>> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> 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 trade winds, 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." laura: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am laura trevelyan. all eyes are on alabama's election. can roy moore shake off allegations of sexual misconduct with teenagers, or will the democrat win this deep red state? 50 world leaders but not america meets in paris for climate summit. president macron warns that rising temperatures is a global permanent emergency. sequel be with you. 40 years after the original "star wars" movie, we are on the red carpet for the premiere of "the last jedi."

welcome to our viewers on public television and america and around the globe. the stakes could not be higher in alabama tonight with so much riding on the results. the senate race looked like a sure thing for a republicans , until allegations that roy moore molested teenage girls surfaced. now voters are choosing between a man under a cloud and pro-choice democrat doug jones. if roy moore wings, it would show just how powerful partisan forces are. my colleague katty kay joined me from birmingham, alabama, for the state of the race. katty: how did it happen that a state election in alabama and the world media is down here?

roy moore, who had views outside the mainstream of american politics, and now allegations of sexual abuse. but also because it has applications far beyond this state. he has the possibility of going to washington, wreaking havoc there, or we could see a democrat win in this race today , in which case that would be the first time in over two decades. either way this race is fascinating. my colleague nick bryant has been looking at the latest. nick: just when you thought american politics couldn't get weirder, judge roy moore rides to the polling station on horseback and then sets it to music. he has come to personify the polarization of this political age. to his female accusers, he is a sexual predator who molested teenage girls in his 30's. to his fans, he is a crusading evangelical, a firebrand populist in the mold of donald trump. roy moore: i want to make america great again with president trump. i want america great, but i want america good, and she can't be good until we go back to god.

nick: moore fiercely denies allegations of sexual misconduct, and his supporters have adopted the default position of the politically embattled. they are crying "fake news." >> all of a sudden, here come the allegations, blah blah blah, from 40 years ago. that makes it highly, highly, highly suspect in my mind. >> oh, that is nothing but a bunch of fake news. >> things happened so long ago. there is such a thing as redemption. nick: though many senior republicans have refused to back roy moore, he has a cheerleader in donald trump. for the president, it is morally uncomplicated. to advance his legislative agenda, he needs a republican in the senate. president trump: get out and vote for roy moore. do it, do it. >> i mean, i literally broke down in tears over all of this.

selease -- the republicans cannot bring themselves to vote for roy moore. they have defected to democrat doug jones. >> it is because i'm republican. it is because i'm a christian. it is because the party i belong to does not support people like roy moore. nick: alabama was a great battleground of the civil rights era. this, too, is a climactic, defining struggle. this has become so much more than a senate race. it is a battle for the soul of the republican party, between the establishment and the more radical populist forces. it is a test of whether any allegation is disqualifying in modern-day public life here. and it is an indication of the extent to which donald trump has changed america's political culture. in this age of upsets, could this republican state go democrat? nick bryant, bbc news, alabama. katty: i was at a doug jones

rally in birmingham, alabama, last night, and they feel they have a lot of energy on their side. there are not many democrats in this very conservative state. they do think this is the best chance of an upset in a long time. one person i spoke to earlier today is a supporter of roy moore's. what is it that you like about roy moore? or is it that you have always been a republican and you will always vote republican? , i am ally conservative, and i was on mo brooks' campaign. but when mo brooks didn't win, i switched to roy moore, because we cannot afford to send a left-wing democrat to congress, because this is ground zero. this is the direction of our country. it is a razor-thin majority in congress. we can't send another democrat.

if roy moore goes to congress, he will be there to help trump with his agenda. katty: for you this is as much about not voting for a democrat for the senate seat in alabama as it is voting for roy moore. but i'm assuming there are things you like about roy moore as well. >> yes, absolutely. he is staunch conservative. he stands his ground. he is not afraid to buck the system. and we seriously need people in congress that are not afraid to stand up and say that is not what the american people want. i have been elected to do this, and that is what i'm going to do while i am here. katty: so would you expect him if he isthe senate, elected in alabama, and be as outspoken with his republican colleagues up there in washington as he has been -- >> oh, absolutely. you can expect -- oh yeah, you can expect exactly what you see here is what you are going to get there. katty: ok, what about the allegations of sexual

harassment? >> my attitude about that is it is he said, she said, 40 years old, cannot be proven, cannot be disproven. and in america, you are innocent until you are proven guilty, and he needs -- if something happens, and they have evidence come out, he still needs to have the right to prove his innocence. he has to have due process. that is the american way, that is the rule of law. katty: were evidence to come out and he were to be proven to be guilty of these allegations of sexual harassment, would you still support him? >> no. katty: that would be a line too far for you? >> well, he is going to go to congress. it will be up to congress to bring the charges. there is a procedure to handle. if there is proof, which i don't believe there is -- there have already been allegations disproven -- he is going to go to congress, and they will give him due process.

katty: speaking to me a short time ago. interesting speaking to roy moore's supporters. they adamantly say they believe his denials of the allegations, but interesting that she was also saying that if there were by any chance any proof -- obviously terribly difficult to prove these things -- then she would not support roy moore. you get an interesting picture from one supporter. i'm joined by ron christie, republican strategist who worked in the bush administration. we have been talking about this race throughout the course of the day. you told me something you were told at a diner in birmingham, alabama, about the choice that alabamans feel they have to make. ron: it was really stark -- good to see you, katty -- the person said we have a stark contrast. we either vote for a pedophile or we vote for a democrat. can you imagine? i never thought we would find ourselves in the 21st century with a choice that could have been any more stark. katty: and the prospect of some

alabamans of voting for a democrat, particularly when like doug jones, who is her choice, isone like doug jones, who pro-choice, that is beyond the pale. ron: we are in the deep south and many here in the deep south are evangelical christians. they cannot stand abortion under any circumstance. they look at mr. jones' position on abortion and say, you know what, i would rather have roy n have him in thas there because he is an abortionist. very important issue for many of these voters tonight. katty: and yet i met somebody in birmingham who said they found the whole spectacle embarrassing. the fact that the world's attention is focused on alabama and in this way -- they said we think of alabama as a more leaning-forward state. we don't want to be seen as a state that harks back to the dark ages of pre-civil rights movement. ron: if you look at the view

behind us, it wasn't so many years ago that they had to bring in federal troops to integrate birmingham, alabama. you have the bombing of the church just on the street beneath us. we have the prospect of are we going to go backwards as a country, i believe, and put someone who has very racist and homophobic and anti-muslim views in the united states senate? this is a chance for alabama to move forward in the 21st century rather than go back, and many people i've talked to are worried they might be taking a step in the wrong direction. katty: politically, what does it mean for the republican party and mr. trump himself if moore wins tonight? ron: the stakes couldn't be higher. mr. trump will take a short victory lap, but if he is seated, roy moore will be a constituency of one. he will be shunned by colleagues in the united states senate, will move quickly to expel him. mr. trump originally backed mr. moore's opponent and now he has swung around to vote for the more eventually go conservative -- evangelical conservative person. it also gives the democrats a much stronger chance of retaking

the united states senate by saying that the republicans willing to seat some roy moore gives them a lot to run on next year. katty: ron christie, thank you. the results will come in in a few hours time, and republicans in washington will be watching very closely. the prospect of roy moore, who says he is antiestablishment, openly feuding with senior members of the republican party -- the prospect of him arriving in congress and capitol hill and having to work alongside republicans frankly terrifies a lot of the republican establishment. will they be able to work with him? will he tame himself? roy moore supporters i've spoken to say that is absolutely why they are voting for him, that he will not be tamed. now, the president says roy moore will vote with him on everything. let's see if the president is right. laura: katty kay there in alabama. what a race. in other news from around the world, changing weather is allowing firefighters to make progress against wildfires

raging in southern california. the current blaze is larger than new york city, and extremely dry conditions have made controlling the flames difficult. more than 800 buildings have been destroyed, and thousands of people evacuated. an explosion at an austrian gas plant has killed one person and injured 18. the incident disrupted the supply of natural gas to other european countries. italy has declared a state of emergency over its supplies, the situation is being monitored by the european commission. u.s. prosecutors have brought federal charges against a man suspected of bombing the city's main bus terminal on monday. three people suffered minor injuries when -- and akayed ullah was badly hurt when he set off a pipe bomb strapped to his body. he made a facebook post critical of president trump on the day of the attack. french president emmanuel macron has warned that the world is losing the battle against climate change. he was speaking at the one planet summit in the french

capital, 2 years after the historic paris agreement. mr. macron says rising global temperatures have become a permanent emergency, and nobody can claim they did not know. lucy williamson reports from paris. lucy: the french president has a way of sending messages. this one involves a river cruise. his guests, kings, prime ministers, and business leaders, may have different visions and different values, it is safe to say. but when it comes to the future of the planet, we are all in the same boat. two years after the paris agreement, mr. macron said it is heading for a fall. president macron: we are losing this battle. those who came before us have an advantage -- they could say we didn't know, and it was true. but for the last 20 years or so, we have known, and we are finding out more every day. lucy: the world bank says it will stop funding oil and gas explorations in 2019. and there are new commitments

from business on renewable energy. but how much will these mean without the world's only superpower? u.s. president donald trump says his country is pulling out of the paris agreement. and mr. macron's show of solidarity is partially aimed at him. just along the river from the summit venue is a reminder of france's long relationship with america, its shared history, shared values. emmanuel macron has been positioning himself as a global leader on human rights and democracy, and now on climate change. but this time at least, donald trump isn't here. before the meeting, british prime minister theresa may met mr. macron at the elysees palace. another bilateral relationship undergoing changeful stop but s most the agreement' powerful leaders were here in paris. this was less about policies and more about a political message, that with or without the united states, this agreement will survive. lucy williamson, bbc news,

paris. laura: you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight's program, she had a front-row seat as clinton lost to trump. now donna brazile talks russian hacking and where next for the democrats. president trump has told nasa to plan a cruise mission to the moon for the first time since 1972. the mission will focus on long-term exploration and use of the moon's surface. mr. trump said of the program will lay the foundation for individual mission to mars, although he did not set a date. earlier this year, china said it was working on sending missions to the moon. >> one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. reporter: 10 words that came to encapsulate american

20th-century technological achievement. but since the first moon landing in 1969, the dream of inhabiting the moon has largely been sidelined as too costly. now donald trump and his vice president, mike pence, want to reignite america's space program. president trump: very exciting, very important for our country. reporter: at a white house signing attended by astronaut buzz aldrin and one of them asked americans to mock the service of the moon 40's ago, -- walk the service of the moon 40 years ago, the president said returning to the moon was just the beginning. this time wemp: will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint, we will establish the foundation for an eventual mission to mars and perhaps some day to many worlds beyond. reporter: nasa has sent an unmanned spacecraft to mars, and

wants to send another unmanned robot there in 2020. they are planning to send humans by 2030. back in june, china announced plans to send a man to the moon. the trump administration has not revealed just how the new objective is to be achieved, and on what timescale. but just as in july 1960 9, 1 thing is for sure. it won't be cheap. laura: democrats are still coming to terms with how hillary clinton lost to donald trump last year, and which lessons they should learn from the defeat. democratic strategist donna brazile has been doing some soul-searching of her own. she was running the democratic national committee and saw firsthand the chaos russia created with cyber hacking. now she has written a book, "hacks," and she is full of advice for democrats as they try to regroup. earlier, i sat down with donna

brazile and started by asking her if the party could win the alabama senate seat tonight. donna: it is a tough race, because democrats have not really campaigned in that state statewide for many, many decades. the last time we had a strong statewide campaign was in the late 1980's. i'm very optimistic, because i think doug jones has run a really good campaign, but he has to appeal to republican women, suburbanites, millennials, young voters, as well as african-american voters. if he is able to really reach out and get them tonight, there will be an upset. laura: your book is called "hacks," and you write that the hacking of the democratic national committee by the russians shook your world and made you fearful. what impact did it have personally? donna: i've been involved in politics since age nine, and throughout my career i have experienced a lot of dangers.

but this was a campaign in which the hacking by the foreign intelligence source targeted individuals for not just harassment, but they threatened us. they used automated bots and trolls and other social media to impersonate americans and go after other americans and and try to silence them, bully them, constantly threaten the democratic party infrastructure, threaten us personally. i thought that was wrong. that is one of the signs we should look for in the future. we should look for social-media platforms to not weaponize information to become another form of threat in american politics. laura: well, the midterm elections are next year. do you feel that our electoral process is still vulnerable to hacking? donna: there is no question. the american people need to take a chapter from what we saw this past year in europe, where both germany and france reacted to the hacking. they put safeguards in place. they put up a firewall to ensure

that they had adequate cyber defenses. we have not done much of anything in america. my worry is that next year we are going to see the same type of political interference that we saw in 2016, unless we take steps to improve the cyber literacy of elected officials. -- election officials. laura: you also say in the book that russia's cyberattacks left democrats scared and scarred. is there a danger that the party is still gripped by 2016 and cannot move beyond it? donna: i think the democratic party has begun a healing process. just recently the unity commission sat down to begin to institute much-needed reforms of the primary process. the democratic party is coming together. the party is out of the wilderness. and i think in future elections you will see a smarter party, a more unified party, party that will have the energy to compete in federal elections but also the crucial state elections. laura: you say in the book that

hillary clinton's campaign lacked energy, enthusiasm, and emotion. how does the party connect with those people who left you for trump? donna: well, there is no question that donald trump cracked the so-called blue firewall. he picked it apart in part because the party wasn't defending the territory, the party wasn't competing. we left it open for donald trump to pick the locks and instantly win by less than -- essentially win by less than 78,000 votes, because he was able to pick off those voters that democrats left behind. laura: but are you doing enough to get those people back? donna: there is no question that the democratic party has to energize a new generation of americans to support the democratic party, the democratic party's message, but we also need new voices, we need more candidates willing to run and compete across the country. the party can no longer cherry-pick the state and that

the date that they will compete. we have to compete everywhere and in every election. laura: knowing what you know, from having been in the trenches in 2016, if democrats were running against donald trump in 2020, what have they got to do differently? donna: first of all, they have to take him very seriously. not only as president, he has a record, but in 2016, nobody went after his record as a businessman. no one went after the allegations that he harassed women. no one really went after his business tactics. all that came into play late in the game, and by then, the hacking had an impact. the e-mails had an impact. but i think we are going to relitigate all of those issues and a lot more come 2020. laura: donna brazile, thank you so much for joining us. donna: always a pleasure. laura: now, for those old enough to remember, which includes me, it was 40 years ago that the first "star wars" movie was released. luke skywalker and darth vader has become icons of one of the most successful film series in history.

the 8th film in the franchise, "the last jedi," had its european premiere in london tonight. the bbc was on the red carpet. reporter: the stars of "star wars," cinema royalty. on the red carpet with actual royalty. princes william and harry, such during filminga, they secretly played cameos as stormtroopers, much to the excitement of the cast. >> it was great, fantastic, phenomenal. and it was an official visit as well. they got an x-wing and all that kind of stuff. reporter: all one more indication of the impact the series has made since its return. one key factor in the recent success of "star wars" has been the expansion of its own universe with respect to on-screen representation of both race and gender. >> i think movies start a conversation and it is a wonderful place for a reflection

of society changes, hopefully, and progress. >> standby. >> and action. reporter: shot here in the u.k. in pinewood studios, the thumbs are among the most expensive ever made. ensuring they connect with 21st-century audiences is crucial. it is five years since some questioning the wisdom of disney paying $4 billion for lucasfilm and the rights to keep making "star wars" films. the first new movie made $2 billion of the global box office, and now the deal is looking like one of the better hollywood bargains. >> telling a wonderful story, creating characters that people care about. we pay attention to all of those things inside these movies, and hopefully then shareholders and business and everything that goes along with it are happy. but we always start with that. reporter: the strategy has insured continuing adulation for helped disney

consolidate its position as hollywood's top studio. "star wars" still going strong after 40 years. i am laura trevelyan. thanks for watching "world news america." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day and stay up to date with the latest headlines you can trust. download now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> 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 trade winds, 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.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: election day in alabama. voters head to the polls to decide a senate race marked by controversy. then, beyond jerusalem. what president trump's decision to recognize the contested city as israel's capital means for the entire region. and, as we near the somber anniversary of the newtown shooting, how those affected by the tragedy are helping other schools prevent similar attacks. >> when sandy hook came, they gave us the power to say "wait a minute, we can stop this." why are we going to sit back and say, well, we'll react when it