this is bbc news with me, nicholas owen. darkness has fallen across massive swathes of north america, as the country experiences its first coast—to—coast solar escapes —— full solar eclipse for nearly 100 years. a70 mile solar eclipse for nearly 100 years. a 70 mile wide shadow will be sweeping the nation from oregon in the west to north carolina in the east. that's the sort of you you'll get, i would east. that's the sort of you you'll get, iwould imagine east. that's the sort of you you'll get, i would imagine that shot maybe from space? we'll have to find out. maybe that is what people on the ground are seeing. millions of people have travelled to watch what is called totality. isn't it amazing? the sun on the other side, the corona around it, i think that would be the right expression. brendan owens is an astronomer at the royal observatory in greenwich and he will be with me while we enjoyed this phenomenon. described it to me in your terms. this is a moment where the best location for

this eclipse is a moment that only lasts about two minutes a0 seconds, when the entire disc of the sun is covered by the moon. when you get that alto glow, the ghostly white, wispy view, that's the outer atmosphere of the sun, something we normally can't see or witness. for this fleeting moment, you feel the mechanism of our solar system in action, the sun, the moon and the earth. just to be clear, this began in the mid—pacific and it sweeps gci’oss in the mid—pacific and it sweeps across america. we are now roughly in the middle, aren't we, as it carries on foot oh, look at that! that is what is happening now. now the moon is moving out of the way in the moon is moving out of the way in the sun is coming through. the first moment with a sparkle from the sun is where the sunlight is passing through the valleys on the mountain is on the moon. i think we are playing it now. when you are left with a little sliver, the only

places the sunlight can get through the fantastic deep mountain is on the fantastic deep mountain is on the moon. this is a moment people describe as life changing, and epiphany, and something which, through the centuries, people have admired. let's go to idaho, idaho falls, i think. admired. let's go to idaho, idaho falls, ithink. that admired. let's go to idaho, idaho falls, i think. that is an amazing sight. slight glimpses of the rays of the sun round the edges of it sta rts of the sun round the edges of it starts in mid—pacific, it goes right across. i think the last time it can be seen in the states will be charleston, south carolina. then the sun moving the other way. we've got to keep reminding ourselves what's going on. the eclipse will eventually petered out. we have a shadow path lasting from the pacific to the atlantic but, when there is no more landfall for anybody to witness it, so they have those moments. this is a shadow of 70

miles wide that is racing across america, so people are in succession, the further east we go, getting their moment not in the sun but in the darkness, as totality emerges for each location. also people look around, if they can tear their eyes from that site, and they should notice stars in the sky during the daytime, because the sun has been blocked out. it's an incredible moment. also, i guess, and this is all coming through cameras and things like that... yes, carefully filtered. said there is a moment of totality when the disc is covered and people can look without protective glasses but, outside those moments, people are using protective glasses, and there are plenty of amateur astronomers out there with their telescopes, specially designed to save it up close and personal. we are looking at blackness. in a way, on a tv screen, that's kind of a

contradiction. but it makes an important point, that everything becomes like the middle of the night. absolutely, the birds will stop tweeting, temperatures will drop, and it is andy reid moment. no wonder people used to think it was a potent of doom, back in the day. —— it is an amazing moment. we got a brief glimpse of people on the ground in the gloom. we have now gone somewhere else. this is presumably a place, this is in oregon, where they have been watching the eclipse. i've just got my timetable here. and she is, i say she, she is heading for wyoming next. you have presumably seen a lot of eclipses in your time. next. you have presumably seen a lot of eclipses in your timelj next. you have presumably seen a lot of eclipses in your time. i have not been fortunate enough to see totality. i've seen a 90% covered eclipse in 1999, when i was in ireland and went to the back garden

andi ireland and went to the back garden and i made my custom eclipse projection, which was a cardboard box and a paint whole, i looked through. even then, there was a significant drop in temperatures and darkness fell. that had an impact. that inspired me to go on to study astronomy. so it made a big impact. we so often say it, in our part of the world, it can be cloudy and you might miss that sort of dramatic view. we saw the clouds in oregon, and they had clear blue skies. fantastic when the eclipse comes. in this part of the world, we don't tend to be so lucky, and things change, the temperature falls, it is eerie. we only had it relatively recently, in march 2015. there was a significant partial eclipse in the uk, and it was cloudy, but there was a significant drop in temperatures, schoolchildren shivering for a few moments before the sunlight came back. on the line is sarah marwick who has

travelled to wyoming with her family from birmingham to see the eclipse. good evening, or hello to you. have you seen good evening, or hello to you. have you seen it already? no, we had about ten minutes to go. 0h, right. it's getting exciting here. about ten minutes to go. are you in a big crowd ? ten minutes to go. are you in a big crowd? are you in a field? whereabouts in the countryside are you? we are in a place called douglas, wyoming, about four hours north of denver. it's a very small place. there is about 1000 people here. it's a good atmosphere. they we re here. it's a good atmosphere. they were all bussed in from denver, but were all bussed in from denver, but we are staying here. and you go deliberately for this reason, to see the total eclipse? we did, yes,

absolutely. this is my sixth total eclipse. i've travelled around the world. this is my first in the us, because there hasn't been one here for many years, but i have seen them in libya... own... are you still with us? sarah? i am, sorry. the phone service is a bit dodgy hip. i've seen them in various places around the world. zimbabwe, china... you are going to see this next one, you are going to have a marvellous time, but describe us what you seem and what you feel as you do so. just now, with a few minutes to go, it's getting really dark. the light has gone a very strange, eerie quality. it's getting dim, the temperature has noticeably dropped. and it's,

yeah, it's a really surreal experience. shortly, we will be seeing totality itself. at the moment, the sun is still out. but the moon is catching up. is it crossing the disc at all yet? we have about five minutes... if that. until the sun disappears completely. we are almost there. at the moment, it's still broad daylight, but very $0011 it's still broad daylight, but very soon it will not be. well, sarah, i can tell how excited you are. even though it's your sixth eclipse! we will come back to you later, if we make. enjoy it. we can cross to kentucky now, and talk to our correspondent nada tawfik. just describe what it's like there. wow, what a beautiful day. ideal conditions for an eclipse.

absolutely, and it was funny, because this town had prepared for everything, but the weather was the one thing they couldn't, and they are lucky because it's a gorgeous day, blue skies, just a few clouds but nothing that will block the spectacular show. really, but nothing that will block the spectacularshow. really, people are absolutely overjoyed, excited, we had a few minutes ago, half an hour 01’ so ago, had a few minutes ago, half an hour or so ago, the first impact. everybody through on their glasses, and just a little preview. right now, it looks like the moon has taken a bite out of the sun, and just that what everybody excited. i can only imagine when totality happens what it will be like. on this small family farm, nasa has designated this is the point of greatest eclipse, so we have the best seats in the country. this is where the axis of the moon's shadow will be closest to the earth, so it will be closest to the earth, so it will be closest to the earth, so it will be squarely on top of us, that moment of totality but i have been

speaking to the town about how they prepared for the influx of sky gazers, people here from all across the world, who have travelled from as far as the uk, australia, denmark, france, and they are overjoyed. they've never had an event on this scale, with this much excitement in their history. a lot of people say they don't expect that to happen again here. when i spoke to happen again here. when i spoke to one man, he came here from australia and he considers himself an eclipse gazer. he said that a total solar eclipse, for him, was like meeting god. he is not necessarily a religious person but, in terms of describing it, he said that partial solar eclipses were like going to church, but totality was the real deal. another man from texas says he has never seen a total solar eclipse but, for him, it will be the biggest event he's attended, and this is a man who has attended two super bowls and travels the country going to these sort of events. everybody‘s excited, it's

underan hour events. everybody‘s excited, it's under an hour until totality. what we are expecting is that the sweltering conditions will really cool down once the moon completely blocks the sun. you can hear some crickets. we expect them to go silent. everybody is anticipating that big moment. we are looking at a map which helps us to understand this 70 mile wide sweep, and it shows us kentucky, tennesseejust below you. give us the time when you are going to be in that absolute blackness. when is that? at 124 my time locally, that's a six hour time difference, so 7:2apm your time. in about a0 minutes or so, if i'm not mistaken. at the moment, it's like a bite has been taken out of the sun. but, as the moon's shadow blocks it, everybody here is talking about seeing that diamond ring effect, and

then those beads, the two little beads whether some's globe is blocked by the moon's valleys right before totality. right in this spot, we are well placed to view it, because this has been named eclipse ville. look at the expense of farmland. such a wide open space for everybody to be able to sit back and watch this. the town has thrown on a lot of activities, and nasa is here, letting people experiment with their instruments. everyone has said this isa instruments. everyone has said this is a chance to just sit back and enjoy one of nature's most awe—inspiring moments. everywhere you look, parents, sitting with their children, teaching them to use their children, teaching them to use the eclipse glasses, which are 1000 times darker than regular sunglasses, having them try it out and followed the path of the moon, before it completely blocks the sun. i have to say, this has been a very

interesting morning. everybody is really anticipating the big moment, but also sitting back and relaxing and taking it in. what moment fantastic thing for you to be there. we look forward to joining you after 7pm. the headlines on bbc news: a man shot dead by spanish police near barcelona is younes abouyaaqoub, the 22—year—old moroccan behind the barcelona terror attack, say catalonia authorities. a total solar eclipse is sweeping across the us, from oregon to south carolina, for the first time in more than a century. tweeting abuse can be as devastating as shouting it. tough new guidelines come into force to tackle aggressors on social media. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. the dowjones

the dow jones is the dowjones is the measure of stocks in america. a quiet day. now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm hugh woozencroft. coming up this evening: we hear exclusively from striker eni aluko, who claims speaking out about her concerns over discrimination may have led to her being left out of the england reckoning. £a5 million man gylfi sigurdsson could well make his everton debut later. we look ahead to their trip to manchester city in the premier league. coming up, we are live in belfast,

where england's women are preparing for their rugby world cup semifinal against france tomorrow. good evening. after accusing the national team manager of discrimination, england's eni aluko has given her first tv interview. she claims she was dropped after speaking out in what she thought was a confidential remark about alleged racial and prejudicial remarks made by manager mark sampson. sampson has been cleared of any wrongdoing in both an fa review and an independent investigation. our sports editor, dan roan, went to meet aluko. she's one of her country's best—known female footballers, but last year eni aluko raised serious concerns about the culture in the england setup, when asked to be part of a confidential fa review. and in herfirst broadcast interview since the controversy began earlier this month, the striker told me she fears it may have cost her. the fact is that a week before i was dropped from the england team

for the first time in 11 years, i had given my account of what i felt was discrimination towards me, what i felt was a bullying culture. so, whichever way you look at it, being part of that culture review has cost me... potentially cost me my england career. england manager mark sampson was the subject of aluko's complaints and the man who dropped her from the squad. the timing of which the fa insists was purely coincidental. both an internal inquiry and an independent investigation cleared him and his staff of any wrongdoing, and found no evidence of an alleged racial remark to another player. sampson's vowed to improve his communication style, but aluko, who is a qualified lawyer, has now gone public with an alleged incident involving the coach before a game in 201a. he asked me, "who's coming to watch the game for you?" and i said "i've got family coming in from nigeria actually. i've got family flying in." and he said, "make sure they don't

come over with ebola." when that was said, did you challenge him at the time? did you say that's unacceptable? no, i laughed. i laughed because, i mean, i was in shock, i didn't know... you know, i didn't know what to say. you believe it was a racist comment? yes, i believe it was. and again i go back to the definition. i believe it was an unfavourable comment made to me, that made me feel completely shocked and intimidated. that was said to me because i'm of african descent. again, some will say an offensive comment, but not necessarily a racist one, is that possible? i don't think it is possible. the fa says while this claim was included in general correspondence last year, it was not raised as a formal allegation. the bbc understands that sampson strongly denies the incident occurred.

the fa refutes aluko's suggestion the two investigations into her original complaints were flawed, pointing out she refused to participate in the independent inquiry. they say they reached a financial settlement, paying aluko an amount understood to be £80,000 to avoid disruption to the england team ahead of this summer's european championships, and not prevent disclosure. why speak out now? i feel like there are a lot of half—truths out in the public, and it is in the public interest now to understand the severity of this case. to understand that this isn't something i decided to fabricate out of the blue, this wasn't a bitter, impassioned revenge on the england manager. this was something i was asked to do. aluko has won 102 caps for her country, but she says she now fears her experience could deter other players from raising concerns. manchester city manager pep guardiola says he hopes his players can learn from the mistakes they made the last time

they played everton. city were thumped a—0 last season, but face them tonight in the premier league, having since spent £200 million on players. everton could give gylfi sigurdsson his debut, having signed