>> thiis "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentationm e possible by the freeman foundaon, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and purepoint finandial. kovler fion, pursuing >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to chisel. we strip away everything that stands in the way to reveal new possibilities. at purepoi financial, we have designed our modern approach to

banking around you -- your dreams.our goals, your your tomorrow isow. purepoint financial. ws>> and now, "bbc world ." th rajini is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am rajini vaidyanathan. >> ♪ r-e-s-p-e-c-t found out what it means to me ♪ rajini: the queen of soul, aretha franklin, has died at the age of 76. we take a look back at one of the greatest musical talents the world has ever known. from presidents to pop royalty, tributes are flooding in, as in we will be live in her hometown of detroit. and speaking with one voice --wh hundreds of u.s. newspapers

have teamed up to articulate anger over president trump's statements on the mea. rajini: on public television in the u.s. and also around the globe. ode was lovingly known as the queen of soul, but her reign on the music world finalle aretha franklin has died at the age of 76, surrounded by her family in her home in detroit. she was diagnosed with cancer 8 years ago but only retrom performing last year. her career spanned seven decades, she will be remembered for a voice so searing it will never be forgotten. age of 76, surrounded by her family in her home in detroit.ad has more. asking is for a litt respect ♪ you all my to give

money ♪ aleem: peerless,ith a voice is so stunning a good lift spirits, so powerful it could and often did move tse who heard it to tea rs. at the church where she first started singing, people who grew up on the same streets as for i have alread tcome to page . >> i was born and raised in detroit. based on herusic, music. it is a sad day. >> i will miss seeing her in music will live on, so i am good. feelbecause you make me you make me feel ♪ and when shvoice,

sung you could feel it in should always su -- she always sung something positive and ice. i remember as a kid growing up in the 1950's and 1960's. if you like family. -- you feel like family. stage this i the very where i suppose aretha franklin become a sta the daughter of the preacher with the kind of voice that only came along once in a generation. >> ♪ they tell you that youno ain' good but oh they don't know ♪ aleem: by the late 1960's a wider audience was being touched by the clear over aretha franklin. a talent and clear over aretha

franklin. she grew from being a gospel artist to an internati sensation. a toughness that could sometimes be perceived as being a bit of an attitude. men, most men, some and -- it depends on the man. i have always maintained that a real man is not going to be intimidated by me. can rise to the occasion, and others cannot. on my makeupt i say a lite prayer oh yes io ♪ aleem: the more she broke as a singer, as a successful black woman, aretha franklin symbolized more than just a sensational voice. she became heavily involved with the cil rights movement with activists like her longtime friend, the rev. jessee jackson.

if you were to summarize what aretha franklin meant to you, what would you? say jackson: social justice was global, and she fought for dr. king, nelson mandela, she fought for barack obama. her sensee of community serv was as broad-based as her music. aleem: aretha sang at the funeral of martin luther king. she provided the subject to african-american history and progress lonafter that. - the soundtrack to african-american history and progress long after that. the most straightfsward of choi to sing it barack obama's inauguration, as she did at two previous inaugurations. he paid trio the woman who "with her voice cveyed the power and pain of the american experience." amongst the trip is today, carole king l -- whate, she

said -- annmie lennox. sir elton john said "rejoice in r remarkable legacy." fromt' sir paul mccartney, 's give thanks for the beautiful life." people in the community feel like they have lost a family member to a one who is generous and gave them a sense of worth. she released her final album last year. newinfluenced countless musicians and allowed them to influence her, too. >> ♪olng in the deep aleem: but the world has lost a musicalnt g aretha franklin, the queen of soul. rajini:e and we can go l to aleem. in detroit for

you were saying that aretha tfranklin met so mangs to so many people. what more are people from her hometown saying about howcthe made an imn them? aleem: wl, here she was a member of the community, the church community. people have been drawn to this days. in recent a focal point for vigiwe heard she was in serious condition. earlier in the day we heard it was pancreatic cancer that tlaimed her. a of people have been talking about how she helped them through difficult times in this area through her music, but also by becoming a big star and bading them out of a situation in terms of segregation and discrimination and give them-w sense of seth. to knowi am just keen what an attack she made personally -- m in fact se

personally on you as well. we know you were a big fan. aleem: i tried for a few years to try to get tickets to see her, but in recent years so many of her concerts were canceled because of ill health. i finally managed to see her last year, and it was just a ceeathtaking performance, one of her last perform as emotional as you can imagine. there was something about the power in her voice, the way she managed to convey emotions you can look around and people were breaking down in tears, left and right. she did that to me and to millions around the world, and the people here are certainly in morning and a lot of people around the w ld will be feeling that loss. rajini: aleem maqbool in detroit , thank you very much. legende on the life and of aretha anklin, i spoke rlier with jem aswad, senior music editor at "variety." how enduring is arethas franklin'gacy, particularly when you look at today's music artists?

jem: hard to think of anyone whose legacy will be more enduring, from the 20th century, anay. the beatles looked up to her, every single soul singer looked up to her. i interviewed narda michael walden, who produced four of her albums'n the 1980's and 19s, and i said, who is the greatest singer you ever worked with, because he worked withh carey and whitney houston. he sai whitney.ade whitney be she would not have been whitney houston without aretha. whitney's mother was one of aretha's backing singers. e influence is immeasurable. rajini: what about her cultural influence?d she lirough the civil rights era, from dr. king to seeing a black president.an how signifwas her cultural contribution to the u.s.?el jem: it was la symbolic, i would say.sp she about it, but she was not a leader necessarily.

she was more of a symbol for civil rights because she knew dr. martin luther king growing up. he was a very close friend of her father's, the reverend cl franklin. she sang at martin luther king's funeral, she sg at clinton's inauguration, she sang at obama's inauguration. as a symbol of positive black movement forward, it is immeasurable as well. rajini: i have to ask you, iug tickets to see aretha franklin on a couple of occasions and unfortunately she was too unwell to make the concerts, so i never got to see her live.ly you actuid see her final performance. just tell us what it is like to watch the queen of soul in action. jem: well, she was 75 years old when i saw her. this was at the elto aids foundation gala back in november. very high ilings, booming acoustics.

peshe was thin. le were thinking, oh my gosh, is she ok? she nailed it. she wasn't the aretha you hear in the records of the 1960's, obviously -- no one can sing like that in her 70's. but she was great. songs, "i say a little orprayer," "nessun," she nailed it, the pavarotti song she did in the 1990's. i thought i hope that is not the last time i get to s. it was the last time anyone got to see one of her public performances. she was absolutely great. rajini: what was your favorite aretha franklin song? jem: wow, that is a tough one. it might be "ain't no way," a lesser-known song from "lady soul." that's a very tough question, but it would be either from "lady soul" or "i never loved a man the way i love you" album,

1966 to 1968, her best era.ra ni: people in her hometown of detroit are paying tributes to her and a lot of focus on the church that she sang at as a young girl. jem: yes. yes, they absolutely are. she came from the church. you hear it in her singing andg. piano play she was an amazing piano playerl and a lot of pdon't know that. if you want to hear her play piano, get her album "spirit in the dark," she is incredible. rajini: thank you for joining us from new york. jem: thank you. rajini: could listen to aretha franklin all day long. aretha franklin, who died today. let's look at the day's other news. the islamic ate group in afghanistan said it carried out ulsuicide attack in kab on wednesday. teenagers died inside the

classroom while they were preparing for university exams. men involvedid gun have been shot dead. pope francis is victims' side following a grand jury report which detailed -- says pope frans is on the victims' side following a grand jury report which detailed decades of sexual abuse by catholic priests in pennsylvania. they found at least 1000 children were molested and assaulted by so-called predator priests. the vatican says the church must learhard lessons from its past, and it promised to hold abusers to account. people have died and some of the moworst nsoon flooding the region is ever seen. armed forces have been deployed and rescue sted villagers provide relief for tens of thousands of people who active their home. 60thna's celebrated her birthday. the so-called queen of pop has reinvented herself over w her careith hits like "ke a yer"r" and - "like a p

and "material girl." she is the rhest female artist in america. president trump's long-running fight with the media come which took a headline making turn. morehan 300 newspapers acros the u.s. printed editorials critical of mr. trump's comments against journalism. they are pushing back againstth his claims thamainstream media is the enemy of the people. the coordinated response was led by "the boston globe" newspaper, which ran the headne "journalists are not the enemy." it argued that the free press hadn been an ameri principle for two centuries. as, if on ce president was ready in a tweet, saying, "the fake news media is the opposition party." "it is very bad for our great , but we are winning!" he singled out "the boston globe," saying it was in collusion with "the new york

times." i spoke with the deputy ideas editor at "the boston globe." why did you decide to get newspapers together to write the editorial? >> aalew things. thming turn in mr. trump's rhetoric rang alarm bells for us. his political project is bashing the press. criticizing the press is one thing, but declaring them to be the enemy of the people was a turning point that needed to be remarked on, and an alarming one. this wasn't one editori a. weually have 390 we have patallied up, newspers and news outlets around the country that in their own words and voices spok amendment means and what it means to do the important work for democry. this was much bigger than mr. this was much bigger than mr. trump or any of his agenda. this is about strengthening oumocracy. rajini: you reacheto newspapers across the political

divide. liberal and conservative. what sort of response did you get? alex: i can cite a few examples erwhelming to see in granular detail what the press looks like in the united states. there was a really emotional editorial from a small newspaper in mississippi and the lines were "the conservative founder of this newspaper knew what the free press meant when because he stood up to the ku kl klan in 1963." ere was another one in iowa, small weekly there, said that someone had come to the officere and ened one of the editors with a gun.so this is th of situation the journalists deal with in the united states. remember, the vast majority of people doing this work don't have the backing of a major stonitution like "the globe." they are small community papers , small cities, they cover school boards and mayo they do the important work of holdinghe powerful accountable and informing the citizenry. rajini: the editorial includes

me poll findings, one that suggests that 29% of americans s media isat the n indeed the enemy of the people. how you counter that viewpoint? alex: this is one of the things that we can say when president trump's supporters say these are t just words and this is je way he talks. these words have consequences. "enemy of the people" is particularly alarming. 51% of republicans this tuesdayd said they agith that statement. that should be alarmi to anybody who believes in a free hidemocracy and incountry. rajini: thanks very much for joining us. alex: thank you. laura: you are watching "bbc world news america." l st come, ate mysry dating back thousands of years is revealed. the history behind mummification.

rajini: two women accused of killing the half-brother of north korean leader kim jong-il are tokim jong-un stand trial. placing accused of deadly nerve agent under kim jong nam's face at the kuala lumpur airport last year. jonathan head has more. jonathan: these young women are the only defendants facing trial. they are hoping for an acquittal , but were disappointed. the judgeul the evidence backs the charge against them of murdering kim jong-un and, -- the estranged half-brother of north korea's ader. lawyers for the two, and indonesian and vietnamese woman,

said they were recited to carry out what they thought were harmless prank >> it does not mean that the judge will not find them guilty. the case must oceed. now they are to hear ourtoersion of the. jonathan: four north korean men charged with them fled malaysian the same day kim jong nam was attacked. it is believed they ran the operation. malaysiaro f diplomatic relations. the north korean embassy has no .ambassad the militiamen left pyongyang -- malaysian one left pyongyang after beingeld hostage, the government said. and yet alaysia refuses to r blame north korea fothe killing. jonath head, bbc news, kuala

lumpur. in italy, as many as 20ss people are still g days after the class of arbor -- yllapse of the northern c of -- collapse of a bridge in the northern city of genoa david shukman is looking into what could have caused it to collapse. satur the weather yer the years, -- battered by the weather over trs this , is the bridge pictured before the collapse. it was in a forlorn and worrying state. and then disaster struck. the tangle of wreckage where there should be the clues that investigators will need. they asked if these structure was substandard or if the steel corroded within the concrete. what went wrong?

let's look at a virtual model of the bridge. an unusual model from the 1960's, it needot of reinforcement over the years. the key focus of the investigation will be on these diagonal sections. they are a mix of steel and concrete and they cry the road. they were in bad condition, and i bederstand they were due t replaced next year. another weakness might be the anchor that fits into the road. more -- one of them might have rested and snapped. then there were the steel cables that run through the bridge to give it strength if they were in poor shape, inspectors might not have noticed. investigators find a massive challenge and a single answer might not be easy. a big concern is that the concrete was getting old, and water was getting into it. it may have weakened the steel inside. >> concrete does deteriorate with time and age. but the main problem in this construction is the steel inside which, -- inside

e concrete, which if corrodes, , can lead to severe problems. it needs to be investigated, inspected, and maintained. david: when the bridge was built it was heralded as the symbol of futuristic engineering. by the standard of construction italy has an estimated 10,000 bridges that need to be modernized. the cost will be tens of billions of euros. the collapse has sent shockwaves to other countries as well. inspections are underway on france and german the tragedy has sparked a crisis of confidence far beyond genoa. david shukman, bbc news. rajini: if you have ever been at the antiquities section of the museum looking at the egyptian mummies and wondering how they lasted through the ages, now aprently we know. an international team of scientists has revealed the secret recipe of ancient egyptian mummification.

victoria gill has more. fabric fragments of ancient history. these pieces of linen contain the chemical secrets to mummification. the egypti this ancient civilization. it has been resurrected in many a hollywood film. but far from egypt's great in a storage facility in northernt england, the anci egyptians' embalming recipe has come to light, contained in textiles in the collection. >> things like these textiles are not much to look a, but you do the chemistry and they tobecome hugely significanur human past, and it really gets to the heart of what they were about at this time through the signs, which you simply cannot tell by looking. rings this science material to life. victoria: the recipe they

revealed, and embalming liquid contains extracts probably next -- mixed in a base of sesame oil. you can still find some of the key ingredients from the embalming recipe.e this is them, gum arabic. it is on sale in egypt. this is a really key ingredient, pine resin to protect the body from decaying. the same mixture of substances was found on an intact mummy from 3500 bc, showing that the process is mucioolder than prly thought. >> pushing the timeline back by 1500 years, it shows to us that it was not just at the point where mummification we know is very popular. it was happening much earlier. for more within the culture much longer than we thought. victoria: who knows whatecrets scientists will unearth next? victoria gill, bbc news. endni: fascinating stuff to

the program with. you can fin' more of the day' news on our website, including tributes to aretha franklin. 'm rajini vaidyanath you can find me on twitter. thanks for watching. p,>> with the bbc news ap our vertical videos are designed to , work around your lifesty you can swipe your way through the news of thupday and stay -to-date with the latest seadlines you can trust. download now frolected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freen foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind chisel.n we begin to we strip away everyt that stands in the way to reveal new possibilities.

at purepoint financial, we have designed our modern approach to banking around you -- your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet s angeles. ns

captioning spoored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, striking back: formea. director john brennan claims by revoking his security clrance, president trump is trying to silence critics. then, more than 300 newspaper editorial boards across the country respond to the president's repeated attacks on the free press. and... >> ♪ i said it won't be long >> woodruff: the queen of soul exits the stage.we onsider the life and singular legacy of aretha franklin. >> singing is about communication. it's like communicating with the people sitting there in that auditorium and she worked on it and she showed tat whole world t meant to be a great singer.>> oodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.