a record high. it's risen to just under 21 degrees celsius, or nearly 70 fahrenheit, in august. that's far above the average for this time of year, and researchers say it could have serious consequences for the global environment. our climate editor justin rowlatt reports. they've been taking measurements of ocean temperatures here in plymouth for more than a century and for the last 50 or so years, they've showed a slow but steady increase — up about a third of a degree a decade. have we got a reading for today yet, do you know? i heard them say something around 18 or 19 which is... wow! ..four degrees higher than it should be. it's been a similar pattern globally. rising sea temperatures and increasing numbers of marine heatwaves, and it has just reached a new peak — 20.96 degrees celsius — the highest global average sea temperature ever recorded. the world's warming waters are a dangerous trend, say experts. people's perspective is that the ocean, you know, it's so big, it's so vast that it can buffer, you know, anything that humanity can throw at it and the reality is that's not the case that, you know, every — everything has its niche within the ocean and it's incredibly easy to — to break that niche and influence it and upset it. take plankton — these tiny plants and animals are crucial to life on the planet. they're the basis of the entire marine food chain and produce half the oxygen in our atmosphere — so, every other breath you take — and they are sensitive to heat. many species have been migrating north as the world's oceans warm. personally, i'm really concerned. the heatwaves that we're experiencing on land and the marine heatwaves that we're seeing are happening in unusual locations where we haven't expected them. but there is hope. scientists are learning more about how the ocean ecosystems function every day. we have the renewable technologies that can tackle climate change by reducing our use of fossil fuels. we just need to make the change quickly. earlier, my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke with katey lesneski, research and monitoring co—ordinator for the florida keys�* national marine sanctuary for the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. katey, thanks so much forjoining us. can you put into contextjust how unusual it is for the ocean to have reached 20.96 degrees celsius? that's 69.7 degrees fahrenheit. hi, sumi. thank you so much for having me on the programme today to share some information about what's going on in our world's oceans. so, right now, we are seeing record—breaking temperatures when looking at the overall average temperature of the atlantic ocean, and that can be extended to oceans worldwide, and that can have cascading effects on all marine ecosystems. so, why are we seeing this trend? so, we are seeing this trend for a number of reasons — still collecting a lot of data about what's going on — but right now, we are in what is called a marine heatwave, and these events occur naturally. however, we are currently in an era of climate change when rampant carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is contributing to an even higher magnitude of temperature that we're seeing in this marine heatwave. 0k, and you mentioned the atlantic — i mean, where exactly is this heatwave occurring? so, this heatwave has been predominantly — a lot of the recent media has been focused on the north atlantic, which includes the caribbean and the tropical western atlantic, where i'm based. but these temperature trends are showing an elevated temperature in many parts of the ocean where this data is collected. how worried are you? this is something, of course, that you work on every day. i am quite worried, especially for the coral reefs that are here in florida that i work and basically live on every day, as well as the coastal communities that really rely on reefs all throughout the rest of the caribbean and even the rest of the world. a couple of degrees difference in sea temperature might not feel like much to us but corals, which are the organisms that make up coral reefs, are very sensitive to even a couple degrees temperature change. so, as we've seen very high temperatures for a prolonged period of time here and in other locations, we are seeing those effects on corals that can affect their health. so, we've been talking about marine life and the impact on them. what about the impact on the atmosphere, the climate? so, with increased levels of carbon dioxide that have been well documented for decades now, we're seeing a warmer atmosphere, and that actually directly translates to a warmer ocean because the ocean absorbs up to 90% of the atmosphere�*s heat. so, what can be done about this marine heatwave? right now, we are trying to collect as much data as possible — that's everyone from meteorologists to oceanographers to marine biologists like myself — to really try and understand the impact of this event on organisms and on the physical state of the ocean. for myself, i am a coral reef restoration specialist, so we are working on actually restoring reefs in this event and how the reefs fared during this event will give us information as to how we can improve our methods going forward in the face of continued climate change. and katey, last question — you said it might not feel like a big difference to us, this temperature change in the ocean. what's your message to americans and people around the world, really, of why they need to pay attention to this? so, this is important because coastal communities all around the world, and even near coastal communities, depend on the ocean and healthy marine ecosystems, whether that's as a food source or a source of tourism revenue from people coming to see beautiful reefs all around the world, and recent other marine ecosystems, healthy, intact ecosystems, are really important for coastal protection, reducing coastal erosion, reducing flooding during storms and hurricanes. so, the healthier these ecosystems are, the better off we are, even economically. katey, thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. the us secretary of state antony blinken has said washington will pause some foreign assistance programmes that benefit the government of niger, but will continue humanitarian and food assistance. mr blinken also said the us would continue security operations to protect its personnel in the country, following last week's military coup. his comments came as countries from the west african regional body, ecowas, say they have now agreed on a plan for possible military intervention in niger if the military leaders who seized power there do not restore the country's president. the organisation earlier set a deadline of sunday to reinstate deposed president, mohamed bazoum. a delegation from the bloc visited niger thursday but failed to meet coup leaders, or mr bazoum. our correspondent catherine byaruhanga has more. the regional bloc of west african countries known as ecowas had sent a high—level delegation to niger to try to speak to the new military regime. as part of this delegation was a former military leader of nigeria, as well as an influential cleric. but what sources are saying is that the delegation was only in the capital niamey forjust a few hours and, in fact, they didn't get to meet the new general in charge, general abdourahamane tchiani, or his deposed predecessor, president mohamed bazoum. now, why this is important is because ecowas had given the military leaders in niger a deadline of this sunday to step down. otherwise, they could potentially use military force. as this delegation was in niger, military chiefs from west africa were meeting in nigeria's capital abuja to draw up plans for a possible military intervention in niger. now, any kind of military action would have severe consequences — not only for the people of niger, who would suffer security and humanitarian crisis, but also for its neighbours. and so, in the past few days, we have seen politicians in west africa rowing back from this threat to use force. for example, nigeria's president bola tinubu, who is the chairman of ecowas, said he wanted to see an amicable resolution of this crisis. now, a lot of people — even though the international community really wants to see the army step down in niger and for a civilian government to be reinstated, that's going to be incredibly difficult because the military has really dug in there and says it won't leave power. there have also been sanctions against the military in niger. aid has been cut. and the reality of that is that it's actually going to be nigeriens, millions of people already living in one of the world's poorest countries, who are going to face the brunt of any economic actions. russian president vladimir putin's fiercest domestic critic alexei navalny has had his jail term extended to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony on friday. our russia editor steve rosenberg sent in this report from the court. this is the closest we were allowed to get to russia's most famous prisoner. we'd been let inside the high—securityjail where alexei navalny was already incarcerated. but journalists weren't allowed into the makeshift courtroom. all we could do was watch on a screen. at this trial behind bars, the kremlin critic was found guilty on extremism charges and handed a new 19—year prison sentence. he'll be transferred to a so—called "special regime" colony and harsher conditions. we may have been allowed in here to watch the verdict on a tv screen, but keep in mind that in this court case, the actual proceedings were closed — to the press and to the public — and held in a high—security prison. describing this trial as "behind closed doors" feels like an understatement. later, in a message posted for him by supporters, mr navalny wrote that the figure of 19 years was "meaningless". he would be imprisoned for life — either his life, or the life of the current regime. they chant. a charismatic protest leader and anti—corruption crusader, alexei navalny fell foul of the kremlin long ago. in 2020, in siberia, he was poisoned with a nerve agent and airlifted to germany. he claims the kremlin had tried to kill him. the russian authorities deny it. on his return to russia in 2021, he was arrested and jailed. ever since, he's faced trial after trial, punishment after punishment. it indicates that this regime is ready to be extremely cruel. it sends messages to the broader audience — "we will not stop". the machine is working. and it means that they are ready to continue all possible trials against all possible dissidents. that includes this man. igor girkin is no pro—democracy liberal. the russian nationalist backs the war in ukraine, but has criticised vladimir putin's handling of it. now he's under arrest, as the kremlin tries to crack down on any kind of criticism from any quarter. back at the navalny trial, case over, we were ushered off the penal colony premises. but after today's verdict, and with alexei navalny predicting fresh charges of terrorism against him, he looks set to be locked up for years to come. two expelled members of the so—called tennessee three have officially reclaimed their seats in the state's house of representatives nearly three months after they were expelled for their involvement in a gun control protest on the body's floor. state representatives justin pearson, justinjones, and gloria johnson took part in the demonstration just days after a fatal shooting at a nashville elementary school where six people were killed, including three children. republican lawmakers claimed their actions violated house rules, and moved to expel their three colleagues. johnson narrowly avoided expulsion, but pearson and jones were ousted. earlier, my colleagues sumi somaskanda spoke with one of the tennessee three who was re—elected in thursday's special election, state representative justin pearson. justin, great to have you back on the show. i want to ask both you and your colleagues were heavily favoured to win your districts but how does it feel to have won your seatback? i am to have won your seatback? i am completely _ to have won your seatback? i am completely humbled _ to have won your seatback? i am completely humbled and - to have won your seatback? i —.n completely humbled and honoured that district 86's represent —— representation has been restored. our district lost its voice temporarily, albeit due to the actions of the super republican party in tennessee. it wasn't just the expulsion of one member or two members, it was people who had went to the polls just one month before to get their voice heard, and that democracy was able to prevail, but the reality is we are dealing with a mob chrissy in tennessee where there is an abuse of power and abuse of authority and take people �*s voice away. what message do you think your victory sends? i think our victories loud and clear message that you can't expel a movement, you cannot expel hope and you cannot expel the desire and you cannot expel the desire and will of people who want to see real action on issues that matter, such as gun reform and gun safety legislation, environmental protections, the elevation of people who are impoverished, had been made for by the policies of economic exploitation, i believe the message that has been sent by the thousands of people who went to the polls in our district and representative joan's district is we will not be silent and quit on the issues that matter. there was international _ issues that matter. there was international and _ issues that matter. there was international and national- international and national attention on your story after you and and your colleagues were expelled in march and this was in aim to push for reform in gun laws in your state after a shooting at the coveted status. what you think is actually changed since then? i actually changed since then? i think what has changed for the republican party and people across this country are two things, the republican party, kevin saxton and william lambert now see there are hundreds of thousands, millions of people ready to stand up, ready to fight back against the national rifle association, the tennessee farmers association, they are quite literally profiting off the violence and harm that is happening in our communities. the other thing i believe that has been recognised across our state, country in the world as we are losing our democracy, and when democracies are in peril, the reality is the communities that suffer the most are black, indigenous communities, colour and people who have made socio—economically depressed, socio—economically depressed, so everybody has to pay attention as to what is happening in the state legislatures because the erosion of democracy has implications for the united states of america but also other countries across the world. , ., ,, . ., world. there is a special legislative _ world. there is a special legislative question - world. there is a special legislative question by l world. there is a special. legislative question by the republican governor in your state but have they shown any compromise on this issue of gun reform? ., ,., ., ., reform? the reason the governor called the special _ reform? the reason the governor called the special session - reform? the reason the governor called the special session was - called the special session was the activation of tens of thousands of people who marched and protested, and he sent e—mails and write letters and had phone call so we are seeing the power of people be able to push this conversation forward and i believe some of the republicans who have commuted to see mass mobilisation of realising they cannot continue with the status quo, children need to be safe in their communities because a lot of these places, meeting the government... and i believe some republicans are realising that their ability to remain in power is going to rest on whether or not they serve the entire community, including addressing gun violence. i would ask you about how people in your state feel about gun reform laws, there was a poll in me showing 80% of tennessee citizens support red flag policies, that separate people from the guards if they pose a threat to themselves, but it has not gained much support among republicans, and they do dominate the legislature, so do you believe that your colleagues in the legislature are going to meet you halfway on this issue? we are going to meet you halfway on this issue?— on this issue? we needed to meet us _ on this issue? we needed to meet us 100% _ on this issue? we needed to meet us 100% of _ on this issue? we needed to meet us 10096 of the - on this issue? we needed to meet us 10096 of the way . on this issue? we needed to meet us 10096 of the way of| on this issue? we needed to - meet us 10096 of the way of this meet us 100% of the way of this issue. the supermajority of people in our state want to see us take action with extremist protection orders, take action in relation to background checks, do everything in our power to make sure our children in our communities are safe. gun violence is the number one killer of children in the state of tennessee and we all have the power as legislators to do something to do more than just offer thoughts and prayers so we will continue to demand that the republican party do their jobs making sure that our communities are safer. what you think democrats _ communities are safer. what you think democrats nationally - communities are safer. what you think democrats nationally can i think democrats nationally can learn from what you have done there in tennessee?— there in tennessee? they can learn that _ there in tennessee? they can learn that people _ there in tennessee? they can learn that people power - learn that people power movements worker that we have to be approximate to the communities that are suffering into the people who are experiencing harbours, and lift up experiencing harbours, and lift up their voices to create change and that there is no part of our country that can be left behind, whether you in the red communities and we have got to be a party that elevates those voices.— to be a party that elevates those voices. you and your colleagues _ those voices. you and your colleagues saw _ those voices. you and your colleagues saw a _ those voices. you and your colleagues saw a big - those voices. you and your colleagues saw a big boostj those voices. you and your. colleagues saw a big boost of fundraising after the international coverage. do you plan to run for congress or senate? i plan to run for congress or senate?— senate? i plan to serve district _ senate? i plan to serve district 86 _ senate? i plan to serve district 86 as _ senate? i plan to serve district 86 as a - senate? i plan to serve - district 86 as a representative as long as they will re—elect me. as long as they will re-elect me. , , as long as they will re-elect me, �* , ., , ., as long as they will re-elect me. , ., ., ~ as long as they will re-elect me. , ., ., me. justin pearson, thank you so much for— me. justin pearson, thank you so much forjoining _ me. justin pearson, thank you so much forjoining us, - me. justin pearson, thank you so much forjoining us, reallyl so much forjoining us, really great to have you back on the show. ., ,., . ~ great to have you back on the show. ., . ~ �* , show. having me back, let's anoin. us special counseljack smith filed a protective order friday night to prevent donald trump from disseminating discovery materials in thejustice department's case against the former president over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election. the special counsel alerted the judge about concerning social media posts by trump, including this post on his social media platform truth social, where he wrote: earlier my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke to washington post national columnist philip bump about trump's legal battles. great to have you on the programme tonight, thanks for joining us at. we have seen the former president using these indictments he is facing as part of this campaign do you think this will merge into more as the trials begin? unquestionably. donald trump at this point in time is reporting this point in time is reporting this effect, he clearly sees his political fortune is this effect, he clearly sees his politicalfortune is being his politicalfortune is being his best way of resolving his legal problems, he understands that if he becomes the republican party's nominee next year and wins the election, immediately any federal investigations into him come to a halt, if he has only been convicted he can pardon himself, but there is no question donald trump sees wedding politically as the key to winning legally. he wedding politically as the key to winning legally.— wedding politically as the key to winning legally. he had this team have _ to winning legally. he had this team have rejected _ to winning legally. he had this team have rejected the - team have rejected the indictments he is facing is political targeting, accusing abidin administration of weaponising thejustice abidin administration of weaponising the justice system and that pointed directly to the legal troubles facing hunt abided. why do you think there's message is a least appeared to work so well among republican voters? it is specifically _ republican voters? it is specifically designed i republican voters? it is| specifically designed for republican voters? it 3 specifically designed for it. what president trump is hoping to do is give his base of support a reason to believe that she is being targeted unfairly of the other side is worse, something he has done since he started running eight years ago, so he and his allies are really focused on hunt abidin,�*s accidents as a way to impute president bided, and a way of distracting his base from the actual serious challenges he faces —— hunter biden. he likes to betray this as a grand scheme and like to get him which of course speaking objectively it's not. if you look at his own legal challenges, do you think they have served to strengthen him, looking at the fact that his poll numbers seem to have gone up? poll numbers seem to have gone u? , ., ., , , ., , up? unquestionably, when he was first indicted _ up? unquestionably, when he was first indicted in _ up? unquestionably, when he was first indicted in manhattan - first indicted in manhattan earlier this year his poll numbers asserts, that was the point, he started to pull away from rod desantis in second place, and he has stayed above that, poling better now that he ever did in 2016, and if the election was tomorrow he would be the republican nominee. so this has been a boon to him. this is categorically different and it deals with the threat to american democracy which very much works against the republicans in the mid—term elections but the question is if it will do any harm to him moving forward. and probably won't republican primary, you could make it to the general, but that is a long way away. what about the fact that he is going to be facing a gruelling schedule of trials and campaign events. do you think this could slip away at him and had the support he has enjoyed? certainly possibly, but he is not a normal politician, he goes to speeches and everyone clapped. i was at the iowa state affair when he was walking to the crowd and shaking hands, he doesn't do stuff like that, he doesn't act that way because he doesn't need to, he is a celebrity, already really popular so to some extent is advantaged by that because he could go next march to a hearing in washington, dc and then fly down to north carolina and there were big speeds, and he has the ability to combine these things together, and it will not keep up the campaign trail because he doesn't spend much time on the campaign trail. ,., ., ,., ., much time on the campaign trail. ., ., ., trail. good point to. you have written about _ trail. good point to. you have written about their _ trail. good point to. you have written about their beliefs - written about their beliefs that voters hold is impacted by the information they consume. we did see that layout already in the last election what you think can be done this time to break through these information barriers? i break through these information barriers? ., �* ~ ., break through these information barriers? ., �* ~' ., h barriers? i don't know, it's one of the _ barriers? i don't know, it's one of the biggest - barriers? i don't know, it's i one of the biggest questions barriers? i don't know, it's - one of the biggest questions in american politics and media, how do you reach people who exist within an isolated bubble of agreement and rhetoric, speaking about people who watch only fox news and nothing else, people who watch friends write television networks, we don't know how to reach them. we have the washington post like to think we do our best and present objective and fair information but that's not what people want to hear, people don't want to hear that donald trump is actually at risk because he did these things which puts american democracy at risk, and if they choose not to hear that, to limit isolated space that we simply don't know how to reach them. last question. _ how to reach them. last question, what - how to reach them. last question, what you - how to reach them. last| question, what you think how to reach them. last - question, what you think that means for the president �*sjoe means for the president �*s joe biden means for the president �*sjoe biden and his team's efforts to reach out out to voters? joe biden, he — reach out out to voters? joe biden, he will— reach out out to voters? joe biden, he will do _ reach out out to voters? ire: biden, he will do to a large extent what he did in 2020, highlighting the contrast between himself and donald trump. he was elected in 2020 because everybody loved him, he won because people were very afraid of donald trump having a second term in office. is accelerated in the aftermath of january six, and i thinkjoe biden is very, i would say happy but i think he understands what his strategy will be to run against donald trump and it may be easier for him to put together that strategy that would be for him in opposition or someone else. really interesting insights, thank you forjoining us. stay with us here on bbc news. thats all from us here in washington, we leave you with these live pictures of london as we hand off to our colleageus there. hello there. weather across the uk has certainly been testing our patience of late. we are heading for the fourth consecutive weekend where an area of low pressure will dominate the weather story, bringing us some wet and windy weather. but every cloud has a silver lining. and next weekend, i can offer you something a little more promising, settled and summer—like. but at the moment, it's all about storm anthony, which is moving its way across northern ireland, bringing a heavy spell of rain during the early hours of saturday morning. and as that rain continues to drive its way steadily eastwards, the winds will strengthen as well. so we're widely likely to see 20 to 110 millimetres, maybe more for northern ireland for a time. and then the winds gusting 50 to 65 miles an hour along west—facing coasts of wales and south west england. very unusual, really, for this time of year. the rain drives its way quickly eastwards, and then into the afternoon, circulating around that low, we will see a rash of sharp, possibly thundery downpours. slowly improving into northern ireland and lighter winds and fewer showers likely for scotland. but the temperatures will be disappointing right across the country, a maximum of just ia to 18 celsius by the middle part of the afternoon. this the low pressure will gradually move away and the winds will die down. so as we push into sunday, it might be a pleasant start, with some early morning sunshine, particularly in eastern areas, lighter winds. and as we go through the day, we will see a scattering of showers developing out to the west, and some of these will gradually move further inland. but with a little more sunshine coming through, it will be a degree or so warmer. top temperatures of 20 degrees, 68 fahrenheit. not that much change monday into tuesday. showers or longer spells of rains likely, particularly on tuesday. another spell of wet weather to come. but we can offer you a glimpse of something more optimistic by the middle part of next week. an area of high pressure is likely to build, and we haven't seen this for quite some time. so from wednesday onwards, we are likely to see some drier, settled and more summer—like weather. there's still an uncertainty how long it's likely to last, but for next week, showers or longer spells of rain to begin with. but as the high pressure builds, certainly things will settle down and warm up for many. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. come on out, you big coward! come on out! it was an earthquake of a ruling. hellfire for you! last summer, millions of americans were blocked from accessing a constitutional right... murder! ..an abortion. a year on, the dust has far from settled, and no more so than in the south. we've travelled thousands of miles across two very different states. alabama has one of the strictest abortion bans in the us. neighbouring florida has become a destination state for the procedure... thank you very much! ..a reputation its governor and now presidential nominee wants to undo. we've spoken to people on either side of this divisive debate... i would like to see an outright ban of abortion in america. it makes me angry. it makes me sick to my stomach that, on my watch, this happened. ..and spent with patients who've fallen through the gaps. she showed us the ultrasound photo and she kept saying, "i wish there was more i could do for you". 12 months on, how are restrictions on essential healthcare impacting america? famed for its southern hospitality, you can't stay a stranger for long in alabama.