America. Reporting from washington, i am laura trevelyan. Britains Prime Minister is gambling on general election. He will give mps more time to debate his brexideal if they will let the people vote. Prime min. Johnson it itime the opposition summed up the nerve to submit themselves to the judgment of our collective boss, the people of u. K. Laura rubcans fight the impeachment inquiry by attacking the process, as the president calls for lawmakers to defend him more aggressively. We size up the strategy. Plus, what ever happened to Union Boss Jimmy Hoffa in 1975 . We speak to an author with a personal connection to this unsolved mystery. Laura for those watching on pbs and around the globe, welcome to world news america. For britains Prime Minister, there is no getting away from brexit. Now he has allowed asked parliament to hold a general election on december 12. If mps agree, it will give them even more time to debate his brexit deal,l,n early christmas present. Mr. Johnson does not have the power to call an election, so lawmakers will decide what to do on monday. Heres our Political EditorLaura Kuenssberg. Laura k. is there any clear way out of the storm . Downing street wants a route to a general election. After weeks of negotiations with brussels, numbmb 10 did strike a deal. Mps rejected the Prime Ministers plpl to force it through at top speed. Now he wants to force them to go to the country. Prime min. Johnson the way to get brexit done is i think to be reasonable with parliament and say that if they genuinely want more time to study this excellent deal, they can have it, but they have to agree to a general election on december 12. It is time, frankly, that the opposition summed up the nerve to submit themselves to the judgment of our collective boss, the people of the u. K. Laura you are e eentially trying to blackmaiaiparliament with the threat of an election to ram through your bill. Prime min. Johnson no, come on, we have had three and a half years. Laura not looking at this bill. Prime min. Johnson most of this bill is familiar to parliamentarians. Laura what makes you think the opposition could give you your weight is time your way this time . They could just keep you t hostage. Prime min. Johnson they could, but i think it would be ablutely morally incredible if they were to do so. This is a party, the labour party, jeremy corbyn, called endlessly for a general election. Laura if mps do not agree to your dand, what will you do . Prime min. Johnson we would campaign day after day after day for the people of this country to be released from m bjection to a parliament that has outlived its usefulness, that is refusing to get brexit done. Laura even some of his cabinet, though, are not convinced this is a good idea. We should make sure we try to get everybody on board. Laura and it is simply not in the governmens control. Are we heading for a general election . Laura the Prime Minister needs two thirds of mps to back him to get election. So many of us laura labor might already be holding rallies, ready for a fight. Crowds of their members might want an election. But plenty of mps do not. The leadership wont say yes or no until the eu answers the e governments request for a delay. Take nodeal off the tatae and we absolutely support an election. Ive been calling for an election since the last one because this country needs one to deal with all the social injustices. But nodeal must be taken off the table. Laura but the smaller parties are tempted if brussels agrees a delay. Liberal democrats will keep ropean union ande willthe get involved in Boris Johnsons tantrums. Boris johnson is playing games, and we must make sure we dont dance to his tune. The opposition parties need to show leadership and determine when and how the election is going to be called. Laura Boris Johnson may find himself trapped in downing street. This is the third time number 10 has tried to call an election. Lucky for who this time . Laura t. Laura Kuenssberg reporting there. The question now is whether Boris Johnson willllet his general election. The bbcs vicki young has this analysis from parliament. Vicki one senior conservative backbencher on hearing this news said it is ridiculous, Boris Johnson is pretending he has power in this relationship with parliament. He doesnt. And that is because he is 23 mps short of any kind of majority. It is hard for him to get much through parliament, although h h did get his queens speech info ote through today. He cant really govern. Lots of his own mps, they think, most of them, what he should do is carry on with that bill. That is the Withdrawal Agreement bill. Went through its first stage earlier this week. They think he should bring that back to the house of commons and try and get that through first before doing anything else. There was really not much of an appetite here certainly amongst labour mps, nor amongst conservative mps, for a general election, particularly one held so close to christmas. Laura vicki young reporting from westminster. Now to politics in the u. S. President trump has praised House Republicans for being tough a day after lawmakerss rushed into a closeddoor hearing. They were protesting what they say is a secretive and unfair impeachment inquiry led by democrats. Representative Markwayne Mullin of oklahomwas one of the members who stormed the secure room on capitol hill. I asked him earlier if he had any regrets over his partys tactics. Rep. Mullin we didnt cause any disruptions. We simply went in, we sat down at the hearing, just like other members of congress were, which we can do at any otherearing going on at the United States capitol. They decided they were going to get up and take the witness, ms. Cooper, with her and not proceed with the hearings. We decided we were going to stay. There is no reason why this process isnt open and transparent for the media to cover and the American People to witness. Laura but democrats are saying it will hold open hearings in midnovember. Is that good enough . Rep. Mullin they just now announced that, so what we did yesterday was bring the attention of therican people. I consider what we did very vital, and the media should be happy about it, too. Listen, if this can happen to the presidt of the United States, who is protected by the same bill of rights and Constitutional Rights as we are, every american regardless of whether you are a democrat or republican, regardless of whether you support the president or dont, should be very scared, because dont kid yourself. If adam schiff and n ncy pelosi can do this to the president , they can do it to you. We dont have a judicial system that works that way. Laura but it is in the constitution congressman, it is in the constitution, it is up to the house to run the impeachment inquiry how it wishes. Is there a danger for you that you look like you are attacking the process because you cannot defend wt the president did . Rep. Mullin it is nothing to do with that. It is defending the president because the constitution is very clear. It is clear thaimpeachmenthm will be handled by the house of representatives. That power belongs to us. It also says that impeachment can move fororrd if treason, bribery, high crimes or misdemeanor has been committed. And Andrew Johnson case, the first case of a president who was impeached, he committed a crime by trying to remove the secretary of war that was protected by t t tenure act. With richard nixon, he used the Intelligence Committee to gain political favor. A crime was committed. Underneath bill clinton, he lied to a grand jury. A crime had beenommitted. Be all three cases before impeachment inquiry proceeded, a crime had been committed. In this case, there has been no crime committed. Laura congressman, the president has thanked you for being tough. Do you think you wililget even tougher and escalate your protests as this continues . Rep. Mullin listen, we are not trying to escalate anything. We just want the democrats to be fair in this process and include everybody, including the American People. This should not be a kangaroostyle court. It was max rose, congressman rose, who went out and said that the president is saying he is innocent and all we are saying is prove it. Our judicial system doesnt work that way. It is clear that you are innocent until proven guilty. In this case, the president is innocent. There has been no crime committed. We want to make sure the American People to see the process. Laura congressman Markwayne Mullin, thank you so much for joining us. Rep. Mullin thank you. Laura for more on the republican strategy and what happens next, i spoke earlier with the bbcs anthony zurcher. What is the latest move by republicans as they try to rebuff this impeachment inquiry into the president . Anthony this afternoon, South Carolina republican senator Lindsey Graham announced he will be bringngg forward a bill in the senate, nonbinding bill, that would criticize the house for these impeachment hearings being conducted behind closed doors. Once again you are seeing republicans objecting to the process bl this and not necessarily trying to defend donald trump on the details of the allegations. At least for the moment they feel like they can make more had headway by that line of criticism rathererhan picking through a point by point defense. Laura but this has been a big week in the impeachment inquiry, with that evidence by ambassador bill taylor that the president did withhold aid to ukraine. Is that having an impact behind the scenes on the republicans . Anthony you saw the republicans yesterday go down and disrupted the hearing in the secure location. It is a reflection of the fact thatathe way democrats are conducting this now is damaging. They are doinghis where they can release details that are the most explosive. We saw the Opening Statement from taylor, which was pretty devastating to the white houses defense that there was no quid pro quo, that military aid wasnt being held up to get these investigations opened by the ukraininn government. In that case, republicans fe like they need to find some way to disrupt the momentum because the way it is trending, it feels like the democrats are the ones who are setting the message and the republicans are finding it difficult to counter that. Laura just briefly, what is Public Opinion . Where is that on the impeachment inquiry . Anthony well, in the beginning before this all started Public Opinion was not for an impeachment inquiry. We have seen it move towards supporting the inquiry, not necessarily removal yet. But it is becoming more of a partisan division, which could be one of the reasons you saw Lindsey Graham bring up the senateesolution. If momentum is moving away fm them, the sooner they can get republican senators locked down and objecting to the wle process, maybe that would help them if it does comemeo a senate trial where they are already on the record. Laura anthony zurcher, thanks much for being with us. Anthony my pleasure. Laura a little footte project is. Attending the baseball world series this week the nationals who play in washington, d. C. , and were the underdogs come are leading the bestofseven series 20. In other news now from arounun the world, at at least three people have died after floods hit the south of france. Around 2000 firefighters and rescue workers were deployed to the region where rivers burst their banks and blocked roads and caused significant damage. More than half a million homes and businesses in california are facing power cuts this week asas wildfires rage in the state. The fire, which is being driven by strong winds, has engulfed more than 101000 acres of land. Hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate. Police say the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in essex were all chinese. It arrived from belgium overnight and was collected by a lorry driver from Northern Ireland. Hes being questioned by detectives on suspicion of murder. Forensic teams have begun the taskskf removing the bodies of 31 men and eight women from the container. Ed thomas reports. Ed under Police Escort and by private ambulance at night, the first of the 39 chinese nationals have been removed from the lorry trailer. Police said the priority was preserving their respect and didiity. An unwanted reminder, too, what happened 20 years ago. Here, 58 chinese immigrants suffocated in a lorry. It took months for all those who died to be identified. Sam doesnt want to remember. He moved from china 40 years ago. When i heard the news this morning, all the 39 people natialities are chinese, i say why, how its happened again . Ed he lives a works close to where the bodies were found this week. 39 people died in freezing cold in the container, in the dark, and no one help. Ed this is now a Major International investigation. Belgian Authorities Say the container arrived into the port at around half past 2 00 tuesday afternoon. It left there, heading across the channel and arriving at purfleet in essex. Five p pt 1 00 yesterday morning, the trailer was collected by a lorry. Half an hour later, ambulance staff discovered all 39 bodies inside the containin. This man makes the same journey to the port of purfleet. These are the checks he does every day. If anything was in there, you would see it straightaway. I have seen people jumping out of trailers, jumping out of containers, running around. Ed what are the feelings amongst drivers . E eryone is terrified they will find meone inheir vehicles, or worse. Ed in 2016, the National Crime agency wnethmuggling gangs were moving from major hubs to smaller ports. This man worked at purfleet at the time of the rerert. He did not want to show his face. It happened daily. Ed what was the largest number of people . Vietnamese, 30, 32 of them. Crammed into a little 10by12 room. You become used to it, strange as it sounds. There wasnt big security, probably four people. People with crutches trying to get away, some with children. Ed security at purfleet . Not near enough. Ed tonight, police are still questioning the lorry driver on suspicion of murder. He has been named in Northern Ireland as 25yearold mo robinson. Please say it will take all police say it wl take all weekend to remove the bodies and to begin to find the answers they need. Laura you are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on tonights program, an indepth look at the illegal elephant trade. The baby elephants were taken from families in zimbabwe to be sold to china. Laura the rescue services in scotland had praised the 10yearold boy who scrambled down a ravine to help his seriously injured mother after she slipped and fell more than 300 feet. The boy managed to ring for help using his mothers mobile phone and was able to tell paramedics where she had fallen on the mountain. Mountata rescue workers who came to her eight are calling him a hero. This report on extraordinary story of a young boy who helped save his mother. Reporter in darkness and harsh weather, a rescue is happening on a scottish mountain. She has been packaged onto the stretcher, and you can see the winch men from the helicopter managing the stretcher. And then the left as the helicopter starts towito winch e stretcher up. There are quite significant risks at this point because of the helicopter hovering 80 meters above us and managing the stretcher between the trees and on the steep ground. Reporteres but the extraordinay thing about this rescue is at the heart of it is a 10earold boy. After his mother fell come he scrambled down the mountto find her. He used her mobile phone to Call Emergency Services and stayed with her for hours, reassuring her and keeping her conscious, which may well have made a big events to her chances of surviving. Big difference to her chances of surviving. He probably did save her life by calling the police and interacting with the police and bringing us to her location quickly. Reporter the mom is being treated for serious injuries, but it is hoped she will make a full recovery. The family dont want to talk about their ordeal at the moment, but the rescue team will be recommending her son for Bravery Award for his actions on the night he kept his mother alive. Laura Animal Welfare groups are condemning reports that up too0 young elephants were flown from zimbabwe to be checked in zoos in china. They cities animals were separated from their mothers a year ago, and the fear is they will be traumatized. But officials in zimbabwe have defended the move, claiming the money raised will save other animals. Andrew harding reports. Andrew secret footage of several dozen young zimbabwean elephants crowd enclosure waiting to be shipped to china for the rest of their lives. They have been kept in captivity for a year already, separated from their families. Zimbabwean Authorities Say that selling them is the right thing to do, there are sadly too many elephants in the country. The money they will earn from china will savavother lands now at risk of a terrible drought. The last two weeks alone, at least 55 elephants have died of starvation and. And thirst. There is no food, there is no water. That is why we are saying to the international community, this is our problem, allow us to trade. Andrew this cargo plane flew at least 30 of the elephants out of zimbabwe. But the process was secretive, prompting fears of corruption anoutrage from Animal Welfare groups. Sadly they are in for more of a miserable life than they already had after being ripped from their families and mothers. They are going to be living in captivity. Andrew this is the kind of park where the elephants may end up. More than 100 have already been sold to china. , new International Rules will make this trade much harder. Zimbabwe insist that selling a handful of animals serves a greater good. Campaigners say that is not the point, that elephants live in close family groups and the young should not be stolen from thth. And andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. Laura the secret global trade in elephants, luckily soon to be performed. It is one of the most famous unsolved crimes in American History whatever happened to jimmy hoffa, the onetime leader of the Teamsters Union . He disappeared in 1975, never to be seen again. The man who became an immediate suspect was chucky obrien, hoffas righthand man. Now obriens stepson has written a book about t t case. Jack goldsmith is a former government lawyer and author of in hoffas shadow. Joined me a short time ago. Thanks for being with us. Jack thanks for having me. Laura you were 12 years old when jimmy hoffa disappeared. Your stepfather became a suspect. What was thahatime like . Jack it was a crazy time because i barely knew my stepfather. He had been my stepfather for a few weeks, i had just known him for a few months. I adored him. Id already come to idolize him and then jimmy hoffa disappears. It was a notorious frontpage event for months, as was his face on the front page of all the National Newspapers and fbi suspicions. It was a very difficult time. Laura can you explain to our viewers how the disappearance of jimmy hohoa became this mystery that captited america . Jack a lot of reasons. One, hoffa was a largerthanlife figure e the 1950s and 1960s and 70s. He was a labor leader when the Labor Movement mattered in the60 United States. He was an idol of the working man but he had ties to organized crime. So he was this controversial figure. He had been in j jl, had gotten out of jail, was making an effort to take back control of the union. The reason it stayed such a mystereris this very famous person literally vanished into thin air one afternoon july 30, 1975, and nobody knows what happened to him. There were a lot of theories. My stepfather was a suspect for a long time. But there is no evidence of what happened. Laura you became estranged from your stepfather and you reconciled with him. You went back to find out what happened. He was a suspect. Did your stepfather kill jimmy hoffa . Jack no, he didnt. He was accused of picking him up and driving him to his killers. I became convinced he didnt for a lot of reasons i stated in the book. The main reason i have a lot of confidence, in addition to the evidence i uncovered, is because the federal bureau of investigation doesnt think he did it, although they have not made that fact public. Laura did you find d t who did kill jimmy hoffa . Jack i know who the government thinks did it and i did not mention the persons name for a bunch of reasons in the book. They think they know who picked him up. They think it was a man who picked him up in the parking lot and they think they know the identity of the person who killed him, that person is no longer alive. I doubt they will prove who did it. Laura in reconciling with your stepfather, chucky obrien, did you learn a life lesson yourself . Jack i learned a lot of lessons. I cut him out of my life in my 20s. I did so for a lot of reasons. I thought he had a Bad Influence my life on my life and i was thinking about my career. For 20 years i didnt talk to him. As i got older and went through difficult experiences in the government, i came to see that a lot of the things he told me as a young man had a lot more validity and truth than i realized. I had my own children and i came to understand through them how terribly painful what i did to him as a young man must have been. As i got older, i begato think less of my virtue and more of his. I asked for forgiveness in my rly 40s and he gave it to me. Laura jack goldsmith, thank you jack thank you very much. Laura before we go, washington is paying tribute totoongressman Elijah Cummings ofaryland, who died last week. Today his body was brought to the u. S. Capitol, where it will lie in state until his funeral on friday. He is the first africanamerican lawmaker to receive the honor. The son of sharecroppers, he became a civil rights leleer and earn respect and friendship from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Formererresidents barack obama and bill clinton are due to speak at his funeral. Remember, you can find much more of all of the days news at our website. I am laura trevelyan. Thank you so much for watching bbc world news america. Announce funding for this presentation is made possible by. The freeman foundation; by judy and peter blumkovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs; and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Is just up here. Thats where. Man she took me out to those weapons. I think were off to a great start. Judy good evening im judy woodruff. On the newshour tonight, heeding the call of the white house. More republican lawmakers attack the impeachment process, but steer clear of declaring the president innocent of claims that he tied military aid to political gain. Then, prisoner of conscience. A conversation with pastor andrew brunson, held captive in turkey for two years on false charges. And by the numbers. As Creative Industries rely more on data they gather from consumers, concerns grow over privacy and the line between artist and computer begins to blur. The author is not