>> 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. the russia investigation gets closer to the white house. the attorney general and cabinet member have been interviewed by the special counsel. life below the ice. the bbc gets exclusive access to rare ecosystems within the antarctic. the question is how to preserve this unique part of the world. >> i mean, look at it here. it is absolutely beautiful. no one can deny that the region needs protecting. but what is the best way to do it? laura: and leading the oscar pack is "the shape of water," a fantasy-romance with 13

nominations. to our viewers on public television and around the world. the u.s. attorney general has been questioned as part of the special counsel's investigation into links between the trump campaign and russia. it is the first time we have learned that a member of the president's cabinet has been quizzed. according to u.s. media, jeff sessions spoke to robert mueller's team last week. this is just the latest twist involving mr. sessions and investigations into russia. earlier i spoke to josh kraushaar of "national journal." how significant a development is this, the president attorney -- the president's attorney general being interviewed by robert mueller's team? josh: this is a significant development, because jeff

sessions has been by donald trump's side both from the early days of the campaign and as his attorney general and one of his closest confidants early on in the administration. the fact that he is seeking an interview with the attorney general suggests that there are leads that could lead mueller to conclude that obstruction of justice took place. laura: right, well, on that point, "the washington post" has reported tonight that mueller's team want to question about the departures of michael flynn, the former national security advisor, and as you were just mentioning, james comey, the former fbi director. how serious a line of inquiry is that for the president? josh: it is a real risk for the white house because the president has a tendency to exaggerate and even outright make things up, which would put him under quite a bit of legal jeopardy if he was on record and being taped giving testimony to the special counsel. trump's lawyers, i think, are trying to come up with a bargain

were some of the statements could be in written form, some could be perhaps done person-to-person. this is a real challenge for trump's legal team in avoiding -- trying to avoid the president from having further legal exposure. laura: what does it tell you, the fact that so many big names have been interviewed by mueller , that he is going to speak to steve bannon, jeff sessions, that he interviewed james comey last week? josh: the walls are closing in on the trump white house. we don't know what they are going to say, but these are serious players in the trump white house that go to trump's inner circle. they are looking to big fish. robert mueller thinks there is something there and not leaving any stone unturned. laura: is jeff sessions foldable -- is jeff sessions vulnerable because of what he could not recall in his hearing? the reason jeff sessions has been under such scrutiny is he gave testimony that turned out to be inconsistent about revelations that came out about it contacts with russian representatives.

whenever you are not telling the full truth to congress, it always raises questions about your credibility on other issues. robert mueller will put the threat of the law on jeff sessions and he probably got more direct answers than jeff sessions was willing to give before congress. laura: the president said today that he was not concerned about the interview but his tweets would suggest otherwise. josh: the president's best interest is to stay out of this and not comment on the legal maneuverings of robert mueller, but sometimes he cannot help himself. laura: you can't indeed, -- he can't indeed, and back here on earth, the government is tried to stay open, but there is another drama looming. josh: we punted the spending battle, and democrats took a political hit in washington. they tried to use government funding as hostage to get concessions on immigration, concessions on daca, children of undocumented immigrants.

that battle will be going to the first week of february. we will have a similar battle over government funding and immigration and hopefully the three weeks can buy some time for compromise. laura: let's hope. josh kraushaar, thank you for joining us. on wednesday, judges in brazil will decide whether or not to uphold the corruption conviction against former president lula da silva. yes has been found guilty of accepting a penthouse apartment as a prize, but he has millions of supporters who say that the charges against him are politically motivated. our south america correspondent katy watson reports from brazil. katy: jose points out his old house. for more than 20 years, he lived here. but thanks to a housing program created when lula was president , he moved into a brand-new block of flats next door. he is grateful, but pragmatic. >> his government was good when it comes to housing, because lots of people had no means to live well, and now they live in their own house. but in general, politicians are

pretty dirty. i will not judge whether he is innocent or not, but if he has not done anything wrong, he will prove it. katy: on the other side of são paulo, tome is angry. he owns a construction company. he is ashamed of the corruption scandals that have engulfed politicians and business people in recent years and feels look is the biggest symbol of all that has gone wrong. >> brazilians are fed up with the political class. we can't put up with any more. they are all rich millionaires and billionaires. lula started his career as a trade unionist, man of the people fighting corruption. he managed to institutionalize corruption. nobody has robbed as much in the history of brazil as during the period of the workers party. katy: members and supporters of the workers party are out in force. lula's face and presence is everywhere. people arriving at this camp

have come from all over brazil to be here for lula. they are not just here to support his court battle, they are here to voice support for a run for president later this year, a race he is currently leading. "elections without lula are fraudulent," reads this banner. his supporters say there is no evidence against him and it is just a way to stop him becoming president again. >> what he is presenting nowadays, maybe the only option, political option, that the working class has in brazil. >> i am pretty sure he won't be sent to prison, but if lula is found guilty, he will become a martyr. katy: nobody knows which way the judges will vote on wednesday, but whatever the decision, authorities are preparing for strong reactions on both sides. katy watson, bbc news, brazil. laura: big day in brazil tomorrow. in other news from around the

world, french president emmanuel macron is to visit the white house in late april, says a senior u.s. official. this will be president macron's first state visit to the white house, and will include the first state dinner hosted by donald trump and his wife, melania. president trump was welcomed by mr. macron in paris last year when he joined the bastille day celebrations. a regulator has ruled that fox's proposed takeover of sky is not in the public interest. the regulator said the deal would give the murdoch family too much control over the news in britain, but suggest it could go ahead if sky news could be protected. people living on a small island off the coast of alaska were woken up very early this morning by this. [siren] warning rangami out after a powerful earthquake in the gulf of alaska struck around 160 miles off the coast. the warnings extended down the west coast of canada and the united states, but they've since

been lifted. there has also been seismic activity recorded in indonesia, the philippines, and japan. for more come i spoke earlier with michio kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the city college of new york. tell us, what is the connection between all the seismic activity we are seeing? michio: it looks like a specific -- like the pacific ring of fire is having a temper tantrum and living up to its reputation as the most seismically active area on the planet earth. if you draw a circle from chile to mexico to california up to alaska down to japan and indonesia, you begin to realize that this pacific ring of fire is the most active area on the planet earth, creating a 7.9 earthquake in alaska, a rupture in japan. and also in japan. laura: but, michio, what is making the pacific ring of fire so active right now? michio: well, we don't know.

we think it is a coincidence. i should also point out that the 7.9 earthquake that hit alaska recently is enough to devastate a major city like san francisco. so we dodged a bullet on that one. it turns out it was an offshoot of the main fault line that shook alaska, but back in 1964, they had a 9.2 earthquake there that was in fact the biggest earthquake ever to hit the united states of america. and so you begin to realize how active the area is. however, we don't think there is a correlation between this activity. laura: even so, how worried are you about the possibility of a major earthquake in a densely populated area of the united states west coast? michio: i think it is inevitable. many seismologists say perhaps northern la could be one of the week links in the whole chain.

we know more about the cycle time along the san andreas fault, and according to one study done by reputable seismologists, we are overdue for another big one. it is inevitable that in our lifetime we may see a major city in california destroyed. laura: is there a link between our changing climate and the volcanic activity that we are seeing? michio: some people think so. i don't. however, it is like a coincidence that we have had these massive destructions in the weather at the same time we have had rumblings in the pacific ring of fire. but i think they are largely independent. laura: could we be doing more to protect ourselves against the possibility of a volcanic activity in the united states? michio: that is a big one. we have a super volcano in the middle of the u.s. of a. in yellowstone, and when it are reps -- when it erupts, we don't

know when, it could destroy a huge chunk of the central region of the u.s. of a. but again, earthquake prediction, volcanic prediction, is like black magic. we simply have no way of predicting these phenomena. our science is not that advanced. laura: michio kaku, thank you so much for joining us. michio: thank you. laura: from the pacific rim to the antarctic, where researchers have discovered ecosystems living below the ice below the sea. they say the environment is so rare that the area should have special protection. the bbc's claire marshall went sailing on a greenpeace ship and ve down inwn -- do a submarine to see for herself what the scientists have found. here is her exclusive report. claire: antarctica, the most remote continent in the world. it is still largely unexplored, and we know even less about the icy seas that ring it.

now machines are making it possible to catch a glimpse. a mini-submarine is taking this marine biologist down into the antarctic deep. above is a land of frigid ice. below is a thriving mass of life. >> oh, that is really pretty. claire: no light penetrates the -- penetrates this deep. plants can't grow. these are all animals. then it was my turn to go down with the pilot. we dropped much deeper. more than 1000 feet down, we find a wall of life. sponges and corals. see stars. all thriving in complete darkness.

a robot arm captures samples. some of these species have never been filmed before. they are threatened by an increase in fishing in the region. too soon we have to leave. >> 22, we have a visual, over. claire: we surface very close to some icebergs. chunk of ice. claire: at last, the diver gets a hook in our sub. but then the crane brakes. -- breaks. we are stranded for an hour. it feels good to finally be down.

we gathered evidence of a unique ecosystem that deserves protection. >> it's really exciting, really dense seabed, full of life, huge diversity. and also, organisms living together and creating a structure so more organisms can live. these can be very vulnerable to disturbance, and they need special protection. claire: no one can deny that this region needs protecting, but what is the best way to do it? is a line on a map going to make much difference? who is going to police anything out here? the proposal to protect all of these creatures and their world will be heard by the antarctic nations in october. claire marshall, bbc news, the antarctic peninsula. laura: a stunning part of the world in need of preservation. you are watching "bbc world news america."

still to come on tonight's program -- ♪ laura: his music portrayed the struggles of south africa during apartheid. jazz trumpeter and campaigner hugh masekela dies at the age of 78. we will have his extraordinary story just ahead. a court in myanmar has denied that the bail request for 2 journalists who were detained. the pair from the reuters news agency are accused of violating the country's colonial-era official secrets act. they had worked on coverage of the crisis in rakhine state when the government forces cracked down on insurgents will they could face a sentence of up to 14 years in jail. our correspondent jonathan head has more on the case of the 2 journalists. jonathan: this is journalism on trial. they have already spent six

weeks in custody, and if convicted, could end up with 14 years. today they were hoping for relief on bail their alleged crime, little more than dogged investigation in the wholesale destruction of many rohingya muslim villages. the government has blocked access to northern rakhine state for journalists and the u.n. except on rare official tours like this one. they had been offered documents about the conflict by a police officer when they were arrested. these may have related to this village, seen here before last and after itence with all the muslim homes burned. the army has admitted for the first time that its soldiers wrongly killed people here. has attracted an

extraordinary amount of international concern, not just over the fate of the 2 journalists, but the climate of openness and freedom that began in myanmar six years ago in bringing so much hope to the country, which now seems to be closing down. case has cast a shadow over what was already an increasingly intimidating local media. at the end of the day, the 2 journalists remain in custody. laura: the legendary south african jazz trumpeter hugh masekela has died. his family says he had been battling cancer. the man called the father of south african jazz was also influential outside the music world. masekela played a pivotal role in the fight against apartheid. a look back on his life. ♪

reporter: the trumpet has fallen silent. haspassing of hugh masekela a many across the country and around the world. been described as the eptiome of a life lived in full. he was a family man, a world-renowned artist, a philanthropist, and political activist. the 78-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008. he put up a fierce fight. but last october he was forced to cancel all of his concerts. a fellow musician and friend says africa has lost its greatest treasure. >> i think uncle hugh was a living legend. he made be gone, but his music will always be there. the world has lost a great icon. the world has lost a leader. the world has lost a comedian, because he was hilarious.

when there was uncle hugh, there was laughter all the time. and i don't know what to say. i'm just heartbroken, i'm upset. but i will remember all the good things that he did. whether you were young, a king, a leader, or a street person, we were all equal in hugh's face, and he would greet everybody and talk to anybody. >> i lived in guinea, i lived in liberia, i lived in senegal -- reporter: at the height of white oppression in south africa, for many black musicians, jazz became the soundtrack of the resistance. masekela was forced into exile, but once he returned, he was determined to make a difference. >> i got somewhat from africa, and -- so much from africa, and i need to pay back, and the only

way to pay back is by making the people see how wonderful they are. reporter: hugh masekela described himself as a troublesome child, and spoke of the many times music saved his life, even later on at the height of a drug addiction. this picture marks one of the began, when a missionary stationed here in south africa gave him his first trumpet. with that, the music legend was born. he was an unlikely ally at the height of racial oppression here in south africa. masekela continued to use his voice over the years to speak truth to power. laura: the legendary hugh masekela. now, the oscar nominations are out, and leaving the field with 13 is the fantasy-romance "the shape of water." the best actor category is dominated by the brits, with gary oldman, daniel day-lewis, and daniel kaluuya nominated. and meryl streep, who has three 21sts already, gets her

nomination for "the post." our arts editor has more. reporter: guillermo del toro's love story "the shape of water" leads the way with 13 nominations, including for best picture. a category that also sees the critically acclaimed dark comedy thriller "three billboards outside ebbing, missouri" nominated. >> i want to go where culture is. reporter: as well as the coming-of-age drama "lady bird." >> good to see another brother round here. reporter: also shortlisted is the horror-mystery "get out," and a couple of british world war ii films, christopher nolan's "dunkirk" and joe wright's "darkest hour," which sees winston churchill struggling in his early days as wartime prime minister.

several of the scenes of "darkest hour" were shot in this a replica of this place, where i'm joined by the editor in the film magazine "empire." welcome. starting with best film, will "darkest hour" win? >> i actually don't think it will. i think we're looking at a win for "shape of water," but i the film i think should win is "get out." reporter: which has british .ising star daniel kaluuya he has a best actor nomination, along with daniel day-lewis for "phantom thread," timothée chalamet for "call me by your name," denzel washington for "roman j. israel, esq." and gary oldman for "darkest hour." that is quite a list for best actor. will daniel day-lewis win another oscar for what might be

his last film? will gary oldman win? or somebody else? >> i think this is gary oldman's year. how he has never won an oscar is beyond me. "darkest hour" feels like his finest moment. reporter: the best actress category is going to be really competitive. who will win? sally hawkins for "the shape of water"? frances mcdormand for "three billboards"? maybe margot robbie for "i, "nya," or saoirse ronan for lady bird," or even perhaps meryl streep for "the post." again, that is a really great list. are we going to get another british win, sally hawkins? or maybe meryl streep? >> no way. this year it is all about frances mcdormand for "three billboards outside of ebbing, missouri," one of the great dramatic performances of the year. reporter: i suspect she is right. we will find out on the fourth of when the oscars are rewarded march and possibly make history.

"muachel morrison wins for dbound" and becomes the first woman to win the cinematography category. laura: 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: new details bring the russia investigation to president trump's cabinet for the first time. i sit down with senator susan collins about what this means for the trump white house, and the prospects ahead for immigration reform. then, policing in a divided america. how one florida sheriff's brash leadership cuts across traditional political lines. >> if you don't like the fact that we're going to put sanctity of human life first, and we're going to switch from a warrior mentality to a guardian mentality, then i think you need to go. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour.