Brown the timing is quite interesting. Very interesting. But something to think about over the last couple quarters, even after a decade of big losses, the Airline Industry has done great, and that includes American Airlines and usair both with records numbers over the last couple quarters. Brown as we said and you repeated, the department has approved a number of big mergers in the last few years so today how are they differentiating this one from those . Its interesting, bill bear, the chief of the antitrust division, said we look at each case on a dealbydeal basis. However, we looked at while they were doing this, during the investigation they looked back at the deals that have led up to this one, that have led up to the current consolidation and what he said was basically we have found this marketplace to be anticompetitive right now. So while they might not be regretting those deals or trying to look back and set new precedent, they are deciding those deals, while they might have thought they were okay at the time, have led them to become a major problem for this current merger. Brown its interesting because theyre saying yes, we allowed those, those were fines but no more now because of the world thats been created because of those. And analysts are trying to figure if this is the new paradigm. With we shifting from a time where these mergers because of the good of the industry the Justice Department was happy to let these go through . Generally very quick with few changes if any at all. Are we to the point where mergers are done . This is one merger too many . Brown american says its going to appeal. What does that mean . What happens next . Well, we know the process is is that these guys have been in the room, both companies and the Justice Department, have been in the room for the months leading up to this kind of presenting their proposals, their arguments. What American Airlines said today through their statement through a. M. R. Is they said this is going to court now. They feel good, i think u. S. Airways also had a statement out where they were saying this delays things for a bit but we feel good. Companies have come through this before. Now, theres a couple of issues that come up. One is the Justice Department says they want this in court, they believe the best interest is to stop this. This also sets them up from a negotiating perspective to maybe take out certain parts, require changes to this deal, require concessions before they allow this going forward. Brown so it could still go forward. In the meantime, the airlines, consumers and travelers, what, status quo . Pretty much. So consumer advocates thrilled with this. Theyve been pointing to the consolidation in the marketplace saying this is playing a big role in those bag fees everybody hates. Theyre thrilled right now. In terms of the big changes, are we going to see when you go online at kayak. Com are you going to see big changes . Not at the moment. I think both airlines feel like theyve got a good argument that this is a procompetitive merger that would actually bring down prices. Well see if the Justice Department agrees. Brown let me ask you briefly. You cover department of justice. How does this decision fit into any larger antitrust strategy that you watched over the last few years . It is a surprise in that context or does it fit . Its interesting. The division at the Justice Department is under new leadership. Over the last eight months theyve got a new head. Its aggressive, veteran gentleman in bill bear, hes got a lot of experience and while he really is kind of complemented around the legal arena for being fair, everybody almost to a person says hes aggressive and i think hes brought a new tact, a new perspective to division and while it wont be a massive shift in policy, i think theyre looking for opportunities to get in and challenge issues if they feel like theyre anticompetitive. Brown Phil Mattingly of Bloomberg News, thanks so much. Woodruff still to come on the newshour the fight over Voting Rights in North Carolina; new yorkers respond to stop and frisk; egypts foreign minister; a new standard for public education; and the story of some Lucky Lottery winners. But first, the other news of the day. Heres kwame holman. Reporter the government of israel announced today its moving ahead with plans to build nearly 900 new homes in East Jerusalem. The statement comes a day before peace talks are set to resume. The news was criticized by palestinians, and u. S. Secretary of state john kerry said hed had a very frank discussion with israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. Kerry spoke as he traveled in brazil. Let me make it clear, the policy of the United States of america with respect to all settlements is that they are illegitimate. And we oppose settlements taking place at any time, not just the time of the. Of the peace process. Reporter in a separate move, israel carried out a promise that led to the peace negotiations by releasing 26 palestinian prisoners. Buses left a prison in Central Israel after nightfall. The inmates had been held on charges ranging from rock throwing to deadly bombings. The Israeli Military shot down a rocket launched at a resort town near the egyptian border today. The attack targeted eilat on the red sea. Officials said its the first time israels iron dome Defense System had intercepted a rocket there. Militants based in egypts Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack. Another apparent u. S. Drone strike in yemen killed two more militants late monday. It brings to 37 the number believed killed in the last two weeks amid warnings al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was planning attacks in the region. The group is considered the most Dangerous Branch of the terror network. The u. S. Embassy in Yemen Remains closed as a result of the threat. In economic news, retail sales edged higher in july by 0. 2 . The increase pointed to higher consumer spending. And on wall street, stocks inched a little higher, as well. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 31 points to close at 15,451. The nasdaq rose 14 points to close at 3,684. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to judy. Woodruff and we turn to a strict new voter i. D. Law in North Carolina, which is putting a spotlight on the broader national fight over when and where people can cast ballots. Protecting the integrity of every vote cast is among the most important duties i have as governor. And its why i signed these commonsense, commonplace protections into law. Woodruff pat mccrory, North Carolinas first republican governor in more than two decades, defended the new law last night in a statement posted on youtube. Under the statute, voters will have to present a government issued photo i. D. Such as a drivers license at the polls. The law also ends sameday Voter Registration, and it shortens the early Voting Period by a week. Republican state senator bob rucho argued the measure will help prevent voter fraud when it takes effect in 2016. He said opponents insist the real intent is to suppress turnout among democratic constituencies, minorities, young voters and the poor. In raleigh today, the National Association for the advancement of colored people announced plans to challenge the law in federal court. This bill is not about voter i. D. It is 57 pages of regressive, unconstitutional acts to rig and manipulate elections through voter suppression. Woodruff possible president ial contenders are weighing in, as well. Former secretary of state hillary clinton, a democrat, sharply criticized the law last night in san francisco. Citizens will be disenfranchised, victimized by the law, instead of served by it. And that progress, that historical progress toward a more Perfect Union will go backwards instead of forward. Woodruff in fact, North Carolina is the latest of several states with republican controlled legislatures moving to tighten voter rules. Just today, the American Civil Liberties union warned kansas that it must comply with federal voter law or face legal action. And u. S. Attorney general eric holder signaled last month that the Justice Department will challenge such laws, but that will be far harder now since the u. S. Supreme court struck down part of the Voting Rights act in june. We get two takes now on the voter i. D. Law in North Carolina. Republican state representative tom murry is a coauthor of the measure, and democratic u. S. Representative g. K. Butterfield is a former North CarolinaSupreme Court justice and critic of the new law. Gentlemen, we welcome you both to the newshour. Thank you. Thanks for having us. Woodruff representative murry, why was it necessary to reform the states voting law . I think voter cyd one of those subjects that is so common sense that most people in North Carolina wondered why we didnt do in the the first place. Im proud that North Carolina has joined the 34 other states to enact a commonsense road is voter i. D. Law that isnt going to impact a significant amount of north carolinians. What we identified when we were analyzing this bill is that 97 of the people that voted in twelve had a direct match in the division of Motor Vehicles database. So were willing to work over the next few years towards 2016 to make sure that anyone that needs a photo i. D. Can get one and were willing to give them one for free as well. Woodruff but why was it necessary . I think thats a question that you should ask the public. The public, if you ask and thats what i did. I went door to door in my campaign, we did focus groups and talked to folks. Its just one of those commonsense things that voters in North Carolina thought we already had. Ive seen numerous people come to the polls in North Carolina and present their i. D. Expecting to be asked for it. So its kind of one of those common sense things to make sense to 60 to 70 of the voters in North Carolina so its a good commonsense policy for our state. Brown congressman butterfield, hes saying its common sense and something most north carolinians want. First, let me thank you for putting the spotlight on this. Its shameful that our legislature and the governor have decided to make these radical changes in the election laws. There is no need for a voter i. D. Law in North Carolina. We have four Million People who vote in every president ial election and less than a dozen reports of voter fraud. We can see right through this. We know exactly what it is. Its a political power grab on the part of the republicans. For years and years republicans were shut out of the political process in North Carolina and so they are determined now to control the legislature, they won the elections in 2010 and government mccori was elected in 2012 and its their determination to hold on to this power that they have acquired. Its discriminatory, it disenfranced so many people in our state, it will cost a lot of money to enforce it and shame on North Carolina for making this happen. Brown let me ask you representative murry about sever