they gathered at paris as notre dame cathedral to pay tribute to father jacques hamel. >> in arguably one of the world's most well-known cathedrals, notre dame hosted the current and former president for an exceptional mass as they turned out to pay tribute to slain priest jacques hamel. >> god is a god of life. he is not a god of death. it is in the light of this conviction that we join our thoughts and prayers to affirm that he in whom we believe is not a monster but a man -- a friend to man. >> the 86-year-olds murder sent shockwaves through the nation who are still grieving for those who died in the bastille days attacks. mirroring sentiments expressed by president francois hollande. thanks to this conviction that we have refused to enter into the madness of conspiracies to runow our society through with the virus of suspicion. we cannot build unity within humanity i seeking out scapegoats. >> paris wasn't alone in seeing masses in honor of jacques hamel . special masses took place across the country including the northern town closest to where the murder took place. claire: franc

lucy: in the church of notre dame, prayers are honoring father jacques hamel and the hostages of st.ne. protectors ise's harder with the country divided over what protection means. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. katty: you are watching "bbc world news america." come, president barack obama going to the stage. he will say why hillary clinton should be his successor as he prepares to leave office. we take a look back. john hinckley, junior, who tried to assassinate president ronald reagan in 1981, will be released from the psychiatric hospital. he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. the judge said he is ready to live in the community. correspondent: it was a moment oft led the world -- left world holding its breath. a gunman opened fire at close range. t, in thedent was sho limo, an act that may have saved his life. others were shot. the would-be assassin had been taken to the ground. as ronald reagan was rushed through washington, an agent put out the word that he was fine. it was premature. he recovered quickly, and it was found a bullet had punctured the presidents along.

father jacques hamel was 86-year-old when he died. amnesty international is warning about a poisonous atmosphere in turkey, where the government continues its crackdown in the wake of last week's failed coup. tens of thousands of people have been sacked or detained and now a purge of the media and the military with 131 media outlets shot -- shutdown and 40% of the armed forces sacked. reporter: a deepening crackdown in the wake of a failed coup. turkish authorities have suspended or detained an estimated 60,000 people since july 15. just who are the targets of president erdogan's purge? from judges to teachers, civil soldiers, the list is extensive. more than three quarters of them are state employees. that includes members of the social policy, and a -- energy, and foreign ministries. teachers have00 had their licenses revoked. that figure rises if you include preachers and clerics. many of turkey's leading scholars will have no option but to leave the country. for now, the higher educational authority has banned academics from trave

reporter: catholic priest father jacques hamel had been retired for nearly a decade, but still, he rightly in to officiate at the parish church. he was holding mass there this morning, when two armed men entered the church. they took a hostage and forced father hamel to kneel at the altar before slitting his throat. he had recently written a letter, calling for parishioners to pray for peace together during these difficult times. it was a message the attackers were determined to destroy. an official who worked closely with father hamel says -- >> attacking a priest is attacking all of humanity. another religious head being killed, an imam or another. >> father hamel was a member of the interfaith community, trying to foster understanding. he was described as a friend. among the catholic community, there are already calls for father hamel to be fast-tracked to sainthood. brent: the governor saying today that islamic terror has arrived in germany, and the state interior minister is saying that germany should quickly deport investigators say they continue to probe the suicide bombing outside

reporter: the archbishop of paris meeting tributes to jacques hamel and putting forth a message of hope. he says it is the only way to combat the hatred in the attack and other tax in france. -- other attacks in france. francois hollande, his prime minister manuel valls, and members the opposition including nicholas sarkozy. it is pretty vitriolic on the political front. the socialist government coming under fire not just for this attack but previous ones of what the center-right and hard right say are persistent lapses. to playthey are trying up and emphasize more the idea of the national unity as the only way, really, to prevent divisions appearing in french society, which they say of the intent.sts' hence the meeting of religious leaders. there is potential cancellation of a number of upcoming events in the coming weeks. an outdoor concert, things like that. in the end, the interior minister reminding the french public that this country already has some of the toughest anti-terror measures in place. it remains under a state of emergency. only by remaining within the rule of law and s

minutes later, father jacques hamel was murdered.miche filmed the video on his cell phone and was killed by police before sending the video. the berlin-based application has been popular among jihadist of indicationsse that leave no trace on servers. >> telegram was>>, created in 2013 and it has been used by jihadists. the islamic state group's news agency uses telegram to claim a tax. reporter: telegram has more than 100 million users, proving a challenge for monitoring information. >> the problem is that telegram has more than 10 million messages and our -- per hour, so it is impossible for humans to analyze everything. but there's also the issue of privacy, for the people who use the service legitimately. nice attackter the on july 14, france passed a law allowing investigators to search cell phones during home rates in an effort to infiltrate jihadist communication networks. havefor many years, there been concerns about how french prisons can be breeding grounds but oneemists, nonprofit organization is trying out a rather novel w

. >> reporter: they killed father jacques hamel just as he finished morning mass, forcing the 86-year-old priest to kneel. then they slit his throat. the attackers took three nuns and two worshipers hostage. sister danielle managed to escape and told a local radio station that hamel had tried to fight back, but he had been overpowered. she said the attackers recorded it on their cell phones, and that's when she ran out. police shot the two men dead when they tried to leave the church, freeing the hostages. within hours isis claimed responsibility, calling them "soldiers." french prosecutors said one of the suspects was a french citizen known to police and had been arrested twice on his way to syria. he was wearing an electronic monitor at the time of the attack as well as a fake explosive vest. today's murder appears to be the fourth isis-inspired attack in western europe in less than two weeks, leaving many anxious and fearful. france had just buried 84 victims in nice after a driver drove a truck through a holiday crowd. when a teenage afghan refugee in germany attacked train passengers

they stabbed the throat of 86-year-old father jacques hamel in front of two parishioners and three nuns, one of whom escaped. elite police set up a perimeter. and as the attackers came out, they were shot dead. a short time later, isis claimed the killers as their followers. one of them was 19, arrested twice for trying to go to syria. he was under house arrest with a tracking bracelet. this is the fourth isis-inspired attack in europe in just two weeks. following the bastille day tragedy in nice that left 84 dead, and two others in germany. a stabbing rampage and a suicide bomb. the vatican said today that pope francis is horrified by this barbaric attack on a church. and tonight, the french president warned his country that this will be a long war. david? >> alex, thank you. >> i do want to get back down to cecilia vega, who has been covering the clinton campaign from the start. there are reports, cecilia, that bernie sanders is on his way to the vermont delegation. they have moved vermont to the end of the list here, just a couple of states away. we could be witnessing that unity tha

they stabbed the throat of 86-year-old father jacques hamel in front of two parishioners and three nuns, one of whom escaped. elite police set up a perimeter, and as the attackers came out, they were shot dead. a short time later, isis claimed the killers as their followers. one of them was 19, arrested twice for trying to go to syria. he was under house arrest with a tracking bracelet. this is the fourth isis-inspired attack in europe in just two weeks. following the bastille day tragedy in nice that left 84 dead, and two others in germany. a stabbing rampage and a suicide bombing. the vatican said today that pope francis is horrified by this barbaric attack on a catholic church, and tonight, france's president, francois hollande, warned his country that this will be a long war. david? >> alex marquardt from france tonight. alex, thank you. >>> and back here at home, the oppressive heat and the death toll growing this evening. two more children passing away after being left in hot cars. 23 so far this year. and in the west tonight, more than 30 wildfires are burning. firefighters near

. ♪ >> reporter: they killed father jacques hamel as he finished morning mass, forcing the 86-year-oldriest to kneel then they slit his throat. the attackers took three nuns and two worshippers hostages. sister danielle managed to escape and told a radio station, that hamel tried to fight back but he had been overpowered. he said the attackers recorded it on their cell phones, and that's when she ran out. police shot the two men dead when they tried to leave the church. freeing the hostages. within hours, isis claimed responsibility. calling them soldiers. french prosecutors said one of the suspects was a french citizen, known to police and had been arrested twice on his way to syria. he was wearing an electronic monitor, at the time of the attack, as well as a fake explosives vest. today's murder appears the fourth isis-inspired attack in western europe in less than two weeks. leaving many anxious stand fearful. and france just buried 84 victims in nice after a driver drove a truck through a holiday crowd. when a teenage afghan refugee in germany attacked train passengers with an ax.

two men came into the church during a morning service and slit the throat of 85-year-old father jacques hamel as parishioners watched in horror. police who arrived at the church shot the two attackers dead. the white house has announced it will substantially expand a progogram to admit central american refugees to thehe u.s. unaccompanied central american children are currently allowed to enter the u.s. as refugees. the new regulations will expand that designation to include their entire families, permitting siblings over the age of 21, parents, and other relatives. the change comes after tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and families from el salvador, honduras, and guatemala have arrived at the u.s. border since 2014. the number of mothers with chchildren and u unaccompanied minors arriving at the u.s. border reportedly rose late last year andnd i increasing violencn el salvador and honduras. a district judge in texas has dismissed the last remaining criminal charges against about anti-choice activists behind a secretly filmed heavily edited videos of planned parenthood officials.

they shouted allahu akbar as they stormed the church and forced the priest jacques hamel onto his knees before murdering him. the islamic state posted a claim of responsibility online calling the men soldiers of the caliphate. the church had appeared on a so-called isis hit list along with thousands of other sites. today the white house condemned the attack and offered help. >> france and the united states share a commitment to protecting religious liberty for those of all faiths. we commend french law enforcement for their quick and divisive response and stand ready to assist the french authorities in their investigation going forward. >> reporter: only a review of the men's social media, phone records as well as home computers will show whether they were inspired by isis or ordered by isis in iraq and syria to execute the priest. >> katherine, thank you. >>> 61 speeches, not one mention of isis or the threat of global terrorism during day one of the democratic convention. the g.o.p. pointing it out. plitt fact confirming it. is this a problem? with us now former massachusetts republic

jacques hamel was killed yesterday.ident said the threat from islamic militants have never been greater. >> a group of hikers found alive after being stranded for at least five days by a massive california wildfire. can you imagine? these eight hikers were rescued yesterday south of san francisco. the fire is one of several scorching california and it has already burned more than 23,000 acres near big sur. the state's acting governor declared a state of emergency. flames have destroyed at least 20 homes. >>> another rescue story. how good samaritans rescued 46 people in icy waters off alaska. two merchant vessels answered the coast guard's call yesterday when with the crew abandoned a fishing boat. the ship lifted them from their life rafts and we are happy to tell you no one was hurt. >>> "usa today" reports on president obama making the case for a third term of his policies. tonight democratic convention. in 2004 he was a little known state senator from illinois when he was introduced to the country. now after nearly

this nun managed to escape and alerted authorities saying the killers forced father jacques hamel to his knees and recorded a kind of sermon in arabic. they also said, you christians, you are killing us before executing the priest. as the attackers emerged from the church the police shot them dead. on them were two fake explosives and a kitchen timer wrapped in aluminum foil along with three knives and a handgun. shortly after isis claimed that the killers were followers. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> reporter: we die for going to see fireworks and going to a concert, now we die for going to mass, this girl told us, near the church. it will never end. it will never end, that is certainly the feeling by many here in france and across europe after four attacks in just two weeks, france's president has warned that this will be a long war but vowed it's one they will win. george. >> that state of emergency not going away. alex, thank you. >>> we're going to move on now to a dramatic rescue caught on body camera. you see a florida police officer running right into a gun battle to sav