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. When he lost his job, he lost his mind so says President Trump of his former top aide steve bannon in the wake of an explosive new book. Tough words, too, from the president for kim jongun over whose Nuclear Button is bigger. Meanwhile, north korea reopens a diplomatic hotline to the south. And the helping hand of science. How researchers in italy developed a bionic limb that feels like the real thing. Laura welcome to our viewers on Public Television and america and around the globe. Buttons and bannon that is the talk of this town, washington, d. C. , on only day three of the new year. President trump had controversial words on north koreas leader over the size of his Nuclear Button, and lashing out at steve bannon, former chief strategist, after a book quoted mr. Bannon describing a meeting between the president s son, soninlaw, and a russian lawyer as treasonous and unpatriotic. In a statement, mr. Trump claimed bannon had nothing to do with his presidency, and that when he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. The White House Press secretary fielded a barrage of questions on this with reporters asking if the spectacular war of words was due to the comments by bannon about the president s family. Ms. Sanders i think a number of factors played in. I would think that going after the president s son in an absolutely outrageous and unprecedented way is not the best way to curry favor with anybody. Laura Sarah Huckabee sanders. We are also hearing that President Trumps former Campaign Manager paul manafort, who has been indicted, is suing robert mueller, who is handling the investigation into ties between the Trump Campaign in russia. Thankfully, to go through all this, we were joined a short christie, ron christie, former adviser to president george w. Bush. The president is in a public feud with his former top election strategist and white house aide. Have you ever seen anything like this . Ron never seen anything like this. The fact that steve bannon came in to save the Trump Campaign, was the chief strategist, and then when the president won, brought him on to be the chief strategist two have fired him in august and then in have these january incendiary words coming from his former top aide is remarkable. Laura but also, bannon represents the insurgent populism that helped propel donald trump into the white house, and now there is a rift i dont know if trump represents the republican establishment, or what he represents, but the implications . Ron the implications are huge. Breitbart is a very conservative outlet that a lot of very conservative folks look to. Mr. Bannon was editorinchief before he worked for mr. Trump, and he has returned. Who will their allegiances be . Will they go to mr. Bannon or mr. Trump in the wake of the feud . I think it is too soon to say, but this is palace intrigue and those of us in washington love it, but it has strong implications for the conservative base as we move to 2018 and the midterm elections. Laura and the fact that the cutest about what steve bannon said in this new book about essentially the exposure of the trump family to Robert Muellers probe, what does that tell you about the president s state of mind . Ron the president is clearly worried about the russia investigation that is not showing any signs of wrapping up anytime soon, and for mr. Bannon to be quoted as saying that he thought it was not only not legal, but treacherous, treasonous, this is amazing coming from mr. Bannon, and i have to think that mr. Trump sitting in the west wing was so , so upset today. Oftentimes, laura, less is more in politics, and we have a long statement from the president. Laura and meanwhile, we have former Campaign Chair paul manafort, who himself has been , althoughy mueller not for matters related to russia he is suing the special counsel, saying that the investigation exceeds his legal authority. What do you make of that . Ron as a lawyer, i can tell you that a prosecutor has to have a scope of what they are looking for. What is the crime involved . Mr. Manafort very wisely is saying, you have exceeded your bounds, you are not looking at anything related to russia or collusion. You are just digging through my files, and the prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, and he thinks he has been indicted in ways that charges should not have been brought. Laura meanwhile, of course , republicans have to keep the government running beyond the middle of january. How does all of this brouhaha affect that . Ron i talked to my friends on capitol hill earlier today, laura, and all they are talking about is buttons and bannon. We have a very significant crisis we are headed towards. We need to keep the government open. We need to renegotiate daca status of undocumented people here. There are so many things that are are on the plate of congress right now, and you go to the white house, and it seems that this white house is distracted and consumed by itself. Laura ron christie, thank you for joining us. Ron great to see you. Laura the president s tough talk the past 24 hours is not confined to domestic feuds. On the international scene, mr. Trump had choice words for kim jongun, claiming that his Nuclear Button is bigger than the north Korean Leaders. Against the bellicose backdrop, north korea has reopened the diplomatic hotline to the south. Our correspondent rupert wingfieldhayes reports from seoul. Rupert on monday, kim jongun welcomed in the new year with a more conventional display of fireworks than the sort he has been firing off throughout 2017. But anyone who is helping his who was hoping his new year message would carry an offer of peace and goodwill was quickly disappointed. The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, he said, and the Nuclear Button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat. That was all the excuse President Donald Trump needed, and as we have come to expect, his response came in a twitter tirade. North Korean Leader kim jongun just stated that the Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times, the president tweeted. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime plese inform him that i, too, have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his, and my button works. 2018 has begun pretty much as d, with the president of the United States and the dictator of north korea hurling threats at each other while the rest of the world looks on, mostly in dismay. But here in seoul, 2018 has begun with a glimmer of hope, because as of this afternoon, north and south korea are talking to each other again by telephone. Out of the blue, pyongyang suddenly reconnected the hotline between the 2 koreas. Kim jongun had personally ordered it cut off two years ago. In his new years address, kim also said he was prepared to send a team to take part in the winter olympics, which begin here in south korea in a little over a month. The u. S. State department accused north korea of attending to drive a wedge between the u. S. And its south korean ally, and it could be right. But for the 20 Million People of seoul who live within firing range of north koreas artillery, any sign that pyongyang is willing to talk is a new year gift they will welcome. Rupert wingfieldhayes, bbc news, seoul. Laura in other news from around the world, Northern Europe is recovering from the brunt of storm eleanor. In france, big swells breached sea defenses. In switzerland, strong winds caused widespread damage. A passenger plane was flipped over by one particularly strong gust. The french president , emmanuel macron, says his government will introduce legislation to combat fake news during election campaigns. The law would enable judges to block websites that spread fake news and counter efforts by foreign governments to destabilize the democratic process. Amidst footage of a frustrated passenger on a european budget , it has got people watching with sympathy. After the plane was delayed, the man decided to leave through the emergency exit. He sat on the wing. As he could have predicted, he was arrested by airport security. We turn now to yemens bloody civil war, which has claimed thousands of lives and driven millions to the brink of starvation. Last year, the country was hit by the worlds worst cholera outbreak. Now diphtheria has returned on a scale not seen in years. The previously travel to a remote village the bbc has traveled to a remote village. Reporter hidden between mountains, it has mostly been spared of the violence of yemens civil war. But not its consequences. The people in this isolated village halfway between the warring cities of sanaa and aden have endured starvation, cholera, and had no schools and no health care. Now they face a new and entirely preventable threat. This 14yearold has diphtheria, a bacterial infection of the throat. If left untreated, it can kill within days. It has been virtually eradicated in most of the world, but has now come to yemen. At first she had a really bad fever. Then someone in the village died. Suddenly a second person died of a sore throat. My daughter was terrified. Whole throatm, my is white. It was so scary. Reporter this is what it looks like. When i see my children helpless and sick, it breaks my heart. My daughter will die, and we have nothing to treat her with. Reporter the outbreak was made worse by a blockade imposed by saudi arabia, which delayed medicine getting in. The offcamera offcamera, the villagers, who he did not film for their own safety, told me that the supplies that did make it here were taken by the Houthi Rebels who control the area. As ever, it is ordinary yemenis who suffer. Because the nurses and doctors didnt get paid for months they closed the local clinic. That is why these diseases spread cholera, diphtheria, and many others. Reporter the nearest hospital is an hours drive. The villagers cannot afford to get there. Can you show me the patients that came yesterday . Yes, i can show you. Diphtheria spread through the air, which is why it is transmitted so easily. This 10yearold is finally on the mend. This war has starved us of everything. We must fight for food, water, and medicine. Now we have nothing. God help us. This crisis, this war, it needs to end. It has starved us and made us feel with disease. We have been resilient, but now we cannot handle anymore. Enough is enough. Reporter this war has brought yemen to its knees. Airstrikes, starvation, now disease. The people here say all they have left is prayer. Laura so much suffering in yemen. The bbc is looking at the impact of our growing use of plastic on the planet. We are examining what happens to all the things we toss out like bottles and packaging. A recent study says 95 of plastic pollution in the worlds oceans comes from 10 rivers. One of those is in india. Our correspondent has been to the holy city to see the scale of the problem. Like ar this looks train carrying sewage, but the waste along its banks is choking and contaminating one of the world greatest rivers. Bottles, wrappers, cups, and other Plastic Waste is deposited here, slowly sliding through the water and eventually in here. For, some of indias greatest cities have been built along its banks. It is only when you come to the ancient city of varanasi that you realize how this money river that sustains this money river that sustains the lives of half a billion people is polluted as it is. It is more than a river to indians. It is sacred to hindus who pray and worship along its banks and cremate the dead in it. In the time it flows out of the heights of the himalayas until it gets here, the Crystal Clear waters give weight to a flow contaminated by the millions along its banks. Five generations have lived livinghe ganges, witnesses to the gradual degradation. Them up there is an old saying that the there is an old saying that ganges belongs to everyone. You can do what you want and achieve salvation. But we are being irresponsible. We do not have the right to pollute the ganges this way. Ago, the three years Indian Government pledged more than 2 billion pounds to clean up the ganges. But much of the money remains unspent, and the focus in any case is on treating sewage. The only people trying to prevent Plastic Waste from being dumped in the river are these pickers. 10 to 20day we pick up kilos of plastic. We have to sift through the rubbish and segregate the plastic. Reporter it is estimate of it every year, 1. 2 billion pounds of Plastic Waste is dumped into , much of it carried into the bay where the river is emptied out. Laura where that plastic goes. You are watching bbc world news america. Still on tonights program, tapping a brain bank to uncover the causes of ptsd and other disorders. How scientists in the u. S. Are hoping to find cures. In scotland, a polar bear has given birth for the first time in 25 years. It has not yet been seen. Up in the snowy hills of the highlands, listen carefully. Heardd which has not been in the u. K. For 25 years. The cries of a newborn polar the week before christmas, and they have been heard every day since. This is the dad, in a separate enclosure. Victoria the park is very excited. Me very excitedly to tell me she could hear the cub in the den, and it is a very loud noise that the cubs make some and she was very excited. Reporter they made it last year. This footage shows the polar bear cub on in the netherlands. They have a high mortality rate in the first week due to the undeveloped immune system, and the mothers need for privacy leads to many being abandoned. Were replicating as much as we can possibly in the natural habitat, and i think you see for yourself the conditions the fall of bears are in the polar bears are in and the enjoyment. Reporter male polar bears have no involvement in their offspring. He will never actually meet his cub, and the rest of us will have to win until the end of march. Victoria will emerge from her den with her baby or maybe even babies. Laura researchers in baltimore are trying to find out what leads to conditions like ptsd and depression. They have access to one of the Worlds Largest banks of donated brains, 2200 of them, and hope to find ways to treat these illnesses. This report by jane obrien contains laboratory scenes that are graphic. Jane ken remembers the happy times before his wife of 40 years succumbed to mental illness. This is a picture of our first dance together as husband and wife. Jane he is still trying to make sense of the personality changes that led to her suicide just a few months ago. He hopes donating her brain to research will help scientists find the answers. There is so much that needs to be known about people who have psychiatric illnesses and what is going on with the brain that research is the only way, and i hope they can find information that we can prevent Something Like this happening that people dont have to go through not only what we went through but are currently going through. Jane this is where paulas brain is being studied, the Worlds Largest brain bank, dedicated to finding biological causes for Mental Illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. I think we are understanding, these are illnesses that have a physical, chemical, molecular, structural basis. I think we take it away from being either a lack of character, a defect in will, and understand that this is a defect in function of the brain. Jane it all starts with the brain itself. Almost all come from people who have died unexpectedly, many victims of the opioid epidemic. Scientists look for signs of disease and other abnormalities and compare them to the Persons Mental Health history. They are starting to isolate genes that put some people at a higher risk. The man who started this vast collection of brains hopes the research will lead to better treatments based on genetic causes of mental illness. The genes for behavior disorders are not genes that guarantee you a disorder. They are not what we call fate genes. They are risk genes. It is like genes for heart attacks or stroke there is no gene that causes a heart attack. Jane finding new treatments has become increasingly urgent. More veterans die from suicide than in combat. But ptsd affects far more civilians. One in four of us will suffer some form of mental disorder in our lifetimes. Kens family could not be spared the tragedy of mental illness, but he hopes others might benefit from paulas death. It is a great picture. One of the things we tried to do at her funeral was celebrate her life. One of the things im celebrating about her life is she is doing something now for and other people in the future, and i feel and my kids feel very positive about that. Jane jane obrien, bbc news, maryland. Laura from the science of the brain, we turn to that of the body, and a global team of researchers who have unveiled the worlds first bionic hand with the sense of touch. An italian woman has been the first to try it out. Medical correspondent fergus walsh was given exclusive access and reports now from rome. Fergus a bionic hand with the sense of touch, and heres the proof. Blindfolded, she knows if the watch she is holding is soft or hard. She gets it right every time. Over lunch, she told me that nearly 25 years after losing her hand in a factory accident, it is almost like it is back again. The feeling is spontaneous, as if it read your real hand. As if it were your real hand. You are able to do things that before were difficult, like putting onssed, shoes, or mundane but important things. You feel complete. Fergus the worlds first feeling bionic hand, given to this danish man, never left the lab. The technology was just too bulky. Now nearly four years on, it is portable, allowing almerina to go back to her hobby of car mechanics. All the electronics are in her rucksack. Here is how it works. Sensors in the fingertips are linked to a computer. This converts the signals into a language the brain will understand. The information is relayed to it via tiny electrodes implanted in nerves in almerinas upper arm. This represents a significant advance in neuroprosthetics, the interface between machine and the human body. The next patient will not need a rucksack to carry the electronics, because they can be miniaturized and implanted under the skin, and the team here are hoping to do the same with the bionic leg, which would have pressure sensors in the foot. Engineers, computer scientists, and surgeons from several countries are involved in this eufunded research. A truly humanlike bionic hand is decades away, but the team here think it will happen. You see that we are going more and more in the direction of Science Fiction like movies like star wars. Luke skywalker after the nd. Utation at the e fully controlled, fully centralized processes, similar, identical to the human hand. Fergus since we filmed with almerina, she has had to give back her bionic hand, because it is still in the research stage. But she says when it is commercialized in a few years, she wants the feeling bionic hand back for good. Fergus walsh, bbc news, rome. Laura hope for almerina and millions of others. 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 americas 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 brangham good evening. Im william brangham. Judy woodruff is off today. On the newshour tonight a war of words. The president says steve bannon has lost his mind, after his former chief strategist describes a meeting between the Trump Campaign and some russians as treasonous. Then, a week of unrest in iran. We get the latest from tehran on what sparked the nationwide protests. And, how to avoid the drill at the dentist. We examine a new technique in the fight against cavities. The silvery liquid in this little bottle has lead to some big changes recently in the way some tooth decay is being treated. Brangham plus, for all you book lovers, we are excited to announce, the newshour is teaming up with the New York Times and viewers like you, for a new book club. All that and more, on