people were daadaa daaa.. you know, and it didn't bother me. and that was because you are white and barclay‘s black? it did not bother me one bit. what advice would you give a young couple just starting out now together? if he's got a night out, she has to have one. he has to look after the children. what do you think, barclay, what advice would you give a young couple? he was out every night! now this next bit of footage is pretty extraordinary. the pictures come from a camera attached to the neck of a female polar bear and show two bears breaking through ice sheets in order to hunt for prey. the us geological survey hopes it'll help researchers better understand how the animals are responding to declining sea ice levels. time for a look at the weather. sticking my neck out a little bit,

we've been watching forecasts with snow, there is some snow on the way. it is going to be tricky to forecast it. but the low pressure is what has been the story today across the north, blowing a gale. it has been nasty across the north—east of england and into scotland. the wind starting to ease a little now but still blustery. and wintry showers gci’oss still blustery. and wintry showers across the north. this evening it is fairly quiet, some icy patches gci’oss fairly quiet, some icy patches across northern areas. cold air coming in from the arctic. but we are watching areas to the south west and what is happening, this is complicated. you have mild error on the one hand coming from the south and colder airfrom the one hand coming from the south and colder air from the the one hand coming from the south and colder airfrom the north. you get that clash and then you get this

boundary, narrow boundary where rain and snow start to mix. so zooming in and snow start to mix. so zooming in a bit, we also have a weather front coming in and initially it begins as rain with milder error to the south coming from the atlantic. as the rain moves towards the east and the north it starts to mix in with that colder air coming from the north through the midlands and into the south—east. it is difficult, if it shows south—east. it is difficult, if it snows over the hills we could be talking about five centimetres or maybe more. it could even settle across london in part. in the north it is different, straightforward north—westerly wind bringing in the showers. so to areas of snow, this awkward mix of rain, sleet and snow across the south which is a nightmare for forecasters. it is a

mix of weather on the way. but the point is thursday night into friday, in the south and north, it could be nasty with icy stretches and also on friday we have another weather system coming in from the north sliding along the east. these are a potential storm surge, so waves could overtop some of those sea defences and on top of but we also have wintry weather. so a real mix of weather on the way. beautifully explained! a reminder of our main story this lunchtime. donald trump is embroiled in more controversy amid claims that russia has damaging information about him. that's all from the bbc news at one — so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. have a good afternoon. good afternoon, you are watching bbc news. with me, steven wyeth,

at the bbc sport centre. england women's all—time record goal scorer kelly smith has retired from playing football. she ended her international career almost two years ago with 117 caps and 46 goals. smith scored 81 goals for arsenal in three spells with the club and was part of the side that won the champions league in 2007 and lifted the fa cup five times, including last year at wembley. the 38—year—old is moving into coaching with arsenal with high ambitions. i want to see how my coaching career goes. i would love to see how far i can develop as a coach and obviously there are goals, to manage arsenal, there are goals, to manage arsenal, the club of my heart, and even england. who knows when that will be, but i am at the bottom of the ladder at the minute in terms of my coaching career and really looking forward to seeing how it developed. jurgen klopp is preparing to recall his big name liverpool players at southampton this evening. he was criticised for fielding a weakened team in the fa cup, but a more familiar looking line—up is expected for the first leg of the efl cup semi—final. as long as you are involved,

it is the most important cup, as you can imagine. that is how we see it and so, southampton, for example, if you want to talk about intensity, they had a more intense time than we had, so there is no advantage for one side. we have to find a line—up, a way of playing. it isa it is a strong challenge and exciting. i think we are not the favourites for this game. on the other hand, away, it is difficult, also. but we have nothing to lose. we understand sam warburton is preparing to stand down as the wales captain ahead of the six nations. warburton is expected to be part of the squad, which is named on tuesday, but is ready to relinquish a role he's held since 2011. no player has captained wales more often than the 28—year—old, but his focus is thought to be on producing his top form and securing a place in the starting 15.

alun wynjones would be the leading candidate to succeed warburton. joe marler will miss at least the first of england's six nations matches. the harlequins prop‘s been ruled out of england's match against france after breaking his leg in the warm—up before the weekend game against sale. chris robshaw and billy and mako vunipola have been ruled out of the entire tournament. johanna konta is through to the semi—finals of the sydney international after beating daria kasatkina in straight sets. the british number one had to come from behind in the second set to beat the russian world number 26. konta will play former wimbledon finalist eugenie bouchard in the last four. dan evans came through three sets against marcel granollers in their second round match. the family of boxer nick blackwell have told the bbc he's unable to walk, and it'll be a year before he makes a full recovery. blackwell was put in an induced coma after suffering severe head injuries in a fight with chris eubankjunior last march. he then went on to take part in an unsanctioned sparring session in november, which left him in a coma

and with swelling on the brain. and 2016 cheltenham gold cup winner don cossack has been retired after suffering a setback in training. trainer gordon elliott has described it as a "real sickener", but said that he's a "horse of a lifetime." that's all sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport, and i'll have more in the next hour. steve, thank you very much. see you a little later. thank you. good afternoon. you're watching bbc news. it is 1:37pm afternoon. you're watching bbc news. it is1:37pm and afternoon. you're watching bbc news. it is 1:37pm and let's start this half hour of news by speaking about america's president elect. russia has dismissed media reports that it's holding compromising information about donald trump. it comes after claims in america that russian intelligence agencies have obtained personally

compromising material about his business interests and his private life. donald trump has strenuously denied the allegations, tweeting that the intelligence agencies should never have allowed what he called fake news to leak. in his latest tweet he called it "one last shot" at him and asked, "are we living in nazi germany?" mr trump is due to hold a news confererence this afternoon — his first since his election last november. so we will hear more from him in a few hours from now. let's get more reaction to this story with josh gerstein, senior white house reporter for the politico — a non partisan global news company. good afternoon to you, josh. your thoughts firstly about... should we call it the latest spat here? how

seriously should this be taken in relation to what russia says it has? ido relation to what russia says it has? i do not know how seriously the information itself should be taken because it remains almost completely, essentially, unverified. but it is pretty extraordinary to have the president of the united states in a very public showdown or whatever you want to call it with the major intelligence agencies in the major intelligence agencies in the united states just nine days before he is supposed to be sworn in as president. in fact i cannot remember anything like that having ever happened. the latest tweet you mentioned, he suggests "one last shot at me," suggesting they are acting out of some political model to stick the knife in before they leave town with president obama. —— political motive. he had a key intelligence meeting last week and there was such anticipation in the run—up to this. is this just the tone of things to come, do you

believe? well, he has spoken. there have been these persistent reports he might reorganise the us intelligence apparatus in a way that has not happened since a couple of yea rs has not happened since a couple of years after the 911 attacks. his staff has definitely denied those reports but they keep coming out and you can only imagine that if he feels the leaders of these agencies are against him, their chance he might reorganise them would be pretty high. what might you expect to hear at this news conference in a few hours from now? are you expecting anything new, a different tone or emphasis? what should we be looking out for, do you think? well, the original purpose of this press conference we thought was for him to explain how he would separate himself from his business interests, but over the course of the last several weeks that it has been delayed, the tone of it seems to have changed. it now sounds like he will try to make some further

cabinet announcements, but really just worry about him and the compromising emperor delete —— on promoting information the russians think they may have, something going around washington that he will have to address. such a bizarre situation regardless of whether the information is accurate, and a number of questions raised by both democrats and many republicans about his very unusual approach towards russia, and i think that is the rather obvious elephant in the room at this point. have you been picking anything up at politico about the way his team is working with him, what his advisers are saying to him? thinking particularly of the fact that he is so prevalent on social media. this would be unlike any president before. are you aware of anyone saying, do you know what, once you are in and we get past january the 20th, you need to have a different approach to things? or do you sense this is just how he will

operate? yeah, i get the sense there we re operate? yeah, i get the sense there were some efforts, you know, during the campaign and may be right after it to try to rein him in on his twitter messages and so forth but there is also a feeling among his aids that the authenticity he showed to the public, the direct conversation with the public, is what attracted these voters to them. i think the question here is with him sending out four tweets every day, orfive, him sending out four tweets every day, or five, you him sending out four tweets every day, orfive, you know, arguing with intelligence agencies, with hollywood stars, whether a certain degree of fatigue sets in at a certain point and this is no longer seen as certain point and this is no longer seen as sort of novel but as something that is kind of tiresome. i could see that happening at some point, certainly for the media, already causing people to run in fits and starts at a time and it is not sure whether each tweet is about pursuing a major policy initiative

orjust as, you know, somebody venting. plenty for the likes of you andi venting. plenty for the likes of you and i to speak about there. thank you very much for now, josh gerstein, senior white house reporter with politico. and just to remind you about that conference we we re remind you about that conference we were discussing there. and mr trump will be giving a news conference later today where he's expected to address these concerns — we'll bring that to you live at four o'clock on bbc news. it is his first formal news conference since he was elected, and it comesjust over a conference since he was elected, and it comes just over a week before he is due to be inaugurated. that is coming up, due out four o'clock. as soon coming up, due out four o'clock. as soon as coming up, due out four o'clock. as soon as it gets underway we will bring it to you. for now, though, we will turn our attention back to british politics. the prime minister has called the red cross irresponsible and overblown for talking about a humanitarian crisis in the nhs and social care. at prime minister's questions the labour leaderjeremy corbyn said the nhs was in crisis but the prime minister was in denial. let's hear a little of their exchange. earlier this week the prime minister

said she wanted to create a shared society. well, we have certainly got that. more people sharing hospital corridors and trolleys, more people sharing waiting areas in a&e department, more people sharing in anxiety created by this government. our nhs, mrspeaker, anxiety created by this government. our nhs, mr speaker, is in crisis, but the prime minister is in denial. cani but the prime minister is in denial. can i suggest to her, on the economic question, cancel the corporate tax cuts? spend the money where it is needed on people in desperate need in social care or in our hospitals. the right honourable gentleman speaks about crisis, i suggest he listens to the honourable memberfor suggest he listens to the honourable member for don valley, a former labour health minister who said the following. with labour it is always about crisis. the nhs is on its

knees. we have to be a bit more grown up knees. we have to be a bit more grown up about this. he talks to me about corporation tax, and restoring the cut in corporation tax. the labour party has already spent that money eight times. the last thing the nhs needs is a check from labour that bounces. the only way we can ensure funding from the hot —— for the national health service is a strong economy. last week of the honourable gentleman proved he is not only incompetent but he would destroy our economy and that would devastate our national health service. that was a flavour of pmqs. let's go live now to westminster and our assistant political editor norman smith. the nhs at topic not going away this winter? yes, no surprise nhs dominated pmqs as it has the headlines over the last few days. where i was sitting it seemed to be is amazing bit defensive, even on the back foot, and some at

westminster are seeing the nhs is an issue she does not quite get, at least not in the same way david cameron did, that she does not get the intensity and the emotions around the issue of the nhs —— people at westminster are saying. the weights and trolleys that have made headlines in recent days, she referred to them as a small number of incidents were unacceptable practices have taken place —— waits and trolleys. that gives a sense for language does not seem to match perhaps the public mood. let's mull over over. i am joined perhaps the public mood. let's mull over over. iam joined by perhaps the public mood. let's mull over over. i am joined by labour's andy burnham, and jacob rees mogg from the conservative party. let me start with you, jacob, do you buy that thought that theresa may does not quite get the nhs as an issue? do not think so at all. i think everybody is on in the united kingdom understands the nhs is fundamental to what voters want and to ensure that is a health service free at the point of use that is able to cope with the strains of winter as able to cope with the strains of winterasa able to cope with the strains of winter as a priority for any and all

governments and mrs may get this completely. much of this is about language, empathy, what people feel your feelings are, and language, empathy, what people feel yourfeelings are, and on language, empathy, what people feel your feelings are, and on that she seems quite theresa may —— seems quite flat about the nhs?” seems quite theresa may —— seems quite flat about the nhs? i think you're making a different point. i think she is considered and pragmatic individual who does not wear her heart on her sleeve, a good approach to government because you wa nt approach to government because you want calm, considered and deliberate government, not a prime always using emotive language, emojis in telephone language and things like that. andy burnham, theresa may refer to one of your colleagues caroline flint who said that labour party has to stop going on about the crisis in the nhs. isn't that true, that there are pressures but it is not a crisis in the nhs, and it devalu es not a crisis in the nhs, and it devalues a very important issue? there is a fair point about that and we all have a responsibility to be careful particularly speaking about

nhs. jacob made a good point about what we expect to see in a prime minister but we do expect a prime minister but we do expect a prime minister to be minister but we do expect a prime ministerto be in minister but we do expect a prime minister to be in touch with what is happening on the ground right out and the phrase you picked out, norman, a small number of incidents, any memberof nhs norman, a small number of incidents, any member of nhs staff watching that today would ask what world she is living in. i was in hospital on monday morning and the staff were all saying, please say to the media that everything they are hearing is true and it has never been as bad as this. so i am afraid the premise to look hopelessly out of touch in prime minister's questions today. one of yourmps prime minister's questions today. one of your mps chided theresa may, saying at least she has come up with a plan for brexit. where is your plan? i suppose the question is how realistic is it that nicola sturgeon could actually remain part of the single market, or have a different position to the rest of the uk? that is not credible, is it? i think it absolutely is credible. we have at

the council of experts looking at this issue, we have taken evidence from acute umber of people, and actually what we have done, which the uk government has not done, we have listened to the experts on this. the uk government has not laid out a plan. this. the uk government has not laid outa plan. ours this. the uk government has not laid out a plan. ours is credible, looking at going forward in a way respecting the will of the scottish people as well as respecting the will of the people. what about the currency? in terms of a currency that decision needs to be made going forward. we have started a new commission looking at ways in which scotla nd commission looking at ways in which scotland can grow and one of the things they will be considering the currency for if there was to be independence in scotland, but in terms of a new arrangement with the uk and the new arrangement between scotla nd uk and the new arrangement between scotland and europe i am not sure currency would be an issue. andy burnham, we had jeremy corbyn yesterday trying to make clarity on brexit. let's be honest, it was a dog's dinner of performance, wasn't it? do you know what labour's position is on immigration? there is

obviously a debate going on within the party. i am quite clear and have said repeatedly that the british public, by a voted for change to the freedom of movement situation that we have got. in my mind there is no doubt about that, and jeremy has begun to speak about that. i would like to see him go further. this is a debate happening within the labour party as we all try to make sense of brexit but i am quite clear that my constituents voted on a change to free movement and we know must respond to that. jacob, very briefly. theresa may, appearing before the liaison committee before christmas, pretty much dozed down the idea that any vote for mps on final deal, but we know the parliament is going to get a vote in europe, surely it is unacceptable that mps he will not get one? parliament has thoughts on everything and many opportunities to have votes. the final deal almost certainly go to the european scrutiny committee who will deal with that in the normal way it deals with that in the normal way it deals with european documents. is not an outrage mps have —— do not have a

say whilst meps do? the government has a majority in house of commons and as long as it has that that is the mandate. but what comes through and requires legislative action will be voted on in the house of commons so be voted on in the house of commons so the details of the deal will have to be voted on and the great repeal bill will be voted on so there will be lots of votes in the house of commons. i think you are fishing for disagreement where there is not really one. a very bad fisherman! it is funny how it all seems to come back to brexit. a brief interlude with the nhs which will dominate the rest of the day at westminster here because i think in the next half an hour or so we have the head of the nhs in front of mps. it will be interesting to hear what he has to say. studio: absolutely. we will speak about that a little later. norman smith at westminster, thank you. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour, but first the headlines on bbc news: donald trump says russia has never tried to use leverage over him, following reports claiming moscow holds compromising information

about his personal life and business interests. the prime minister admits the nhs is under pressure as doctors warn it's facing its worst ever winter crisis due to a shortage of resources. a 15—year—old girl has been remanded into secure accommodation by york magistrates after being charged with the murder of seven—year—old katie rough. hello. in the business news: sainsbury‘s has reported record christmas sales of more than £1 billion across the group. the supermarket giant said like—for—like sales rose 0.1% in the 15 weeks to 7th january, beating analyst expectations.

argos, which sainsbury‘s bought last year, also had strong sales over christmas and black friday. the uk's trade position deteriorated dramatically in november from the previous month. that's according to figures from the office for national statistics. the deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated at £4.2 billion in november, up from £2.6 billion in october. prosecutors in the us have accused three former currency traders at major banks of trying to rig foreign exchange rates in the banking industry. the individuals worked at the banksjp morgan, citigroup and ba rclays. the charges are a follow—up after those banks, along with rbs, paid $2.5 billion in fines in may 2015, after pleading guilty to conspiring to rig foreign exchange rates. now, another day of drama for the trump transition team. amid today's controversy surrounding russia's alleged involvement in the us elections, the president—elect‘s choice of secretary of state, rex tillerson, has sought to calm fears about his connections with russia. mr tillerson will appear before senators today as part of the congressional process to confirm his appointment. joining me now from the floor of the new york stock exchange is samira hussain. samira, what do we know about rex

telus and's relations with russia so far? —— tillerson. telus and's relations with russia so far? -- tillerson. when he was there he really brokered many deals with russia and some of those he looks back on as his crowning achievements in his time at exxon, but it is those, the relationships with russian officials, and the one with britain, that has people really concerned about that close relationship and what it could mean —— and the one with putin. relationship and what it could mean -- and the one with putin. you mention people being concerned. later today he will face questions from senators. the republican party historically have been very critical of russia. what has been the reaction from them and the rest of washington? as you may have guessed it is rare to find democrats and republicans echoing some of the same sentiments, but there are senators

on both sides of the aisle very concerned about these close ties to russia and mr tillerson is certainly going to be facing a lot of questions about that. specifically, they will want to know how he will be dealing with russia, especially considering some of the language we are hearing from the president—elect. he has in the past taken to social media, has been at press co nfe re nces , taken to social media, has been at press conferences, and has praised vladimir putin, so some senators will be asking about how he will deal with those relationships with russia, and if he is going to distance himself a little given some of the language we are hearing from the president—elect. of the language we are hearing from the president-elect. samira, thank you very much, from the new york stock exchange. let's ta ke let's take a quick look at markets. the ftse 100 let's take a quick look at markets. the ftse100 here, and it will be

interesting to see how news in the us affects the dollar later on. that's all the business news. i will be back with more later today. thank you very much. time for a look at the weather. very busy in the weather centre today, trying to firm up the details for tomorrow's weather. in the short—term, tricky across the north of the country. we must not forget that severe gales battering parts of scotla nd that severe gales battering parts of scotland and in the north—east as well. all sorts of problems with damage and disruption as well. the worst of the winds have eased but it will remain very blustery, winds touching gale force in some places and on top of that we have the wintry showers across scotland, parts of north—west england and through the course of this evening, temperatures dipping away of course. showers and these snowy deposit here, it will refreeze. quite nasty around these northern areas particularly in scotland and the far north of england. much milder in the south through the night. by early

thursday, temperatures around four degrees in london, 7 degrees on the south coast. tomorrow is a tricky day on the weather front. mild air moving in from the south, called error to the north. these two masses will clash and where that happens we could see a potential for some snow —— cold airto could see a potential for some snow —— cold air to the north. exactly where this happens is pretty tricky to forecast, as is often the case. the rain comes off the atlantic and this is early in the morning, rain initially, which could be in many areas. as the cold air comes from the north we could see our period of snow. it could be as far south as the south coast and certainly there will be some snow falling on the ground in some areas. it could be a little or a fair bit, a few centimetres, 5—10 across the hills. in the north, wintry showers here following which will continue tomorrow. you can see the separate

area of the rain and snow mix here. thursday night in particular, into friday, those two areas in the country are at risk of some icy stretches on some untreated surfaces. this is friday. this portion of the country, eastern areas, at risk of very strong winds and possibly rain, sleet and snow and possibly rain, sleet and snow and very big with out to sea. nasty conditions, high tide with a storm surge affecting the eastern coast. it will feel nippy on friday, closer to freezing in fact for most areas. newcastle around minus four celsius. be prepared tomorrow for at least a little snow butjust to repeat, not everybody will get it. whether you like it or not, so you might be disappointed or you might be pleasa ntly disappointed or you might be pleasantly surprised. donald trump is embroiled in more controversy amid claims that russia

has damaging information about him. the prime minister and the labour leader clash in the commons over the state of the nhs. the