and six decades on from martin luther king's i have a dream speech, we speak to his daughter about the civil rights leader's lessons for today. hello. i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. we begin with the unwelcome reality that covid case in the united states are once again on the rise. data from the centers for disease control and prevention show hospitalisations increased nearly 19% over the past week and deaths rose about 21%. this late summer spread comes as a new variant known as eris — or egs — has become the dominant strain of coronavirus in the us, though it's unknown whether the new variant is the direct cause of the surge. the bbc�*s katty kay discussed all this with dr anthony fauci — who served as the us's chief medical advisor, and spokesperson, during the

height of the covid pandemic. he's now a distinguished university professor at georgetown. front page of the new york times today, "not over yet. "late summer covid wave brings warning of more to come." right. because right now we are having, it is defying seasonality. early on people would say well, it is like the flu, it pegs —— peaks in winter and goes away. that is what everyone thought. naively and dramatically, incorrectly, that when covid came at the end of december, the beginning ofjanuary that it would peak in march and then drop as you come into the summer months. it did not do anything like that. this virus does not know whether it is spring summer winter or fall and it shows us right now, we are in august

and we start to see an acceleration of cases. how serious could it get again? the virus that is circulating now is the eg5 and variants. most people who got infected or who have gotten vaccinated and boosted have a degree of immunity that they may well get infected with the virus that is circulating. two positive aspects of that is that 96% or more of the population has some degree of immunity either through prior infection or vaccine or both with or without boosters. so if you get a surge of infections now you will certainly see infections and people who will likely get mild to moderately ill, some people, mostly the vulnerable and the elderly and those with underlying conditions who may require hospitalisation and even some deaths.

but i very seriously doubt, although you do keep an open mind and never say things with complete confidence, but i doubt seriously whether you will see the hospital and death surge that we saw in the past. even if we get a surge of infections. because there is enough fundamental community level protection that even though you find the vulnerable will fall by the wayside and be infected, they will be hospitalised and some will die, it will not be the soon army —— tsunami of cases that we saw. when you see headlines like that and i don't know how much you monitor covid still. very carefully. it is like your alter ego now. does it make you worry? do you worry when you see an uptick? i want to make sure and i was on the phone with my colleagues from the white house and the cdc and other health authorities now that we have got to make sure that when the booster

becomes available in the third or fourth week of september, that is its projected timeframe, that we get people vaccinated. because that is a good match to what is circulating now. the eg.5, is closely related to it. if you get a boost with xpb you will get reasonably good protection. it may not be against a mild infection it will definitely be against severe disease. so do i worry? my worry is that people are going to feel cavalier that they do not want to be vaccinated. i've been in vaccinated, i've been boosted, i've been infected, in the third or fourth week of september we're going have a booster available that would be likely matched to what will be circulating during that time. so we should not be complacent?

absolutely not. if we did not have the tools and we were immunologically divergent population i would be very worried. let's turn now to the details of two recent shootings here in the us — one from over this weekend, and one from just a few hours ago. in a moment, we'll hear the latest on the investigation into the racially—motivated killing of three people in jacksonville, florida on saturday. but first, a faculty member was killed during a shooting at the university of north carolina on monday. students at the campus in chapel hill spent hours in lockdown as authorities tried to locate the suspect. they had onlyjust returned to school for the fall semester which began just a week ago. the suspect was eventually taken into custody, and the fbi is helping local authorities with the investigation. turning to the weekend's shooting injacksonville florida, a shortwhile ago the fbi�*s director, christopherwray, in a statement about the incident

said, "from everything we know now, this was a targeted attack, a hate crime that was racially motivated. it's my hope that by sharing this common operating picture, we can use our collective strengths to fully investigate the attacker�*s heinous intentions, to move forward and prevent future acts of violence, and to achieve justice for all those who have been affected by this horrific act." earlier, the sherrif�*s office injacksonville released a portion of the newly discovered surveillance footage showing the suspect walking into a family dollar store to buy some items before the attack. here, we see the gunman's car on the edward waters university campus where he parks to put on a bullet resistant vest. then footage from after the attack at dollar general where we see officers entering the store after the shooter began his rampage. the city's police chief says that homicide detectives are working around the clock in their investigation. as we mentioned, the gunman

first went to edward waters university — a historically black college — but fled when campus police approached his vehicle. the university's president, dr a zachary faisonjr, has said he believed the school was the gunman's initial target. i spoke to him a short time ago. dr zachary faison, president of edward waters university, thank you forjoining us. my condolences to you and the community first of all for what happened on saturday. how is the campus community reacting to all of this? well, thank you for having me. there certainly is a high level of apprehension and admittedly some fear amongst a lot of our students, faculty, and staff. there are some concerns for individuals that might operate as copycats that might want to come to the campus and do harm. so there is some apprehension, some fear, as you might imagine after such a murderous tragedy that has taken place in the shadow of our institution. but we are doing all that we can to support our students and our faculty and staff and let them know we're doing everything we possibly

can to keep them safe. now, it was through the diligent actions of your students and your campus police that nobody was injured. would you mind talking us through what happened on campus on saturday? so, summarily the now deceased perpetrator came onto our campus. we are a relatively small private historically black university, so we kind of champion the notion of being a very engaged community that knows each other and, fortunately, a group of students noticed this perpetrator on our campus in our back parking lot where he was putting on gloves and fashioned what looked like a tactical armoured vest and we have a mantra at the institution, a culture of caring, that we call it — if you see something, say something. in these young people did just that.

they alerted our campus security that something just didn't feel right, this person didn't appear to be someone that should have been on our campus, so they alerted our campus security officer. lieutenant antonio bailey, who showed up and really was a hero in showing up and thwarting this attack. when he came on scene in his safety vehicle the perpetrator immediately fled the scene, jumped a curb wanting to get away so quickly. so if not for the keen awareness of our students and then the quick response of the security officer, who knows what might have taken place on our campus. now, this gunman had no criminal record. he had been held for involuntary psychiatric valuation for three days in 2017. police had also received a domestic violence call

involving himself and his brother. he had bought these guns legally. what do you make of that whole situation? as you mentioned, that is kind of background as has been reported by local authorities. our contention is this, that we do know based upon the information that has been shared, is that this was a white supremacist who acted as a domestic terrorist. he had a hate for african—americans. and so we know this was not by happenstance that he first came to edward waters university. it is distinctively the state of florida's first historically black university and we believe his aim was to come here because this is the bastion and birthplace of black excellence, particular in higher education, in this state and he wanted to send a message by coming here. but, again, thankfully, because of the great work of our students first and certainly our campus police force he was not able to reach our campus and harm our immediate university.

now, under florida governor ron desantis, he has banned the teaching of critical race theory in this state, which acknowledges systemic racism in american history. you have been working with the governor since these incidents on saturday. he has given you an extra $1 million for security at the campus. what have your discussions with him involved in the last couple of days? well, to be very frank with you, we haven't had any discussions around policy. i think if we did we certainly would be diametrically opposed. my opinion and my view is certainly one that supports the notion of critical race theory. i think it's a historical fact that this nation was born from a conception out of a racist ideology. so, again, we haven't had those policy discussions, i don't think we would find much synergy there.

our discussions have been around really responding to this tragedy and i can give the governor credit for responding and notjust talk but some action in providing edward waters with about $1.1 million in financial support to help to fortify our campus from a security perspective. this gunman had about 20 pages of racist writings that the authorities have so far seized. what can be done to keep the community safe from people like him? i think it starts with places like edward waters university. you have to educate. you have to educate, you have to expose. most folks that develop that kind of ideology develop that kind of ideology out of ignorance and so it's critically important that spaces of education and particularly historically black colleges and universities, we are the disseminators of truth, particularly truth when it comes to matters of race in this country and so what needs happen is they needs to be even a more heightened level of support for historically black colleges and universities around this country and particularly places like edward waters university. so we are calling upon the white house, the biden

administration, state and local government, the business and community, excuse me, the business and corporate community, philanthropic communities around the country to galvanise in this moment and support edward waters university and support similarly situated historically black colleges and universities around the country in perhaps a way they have before, because these institutions are absolutely indispensable to the future of america. 0k. we will end on that note. dr zachary faison, president of edward waters university, thank you forjoining us. thank you, thank you so much for having me. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news.

the reigonal presidents of spain's football federation have unanimously called for the immediate resignation of the federation boss, luis rubiales. they say his behaviour has seriously damaged football in the country. mr rubiales sparked outrage when he kissed footballer, jenni hermoso, on the lips, after the national team won the women's world cup last week. hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss. donald trump has said he will appeal after a federal judge set a march 11th date for his trial on charges of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. that's the day before super tuesday, when the largest number of us states hold primary ballots ahead of the next presidential poll. mr trump says the march 11th trial date amounts to election interference. he denies any wrongdoing. british authorities say they've fixed a problem that's been causing disruption for flights around the world. the glitch affected the planning system at the uk's air traffic control network. it's caused widespread delays and cancellations.

you're live with bbc news. monday marked 60 years to the day since reverend martin luther king jr delivered his iconic �*i have a dream' speech to thousands of civil rights marchers in washington dc. his words continue to resonate in the us and across the world. in his speech dr king described his dream of a more just and equitable america. many credit it for playing a role in the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 — the landmark civil rights and labor law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris met with dr king's family and march organizers on monday to mark the anniversary. the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. yet there are those who are intentionally trying to divide us as a nation, and i believe each of us has a duty, a duty

to not allow factions to sever our unity. dr bernice king was at that meeting at the white house on monday. she's dr king's daughter, and i spoke with her recently about her father's legacy. thanks forjoining us. we are marking 60 years on from the march on washington, your father's i have a dream speech. how near orfar do you think we are from that dream that he described? in all honesty, the dream that he spoke about is going to take several generations to achieve. i think there is some certain progress that we have made since the time he spoke about the conditions that the black community was facing at the time when he talked about the bad check, when he talked about police brutality, when he talked about some of the economic circumstances around the black community. a large part of what he was speaking

when he got to i have a dream was not to leave people in hopelessness, that in spite of all these difficult things that we still have to fight in terms of racial and economic injustices and equities, i still have a dream that one day we will live in this kind of world, and we have made progress since then, if we look at the fact that they made ten demands, they marched on washington, the substance of a good percentage of those demands was about civil rights, protections and provisions, we have those today because of that march on washington. you know, there are things in place that protect people in case of employment discrimination, housing discrimination, federal funds can be withheld, they are things that protect people if their constitutional rights have been violated, the attorney general can institute injections and release suits. these are things we have benefited from today

because of the march on washington and the subsequent passes of the civil rights act, voting rights act and the housing act. obviously we have had a black president, we have had a black ambassador to the united nations, school board members, and black county commissioners, so we are in the room now the way that we were not. however, with every bit of progress there is always going to be a backlash, and i think sometimes as we are focused on continuing the fight forjustice, freedom, and equality, we forget that there is going to be this backlash so we don't prepare for it. we are marking this anniversary in times where we have seen recent attacks on affirmative action and voting rights. what is your assessment of where the civil rights movement is at the moment? you know, i think, first of all, there are numerous people that are on the, you know, on what we call battlefield, that are really fighting to get the right

policies in place, that are really fighting to educate communities. i think one of the struggles is, there is so many things that are problematic. when you look across the board in the black community, we still suffer from racial disparities in every area, whether you're talking about housing, employment, health, environment, criminal justice, we are still the last. not because of something inherently wrong with us, but because of the systemic issues around race. part of the issue around race, some of it is ignorance. if you grew up in a society where you don't know a lot about a certain communities, and you don't spend a lot about a certain community, then you'll be ignorant of certain things, so the barriers that we removed because of the work my father did,

they removed those legal barriers, segregation, we have a lot of defective practices now, so we have to intentionally do things to educate. i think we're in this ongoing struggle. my mother said that struggle is a left—handed progress, freedom is never really won, you honour it and win it in every generation. it's not like we can just say we have arrived because we're not going to get there, it's a generational struggle. when you look at those inequalities that you've mentioned there, perhaps from the point of view of a young black person and delegate those statistics on education, homeownership, incarceration, earning potential across their whole lifetime, what you say to a young black person that might think this is not a country for them? i would say, because you are in this country, you should connect with those organisations and entities that are fighting to make it a country for them.

there is no perfect nation in this world, even if you go to an all—black nation, for instance, it's going to be fraught with issues as well. there is a reason we are each of the nations that we are in. there are things that we are supposed to discover and then contribute in our time, and so, just like those before how to sacrifice, no generation is exempt. if our parents had to sacrifice for us, we're going to have to do the same for the next generation and so on and so forth. that's what this narration has to know and understand, but if you get in the struggle, and work collectively, collaboratively and in a co—ordinated way with others, we can make some of the changes that we need to make so that you do feel that this is america for you, but i get it. it feels like, not just feels like, there are instances where it's like america, what is

wrong, what is your problem, excuse me, with black people? why is it that every turn on the road it seems like a barrier is put up to keep the community from progressing? we need to look at that as a nation. what do you think your father would say about all of that if he was giving the same speech this week? a lot of what he said probably would be repeated. you know. that his four children, my sister is deceased now, three, and his grandchild, will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged, we are not yet in that nation. they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but the content of their character. i think he would still have that dream, because he would see that we still have racial division, notjust racial division, we still have racial disparities that are a result of a white supremacist structures and systems that have been created that we have not

cured and corrected. sorry for interrupting, do you think that day is far away? it's hard to say. i think it will all depend on, you know, how people are able to co—ordinate, connect and embrace the philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. 0ne challenge today is, we're trying to achieve in this generation things that dr king had achieved in their generation, without a full understanding of the philosophy and strategy o nonviolence. it's time people to really study study dr king and nonviolence and practice it because there is a philosophy and a means of fighting injustice and we are not pulling from that in our society today, and we need to. just one final question, clearly, your father's legacy lives on through you, but these anniversaries, these occasions, you did not

have, tragically, long with your dad. how are these occasions for you? sometimes it is difficult but other times i am glad and honoured to be a part of a legacy of notjust a man but a woman who changed and continued to change the world. so i look at this as an opportunity to continue to educate and prepare people for the struggles and the fights that we continue to have two wage against injustice and equity and all of those things that people are trying to do to hinder and hold back, you know, communities of people, and so, you know, it is unfortunate that we have to do it but the same time thank god we have somebody who gave us so much richness that we can rely upon and use in our struggle and in our work to fight forajust, humane,

equitable and peaceful world, which my father would call the beloved community. indeed. dr bernice king, thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. and you can watch the full version of that interview with dr bernice king on our website. for now, that's all from us here in washington. thank you for watching, i'm caitriona perry. we leave you with these live pictures of london as we hand off to our colleagues there. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. our final bank holiday weekend of the summer season was certainly dominated by sunny spells and scattered showers — some really potent ones on saturday, but by monday, fewer showers around, allowing us to get out and enjoy some fresh air

and glimpses of sunshine. quite a cloudy start, but into the afternoon, the cloud broke up and we closed out the day with some decent sunshine around. now, low pressure is set to dominate this tuesday and continue with that sunny spells and scattered shower theme. the trailing weather front here will certainly introduce more cloud across northern england, parts of wales and south—west england first thing in the morning, and some light, patchy rain here. we start off with sunshine across the north, but a few scattered showers will develop as we go through the day. and so, by the middle part of the afternoon, our weather front will be sitting across lincolnshire down into south—west england. ahead of it, still relatively mild, but behind it, we'll see some sunshine. there will be a few showers and some of these really quite heavy. for northern ireland, for scotland, it's a case of sunny spells and scattered showers — some of those showers could be really quite potent — the odd rumble of thunder and noticeably fresher, particularly on exposed north and west facing coasts. 15 or 16 degrees at the very best. now, that low

pressure drifts away and allows this brief ridge of high pressure to build as we move into wednesday. that means that showers will fade away and skies clear, and so, to start the day on wednesday, we could actually have a chilly—ish start with temperatures generally into single figures. but it will be accompanied by some spells of sunshine. a north—westerly wind still with us, and so that could just filter a few organised showers down through the isle of man, the irish sea into north—west england. but generally, it will be a quieter day with fewer showers around, but still, because of the wind direction coming from the northwest, those temperatures a little disappointing — 15—20 — that's 68 fahrenheit. thursday into friday sees rain across england and wales and just how far north that goes is subject to question. but after that, it looks likely that high pressure will build for the start of the first full week of september. so, yes, we are going to continue with that showery rain, but fingers crossed that high pressure builds and quietens things down for the start

of the following weekend.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk.

i'm stephen sackur, and today, i'm on the banks of the river lea, north of london. this beautiful habitat has, in recent years, become a battleground, which has pitted anglers and conservationists against the privatised water companies and the industry regulator. my guest today is the former punk rock star—turned—environmental campaigner feargal sharkey. now, he is leading the campaign to clean up britain's waterways. but can years of environmental degradation really be reversed? feargal sharkey, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, sir. many will know you for your music career, but in recent

years, you've become one of britain's most prominent,