0:00:08 > 0:00:10This is BBC World News America.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Reporting from Washington, I'm Laura Trevelyan.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15A return to the Cold War chill.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Britain's Prime Minister expels 23 Russian diplomats,
0:00:16 > 0:00:25in retaliation for the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30They have treated the use of military grade nerve agent in Europe
0:00:30 > 0:00:34with sarcasm, contempt and defiance.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Across this nation, US students make the case for gun control -
0:00:37 > 0:00:39walking out of their classrooms, one month after the
0:00:39 > 0:00:48Parkland shooting.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52I discovered that black holes are not that black after all.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I discovered that black holes are not that black after all.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55And, remembering a scientific genius.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57How Stephen Hawking's discoveries changed our
0:00:57 > 0:01:07understanding of the universe.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Welcome to our viewers on public television here in America,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and also around the world.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14In the biggest expulsion since the Cold War, Britain
0:01:14 > 0:01:22is to kick out 23 Russian diplomats.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Theresa May has pointed the finger at Moscow over the poisoning
0:01:25 > 0:01:27of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in England.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30In response, she's going to crack down on Russian spies,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32criminals and corrupt elites who are sheltering in Britain.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34It's the most dramatic action against Moscow in 30 years.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40Here's our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg.
0:01:40 > 0:01:47It was right to offer Russia the opportunity to provide
0:01:47 > 0:01:49an explanation, but their response has demonstrated complete disdain
0:01:49 > 0:01:53for the gravity of these events.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55The midnight deadline came and went, leaving a morning
0:01:55 > 0:01:56with no new answers.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Theresa May went prepared to Prime Minister's Questions,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00ready to announce the biggest diplomatic action against Russia
0:02:00 > 0:02:05since the Cold War.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07They have treated the use of a military-grade nerve agent
0:02:07 > 0:02:17in Europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Mr Speaker, there is no alternative conclusion other
0:02:22 > 0:02:26than that the Russia State
0:02:26 > 0:02:29was culpable for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal
0:02:29 > 0:02:32and his daughter.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34This represents an unlawful use of force
0:02:34 > 0:02:36by the Russian state against the UK.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37So, the UK will retaliate.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39The United Kingdom will expel 23 Russian diplomats,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers.
0:02:43 > 0:02:50They have just one week to leave.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52This was not just an act of attempted murder in Salisbury,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56nor just an act against the UK, it is an affront to the prohibition
0:02:56 > 0:02:58on the use of chemical weapons and an affront to the rules-based
0:02:58 > 0:03:03system on which we and our international partners depend.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07So, 23 diplomats suspected of being spies have seven days to leave,
0:03:07 > 0:03:14all high-level contact between the UK and Russia
0:03:14 > 0:03:16is suspended, and no minister or member of the Royal Family
0:03:16 > 0:03:19will go to the World Cup.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24And some Russian State assets could be frozen,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26with possible new laws to crack down on hostile states.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30In a tense Commons, Jeremy Corbyn was not quite ready
0:03:30 > 0:03:33to accept the culpability of the Russian State.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Our response must be both decisive and proportionate
0:03:35 > 0:03:39and based on clear evidence.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41But listen to rising anger, as Jeremy Corbyn turned some
0:03:41 > 0:03:46of his fire on the Tories.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50It is - as we have expressed before - a matter of huge
0:03:50 > 0:03:56regret that our country's diplomatic capacity has been stripped
0:03:56 > 0:03:58back, with cuts of 25% in the last five years.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It is tradition for the two main parties to stick
0:04:01 > 0:04:03together on foreign policy.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Not these two.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10This is not a question of our diplomacy, of what diplomatic
0:04:10 > 0:04:12support we have around the world, this is a question of the
0:04:12 > 0:04:22culpability of the Russian State.
0:04:29 > 0:04:35But does this bother the Russian strongman, but Amir Putin,
0:04:35 > 0:04:43campaigning in Crimea? Apologetic. A spokesman claiming on Russian TV,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47written does not understand diplomacy or the law and is full of
0:04:47 > 0:04:54liars, fully fledged liars. This is not just a straightforward foreign
0:04:54 > 0:04:58policy clash, but a fight with a country that explores the norms.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Number 10 knows this may only be the start.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04That was Laura Kuennsberg reporting there.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06At the United Nations, US Ambassador Nikki Haley sided
0:05:06 > 0:05:08squarely with Britain in saying that Russia was responsible
0:05:09 > 0:05:13for the poisoning.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16She was speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council,
0:05:16 > 0:05:17called at Britain's request.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Earlier, I spoke with the BBC's Nick Bryant, from the UN.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Russia must boycott operate with the UK's investigation and come clean
0:05:22 > 0:05:27about its own chemical weapons programme. Russia is a permanent
0:05:27 > 0:05:30member of the Security Council. It is entrusted in the United Nations
0:05:30 > 0:05:36Charter with upholding international peace and security. It must account
0:05:36 > 0:05:44for its actions.Nikki Haley speaking there. Earlier, I spoke
0:05:44 > 0:05:51with the BBC's Nick Bryant from then United Nations. Very tough words,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56tougher than her boss in the White House, what is the reaction from
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Russia's Ambassador?What we heard from Nikki Haley is the first time a
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Trump administration official has explicitly blamed Moscow for this
0:06:03 > 0:06:07attack. The former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier in
0:06:07 > 0:06:11the week it was likely Russia was in bold. Donald Trump says he probably
0:06:11 > 0:06:15agrees with the British binding that had not concluded yet that Russia
0:06:15 > 0:06:20was to blame. Nikki Haley did say that and she said Russia's crime had
0:06:20 > 0:06:24to be met with immediate and concrete measures from the Security
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Council and the international community because they did not do
0:06:26 > 0:06:31something here, it would, Salisbury would not be the last time we saw a
0:06:31 > 0:06:36chemical attack and it could happen in New York. The Russian Ambassador
0:06:36 > 0:06:40was very angry this meeting was even held. The British called it this
0:06:40 > 0:06:44emergency session and the Russians tried to hold it up with procedural
0:06:44 > 0:06:47wrangling and they've failed, the Russian Ambassador saying it should
0:06:47 > 0:06:52not be dragged before the Security Council. You and made a bizarre
0:06:52 > 0:07:00observation that we need Sherlock Holmes to solve this case.Can the
0:07:00 > 0:07:03UN Security Council do anything given that Russia has a beta and it
0:07:03 > 0:07:10can block any concrete action?Nikki Haley said that because she knows
0:07:10 > 0:07:14that Russia will veto any move to take concrete measures that she was
0:07:14 > 0:07:22proposing. And the bishops -- the British in calling this meeting had
0:07:22 > 0:07:27ambitions. They wanted to provide a forum, the biggest politics stage in
0:07:27 > 0:07:30the world, that horseshoe table at the Security Council, so that the
0:07:30 > 0:07:35international community could show solidarity and condemn Russia's
0:07:35 > 0:07:39actions. For the most part, that happened today at the United Nations
0:07:39 > 0:07:43in New York.What does the UN Secretary General say himself about
0:07:43 > 0:07:49the poisoning?He said it is unacceptable. The use of chemical
0:07:49 > 0:07:54weapons is a violation of international law. What Antonio
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Gutierrez stop short of doing was pointing the finger of blame at
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Russia and he said it was not his job to assign blame. But clearly,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06most members on the Security Council this afternoon was -- were prepared
0:08:06 > 0:08:11to do that, pointing the finger of blame at Moscow.From the United
0:08:11 > 0:08:12Nations, thank you.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Here in the US, students across the country took part
0:08:15 > 0:08:17in a National School Walkout, to mark one month since
0:08:17 > 0:08:21the Florida School shooting.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24The event lasted 17 minutes - one minute for each life lost,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28when a gunman opened fire on students and teachers.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30The walkout comes ahead of a major march on Washington
0:08:30 > 0:08:31later this month.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36Our North America editor, Jon Sopel, reports.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39The last time we saw children pouring out of school,
0:08:39 > 0:08:49it was with their hands up in terror after the Florida shooting.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Today, they came out across America - but this time, with their fists
0:08:53 > 0:08:57clenched, demanding change on gun control.
0:08:57 > 0:09:05In Washington, at ten o'clock on a bracing cold morning,
0:09:05 > 0:09:11with their backs turned on the White House,
0:09:11 > 0:09:12fell silent for 17 minutes,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14one minute for each of the people
0:09:14 > 0:09:16who died at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school
0:09:16 > 0:09:17in Florida last month.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19There's no doubting extraordinary success these young people have had
0:09:19 > 0:09:22in changing the whole terms of debate on the subject
0:09:22 > 0:09:23of gun control.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Their problem is that the man who lives on the other side of that
0:09:26 > 0:09:32fence seems to have got cold feet.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36When Donald Trump met youngsters from the Florida School
0:09:36 > 0:09:39at the White House, he seemed to offer his support for tougher gun
0:09:39 > 0:09:42control measures like raising to 21 the age at which you can
0:09:42 > 0:09:44buy a rifle.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46And he later chided lawmakers for being frightened
0:09:46 > 0:09:47of the National Rifle Association.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Some of you people are petrified of the NRA.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55You can't be petrified.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58But he's now backed off those proposals and so the end people
0:09:58 > 0:09:59are intensifying their campaign.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02We want them to pass common-sense gun reforms and ban assault rifles.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04We don't want to be scared in school.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08We are tired of being scared.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13We want actual change.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We want it with this actual protest.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18This is a curtain-raiser to a mass demonstration
0:10:18 > 0:10:20in Washington in ten days' time.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23They are a long way from getting what they want, but the power
0:10:23 > 0:10:26of youth protest has got them further than anyone could have
0:10:26 > 0:10:29imagined and they're not in any mood to surrender.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Never again! Never again!
0:10:32 > 0:10:34In other news...
0:10:34 > 0:10:41Donald Trump has tipped a cable news commentator to be his top adviser.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46Larry Kudlow has been a fixture on US TV for more than a decade. He
0:10:46 > 0:10:49also served in the Reagan administration. He replaces Gary
0:10:49 > 0:10:55Cohen who stepped down last week in protest against the steel and
0:10:55 > 0:10:58aluminium tariffs. After six months of coalition talks,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Angela Merkel has been sworn in for it though term as German Chancellor
0:11:02 > 0:11:07leading a coalition of Conservatives and Social Democrats.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10In Italy, 23,000 people had been evacuated from a town on the East
0:11:10 > 0:11:16coast after an unexploded World War II bomb was found. Officials say 225
0:11:16 > 0:11:22kilograms bomb was British made and there was panic when it was
0:11:22 > 0:11:24accidentally activated during the construction of a drain. The device
0:11:24 > 0:11:26was removed and dropped into the sea.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31From June, Google says the cryptocurrency Bit coin will be
0:11:31 > 0:11:35banned from being advertised on its platforms. BBC understands Google
0:11:35 > 0:11:40decided to act because it felt there was a lack of consumer protection
0:11:40 > 0:11:43for highly speculative and complex trades.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Democrat Conor Lamb has claimed victory in a Congressional race
0:11:45 > 0:11:52in Western Pennsylvania that's virtually a dead heat.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55The strong showing by the former Marine in a district Donald Trump
0:11:55 > 0:11:58won by nearly 20 points has both parties re-thinking their approach
0:11:58 > 0:12:00to the November midterms.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Josh Kraushaar is the political editor for the National Journal,
0:12:03 > 0:12:08and he joins me now.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11You know about the special elections. The seat was in the heart
0:12:11 > 0:12:15of Trump country, why could Republicans not convincingly hold
0:12:15 > 0:12:20onto it?Number one, the Democratic base is so energised in the country
0:12:20 > 0:12:24even in very Republican districts. You have an energised Liberal base
0:12:24 > 0:12:28so angry at President Trump they are willing to show what to every
0:12:28 > 0:12:33election from dog-catcher to a big congressional race. Conor Lamb ran
0:12:33 > 0:12:37as a very centrist candidate, winning over a lot of Republican and
0:12:37 > 0:12:42independent voters who worry about going too far to the left, but his
0:12:42 > 0:12:46message was reassuring on a lot of key issues.But only in January,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Republicans were feeling good about their tax cuts, hoping they could
0:12:49 > 0:12:55sell it in an area like this, what's changed between then and now?Trump
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and his daily controversies which drive the new cycle and distract
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Republicans from talking about what they want. Namely, the state of the
0:13:03 > 0:13:06economy. One reason why this race is so significant is it is taking place
0:13:06 > 0:13:10in the middle of an economic boom when people in this district say
0:13:10 > 0:13:15they are very happy about the state of the economy, but a Republican
0:13:15 > 0:13:21seat Trump won by 20 points was won by a Democrat even during the good
0:13:21 > 0:13:26economy.So what does this mean if you are a vulnerable Republican in a
0:13:26 > 0:13:30seat, got ahead of November's midterm elections?There are over
0:13:30 > 0:13:34100 house seats more competitive than this Pennsylvania congressional
0:13:34 > 0:13:39district.This map is going to be huge in November. Democrats only
0:13:39 > 0:13:43need to win 24 house seats to take back the majority and only need to
0:13:43 > 0:13:47win maybe half, a third of the races in play. The odds of Democrats
0:13:47 > 0:13:51taking back the house have never looked greater after this election.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57Democrats to face hurdles of their own. Not least, the Senate.The
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Senate is much tougher because the big battle grounds for the Senate
0:14:00 > 0:14:04are in very Republican states like North Dakota, West Virginia, the
0:14:04 > 0:14:12most Trump friendly states on the map. It is not like Pennsylvania, it
0:14:12 > 0:14:15is more in suburban battle grounds where Donald Trump has lost
0:14:15 > 0:14:18significant ground. What made this so significant, this isn't Trump
0:14:18 > 0:14:22country and Democrats still want to raise enemy lines.What lessons will
0:14:22 > 0:14:28Democrats learn from it, that they can track right and do well with the
0:14:28 > 0:14:32right candidate or do anything and win regardless?The former is a much
0:14:32 > 0:14:35more important lesson and if Democrats can nominate moderate
0:14:35 > 0:14:40candidates, not necessarily Liberal on guns and economically Liberal,
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Conor Lamb did not support the $50 minimum wage for example, if they
0:14:45 > 0:14:48appeal to the business friendly centrists who do not care for Donald
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Trump and his presidency, that is the ticket to winning a lot of key
0:14:52 > 0:14:56suburban districts.Thank you so much for joining us.Thanks.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58You're watching BBC World News America.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59Still to come on tonight's programme:
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Finding the Stephen Hawking of tomorrow.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05We visit a science fair in the UK, to hear from students how
0:15:05 > 0:15:15the physicist influenced them.
0:15:15 > 0:15:1830 years ago, the crew of the Maiden became the first all-female team
0:15:18 > 0:15:22in a round-the-world yacht race.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Now a new Maiden project is aimed at promoting girls' education.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Here's John Maguire.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Almost 30 years since she was first converted into a yacht ready to race
0:15:33 > 0:15:36around the world's oceans, Maiden is back.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39She's in the same boatshed as her first refit and with
0:15:39 > 0:15:40the same man in charge.
0:15:40 > 0:15:46We didn't know what we were letting ourselves in for until we blasted
0:15:46 > 0:15:51all the paint and it fell off the boat inside and out, and then
0:15:51 > 0:15:53we could actually judge what it was and there
0:15:53 > 0:15:55was a lot more.
0:15:55 > 0:16:02Once you get into it, you find other jobs.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05In 1990, Tracy Edwards and her team sailed around the globe -
0:16:05 > 0:16:09and into the record books - as the first all-female crew
0:16:09 > 0:16:10in the Whitbread race.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Last year, Maiden was rescued from the Seychelles and brought back
0:16:13 > 0:16:18to her spiritual home.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19She made a sorry, but very welcome, sight.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22A bit emotional, really.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25I haven't seen the boat since 1990, when the race finished.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26Right.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28And then all of a sudden, last summer, she reappeared again.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Duncan also worked back on the yacht in the '80s and has a very
0:16:32 > 0:16:37personal link with her.
0:16:37 > 0:16:44One of the girls from the first crew never actually did
0:16:44 > 0:16:47the round-the-world trip because I separated her from the rest
0:16:47 > 0:16:48of them and married her.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51She was the first of the two doctors.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Maiden has been restored to embark later this year on another
0:16:54 > 0:16:55round-the-world adventure, this time taking three years
0:16:55 > 0:17:05as the crew promotes education for girls.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10With so much being refurbished or replaced, when she returns
0:17:10 > 0:17:17to the water in the summer, it will feel like her maiden
0:17:17 > 0:17:20voyage but, in many ways, her mission will be the same -
0:17:20 > 0:17:22to once again promote challenge, adventure and opportunity
0:17:22 > 0:17:27for women and for girls.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Tributes have been pouring in for Stephen Hawking,
0:17:29 > 0:17:35who re-shaped the way we see the universe, and brought
0:17:35 > 0:17:36theoretical physics to the masses.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38The scientist died peacefully at his home in Cambridge,
0:17:38 > 0:17:46England, early on Wednesday.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48His work on black holes and relativity made him a household
0:17:48 > 0:17:50name, as he overcame his physical challenges.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Our science editor, David Shukman, looks back
0:17:52 > 0:17:53on his extraordinary life.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57There is nothing like the Eureka moment of discovering
0:17:57 > 0:18:00something that no-one knew before.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Stephen Hawking had a gift for inspiration, a powerful spirit
0:18:03 > 0:18:06overcoming an ailing body to allow a mind to roam the cosmos.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Earning him a place as the most famous scientist in the world.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12It has been a glorious time to be alive and researching and doing
0:18:12 > 0:18:17theoretical physics.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Who else could draw crowds like this?
0:18:20 > 0:18:25The man who gazed at the stars became one himself.
0:18:25 > 0:18:35His story poignant and uplifting, his career involved concept
0:18:39 > 0:18:42so alien and complicated that for most, it was a struggle to keep up.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44But he explored the strangest of features of the universe,
0:18:44 > 0:18:49black holes, drawing together the science of the largest things
0:18:49 > 0:18:54in space with the science of the very small - part
0:18:54 > 0:18:57of a quest to come up with a single theory for the universe.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59He made these incredibly original insights that set up the modern
0:18:59 > 0:19:01theory of black holes.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03And made great contributions to cosmology.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06And so he was a huge figure.
0:19:06 > 0:19:16I was devastated, really upset.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21I only met him a couple of times, but he had a real impact on my life.
0:19:21 > 0:19:30It is the passing of a great scientist who will be truly missed.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32As a student, his intelligence stood out but, at that
0:19:32 > 0:19:33moment, he was given
0:19:33 > 0:19:36a warning that motor neurone disease would cut his life short.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39When I was diagnosed at 21, I was told it would kill me
0:19:39 > 0:19:40in two, three years.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Somehow, he kept going.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44In a high-tech wheelchair and with a synthesised voice.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Communicating first by touch, then by twitching a single
0:19:48 > 0:19:50muscle in his cheek - a daunting burden for anyone.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55His children saw him as an example.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59People who live in really extreme circumstances seem to find something
0:19:59 > 0:20:04very inspirational in his example of perseverance and his ability
0:20:04 > 0:20:06to rise above his suffering and still want to communicate
0:20:06 > 0:20:11at a higher level.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Life was never straightforward - his first marriage ending
0:20:13 > 0:20:16in divorce, as did a second to one of his nurses.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Claims that he had been physically abused, the case dropped
0:20:19 > 0:20:24because of lack of evidence.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29His book sold at least ten million copies and everyone wanted
0:20:29 > 0:20:32to meet him - from the Pope in the Vatican, to the Queen.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35To President Obama, who awarded him a medal of honour.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39His fame reached beyond the world of science.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Your theory of a doughnut-shaped universe is intriguing.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48Even appearing in The Simpsons.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54I didn't say that.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Yes, I did.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00In an episode of Star Trek, he had the chance to tease Isaac Newton.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Not the apple story again!
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Astounding to think the Lord created this in just seven days.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07Incorrect.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11It took 13.8 million years.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16Let's not get robbed down in all that again!
0:21:16 > 0:21:20More recently, he was happy to play along for Comic Relief.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23He saw himself as an ambassador for science and in this interview,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25told me of his hopes for the Large Hadron Collider.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26He had a sense of adventure.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29I am very excited.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31I have been wheelchair-bound for almost four decades
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and the chance to float free in zero G will be wonderful.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Even braving a zero-gravity flight.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42No surprise his death prompted tributes.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Tim Berners-Lee tweeted...
0:21:50 > 0:21:51Nasa said...
0:22:00 > 0:22:04If you reverse time and the universe is getting smaller...
0:22:04 > 0:22:14Eddie Redmayne played him in the film The Theory
0:22:14 > 0:22:16of Everything and today said, 'We have lost
0:22:16 > 0:22:17a truly beautiful mind.'
0:22:17 > 0:22:20A scientist who delved into the realm of black holes
0:22:20 > 0:22:22offered an incredibly engaging story that achieved something remarkable,
0:22:22 > 0:22:28it touched a global audience.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Professor Hawking was clearly an inspiration to scientists
0:22:30 > 0:22:33the world over and, in particular, to young people.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36And the UK is actually in the middle of British Science Week,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and thousands of kids and young adults have been attending a Science
0:22:39 > 0:22:42fair at the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Some of them have been talking to Jon Kay about Stephen Hawking.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46Stephen Hawking would have loved this.
0:22:46 > 0:22:4920,000 young British scientists experimenting together.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50Do it again!
0:22:50 > 0:22:58Do it again!
0:22:58 > 0:23:02He told young people to be curious and, today,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04as they studied trajectories...
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and force, many were thinking of their scientific superhero.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08How would you describe him?
0:23:08 > 0:23:09Genius, pioneer, brilliant, inspirational, motivationally
0:23:09 > 0:23:13engaging, phenomenal.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15I read A Brief History Of Time.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17I thought it was very interesting.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18Did you read all of it?
0:23:18 > 0:23:22I did actually read all of it.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25And it got me into black holes, and I went on to a series
0:23:25 > 0:23:29of lectures about them.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30So, yeah, it fuelled a lot for me.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32On display at the Big Bang Fair, inventions
0:23:32 > 0:23:34from the scientists of tomorrow.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36These A-level physicists from North Wales regard Professor Hawking
0:23:36 > 0:23:38as a modern-day genius.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43He's the intellectual follower of Einstein and Newton.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46These amazing, amazing figures that we read about in physics books,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49he was getting to that level.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51He was incredible.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52His legacy will live on.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Forever.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Inside an inflatable black hole, teenagers studied Hawking's
0:23:58 > 0:24:03space and time theories while taking selfies.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06It's a lot in one lifetime for anyone.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I think he's encouraged science as a field as well.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10I think more people are more invested in science
0:24:10 > 0:24:18nowadays because of him.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21At 15, this boy has invented an app which could help people
0:24:21 > 0:24:23escape a tower block fire using virtual reality.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25He admires Hawking's personal courage.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28He was only one man who did such great things and I was really
0:24:28 > 0:24:31inspired by that, because usually, you see people follow the same paths
0:24:31 > 0:24:34and try and do the same things.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37But Stephen Hawking was really unique, in the sense that he wanted
0:24:37 > 0:24:40to do things differently and he wanted to contribute things
0:24:40 > 0:24:41in a different sense.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42And I was really inspired by that.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Perhaps the next Stephen Hawking was in this room today.
0:24:45 > 0:24:52Jon Kay, BBC News, Birmingham.
0:24:52 > 0:24:58How Stephen Hawking is inspiring the next generation.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59I'm Laura Trevelyan.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Thank you for watching World News America.