From most major airports. More information for your vacation planning is available at aruba. Com. And now, bbc world news. Jane this is bbc world news america. Reporting from washington, im jane obrien. At least 15 people are dead and a desperate search for survivors is underway in california after mudslides destroy homes and turn highways into rivers. A democratic hoax that is what President Trump labels the russia investigation, firing back at his critics and maintaining there was no collusion. President trump for 11 months, they have had this phony cloud over this administration, over our government, and it has hurt our government. It does hurt our government. Jane also on the program bringing cavemen to the big screen. Actor Eddie Redmayne is among those giving our early ancestors a new voice. Jane welcome to our viewers on Public Television in america and around the globe. Southern california has been the scene of horrific mudslides. At least 15 people are known to have died, airlifts have been called to mosquitoes trapped in their homes, and emergency crews are digging through waistdeep mud. James cook reports from the town of montecito. James on californias pacific coast, ordeal by the elements continues. First, they endured the largest fire in the states history. Next came torrential rain more intense than anyone here could remember. And then within minutes, destruction caused by an unstoppable wall of mud and debris. 14yearold Lauren Canton survived, but even she doesnt know how. Firefighters using rescue dogs heard her screams and worked for hours to pull her from the wreckage of her home. Her familys fate is unknown. Everyone here, it seems, has their own incredible story of a struggle to survive. Once the boulders and trees came through our house, we climbed up on the roof and waited until the creek went down a bit and then we climbed off the roof and got to our neighbors garage, and we got pulled out of there by the firefighters now. He has been out rescuing neighbors. We heard a little baby. Doug down and found a little baby. Got it out. Got the mud out of its mouth. I hope it is ok. The target right to the hospital. It right to the hospital. Just a baby 4 feet down. There was a young man that was washed away that ended up by halfmile away from here on the freeway and survived that. He has recall of actually being washed through under vehicles and survived that. Jane these pictures show the rescue of a family of five. First, a mother and her newborn baby taken to safety. Then a little girl makes it onto the roof. Her sevenyearold brother is saved, too. Terrifying moments, but they are the lucky ones. How do you describe it . It is devastating what happened. The fire created a situation where the dirt was able to watch wash down. Had we still had all of the vegetation on the hills, it would not have been as much of an issue. We just feel very sorry for the people who lost their homes and lives. Coast village road. Montecito, montecito. James so why did this happen . The downpour soaked an area that had been scorched by wildfires, burning grass and shrubs that held the soil in place, and baking the earth, leaving it slick and hard. The water had nowhere to go but down fast into the town of montecito with deadly, devastating effect. This is one of the most exclusive communities in the united states, home to stars including actor rob lowe and the tv presenter ellen degeneres. But no amount of money can stop a mudslide. Oprah there used to be a fence right here. My neighbors house. James Oprah Winfrey posted this video as she assessed the damage in her garden. Oprah how deep the mud is. James and the destruction wasnt confined to the coast. Further inland in burbank, a suburb of los angeles, the cameras captured another mudslide in action. The power of this mudslide is graphically demonstrated here. For the people in these homes and there were some people who stayed in this area it must have been terrifying. As boulders like this and other debris swept down from the hill. Firefighters insisted there is still hope of finding survivors, but it is fading. The financial cost from this disaster will be immense. The human toll much higher. Jane james cook reporting from montecito. President trump left no doubt where he stands on the russia investigation. It was just one of the topics addressed during a News Conference with norways prime minister. He was asked about whether he would consider testifying before Robert Mueller. Here was his response. President trump again, i will speak to attorneys. I can only say this, there was absolutely no collusion. Everyone knows it. Every committee ive been in office for 11 months. For 11 months they have had this phony cloud over our government, and it has hurt our government. It does hurt our government. It is a democrat hoax. Jane well, a brief time ago i spoke to the bbcs north america reporter anthony zurcher. What does it do when donald trump says that the allegations are a democratic hoax . Anthony it first undermines the seriousness of the conversion by the Intelligence Community that conclusion by the Intelligence Community that there was russian meddling in the u. S. Election, and it diminishes the chance of addressing that going forward. But you can see what donald trump is trying to say, no collusion seven times in his answer. That one answer. What he is trying to do is he is afraid that this undermines the legitimacy of his election. He views it as democrats way of making him seem less like the actual winner of election, and puts him in a difficult position. He is pushing back as hard as he can, as he did in those answers. Jane it is extraordinary that 14 months after the election he is still talking about Hillary Clinton. Why is he finding it so difficult to move on from this . Anthony it came from being asked about whether he is going to testify if Robert Mueller wanted him to, and he said, well , Hillary Clinton talked to the fbi in july 20 16th and she wasnt under oath and it was on a holiday weekend, and that was a questionable move about the by the fbi. The fact that he is steering it Hillary Clinton again when the question was about his testimony before Robert Mueller is somewhat surprising. But if mueller asks him to testify, there is no way he can say no, unless he wants to cite the fifth amendment protections against selfincrimination, which would have a whole lot of political consequences. He is going to have to answer those questions. The debate and discussion between his lawyers and the team formatargely be over the that would have, written questions or the openended interview with followup questions. Jane all this is a monumental distraction to some of the big issues, one of which is immigration and border security. Yesterday there seemed to be some confusion over whether donald trump wants his wall. Are we any clearer on where he stands today . Anthony yesterday was a good Public Relations move by the white house, showing donald trump responding to democrats and republicans on the immigration issue, but as far as resolving questions as to whether to give protection to these daca dreamers, people who have come as children as undocumented migrants, there was still a lot of vagueness. He was asked about that, first question during a press conference today, about whether there had to be wall funding in any sort of agreement, and he said yes, there actually absolutely had to be. That is some clarity. Whether he stands by that or not when democrats have said this is a poison pill, we want to deal with daca first and then some security measures, but certainly ,ot a 2 million for a wall that is a whole other question. Jane anthony zurcher, thank you for joining us. Today another republican congressman decided to call it quits. From california joins 30 others who have not decided to have decided not to return for the next session. Spoke to my leaving colleagues katty kay and Christian Fraser for their Program Beyond 100 days. Clearly, anytime incumbent members decide not to run again from, ill say, swing districts or marginal districts, that makes them more vulnerable khamenei mentioned darrell issa and ed royce, who are not running again, swing districts more vulnerable, and you mentioned the darrell issa and ed royce, who are not running again, swing districts. The party of the president historically experience his losses in the midterm. This is no different. It will be a referendum on President Trump and his conduct in office. That is just a fact. We will have to deal with it, and the only question is what type of a wind will be facing in the midterms . Will it be Hurricane Force or something less than that . I think it will be a stronger wind, and i better prepare for the worst and hope for the best. As you sat down with your family and colleagues and made that decision not to run again for office, was donald trump a factor . Rep. Dent yes, a factor, but not necessarily the factor in my decision. I have run for office 13 times come im 130, and then not going to spoil a perfect record. I did not have a serious threat from the left and no credible wasat from the right, so i not worried about reelection. I just hope im young enough and healthy and i can do Something Else with my life. There has been a paralysis here caused by the polarization. Just trying to take credit the most basic try to accomplish the most basic, fundamental types of government, not defaulting on obligations, providing Hurricane Relief these issues have become enormously difficult to pass. There is a frustration for me in that regard because i am on the appropriate committee and with a one committee that actually has to do something, simply keep the government running. We saw a congress in, really good example of bipartisanship yesterday when democrats and republicans sat around the table with donald trump, but the president lamented that these days the two parties cannot get along, cannot cut deals like they used to do in the good old days. Why is that . Rep. Dent well, we have a lot of people who come from very safe districts, and the political safety is in the base or in some cases to the fringe and where they really feel that that is where the political safety is. There is not a political reward to seek consensus and find bid,ments and, heaven for a compromise. There was not political reward there for a lot of these folks. I represent a district that is more of a marginal swing district i can go either way. I district like mine, it is easier to support consensus agreements. But for a lot of members, there is no reward for that. You get accused of being capitulate or zen sellouts. Capitulators or sellouts. Christian how much of this is a battle for the soul of the party between the moderate wing and the all right, represented by steve bannon . Heh, well, before donald trump, we used to have litmus tests, surety tests in the republican party, who was doctrinaire enough, pure enough. We have these self designated chiefs of the purity please come and i was considered part of the pragmatic wing. We have the battle between iteris and the pragmatists. Then comes donald trump, who is not ideologically doctrinaire, he is not a purist. Are youlitmus test is for the president , which is confounding to those previous purity police. We are in an odd spot right now are we have this new dynamic that is, frankly, the puzzling to me. It is a bit confounding. Republicanie dent, of pennsylvania there. Quick look at the days other news. The president of columbia, juan manuel santos, has suspended peace talks with the National Liberation army after the marxist rebels launched attacks on an evil guard naval guard post and threw off one of columbias main oil pipelines. It came after bilateral ceasefire expired last night. President centers says he an army toe colombi respond forcefully for jewelry has been stolen from a hotel in paris. Five men with hatchets smashed windows and the famous hotel before making off with their all. Haul. Three suspects have been detained but 2 more are on the run. In syria, at least 85 people have been killed in the past 10 days in a besieged suburb of damascus under rebel control. The United Nations has construed condemned the upsurge in attacks, calling the situation a human catastrophe. The area has been under siege for more than 4. 5 years, as lyse doucet reports. Lyse the bombs fall every day now in Eastern Ghouta. Rescue teams rushing to bring survivors out. For children trapped inside, not knowing where fighting to strike and children trapped inside, not knowing where to run or hide. This footage filmed by the westernbacked white helmets. Rubblee digging in the with whatever tools they find. Often it is just barehands. The attacks by serious and russian warplanes syria and russian warplanes on this last rebelheld enclave intensified weeks ago. The attacks dont go only one way. Rebel groups controlling this islamist hardline groups linked to al qaeda fired more than a dozen rockets in the heart of damascus yesterday. This is the face of a war now approaching its eighth year. This is the sound. These children in Eastern Ghouta have known no other life. They survived the latest airstrikes. Blood being wiped away. The pain, nor the fear. Already broken by years of a punishing siege. The history of syria is written here amongst these stones. This threeyearold was buried yesterday by his uncle. His father is badly injured. Many now say syrias war is over, but it is not. Not yet. Lyse doucet, bbc news, damascus. Jane you are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on tonights program, the economic crisis in venezuela is forcing many to go without medical supplies. We report on how the lack of contraception is taking a huge toll. In europe, thousands of people who had been stranded in the alps because of unusually heavy snow are now seeing some relief. Trains have begun running to the swiss resort of zermatt, and helicopters are fearing people out. Ferrying people out. Reporter after 2 days cut off from the rest of the world, zermatt is open for business again. The train line blocked by snow is now clear. And for those who are really in a huge hurry, the helicopters are waiting. The tourists, though, seemed quite happy exactly where they are. Since we arrived yesterday morning, and leave saturday. Reporter but for communities across the alps, the heavy snow continues to cause problems. Some villages are still cut off. Others are without power. The biggest of all is over avalanches. Tons and tons of snow has fallen, and the weather is warmer than normal. The snow is loose, wet, and heavy, more likely to slip down the mountain. Winter sports fans are being warned to stay only on slopes and paths marked clearly as safe. Meanwhile, the alpine authorities are working round the clock to clear the snow. Their window of opportunity may be short. More snow is forecast for thursday. Jane the malaysian government is set to let an american exploration firm restart the fight for the missing flight mh370 a year after it ended. 2014. Ished from part in malaysias government has agreed to pay the company up to 70 million if it manages to locate nofeene on a nofind, basis. Many effects of venezuelas economic crisis is that it has become is more difficult for people to find medical supplies. That is led to a spike in prices, leaving products like contraception hard to find and harder to afford. As a result, the country now has the highest teen pregnancy rate in latin america. Katy watson reports. Katy margarets pharmacy is looking a bit empty these days. She has not had any deliveries of contraceptive pills for a year. Every day people come looking for them, and every day she has to turn them away. Theyre having to adapt. It used to be just men buying condoms, but women are buying them now, too, because there is nothing else. The price of condoms has gone up 200 . Katy she is living the consequences of these shortages. After becoming a mother in her teens, she is expecting her third baby, unplanned, because she could not get contraceptives. My first reaction was to cry. At the moment, getting contraceptive pills is really hard. There is nothing. When you can get ahold of them, they cost so much. I am making plans to get sterilized, because the idea of having another baby . No way. Katy it is a struggle. Her older boys have to go without new clothes and shoes so she can pay for her medical appointments. When the price of food is a spiraling, contraceptives cost double monthly salary, something has to go. It is not just contraceptives that are in short supply. Doctors and mothers have told me that often women have to buy medical supplies like drugs and antibiotics and hand them to the doctor when they give birth. This doctor says that the vast majority of births are unplanned. He thinks the governments priorities are wrong. The government, instead of giving you education, gives you anticonception pills, condoms. What does this government do with the populace . If you are pregnant, i give you a house, i give you money. But that is only for the first year, maybe. And sometimes some food. Katy last year she turned 15, and like many venezuelan girls big partyceanera, a marking her passage into womanhood. In two months time there is another important date, the birth of her daughter. She is excited but apprehensive about the future. I am scared. Once i give birth, and because it is hard to get contraceptives and condoms, im afraid that if i have sex, i will get pregnant again. Katy it is a reality that more and more women and girls are facing in venezuela. The choice to decide their future taken away from them at a time when for many, the future looks so bleak. Katy watson, bbc news, venezuela. Jane the creators of wallace run arend chicken set to bring a new set of characters to the big screen. Early man introduces lovable cavemen, and one of the voices is oscarwinner Eddie Redmayne. Nick park has spent five years creating his prehistoric comedy adventure. Will gompertz has gotten a rare behind the scenes tour. The initial idea was, what if cavemen invented football, and i have not seen a prehistoric Underdog Sports movie before. Hop on, everyone, lets show them what weve got. This is one of my first sketches. I love sketching all the time. That is where the characters tend