hello and welcome to bbc news. first, on the eve of america's independence day, health officials and local leaders are urging people to limit their celebrations, as coronavirus infections continue to surge. texas has seen a record daily increase of almost 8,000 new cases. it's already led to the governor ordering that face coverings must be worn in public in most of the state. let's speak to professor peter hotez, who's co—director of texas children's hospital's center for vaccine development. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. is this a big weekend for the us and a big test? we are ina very the us and a big test? we are in a very difficult and dire public health crisis, and that has to do with the following. we are seeing this very steep acceleration in the number of covid—19 cases, particularly in the southern half of the united states. across the country, backin states. across the country, back in april and march, the peak was around 30,000, 35,000 cases, we boarded down to 18,000 but now it is climbing back aggressively, so it was 40,000 cases last week, 50,000 cases this week, it will be 60,000 next week and projections are it will soon be at 100,000 cases a day. professor just to jump in there, when we are talking about those numbers... president from's case is that the numbers are up because that testing is up, if you test more the numbers go up because it test more. —— president trump. that is a very misleading statement because the reason i say that it is being paralleled bya say that it is being paralleled by a steep acceleration in hospital admissions and intensive care admissions and the positivity rate is going up, so the point of his statement of the skates the staff —— stark reality that we are having a big surge on our intensive care units in texas, arizona and florida that are citing to resemble what we saw new york back in the spring. —— starting to resemble what we saw new york back in the spring. and there is this denialfrom our administration that there is a major crisis and really no national strategy 01’ and really no national strategy or roadmap so that the states, including a state of texas is left on its own in terms of strategy. there is some backup in respect to providing personal protective equipment and supply chain management, and supply chain management, and that sort of thing, but in terms of a roadmap, the states are more 01’ terms of a roadmap, the states are more or less operating independently. and why do we think there are those surges in cases, in let's say texas, is this young people getting together, is this older people not wearing masks, what are some of the issues here? what happened was, if you speak to the epidemiological moderate —— monitors, we open up our states prematurely before we boarded down to containment mode, which meant down to containment mode, which mea nt less down to containment mode, which meant less than one new case per million residents per day. when we did open it was without any attic —— advocacy or call the masks, the bars opened up and people started piling into the bars and pubs with not much regard for saying —— staying away. the beaches were packed, and it was more or less business as usual. there was not that adequate level of communication or oversight to guide that. we didn't put in place a adequate public health infrastructure so all these forces combined to produce a very toxic mix, which is the situation we are facing right 110w. situation we are facing right now. 0k, thank you for talking to us, professor peter hotez, thank you. well, as those cases continue to soar, president trump is facing criticism over his plans to celebrate american independence day at mount rushmore. thousands of people are set to attend a fireworks display, and the event won't require people to wear masks, or be socially distanced. 0ur north america editor jon sopel is in washington. he explained why the president is travelling to south dakota. well, the president wants to mark independence day in the way things have normally done, with a big fireworks display and a speech from him in the shadow of four of america but my greatest presidents carved into the rock in mount rushmore. more noticeable about the speech which he will go on about left—wing mobs trying to destroy american history, will be the fact that the event is taking place at all. given the fa ct taking place at all. given the fact that the governor, a trump supporting governor in south da kota supporting governor in south dakota has said "everyone is welcome, they will be no social distancing". the same thing will play out here in washington tomorrow where there will be fireworks along the river and there will be thousands gathering along the mall, against the advice of the city's mayor. all this at a time when america's cases are going through the roof. everyday setting new records for the number of cases. in texas where there is another trump loving governor, he has had to impose mandatory wearing of masks throughout the state, because the situation has got so because the situation has got so bad. will trump keep saying that he hopes the coronavirus will just that he hopes the coronavirus willjust go that he hopes the coronavirus will just go away—it that he hopes the coronavirus willjust go away—it is showing absolutely no signs of doing so. we can speak now to phil two eagle, who is a sioux indian and executive director of sicangu lakota treaty council. he's in rosebud, south dakota. thank you for coming on the programme. i just want to show our viewers mount rushmore, we canjust our viewers mount rushmore, we can just see live pictures of it now, it is a very famous monument, right around the world, but to you it means something different, what are your objections to president trump coming to the site today? first of all i need to explain to you that the territory around mount rushmore belongs to the seven council tribes of the great sioux nation, and that predates the conception and construction of america and the united states. the existence of these people and ours neutral way of life extends from the beginning of time, and western european ideas have acknowledged thousands of years of existence of that nation. 0ur thousands of years of existence of that nation. our ancestors lived in existence free and independent of any political claims or right of domination asserted by monarchies and christendom on the rules of the 15th century and the governments of the united states and canada. i am actually referring back to before the europeans came to america, in 1452 pope nicholas v exhorted king alfonso of portugal to go to the western coast of africa and invade, ca ptu re, coast of africa and invade, capture, vanquish and subdue all pagans, saracens and other enemies of christ, reduce their persons to slavery and take away their property and possessions. i understand that, and thank you for talking us through that, but on today specifically, what is the objection to the president visiting? the objection is that the black hills are considered very sacred to our people. and we have sacred sites throughout the black hills, and they are going to fire, light fireworks that could also cause a forest fire, and we do have sacred sites that it could be destroyed. i understand, thank you for explaining that. and do you for explaining that. and do you have concerns about any spread of coronavirus? yes. the governor has stated that there will not be any social distancing in practice, and of course we are right in the middle of 7000 people that could easily get bad very quick. thank you so much for explaining that to us and talking us through it, that is phil two eagle, thank you. talking us through it, that is philtwo eagle, thank you. yes. the coronavirus lockdown in england has just been eased, with many businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas allowed to reopen from today. the british prime minister has urged people to "enjoy summer safely" as lockdown restrictions are removed, but he's warned he will not hesitate to reverse the measures if cases began to climb. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has more. so two of you? yes, please. it's in the diary, the table's booked. businesses preparing to open up after months of lockdown. some restaurant owners not sure what to expect. nobody knows, no—one knows. we have no idea who's going to come, who isn't. this tourist town in the cotswolds is gearing up. even in the model village, it feels like a big moment. anxious, nervous, excited. it's a nervous time for number ten, too — in his words, a turning point they have to get right, with the virus still present. if it starts running out of control again, this government will not hesitate in putting on the brakes and reimposing restrictions. as we take this next step, our biggest step yet on the road to recovery, i urge the british people to do so safely. this is what the government wants to avoid. last week, crowds crammed onto bournemouth beach, seemingly ignoring social distancing. critics claim the prime minister's public messaging was in part to blame. tomorrow's been described as "super saturday". are you confident at this point that you've struck the right balance between the country's health and the economy, and are you confident you've got the right public messaging? and to the scientists, if i may, are you comfortable with the pace that this unlocking is progressing? 0n the balance, it is incredibly important to get the balance right, and our priority is health. 0ur priority is the health of the british public. what we're trying to do is walk this narrow path. there is no perfect time. there is no perfect, exact way of doing it. this virus is a long way from gone, but it's not going to be gone for a very, very long time. it's now a lot lower than it was. we are going to have to take risks, whatever we do. and this seems a reasonable package of risks at this particular time, at this particular pace. but none of us believe, and i'm sure nobody watching this believes this is a risk—free next step. this is a significant moment for the country, but it's a significant political moment, too. the government's faced real criticism for the way it's handled aspects of this crisis. now, as england faces the biggest easing of restrictions so far, ministers can only hope they've got this right. in leeds, they're preparing for the weekend. extra street marshals will be out, asking people to keep their distance. 0ne local police representative is angry it's all happening on a saturday. it's absolutely nonsense. they should have done it on a monday and done a slow, phased release, giving people a chance to adapt. just days ago, leicester was the first place subject to a local lockdown, after a spike in cases. today, the government said local outbreaks will be a feature of life to come, as the country takes this next step, so welcome for some, but not without warning. meanwhile, the british government has finally published a list of countries which tourists from england can visit without self—isolating on their return. most of the eu is on the list, but america, portugal and brazil are not. here's our transport correspondent, tom burridge. should you or shouldn't you travel abroad ? now, there is clarity that anyone heading off on the eurotunnel won't have to quarantine in either direction. it will make a tremendous difference. we were over there recently. we came back and we had to quarantine for two weeks. i've got to go to paris today. i'm working down there, so the quarantine relaxing is big for me, because obviously i'm back in work. soon, people arriving from 59 countries and 14 british 0verseas territories won't have to self—isolate, although half those countries have restrictions when you arrive there. for those desperate to sell holidays abroad, it's a rare piece of good news. customers that i've spoken to are like, yeah, we'd be happy just to go on a flight to spain. doesn't have to be that far, it's just that getting away and going on holiday that customers are wanting. in a week's time, if you travel to low—risk european countries like spain, italy, france and germany, you won't have to self—isolate in either direction. greece is also on the list, although the greek government won't allow uk holiday—makers in until at least 15july. countries like the united states, brazil and, more controversially, mainland portugal are not on the list of exemptions. portugal's foreign minister said that was absurd. it means emma has cancelled her holiday. i'm really disappointed not to be going to portugal any more. i was due to fly on friday with a couple of friends to visit another friend who lives there. we go every year. and i've been tracking the news, i knew there was a spike in lisbon last week but thought, maybe there's still a chance that we'll be able to go. getting the policy to this point hasn't been a smooth ride. the near—blanket travel quarantine has put people off booking summer holidays. it's been deeply unpopular with struggling travel businesses, and as the government has tried to relax the quarantine, there's been real confusion. the prime minister defended the way it's been handled. we always said that we would have a strong quarantine regime in place, and that's what we're going to have for large numbers of countries around the world where, i'm afraid, the disease is still prevalent or, indeed, becoming more prevalent. but there is an added complication, because the devolved governments in scotland, wales and northern ireland want more time to decide if they will follow the uk government's new list of exemptions. when so much is at stake, as it is right now, we can't allow ourselves to be dragged along in the wake of another government's, to be quite frank about it, shambolic decision—making process. heading off to malaga today on the first flight from cardiff since lockdown began. aviation companies have shed tens of thousands ofjobs — a month—long blanket quarantine didn't help. this is bbc news. our main headline this hour. president trump is facing criticism over his plans to celebrate american independence day at mount rushmore — with no compulsory face masks or social distancing. more now on that story. medical experts are warning that the normal us holiday celebrations could create infection superspreader events and worry the impact of fourth ofjuly events could be catastrophic. we can now speak to dr joshua barocas, who's assistant professor of medicine at boston university school of medicine and infectious disease physician at boston medical center. thank you very much for talking to us. my pleasure. thanks for having me. so how very worried are you about this weekend? you know, the whole situation right now is quite frightening. i think we generally thought, maybe we would be in a little bit of a lull, but it's quite clear across the country we've got what amounts to a wildfire virus going on. a wildfire virus. what would you want to see people doing to try to stop this? so if they had my way, i would ask everyone to try to eliminate their risk entirely and what that really means is we stay home. we stay home until the public health models and epidemiologists we all believe that maybe it's safer. that said, i want people to ta ke very that said, i want people to take very seriously. they want people minimise their risks. and specifics, i think, right now, a more important than generalities. we talk a lot about distancing and wearing a mask and not congregating. but i think actually people need something that's tangible. so, for instance, if you are going to go out to a park, instead of playing on the swing set, instead of sharing food, bring individual type activities. kites or a football or something that is essentially a low touch item. bring your own food, bring your own sunscreen, bring your own bug spray. really i want people to spend time, if they are going to spend time together, i want them to spend time apart together. i see. them to spend time apart together. isee. interesting. they understand that together and apart. how confident are you that people will heed that advice? are we going to see in advice? are we going to see in a couple of weeks people's time and a spike in deaths? you know, it's hard to say, but i wouldn't be surprised. i think that when we look at where we are now in places across the country, from the memorial day holiday that came at the end of may, we are seeing the spikes now that likely came from that time period. i'm sorry tojump in. we do have to leave it there. but thank you so most of your time there. but thank you so most of yourtime and there. but thank you so most of your time and thank you for talking to us. we appreciated and hope people do heed those warnings. drjoshua barocas, thank you. thank you. while much of the recent focus on police brutality has centred on the united states — it's a problem in many other parts of the world, too. recent protests in mexico have drawn attention to killings there. will grant reports. one last goal for 16—year—old alexander martinez gomez. in a tragic goodbye team—mates at the us—born semi—professional football footballer smothered his coffin with hugs and tears. still at a loss as to how he could have been shot in the head by police as he chatted to his friends outside a gas station in oaxaca state. at his wake his distraught mother said local police shot him like he was a common criminal. "he was a sportsman, he had a scholarship," she cried. "and these were supposed to be the people who look after us." the policeman has now been arrested. in a statement, the state attorney general‘s office said that they will be no impunity in this case or any other in which members of the police forces have harmed the well—being and the lives of 0axacan families. police brutality is an ongoing and serious problem in mexico. few mexicans will forget the disappearance in late 2014 of 43 student teachers. the last seen in hands the local police. this is one specific form of police brutality which as you take someone into custody and the person ends up dead. that is one type of brutality but there are many others. they used torture by mexican law enforcement is a systemic problem. from small towns in rural 0axaca to the capital of mexico city, protests over police brutality are growing. earlier this month, demonstrations turned ugly after a young man, giovanni lopez, died from wounds received while in police custody in guadalajara. in guadalajara itself a policeman was set alight. mobile phone footage taken from the night giovanni was detained suggested it was for not wearing a face mask. the bbc has repeatedly approached public security ministry for an interview but no—one has been made available. you can find similar cases, like the one we saw in guadalajara in recent years and pretty much every state in mexico. as alexander martinez‘s friends sang a lament around his coffin, his hopes of a life in sport or cut short by policeman who were either unaware or unconcerned of who they were shooting at. another sign of a country where a process of genuine police reform is long overdue. will grant, bbc news. 400 staff at london's national theatre have been told they'll no longer havejobs after the end of august. it follows concerns from actors, directors, and producers over the loss of live shows during the lockdown, which has now sparked a collaboration between venues across the united kingdom, to tell the public that live theatre must, and will one day, return. judith moritz has that story. at theatres from belfast to cardiff, edinburgh to london, the only thing on show today was this artistic project by a group of stage designers. they've also wrapped manchester's royal exchange and say they are highlighting the plight of theatres which have been devastated by having to close during the pandemic. it's not just people who work in the building, it's the freelancers and also costume hire. there's, like, so many places that we rely on to work with all the time and that is all part of the wider economy. and it just seems a real shame... it doesn't feel like that's been acknowledged. since this theatre closed its doors, one production after another has been cancelled and millions of pounds of revenue lost. now, the royal exchange's managers say that it's fighting for survival and there's the possibility they may to make up to 65% of the staff here redundant. last year, julie hesmondhalgh starred in mother courage at the royal exchange. it's really emotional, actually, being here with all the lights off. today, she sat on its empty stage and called for increased government support for the theatre industry. it's notjust about people having a lovely night out in the west end, it's about the infrastructure of the creative industries in this country and about people's jobs, jobs that will go forever unless they step in now. i want to be back in this theatre either on this stage or in one of those seats as soon as possible, and more than that, i want the people that are the beating heart of this building, which are the staff, reinstated as soon as possible. today, the scottish government announced a £10 million fund to support the performing arts. the uk government says it's given unprecedented financial help to thousands of arts organisations — and next week, it'll give venues a timetable to prepare for their safe reopening. at sadler‘s wells in london, they say that unless something's done quickly, they could close by the autumn. like many theatres, they depend on most seats being full to break even. in a social distancing environment, we are probably down to about 20% or 30% of our house, so that's quite difficult to do in theatre because of the finances you need onstage to make a show happen. so, really, we're thinking about how we might make some special programmes that we can do in that circumstance, but what we really need is to get back to full capacity. today, the national theatre said it would not be able to employ its 400 casual staff beyond the end of august. and for southampton‘s nuffield theatres, it's already too late. despite its new building only opening two years ago, lockdown has created cash flow so severe, their stages will now stay dark for good. judith moritz, bbc news. that's it. this is bbc news. hello there. there is no sign of our weather settling down anytime soon. and this weekend it stays certainly unsettled with cloud and rain on the way and there will be some strong winds as well, particularly as leading to the sunday. it will be quite commonplace over the next 24 hours. you can see extensive cloud racing in across the atlantic, but this area of cloud in the west atlantic, a weak area of low pressure at the moment but it is going to rapidly deepen as a races towards the british isles and by sunday it will be bringing gales across northern areas, the winds strong enough to bring down some trees, so there could be some transport disruption, particularly in the north. this weekend, unsettled especially by sunday, it will be bringing gales across northern ireland, winds strong enough to bring down some trees, so there could be some transport disruption, particularly in the north. over the next few hours, we have cloud and rain across england and wales and some dry weather for a time in scotland and the occasional clear spells here. it is a warm night. particular in the south with temperatures around 15, to even 17 around liverpool and manchester. further north, a fresher nine or ten degrees. through saturday, this rain that we start off with will tend to ease and it will start to have some damp stuff around, a bit of light rain and drizzle just about anywhere, but more around the western coast and hills. a little bit of sunshine poking through in scotland. here though, there will be a few passing showers the afternoon. temperature wise, we're looking at highs around 16—17 across the north, england and wales up to around 22 in the warmest spots. then, saturday night, our area of low pressure begins to flex its muscles and by sunday morning, we are looking at a swathe of strong winds, the winds will be strongest quite early on sunday morning, working its way across the north, especially across scotland but very blustery over on northern england on and to the east of the pennies, gusts could reach 50 or 60 mph in the low pressure deepens and the wind can be stronger and either way, winds this strong are capable of bringing down a few trees and certainly causing some transport disruption and it is guaranteed that we'll have some speed limits on the bridges and the ferries could be affected. blustery showers into the northwest as we head into sunday afternoon but no—one is really immune from seeing the odd afternoon downpour. staying inside, we're looking at for the showers, particularly the northwest. this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump is facing criticism over his plans to celebrate american independence day at mount rushmore. thousands of people are due to attend a fireworks display — an event that will not require people to wear face masks or social distance. coronavirus cases are continuing to surge. as pubs in england reopen on saturday, the prime minister has issued a warning to the public not to be complacent. borisjohnson says the public "must not let them down" about social distancing, and that he will not hesitate to reimpose restrictions. police brutality is in the spotlight in mexico, with a teenage soccer player shot by an officer from a parked patrol car. in another instance, a man died when an officer knelt on his neck. police brutality is an ongoing and serious problem in mexico. now on bbc news, it's time for click.