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♪ orpplause] >> and now, "bbc wld news." jane: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am ne o'brien. major wildfires in california turned deadly tens of thousands of people are forced to evacuate. we are on the scene amidst the devastation. frankly,rie, and pretty awful to walk here in the ashes of people's lives. jane: if you think the midterms were over, think again. florida could be headed for crucial recounts. inondon burned brightly in remembrance of 100

years since the end rl the first wowar. welcome to blr viewers on television in america and around the globe. emergency has been declared in california where tens of thousands of people have fled on the pathf wildfires. the hote fears that desert w fuel the blazes. to entire towns have been destroyed andve many een forced to abandon everything to escape. in bbc's james cook is rthern california with the latest. >> please help us. james: it was a desperate dash for survival pursued by a wildfire devouring the equivalent of 80 football pitches a minute.

paradise sits on a ridge, and the few roads down quickly became choked with traffic. some motorists abandoned their cars and ran for their lives with children and pets in their arms. >> the hardest thing about this all is the people that may not have had the benef that i had to get out when i got out. i started crying. james: the extent of the disaster is not yet clea but what we know already is grim. bodies have been found in th charred remains of vehicles. >> the magnitude of the destruction we are seeing is really unbelievable and heartbreaking, and our hearts go bout to everybody who hn affected by this and impacted. we know that there have been injuries, and we know that there have been loss of life james: we are just driving into paradise now, and it is really a

frightening scene. telegraph calls on fire, electricity has been cut. we have been riving past houses which have been burned. we're hearing disturbing reports from inside paradise itself about many deaths and injuries there. this is what we found. paradise just lost, but annihilated. -- paradise not just lost, but annihilated. 27,000 people lived here.em littlens. in southern california, two big blazes rage towards the pacific ocean. tens of thousands of people in their path had to flee. this fire burned on the edge of thousand oaks, a city already reeling from a mass shooting in a bar. the communities of calabasas and malibu have also been evacuated.

the fire whichonsumed paradise was driven by hot desert winds rushing down to the sea. it was an inferno. the air here is acrid. you can actually taste the chemicals as they smolder. it is eerie, and frankly, pretty awful to walk here in the hes of people's lives. james cook, bbc news, paradise in california. jane: the speed of those fires quite terrifying. now to this week's midterm elections. hopediove thought, or that all the awas over on wednesday, but not so fast. arizona still has not called its senate race, and in florida the senate and governor's races f could be headi a recount. once again it is all about florida. for more i was joined a brief time ago by charlie cook, editor of "the cook polical report."

charlie, thanks for coming in. lawyers are moving in. it is all about florida. and ino you make of it particular the senate race? charlie: there's something about florida where things tend to be quirky, but it is a problemon nade in this country. there are half a million votes that have not beenidounted in fl when you have temporary, part-time, elderly people using new technology, what could possibly go wrong at a polling place? we don't spend enough money for precision and speed in this country. haorida seems to have more their share of problems. i kind of think that governor rick scott, the republican candidate,opes that his lead over senator bill nelson will hold up, but it is close. jane: rick scott is making allegations of pential fraud. you seem to think it is incompetence. charlie: i think it is incompetence that we cannot get accurate election results ster.

it is systemic, but it seems to happen more in florida thanyw re else. i think in this hyper-partisanen enviro nobody ever loses anything, they have been cheated. you know, every kid gets a ribbon. i thinit says something about our political environment now that it cannot be slow or incompetent, it has goe theft or fraud. that is where we are in american politics. jane: the democrats, regardless of theenate, have taken control of the house. do you think it was a blue wave, or was it simply a normal midterm adjustment? charlie: well, we had two different elections, and one of election was in red, ugnservative america where the u.s. senate was and it was a victory for president trump and the republican party. the other was everything else,d at was pretty much a repudiation of president trump.t it is f luck of the draw which third of the u.s. senatep.

happened to be all three of the democrats who mpst senate races were in states that president ton by 19 points or. -- 19 points or more. the only republican seat to lose in the senate was the one republican in a state that hillary clinton carried. geography was destiny in the senate. over in the house, most of the battlegrounds were in the suburbs where president trump is very unpopular. jane: do you think the democrats will be able to hold onto these seats in 2020? charlie: we have to know what is going on. i think there is a pretty good chance democrats hold on, but we don't know what the political environment is -- or who do democrats nominate. kethe old bout the woman asked by ayo friend, how i husband. she replied, compared to what? how do the democrats do against president trump? depends on who they have. jane: i suppose asking you if it

sets the stage for 2020 is a bit like that, too. , but it is a very divided country. in the suburbs republicans have not been doing things to optimize their chances in college-educated suburbs, college-educated suburban women. that is where prident trump is particularly toxic. jane: charlie cook, thanks for joining me. charlie:has, jane. jane: quick look at some of the other news now. passengers i have beured after a plane bound for canada was forced to make an emergency landing after taking off from the capital of guyana. ththpilot reported problems the hydraulic system and the plane overran the runway on landing.pe a spokon for the airlines said all on board were safe. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo says he remains concerned about china's repression of religious groups, including nely a million muslims who he claims have been denied their freedoms. speaking at talks with chinese

officials in washington, mr. pompeo expressed his concern about beijing's milihery policy inouth china sea. but he says the u.s. will maintain strong relations with china to deal with north korea and other issues. an airplane has been seized by the french aviation authority in aut row aoney. the boeing 737 was crowded before it was due to fly to london. french officials are demanding that the airline repaid nearly half a million pounds in subsidy, which the european commission has ruled were illegal. the 149 passengers on the flight transferred to another plane from causing a fivhour delay. of thousandunity oaks, california, is mourning the dead and searching for answers as to why a gunman opened fire at a cwded bar wednesday night. 12 people wereilled, including one man who survived the mass shooting in las vegas last year.

in the wake of the tragedy, many in congress ve been calling again for stricter gun safety laws. among them is democrat jackie speier from california. 40 years ago, she was shot five timesbl at poink range while trying tos rescue defect from compoundder jim jones' in guyana. she talks about the story in her new book, "undaunted." i spoke to her a while ago. can i start by getting your reaction to the latest mass state, whichour already has some of the toughest gun-controls in the country? rep. speier: it underscores the fact that it doesn't matter how tough your state laws are if you don't have a federal law that bans certain things. for instance, in california there is a 10-day waiting period, a ban on high-capacity magazines. and yet the shooter waable to purchase one and used it t down 12 people. jane: democrats have taken control of the house, so does

this mean that gun control is back on the table of congress? rep. speier: we have for manypp years now ted gun violence prevention measures which would close loopholes around thens purchase of y felons and domestic violence misdemeanants and those deemed to led mentally disturbed. and you if you want to buy a gun -- and yet, if you want to buy a gun online or at a gun show as a felon, you ct do so. we w just close those kinds of loopholes. jane: is there the political will to act? rep. speier: and that is not enough. we cannot do the simplestth cosmetic, frankly. it is a loophole that allows 't bee to buy who shouldn' buying but that is not where the problem is. e problem is much bigger than that. andes the united stas always had great respect for the second amendment.

we will always have guns in our society. the question becomes are we h willing -- do e the will er restrict the use of guns by persons who are inin categories? the mentally ill are persons that should be evaluated differently in order to have guns. i don't think we do a good job there at all. jane: as a gun violence survivor yourself -- you survived five bullets at point-blank range when you were part of the congressional investigation into jonestown in 1978 -- what canyo say to the survivors of america's mass shootings? rep. speier: i would say to thev sus that the pain and anguish that you suffered todayg is go be with you for a long time. it's very important to surround yourself wmily and friends and resources that can help you

through what is a very painful process, even after the wounds have been healed. physically, because the emotional scarring goes on for a long time. but the are resources out there and you should have the faith in knong that you will more than survive, you can thrive again. jane: but how did you do it? rep. speier: it was a long process. i was badly wounded. i had a hole in my leg the size of a football. i had bone shooting out of my arm. i was shot five times, i had a llet in my back, i still carry two bullets. it was emotionally a long journey. i survived, i thrived, and itg was about use resources at my fingertips, which included family, friends, faith, and the emotional support from therapists and others. jane: but you also lost your husband when you were three months pregnant. fd the shooting prepare y the next tragedy?

rep. speier: it actually didn't. i assumed after jonestown that everyone gotheir fair share of grief in life. mine just came early. when i was pregnant with our second child, my husband was killed in an automobile accident. i have never -- i've never fallen to the depths of pain anf ing that i went through there. i lost the love of my life, i had a five and a half-year-oldd son i pick up from kindergarten and bring back to dbthe hospital and say g to his daddy. he had no idea what that was real all about. and then it was a financial disaster, cause he was the major breadwinner. i was almost drowning. i remember my father visiting me and i said i don't know in bring this baby into this world. i don't know if i have what it takes. and he said, very strong germanic background, "jackie,

get over it, it has been three months." i think of that often because we really have to move on. i had a young son, iad a lot to live for. it is always about looking at the glass half-full. ne: and you have gone on to do so much since. your book "undaunted," jackie speier, thank you for joining me.p. peier: great to be with you. jane: you are world news america." 'ill to come on tonight' program, paramilitary forces in nicaragua are being blame tfor violencehat killed ntndreds in reonths. we hear from one of the survivors. we are all famiar with the term "baby boom." now half the countries in the role face of baby bust and are not having enough children to maintain populations. newata show that in 1950 women were giving birth to a

globalverage of just under five children, but last year that was almostn half, d 2.4 children for every woman. japan is one country dealing with the consequences of an aging population. here is rupert wingfield-hayes. rupert: japan is perhaps the world's best example of a country that has had a long-term w birth rate and very, very little immigration. working age population peaked in 1997, and in the last 20 years has shrunk by 13 million people. currently japan is losin around 300,000 people a year. but actually just the start of the problem, because what we now have is a situation where over a quarter of the populat is pensioners. that is 35 milli pensioners japan has. but not enough children. just 14 million children in japan. that means there are not enough young people coming into the working population to look after

thethose old people, pensioners. there is not enough people paying tax to do the jobs to look after the people. jathat is why panese government has had to face the prospect of looking atat its imion policy and opening of japan. the long-term demographics for japan committed the current trends ontinue, are quite astonishing. we are now around 125 million ople. it is predicted that by the middle of the century in 2050, japan's population will fall to 100 million people. by the end of the century could fall to 80 million people. japan is the first and only country in the world at the moment to experience such an astonishing shrinking in its population. jane: in april, antigovernment protests in nicaragua began demanding that socialistpr ident daniel ortega step down.

but he refused to negotiate, and sent in security forces instead. hundreds were killed in the months that followed, and polico were often sed by patrols of radical pro-government paramilitaries. the bbc's will grant has gained unprecedented access to one of the underground groups, and has report from nicaragua. will: life may appear calm, but weeks ago the streets were under siege. this small town was caught in the grip of the violence which swept across nicaragua as masked government loyalists clashed with protesters demanding president daniel oega step down these paramilitaries made sure he didn't. the bbc gained exclusive accessh armed group who cleared the barricades. the government describes them by the euphemism "voluntary police." >> calling us paramilitaries isn't right. we have never been military.te

we are vol police who acted to clear the streets, but never shot to kill. >> i am not defending a dictatorship. a dictator is not elected democratically like our president was. i cry for how the opposition has hurt my country. will: but few nicaraguans have sympathy for his tears. they point to a atrocities like this one where a mattress family was set aaze with a family of six living above it. they all perished in the flames. cctvge appears to show paramilitaries and police attacking the building together. the government denies its forces were involved. of all of the acts of violence tathat have n place in nicaragua recently, this arson attack is among the most appalling. that an entire family, from small children to grandparents, were killed in this way for refusing to take a side is a sign of just how far things have sunk.

cynthia lopez managed to escape the blaze but lost almost everyone she holds dear.ie overcome with she posted a desperate video online. today she is in hiding, scared foher life as one of the f survivors who can identify the perpetrators. at a safe house, she told us it was ortega's paralitaries. >> the whole house was on fire. there was no way out for anybody. aid, "i'm hugged and sorry, i can't get you out." they attacked us, but may god forgive them. will: faced with such abuses, one might expect the nicaraguan government to condemn the paramilitaries. but in fact they have official approval. >> the voluntary police force exists as a recognized organization along with national

police to help maintain the peace. there are laws here. will: paramilitaries, volunteers -- fe cinthia those labels ar irrelevant. she wants the men who ruined her life to answer for their e tions. >> i wish they w front of me so i could ask them to their faces, why did you do this? for what reason did you kill my family? why have you destroyed my life? will: will grant, bbc news, nicaragua. jane: tonight the moat around the tower of london it was glowing morrill lights to mark 100 years since the end of the first world war. nightly ceremonies are being held until remembrance sunday, europe people a commemorating the event in different ways. our correspondent robertbe hall has meeting some of them. berobert: the machines hav working around the clock. the royal british legion's factories make over 4 million ioppies every year, part of a

remembrance tradwhich is always focused on the armistice. >> remembrance gives us an opportunity for stilln a very, very busy world, and they -- that need to come together and the national uni we can collectively have from that is very powerful. robert: that sense of national grief was first expresd at the newly constructed building two years after the armistice. ex-servicemen, widows, friends, unified by losses in every town, cityand village. flowers and tears millions who died.e the last of rvivors have esw left us. as world war i recurther into distant history, how should we keep remembrance alive? i>> what you have got the

your engineer store. let's keep on going back. reporter: this histoan believes practical experience can help us understandhy we should remember. he has reconstructed a section of the trenches here in kent to illustrate life in the front. his young visitors were united in their enthusiasm for the project, but divided on how remembrance should look in the future. >> you need to express it more. u cannot just let it lay in the history books in the library. you need to bring it to the school and have assemblies on it. >> i don't feel we should change it at all. we are still remembering them and we are still remembering what ty did. >> some tradition is important, but you could change it up a bit because i think the youth will get bored of it. robert: one way of sustaining interest is through stories. mi.ael is a master of his a >> the sries are what stick.

the stories are what state-- stay. i think it is up to story makers like me, dramatists, filmmakers, however we tell our stories. there will not be in 50 years tears for these people, because no one will ow them. but if you know those people, in your mind's eye, through a story, and you felt the deeplyes people did do what they did and it was important to you that they did, it meansg. someth ♪em robert: at theery in northern france, the sun was setting as cadets paid tribute to the scottish regiwhich served here. change may lie ahead, but the baton of remembrance is being passed on. robert hall, bbc news. jane: very interesting that the enary is actually sparking rmembrance of america'se

the war with plans for a new national memorial in washington. bri am jane o'n. thanks for watching "bbc world news america." have a great weekend. >> with the bbc news app, ours vertical videoe 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. >> possibilities. yourit day is filledh them.

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captioningored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on california burning.: across the state, wildfires engulf tens of thousands of acres, and force mass evactions. then, democracy in action. several key races from the mierms remain too close to call. we take a look at the latest anfrom georgia, florid arizona. it's friday. mark shieldand david brooks eak down the election, the firing of the attorney general, and more. plus, a personal history. k one family looks b the legacy of world war i, a hundred years later. >> my mother was very proud of him, and i am. hsne's the family hero, i he? i think he was very brave. ho nawaz: all that and more, on tonight's pbs news.