welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: at least 12 people have died after a huge fire swept through a west london tower block. many people are still missing and police warn the number of victims is likely to rise. eyewitnesses say the flames engulfed the 2a story building within 30 minutes, with people desperately trying to escape. people were screaming, people were jumping out on fire, throwing down roads made out of bedsheets to try to climb out — just a complete nightmare, absolute nightmare. firefighters desperately struggled to reach the upper floors, but were repelled by the heat and falling debris. it was so dark and so much smoke was there. there was people running down the stairs, some people had luggage, it was so much confusion. our other top story:

under investigation by special counsel robert mueller, the washington post claims claims president trump is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice. hello. with fires still burning in parts of grenfell tower, more than 2a hours after the west london tower block was engulfed in flames, scores of people are still missing. 12 are confirmed dead, but police expect that figure to rise significantly. fire crews have not yet been able to search every floor of the 2a—storey building. 3a people are in hospital — 18 of them critically ill. our coverage begins with the bbc‘s home editor, mark easton. oh my god, they're screaming! it is a tragedy that plays to our darkest fears. the fire started between midnight and 1am.

the screams from the flats and the acrid smell of burning, waking neighbours. it was just people jumping out, literally. and putting sheets down to try to get out of the building. windows exploding, big, massive pieces of debris falling to the floor. we came here, saw people jumping off. people calling... you saw people jumping off? yeah. people had jumped off because they had no other option to. how high up? the top floor. i saw someone jump. someone was on fire and they jumped too. he didn't make it. some people have picked up their kids and threw them out for the police to pick them up because there was no other way out of the building. did you see that as well? i saw kids standing at the window screaming, "help me, help me, i can't breathe, help me." the fire raced through the 2a—storey council block in this part of north kensington. on the seventh floor, this family were led to safety. there was smoke everywhere,

people screaming. the neighbours were coming out. there was a fireman there going, "get out, get out." iran back injust my boxer shorts, put my dressing gown on, grabbed the little girl, put her under my dressing gown to cover her face from the smoke, got my girlfriend up. ran down the stairs, we're on the seventh, as we're running down we've gone to the fourth floor and it was pitch black. with dawn came green is expected news that lies had been lost. —— with dawn came grim if expected news that lies had been lost. many people numb with shop frantically searched to find missing friends and relatives. this woman's sister and 12—year—old nephew were unaccounted for. my sister with her son. how old is he? he is 12 years old. that's why ask. a 12—year—old boy. as well as the smoke and the smell of burning, numb shock and tension hangs over this area. in the 21st—century,

in a country with some of the strictest fire regulations in the world, a desperate tragedy latest just shouldn't happen. what floor are you on? huh? seven, yeah? well into the morning the crowds watching the horror on fault —— well into the morning the crowds watching the horror unfold in front of them reported seeing people still trapped in the block. i saw somebody there. he was waving a white... in a white shirt? yes. a man was eventually brought out by the emergency services at noon. this off—duty nurse helped tend to some of the injured rescued from the building. i've seen some things but today... i can't even describe it. there are mothers that have come out and lost their children. there are firefighters that have come out injured that we don't know

if they will come out safe. people have lost their homes, children have seen things, people were jumping out the window. we just need to rebuild as a community now. this is a neighbourhood that feels ignored. there is anger on the street, demanding answers. this is your building, isn't it? we have a number and they have to meet stringent safety and fire safety standards and in a refurbishment there would be an inspection from the fire authority. it hasn't worked, has it? clearly it hasn't and we have to get to the bottom of what went wrong. the streets of north kensington are littered with ashes, the charred home work of a schoolchild blown from grenfell tower, but the neighbourhood is also scarred by grief that will not pass for a long, long time. live now to the scene. our reporter sarah corker is there. sara. yes, this is the overwhelming

community response. this is a car park outside one of the evacuation centres. 2a hours since the fire began, these are all of the donations — piles and piles of them. ca rs have donations — piles and piles of them. cars have been queueing to deliver the goods. we can see here a pile of pushchairs, we have some toys and teddy bears for children. if we go further down, we have clothes, that says girls 10— 12 years old, we also have slippers. up here as well is pillows and betting because of course hundreds of people are now homeless. they lost their flats, their properties in a matter of 30 minutes last night. many of them just in the close they are wearing. we can speak with one of the volunteers. you have been working for many hours. you are from the

nearby sikh temple. tell me what's been happening. for this evening, thanks to the community and the love and appreciation of londoners and people around the country, there is a lot more stuff than we expected. the three centres were allocated full. this is one of the overflows. as you can see, there is a lot of love in the community. we were here to serve food. a couple of the charities involved, the first one came early in the morning at 6am, so the day shift when home around 7:30am, and then i arrived this evening and said i would do the overnight and they said we need security to guide everything in case. there are three or four of us guarding the place and also we have

spoken to police officers who said they are going to send either a car passed or an officer to join they are going to send either a car passed or an officer tojoin usjust to make sure everything is nice and fantastic. and what has struck me is many of the people have travelled considerable distances. 0ne many of the people have travelled considerable distances. one person came from wales, one came from essex, but people are coming to help people they have never met before. the reason is... england is a nice country to live in. everyone has got a reasonable life. at times like this the best of the community come out. this is where you find out how good it is to live in england and how good it is to be a londoner. you realise that times like this when everyone gets together, a beautiful atmosphere this evening, everyone helping out, loads of volunteers from everywhere. this shows you how much love there is. and there is

another three or four places like this. i am told one is qpr stadium with three times the staff and three other centres allocated for the disaster. we have the next three or four days to take it to the family. we have courts, prams, nappies, baby formula, blankets, clothes. just about everything you can ask for and it isa about everything you can ask for and it is a question of distributing it. i know that you are busy toward making this. just to give you geography, we are 800 metres from the tower block. it is still smouldering tonight. when i walk past half an hour ago, fire crews we re past half an hour ago, fire crews were still dousing one of the levels, maybe the 15th floor, with water and fire crews will work through the night in difficult conditions. thank you very much for that. more of the main news that president

trump is being investigated for a possible obstruction ofjustice according to the washington post. if confirmed, the move by special counsel robert mueller would mark a turning point in the fbi investigation into russian interference in last year's presidential election. mr trump's lawyer has called the leak of information outrageous, inexcusable, and illegal. live now to our north america correspondent david willis. david, we know the president did seek and did get repeated assurances from the fbi directorjames comey, who was later sacked, that the president wasn't under investigation by the fbi. if the washington post is right, something strange. by the fbi. if the washington post is right, something strangem by the fbi. if the washington post is right, something strange. it has and it all changed after the president got rid ofjames comey. what started off as an investigation by the fbi into alleged russian meddling in last yearus presidential

election has if the washington post is to be believed now widened into something potentially much more significant, much more potentially damaging to donald trump. namely, that he allegedly attempted to obstruct justice. and that he allegedly attempted to obstructjustice. and what that is a reference to is the 10th that it is alleged the president made to get the fbi to drop its investigation into his former national security adviser michael flynn, general flynn, the man you may remember who was sacked in february this year after it was revealed he had been less tha n after it was revealed he had been less than forthright it might be said in his account of russian dealings when he spoke to the vice president mike pence. so it is potentially very significant development and it means that robert mueller, the special counsel who was

only appointed of course afterjames comey was sacked, has now widened his investigation into fairly serious allegations, very serious allegations against the president of the united states. and mr trump has already set quite frankly in a tv interview that he fired james comey because he was unhappy with the way of the russia probe was going. another intriguing line in the post story, david, unconfirmed at the moment, investigators have been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among trump associates. yes, and it is reported in the article that robert mueller is to interview possibly as early as this week their heads, the director of the national intelligence centre and the head of the national security agency. these are two man who could have vital evidence as far as this whole investigation is concerned —— men. what is very interesting here is that effectively president trump has brought this on

himself if you like, because had he not sacked james comey it is quite possible that he would not be under investigation by robert mueller right now because robert mueller wouldn't be in the position and they wouldn't be in the position and they would not be a special counsel looking into this matter. clearly, more to come on this. david, thank you very much. another major story from washington dc: a gunman opened fire on members of congress as they were at baseball practice. five people were wounded, including the senior republican steve scalise, who's said to be in critical condition. president trump is shortly due to visit the hospital where he is being treated. laura bicker reports from virginia. gunshots. it was a regular morning baseball practice, but a gunman tried to turn it into a killing field. the horror was captured on camera by a dog—walker. the shots ring out for several minutes with few pauses. is that guy 0k? one of the victims was a congressman, steve scalise,

as his colleagues could not get to him as the firing continued. i could see steve scalise out on the field. he was shot from near second base. he was a little bit further away from the gunman. he was lying motionless. i wanted to get to him but there were still shots overhead from all sides. finally, when we heard the shooter was down, ijust ran low out to steve and started putting pressure on the wound. the gunman was 66—year—old james hodgkinson from illinois.

he was anti—trump. he was shot by capitol hill police. survivors say it would have been a massacre without their help. they were dodging bullets on a day that should have been batting practice. the emotion of seeing your friends shot while you are helpless. you have a baseball bat. they have a rifle. you are defenceless. the shooting has shaken washington — both sides of the political aisle seem in shock. when you go to baseball practice for a game for charity and you have to dodge bullets and you watch colleagues laying down in the field, yeah, it is heartbreaking. this has to stop. hate has to stop. we are united in our shock, we are united in our anguish. an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. president donald trump praised all those who serve in congress. we may have our differences, but we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nation's capital is here because, above all, they love our country. it's not yet known whether or not

this was an assassination attempt. there are reports the gunman asked whether or not this was a democrat or republican practice. the match was supposed to be held tomorrow, it's been held since 1909. it is a genuine moment of political bipartisa nship. it is now marred by violence. the head of the federal reserve of the united states and bank has raised interest rates by 0.25%. it will now be between 1% and 1.25%. police in california are saying that three people have been killed in a shooting at a ups parcel depot in san francisco. gunmen dressed in

uniform and also died. police say he shot himself as they approached. two other people were wounded. much more to come including more on how the people of west london are helping the families made homeless by the huge tower block fire. the day the british liberated the falklands and by tonight british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorbymania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who, for them, had raised great hopes for the end of the division of europe. michaeljackson was not guilty on all charges. the screams of the crowd testament to his popularity and their faith in his innocence. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll get out there and kick 'em down the hill.

what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it's pretty neat. feels marvellous, really. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: at least twelve people are now known to have died in a huge fire which engulfed a residential tower block in west london. the number of dead is expected to rise as fire crews carry out a complex recovery operation. the washington post claims president trump is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice by special counsel robert mueller. stories have emerged of people who'd managed to escape from the tower block and watched the fire as it swept through the building. relatives and friends are still

urgently seeking people who are unaccounted for. they use all means, including social media to raise awareness and make content to make contact. 0ur correspondent has been speaking to people about some of those still missing. jessica is 12. in the mayhem she became separated from her family. she told her mother she was on the stairs with other people but her family have heard nothing since. her aunt posted this photo on facebook with an appeal for people to get in touch. tony lived alone on the 22nd floor. at 330 this morning he phoned one of his three sons and said he was told to stay in his flat. 0n facebook, one of his children pleaded that if anybody has seen him, could they please be told. 0ne family on the 17th floor has five people missing. this young woman he

was her grandmother and her grandfather. 0ther was her grandmother and her grandfather. other family members as well. they were last heard of at three a.m. stop 82—year—old ali has a heart condition. he made it down one flaw in a lift but was then told to get out and became separated from his daughter stop she, her mother and sister managed to escape but there has been no word of him. on there has been no word of him. on the 14th floor, dennis called his family at 130 saying he was struggling to breathe with smoke. 30 minutes later he phoned again saying he was in a neighbour's flat that was the last contact will stop murray, 27, is a marketing manager and lived on the 19th floor with her mother. herfriends posted this picture with the message please, let's find her and her mum. this man did not live in the tower but with his wife and three—year—old daughter who was visiting someone. as muslims, the family had gone there to break rum at an vast fools of his

employer said simply that mo was pa rt employer said simply that mo was part of the family. some of the many who are missing. the people who love them have been plunged into the most terrible torment, desperate for news and they have been forced to wait for information. within a few hours of the fire starting people were arriving at the shelters that have been set up here in churches, sports and community centres. they were carrying food, clothes, water handing out masks to people in the street to protect them from the acrid smoke. 0ur correspondent elaine dunkley tells us more about the way the local community came together to help. this church hall, a refuge for those who have nothing and for those who want to give. they've been overwhelmed with donations. today we've been out, we've bought a load of phone chargers and we've given people the phone chargers to help them call loved ones and to make sure they're all safe and everyone knows where everybody is. we've also donated some money, we've given some money to some families.

he withdrew £1000 out of his account and we've been giving families £100 just to see them over the next couple of days. i mean, it's amazing how everyone has come out in the community, and it just shows you how people will stick together in a time like this. and how caring people are, they've been so caring. this hall is full of provisions, from shoes to toiletries. people are sharing their homes, others are offering their time. i see that london is still together and regardless of your background — i'm from brazil — and where you come from, everybody got together. it is an amazing feeling that i have. in 15 minutes, this hallway, as you see, it is absolutely full of clothes, baby stuff, food, water. it is amazing. on another corner, just moments away from where people have lost their lives and others all their possessions, there are more supplies. we've had bedding, headscarves, toiletries, everything you can think of that people might want.

this at the front here is food. i have kids at the local primary and secondary, texts are coming in, new centres that are open, where else people can take donations. you know, i happen to be nearby, so... i've got a seven—year—old and i was taking her to school this morning, and on that road where we walked to school, there was a very, very clear view of the tower and what was going on. the fire was sort of really going at that point early in the morning and she understands what's going on and so after school we came by here and she wanted to help load donations from this box into the van that's taking them on to the shelters where people are being looked after. this is an area where there is wealth, and those who have very little. people from all backgrounds trying to do their best. this community is very strong. obviously it's not about who's rich and who's poor, as you can see.

you will see people with suits and people with tracksuits, you know, just helping around and doing what they can do the best. there's also people here from different castes and different colours. a lot of youth is involved as well, from what i can see. you can see a lot of students running around here, picking up stuff. yeah, we from the sikh community are trying our best, making sure there's water everywhere. tonight, many of the centres are providing food and beds. but this is just the beginning for families who are now homeless. the prime minister, theresa may has promised a full investigation into the causes of the fire. the blaze is still partially alight in the 2a—storey grenfell tower — twelve people are confirmed to have died but the authorities have warned that figure is likely to rise. residents have raised concerns about fire safety in the tower which was given insulated cladding during a recent £10 million refurbishment. there is plenty more on our website, including a special live page, where you'll find the latest news

updates and information from the emergency services as well as tweets and social media posts from on the ground. you'll find that at bbc.com/news many people are still unaccounted for since the huge fire. the latest figures we see have 12 confirmed dead and police say is inevitable that number will rise. fire crews are yet to search the whole building. 78 are being treated in hospital and 18 are critically ill. attention is focusing on the new exterior cladding that was put in last year. dozens of fires have been linked to cladding around the world. at the height of the fire, crews could only reach the 12th floor. the safety advice was to stay put as the fire was affecting their own flat. the idea was that every flat would bea the idea was that every flat would be a fire resistant box which clearly did not happen. much more on that any time on a website. they're

the next 2a hours will bring us some cooler and fresher weather but will not last long — the warmth will return for the weekend. we certainly pulled some warmth up from the south during wednesday. 27 degrees was our top temperature at heathrow. thursday, however, will be a different feeling day. the cold front pushing in from the west and behind that some fresh air will be introduced. ahead of the front a warm and muggy start to thursday morning, particularly in our big town and city centres. 16,17,18 degrees. with sunshine, temperatures in eastern england will rise quickly through the morning. here is our weather front, our cold front. at this stage showery rain and as that pushes through it will introduce that fresh airfrom the west. by apm, south—west england will still enjoy sunshine but the temperature will have dropped off. still some warmth clinging on across the south—east and east anglia.

22, 23 degrees here and mainly fine afternoon across the midlands. we start to encounter showers as we push across england, quite a lot fresher there. across scotland there will be cloudy periods, i suspect, with showery rain. equally bright spells in between and breezy towards the north—west. similar stories in northern ireland with bright spells but large areas of cloud and showery rain. we return to wales where it is fine through the afternoon but the temperature only reaching as high as 17 or 18 degrees. with fresher feel in place, thursday night should be a little more comfortable for sleeping, i suspect. 11 there in aberdeen. out in the countryside will be even a little cooler than that. fresh start to friday but a bright start with sunshine. however there will be changes through the day. more cloud into northern ireland, scotland, parts of northern england and north wales, patchy rain moving through as well. also you will start to notice those temperatures creeping upwards again and that is what will take this into

the weekend. this warm front bringing some patchy rain across northern areas but also introducing some warm air from the south. you will notice an area of high pressure building in from the south as well. across england and wales, saturday will not only be warm and sunny. 28 in london. showery rain for northern ireland and western scotland. breezy here as well. on sunday the rain is confined to the far north—west. further south and east, a lot of sunshine, humid air in place and the temperature could reach as high as 30 or 31 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines: 12 people are now known to have died in a huge fire which engulfed a residential tower block in london. police have said they expect the number of dead to rise as fire crews carry out their recovery operation. more than 70 people have been treated in hospital. 18 are in a critical condition. grenfell tower housed over 500 residents. some of them had repeatedly raised

concerns about fire safety. they said their warnings over a recent refurbishment and possible safety risks were ignored. checks are to be carried out across britain on similar tower blocks. president trump is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice, that's according to the washington post. the move by special counsel robert mueller to investigate the president's conduct, if confirmed, would mark a turning point in the investigation into alleged russia interference in the us election. it's time now for hardtalk.