welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: as coronavirus cases rise in the us, the top infectious disease expert warns that some parts of the country are seeing a disturbing surge. right now, the next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we are seeing. the fbi says bubba wallace was not the victim of racism despite the noose found in his nascar team's garage. opening up and getting closer, england relaxes social distancing to get the economy moving, we look at the science behind the new rules. we can now make life easier for people to see more of their friends and family, and help businesses get back on their feet and people back intojobs. as brazil struggles to cope

with the pandemic a judge orders the president to wear a mask in public. and, novak djokovic tests positive for coronavirus, as pictures emerge of him dancing at a party during a much—criticised tennis event. the top us official on infectious diseases, anthony fauci, has warned some parts of the country are seeing a disturbing surge in coronavirus cases. let's go through the figures. covid—19 has killed 120,000 people in the us and there are more than 2.3 million cases. in more half the states, the number of new cases is still rising. you can see that in the south and west, particularly in states which loosened their restrictions on business

early on. texas for example recorded its biggest number of new cases on saturday. and the number of people in hospital with the virus has risen for 11 consecutive days. california's infection rate has been surging in the last week, the number of people in hospital has surpassed the peak in april. florida is also seeing cases rising sharply, it's now the seventh state to reach 100,000 cases. earlier dr fauci was giving testimony to a congressional hearing. this is part of what he said. right now, the next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges that we are seeing in florida and texas and arizona and in other states. they're not the only ones that are having difficulty. bottom line, mr chairman, it's a mixed bag — some good and some now, we have a problem with. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher has more on mr fauci's testimony. he and others testifying also

talked about the testing, he said that it was progress being made, that there was an increase in the amount of testing, that they were going to do more and they certainly had not been instructed to do less, which seem to contradict what president trump had said. at a rally at the weekend he told people he directed the administration to slow down the testing because the increase in test cases it revealed made the country look bad. the white house said he was joking and he later told journalists he wasn't. later, all m public—health officials testifying before congress said they were committed to testing and it was crucial for the pandemic. doctor fauci said he had a note of complement no optimism, he was cautiously optimistic a vaccine would be available for the american people by the end of the year or by the beginning of next one. we can now speak to dr krutika kuppalli who is a global health and infectious diseases physician. she joins us from palo alto.

thank you very much for your time. what does doctor fauci mean by the next few weeks being critical? what doctor fauci is talking about is that in certain parts of the country, places that he mentioned, texas, arizona, florida, we are getting to see a large surge in the number of cases, and it is going to be important to see what happens, if we can try to turn the number of cases and people in the hospital around, and that would be done by engaging in some of the public health measures we have been talking about for a while now, and physical distancing, wearing masks, using good hand hygiene to try to decrease the number of cases so we don't overwhelm the healthcare system again. and with this surge, what do

you think the chances are of that turnaround happening? how do you see the progress of the disease now? what you think is most likely to happen? that's a good question. 0ne most likely to happen? that's a good question. one of the things i am very concerned about is, not just things i am very concerned about is, notjust the states that were already seeing the surge, but in potentially other states, and this is why testing is so important. testing is the cornerstone of everything that we do, it helps us know who is positive, it helps us implement things like contact tracing so we can find other cases. 0ne things like contact tracing so we can find other cases. one of the things that we are also worried about is, with the ongoing protests, how that could affect our surge as well, so could affect our surge as well, so there's a lot of different things that we need to be thinking about and worried about. one of the things that we might need to consider is tightening back up on those public health measures, and some of these cases where we are seeing some of these cases where we are seeing cases some of these cases where we are seeing cases go up. we have

spoken to quite a few medics and specialists in this field saying, and actually many of the politicians have given up on any real efforts at control. clearly the medics have not given up. if that is the case, what are the implications of that? well, then, if we don't try to continue forward and really work together, we are going to see the things that are happening now get worse. we will see case numbers go up, we will see case numbers go up, we will see case numbers go up, we will see healthcare systems overwhelmed, we will see an increased number of fatalities and that is why the united states is already having problems and if we don't figure this out it is going to continue to happen and it will get worse. thank you very much for talking to us. we'll have more on coronavirus later in the programme. in atlanta, the funeral has taken place of rayshard brooks, an african—american shot dead by police in a confrontation two weeks ago. his killing, following that

of another black american, george floyd, provoked weeks of protest by anti—racism campaigners. on tuesday president trump called the protestors vandals and anarchists — and promised to reinforce the law to protect statues and monuments. long—term jail sentences for these vandals and these hoodlums and these anarchists and agitators and — call them whatever you want. some people don't like that language, but that's what they are. the fbi has concluded bubba wallace was not the victim of a racist act at talladega superspeedway, nascar has announced. an investigation was launched into the noose left in the garage of the association's only black full—time driver. dozens of drivers showed their support for wallace by pushing his number 43 car to the front of the field at the alabama speedway. this was certainly a very swift

conclusion by the fbi, justice department an investigation 2a hours or so ago and they say they saw authentic video supplied by nascar that led them to believe that this noose — at least a rope shaped in the form of a noose — wasn't deliberately left there as a form of intimidation, instead they said it was part of a pulley system for a garage door and in regards to the evidence they have seen, it has been in this particular garage since last october. since he hadn't been assigned the garage until last week, the conclusion is this wasn't a racially motivated attempt to intimidate a driver, a man who has become very prominent in the last few weeks because of his support of black lives matter and he was also of course a key figure in campaigning against the confederate flag being shown at nascar events, he was very successful in that, and some people thought this was retaliation against his newfound profile,

not only in the sport but more generally because of what's been happening in the states, the race protests over the last month or so. peter, if you can, give us more of a feel about nascar, huge inside the united states but not that well—known outside? yes, it is huge, and it's a mostly white sport and that's why, to a large extent, it's been at the centre of this controversy. he is the only lack driver, at least full—time, and i think that's why there's been a lot of focus on what's happened over the last 2a hours. we should say nascar has released a statement following the conclusions of the fbi, saying they are thankful to hear it wasn't an intentional racist act against bubba, they say they remain steadfast in their commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment

for all who love racing, and they also say their investigation will in fact continue to see why this particular piece of rope was left, it seems, lying around in the form of a noose. peter, thank you very much that. britain's prime minister, boris johnson, has announced the most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions in england since imposing a lockdown in march. from july the fourth, the two metre social distancing rule will be reduced to one metre. pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, cinemas and museums will be allowed to reopen, provided they follow safety guidelines. mrjohnson said he would take full responsibility if the relaxation of measures backfired. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. moving to a new sort of normal. in england, at least, from next weekend the pumps will flow, glasses will chink, a symbol there is life after lockdown — you'll be able to raise a pint.

are you taking a gamble with public safety, prime minister? exactly three months after the deadly virus derailed everything, the disease isjudged by number 10 to be fading enough to open many more of the country's doors. speaker: prime minister. you could almost hear the relief in the prime minister's voice. thanks to our progress, we can now go further and safely ease the lockdown in england. mps: hear, hear! at every stage, caution will remain our watchword. hairdressers, hotels, libraries, playgrounds, a long list of venues will be back but you will still be asked to keep at least im distance, with extra precautions, and still work at home if you can. but hold on, the different parts of the uk are moving at different paces. in wales and in scotland, the 2m rule is still in place. but for number 10, it's time to move on. 5pm today, the last occasion that this briefing

will be routine. professor whitty, you previously said very clearly you would like to see the 2m rule stay until the end of the pandemic. have you changed your mind? the advice to stay at 2m if you can stay at 2m remains, and the 1m is a 1m+, mitigations that bring it into line with other areas, and that's why people must take it incredibly seriously. personally, am i comforable with it? this is a balance of risk. it's like many things in medicine — you don't go in for an operation unless you have to, it's a balance of risk. the end of the emergency phase maybe, but from the lectern or your living room, the impact of the coronavirus is certainly not a thing of the past. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. let's get some of the day's other news. german authorities are bringing back local lockdown measures after a coronavirus outbreak linked to a meatpacking plant. the premier of the north rhine—westphalia state said restrictions will return to a district which is home to about 360,000 people. it's the first time germany has reversed lockdown easing,

which started to be lifted in may. the peruvian government says that at least 223 police officers have died of covid—i9 in the country. most of them contracted the virus as they tried to enforce quarantine measures. peru has the second highest number of deaths in latin america, after brazil. the saudi authorities say that only around 1,000 worshippers will be allowed to take part in this year's hajj pilgrimage to mecca. they were giving more details after announcing that it will be dramatically scaled back because of the pandemic. the worshippers will be drawn from various nationalities but they'll all already be resident in saudi arabia. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a fine balancing act, how these swiss acrobats ares staying in business during the coronavirus pandemic. members of the neo—nazi resistance movement stormed

the world trade center armed with pistols and shotguns. we believe that, according to international law, that we have a rightful claim in certain parts of this country as our land. i take pride in the words "ich bin ein berliner." cheering as the uk woke up to the news that it is to exit the european union, leave campaigners began celebrating. in total, 17.4 million people voted for the uk to leave the eu. the medical research council have now advised the government that the great increase in lung cancer is due mainly to smoking tobacco. it was closing time for checkpoint charlie, which, for 29 years, has stood on the border as a mark of allied determination to defend the city.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: america's leading infectious disease expert has warned of a disturbing surge in covid—19 cases in parts of the country. anthony fauci told the congress the next couple of weeks are going to be critical. england has relaxed social distancing to get the economy moving. restaurants and pubs can re—open injuly and the government has eased its 2m rule. ajudge in brazil has ordered presidentjair bolsonaro to wear a protective mask when out in public or face a $400 daily fine. mr bolsonaro appeared to obey the ruling at an offical event in brasilia following the decision. he's been criticised for belittling the risk posed by coronavirus and attended several political rallies without a mask. covid deaths across latin america have now surpassed 100,000, over half of which are in brazil. the court decision is the latest blow to mr bolsonaro in series of clashes

between him and the country's top courts. last week, mr bolsonaro lost a key ally, education minister abraham weintraub, who lost a supreme court appeal to not be included within a federal probe into the spread of fake news. following the decision mr weintraub resigned his cabinet position. he then announced he had accepted a posititon at the world bank the next day. critics have accused him of fleeing the country. one of those critics is federal deputy tabata amaral. she represents sao paulo for the opposition democratic labour party, and is also an education campaigner very an education campaigner good to talk to you and thank very good to talk to you and thank you for your time. first of all, this curious episode of the former education secretary, implicated in some ways in this fa ke implicated in some ways in this fake news probe. tell us more. yes, hi, mike and thank you

very much for this opportunity. first it's very important to say that abra ham first it's very important to say that abraham weintraub is by any account of the worst education minister we have had so education minister we have had so far. we have been monitoring his actions in the ministry of education for over a year, and he failed to deliver anything in education. he did nothing in this whole time because he was so this whole time because he was so involved with those fake news campaigns. he is being investigated and he fled to the us with his diplomatic passport, which is illegal, and it seems our government actually helped him with that, so actually helped him with that, so it's a very hard time for oui’ so it's a very hard time for our country. and he's a very close ally of the president, of course. and there are a lot of allegations circling that much of the fake news has come from people close to the president. yes, and you just mentioned the court ruling, that bolsonaro should wear a mask, and ijust wa nted should wear a mask, and ijust wanted to point out first how

absurd it is that we need a court ruling. this happened because the president has been attending antidemocratic protests pretty much every weekend for months now even though brazil has over1 million people diagnosed with covid—19, at least 1 million, we have lost over 50,000 lives from covid—19, and we haven't had a health ministerfor one month, but this whole health crisis is being aggravated because of the political crisis that you just mentioned. there are currently three investigations closing in on bolsonaro and his sons — one is about illegal financing during the campaign, the second one is about the promotion of fake news with public funds, and the third one is about corruption accusations involving his sons. things just accusations involving his sons. thingsjust got accusations involving his sons. things just got worse for the president, and that's one of the reasons why we had the education minister fleeing the

country, because the person we believe to be the conductor of all these money laundering form one of bolsonaro's sons was found hiding in one of bolsonaro's personal lawyer's house. things are getting pretty bad here. it's clear to me that my country is suffering much more than was necessary during this pandemic. a lot of allegations there, of course, tabata, we allegations there, of course, ta bata, we can't allegations there, of course, tabata, we can't prove them and we will have to leave them there as allegations, but one particular thing that the president would say, and has said, in fact, president would say, and has said, infact, the president would say, and has said, in fact, the danger to the economy was worse than the health risk. he may have changed his mind on that now. what was the justification for the government attempts to have data from covid—19 removed from official websites, i know they have been forced change that ruling as well? there has been many attacks on transparency in general, one particular ngo listed ten attempts from the

government to go against transparency, and brazil is doing pretty badly in dealing with the crisis. again, we have lost over 50,000 lives. there is no action being co—ordinated by the federal government, and 110w by the federal government, and now and then bolsonaro goes and says this is a small crisis, a mild cold and people shouldn't worry about it. i think he's trying so hard to hide the numbers because this is one of the few things that make him lose support eventually among the people that support him the most, because people are starting to his action during the pandemic as not being very human of him. so we have been fighting and so far have been able to maintain all the transparency that's necessary, but brazil is doing a very bad job in dealing with the whole crisis. and, in many times, the bolsonaro, the president, will go on and say his enemies are

the mayos and the governors, because they are going against the economy but the thing is, brazil is doing both things very badly right now and our president doesn't understand you need to save lives first, the economy you can save later, the economy you can save later, the lives you can't. tabata amaral, good to talk to you. thank you very much. thank you, bye— bye. novak djokovic, the men's world number one tennis player, has tested positive for coronavirus. he had been playing at a tournament he organised in serbia and croatia, which was scrapped after three other players also tested positive. players had not been obliged to follow social distancing rules, and the tournament saw stands packed with spectators. novak djokovic is opposed to vaccinations and has said he would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if one became available. katie gornall reports. it was an announcement that threw tennis into turmoil — the world number one novak djokovic revealed that he tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the fourth player involved in his adria tour event to be infected by the disease.

in a statement, djokovic said: but djokovic has been accused of complacency for organising a tournament that wasn't just tennis in front of crowds — there were hugs, handshakes, and even a pretournament basketball game. the players were pictured partying together, but the consequences have been serious. grigor dimitrov was the first to announce he'd tested positive for covid—19. and while the players were not required by law to observe social distancing in serbia and croatia, the lack of precautions drew forceful criticism. australian tennis player, nick kyrgios, called the event a "boneheaded decision". "speedy recovery, fellas," he wrote, "but that's what happens when you disregard all protocols. this is not a joke." and he was not alone. it's a poor example to set, i think, to be, you know,

even if the guidelines in that country are not two metres, i think we should all, you know — it's not a joke, is it? you know, even if the guidelines were taken away in this country to normal, i'd still be trying to keep myself out of the way. the rest of the adria tour events have now been cancelled. tennis continues elsewhere, but in very different conditions. when andy murray plays his first match today since november, it will be behind closed doors in london. the two—time wimbledon champion is taking part in the battle of the brits tournament. his brother, jamie, is fronting it and accepts that, after recent events, there will be scrutiny. it's not a good look for tennis, i don't think. and it also means for our event, there is a whole lot more eyes going to be on that and how this event is run, and how the players are conducting themselves. after this latest development, there are now genuine concerns that the rescheduled major tournaments —

the us open in august and roland garros in september — could be injeopardy. for now, the show goes on but the controversy will linger for the sport's biggest star. katie gornall, bbc news. in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we've seen organizers cancel or delay countless performances. in switzerland, a group of acrobats decided the show must go on. alanna petroff reports on how these individuals got back to work in a surprising new setting. you may be maintaining your social distance safe at home. here in the swiss alps, these acrobats are social distancing at an altitude of 3,000m, that is nearly 10,000 feet. the show involves some blindfolded cable walking, some slow scar cycling. this one is called the wheel of the death. 0rganisers say this stunt, with the steep cable incline, set a new record. acrobat freddy nock

and his troupe performed their death—defying moves to raise awareness about the artists who have not been able to perform over the past few months. it is good for everybody we do not give up, and keep thinking positive for the future. it is a hard time now but i think it will become better also. it's certainly been a time of highs and lows, a time of balancing priorities. these acrobats hope their performance at the top of the world will lift the spirits of those below. alanna petroff, bbc news. motorists in the turkish resort of bodrum had a lucky escape when a water pipe burst sendings thousands of litres of water into the air. the volume of water quickly turned the road into a river. the force of the explosion created a 5—metre wide sinkhole in the street. there is much more on all the

news any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. hello there. on tuesday, the temperature reached 29 celsius around london. now, by the end of the week, we're likely to find the weather breaking down with a bang but, for the next couple of days, the heat and humidity will continue to build. we could get 90 fahrenheit. that heat and humidity coming in from continental europe, and spilling its way northwards to much of the country. that warmth coming in around an area of high pressure but, by the end of the week, the pressure pattern looks very different. lowering pressure coming in from the atlantic, threatening to sweep some thundery downpours in from the west on friday. now, at the moment, we've still got some rain around, mainly for western scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, dry with clearer skies, and quite a warm start to wednesday — 12 to 15 degrees. now, the rain in the north—west will gradually peter

out during wednesday. the cloud thins, skies brighten and there'll be some sunshine, particularly for southern and eastern scotland, where it should be quite warm. but it's across england and wales where we've got the gentle breezes and the strong sunshine, and the temperatures are continuing to climb. 30 degrees in birmingham, 31 in london. and you probably noticed, like i have, that the pollen levels are very high, not just across england and wales, but in across northern ireland and a good part of scotland as well. as we move into thursday, there could be some thundery showers towards the far north—west of scotland to move away. later in the day, maybe just a hint of things to come, with some showers in cornwall, but thursday is probably going to be the peak of the heat. the warmth will continue to push its way into scotland. we're not getting the extreme heat in northern ireland. 32 is 90 fahrenheit, that's in london on thursday. and then the change as we head into friday. it's always going to be a little bit uncertain, but we do have that lowering pressure, and some of those thunderstorms are beginning to develop out towards the west. now, the potentialfor some

very wet and thundery weather for a while across northern ireland and western scotland. and then those thundery downpours push their way eastward steadily through the day. could be a little bit more hit and miss towards the south—east, and the last of the heat is really getting pushed more towards eastern parts of england. elsewhere, those temperatures are starting to drop away. and that process will continue over the weekend. 20 or 21 will be the best we'll manage, i think, by sunday, and maybe a bit of rain around and it could be quite unusually windy for the time of year.

this is bbc news, the headlines: america's leading infectious disease expert has warned of a disturbing surge in covid—19 cases in parts of the country. anthony fauci told congress that the next two weeks would be critical to stop more infections in states such as florida, texas and arizona. the british prime minister boris johnson has announced a significant easing of coronavirus restrictions in england. restaurants and pubs can re—open injuly and the government has relaxed its two—metre rule. mrjohnson said he would take full responsibility if the relaxation of measures backfired. the fbi says bubba wallace was not the victim of racism after a noose was found in his nascar team's garage. the agency said what had been assumed to be a noose was actually

the garage door‘s pull rope, and had been hanging like that since last october. now on bbc news, panorama. the death of george floyd at the hands of the minneapolis police.... chanting: black lives matter! ..has sparked america's biggest series of protests over race in a generation. protesters chant: hands up, don't shoot! ..highlighting once again the deep divide between black and white. we don't want no more police! with violent scenes — and police forces seemingly out of control. get in the house! the protests have gone global, spreading to britain. it's racism against the world. and if you're not with us, you're against us.