>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible byee the n foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutionfor america's neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with aision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to chisel. we stripway everything that stands in the way to reveal new possibilities. at purepoint financial, we have designed our modn approach to nking around you --

your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> and now, "bbc world news. "bbc world news." jane: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am jane o'brien. hurricane florence is being felt along the carolina coast. it is just the start of what could be days of damaging weather. laura: the wind and the rate is lashing us here in wilmington, north carolina. the leading edge of hurricane hast arrived, e worst is yet to come. jawn: as this storm bears do, the president disputes the death toll from last year's hurricane maria in puerto rico, claiming the number was inflated by democrats. and they graduated just as thena fincial crisis hit, so what happened to the class of 2008?

tonight we catch up with them a decade o jane: welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. all week, the east coast of the u.s. has been bracing for rricane florence, and th storm is beginning to make itself felt. along the carolina coast, the winds have picd up and the rain has started to fall. although the storm has weakened to a category 2, the impact could still be catastrophic. the bbc's laura trevelyan is in wilmington, north carolina, and we can cross to her now the conditions do seem to be worsing. what is like there? they absolutely are, jane. we have the rain bands that are pounding the coastline. this is just the very beginning of hurricane florence.

we are beginning to see the winds pick up. all this, and we don't even expect the hurrifane to make la until friday morning. this is going to be a massive rainhavent. we justhe governor of north carolina saying to reople that tn is what they need to worry about. remember, rivers keep on recing. we are eng this hurricane to linger off the coast and dump rain on us maybe four days, the governor just said. i call it chris buckler has all the very latest. -- my colleague chris buckler has all the very latest. chris: on the edge of the wind carolinas,e of the the wind water is rising. the this is just a taste of what florence threatens. the hurricane has been making its slow approach from the atlantic, and if what has been forecast comes true, days of flooding lies ahead. >> there is talk of storm surges of nine feet, and we could be

going to two high tides. so, no, i'm not sure. i'm neous. i would beying if i said fferent. chris: the hurricane has been downgraded to a category two storm, but the authorities are doing everything they can to emphasize how dangerous it remains. >> don't get complacent. stay on guard. this is a powerful storm that can kill. today, the threat becomes a reality. chris: home after home lies boarded up here. families who live in the path of florence have been listening to those warnings. this storm is likely to threaten both property and lives. in t middle of the afternoo downtown wilmington was deserted. shops abandoned,h wit sandbags place optimistically at the doors, and a few people making last-minute efforts. >> didn't feel like panic until

sterday for some people. you could see the look on theirh face you were picking up batteries or last-minute water. chris: emergency teams haven gatheredwns along the coastline.e no one can bsure who will feel the full force of florence, butl they feel theybe needed as the storm pushes onto land. chris buckler, bbc wilmington. jane: laura, the fact that this has been downgraded to category two,re you getting any sense that people are getting complacent where you are? laura: no, not really. just a few a stalwar riding out the storm, but pretty much everyone else -- we are in a mandatory evacuation area. don't be complacent about the fact that it is a category two hurricane. it is still a category five

threat. widena as the as carooast line, and the fact that it will linger here ump rain for days and rivers in land, as i saw and rricane harvey last year in houston. that is the really big concern here, jane jane: thank you very much indeed for joining us. trumporning president created another storm with a flurry of tweets rejecting the revised death toll from hurricane maria, which floiced puertolast year. he cimed democrats were inflating 3000 deaths to make him look bad. i was joined by ron christie, former advisor to george w. bush.ng thanks for joie. why would you question the death toll of one natural disaster when you are trying to deal with the impact of another? ron: i think it is a question of timing. what is the president doing this right w? he should be coordinating with the state and local ofcials to

ensure that those who are in taken care of. the notion that he will talk about the disaster that took place in puerto rico last year when w something hitting the east coast is terrible optics. this should not be a time for politics. this should be a time to make sure people are evacuated safely. jane: what is the impact when h makes himself ory in this way? ron: i think a lot of americans and people around the world are wondering why the focus is always on him. why isn't it the people you were elected to serve?wh isn't it about making sure you are coofiinating with als to make sure they are safe. this is not the donald trump show. this is a major natural disaster that is at our shores in the southeastern part of the united states let's focus on that instead. jane: president bush had his katrina moment that you will remember -- you were his advisor. is this trump's? ron: i think puerto rico was trump's katrina ment. what i fear is that things are getting worse. we saw earlier today the

president putwe out a saying that the democrats are out to get him. the american people see this for what it is. it looksks petty, it l insolent, it does not look like a commander-in-chief ready to mobilize the forces to protect people. that is what they wanted back in katrina, that is what they want from the president now. jane: to be clear, what is the mistake here, politicizing this or questioning the death toll in puerto rico? ron: it is the politicization of it. he can talk about the numbers later. why on earth would you talk about democrats out to get him when one is out to get the united states is a natural hurricane? that is what is headed our way, and it shouldn't be politics heading his way or democrats he doesn't agree with. jane: very briefly, fema has launched a rumor control page for hurricane florenc what do you make of that? ron: not much at all. this is the federal agency that is supposed to manage disaster. that is what the acronym snds for. this is not the fake news division of emergency response. they should be talking about

where people can go for shelter, where people can go to get food, coordinate with the red cross.ha the notionour agency is talking about ending fake news and rumors i think is disgraceful. jane: ron christie, thanks for joining me. as always. jane: let's have a look at some of the day's eyher news. tu central-bank has raised interest rates to 24 percent in the test move to stop the devaluation of the country's currency, the lira. it comes hours after president erdogan voiced his opposition to higher interest rates and banned the use of foreign currencies for selling and renting property. world a leade royalty have paid respects to one of africa's most famous diplomats, kofi annan. the funeral service of the former u.n. secretary general was held in his home country of ghana. thousandof people filed past his coffin, which had been lying in state. today there has been anothere bizaist in the salisbury

nerve agent attack. the two men naped as suspects ared on russian state television and denied being involved. they dismissed british claims that they were intelligence officers, insisting instead that they worked in the fitness industry, and that the taken a short break in the u.k. to visit the cathedral. gordon corera reports. britainlast week presented themsss a pair of n military intelligence officers, assassins, sent with agents to kill. day we saw a different side. they were, said a kremlin-funded tourists who had come to salisbury to see the sights. >> what were you doing tre? >> our friends have been suggesting for long time that we visit his wonderful time. >> salisbury a wonderful tn? >> yes.

a tourist town. >> there is the famous salisbury cathedral, famous not only in europe, but the whole wld. it is famous for its 123-meter ouspire, ffor its clock, the one of the first ever created in the world that is still working. gordon: salisbury's cathedral certainly is a tourist drattractioning visitors from all over the world. but just how plausible is the story of these two russians set enout against the ev laid out by the police last week? there is the question of the motive for their trip, flying to moscow on friday, march 2, all to see salisbury. and their movements -- the two russians gave up sightseeinin salisbury saturday, becauer, they say, was too much slush. they returned on sunday.

cctv captures them arriving at the station at 11: 48. rather than heading to the tourist sites they said they wanted to, sey were spotted close to survey skripal's -- sergei skripal's house. the images captured on ts cctv picture. police believe it was around this te that novichok was smeared on the door handle, poisoning sergei and his daughter yulia. the interviewer asked the men if they approached the house. >> maybe we passed it or maybe we did it. i had never heard of them before this nightmare started. i never heard his name before. i didn't know anything about them. gordon: they are seen heading back to the station from the city center. an hour and 10 minutes is not long to see the sites you have come from moscow for. it is alleg they discarded this perfume bottle, which had been carrying the novichok. it was found mons later and

poisoned charlie rally and killed dawn sturgess. thrussians deny bringing it into the country. customs,ou go through they check all your belongings. if we had anything suspicious, officers would ask questions. why would a man have women's perfume in his luggage? gordon: the interviewer never asked why a trace of novichok was said to be found in the london hotel they stayed in. the interview raised another question -- who are the pair? the british government says they are russian intelligence officers using fake names. in the interview, they seemed unwilling to go into details of their back story, such as their , as thetrsaid sports ionists, and they declined to provide identity documents. >' i dont think any of the interview is plausible. i c watched itple times now. --a defense lawyer, might as

my advice to them would be to keep quiet and wait for trialer your alibi will be tested by evidence. gordon: the war of words over what really happened in salisbury will go on, but today's awkward account may have done the russian case more harm than good. gordon corera, bbc news. jane: as russia remains defiant regarding the salisbury attack, the country's troops are taking part in the biggest military exercise since the cold war. in eastern siberia, soldiers are paradi at a weeklong event with thousands of tanks and armored vehicles taking part. steve rosenberg is thed he has this report. a warning, there is flash photography. stee: from over the hills, russians are coming. they are the largest russianuv mas since the cold war. a third of the entire russian armed forces is taking part, says moscow. and joining them here, troops from china. under pressure from the west, russia tilting east.

the army invited us to watch the show. cre aim of the exercises as the russn far east, to test combat readiness. the drls, moscow insists, purely defensive. some expertsuspect the russians have inflated troop numbers. but the show of strength was indisputable. we weren't the only ones watching. vladimir putin followed the drills and then pledged to makee russia's forces even stronger. pres. putin: russia is a peaceloving country.ve we don't ny aggressive plans. but we have a duty to the motherland, to be read defend russian sovereignty, security, and a national interests. steve:he message russia wants to send with all this is pretty clear, thait has a powerful army, powerful allies in the

east, and that moscow has no intention of givg in to pressure from the west. and that is where china comes in. presidents putin and xi have been cooking up a strategic partnership as a counterweight to the west.ee moscow scloser ties with beijing as a recipe for surviving western sanctions. >> russia always wanted to be integrated into the west. now this era is over, and russia needs a very strong external partner which can provide technology, nemarkets, and investments. that is china. russia is slowly drifting into embra i,firm definitelyoring the bigger picture. i think it is dangerous and shortsighted. jane: in courting -- steve: in courting china, will

russia end up the junior partner? it is determined not to. moscow continues to see itself as a military superpower. steve rosenberg, bbc news, siberia. watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight's program, 20 years after can start that the investigation into bill clinton,e has a book on that to most was time. on that total to us tim the u.s. isn't the only place dealing with dangerouss. -mangkhut is threatening to reach havoc in the philippines. it is packing winds of up to 250 kilomers an hour. reporter: heavy rocks tying down houses in the north in the hope that it might save their vulnerable homes when typhoon mangkhut arrives.

the philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year. the destruction killing hundredv and g millions in a cycle yp poverty. but this super thoon has been described as the strongest yet of 2018. schools and offices have been ordered shut, thousands are evacuating. at about 900 kilometer diameter, the storm is expected to pack powerful wind speeds with heavy rains triggering landsles and flash floods. storm surges, too, are a big set -- big threat, with highways likely to inundate the coastline. but the biggest fear is for the estimated 10 million people in the path of the storm. it worries authorities and rescue services will be stretched thin. >> the important thing is for the government to make sure the that aton happens, evacuation centers, there is no panic, and you can provide food,

the government is ready with food. reporter: officials don't wantee to repeat of the super typhoon which killed thousands in 2013, affecting millions of people, many forced from their homes. this time, as people prepare and veock up on supplies, some say they plan to stay in the hope they can protect their property. uper jane this weekarks the 20th anniversary of the report that led to the impeachment of president clinton. the man behind that report, ken starr, was the man who led the investigation into bill tod hillary c's land dealings in arkansas. he is out with a memoir of his special counsel, and he

joined katty kay and christiir fraser for t program "beyond 100 days." christian: 20 years! why 20 years to get itut? ken: [laughter] i wasn't writing it all that time, i must say. i was occupi and frankly, not eager to write about an unhappy perience for the entire nation, certainly for all of us swept up in it. the time had come. hillary had lost the election. we were coming up on 20ears. my memory was in danger of fading, and i wanted this to be a memoir, personal account of what happened to our nation now 20 years ago. christian: you say that you felt besieged while you were theor special prosecand i'm sure bob mueller, current special prosecutor did you feel that bill clinton sas coming after you in th way that donald trump is going

after special prosecutor mueller? ken: yes, in fact, bill clinton was much more fective, i think, than the current president. bills clintonperson of great gifts, charisma, but he also knows how to get nasty work done primarily through the work of others. but at critical times, he would in fact make statements that were extrely injurious to the orderly conduct of the investigation. there was no twitter and the like. donald trump is just totally outspoken, and think if anything, right downs to the president-- redounds to the president's detriment. spurs up the bass and so forth. i don't think it is wise on the esident's part or appropriate on the president's part. as i explain in the narrative with these echoes of the past back and being heard a loud and clear as the first tool

for criminal defense lawyer and his client, viciously attacked a prosecutor, pry to take the ecutor out. we have to asks you t question because you probably have more insight than anybody else in the country -- 20 years on from having gone through something that you call an unhappy experience for the whole nation, and the midterms in 1998 for that out -- americans were not interested in a long, drawn out impeachment proceeding -- do you think the country is on the verge of going through a similar experience again? ken: i think there is a danger of that, and one of thremessages of mections in the book is america, don't go there. i think there was a chance in 98 ear 1999, to have a resolution which everyone coulda have felt bettut -- mainly to censure the president for his conduct -- i'm not talking about the morality of the issue. that is utterly irrelevant

is a strawman. but rather, his conduct as a witness -- committing perjury, obstructing justice have the referral before you. it is part of history now. ke some pride in the fa professionally -- i take no personal pri -- in the fact that all of those conclusions were never re utted. they wsentially accepted. jane: ken starr speaking earlier. talking of annirsaries, it is 10 years ago that lehman brothers collapse triggering a global financial crisis. the fallout has bn wide-ranging, with economic impact around the world. what about those who had the bai luck to gradua2008? the bbc's kim gittleson looks at the ongoing consequences for generation. kim: in 2008, more than 1.5 million students graduated from university here and stepped right into the worst financial crisis since the great depression. i am one of them, and like everyone else, i was caught offs guarce no one seemed to see it coming.ve i een traveling across the

united states to ask my fellow 2008 graduates, what happened to us? first stop, las vegas. talk to me a little bit about in the leadup to when you graduated in 200 what was going through your mind? >> especially in las vegas, i was seeing a lot of people foreclosing onheir homes, people love being ab to find that people not being able to find jobs or being let go from jobs. kim: grateful to find work in 2008, nora has been in the same job for the past decade. that has had consequences. do you think you would have had children sooner hathe economy been better, had you felt more financially secure? s >> i thi in terms of i spent the last decade really concentrating on getting a stable career, saving enough money. kim: n are expecting their first baby. edke nora, a lot of us dec to wait to have kids.

since the financial crisis, there have been 4.8 million fewer babies born than demographers were expecting. that is not the only thing that happened to us. dominique graduated from howard university in 2008. >> i was told, youava bachelors, you can take it and do anything with it, right? kim: she found thereno wer jobs. >> to come back and not be able to land a job you feel like you deserve and feel like i worked hard academically to get this. gosh, it was hard. kim: it is not all bad news. eric thinks the financial crisis taught our generation an important lesson. >> i thinkgrhose of us who uated in 2008 really learned the hard way they need to be patient, they need to stay hungle, when you are thinki about your career. kim: for a generation once described as selfish and self absorbed, 10 years on from the financial crisis when we asked what the biggest change has been, the answer mightust be

us. kim gittleson, bbc news, cambridge. jane: and i am jane o'brien. vthankery much for watching world news america." >> with the bbc news appveour rtical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so u can swipe your way through the news of the day and stay up-to-date with the latest headlines yocan trust. download now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americs neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> 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 purepoint financial, we have designed our modern approach to banking around you -- p yons, your goals, your dreams. t yoorrow is now. purepoint financial.ne >> "bbc worl" was presented by kcet los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, hurricane florence slows as it bears down on the carolinas, bringing dangerous winds and potentially historic rainfall. then, we take a look at the border crisis as the number ofde ined migrant children reaches a record level. plst, i sit down with journa bob woodward to discuss "fear," his new book on the inner rmoil of the trump white house. >> i've done rorting for 47 years, never heard anything like this where there was battle between the president and all his key advisers. >> woodruff: plus, a new project explores why tropical forests ve