♪ >> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm sunny days, cooling tradewinds, and the

crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> and now, bbc "world news america." ♪ this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am laura trevelyan. after a fierce campaign it is up to the voters to decide. will the british people choose to stay in that european union libya the fighting intensifies against the so-called islamic state. we are on the front line. he has captured president obama's most memorable moments. the white house photographer recounts his first road seats -- first row seats to history.

welcome to "world news america" viewers on public television in america. is up to the british voters to decide if they will stay in the european union or leave. the polls open in a few hours. politicians have been making their final arguments. it is a vote that might have implications far beyond british shores. we begin with our political editor who spent time with both campaigns in the closing hours. correspondent: 5:00 a.m. in london. they would almost poker up up to anything to get out the vote. the main face leading the tory effort. one hour later, the prime minister on the factory floor again. this time with harriet harman.

your decision to change his career. [applause] mming home his ra message with help from his friends. >> if they vote to leave on the ,asis of half-truth, untruth and misunderstandings, pretty our the gravediggers of prosperity will have serious questions to answer. correspondent: he is wondering if you will be a former prime minister by the weekend. the closing hours of a campaign that has been vibrant and noisy. >> can we count on you tomorrow? correspondent: if the polls tell us anything, the results are -- would you think will happen? .> it is impossible for everyone who wants to take back control of our democracy will vote tomorrow. i say to the people making up their minds that the safest thing to do is to vote leave.

if we don't, we are locked in this thing with no reform at all. correspondent: the more hands they shake the more votes they get. it is not as simple as that, but he is getting it a good try. there has been anger and anxiety on both sides, too. want to listen. that is why you don't want to listen. you don't want to listen because i'm 17 and you think i am illiterate. what to the u.k. decides about the eu could affect our other union. the s&p wants you to remain. this is the moment for the man whose years of campaigning for out pushed to this decision. >> vote with your heart.

boat with your soul. vote with pride in this country and its people. together, we can make tomorrow our independence day. bus,spondent: whether plain, helicopter, or walking, .hatever it takes a show of strength for labor. the leaders of reluctant remain, but will voters listen? tomorrow.e is do what is best for our people. vote for jobs. vote for work. vote to remain in the european union. correspondent: on the south coast at lunchtime, the most bitter tight hat -- the most bitter fight has been among friends and rivals. >> they recognize that voting leave is the optimistic thing to do. correspondent: it is 3:00 and the school buses are lined up. the prime minister is on his

home turf for a visit in oxfordshire. he wants this choice to be about the next generation. might he be wondering, if only they all had a vote. you probably weren't worried about the results, but it seems so uncertain you must be now. >> for the sake of the country it is important. staying in is how we will have a stronger economy, be safer and stronger as a country. we need to make those arguments and encourage people to vote remain. correspondent: what is your hunch? either way, your choice will not be the end of this extraordinary story. the referendum has changed our politics. this is only the end of part one. bbc news, oxfordshire. laura: tonight, we will hear from both sides. we start with a former state department official who is now president of the council of

foreign relations. he said it would be damaging for the u.k. to leave the european union. i spoke to him in new york. what is the most compelling, global, strategic reason for britain to stay in the eu? richard: from a global level, the most important reason is that it written were to leave the eu it would pull on a thread that is the entire european project. no one thinks it would stay there. it would foster separatism. it would leave germany without the right kind of balance. without britain around the table. 10 years, 20 years, 30-years from now, we will look back on this and they this is when the european project, which started after world war ii which did so much to boost the economy and make war impossible in europe began to unravel.

laura: britain is the fifth largest economy in the world. wouldn't it survive outside the eu and still be a global economy? richard: honestly i've baffled that so many people in the u.k. think that leaving will improve things. it will leave the you -- it will leave the u.k. poorer, less influential, and lead to the unraveling of the united kingdom. go for awill referendum and they will pass because they will have the argument of staying in europe. this will become a file line in northern ireland with those who want to stay in europe and join ireland and those who want to stay in what used to be the united kingdom. i do not see how britain benefits whatsoever. have lessh the u.s. influence in europe and britain were to leave the eu? richard: britain is one of our closest allies. not often, -- not always, but often we could count on them to bute, not as a favor,

because we agree on a parallel line of action. having the british influence in brussels has more often than not worked to the american advantage in the u.k.'s advantage. and you look at this go put history, more often than not it served as both well. last i checked we did when the cold war and kept the peace in europe. laura: what do you think will be the most obvious consequence if there is a brexit? richard: beyond the near ones of what it means for the u.k., the economic and market disruption around the world. the markets are not braced for this. the question will be, where we began this conversation, what does it mean for the future of europe? what worries me is rather then stopping with the british leaving, it will start their. what it will mean for the dynamics in europe and if other separatist groups will gain steam. historically and strategically

the real loss will be the stability and prosperity that is so easy to take for granted that has become europe. it is like oxygen. we do not notice it when we are breathing it, but without it in -- but without it we would not last long. that has been europe for several generations. laura: thank you for joining us. now to the argument for britain leaving the european union and how it could be beneficial to the united states. that is the case that john fonte at the center for american culture at the hudson institute made earlier. richard says that europe has been beneficial for britain to be in it. what would you say? don: it is about democratic self-government. what britain is doing is they are telling to the british people "will yourself" as they

have in the past for several hundred years. written was independent. what they have now is a situation with the european union that 60% of the laws are initiated in the european commission, which is unelected. these people are not british citizens. the directives have to be incorporated into british law. they cannot be stopped by the british parliament. if there was a pan american commission in buenos aris that made most of the rules for the united states and the president and congress could not do anything about it. laura: what about the argument they would be greater instability? john: i do not think so. i think this will be a move toward democracy across europe and a stronger britain as part of nato and a strong defense. richard, one thing that he said, in ahe european union

sense was responsible for the peace of europe. it wasn't. it was nato and the united states commitment in europe. that preserve to the peace 70 years, not the european union. the argumentbout that britain will be poorer. it will be less strong? john: i do not think it will be poorer. lamont andlor, lord nigel lawson, they both think the brexit will be good for the british economy. military.gthen the good for the british economy because britain is the fifth world. economy in the it will be able to make its own decisions. currently there are 28 countries total in the eu. when britain negotiates with india, china, the united states, they are one of 28. if they can do it on their own

they will have a greater global role. laura: what is the biggest benefit? john: democratic self-government. the right of a people to rule themselves. laura: what if the markets crash? john: i do not think they will crash. blips for abe while. this is a powerful economic country. they have nothing to be afraid of. boris johnson said there is nothing to fear. written shouldn't brace the global future. be able to make decisions on its own and not be beaten out by 27 other countries inside of the european union. laura: john fonte thank you for joining us. whereo libya government-backed forces have made gains against the fighters of the so-called islamic state. the fighting has been going on since last month and yesterday was the toughest day so far with 50 writers guild and 140 wounded on the government side. clinton somerville -- clinton

somerville -- quentin returnedle has just from the front line. some viewers may find it upsetting. correspondent: the war against the united states is changing gear. many of the libyan fighters are fasting for ramadan. after two weeks of hard fighting they are weary, but ready for the next offensive. they are bringing more firepower to the front. toy're close enough to i.s. shout insults down the street. i.s. has helped the city for more than one year.

at the conference center their flag looms large. they are battling on many fronts. we were the first journalists to make it to the islamic state's port. over the horizon lines europe. it is the job of the men of brigade 166 to stop i.s. escaping by sea. the only problem we are facing is suicide car bombs. we are dealing with them by firing heavy weapons and closing roads. correspondent: there would be a battle in the morning. 9ese men have already lost comrades. they got what sleep they could. 500 meters away, we watched. there was no rest. they say that this is a dusty war.

neither side is taking much in the way of prisoners. in the morning, they pushed in from the south. the men have taken a lot of ground in a short time. it has been a stalemate for a while. this is the next offensive. it is more difficult terrain. when they move into the city, the greater the risk. they have little in the way of air support. this battle is being fought the old-fashioned way. the buildings they are targeting right now, they have been mapping them for two weeks thanks to british special forces. these fighters are young, but

some are veterans from the war against gaddafi. "take my picture for me. i'm going to die today." this war is the bloodiest yet. almost 150 reminded. men mostly from nearby died in the battle. some were taken straight from the ambulance to body bags. mohammed says he had to fight. >> i.s. beheaded our children. they terrify people to justify their crimes. correspondent: their country and faith is at stake. for libya, only more sacrifice lies ahead. bbc news, sirte. inra: the bloody battle

libya. still to come on tonight's program, the u.s. house of representatives is the scene of a sit in democrats demanding action on gun control. -- the labor member of parliament joe clocks .- jo cox is remembered our chief correspondent reports. cox's husband jo and their two children traveled down the thames for a celebration of her life. it would have been her 42nd birthday. it is one week since she was killed in yorkshire. several thousand people gathered in trafalgar. many of them are holding pictures of jo cox. some have signed pledges supporting her causes.

her husband spoke about how the family had copes in the last few days. >> we tried to remember not how cruelly she has been taken from us, but how unbelievably lucky we were to have jo in our lives for so long. correspondent: he spoke about his wife's killing. >> what a beautiful irony that an act designed to spread hatred has designed such an outpouring of love. correspondent: among those who spoke was the nobel laureate malala. is proof that a message of peace is more powerful than any weapon of four. once again, the extremists have failed. [applause] correspondent: jo cox's death has been a key moment in the referendum campaign.

how claims and counterclaims are framed. today was a day for attributes to a campaigning mp. gavin hewitt, bbc news. laura: it was a rare scene in washington. the house of representatives became the scene of a sit and by democrats who want action on gun control laws. these pictures were taken by members of congress. many senators joined the cause. has heatedhing that up in the wake of the orlando shooting. anthony, is this sit in by democrats going to help the cause of gun control or hinder it? help.at a: it might it is calling attention to the log that is congress. use the incident that

filibusters have happened regularly. in the house of representatives this is a prayer. the last time this happened was 2008. pelosi, the leader at the time, turned off the lights and shut them in their. laura: what would it actually do? anthony: they're talking about using the terrorist watch list, something the fbi compiles, and applying it to gun purchases. if someone tried to buy a gun, they would be flagged. republicans say that there could be a temporary hold, but then they have to get court approval because the justice department is coming up with the list and i do not have oversight. aey think to suspend constitutional right to own a firearm, the courts have to be involved. laura: is it a fact that we are in an election year making the politics around this so toxic? anthony: it has contributed. donald trump has supported using the terrorist watch list to

prohibit firearm purchases. that has taken it up another notch. use the politicians angling for something come november. paul ryan said he will not bring any kind of vote unless the senate passes something by large majority. race. to the presidential hillary clinton and donald trump are in a bitter battle for the white house. all we know is who wins will have their very movement politicaly a photographer. pete souza tells us what it is like to record five through the camera lens. pete: you record everything meaning whether it is six serious national security, or a a staff person's

child coming into the oval office, or how he relates to his family. himhat context, i observe in every aspect of his life. that is how i know him. add up his day and all of the things that i photograph, i take a lot pictures. someone in my office said, who monitors this, said that i probably end up taking at the end of a year 2 million photographs. the one that are the hardest -- the ones that are the hardest for me are when i am photographing the president consoling families. .hat is hard on me especially after the new town shootings.

the emotions of the families were so raw. they just lost a child. i do not regret taking those photographs, but they were very and i am sure that i probably had some tears flowing down my cheeks to think about that terrible situation. , at the end of his first term, asked me to shoot 10 pictures that my favorites that told the story about this president. i said "i'll try." i ended up with 90. allneed to show him in aspects of his life. there are pictures

where he is interacting with little kids that are among my favorites. but, i do not want people to think that is all he does. what about anguishing in the situation room over isis, or dealing with the arab spring, or watching the bin laden raid? it is the body of work that is important. not saying this picture is the iconic picture of the obama administration. laura: pete souza, official white house photographer. what is your favorite? mine is the little boy patting head.esident on the that brings this program to a close. join us tomorrow as we broadcast live from london. whether the u.k. will stay in the eu are not. find full coverage on our

website. to reach me and the rest of the team go to twitter. i am @lauratrevelyan. from all of us at "world news america," thank you for watching. ♪ >> 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 from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the

island with warm sunny days, cooling tradewinds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.

[singing] we wanna get to know ya, and all the things you do. it's time to shine a light on little ol' you! announcer: this pbs kids spotlight, miss elaina from daniel tiger's neighborhood! miss elaina lives in the museum-go-round a quick trolley ride from the tigers' house. as one of daniel's best playmates, she comes up with the most fun games for them to try. miss e: i decided that today is... backwards day! she makes the most of every situation. miss e: an inside picnic. i love it, toots. and never backs down from a challenge. miss e: ice skating is just a little -- whoa whoa! whoa! slippery! oomph! but i like it. and if it's an out-of-this-world adventure, there's nobody better to bring along. miss e: we have an important outer space mission (whispering) what's our mission? miss elaina, a fun friend in the neighborhood daniel tiger: miss elaina is so funny, isn't she? and the focus of this pbs kids spotlight!