high, credit ratings high. companies expected it then. companies expect it now. doing right. it is just good business. union bank. >> and now "bbc world news america." is "bbc world news america." i'm katty kay. the death of james foley at the hands of fighters sparks outrage. president obama calls on the world to respond. and people across the middle east, there has to be thismon effort to extract cancer so it does not spread. >> the u.s. attorney general arrived in ferguson, missouri in the latest round of trouble. neighbors, modern humans may have lived alongside neanderthals thousands of years longer than originally thought. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. president obama said he was appalled at the beheading of journalist james foley by islamic state militants. the killing was posted online and it is shockingly brutal. foley was abducted while covering the war in syria. correspondent has the story. the images are distressing. >> he was a brother, and a son. james foley worked in iraq and afghanistan. a friend says he was adventurous, kind, and tough. eventually james turned his lens to syria. in 2012, he was kidnapped in the north of the country. last night, militants from the islamic state group released a video showing james foley being beheaded. it is too graphic to show. one did in washington think it is likely the killer was a british citizen. >> you have been in the forefront of aggression toward the islamic state. in find reasons to interfere our affairs. today your military air force has attacked us in iraq. your strikes have caused casualties amongst muslims. >> the militants are holding willer reporter warning he also be killed if u.s. airstrikes don't stop. the campaign against isis has halted the advance in iraq. governments and troops are taking back some territory. is still advancing across northern syria. >> people across the middle east , there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer so it does not spread. there has to be a rejection of these kind of nihilistic ideologies. one thing we can agree on, a no place insil has the 21st century. ofjames foley is one of tens thousands of people to have died at the hands of militants, rebels, and government forces in syria. he was aware of the dangers, having been taken captive in the beer. he felt it was his duty to tell the story of the people. >> it is not you worth your life. no matter what i did you have, -- idea you have, it is never worth that. >> james and his parents knew this day might come. >> it is horrific. people can die in a lot of ways. this was the most terrific. he -- how muchat pain he was in. this method of execution is. it testifies to his courage. >> nichol worked with james in syria. they were to be met on the day he was kidnapped. i'm going to remember him very fondly. he is an amazing person and an amazing friend. i think he was better than all of us. i'm going to miss him dearly. >> president obama came to power promising to end the wars, despite advice to the contrary, he was reluctant to get engaged in syria. as the crisis spreads and the threats multiply, his position became untenable and today america launched further stateikes against islamic militants. in the words of a former deputy head of the cia, the killing of james foley is the islamic state's first terrorist attack against america. the last.it will be ian panel, bbc news, washington. >> for more on james foley and the threat post by the islamic state i spoke with sandy berger rved under president clinton. how should the white house respond? nott is a gruesome act, but surprising given the brutality of this group. i think this is a long-term challenge. it is not going to be resolved in one day. it was very difficult for the united states to respond forcefully as long as malik he was prime minister because he had brutalized the sunni population in iraq. for us to use their power would havese forces been seen by the sunni population as being a maliki's air force. we have more latitude to use our military power. with the iraq key national forces and hopefully with the sunni tribes on the ground. >> should there be a step up in u.s. airstrikes and weapons going to kurdish fighters? be a political and military dimension. we can't destroy or dislodge isil with air power alone. there has to be a ground force to push them out. partly the sunni tribes, which threw them out in 2008. and let them back in because they hated maliki. we've got to restore the iraq he government and restore confident with the sunnis so we can use our a airpower, together with forces on the ground. one other thing, this is not just our problem. they are not just after us. they are after all of the folks in the gulf and in the middle east. heart of our job has got to be to marshall others in the gulf, tokey, in other neighbors join with us. this is an extremist group who wants to impose its fanatical views not just on iraq and syria, but on the arabian peninsula and else where. we have to have a regional response. >> you were in the white house when america launched its strike, the first strikes against al qaeda in afghanistan and sudan. what is the nature of the threat today compared to the threat back then? >> much greater today. this is a sophisticated army. we were dealing with al qaeda as a terrorist threat. they operated in rudimentary ways. obviously very dangerous. we are now dealing with the best funded, best equipped terror group in the world. they are occupying territory in iraq and syria the size of maryland. this is a serious group. we have to go with it in a serious way. not in a day or in a week or in a month, in a systematic way with a political strategy and a military strategy. the president is on the right course here. >> sandy berger with the nature of the threat ties by the islamic state fighters. let's kick a look at other news, the death toll from the ebola outbreak in africa has risen to 1350. there has been clashes between police and protesters. demonstrators were angry about the neighborhoods being quarantines due to the outbreak. police fire tear gas. residents threw stones at security forces. heavy fighting continues to be reported in areas east of ukraine with clashes. more than 2000 civilians have been killed since mid-april. the russian aid convoy has moved zone between the countries waiting to be inspected. in pakistan, supporters have marched on polymeric demanding the resignation of the prime minister. thefigures accuse government of corruption and vote rigging. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has warned the military campaign to restore israel's security against gaza will continue. he describes the palestinian group hamas as coming from the same creed as the islamic state militants. there has been rocket attacks following the collapse of a cease-fire yesterday. from gaza, our correspondent has this restore it -- report. >> a huge turnout for the wife whose infant son -- many carried the green flags of as is law must group as show of support and defiance. earlier, bulldozers as hamas policeman kept watch at the site of the deadly attack. this pile of rubble is all that wheret of a house mohammad used to live. it was hit by israeli i strikes overnight. hamas says this was an assassination attempt. today militants fired more itsets into israel and defense system was back in action. some properties were damaged. meanwhile, the israeli military says it has hit dozens of sites across gaza. the prime minister said this offensive would go one as long as necessary. only the guarantee of the calm and safety of citizens will bring an end to this operation. i will continue to operate with firmness. it is not finished. not for a minute. we're are talking about continued campaign. about 2000 reserve soldiers who had been sent home have been recalled. all of this has thrown egypt's efforts to broker a cease-fire deal into jeopardy. israelisfusal of the to give the palestinians their freedom and implement -- continue to resist the israelis and defend their people. >> in gaza, tens of thousands have been left homeless after the recent fighting. some are camping out in these hospital grounds. they face greater uncertainty with the renewed violence. another day in which the news from the middle east has been complicated and very grim. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come, what can be done to bring protests in ferguson, missouri under control? we ask a former u.s. attorney general. 36 people have died after landslides hit the japanese city of hiroshima. dozens of houses were buried when hillsides gave way during a storm. the land collapsed so quickly evacuation notices came there the first mudslide. according to the disaster management team, they misjudged the situation and it was too late. more heavy rain is forecast and that could bring additional landslides. rupert wingfield-hayes reports. >> yesterday this was a neat and tidy neighborhood. housesa mangled heap of and overturned cars. huge rocks with mud. the torrential rain again shortly after midnight. within three hours, 25 centimeters had fallen and the landslides began. it all happened so fast. the first resident new about it when mud came into their homes. >> all we could do is try to get out, said this woman. the flow was quite strong. was i realized what happening, said this man, there was mud flowing around. everything started sliding away. japan is a very mountainous country. landslides are not uncommon. a very similar event killed 32 people on an island south of tokyo in august. these events are becoming more common and more deadly. in the 1990's, there was an average of 770 landslides a year. in the last decade, the number has doubled to 1200 and year. rupert wingfield-hayes, bbc news in tokyo. >> eric holder is now in ferguson, missouri meeting residents where there have been protests for more than a week now. he will also meet law enforcement officers who are investigating the killing of michael brown. he is the black teenager who was shot dead by a white police officer. this or holder has promised a full investigation. what is the atmosphere today in ferguson? been alast 24 hours have touch, or -- calmer. no tear gas was fired. were fired.nons some people were on the street ring the day today. the same slogans we have heard the last 11 days now. a second place where a second shooting happened 24 hours ago where again people are congregating. ofre is not the same scale the tense feeling we have seen in recent days. eric holder is here. visiting a community college speaking with students. in aso had a walkabout restaurant. he has been visiting some law enforcement officers as well. his message has been things are going to change. that is his message to the community who are concerned about the wavy are treated by the law enforcement agency. he is also talking about how counterproductive it is. there has been looting here. there has been vandalism and violence. >> what is the reaction to his visit? pleased, ande been by the statements they heard from president obama. they are very angry the way police are handling the situation. that has been the key, no matter what leaders have said, they want to see things change on the ground. eric holder said they are right to protest and that would be protected. he heard that from the president as well. people can protest ring tonight, but they have to keep moving. they can't congregate. the police have broken up using force.ests they have arrested journalists. everything said has not translated on the ground. see.is what people want to they also want to see things change once the crisis is over. in ferguson the violence seems to come at night. so as not fall approaches, we will monitor the situation. for more on eric holder's visit, i spoke to the former u.s. attorney general alberto gonzales. alberto gonzales, we have the attorney general eric holder in ferguson, missouri. he has been meeting with community members. what good do you think his visit can do? >> i think it can do quite a bit of good. we have to remember the department of justice was invited to participate on the governor of missouri. the good he can do is to first of all emphasized to his troops on the ground this is important to him and the president and we expect the job to be done right. he can emphasize to the officials the federal authorities are there to work with him. this is a supplemental investigation. hopefully by working together they can achieve their give, find out the truth. and finally, his presence may go a long way toward soothing some of the feelings that exist in the community. appropriate he be in ferguson. >> let's talk about the sore feelings. he met with college students because some of those sore feelings are at the root of the violence we have seen in ferguson. how much can the federal government do in this country to try to stem that kind of tension? it is the image, the messaging that there will be a fair and full investigation by federal authorities. to the extent there is this trust, with respect to the investigation by authorities, that hopefully it will ease some of that concern by virtue of the fact they will be working in tandem with state and local officials. it could make a difference. >> you were the attorney general under president bush. how much of a problem is this in the united states, the racial tension between law enforcement and black communities? >> it unfortunately still exist. that is why we still have civil rights laws on the books and why we have a civil rights division in the department of justice. it is one of the primary missions to focus on these kinds of behaviors. i'm not suggesting what happened was improper. we don't know that. many people are rushing to judgment. obviously there is some troubling reports from site witnesses. we also no eyewitness accounts can be inaccurate. we still need to see the forensics antiballistic report. we need to examine the autopsy. that process is beginning today with respect to information being presented to the grand jury. they will make a determination. >> how monks could then take? -- how long could that take? they want rapid justice. to stem the tension down there in ferguson. this could take a while. >> no question. we have conflicting reports about what actually happened. i can'tent, of course, imagine the pain the family is going through. what individuals are entitled to in this country is justice under the law. justice, justice under the law, which means certain procedures have to be followed. the police officer has certain rights. it is justice under the law third it is the job of authorities to ensure justice under the law is achieved. whatever the outcome. perhaps the parents won't like it. perhaps the police officers won't like it. alberto gonzales, thank you for joining me. be imagine what it would like to live next to a neanderthal. it turns out modern humans may have had that dubious pleasure longer than previously thought. search suggests the species may have overlapped on earth for 5000 years. we may even have interbred. tens of thousands of years ago, europe was home to an ancient species of human. the end or thongs. they are now extinct. researchers have gathered the remains to find out why they died out. species huntedr them out of existence. dating published in the journal "nature" has changed that view. europehumans arrived in thousands of years earlier than people had previously thought, around 45,000 years ago. that is when we first met the neanderthals. we thought they died out soon after, around 500 years after we arrived. turns out our species coexisted for much longer, around 5000 years. in that time, our numbers increased, and there's gradually faded away. until, 40,000 years ago, they disappeared completely. >> we can rule out a wrap rapid extinction. instead we see an overlap between them. these populations lived almost side-by-side with one another, giving the possibility for the exchange of ideas and culture. >> so why did the neanderthals died out? >> they're going to be hunting the same animals. the same plant resources. they will be economic competition. >> we walked the earth with neanderthals for thousands of years. in the end, they could not compete with our kind and were finished off by a harsh cold spell 40,000 years ago. i was mesmerized by him walking through his friend in a cave there. that brings the program to a close. you can find out much more, james foley, on our website and if you would like to meet me we are also on twitter. world news us at america, thank you for watching. i will see you back here tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, kovler foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to him -- understand the industry you work in to provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. narrator: when the lights go down in cities across north america, another world is revealed. an underworld populated by shady characters that live alongside us, but exist in the margins. we think of them as little garbage cans. we think we know them. man: there's many things about raccoon behavior that we just don't understand. what we know is just the tip of the iceberg. narrator: with special cameras, we enter the hidden, intimate world of a young raccoon family