this is. one of music's most powerful and distinctive voices singing. the soul aretha franklin seventy six after. she became a musical icon in the sixty's and seventy's beginning her singing career church in detroit. finding survivors of gender wars a road. by italian authorities say as many as twenty people still missing.

the bridge there is mounting anger as people try to understand the call of the. call the face the enemy of the people and they are they are the enemy of the. u.s. news outlets joined forces to donald trump's attacks on the media. just. to democracy why. welcome to the program. her voice defined an era aretha franklin has died at the age of seventy six after a battle with pancreatic cancer she died in detroit where she began her career singing in her father's church a voice became part of the american psyche in the one nine hundred sixty s.

and seventy's but. queen of soul she sang at martin luther king's funeral in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight barack obama's presidential inauguration in two thousand and nine and became the first woman to be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame and more than anything the reason franklin immense respect as a powerful black artist during america's civil rights period. the title of her nine hundred sixty seven hit a composition by otis redding crowned her legacy from the moment the song hit the airwaves the subject. of lisa franklin's imprint on soul music was enormous her commanding vocals powered the soundtrack of both the civil rights and women's liberation movements half a century ago. the daughter of a mississippi preacher and a mother who sang and played piano a research franklin grew up in detroit singing at her father's church services at

an early age she was strongly influenced by the gospel sound. she signed her first recording contract in one nine hundred sixty enjoyed limited success her breakthrough came when she switched labels several years later she soon and the title queen of soul. still. she performed for president elect bill clinton in one thousand nine hundred three and sixteen years later at the inauguration of president barack obama. among her many accolades she was inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame the first woman to receive the honor that was in one thousand nine hundred seven she received the presidential medal of freedom in two thousand and five and won a total of eighteen grammys the music industry's highest award. last year she announced she would reduce her appearances on stage her declining

health forced her to cancel a planned concert earlier this year. with a career spanning over fifty years aretha franklin made an indelible mark on american music and influenced generations of singers. everything frankly from. matthews who joins us from los angeles welcome to day w. you knew everything personally tell us about yes i was in this being a journalist or something i want to sleep working. and. bring my time they are accorded the luxury of interviewing aretha franklin at what was called the kodak theater in hollywood she was performing there later in life it was a one or two even she was doing air and she gave us the luxury of interviewing her during the daytime now remember i was so nervous at the time and so was my camera

guy because we had heard all these things about her being a perfectionist you know maybe she had a little bit of a diva to do but i was just in awe of her professionality she was bare she was that she was really into being into the interview and i think she even correct you once when i get right at one of her team and she goes no that wasn't wrong here i mean he was really just on top of it and i was just floored it like whoa much she had done and how much she was still giving to all of her and what was your core because at that time that this was actually in her sixty's and. she was still out there doing various engagements i also remember at the time it was a little bit hot in the room and we kind of wanted to put on the air and she said absolutely not she wanted it that way we were like oh you know we just wanted to please a reader franklin but you know looking back i didn't realize how fortunate i was to be able to interview the queen of soul and how one on one interview i'm not talking

about a red carpet interview or some event words a junket but this was a one on one and that's the interview that lasted about twenty five minutes and we talked about her career you know what she had accomplished and it was just a wonderful experience but her deteriorating health had been making had time yet you know a really that has had health problems off and on this is not the latest time for her to have problems i mean obviously her situation got really great within the last couple of days but her weight had been up and down if you follow her career and noticed that when she was performing there were times when she was thinner times when she was heavier times where she had to cancel appointments she had had ongoing health issues i would say for well over a decade and at some point she was living in los angeles. but the thing is she was always a little bit styris about it she never heard tell you exactly what she was suffering the problem i mean we still don't know exactly the cause of her death or why she

was in hospice care i think she wanted to kind of just. didn't want to you know stress out band so to speak person and a mother of four and. i will she be remembered. oh it is the cleanest oh i mean rolling stone magazine once called her the greatest singer ever to live i mean she's just amazing she's transcended she is so he is armed he she is opera she could even do country there wasn't any music genre there were rita frankly couldn't do and we really just don't have singers like that at all in the world and she came up during a time where there was much civil rights unrest and yet she was it was expressing she really will be remembered for that we thank you for that matters in los angeles thanks for joining data well as you can imagine twitter is full of tributes from

fans politicians and fellow musicians former beatle support mccartney tweeted let's take a moment to give funks the beautiful life of a wreath of franklin the queen of our souls who inspired us all for many many years she'll be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us for ever here's british singer songwriter elton john she sang and played magnificently and we all wept we were witnessing the greatest soul artist of all time i adored her i worship her talent god bless her my condolences to her family and friends we shared the same birthday and that meant so much to me and diana ross american singer and former member of the supremes says and i'm sitting in prayer for the wonderful golden spirit of her franklin finally this from hillary clinton mourning the loss today of aretha franklin who shared her spirit and talent with the world she deserves not only our respect and also our lasting gratitude for opening our eyes ears and hearts rest in eternal peace my

friend. the rest of the day said news more than three hundred fifty news outlets across the united states have pledged to run editorials today in defense of press freedom they're condemning president trump's attacks on what he calls fake news and he suggestions that journalists from news organizations that oppose his policies are enemies of the people the initiative was launched by the boston globe newspaper using the image you see behind me or president trumps a use of the terms fake news and enemies of the people to describe certain news outlets has been cheered and condemned often along party political lines but there are concerns his rhetoric could erode respect for one of the foundations of democracy a free press and undermine people peacefully resolve their differences. a few days ago i called the fake is the enemy of the people and they are they are the enemy of the fake media is trying to silence i.

think it is i'm not going to give you a question you say cattle you are fake do is i'm not finished i'm not finished make this they can make anything better because they are the fake fake just scariest thing. just a taste of their of some of the views president trump has expressed about the media now let's take a look at what some newspapers a say in support of and in opposition to today's freedom of the press campaign also out of fort lauderdale florida where the sun sentinel writes the press isn't america's enemy mr trump it's america's watchdog the wall street journal however takes a dissenting view pointing out that it is not taking part in today's coordinated effort it says the first amendment does not say the government cannot criticize the press mr trump enjoys a free speech just as his media adversaries do and in its editorial the boston

globe which launched today's initiative says replacing a free media with a state run media has always been a first order of business for any corrupt regime taking over a country. rescue teams in the italian city of genoa still working to pull survivors and bodies from the rubble of the collapsed marandi highway bridge local authorities say as many as twenty people could still be buried beneath the debris at least thirty eight people were killed when a stretch of the road gave way on tuesday during busy midday traffic in this first big domestic test of its ability this is the least new government is juggling rescues with recrimination. as hopes of finding survivors fades the blame game intensifies officials initially pointed the finger at the e.u. accusing it of limiting funding for infrastructure that's the focus of criticism is now shifting to. the company responsible for the bridge locals say they had long

been concerned about its upkeep. when we drive on this motorway and it's full of traffic automatically trying to go over it fast. because touchwood crossed fingers we go i've heard fast hoping it doesn't come and crashing down. about a insists its maintenance checks were up to date bought that hasn't stopped ministers threatening fines calling for resignations and promising to revoke its operating license they include italy's new populist interior minister. entire chunks of highway cannot collapse like this and people cannot die like this in twenty eighteen i want to stress once again that those responsible will be found out. mattel's servian has hit the e.u. and the company that manages this stretch of the makes way behind me but so many

people here anger and blame will only go so far they want to know what happens next crucially how this young government plans to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. the blame game that's playing out is doing little to help those suffering the consequences of this catastrophe thing clear the hundreds of residents who've been evacuated from this area it's feared the part of the bridge still standing may yet come crashing down. come l.a. works nearby he says authorities have given him no indication when he'll be able to return. it by the arm of the well the city manager if we talk about a week it's still sustainable but if the area is not accessible for a month then there's a huge problem a lot of programming the table but there are hundreds of people who have to go to work there. meanwhile the rest of the city is watching in horror as this crisis unfolds the disasters raise serious questions about the safety of this lease roads

and bridges with many asking if this can happen here what's next. a search of today to monica jones has your business update in just a moment you know more of the top of the hour i'll leave you with a wreath of franklin whose death has been announced. you gotta think about what you say you've got to think about the consequences of your act or shut up woman. told me. a little. let's try it. let's make a living. they

make a commitment. they find. a constructor electrico call her. stories about people who made a difference shaping their nation and.