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woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you enrich your community. life well planned. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" n washington and this is bbc world news america. the white house tries to stem the fallout from president biden's debate performance as a judge postpones donald trump's sentencing for his hush money conviction. hurricane beryl barrels towards jamaica and leaving wind and

floods in its path. nato is offering ukraine a bridge to membership but an official invitation is not in the cards yet. ♪ caitriona: hello and welcome to world news america. the white house has defended joe biden's performance in week's presidential debate even have concern grows within the democratic party about his staying power in the presidential race. a democratic congressman from texas on tuesday became the first number of president biden's party to call on him to withdraw his candidacy. jim clyburn of south carolina, whose support was crucial to president biden's victory in 2020, said he would back vice president kamala harris if the president would step down but he hopes the tickets remain

biden-harris. nancy pelosi also weighed in on president biden's fitness for office. here's what she said to msnbc. >> we have all these things that he was masterful in helping to orchestrate, to pass. he has vision, he has knowledge, judgment. he has a strategic thinking. he had a bad night. again, i think it is a legitimate question to say is this an episode or is this a condition? when people ask that question, it is legitimate. of both candidates. caitriona: the white house acknowledged joe biden's tough night on the debate stage but the press secretary doubled down on the campaign's message that he can win the race. >> we understand the concerns. the president did not have a great night, as you all know, and many of you reached out during the debate. the president had a cold, a hoarse voice. but i will say, the president

said this over the past couple of days, certainly right after the debate, he knows how to do the job. not because he says it, because his record proves it. for 3.5 years, almost four years, the president's record has been unprecedented, delivering for the american people. caitriona: joining me is our north america correspondent. pressure is continuing to build on president biden after that debate last week. being called the bad night. the white house doing its best to defend his performance. what is likely to happen now? >> it has been interesting because democrats have largely expressed their concern privately but now we are seeing it done publicly and calling him to stand down. nancy pelosi is a key ally of president biden, as is jim clyburn. very crucial in the victory he

had ultimately. for them to come out and say that we acknowledge there is a problem is quite interesting, especially mr. clyburn who went on to say that if it is not joe biden, he would back the vice president kamala harris. i think the fact they are acknowledging that mr. biden's poor debate performance but suggesting some the like that shows that the pressure that is on mr. biden is increasing. whether it makes a difference or not, ultimately comes down to mr. biden. we know he has this inner circle which consists of his wife, his son, and other members of his family. they have quite clearly said they are standing behind him, he's not going anywhere. mr. biden is due to give an interview to an american news network later this week. i think we can fully expect him to double down and say i am the

only one that beat donald trump and the only one that can beat him again. ultimately, if he's going to be replaced, he has to stand down and so far, he has said he's not doing that. caitriona: thank you for that. in new york, a judge has delayed donald trump sentencing for his felony conviction until september, following the supreme court's ruling on partial presidential immunity for prosecution. the former u.s. president was originally scheduled to be sentenced next week after he was found guilty of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment made to ian adult film star. the top u.s. court's decision saying some evidence in the case came from his time in office. the justice said he would issue a decision by september 6 and if sentencing is necessary, that will take place on september 18. hungary prime minister viktor orban made his first trip to

kyiv in more than a decade. he urged the ukrainian president to have a cease-fire. he he has previously criticized western military support of ukraine and is closer to russian president vladimir putin than to any eu leader. mr. orban said he supports mr. zelenskyy's vision for peace. gordon corera was in the room for the statements and sent us this analysis. >> you've got a sense, even if it was not public, that these were not two leaders who are aligned on issues. but, because of hungary's role as the rotating president of the eu at the moment, which it just took on yesterday, that was the reason for the visit and why both sides were keen to say we can work together. because it is effectively not just hungary, but the eu through victor or bond which is also talking to ukraine during this

meeting. caitriona: u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin met his ukrainian counterpart, announcing $2.3 billion in new security assistance for ukraine. secretary austen said the u.s. would never waver in its support for ukraine before outlining what was in the multibillion dollar package. >> this package under presidential authority will provide more air defense interceptors, antitank weapons, and other critical munitions from u.s. inventories. it will also enable the u.s. to pick your more patriot, air defense interceptors, which will be provided on an accelerated timeline and resequencing of deliveries. caitriona: next week, there will be a nato summit in washington. secretary austin said steps will be taken towards nato membership for ukraine to preview the summit and discuss u.s.-ukraine

policy. i have been talking to douglas jones for european and eurasian affairs, and i began by asking him about the new financial support and the broader u.s. commitment to ukraine. >> i think this is a continuation of our support and a sign that our support for ukraine is strong and enduring. it's important as we come up on the nato summit to mark that it is not just the united states, but a coalition of allies supporting ukraine and committed to this for the long term. caitriona: president zelenskyy has asked national leaders to allow him to use those foreign weapons to strike targets inside russia, notably russian aircraft. is that something the u.s. would consider? >> we are constantly looking at these questions. we've made adjustments to that policy to allow ukraine, when it is under assault from forces, to use weapons in certain

circumstances and constantly looking at those circumstances and the ways we which those weapons can be used. caitriona: can we expect some announcement around air defense systems around the nato summit? >> air defense is one of the key aspects because russia and its aggression against ukraine has continued to watch air assaults against the both civilian targets and ukraine's energy infrastructure. for ukraine to prosper and develop its economy, it needs to defend against this. we are constantly looking for ways to support ukraine, including with air defense and we are looking at this in the context of the nato summit. caitriona: what president zelenskyy really wants is nato membership. do you expect a formal invitation to be issued to ukraine? >> all allies have agreed that the future of ukraine is in nato, and we've agreed when conditions allow and allies

agree, that ukraine will join nato. there will not be an invitation at this summit, but what you will see is very concrete decisions about ways the alliance can help ukraine, that can help it both in the current fight isn't to defend itself, but also how nato can help ukraine build a future force it needs to deter and defend against russian aggression in the future. also, to continue to implement the reforms and needs to carry out in order to qualify for nato membership. we are calling this complete package a bridge to nato membership because this will be not just in word, but action, ways nato can help ukraine do what it needs both to defend itself and accelerate its membership to nato. caitriona: as part of that bridge to membership you are mentioning, without will include some kind of outpost in germany to run an operational command from. what will be the ukrainian response?

is it a runners-up prize to memory ship at this point? >> it is not. what it is is something very concrete and real. this is not just words in a declaration. this is something that nato is doing that it's never done before. there will be this nato command that will give nato a deeper role in coordinating the security assistance and training that is going to ukraine. there will also be a civilian element with nato senior representative. they will coordinate all the work being done to help ukraine with the reforms it needs to do to build its democratic defense institutions. other things that will make it a stronger democracy and eventually a stronger member of nato. caitriona: if we are talking about democracy, president zelenskyy is now beyond the original term he was elected to. martial law has allowed him to extend that term. would you like to see elections held new crane?

>> this is really a decision for the ukrainians to make. we understand the circumstances of their martial law. ukraine is fighting to defend its democracy and that is what we are supporting. how they implement that and how they implement those rules and democratic principles are affected by the war, but that is a decision they will make. caitriona: it is an election year in the u.s. obviously. one of the candidates, donald trump, when he was president talked about pulling out of nato, defunding it. he said even this year, that he would encourage russia and china to do whatever the help they want, he said, to nato countries who do not pay their bills. is nato putting in place some kind of failsafe mechanism that should donald trump be elected, these commitments to ukraine will continue anyway? >> i cannot comment on politics and cannot speak for any of the

candidates, but i think what is important is a couple of things that is happening at this summit. one thing, you are seeing the commitment of nato allies to this alliance and you are seeing allies stepping up to fund our collective defense in ways more than ever before. 23 allies are meeting the commitment to spend 2% of their gdp on defense. that is a dramatic jump from just three in 2014 when they first made this commitment. allies are doing their part to step up their commitment tomato. that is enabling nato to take the steps it needs to adapt to increase its own deterrence and defense and adapt to meet the future challenges, security threats that nato needs to make to keep it both strong and relevant to all of our common

security. caitriona: lots more to talk about but we will have to leave it there. douglas jones, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. caitriona: hurricane beryl continues to make its presence felt along the caribbean. it intensified as a category five storm before weakening to a category four by tuesday afternoon. thousands of people are in temporary shelters and without power after strong winds battered the islands. so far, there are reports of three people dead as a result. two in grenada and one other. the latest update shows the storm barreling towards jamaica with winds of up to 150 miles, or nearly 250 kilometers per hour. the u.s. national hurricane center says it is expected to weaken as it passes over or near jamaica on wednesday, but it will still be a dangerous major hurricane. the jamaican government issued a

hurricane warning and people living in low-lying, flood prone areas have been urged to seek shelter. we can go to jamaica now and speak to tom hansen, cbs news correspondent, who was following the storm. tom, thank you for joining us. what is the situation like where you are now? tom: hey there. this is a really critical day where so many people have started to truly prepare for the storm. we are at the montego bay airport where we have seen a steady stream of people both americans and other, from other countries around the world, really trying their best to get out before this potentially catastrophic storm come through the area. there are airlines that have added extra flights, including american, jetblue. other airlines have offered waivers to compensate people for flights that have been canceled. really, it has been a mad dash at the airport for people to get

out. we spoke to one couple who said they cut their trip short. they were supposed to leave on friday, now leaving tonight, and they said they want to play it safe and not be sorry for having to stick around and put themselves in a potentially risky situation. let's talk about the risky situation because the forecast is ominous and pins and needles in jamaica. we are talking about some significant storm surge and some very dangerous winds, around 150 miles per hour right now, as beryl beryl through jamaica. it is expected to happen early tomorrow morning throughout the day. so, certainly a tense situation here. there's a lot of anxiety as we lead into the night hours and into the morning. caitriona: we know jamaica is an island of haves and have-nots. what are preparations like there? how well our people, the authorities ready for this? tom: yeah, well, we actually

visited a grocery store today where there was a line snaking all the way through the grocery store from aisle to aisle. people trying to grab whatever they can in order to prepare. one of the critical resources is bottled water because as we know, when these hurricane strike, the first thing to go so many times is clean water. it shuts down the water system so that is definitely something people are taking very seriously. as far as haves and have-nots, yeah, there's a huge income gap. there's a huge quality of life gap in this country. of course, the people who can afford to stay in a structure that will withstand this dangerous storm, they are going to be hit the hardest and aid groups are already anticipating jumping into action to help those people most in need. caitriona: thanks for that. we hope everyone can stay out of harm's way, as best they can, including yourself.

thank you for speaking to us. climate scientists say the hurricane's explosive growth can be contributed to warmer than usual water temperatures. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration says sea surfac temperatures in atlantic where hurricane beryl is sitting, about two to 2.6 degrees above normal. the trend scientists believe will only continue through this year's hurricane season and beyond. temperatures that are typical for september, not for early july. experts say warm temperatures act as a fuel for thunderstorms and clouds that form hurricanes. to discuss all of the science behind hurricane beryl's behavior, i have been talking to the director for institute of environment and society at brown university. professor, can you first explained to us what exactly where the conditions that led to hurricane beryl becoming so

strong so quickly? >> thanks for having me. first of all, my heart goes out to all the communities that are impacted by this horrifying start to our hurricane season, hurricane beryl. this is, of course, well into the hurricane season which began june 1 so we should be expecting disturbances to be kicking up across the tropical atlantic. the difference, what made it so record-breaking, was the warm waters it has been moving over over the last several days. much warmer than average for this time of year. more in line with temperatures we would see in september, closer to the peak of the hurricane season. caitriona: would you expect hurricane beryl to continue to grow? >> of course, the forecasts that are coming out of the national hurricane center are going to be much better at forecasting the relative temperatures of those waters and any of the larger scale atmospheric conditions that will govern its track, as

well as its strength. i think the take-home is to remember this hurricane has already proven devastating for so many communities. it is not over, not by a longshot. even the modest weakening, even if it weakens to a category three, for example, we don't get any reprieve from the devastation that will be across so many additional communities. we should not be focused on that top-level category. we should be focused on getting prepared as quickly as people can, heaeding those warnings. the devastation will occur far outside that track, and in some cases, will occur regardless of the total average category that the community is facing at that time. caitriona: if the waters are so much warmer than they would normally be at this time of year , does that mean we can expect more hurricanes, stronger hurricanes? but does it mean for the rest of

the year? >> the science on projecting the strength of our hurricane season has progressed significantly. in fact, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration has projected an above average season this year, in part owing to warm temperatures and conditions across the broader scale atmosphere. they are projecting eight to 13 hurricanes this season with at least half of those falling into the major category which is above category three. we can look to the most recent years of devastating hurricane seasons, the worst 2017. 10 hurricanes, six major hurricanes. this year could rival 2017 as the most active hurricane season on record. caitriona: what is the reason for those waters being so much more warm than they are usually at this time of year? >> certainly, a good portion or may be directly caused by fossil fuels and the warming of our

oceans which has really seen some dramatic increases across the tropics in recent years, particularly the atlantic. really being much warmer than average in recent years. i think we can put a good portion of the blame on continued global warming related to fossil fuel emissions. caitriona: if part of it at least is attributable to climate change, can we expect to see this pattern then repeat year on year? >> well, our best guess in terms of hurricane seasonal strengths occur in the months preceding an average season as we look at the sea surface temperatures, the larger skill atmosphere. scientists haven't talked about this for decades. when you warm tropical oceans, you will spin up larger and more destructive tropical storms and hurricanes. we should not be surprised. the challenge is we are not really ramping down our emissions quickly enough and facing another decade or two or more of ramping up sea surface

temperatures and that will dri'e signs to keep communities safe and prepared from these devastating seasonalnts which are becoming year in and year out a horrific hurricane season. number two, let's consider the true cost of climate change as it hits our economy, our public safety and well-being. really, we are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars in damages that occurred during the hurricane season in 2017. we could be facing that this year. that tableau only get larger going forward. caitriona: at least 116 people have been killed in a crutch at a religious gathering in northern india. our asia editor has more. >> the officials are giving more information about those killed in this unfortunate incident. what they say is permission was granted for this religious

sermon event in the northern india state. they were expecting about 80,000 people. it looks like more people have turned up for this event. the reasons for this crush, officials give different versions. one of them was about how it was packed with crowds. some people fainted because of the hot and humid conditions. there was one exit and that caused a panic. another official was saying there was a dust storm as they were leaving through a narrow exit leading to people getting trampled. what is more tragic this 108 of those who died in this incident were women. seven of them children. only one male person died in this incident. an eyewitness outside the hospital, he was describing how dozens of bodies had been piled

up near this hospital building. and there has been crying and moving from one hospital to another to find out the conditions of their loved ones. it was very heart wrenching scenes. the officials are now giving more information, but they also launched an investigation to find out how this was allowed to happen. caitriona: you can find more about that announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it,

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amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff bennett is away. on the “news hour” tonight, hurricane beryl closes in on jamaica after battering grenada and barbados. israel launches another assault on khan younis after previously