hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the pace in washington is unrelenting. democrats are holding up the process of approving two president donald trump's cabinet picks. in a few hours, donald trump will name his pick for the supreme court. we'll look at the significance of that decision. throughout this tumultuous 10 days, the president has repeatedly insisted that he's just doing what he promised to his supporters. we've been talking to some of them. he really is coming through on his promises. he hasn't changed his stance, then he's doing fantastic. he's not a politician. this is a live feed from westminster. mps are debating brexit. specifically, they are debating whether to approve the beginning of the process that will see negotiations begin. we'll explain how it fits into the brexit process. you can get in touch through the

methods shown on the screen. thanks forjoining me. for the next hour, i'll bring you every development relating to the trump administration — and believe me, there are many since we were on air this time yesterday. we'll be guided both by events in the us — and by your questions. send them my way, and i'll get you answers from katty kay, anthony zurcher, dave lee and samira husain. donald trump is losing patience. it's true, senate democrats are not helping this process along. they're refusing to attend committee

votes on two of donald trump's cabinet nominations. that's a problem — at least one democrat has to be present for a committee confirmation vote. the two nominees in question are congressman tom price — the pick for health secretary, and steve mnuchin — the pick for treasury secretary. the democrats say they need more information on the two nominees‘ past financial behaviour. that's not gone down well with republicans. i'm really disappointed that my friends on the other side, democrats on the other side, are deliberately boycotting this. why? i'll never understand. these two nominees are going to go through. they didn't lay

a glove on them, as far as i was concerned, during the hearings. few constants in these torturous times, but anthony zurek is one of them. didn't take long for the girls to come off? didn't. ithink didn't take long for the girls to come off? didn't. i think you're seeing a ramping up of the rhetoric and the attempts to disrupt the process on the part of democrats. democrats are feeling the pressure from their base. there was a lot of rank—and—file members across the country that think they have been too easy on the republicans so far, that they have rubber—stamped some of the early nominees already. diane by einstein had 200 protesters show up by einstein had 200 protesters show up at her house, all of them criticising her votes to support earlier nominees and urging her to blockjeff sessions. i think this is starting to reflect the pressure in the halls of the senate. they can do this to keep their base happy, but they are not good to stop them

getting through? no, they are not. pa rt getting through? no, they are not. part of it is because of what democrats did during the obama yea rs. democrats did during the obama years. the rules allowed a simple majority to confirm cabinet nominations. there are 52 votes out of 100 that are republicans in the senate. they just have of 100 that are republicans in the senate. theyjust have to hold their caucus together and they will be able to advance them out of committee and approved them on the floor of the senate. the tactic they are using in this particular committee, boycotting, not allowing them to have a forum, that could delay things for the foreseeable future. it was a tactic that republicans used during the second half of the obama administration to block an environmental protection agency nominee. as they drag this on, the pressure will become increasing for them to show up and at least allow a vote. thank you. here is the next thing i would like to discuss. earlier in the day, the secretary of homeland security, john kelly, gave a press conference. it

was inevitable that the immigration ban would come up. so it did, as did the phrase extreme of betting. that is what donald trump is demanding. the secretary was asked to explain exactly what extreme vetting entails. here is the answer. there are various additional things we are considering. when somebody comes in and asks for consideration to get a visa, it might certainly be an accounting of what websites they visit, it might be telephone contact information, so that we can see who they are talking to. all of this is under development. those are the kind of things we are looking at, social media. we have to be convinced that people that come here, there is a reasonable expectation that we don't know who they are and what they are coming here for, what their backgrounds are. there was one phrase in the middle of that, i don't know if you noticed it. i want to ask anthony about it. he said all this is under

development, which might come as a surprise. when you introduce a policy, normally a lot of the development has been done beforehand? right, that seems to the modus operandi of the trump campaign so modus operandi of the trump campaign so far. he campaigned using distinct rhetoric that his supporters loved, the idea of extreme vetting sounded harsh, thorough, more than what was going on now. now they have to flesh of these ideas, because they weren't on the campaign trail. the reality is, looking at facebook posts, having refugees show their browser history, that might not satisfy the concerns that donald trump and others have raised about knowing what people are doing when they come into this country as refugees. it leaves a n into this country as refugees. it leaves an open—ended question about how you check their backgrounds. because of the way donald trump has set up this order, it could extend the refugee ban, particularly for a place like syria, into the indefinite future. i want to be

explicit about the ban and the extreme vetting, there is a legal argument going on but it is still in place and still impacting on people from the seven countries? exactly. there are four challenges being filed, but none have had any kind of a decision made by a judge who could issue a stay and put all of this on hold. right now, the ban, what they like to call the suspension, is in place. what that means is that, from these seven countries, relying on legislation and a decision from barack 0bama's administration earlier on, people travelling under those passports cannot come into the us, at least for the next 90 days. we don't know if that could be extended or not. it's going to be based on a determination made by the trump administration. meanwhile, the refugee ban is continuing to be in place and the indefinite ban on syrian refugees in particular could go on for we don't know how long. bob in the uk wants to ask, can

these democrats who do not show up be punished? no come i don't think they can. senate is very deferential to senatorial rights. the way they are punished is by hammering them in the press, as you have seen happening already, bring it up when some of them are up for the election. any kind of sanction or censure in the senate seems unlikely. thank you, we will talk to you later. anthony zurcher, in washington, dc. to state the obvious, mr trump's actions as president are causing concern. a senior editor at the atlantic magazine who was also a speechwriter to george bush has written an article headlined how to build an autocracy. yesterday we learned that a large number of state department officials have signed a draft memo taking issue with the immigration ban. this politico report says that

business leaders from silicon valley to wall street are worried. first, mr trump would dispute all of these criticisms — and second he argues that his power is not from the media, or the political and business establishments but from the people. and he says he is acting on the promises he made to them during the campaign. so let's focus on those people. mr trump won the support of millions of people in pennsylvania. here are three of them on how their man is doing. 0k... he is not your conventional

president and he is not a politician. he is attacking it more like a businessman ordered —— would attack it. it is all happening, and i really admire that about him. he works very fast. it was an outstanding win. so many voters supported him. he really is coming through on his promises. he is checking one after the other.|j never checking one after the other.” never expected mexico to give us a cheque. i think the mainstream never expected mexico to give us a cheque. ithink the mainstream media framed it that way for people. that is not howl framed it that way for people. that is not how i took two main leg mean. the most important thing is to make out the most important thing is to make our country, our communities, our

cities, safe. i know that mr trump does not have an exact plan to put on the table. he has repealed it and 110w on the table. he has repealed it and now they need to work on putting something together. you know, when 0bama care came in, it wasn't perfect on day one. rome wasn't built ina perfect on day one. rome wasn't built in a day, it will take him a while. my premium went from $950 a month up to $2760 a month, that is not bearable. i would stay with my agenda and keep pushing that forward. the crowds i doesn't matter. this isn't a testosterone contest. i love the fact he tweets, i get them as he does them every day. it is such fun waking up in the morning and knowing he sent one out andl morning and knowing he sent one out and i got it first thing in the morning. he hasn't changed his

stance. i think he is doing fantastic. after four years, people are going to look back and see what he has done and i think he will get another four years in office because he is going to do a fabulousjob. the next element of the story of the trump administration concerns the supreme court. he has turned to twitter. "i have made my decision on who i will nominate for the united states supreme court. it will be announced live on tuesday at 8:00pm." that's in four hours' time. the supreme court is the most powerful court in the united states. it has huge influence over people's lives — on issues like gay marriage, abortion and, in the past, school segregation. there are ninejudges — but one post has been empty for almost a year since the death of antonin scalia. that is about to change. there are rumours flying all over

the place about who might be getting this. where have we got to with the story? in the last couple of hours we have found out that donald trump has whittled down the long list of candidates that he was going through down to two. in apprentice style, he will be unveiling who it will be at a news conference in the white house inafew a news conference in the white house in a few hours from now. it is worth pointing out that throughout the campaign, donald trump made this one of his central issues. he promised in some of the debates that he would appoint a supreme courtjustice who was pro—life, who had a conservative bent and who would protect gun rights. when i travelled up and down the country speaking to some of his supporters, they felt that his promise to protect some of their religious beliefs would be a big draw for them and that is why they voted for him. the two names in the frame are thomas hardiman, a judge

in pennsylvania, but the favourite is neal call such, who serves on the denver court of appeals. he is seen asa denver court of appeals. he is seen as a natural replacement. he has made decisions in other court cases with a similar bent, he has defended religious freedoms and defended the use of police force. he served in the bush justice use of police force. he served in the bushjustice department and was also appointed by george bush. somebody watching in the us, bruce would like you to explain why it has taken so long to make this decision. well, the first thing to point out is that antonin scalia died just under a year ago. that was when president obama was still in office. he did select somebody he wanted to be his replacement, merrick garland. that became a political issue. it is

worth pointing out that, at the moment, the balance of the court is four liberal, four conservative justices. 0ne four liberal, four conservative justices. one of the conservatives is sometimes considered a swing vote. the next person on the supreme court is really important because of the balance. a lot of republicans last year felt they didn't want president obama to pick that replacement because they didn't want another liberal on the court. they made the point that, given it was an election year, that the next president should be the person who picked it. republicans in the senate blocked that appointment of merrick garland, did not let it get any further. that is why we ended up waiting until the new president, president trump, is in office. thank you very much indeed. we can hear the bells tolling as she explains why we have got to this point, live from in front of the supreme court. as soon as the announcement comes through, you will get that from bbc news. still to come, we'll find out about a new law russia's parliament is expected to pass that reduces

the penalty for those found guilty of abusing their partners. thousands of gay and bisexual men in england and wales, convicted of indecency offences that are no longer a crime, have been posthumously pardoned. it follows legislation coming into force today known as turing's law, after the world war ii codebreaker alan turing who, in the 19505, was prosecuted for being homosexual. 0ur correspondent danny shaw has more. from today, some 50,000 men who have died have now, in effect, have the slate completely wiped clean. it is as though they were never convicted of those offences, such as gross indecency with a man, offences which are no longer against the law. it affects people that have died, but

it also affects some 15,000 men who are still alive who can now apply to be pardoned for those sorts of offences. it will have a very real effect to people that are still alive. this is 0utside source, live from the bbc newsroom. 0ur lead story is democrats on the us senate finance committee are boycotting the approval of two of president donald trump's cabinet nominees, forcing a postponement. here in london, parliament is debating brexit. that will go on into the night — and there will be a vote tomorrow. this is not about whether to leave the european union — that one's been decided. this is about whether to trigger article 50 — and start the brexit negotiations. let me play you some of the debate.

this is the minister for brexit, david davis. the eyes of the nation are on this chamber as we consider this bill. for many years, there has been a creeping sense in the country, not just this country, that politicians say one thing and do another. we voted to give the people the chance to determine our future voted to give the people the chance to determine ourfuture in referendum. now we must honour our side of the agreement to vote and deliver on the result. we are considering that very simple question. do we trust the people or not? david davis, speaking on behalf of the government. this is a difficult issue for the opposition, the labour party. a significant number of its supporters voted to leave, lots of its mps wanted to stay. jeremy corbyn is asking his mps to vote to trigger article 50. not all of them will, but labour's brexit spokesman agrees. it is our duty to respect the

outcome of the referendum, but we remaina outcome of the referendum, but we remain a european country with a shared history and shared values. it is also our duty to fight for a new relationship with our eu partners that reflect our values, our commitment to international is and oui’ commitment to international is and our commitment to an open and tolera nt our commitment to an open and tolerant society. i can show you that this debate is still going on. of that this debate is still going on. of you have been asking why there are not more mps there, it is a very long debate and they don't all stay for the entirety. i've been talking to rob watson at westminster and he has been explaining why the debate was necessary in the first place. in one sense it is technical, and i don't think there is any doubt it will get through. it's 133 words, but will get through. it's133 words, but one which will change the course of history. theresa may will get it and the government will no doubt trigger leaving the european union by the end of march. what has been

really fascinating, and you got a hint of it there, is that it has also been a moment where mps have reflected on the arguments for and against britain's membership of the european union. i was struck by how incredibly divisive this issue is, with a genuine sense of foreboding among many mps who were on the remain side. and yet, a contrasting sense of ecstasy and talk of quiet revolution among the brexiteers. lets assume this gets through, and i think that is a fairer suction. how does it fit into the broader chronology of brexit? it will get through, i'm pretty sure about that. it looks like the bill will be passed at the beginning of march, the sixth or seventh, and the idea is that theresa may will have it in her pocket, she will go to the eu summit on the 9th of march and trigger britain's two year process for leaving. i think it's important to say that it is not the end of politics or the end of parliament. i think the real political

difficulties that theresa may might find actually come once the negotiations with the other eu 27 begin and wants businesses, banks and everybody else gets to digest the shape that a post brexit britain is taking. outside source will bring you every step of the story as it unfolds. we were expecting to bring you news of another executive orderfrom donald trump — this one about cyber security. but at the last minute, the white house said it wouldn't be happening today. let's see what dave lee, our north america technology correspondent has to say. do you have an understanding of what has happened ? do you have an understanding of what has happened? no, to be quite frank. they haven't told us the reason for the delay. the meeting, that was scheduled to happen before the signing did happen, between president trump and his various cyber security advisers, whether there has been something that has

arisen from that meeting that has meant this order has been delayed, we may hopefully find out soon. there is some speculation out there about some of the potential reasons, one of which being that the order which essentially lays out a plan for audits over the next 60 days into america's cyber security issues, there is no mention of the fbi's issues, there is no mention of the fbi‘s role in that process. that is one speculation, perhaps, that might mean that the order is being looked at again before it is signed. as it stands, we don't know why it has been delayed. cyber security comes in lots of different forms. what is president trump particularly preoccupied with? well, we have seen a d raft of preoccupied with? well, we have seen a draft of the report, the washington post was handed a leaked d raft. washington post was handed a leaked draft. much of it focused on critical infrastructure in the us. everything from the banks, two power stations, to all sorts of stuff. it could involve voting machines, interestingly, although they were

not mentioned specifically. that is his primary concern. the rhetoric over the campaign was that america is weak and vulnerable to cyber attacks. to be honest, that is something that cyber security experts, hackers or working for security firms, they do agree with that. of all the orders that president trump has put forward over the last week, this one is actually one that does seem to have consensus among many of the experts in the field. let's talk again tomorrow, if we have more details on what the white house is planning on that issue. donald trump is enthusiastic about protectionism. it's an idea that went out of fashion as globalisation and free trade became dominant ideas in the west. but it's back — in the us at least. mr trump's supporters are delighted of course — but some analysts are worried. listen to this. this is professor christos —— christopher smart. the potential is for a great deal of instability,

both on financial markets and the political side. in the financial markets, a large amount of money moving from one place to another tends to destabilise things. the political issue has to do with the potential for retaliation. political issue has to do with the potentialfor retaliation. barriers we have been removing over the past 20 years start going up again and it could lead to a trade war. let's bring in samira hussein. what are the practicalities of america introducing a tariff on one country or another? if you just think about it, if the united states introduces a tariff on china, for example, one, we could be met with retaliatory measures and met with some kind of tariff. any goods that somebody has on them, even this piece of clothing, if you look at the label, how many things do you see which actually made in china? imagine all

of those items have a tariff on it. what you are paying is a lot more, american goods are going to be more expensive in china. itjust becomes a lot more expensive for everyday americans. technically, yes, you can pose those kind of tariffs, but you can't impose them without expecting retaliation. i am going to have to leave it there, apologies that it was a bit brief. we will come back to that issue. there are some other issues we can and back. there are a few things i can control by touching the screen, the change in the end of the screen, the change in the end of the first half and second half is beyond my powers. lots of your questions are coming in. stay with us, whether you are watching in the uk, on the news channel or elsewhere. hello. it is time for the nightly

look at the bigger weather stories from around the world. we are going to start in spain. earlier in the month it was all across the south—east where we saw heavy rain, lots of snow. the north—west of spain, it has been the opposite. we have seen very little rainfall, stretching back as far as summer around 50% to 75% of what we would normally receive. that worsened through autumn, not even half of the normal autumn rainfall fell. by december, we are talking quarter of the usual amounts. that continued into january. the result has been reservoirs dropping to incredibly low levels. rivers almost drying up in warwick two spots and some old town is exposed as the reservoirs gradually fell. that could be about to change. we have cloud that has been waiting in the wings. the atla ntic been waiting in the wings. the atlantic bursting through. during the rest of this week, stormy areas of low pressure bursting in. affecting spain, portugal, western france and ireland. notjust bringing heavy rain, but strong to gale force, if not severe gale force

wind. just to give you a rough labour, we are set to see rain and cooler conditions into dublin. bordeaux will be battered by gale force winds, lisbon on friday and also into madrid. we're also seeing rain hitting california. there is more to come. we have had a dry few days, but that is going to change as we head into the end of the week. throw some rain and snow into the north, it is california that gets hit worst of all. san francisco, sacramento, plenty of rain and the risk of flooding. notice more snowfall, it has been a really bumper snow season across the california mountains. that is crucial. it translates into drinking water as we hit the spring and summer. we have seen some snow pushing across iraq and the levant in the middle east. as we head to run, we open the door to colder weather, a cold day across syria and northern iraq on wednesday. notice the temperatures in the gulf in the

mid—20s. 0ver the temperatures in the gulf in the mid—20s. over the next few days, the cold wind will work south, bringing big drops in temperatures to dubai. a big shock to those having a winter break. notjust a big shock to those having a winter break. not just a a big shock to those having a winter break. notjust a drop in temperature, strong wind could also bring some dust storms. 0ver recent days we have been talking about wildfires in chile. not a huge amount of rain. it stays in southern parts, central and northern areas stay dry. the wind will be a bit lighter. after seeing temperatures into the mid—30s, they got back into the mid—to—high 20s over the next few days. in the uk, we have some wet weather today. stronger wind, darren has more in about 30 minutes. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is 0utside source. let's look through some of the main stories here in the bbc newsroom. the pace in washington is unrelenting. the latest move came from the democrats — boycotting votes to approve donald trump's cabinet and forcing delays, at least until wednesday.

this stalls the appointment of a new attorney general. the previous one — sally yates — was dismissed for questioning the legality of president trump's immigration ban, the head of homeland security explained the controversial order. this is not a travel ban, a temporary pause... we will hear from this russian woman who survived domestic abuse as her parliament plans to vote to decriminalize