>> 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 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 america." katty: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am katty kay. president obama visits the flood -damaged communities of louisiana but in today's charged , environment even this trip comes with controversy. tourism is taking a hit after recent terrorist attacks. editors are not coming in the numbers they used to. 2-year-old will can fly with the help of his father's images. a boy with down syndrome becomes an internet hit with no limits.

katty: welcome to our viewers on public television and around the world. in the heat of a presidential election, it is hard to do anything in the u.s. without it becoming political. president obama structured areas -- today, president obama's trip to areas of louisiana ran into that criticism. he vowed to help rebuild after rains killed people and damaged thousands of homes could vote republican nominee donald trump, who visited last week, said the trip was too little, too late. david willis has more. reporter: 11 days after rainfall brought devastation to the sweltering southern city, the comforter in chief came to visit. on a mission to offer hope to the exhausted residents of baton rouge, some of whom have lost everything they own. president obama: we are

heartbroken by the loss of life. there are people desperately trying to track down friends and family. we will keep on helping them every way we can. reporter: the president took aim at those who sought to turn the city and disaster into a political football. president obama: nobody gives a hoot whether you are democrat or republican. what they care about is getting the drywall out and the carpet out, and there is not any mold building, and the contractors, and rebuilding as quickly as possible. that is what they care about, that is what i care about. reporter: the sheer scale of the disaster is staggering. more than 30 inches of rain fell in some parts of louisiana in the space of two days. 60,000 homes were damaged, some submerged in floodwater, others buried in sludge. more than a dozen did not make it out alive.

the bloodying is of biblical proportions, the likes of which they have never seen here before. whilst all that was happening, the president was working on his golf swing 1600 miles away in martha's vineyard. he was criticized for keeping the family holiday instead of rushing to the scene. to relish of the republican presidential nominee, donald trump, who stepped in to fill the leadership vacuum. >> you are not playing golf in martha's vineyard. >> somebody is that shouldn't be. reporter: louisiana's governor, for his department had urged a delay in the presidential visit, saying it would take badly needed resources away from the recovery effort. but the memory of obama's predecessor, george w. bush, staring impotently at the devastation wrought by hurricane katrina from air force one, dave -- serves as a reminder as the need for a robust response to events like this.

president obama has pledged in $120 million aid for victims in louisiana and promised the federal government will still be there for them long after the television cameras have gone home. bbc news, washington. katty: for more on the politics of this visit, i'm joined by the white house correspondent for realclearpolitics. alexis, is the president right that people don't care about the politics of this, they care about how effective the response is? >> a little bit of both because we have seen on the campaign trail that this instantly became a campaign issue. it is fundamentally a real question of support. where the president goes draws public attention and aided to the affected communities, so part of the politics of this was leadership, which he argued he can do from anywhere. all presidents argue that. the other element of it is to

show faith with those in the states that are going to be very important. in donald trump's case, louisiana will be important in the electoral college and -- electoral college in november. hillary said she will go to louisiana. she has not said when. she is spending time in states that are important to her. president obama is the one who governs and draws actual aid to the state. katty: the governor, who is of course a democrat, louisiana, said "i asked him not to come." is that plausible? alexis: it is totally plausible. as a white house correspondent for a long time, the amount of machinery that goes with the president, the service, the planning, president obama used the event in baton rouge as a .wofer he also commiserated with police officers and the family of an african-american man killed in baton rouge and july. he is doing his political,

governing, and consoler in chief all in one day. katty: let's take it from donald trump's point of view. he went there last week. do you think it helped him? in play forouisiana hillary clinton? the answer would be no. he was going to a state that is already fundamentally behind and even though it has a democratic governor. in his case it was a smart move for him to go to a state and show he could be presidential, that he had temperament to commiserate with those in deep, deep pain. that was part of a theme that he struck this week, that he showed regret and had concern for americans who might not even support him. in that way, it helped his narratives. katty: in terms of the broader election, do you think, in a sense in 2005, we looked at bush's presidency and could say that hurricane katrina was a turning point for the president in terms of his approval rating.

will the handling of the louisiana flood by donald trump and president obama had a lasting political impact? alexis: i doubt that will be the case. katty: damage is smaller in louisiana. alexis: smaller in louisiana, job approval is pretty high. he is in office, as he pointed out today, only five more months. donald trump has a different kind of concern he is trying to address. and hillary clinton, whenever she appears in louisiana, will strike the same theme the president struck, that the federal government helps americans and is fundamentally competent and professional. she will argue that louisiana is not going to be forgotten. katty: the democratic platform. thank you for coming in. turkey has ordered residents in a town to evacuate after it was hit by mortars from the so-called islamic state in syria . the area is tense as kurdish-led forces made gains and retaliated

. meanwhile, it makes the syrian war more complex. government forces are hammering aleppo, and there is no cease-fire. five years into the battle, where are we? i am joined by the managing director of the washing 10 policy on near east policy. theey says it will cleanse border, seeming to up the game against islamic state militants. useful are not useful in the context of the syrian conflict? >> the dynamics have gotten more complex in recent weeks. the turkish actions are not motivated like concern over the kurds in syria, who have consolidated with u.s. and russian support. consolidating control along the strip of the turkish border. they are concerned about their own herds and claimed links between the pkk and turkey.

this has concerned us. the move against isis in this town is preemptive. it is to stop the kurds from consolidating control on the border. katty: is it like we have 2 wars in syria? >> at least 2. the bulk of the u.s. effort is against isis, that is why they are allied with the kurdish group here there is a separate conflict around aleppo for you have jihadist rebel groups fighting the regime and russian and iranian forces. the u.s. is not involved in any meaningful way. you have a different situation in south syria where you have rebel groups, including some islamic groups on the border with regime forces. katty: the russians asked the americans to step up their action and supply information in their attempt to take on the al-nusra front. todays the relationship

between the russians and the american? >> john kerry has been trying to hammer a new what we call a cessation of hostilities agreement with the russians. he says he has hope, not .ptimism previous agreements have collapsed. the united states believes russia is not committed to fighting terrorism, al-nusra, they are committed to propping up the syrian regime at any cost. president obama said president assad must ago. anywhere onhey get a cease-fire in aleppo? earlier this week the signs look positive. >> you have seen the signs go up and down. previous agreements have collapsed because typically agreements have loopholes where the russians could attack

anywhere they felt there was some al nusra presents. they have used it to attack groups working with the united states. there is one in southern syria where the russians bombed a base being used by u.s. and british special forces. katty: are we further from the cease-fire than the end of last week? >> it doesn't seem we are any closer. the whole line of effort is diplomacy being conducted without leverage by the united states. the russians have a significant military presence in syria. the united states is reluctant to do anything militarily against assad. the russians have the upper hand in these talks. atty: five years in, the war has to stop soon. joe biden has assured baltic states that washington would respect nato's commitment to protect them. againstn sent comments

the country by donald trump should not be taken seriously and that donald trump probably did not understand the treaty. five new cases of the zika virus in florida, including one in the tampa bay area with no travel history. the others were found in miami where officials have sprayed pesticides, bringing the total number of local transmission cases to 42. it is often spread by mosquitoes. russia reacted with fury to a blanket ban against their participation in the air olympics because of state sponsored doping. the prime minister said it was cynical and a blow to all disabled people. they said russia resented no evidence to contradict the allocation. consideringnt reintroducing national service for civilians to help the army deal with future disaster.

conscription was abolished in 2011, but is being discussed as a civil defense strategy. it also has citizens storing enough food to last for 10 days. for any traveler, one of the must see destinations is france, in particular, paris. after terrorist attacks, transport strikes, and bad weather there has been a decline in visitors and revenue. our correspondent has more. isorter: this is what it supposed to be like. hundreds of happy chinese tourists visiting a classic parisian dance show. there is security, but even the police seem willing to relax a bit. sadly, it is not all fun around the must-see sites. numbers are down by a lot. the new figures from the tourist board paint a grim picture. at the ark the trial they are --

at the arch de triumph. they are down. at the museum, 44%. the number of japanese tourists has plummeted by one half. terrorism is the main factor explaining why the numbers are going down. many would he visitors are too scared to come. people say that terrorism is not the only issue. it must not be allowed to mask other disincentives to coming. which parisienne's and the french need to address. in hotels like this, customers bring complaints about the city and a general level of insecurity. >> we should not hide behind terrorism. there are other reasons linked to the social environment, which is quite difficult. linked to insecurity.

linked to things that have happened in the last few weeks. they do not have the image of paris. reporter: there was trouble linked the labor protests in the summer. ods, and reports of muggings and robberies targeting chinese. the numbers coming to paris are still vast and france remains the world's biggest tourist destination, but no one wants to feel unsafe on holiday. france feels less safe than it is used to. bbc news, paris. katty: it could mean this is a good time to visit paris. there will be fewer people. still to come, donald trump and hillary clinton have plenty of differences, including the energy policy. in ohio, the debate is playing out.

new research suggests the risk of developing breast cancer increases more than previously thought for women who take combined hormone replacement therapy. foundy of 40,000 women the risk increased the longer the drugs used and returned to normal when the treatment ended. hitne million women taking in tablets, gels, or patches. the oftens debilitating symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, and its wings, and insomnia. she runs a menopause clinic. for her, the benefits outweigh the risks. >> i could not function. i was horrified how tired i felt. how i was unable to concentrate. i kept saying to my husband i feel like i have been drugged. i have so much work to do. reporter: every 1000 women aged

50, 14 will develop breast cancer. if they are not on hrt or taking estrogen only treatment. if they are taking combined hrt that rises to 34 cases. importantly, the increased risk disappears when women stop taking the drug. >> i do not think that women should suffer in silence. it is important to take advice, talk to your gp and your friends. get support. a lot of people think, it is menopause, i have to put up with it. actually, there is you can do to minimize the impact. reporter: last year a health should notid hrt simply be dismissed because of the risks. women knew to the drugs are devised to take the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time.

bbc news. katty: americans have different issues to consider when deciding who to vote for as the next president. one of the most consequential is energy and climate change. toald trump has pledged revive the coal industry. hillary clinton says they must clean power. on the ohio river, a fleet of larges with coal. it is part of a massive industry that has powered the american economy for more than 100 years. as i visit the sprawling complex, it is caught in the battle for the white house. donald trump supports it, hillary clinton and does not.

the coal mines here are like underground cities stretching for miles. the cousin of tough pollution controls and cheaper shale gas, filed for have bankruptcy. donald trump offers the prospect of revival. end of thef the shift. the minors blame environmentalists for the closure. and the actions on climate change. one mine owner, a trump supporter, says real damage has been done. >> went to call minors are laid off, if they own anything it is but there home. when they laid off they have no one to sell the home to. these people who want to work in honor and dignity are denied that. that is why i say obama is the greatest scourge that america has ever had in its history. reporter: the problem with coal comes when you burn it. it releases carbon dioxide, which is blamed for global

warming. donald trump says that isn't a problem, but hillary clinton says it is and she is offering a greener future instead. in another corner of ohio, a clean way of generating power. this local company, first solar, robots and people churn out a solar panel every single second. a new industry is rising as an older one declines. while the debate rages over whether climate change is a threat or not, there has been credibly rapid industrial transformation, so that a country like this is producing solar panels that have tumbled in price and solar power can be roughly comparable in cost to power produced by coal. whoever wins the american presidential election, low carbon power may make sense anyway. there are solar panels at the museum of art in toledo, and at the city zoo. renewable energy is becoming

more of a feature of everyday life here. great arrays like this one covering entire fields are no longer so unusual. panel by panel, america is becoming greener without any people even realizing. >> i just think we have some politicians that are fighting the last war. they are fighting over something -- they still believe solar is somewhere out there in the future. it is here now. we have probably passed the tipping point for the turning point, and they just don't know it yet. reporter: all this matters because america is the world's largest economy, and its decisions on energy could boost or undermine international actions on global warming under the paris climate agreement. donald trump says he will pull america out of it. hillary clinton supports it. a great deal hangs on the outcome of this election. katty: climate change is not an

issue you are hearing a lot about in this campaign and did all of the controversy surrounding donald trump and hillary clinton, but it is a huge topic for future generations. a two-year-old boy in utah has sensation.nternet he can fly. the superpower was given to him alans father, photographer moretz. he creates pictures of his son with down syndrome taking to the sky. the bbc about the images and the awareness they are raising about will's condition. >> flying is symbolic of being free, not burdened by something. it is a big dream, that if we could fly we could do anything we put our minds to. we could do anything. i am a photographer and father of 6 kids.

will is my two-year-old son. he is my second youngest. when i regionally found out he had down syndrome, i struggled with it. as i thought more about the flying pictures of will, i started recognizing there was a deeper meaning to the pictures. understanding that will was a blessing to our family. one day i the idea to take him to the yard and do a composite photo. i was holding him in a pose like he was flying. using photoshop i masked myself out of the photo so he was flying on his own. i pushed the photos more and posted them to my instagram using the #downsyndrome. there.ok off from we joked that he knows he is a celebrity. when we are in public he is and trying to"hi"

shake people's hands or give them a high five. we joke that his celebrity that way.es him think for anyone else starting this journey, i would say understanding it is not going to be easy, but it will be worth it, is a big part. teaching us even at a small age how to be patient, nonjudgmental , unconditional in our love. is going to bell able to do anything he puts his mind to. that he will fly. that he can fly. katty: amazing lawrence family and little will who can fly. you can find more on today's

news on our website, including the president's visit to louisiana. to reach me and the team go to twitter. i am @kattykaybbc. from all of us, 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 >> 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!