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[alause] >> and now, "bbc world news." jane: this is "bbc world news america." reporting fromashington, i am jane o'brien. tributes to a president at the national cathedral. george h.w. bush is honored as a friend, colleague, and fathe mr. bush: i said, dad, i love you and you have been and ful father, and the last words he would say on earth wer "i lovyou, too." jane: awkward moments, to, as the current president sat nextss to his predeors, who have become frequent political targets. and mapping the very essence of our biology. how a massive genome project in

the uk could hedi those with seases. welcome to our viewers on public television in the u.s. and arou the globe. by most accounts, it was a fitting sendoff for a president beloved by famd friends and respected by colleagues and rivals. today's funeral for president george h.w. bush in washington mixed humor and sadness, pturing the character of a man who stood out as a gentleman in politics.so hipresident george w. bush gave one of the most moving tributes.er our norta editor jon sopel starts our coverage. jon: a nation prepares to bid farewell to the last of the greatest generation. those political leaders who foht in the second world w and then served their country with distinction. the exteed bush family looked

on as his flag-draped coffin wa moved to the national cathedral. among the mourners, prince charles, representing the queen, sian john major, prime minister during the first gulf war and close friend of george h.w. bush. german chancellor angela merkeld come, ever grateful for the role that president bush played rin the reunification of country. in the front pew, all the living former u.s. presidents were there, and of course, the serving president donald trump, too, who until george h.w. bush's death had been so disdainful of the family. on this day of national mourning, it was also a rare day of national unity for a divided country. unity there may have been. warmth there wasn't. the body langue as chilly as the december day outside. the eulogy was delivered by his son the former president george h.w. bush. it was pitch perfect, mixing

humor and pathos. mr. bush: i said "dad, i love you and you have been a wonderful father." and the last words he would ever say on earth were, "i love you, too." to us he was close to perfect. but not totally perfect. his short game was lousy. [laughter] mr. bush: he was not exactly fred astaire on the dance floor. the man could not stomach vegetables. especially broccoli. [laughter] . bush: and by the way, passed these genetic defects on to us. [laughter] jon: finally, an emotional farewellrom a son to his father. mr. bush: through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man. the best father a son or daughter could have.

and in our grief, let us smile knowing that dad is hugging mom and holding mom's hand aga. jon: as president, george h.w. s bud he wanted to see a kinder, gentler nation, something not at the forefront in 201 the end of an era indeed.bc jon sopel,ews, washington. jane: president bush had established his political career long before he reached the white house. he was vice president for 8 years under ronald reagan, serving at the pinnacle of american politics for more than a decade. duringhat time, bob walker was a republican congressman from pennsylvania. he joined me a short time ago. so many tributes today. what is your favorite memory? >> mike cameron >> my favorite memory is of him comi to the house chamber at one point. i had done parliamentary procedures to stop democrats on the floor from interfering with

negotiations he was having in europe. when he flew back from europe, he came immediately to the house floor, where the republican conference was meeting, to thank me for what i had done to ipreserve tegrity of his negotiations. and so that is a favorite. memo i also campaigned a lot with him because i was with ronald reagan in the early days, so opposing george bush's campaign in 1980.c but after theye a team, i campaigned with him. he was just a fantastic individual to have known. jane: so what was he len he didn't agree with somebody? did you see rage or something li that? mr. walker: i didn't. i never experienced that. i'm sure there were times he was very unhappy with things that were going on. but truly he believed that politics was not a bod sport, that it was an exchange of ideas, and you win some, you

lose some. he did it always as a gentman. the dignity of the funeral services expressed very well the dignity of the man. jane: at that time foreign affairs was in the ascendance. what do you think his legacy is there? -- his legacy is largely will be that he presided magnicently over the close o the cold war and the reunification of europe from the iron curta back into the economic sphere of western europe. he doesn'teay get enough credit for the way in which that was carried out. the u.s. had a major responsibility and did it beautifully. jane: ofor course, the is full of what-ifs, but what if he had a second term? what do you think he would've done?

mr. walker: i think it would have been a continuation of who -- where he was. he believed we needed to get to economic stability. he believed that the united states had a mission globally. he was moving toward a lot of accomplishments in that area. n many ways, some of the successes we hade late 1990's, the foundation was laid by george bush. jane: congressman bob walker, ank you for joining me. mr. walker: as to be th you. -- nice to be with you. jane: even before his death, historians have been assessing the impact president.s 41st earlier my colleagues katty kay and christian fraser spoke to renowned author doris kearns goodwin. her latest book focuses on the character of foupresidents including abraham lincoln. katty: you areg watch -- you were watching today's funeral. you met george herbert walker bush. does he fit your definition as a

great american leader? doris: he certainly has a number of the qualities. he has humility, that is one of the most important things. his mother told him "don't speak about i. when he came home from a soccer game and he scored three goals , she asked, how did the team do. he had empathy for people. evyone who knew him knew how kind he w was that person. he had resilience. he came back from nearly dying in world war ii. ise one problem that was not really bridged was communication skills with the american people. he was so good when he talked individually with people. he built a coalition tally worked and other leaders knew him. i think he fits pretty well. however,nt would be, that even if we don't judge him as a presidential historian, the rdict of history has bee reached. the fact that he had so many public service jobs at a time when public service is not looked on with honorability -- congressman, cia, ambassador to the un, vice president,

president -- that is great to give a life privilege to public service. that verdict of history's met whatever historians think 200 years from now. kay: america is not always kind on one-term presidents. it is seen as a sign of weakness, a failure to have only one term in office. but i look at all of those leaders today -- prince charles, angela merkel, king abdullah of jordan, lech walesa. he had a huge impact around the world. lethere hiership was shown and valued. doris: without question. you think about the challenges he faced when he came in -- the soviet union falling apart, the berlin wall was going to fall. as a result, he understood that he could noticoast about a's role in that, which is what people wanted him to do. he understood the hardliners might be up against what was going on with gorbachev. that humility put him in great stead. and then building the coalition for the gulf war. 26 other countries -- he could cahe up margaret thatcher in middle of the night, the personal relationship that is missing now.

christian: that line in the conversation, doris,pparently from margaret thatcher, "this is no time to go wobbly, george." as you say in your book, leaders tend to evolve in times of crisis. did his leadership evolve in that moment in time? doris: that is a really good question, because what history seems to suggest is that temperament is suited for certain cllenges that come in the time. the question is does the man makehe times or the times ma the man? hisame iat a time when diplomatic experience and his whole humility and way of life was perfectly suited for that moment. it may have been less suited for having visionary understanding of domestic politics and getti ead of the recession, which is partly why he lost the election. but perfectly suited for foreign policy. the interesting thing is that lyndon johnson was perfectly suited for civil rights and domestic politics and less sofo foreign policy. fdr is one of the leaders who could bridge those different kinds of challenges.

jane: doris kearns goodwin let's have a quick look at some of the day's other news. t ssia's president vladimir putin has said tscow will start developing missiles if the u.s. pulls out of a cold war-era nuclear arms control treaty. the u.s. accuses russi breaching the deal and issued a 60-day ultimatum for moscow to comply with the treaty. mrsputin says washington' accusation is a pretext for leaving it. turkey has issued arrest warrants for close aides to the saudi crown prince who have been accused of iolvement in the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. the aides wered sacllowing the killing and are being by saudated authorities, but turkish officials say they don't believe formal aion will be taken against them. the special counsel in the russia investigation says former tional security advisor michael flynn should've not serve jail time for lying to the fbi. investigators say he provided substantial assistance in their probe of possible links between

the trump election team ands. russian offici mr. flynn is one of several former trump associates in the legal limelight this week. let's bring in the bbc's rajini vaidyanathan for more. why would prosecutors, who have spent an awful lot of time trying to prosecute mr. flynn, say he should not say any jail time? rajini: that is because he has been very useful to the mueller investigation. he has been around a year since heleaded guilty to lying to the fbi. ever since then he has been cooperating with investigators. he had 1970 interviews with the mueller team, a -- 19 separate interviews with thmueller team, a huge amount of face time to p vide information. what we read in the document -- the defendant assisted with several ongoing investigations'. i's as a criminal investigation -- we don't have much detail on that -- and the special counsel investigation concerning whether there was links or coordinations

between the russian government and the trump campaign. jane: how much do we know about whether or not this information is helpful? you have that on the table there which has a lot of black lines through it. rajini: it says "the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the criminal investigation" -- don't know at. in this one it says "the defendant provided useful information concerning" -- well who knows, jane. he was very close to donald trump. longtime advisor to him. he wentn become national security advisor,fo albei23 days. he spent hours and hours talking investigators. a crucial work in these documents, he provided firsthand information. he was describing things he says he saw. jane: presumably that is not going to please donald trump and his very dim view of anybody who helps the investigation. rajini: absolutely. he has a dim view of this

investigation altogether. he has repeatedly called it a witch hunt, as you know. there are other people close to thewho are helping investation for the for example, tackle cohen -- michael cohen, his former lawyer who has been helping the investigation. donaldru tmp hasub rshed him and called him a liar as wl. amformerpaign manager paul manafort has been accused of lyrsg to investi as part of his pleaui deal, and q interestingly, donald trump continues tom. heap praise on jane: rajini vaidyanathan, thank you very much for joining me. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight's the british prime m ministers accused leading lawmakers over the irish border ahead of next week's crucial vote on her brexit plan. a woman who served two jail

terms for refusing to wear the compulsory headscarf in iran is seeking asylum in canada. e 43-year-old activist fled a iran into turkey this year after facingntimidation from authorities. >> i only had two hours to leave the house, so i just took a few simple- a toothbrush, a sunscreen, and my sunglasses. reporter: this simple garment has become a symbol of oppression for many women living in iran. in saudi arabia, penalties are handed down to those refusing to wear in public. choose toct women who wear hijab, but when i wear hijab, it is like i'm restricted. it is like i'm a normal

housewife, a normal wan, and i want to do something for my life. reporter: in a movement that has gaed momentum sin 2014, photos have poured into social media women defying the hijab law. she became one of its leading figures. >>mo i was jusng that white flag for almost five, six minutes. and then the police car came, and they arrested me. reporter: after three arrests, two jail termtotaling 16 days, and being on hunger strike, she went here to turkey, lndving her life husband behind. in her absence, she was sentenced to two years jail and 18 years probation for removing the hijab. she and her son are now in canada seeking refugee status. that has not stopped other women in iran continuing her fight, despite ongoing arrests.

jane: the british prime minister has been acced of misleading lawmakers over the fate of the irish border as a critical vote on her brexit plan looms large. in a heated exchange in the c house mons, theresa may denied allegations that she concealed facts about aar controversiangement that would keep the uk in a customs union with the eu. our political editor laur m kuenssberg he. laura: grimly carrying on after three defeats in parliament yeerday, now a legal mess the most contentious part of the .rexit compromise, that so-called backstop >> have you lost control of brexit, prime minister? laura: after number 10 was forced to publish private lawyers advice on how northern would be more tangled up with the eu than the rest of the country. >> mr. speaker, this government isno givinhern island

permanent death northern ireland -- giving northern island permanent membership in the sing minister has been misleading the house inadvertently and otherwise. laura: a serious charge around here. the prime minister says it isth g new. prime min. may: this is not the intention of either party that the backstop should, a, the user in the place, or b, if it is used, should be anything other than temporary. laura: the legal advice spells out in more gory detail what the government has tried ts. the attorney general writes that the so-called backstop will apy differently to great britain to northern ireland, two parts of the uk with separate rules. and a european court will have jurisdiction or northern ireland. the legal advice states that the relationship would endure indefinitely until another agreement takes its place. that could take a long time. the advice does make clear that neither side wants it to happen. is not a comfortable resting place for the eu, either.

and remember, unhappiness overba the ckstop is what makes the overall backdrop for the government so gloomy. dozens of tories loudly swearing they will reject the brexitau compromise b of it. is there anyway you can see yourself voting for this as it stands? no, there is no point of having a mishmash when the result is so bad. laura: if it is that bad, is there any point leaving? mr. johnson: let's throw this deal out. as to whether this deal is better than remaining, i have to admit it is a finely balanced question. laura: it might feel like it, but this is not a rerun of the referendum. in less than a week, mp's will but ont on in or out, the prime minister's compromise. ugthere is not esupport for the prime minister's plan. private,y in

compositions are starting to swirl -- conversations are starting to swirl about the kind of extra promises theresa o y might haveke to get this done. after more than two years of argument, there is now an agreement. in less than a week, mp's will give their verdict on it. but don't hold your breath fork sudden outbr goodwill. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. jane: things not getting any easier for the british prime minister. scientists in the uk have completed the world's largest gene sequencing project. 85,000 people took part, including those with rare diseases and their fily members. the genome contains a person's dna, and errors can trigger a vast range of disorders. many who took part benefited from a diagnosis or treatment r their condition, as fergus walsh reports. fergus: the faces behind the numbers -- these are some of the people w their entire genetic code sequenced.

visiting the laborator cambridge, where it was done. some are affected by cancer, others brare diseases. >> sometim what we have to do is go to the dna sample -- fergus: all are helping to improve our understanding of how genes influence our health from cradle to grave. inside newlyou every one o cells is a copy of our genome, made up of 3 billion pairs of dna code and 20,000 genes. it is the instruction manual for how our bodies work. sequencing the first human genome took 13 years. now a genome's worth of dna can be done in 30 minutes. thatramatic acceleration has enabled scientists here to sequence 100,000 genomes of people aected by rare diseases or cancer.

every genome mapped by these unts ofs yields vast a data. how is that helping individuals and society? karen has contributed two genomes -- first, the gene she was born with, then the dna with gethe faulty genes that trd her cancer. by comparing her dna with other cancer patients, it may explain why she and other members of her family have developed cancer at a young ie. >> knowledpower, and we need to find a way forward cause once you have had cancer, the worry is always there. fergus: this s-year-old has a rare brain and muscle disorder that used to cause seizures. it meant she lost the ability to walk and it made her aggressive around other children like her brother. it was not until she and her mum joined the genome project that

scientists were able to compare their c dna and found tse of her condition, and an effective medicine. >> she has been treated since march, and the difference is amazing. i her epilepgone. she is developing every day, she is communicating, she is just full of life and is not violent anymore. she can be around her brother without attacking hi fergus: the project is just the start. the ambition is to sequence a further one million genomes over the next five years, as genomics rapidly becomes embedded in the fabric of healthcare. >> this transformaon in terms of what it means to society and thatityon -- the vis your health record will eventually have a genomic background to it and therefore a more accurate diagnosis or

more accurate treatment will be available to you. fergus: olivia is three weeks old. it is her generation thas the most to benefit from genomic medicine, as the growth of dna data gives more insight to help us all stay healthier longer. fergus walsh, bbc ne, cambridge. jane: fascinating. before we go, we want to share one of the sweeter moments from today's stateuneral for george h.w. bush, as his s sok hands with former presidents and their spouses before the service. former president george w. bush apparently handed candy or mint orma gum to michelle oba he made a similar gesture to tht former fady at senator john mccain's funeral this year. apparently the two have become ite close since their respective whitedeouse days and

ribe each other in affectionate terms. very nice to see indy. you can find more on all the day's news on her website, and to see what we are working on, do check out twitter. i am jane o'brien. thanks for watching "bbc world news ameca." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos ardesigned to work and your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day and stayh up-to-date wite latest headlines you can trust. download now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentatn is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america'ste neglneeds. >> what are you doing? >> possibilities. your day is filled with them. >> tv, play "downton abbey." >> andbs helps everyone discover theirs.

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captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm nidy woodruff. on the newshour t... >> the horizons he saw were bright and hopeful.mi opic man, and that optimism made each of usieve that anything was possible.dr >> wf: a nation mourns a president. we have special coverage of the funeral of george h.w. bush. then, facebook under fire-- new documents reveal the social media giant gave special access to user information to selectie comp and, the future of work.nt miles o'brien ues our series with a look at a world where we carlaborate with ficial intelligence. >> we now have a new s