hello and welcome to one hundred days plus. washington is in uproar after the sudden and highly unusual dismissal of the head of the fbi. the white house says the firing wasn't because of the bureau's russia probe, but democrats smell a rat. amid new reports that comey recently requested more funds for the russia investigation — president trump says he was fired because he wasn't up to it. he wasn't doing a good job. simply wasn't doing a very good job. the sacking has led democrats to call for an independent investigation into ties between the trump campaign and russia. nothing less is at stake than the american people's faith in our criminaljustice system and the integrity of the executive branch of our government. and comey first thought the news that he'd been fired was a joke.

then he had to fly home from the west coast to face the reality. also. spicing up the drama today, the russian foreign minister is in washington, with a trip to the white house on the itinerary. after the meeting sergei lavrov called allegations that russia tampered in the us election fake, accusing american lawmakers of damaging the political system. plus. is washington's political scene more chaotic than ever, or does it just feel that way? we delve into the archives to our coverage from the past. i'm katty kay in washington, clive myrie is in london. christian is off today. in the firing of fbi directorjames comey, donald trump either showed strong and decisive leadership,

or he demonstrated undemocratic nixonian tendencies. take your pick. james comey had no idea his pink slip was on the way, and he'd be shown the door. but mr trump says he has his reasons forfiring mr comey now, right in the middle of the russia investigation into his own election campaign. he's used 139 characters on twitter to vent. "comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington, republican and democrat alike. when things calm down, they will be thanking me!" from washington, here's our north america editor, jon sopel. this is a fox news alert. fbi directorjames comey has been fired by the president of the united states. the term breaking news is bandied about with abandon but last night it was justified. at fbi offices the first they knew their director had been fired was when it flashed up on their tv screens. and james comey, who was in los angeles addressing staff, knew nothing about it either until and aide handed him a note. the letter sent by president trump was brutal.

you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately. at least they left him the government jet to fly back to the east coast. a private citizen, a turbulent career cut short. and today the president was unrepentant. why did you fire director comey? because he wasn't doing a good job, simply wasn't doing a good job. james comey, the six foot eight tall director confirmed in march that the trump campaign was under investigation for its links to russia during the election. the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. the president has railed consistently that it's fake news and there has been no improper contact. last night he fired the man heading the inquiry. it's caused fury and dismay among some republicans, and all democrats. if there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor,

it is right now. but the white house is seeking to persuade people that the decision to fire comey had nothing to do with russia or the fbi investigation. it is time for a fresh start at the fbi. i think the president did as he has done in many other cases, took decisive action. he provided strong leadership and to act on the recommendation of the attorney general. the white house says the loss of confidence stems from james comey‘s investigation into hillary clinton's use of a private e—mail server when she was secretary of state. i made a mistake using a private e—mail. he decided lastjuly there'd be no prosecution, just a rap on the knuckles. republicans were furious. then, stunningly, he reopened his inquiry 11 days before polling. it took guts for director comey to make the move that he made. but if it's all about

the way the fbi conducted the hillary clinton investigation, why sack him now? why this intervention? why not do it when donald trump first came to office? and how do you reconcile it with the praise heaped uponjames comey? whatever, it's left the fbi feeling very sore about the way their director has been treated. and into the washington maelstrom who should arrive today for his first visit to see the trump administration than sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister, injokey mood. was he fired? you are kidding! he then went to meet donald trump at the white house, but curiously, for the camera loving president, the press was kept away. this feels like house of cards on steroids. the white house deputy press secretary has been speaking — here is what she said on the firing of james comey. the president over the last several

months the president over the last several m o nths lost the president over the last several months lost confidence in director komi, the department ofjustice left —— lost confidence in director comey and bipartisan members of congress made it clear they had lost confidence in director comey. and most importantly the rank and file of the fbi had lost confidence in their director. throughout the program we will talk to democrats, republicans and law enforcement officers. opinion of the sacking falls largely on party lines. let's start with the democrats who are apoplectic about this — even though many had themselves called for comey to go. one of them is senator chris van hollen he tweeted this... "the you're fired approach doesn't work when you're president. @potus you're creating a crisis of confidence in ourjustice department." i spoke to senator van hollen a little while ago. you did not especially like the way that james comey treated hillary

clinton during the election campaign so clinton during the election campaign so why are you so upset about the fa ct so why are you so upset about the fact that he has been fired? there is no doubt there were concerns about the way that comey handled the clinton investigation but it is absolutely laughable to try to believe that donald trump fired comey because of his handling of the clinton e—mail investigation went right after the election donald trump praised comey for that investigation. if that were the case of course he could have fired comey his first day in office. the reality is the timing smells to high heaven, comey has been in the middle of an investigation into the collaboration potentially between tram campaign and the russians. just yesterday the issued grand jury subpoenas to some of michael flynn's associates. this has been heating up and he gets fired, it looks like a blatant attempt to interfere with an ongoing investigation. are you suggesting the fbi was getting too close to the

russian, trump ties and that is why comey was fired? i'm suggesting that the fact that the investigation was heating up and that they were pursuing it more vigorously than they had been in fact it has just been reported that comey asked for additional resources from the justice department within the last ten days to conduct the investigation and the guillotine comes down on him. so i think this smells to high heaven. what does this do to america's democratic institutions? i think it really makes it more difficult for the united states of america first of all to talk with moral authority around the world. here at home we are going to demand the appointment ofa are going to demand the appointment of a special prosecutor, that is the only way we can restore any kind of faith and integrity in the process to make sure someone can come

faith and integrity in the process to make sure someone can come in without being accountable, without having to be fired by the trump administration or their political appointees. but in my view it makes it much more difficult for the united states to ask the leaders of other countries to abide by the rule of law, to respect the integrity of thejudicial process. of law, to respect the integrity of the judicial process. we've seen a rise of authoritarianism around the world. and this hurts our efforts in that respect, it does not help. thank you very much. rajini vaidyanathan has been on capitol hill, speaking to the republican senator lindsey graham. he believes a fresh start at the bureau, was overdue. we need new leadership in the fbi. it is strange that were wondering about firing the guy when both parties at one time wanted him removed. did russia have our part to

play in the decision in your view? not according to the letter but let me tell you about russia. russia interfered in our election, i want to punish russia. i'm100% convinced that the interfered and try to undermine the 2016 election, that it was russia intelligence services that acted and changed the outcome, creating discord and i want to punish russia. i get to see any evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and the russians but we need to keep looking until we can find out one way or the other. when it comes to unmasking american citizens that were talking with foreign agents or leaders, that information makes its way into the press, i want to look at that as well. i want to do all things russia. you want to look at that many are saying, even russia. you want to look at that many are saying, even some republicans, that the best way to have done that would be to keep comey in the role to continue the investigation because anyone who follows hi m investigation because anyone who follows him now will be an appointee

of president trump. you said that the pleasure of the president. as the pleasure of the president. as the fbi director. you serve the pleasure of the president. and the deputy attorney general suggested that we need new leadership. all i can say is that both parties, just look at the record of what democrats have said about comey. i find it odd that all of a sudden now he is removed, there is something wrong with him being removed when everybody at different times have called for him to be removed. what is important is to pick someone that we all have confidence in. how much confidence do you have in president trump picking a replacement who will be able to hold the russians to account, or that investigation?” think we're going to hold russia to account in the senate, the fbi is made up of professional people who will do theirjob and if you think dismissing director comey blend

investigation into russia you are wrong. you need to look at all things russia and it is incumbent upon president trump to pick somebody that we all can rally around within reason. let me say this, it is possible to pick and fbi director was just republican votes, i hope we can pick someone that will get democratic support as well. and joining us now is former strategist to president george w bush — ron christie. what is the mood in the white house? pretty frantic. last night when the initial announcement was made in a frantic e—mail that said to all of those going on television today please check with the white house immediately. i thought that is interesting and then today there has been a flurry of information as to why this was legal and proper, it clearly seemed to be much on the

defensive, the way it was unveiled. you said it is the white house did not anticipate the blowback on this but in some respects this present throughout his career has embraced controversy. he thinks it is an asset for him. so perhaps he likes all of this. in some secret way i think he loves the attention, loves the fact that we're sitting in washington and folks around the world a re washington and folks around the world are watching us and talking about him. what he needs to recognise, yes, was properfor him to fired the fbi director, certainly. you serve at the pleasure of the president of the united states. your service could end much more quickly than you want. but doing this now, it is going to be a bad week for him. clive is in london. fire away. to be clear, and

you made this point and the white house is making the point, every president has the right to fired the head of the fbi. bill clinton did it in 1993. but as you say it is the optics, as a strategist, if you were had been advising president trump, which suggested that he do it now? absolutely not. if you're going to fired the fbi director, and have a clea n fired the fbi director, and have a clean sweep, a clean breakfrom fired the fbi director, and have a clean sweep, a clean break from the previous administration, you fire the us attorneys, around 90 of them, that our political appointees, and the fbi director. but the fbi director has a 10—year tenure so they do not get embroiled in partisan conflict. what we have here isa partisan conflict. what we have here is a partisan conflict, clearly the president did not like what comey had done and he made that decision. the mistake is the fact that now the democrats are going to call for a special prosecutor and the white

house will have weeks and weeks of political fallout from this. stay with us. just to pick up on something said earlier, the impact that this will have on the american reputation around the world. i spoke with civil rights activists last night from developing countries and they said they have always look to america as a moral of unite of how to do the rule of law properly and they were surprised that this should happen in this country. the other point they made was something mentioned earlier, they get that this would empower autocrats around the world. would give them if you like a licence to act as the president hasjust done. the optics letters they are not good in the us and clearly around the rest of the worlds most are asking if this passes the smell test. what would your own common sense say about this kind of issue. if the president is suggesting he fired comey because of

the way he handled the investigation into hillary clinton then did he believe that comey was being too soft on hillary clinton and in which case why did the president during his campaign say, lock her up at every rally. if we believe that comey was being too soft on hillary clinton, then is he possibly now going to reopen an investigation into hillary clinton and her e—mails. it is all very murky indeed. does exactly the questions people are asking in washington and especially about the investigation. the russians right on cue are in washington. foreign minister, sergei lavrov met president trump this morning in the oval office. and mr lavrov was full of praise for president trump. he said this was an administration full of action, though one suspects he wasn't blessing the recent cruise missile attack on an airbase in syria. but that's by the by. anyway mr lavrov rejected allegations, russia is meddling in us affairs.

translation: regarding this noise about our contacts, but fake information according to which we are allegedly in control of the domestic policy of the us. yes it is an abnormal background for our relations. i believe it is even humiliating for the american people to think the russian federation is controlling the situation in america. how can it be possible for such a great power and such a great country, i believe some politicians are damaging the political system of the us, trying to pretend someone is controlling america from the outside. sergei lavrov being invited to the oval office was rare — it's an honour usually reserved for heads of state. over the last few months we have seen the relationship between russia and the united states change dramatically. jonny dymond is in moscow and explained how this meeting plays into us—russian relations. just does one swallow doesn't make a

summer one meeting does not make a relationship. there's no doubt people will want to know what comes out of this, people will try to judge the mood music of it. but what you have here is two sides groping their way, still, in his early days, towards a relationship. we know that there was considerable excitement, even elation in moscow at the election of president trump. we heard from president trump about his admiration for the russian president vladimir putin. rex tillerson the us secretary of state was here in moscow in april and had a long meeting with sergei lavrov and with vladimir putin, a man he knew from his old days as head of exxon—mobil. we heard almost nothing from those meetings. so you have these two sides, afairamount meetings. so you have these two sides, a fair amount of talk about the relationship but we're waiting for the meet, to see for example will the us supported the russian plan for de—escalation zones in syria. will there be any movement on

sanctions, will the two countries confront isis, a stated aim of both. we've heard the talk, we wait to see what happens if and when there is the walk. i'm joined now by charles kupchan the former director of european affairs at the national security council under president obama. what did you make of sevilla blair—brown and his meeting with donald trump this morning and his fulsome praise of this administration on this particular day? —— sergei lavrov. administration on this particular day? -- sergei lavrov. the timing of strange in the sense that firing comey the evening before you bring sergei lavrov into the oval office just puts more and more light and suspicion on this whole question of what went on between the trump campaign and russia. but i do think that president trump and rex tillerson have in their dna a desire to improve relations with russia. that is not necessarily a bad thing.

the world would be a safer place if the us and its allies got along with the us and its allies got along with the russians. but it is an uphill battle. one because of syria and because of ukraine and also because the political climate in this city right now, the knives are out on the question of russian interference in the american election. it is not a situation in which it would be easy for trump to reach out and make some concessions to putin. what do you think president putin is making of what is happening here in washington at the moment, is this emboldening him with his public showing that russia somehow muddying the waters in american politics?” russia somehow muddying the waters in american politics? i think he really is doing two things. he is just trying to create confusion and disruption because in the end of the day he wants to weaken the west. internally as well as institutionally. nato and the

european union, he's not doing a bad job of that. although in the recent french election we saw the tide turning against the populists. i also think he wants to show that he has leveraged, that he can stand up to the united states. one—on—one. and build a strong relationship with the us president. but actually he is making that harder because of the degree to which there is this world going on in washington about russian interference, about hacking, about collusion. clive? it is curious, we had that press conference with rex tillerson in moscow not that long ago and it was incredibly frosty standing next to sergei lavrov. now we have sergei lavrov in washington cracking jokes, it is if the syrian cruise missile attack launched by president trump never happened. cruise missile attack launched by president trump never happenedm is all very odd and you know the fa ct is all very odd and you know the fact that sergei lavrov came here on

the way to the arctic meeting and he had an oval office meeting, that says that something is going on and that both rex tillerson and trump wa nt to that both rex tillerson and trump want to try to reach out to the russians. i do think they're going to focus mostly on syria, that is where the low hanging fruit is and thatis where the low hanging fruit is and that is because russia is in a commanding position now that alaba has fallen in the syrian regime has control of most of the populated areas of western syria. the key question i think that the trump administration is are they going to support this deal, is there when it comes to de—escalation, and the situation just got comes to de—escalation, and the situationjust got more comes to de—escalation, and the situation just got more complicated yesterday because the united states announced it is going to train and arm the syrian kurds and that is going to strain relations with turkey just before going to strain relations with turkeyjust before president erdogan arrives next week to see mr trump. i want to pick up on what charles

was saying. the white house is going to give heavy arms to the kurds, we have the announcement of another 3000 american troops being sent to afghanistan. all this happening and totally overshadowed by a story in washington which really is of the white house's own choosing. washington which really is of the white house's own choosingm washington which really is of the white house's own choosing. it is incredible. the reinsertion of us troops in afghanistan is very serious and significant. arming the kurds, very serious, but has serious geo— strategic implications for the us and yet it is up their own choosing, for a reason only president trump knows, they decided to ta ke president trump knows, they decided to take this action with the fbi director. the timing is bad, and that will be the big sucking sound in this city, all the oxygen leaving the room. looking at president trump and comey when there are so many other things going on around the globe. how does this all muck from london? all looking very strange indeed. for instance the president

made it clear during the campaign that he was going to focus on american politics, domestic issues. it seems to be wanting to engage now further and further afield. is this in order to take emphasis away from what is going on at home?” in order to take emphasis away from what is going on at home? i think frank retakes emphasis away from what is not going on in capitol hill, the president came in and thought he was going to have an easy time of getting his health care bill through congress. that has been derailed. he thought he would have an easy time getting his tax package through to reduce taxes here in the us and that is not going so well. i think what you're seeing is the use of executive power in the one area where the president does not have to go to congress or negotiate and he can take these steps on his own. so i anticipate that we will see a lot more foreign policy muscle from the present of his domestic policy agenda is still derailed. thank you. south korea has started a new politcal era as a new

president takes the helm. moon jae—in has been sworn in as president. his victory ends almost a decade of conservative rule. the new president has promised to arrive in office and leave office with empty pockets. the le pen family has suffered another loss in france. french far—right mp marion marechal—le pen has decided to quit politics — her aunt was defeated in sunday's presidential election. the niece of marine le pen said she was leaving political life for personal and political reasons. she is one of the national front‘s two deputies in the national assembly and had been seen by some as a future leader of the party. you're watching 100 days plus from bbc news. still to come for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — we continue our look at donald trump's firing of the fbi directorjim comey and we'll hear form former attorney general alberto gonzales about the timing of this decision. and we'll be looking at some other rocky moments in the recent history of us politics — i was a correspondent in washington during the impeachment of bill clinton in 1998. that's still to come on 100

days plus, from bbc news. we promise beautiful sunny weather across we promise beautiful sunny weather a cross m ost we promise beautiful sunny weather across most of the uk and that is exactly what we had. now it is all change, over the next they're so we see cloud increasing, humility is going to go up and there is a risk of thunder. all this warmth and humidity coming in from the south and it could stick around into saturday. in the short term it is quiet, clear skies across the uk through this evening and overnight. but the early hours of thursday, we start to see that humidity and even some showers creeping into southern parts of the uk. there may already be the odd downpour across the south first

thing in the morning. but it will not be until later in the morning and into the afternoon before some of the showers get heavy and they will be very hit and miss. so first thing in the morning, there could be the odd heavy shower or else little rainfall. very difficult to forecast. the basic message is that most of us and certainly most of that, a great start to the state with a lot of sunshine. but again walkley, perhaps some rain and a lot cooler. let's focus on the cloud and humidity coming in from the south. by humidity coming in from the south. by the time we get to lunchtime onwards is when the threat of thunder increases. the showers will be very few and far between, most of us be very few and far between, most of us will have a hazy and one day with perhaps some spots of rain. better further north. then it looks like thursday evening into friday, more substantial rain coming in from the south. this could be sundry as well. then friday, the south—westerly wind scooped up by the low pressure just keep on sending the cloud and outbreaks of rain in our direction. so some rain around on friday morning across central areas, there

could be thunderstorms through the midlands and further south. this is tricky to forecast and they will be dotted around almost anywhere across the southern half of the uk. heading into saturday, cloudy and wetter weather moving into northern parts of england and scotland. then this weather front with fresh air behind will move in the direction of the uk and by the time we get to saturday i think it is going to be fresher across think it is going to be fresher a cross m ost think it is going to be fresher across most of the uk. goodbye. macro and on and on. welcome back in days. donald trump has fired james comey saying he hasn't done a good job. the timing of this smells to high heaven. he's

been investigating a potential collaboration between the trump campaign and the russians. you heard it there. many democrats didn't like james comey that they don't like the argument that he was fired over the way he handled hillary clinton's e—mails. and some republicans agree it looks a bit odd. we now speak to the dean of belmont university of law. judge gonzales, what you make of the way in which james comey has been fired? if you are referring to the fact that he was on the west coast as the announcement was being made on the east, and found out by receiving the news from the

television, i think it was frankly disappointing. someone in that position, giving his long public service deserved more. there are questions about the timing of the firing and that is something we will have to work through. it was —— whether it was based upon interference in an investigation into ties between the trump campaign and russia, then if that is the case it was totally improper. but if it is to do with what was in the letter given to donald trump about his back catalogue of maladies, then that could be except a ball. people in the department ofjustice are unhappy about the way it was carried

out. isn't the perception of reality, and the perception is that here is the guy heading the investigation into trump's campaign links with russia and here he is being fired? many are asking whether this was away for the white house stopped the investigation, and again, whati stopped the investigation, and again, what i have tried to reassure people that if that is a motivation, it will fail, if anything it raises the stakes even higher. the fbi will find out, congress and all the press will find out. this isjust too big an issue today, made even more sensational by what happened yesterday and people are very interested in learning exactly what, if anything, happened between the trump campaign and the russian government. i'm not aware of any

kind of collusion between the two of them but that was the purpose of the investigation, to try and find out. what do you make up the way that the role of the current attorney general, jeff sessions, here was a man who had had to excuse himself from the russian investigation because of things he didn't reveal jury because of things he didn't reveal jury in the investigation, but here he is deciding the fate of the man leading that enquiry will? i'm not sure whatjeff sessionss involvement was with this. you would probably get advice before participating, i don't know if he had done that i assume he had. had done that.

i assume he had. he still has some responsibilities within his department and it's hard to differentiate between the two. what would this do to the relationship between the fbi and the white house? i'm not sure what it tells us. they may not be much of a relationship, because the fbi reports to the department of justice. there are limitations as to who can talk to who. the deputy attorney general, soviet shouldn't be much of a relationship at all. —— so be much of a relationship at all. —— so there shouldn't be. the white house briefing has just

so there shouldn't be. the white house briefing hasjust wrapped up and wejoin our house briefing hasjust wrapped up and we join our correspondent, house briefing hasjust wrapped up and wejoin our correspondent, nick. why was he really fired and why now? did the white house spokesperson a nswer did the white house spokesperson answer either those questions? what she said, sarah saunders, deputising for sean spicer on naval reserve activities at the back end of this week, she said that the president had been considering getting rid of james comey from his first day in office, and over time he gradually lost confidence in him, partly because he had thrown a hand grenade into the fbi headquarters. she said he committed atrocities. she didn't actually say what they were. they are sticking to the reasoning in those letters, that it was over the handling of the hillary clinton e—mail scandal and had nothing to do with the investigation into russian meddling and possible

collusion with trump will stop why now? she said they wanted to give him a chance but he carried on making missteps. one question she was asked about was that did trump direct rosenstein to go away and write a letter asking for a decision that had already been made. she denied this. she said it was on the deputy‘s recommendation. denied this. she said it was on the deputy's recommendation. we have our correspondent now on capitol hill. a

director at the fbi who is posted be not political has become so politicised, and judging from the people you been talking to on capitol hill, they are responding to type over this sacking. it's like what one senator said to be earlier. this feels like the election all over again. let's start with the mood among the democratic senators. they are reeling. i have spoken to several today who are really angry about the timing of this. they don't tidy arguments from the white house and they are calling for a special prosecutor to look into the russia allegations. the trump campaign couuded allegations. the trump campaign colluded with the russians, they wa nt colluded with the russians, they want that to be taken away from the fbi so whoever is the replacement will be impartial to president

trump. interesting, when we have looked at the republicans, even people like senator lindsay graham and rand paul, they have supported trump's decision to fire james comey. they are saying that the democrats are being critical, because it was something that they called for when hillary clinton's investigations were in into her e—mails —— into her e—mails, that was something they called for. clyde, where you not hear for bill clinton's diplomatically eventful presidency? let's take a trip down to memory lane and have a look at

you all those years ago at the democratic election. we should say to america in a loud, clear voice, senatorjohn kerry! the former president is one of the star attractions ofjohn president is one of the star attractions of john kerry's president is one of the star attractions ofjohn kerry's run for presidency. how times have changed. they have, and my hair has changed also. i was on shift when i found out about the firing of james comey, and now i feel that american politics is mixed up and crazy, and that's part of the democracy. things change all the time. it's not an

autocracy, a dictatorship. but i cast my mind back to 1998. bill clinton's impeachment. he had to address the american people where he talked about his sex life! there we re talked about his sex life! there were conversations about the proper use of a cigar. the proper meaning of the words is in depositions. it's got crazier in american politics over this and what will be interesting is what will happen after the firing of james comey. who will be his replacement? that could potentially set the cat amongst the pigeons, and the editor of the us magazine weekday, has suggested that they may not be a quick replacement.

the most important thing for america's democratic institutions is who replaces james comey, not the fa ct who replaces james comey, not the fact that he has gone. they have to be seen to be independent. i'm glad today that we don't have to talk about sex scandals. we are now going to talk about japan. about sex scandals. we are now going to talk aboutjapan. i remember when we we re to talk aboutjapan. i remember when we were reporting from japan in the 19905. we were reporting from japan in the 1990s. here is a report you did about auditions in japan 1990s. here is a report you did about auditions injapan about finding a girlgroup about auditions injapan about finding a girl group for british pop singers shampoo. this girl will indeed be a star. her backers will see to that. here on the streets of

tokyo, there is constant pressure to satisfy demanding and wealthy audience. tomorrow, we look at auditions facing various strains. bbc news, tokyo. bats and there! you haven't changed and i look 100 years older. that's all from us. goodbye. welcome to bbc news. the time is just coming up to a quarter to eight. let's take a look at your headlines here on bbc news. president trump has defended his decision to sack the head of the fbi without warning saying james comey wasn't doing a good job. the family of evha jannath, the 11—year—old girl who died at a theme park yesterday —

say their world has been torn apart. the crown prosecution service says no conservatives will face charges over claims they'd breached the rules on campaign spending during the last general election. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. the london ftse100 is up 43 points, but the dowjones, the key indicator as to what is happening to the main stocks in the united states, down to just 61.5 points. in a moment —one of the world's most famous buildings —— the sydney opera house is to get a makeover to improve its notoriously bad acoustics. the white house says president trump is considering four senior fbi officials to serve as the interim replacement for the sacked director

of the organisation, james comey. president trump wrote in a letter to mr comey that he agreed with attorney generaljeff sessions' recommendation that he was "not able to effectively lead the bureau". mr comey‘s dismissal has provoked widespread criticism in washington; widespread criticism in washington. democrats and some republicans have linked the move to an fbi investigation into possible collusion between the trump presidential campaign and russia. a little while ago, sarah saunders, the white house spokesperson let us know how the decision was reached. the doj lost confidence injames comey, bipartisan members of

congress had lost confidence in him and the rank and file in the fbi. before the news broke, the president spoke to several members of congress to inform them of his decision. did that president