on behalf of corporation. on behalf of the american people i want to express oui’ american people i want to express our support and extend our prayers to all those affected by the vile terror attack in spain last month. i want to assure the people of spain that america stands with you in confronting this even ill that threatens all of humanity. we will continue to deny the terrorists theirfunding, their territory, continue to deny the terrorists their funding, their territory, and any form of support for their wicked ideology. in this common fight, america greatly appreciate spain is contribution to the coalition to defeat isis, spanish troops and police have trained more than 30,000 members of the iraqi security forces, we also thank the spanish people for being such gracious hosts to the american serviceman stationed at spanish bases. the united states and spain together face at spanish bases. the united states and spain togetherface many critical dangers and challenges from

north korea to iran to venezuela. we thank spain for its recent decision to expel its north korean ambassador and for standing with us in our effo rts and for standing with us in our efforts to isolate the brutal north korean regime. it is time for all responsible nations to join forces to isolate the north korean menace. north korea nuclear weapons and missile development threatened the entire world with unthinkable loss of life. all nations must act now to ensure the regime's complete denuclearisation. i appreciate united nations security council voted twice unanimously, 15—0 twice to adopt hard—hitting resolutions against north korea. i have issued tough new sanctions against those who do business with this outlaw regime andi

who do business with this outlaw regime and i applaud china's latest action to restrict its trade with north korea. and in particular, i applaud china for breaking off all banking relationships with north korea, something that people would have thought unthinkable even two months ago. i want to thank the president of china. here in the western hemisphere, we have seen the heartbreak and tragedy of the socialist rule in venezuela, spain has been especially helpful in promoting the interests and well—being of the venezuelan people and we thank you for your efforts. we hope our friends and we thank you for your efforts. we hope ourfriends in the eu will soon follow the united states, canada and latin america nations in sanctioning the venezuelan regime. we need everybody involved. the citizens of venezuela have enjoyed immense suffering, poverty, starvation and dangerous political

u nrest starvation and dangerous political unrest and his oppressive socialist regime. together, spain and the united states hope for peace for the restoration of democracy, and for the release of all political prisoners. wherever socialism spreads, misery follows. the people of venezuela deserve a future of freedom, these are great people. in the economic arena, we support trade the economic arena, we support trade the benefits both spain and the united states which means it must be fairand it must united states which means it must be fair and it must be reciprocal, such an important word. it has not been used much in the united states. reciprocal. spain is the tenth largest investor in united states andi largest investor in united states and i commend spanish business leaders for their confidence in america and the american worker considering the fact that our stock market has hit all—time highs, they

probably like the united states very much right now. this is a time for both tremendous opportunity for world but also serious dangers as i said, at the united nations, which future really is up to us, if we empower our citizens, serve their needs and appeal to all that is best in the human spirit then i have no doubt we will succeed like never ever before. this is the president, i look forward to working with you to build this future prosperity and peace for both spain and the united states of america. thank you very much. translation: i would like to start by expressing

solidarity, that of my government and the spanish people with the people and the us government after the terrible events president trump just referred to. and that place in texas, florida and other us regions and puerto rico. we hope and wish evenif and puerto rico. we hope and wish even if what happened cannot be changed, we hope that in the future we can do as best as possible for everyone. president trump and i had a working meeting today which was very productive and we went through our bilateral relations, spain and the united states are two great partners sharing values, democracy, freedom, respect the human rights the of law and we have institutional cultural, corporate ties which are very important. relations between

the two countries have been excellent and we must continue to work to strengthen those relations even more, especially in the economic arena that is why our priorities of strengthening the economy and job creation are key, trade between the two countries is growing sustainably. united states is our second top trading partner outside of europe. united states is our top destination of exports outside the european union and regarding investments it is the second top destination of spanish investments and the top investor in spain. for many years, spanish companies have invested in the us, they are creating many stable and high—qualityjob is they are creating many stable and high—quality job is in they are creating many stable and high—qualityjob is in different sectors such as the financial industry and energy and this has been possible thanks to the establishment of subsidiaries in

united states by 600 spanish companies and they will continue to create jobs that is why they follow closely investment opportunities in the united states and they can contribute technology and experience to the united states. i have also given details to president trump on spain's role in different crisis which are important to us all, for instance, a referred to our participation in the coalition against daesh and the crisis due to nuclear proliferation in north korea. combating terrorism was something we talked about at length, spain hasa something we talked about at length, spain has a long—standing experience in this area and just that the united states we have been hit by jihadi terrorist attacks on our soil both countries have agreed on anti—terrorist policy and we corporate closely in the police

military intelligence areas. i have also said that i am sure that we still need to do a lot in the area of intelligence, we need to improve coordination mechanisms in the area of cyber security or preventing recruitment and financing of terrorists. i have also underscored spain's role as a member of the global coalition against terrorism and our deployment in a ratko which is very large, the fourth largest contributor and we have trained over 32,000 offices in addition to that i have told president trump that would increase our commitment with the new phase after the fall of mosul i contributing a new financial package to rebuild iraq. we also have long relations in the area of defence both in nato and bilaterally with the spanish bases which are used by both our countries and which are

increasingly important strategically. i defence agreement goes back to 1988, at the time spain was in the back—seat of the alliance right now we are at the forefront, daesh, libya so the defence and security relation is excellent but we would like that to spill over into other areas of the bilateral relations is to president trump and i have gone to the political and economic situation in our countries. regarding the international situation, we have agreed that the challenge by north korea to the nonproliferation regime is an intolerable violation of international legality and i have expressed the full support of the spanish government to stepping up of sanctions is approved by the united nations the other day. the european union is working on new additional measures and in that context spain will continue to press for a firm

common stance supportive of the us and its regional allies. i have also reminded president trump that the spanish government has taken measures that have reduced the diplomatic presence of north korea in our country, president trump has thanked me for the firm position my government has taken and the measures we have adopted. regarding venezuela, we have exchanged views on the worrying totalitarian direction the country is moving in and its impoverishment with the implications that has the humanitarian area. we have noted that there is a need to sustain international pressure on the venezuelan government so that it commits to negotiations which will enable us to find a democratic negotiated and peaceful solution to the current crisis is to buy have reminded president trump that spain has spearheaded the adoption of

sanctions which were first individually targeted. we have gone through the political and economic situation of both our countries, spain and the united states are two democracies, friends and allies with many common values and interests and we have agreed to work together in the area of defence of those values with a comprehensive and corporative vision. i would like to thank the warm welcome that was extended to us by president trump and his team at the white house and i would also like to underscore the friendship that exists between the united states and spain. thank you. steve holland, reuters. i wasn't preoccupied with the nfl, i

was ashamed of what was taking place because to me that was an important moment. i do not think you could disrespect our country, our flag a national anthem, to me the nfl situation is an important situation is to buy have heard that before about was preoccupied, not at all. i have plenty of time on my hands, all idois have plenty of time on my hands, all i do is work and to be honest that is an important function of working it is called respect for a country. many people have died, many many people are so horribly injured. i was at walter reed hospital recently andi was at walter reed hospital recently and i saw some great young people and i saw some great young people and their missing legs and missing arms and they have been so badly injured —— injured and there were fighting for a country, fighting for ourflag and fighting for a country, fighting for our flag and for our national anthem and the people to disrespect that by kneeling during the playing of our national anthem i think is disgraceful. so, iwillalso

national anthem i think is disgraceful. so, i will also say that again overdue part of the quote by the governor of puerto rico is so thankfulfor by the governor of puerto rico is so thankful for the greatjob we are doing, a greatjob in texas, great job in florida and louisiana. we hit pieces of georgia and alabama and frankly we are doing, it is the most difficultjob frankly we are doing, it is the most difficult job because it frankly we are doing, it is the most difficultjob because it is on the island in the middle of the ocean. you catch a struggle trucks there from other states. the governor said virgina greatjob from other states. the governor said virgin a greatjob and he thanked me specifically for the first responders in porto rico and we are also mentioning with that the us virgin islands, devastated. so we are totally focused on that but at the same time it doesn't take me long to put out a wrong and maybe we will get it right. it is an important thing for the nfl to not allow people to kneel during the playing of our national anthem, to respect our country and respect our flag. thank you. if i can ask the

prime minister, is it going to take a water rain in north korea and what is your advice to the president on dealing with this? translation: no one wishes for there to be a war anywhere in the world but it is true that the recent events in north korea with implications in the neighbouring countries very important countries means that we will have to be forceful and those of us who defend the values of democracy, freedom and human rights have two let north korea know that it is not going anywhere for the time being sections have been adopted, spain will support any political decision which will

contribute to putting an end to this situation which has nothing to do with the principles and values most of western and global democracies defend. translation: we don't know whether during your conversation you discussed the cata la n conversation you discussed the catalan situation and this is a question for president trump, do you support what the spanish government is doing regarding catalonia and i would like to ask the president of the spanish government whether he fears them at the unilateral declaration of independence in catalonia and what with the government do then?|j catalonia and what with the government do then? i think that spain isa government do then? i think that spain is a great country and it should remain united. we are dealing with a great great country and it should remain united. i have been watching that unfold but it has been

unfolding for centuries and i think that nobody knows if they will have a vote, the president would say they are not going to have a vote but the people would be very much opposed to that. i can only speak for myself andi that. i can only speak for myself and i would like to see spain continued to be united. translation: the decision to unilaterally declare independence is not something, not a decision i would make, it is a decision i would make, it is a decision which will have to be made or not by the catalan government. i think it would be very wrong and i think it would be very wrong and i think that right now when everyone knows the referendum cannot take place because there is no electoral committee or anyone it —— organising the referendum, there are no ballots, there are no people at the voting stations so it is crazy. all

this will lead to is noise but certainly there cannot be a valid democratic referendum with guarantees, with minimum guarantees. what would make sense in a situation such as this is to go back to common sense and put an end to this whole story, the only thing it is doing is generating division, tensions and it is not contributing anyway to the citizens situation so want this to be resolved as soon as possible and i want is to go into a new stage where the rule of law, dialogue and common sense will prevail. cbs. i've contemplating the deployment of

special naval assets or assets to puerto rico to address the problems there and north korea, you have effectively declared war on north korea and the north korea government is trying to shoot down or aim at american planes flying at international airspace, american planes flying at internationalairspace, i american planes flying at international airspace, i would like your reaction. we are totally prepared for the second option, not a preferred option but if we take that option it will be devastating, ican that option it will be devastating, i can tell you that. devastating. for north korea. that is the military option if we have to take it, we will. he is acting badly. he is saying things that should never ever be said and we are replying to

those things but it is a reply. it is not an original statement, it is a reply. the things he has said over the last year and the things he said to past administrations, north korea isa to past administrations, north korea is a situation should have been handled 25 years ago, 20 years ago on ten years ago in five years going to could have been handled more easily. you had various administrations, many administrations, many administrations which left me ms but i will fix the mess. we will see what happens with north korea. as far as puerto rico is consent we have had tremendous reviews from government officials as we have had in texas and louisiana and in florida from governor scots and greg abbott, great governors and the governor made an incredible statement about how well we're doing. we understand it is a disaster, it is a disaster. the grid was in bad shape before the storm,

and puerto rican did not get hit by one hurricane, got by hit by two hurricanes and they were among the biggest we have ever seen with a second one being even worse. the second one being even worse. the second one being even worse. the second one hit puerto rico is a category five, i do not believe anybody has ever seen that happen before. hit land with that kind of velocity. the governor has been extremely generous and i appreciated it, we have our top people from fema and we are unloading on an hourly basis massive loads of water and food and supplies for puerto rico and this isn't like florida boy can go and this isn't like florida boy can 9° up and this isn't like florida boy can go up the spine or where we can go down the middle and distribute this, this think of the atlantic ocean is tough stuff. the governor has been so incredible in his statements about thejob so incredible in his statements about the job we are doing, a great job. the police force has been decimated because many of the police

in puerto rico have lost their homes so sure, they want to be police but they also want to be up to watch theirfamilies they also want to be up to watch their families and find their families may have to live so we are also much involved in puerto rico so everybody has said it is amazing the job we have done importer recount we are proud and i'm going there on tuesday. with that said, if you look at the amount of water dropped on that island between the two hurricanes, and the first they just barely got by with but they were devastated. and the second was a com plete devastated. and the second was a complete wipe—out. this was a place that was destroyed. so i think we have done a really good job, we are continuing to add a literally unloading on an hourly basis, food and supplies and we have our top people from fema and first responders and everybody else and we will deploy navy ships and we are going to do far more than anybody else would ever be able to do and it

is being recognised as such but it is being recognised as such but it isa is being recognised as such but it is a tough situation. mr pratt minister, do you share president trump's hostility towards the venezuelan regime and what is your opinion generally offer a suggestion that us military intervention might be required if the venezuelan government doesn't change course, do you support that it would be an advocate within the eu for tougher sanctions against the venezuelan government? translation: we are spearheading in the european union a proposal to impose sanctions on buses whaler. what is happening in venezuela is unacceptable and it was a democratic country and at this time it is no longer democratic country, their political prisoners in venezuela are people who are in jail only because they think differently than missed amid euro

andi differently than missed amid euro and i was the first... jails because the president did not like him. there were many others who were sent to jail. there were many others who were sent tojail. in there were many others who were sent to jail. in venezuela there was a parliament and the government has made up this other parliament which has its meeting next to the other parliament and they have created a commission for truth which is an anti—democratic tool which only serves tojudge people anti—democratic tool which only serves to judge people without respecting minimum human rights standards. venezuela is on the road to dictatorship unless that can be stopped. all of us who share our values like democracy, freedom and human rights have to do something at this time, sanctions are important, it is important there be an international coalition putting pressure on him so political

prisoners are freed and democracy is restored because this lack of democracy and the attack against human rights and freedoms come in conjunction with economic, terrible economic situation with a 300% inflation rate with problem supplying foods and medicines to people so it is a tragic situation andi people so it is a tragic situation and i think united states and spain have a responsibility towards venezuela, there are a lot of spaniards living in venezuela and i'm worried about them and the rest but they worry me so the international community should be forceful with regards to venezuela. translation: i have a question for each of you, for president trump, with the serious political crisis in spain

because of the referendum on sunday, what solution do you think there is, had you given advice to president mariano rajoy and should there be a dialogue to find a solution and a question for president rajoy, it seems it since what you're doing in catalonia, the way you are managing things in catalonia is having an impact on the budget and i would also like to know whether you think the situation the pnv party can be resolved or will there be an early election? the people of catalonia have been talking about this for a long time but i bet if you had accurate numbers and polling you would find they love their country and they love spain and they would not leave so i am for united spain. i speak as the president of the united states, somebody that has great respect for your president. you're watching a press conference

between mariano rajoy and president trump. if you want to continue watch on the bbc news channel. translation: i don't think you will have any problems if we continue to work down this line. i don't think you have any problems in approving them within a reasonable time frame but we are looking for a majorityjust like we did last time around for me voted the budget and at any rate i am not thinking at all about calling

early elections. this depressing, thank you very much. —— mr president. studio: they touched on a lot of subjects, i will leave the spanish side to you, president trump keen to talk about the situation importer recount stressing the administration is doing a good job at one point saying we have been getting good reviews on the web you are handling the tragedy caused by hurricane maria and he talked about north korea and particularly this was interesting, lamenting what he called the mess he has been left by previous administrations in saying the north korean situation is something that should have been dealt with before but he said he would fix it. he refer to them as the president of spain come he is the president... anyway, from a european perspective

he talked about venezuela urging the europeans to implement sanctions on venezuela and also he delved into theissue venezuela and also he delved into the issue of the catalonia referendum which will tackle later the in the week, the referendum on the in the week, the referendum on the 1st of october saying he would prefer the 1st of october saying he would p refer to the 1st of october saying he would prefer to see spain remain as a united country. let's talk about the north korea situation. gary locke was us ambassador to china from 2011 to 2014. he joins us now from seattle. should this have been dealt with early and he has been left a real mess? the situation is untenable with north korea continuing to develop its nuclear weapons capabilities and its launch capabilities and its launch capabilities but the united states

and china and south korea, japan and russia have been trying to do this the many years and the real challenge right now is what we are going to do, is the president inflaming the situation, is he making things more dangerous, certainly i think is a great nation we don't have to respond to every word the north koreans at. it is beneath us and we need to assert our strength and with a show of force and the collaboration we have with the military exercises of the south korean army and the military but we need to de—escalates things and i'm afraid he is making things worse and getting as close to a very dangerous dangerous situation when millions of people's lives could be lost. dangerous situation when millions of people's lives could be lostm dangerous situation when millions of people's lives could be lost. it is interesting things are operating on two levels, a war of words you referred to, well of tweets, the chinese stepping in saying both sides you have to calm down, you have to tone down this rhetoric because you are risking military

crisis if you don't but on the other hand there has been progress made the sanctions front, the president just now referring to the chinese central bank urging chinese banks to cut financing with north korea and the announcement coming out of the white house that america sanctioning nine more north korean banks. are we looking at two different tracks here and on one hand progress is being made? it is good to see the international communityjoining together including china imposing sanctions going along with the un sanctions going along with the un sanctions against north korea. that has been under way for many many yea rs has been under way for many many years starting under president bush and president obama and we have to continue that continued the international economic pressure against north korea. we to sit down with the chinese and

russians to have face—to—face discussions to discuss how to get north korea to stop developing its missile technology to deliver nuclear weapons and developing nuclear weapons and developing nuclear weapons. we have to continue all these different tracks simultaneously. neither one is going to work on its own and that's why we need to have that concerted pressure. why would they ever do that? because they look at the example of libya, colonel gaddafi who had a nuclear programme and was encouraged to put it to one side, which he did, then people rose up their support in the west and they disposed him. why would they ever give up their nuclear weapons? that's why there has to be an effort from multiple countries, a guarantee issued and put in place by russia and by china and china does not want the collapse of the north korean regime, they don't want a democracy

on their doorstep, they don't want millions of refugees flooding into china from north korea if there is a colla pse china from north korea if there is a collapse of north korea so it is in china's self—interest to preserve and ensure that north korea remains and ensure that north korea remains a viable country and is never overthrown. that's why we need to have all parties at the table talking about these issues. ultimately, there are things that north korea will want, they want assurances that south korea and the united states are not conducting routine military exercises in preparation for an invasion of north korea because a look at what happened to gaddafi and see what the president is saying about the deal with iran over its suspension of developing its nuclear weapons and so they're wondering, can we trust the united states and north korea we re the united states and north korea were to stop developing nuclear were to stop developing nuclear weapons? that's why there has to be ironclad agreement in place and you

will not be able to talk about these things unless you are all of the table. thank you very much, ambassador. so i was wondering today what people in north korea make of all this, and i came across these amazing figures comparing the north and the south. roads are not that great in the north — only 3% are paved, compared to 92% in south korea. there are three million mobile phone subscriptions in the north. that's compared to almost 60 million in the south. but the biggest difference is in the size of their armies — north korea is thought to have the fourth largest military in the world with over a million active military personnel compared to just 600 and 30,000 in the south. those graphics tell you that the key here is information and it remains me of the story last week of this

man who was a us. navy seal and he was asked on twitter what you do to deal with the north korean regime and he said he would date delight dropped 25 million iphones into north korea and let them communicate with the outside world. probably most of the country doesn't even speak to one another and if they did that, it sounds stupid, but maybe that, it sounds stupid, but maybe thatis that, it sounds stupid, but maybe that is the sort of solution that would move things. they would probably get locked up for having iphones, but it's interesting. free data plans for north korea, pitch that to the united nations! interesting idea. you heard donald trump talking about puerto rico. in the days after hurricane irma hit florida, tens of thousands of utility workers rushed into the state to fix the power system.

six days after hurricane maria almost the entire island of puerto rico still has no power — and there are almost no utility crews fixing anything. this discrepancy between the huge response to irma and the negligible response to maria has led to accusations of unfairness and even discrimination. puerto rico's 3.5 million residents are americans, but they don't feel they are being treated the same as their fellow citizens on the mainland. these satellite images show the island at night two months ago. now here's what it look like today — it's almost complete darkness. the president had this to say about the american response in puerto rico. we have a tremendous reviews from government officials as we have in texas and louisiana and florida from governor scott and greg abbott, great governors, and this morning the governor made incredible state m e nts the governor made incredible statements about how well we're doing. we understand it is a

disaster that just happened. the good was in bad shape before the storm and puerto rico didn't get hit by one hurricane, it got hit by two hurricanes. i spoke with our correspondent in puerto rico. you've been there since hurricane maria hit, so tell us, six days on, is getting worse or better finally? the mayor told us it is more dire today than it was when the hurricane made landfall 16 days ago for the mayor what up to me at the hotel today and said may day. she described a situation where people are dying. they are running out of diesel fuel here today and because of the communications structure on this island, when it comes to fuel, it means life on this island. the mayor said i told you five days ago

that people might die and today i telling you that people are dying. two people on life support died because the hospital ran out of diesel fuel. right now the mayor and her staff and knocking on doors in various places, checking on elderly people, some who don't have food, they don't have water, they need oxygen, they need medication. the sunlight is deceiving right now, there is a beautiful winter than looking out of the water, but it is a direct emergency heathen puerto rico and officials are telling us it is getting worse, not better. so what is the disconnect? we had the president this morning sending massive amounts of food and water and supplies into the island, why isn't getting to the people? fema has told us that we have more than 1 million litres of water and food. the mayor said, when is it going? he stood alongside puerto rico's

governor, the governor thanked fema, the fema thanked the governor and they thanked donald trump. afterwards, we wanted to speak to mr long and ask what fema is doing. eat took no questions and today in a snarky way, he said the media might wa nt to snarky way, he said the media might want to focus on the 10,000 fema personnel who were here doing good work. we take him at his word but what we're trying to do is seeing which is actually happening. so far no one has been able to take us to an area and she was regularly supplies are being put into the hands of the people who desperately need it. swift is no evidence of the supply is actually getting to the people who need it, david, what value is going to be for the people who are suffering on the island in donald trump coming to visit? do you think that could unblock the aid flows ? think that could unblock the aid flows? president trump is the one with the power to make things happen here but officials like the mayor sign one don't think things are happening fast enough. —— sanjuan.

the mayor says she was told to write a memo, which she said she doesn't have time to do, which can understand why. the mayor says every time she makes a call, people and in logistical meetings figuring out what to do. can understand how logistical need to be ironed out by the mayor says, stop talking about it and the mayor says, stop talking about itand do the mayor says, stop talking about it and do it because people are dying. don't forget, they are part of this islander people haven't been able to reach in a week. there are people we don't know if they have survived but have no way of communicating and now lay claim to the world so we don't know how much food they have left, how much water they have —— now contact to the world. people are dying. there is no time left. david in san juan, puerto rico, thanks forjoining us. you

heard the president saying we are getting great reviews yet on the ground it doesn't seem that the aid going into the country is axa getting to the people that need it and wejust getting to the people that need it and we just had from the capital of puerto rico, wejust don't know and we just had from the capital of puerto rico, we just don't know what situation they are in. something is not working in this recovery effort. it's a week since it blew through and as ahead in a conference, everybody responding to the tweets the weekend, they were solely focused on the nfl. for seven long years, republicans in the us campaigned on one promise — the moment they took power they would repeal and replace president obama's health care bill. a third republican senator said she wouldn't vote for the party's latest health proposal. it's a political blow to mrtrump who, you'll remember, promised to get rid of obamacare on day one of his presidency. today, just in case you're counting, is day 249. a short time ago we spoke with congressman francis rooney from florida. republicans spent seven years

promising to repeal and replace obama care. is that dream over?|j hope not. i spent a lot of money raising money for those republicans and it's a disappointment. members of your party only disappointment? element totally, absolutely, this inability of the senate to act on what they have been talking about for seven years is a major disappointment. the house of representatives did its job. but isn't the problem that the bills that the senate has proposed have proven so unpopular in opinion polls with the american people that even if you had passed them, it wouldn't have helped the party? i'm not so sure about that. half the country voted for donald trump and for all of us and the main thing we

campaigned on was to repeal and replace obamacare. by which you mean evenif replace obamacare. by which you mean even if what you're going to replace it with is worse than what you have? ido it with is worse than what you have? i do believe any of these things are worse than what obamacare is. i'd love it if it turned back to the states. it was originally meant to bea states. it was originally meant to be a programme for the pure and obama turned it into a federal programme. you seem to be blaming the people on the hill only and i wonder if some of it has to be targeted at the white house. have you any evidence that the president was getting involved in the nitty—gritty of this policy?|j was getting involved in the nitty-gritty of this policy? i think what he is trying to do is encourage the legislator to do theirjob and again the house did itsjob the legislator to do theirjob and again the house did its job with a proposal that would work in view of the senate to turn back to the state, its a fine idea to me, i'm off at giving more power back to the states, but i'm afraid there there a

few senators who is geared and don't know what to do with it. do you think this spells problems for the tax reforms coming down the line because they said it would have to deal with health care first before they can even think about tax reform. they did say that and it would be logical to assume that it is important but it also raises the sta kes so is important but it also raises the stakes so maybe it will mean more pressure on the republican confidence to do the job they told the american people they would do. there doesn't seem to be a certain amount of dysfunction in washington at the moment whether it's from the white house or coming from capitol hill. you were the ambassador to the vatican in president bush's administration. give us an impression of what it is like working for the two different administrations. every ministration has its own style. president bush was very organised with the white

house, much like ronald reagan did. this white house started out a little confusing in the white house operation but i'm confident now that general kelly is going to bring order to the white house staff and its needed. thanks forjoining us. thanks for having me. it seems that senior republicans are now dropping the idea of having health care vote. it was meant to happen today, they're going to drop it for at least a year it looks like and it seems from what we're hearing from senior republicans, this newsjust coming in, they're going to focus on tax reform instead to repeal underplays is not happening yet. the minority leader says america is breathing a sigh of relief that their health care plan is being defended. no health care reform, no tax plan, no infrastructure spending bill, so what has president trump achieved so far? and does the lack of legislation concern his supporters? or do they feel his attacks on football players who kneel

during the national anthem is exactly why they voted for him — to restore a sense of national pride? joining us now is mica mosbacher a member of the trump for president 2020 advisory board. when you hear this health care debate, repeal underplays, is what donald trump, says supporters. debate, repeal underplays, is what donald trump, says supportersm looks today like it's over. it's dead. when i was in your programme in the spring, obamacare repeal underplays was like putting socks on a wrist, it's kind of like putting pyjamas on the rooster! obama was proposing a universal health care plan and he didn't tell you what the cost would be to taxpayers so first of all, i've always said, what was

the rush in trying to compress this and get it through? i understand we had an opportunity with the budget the conciliation and 52 votes, what i don't think was expected and i certainly didn't expect it in my own party were a number of dissenters. john mccain, yes, and i think some of the momentum did slow after he said once again, but ted cruz is not supporting this bill and ifeel that the cassidy bill, whether it is not perfect, it is taking a major step towards officially changing over time obamacare. so you're blaming republicans, not the president? it is day 249 of the trump presidency, we have no repeal of the placement of obamacare, no infrastructure spending bill and no tax reform bill will stop you still happy with your president? i am currently happy with president trump. he did the supreme

court first of all and we conservatives bring this up because this was one of the things during the election cycle. secondly, president trump has good political instincts. yes, there has been a learning curve, he was a businessman, not a politician, but what is significant is the fact that he has now reached across the aisle to pelosi and schumer and is looking at bipartisan legislation which is absolutely essential to passing and gaining a majority in the senate especially. so you like that? that's interesting. i like that, iwanted to see this and i think american people are extremely pleased about this because we all benefit from tax reform. i'm hoping you going to send me some of those rooster pyjamas!” got a pay with your name on it! —— pair. i want to ask you about the

special election today in alabama. there's the establishment candidate with their strange versus the insurgent to give him the proper name, roy moore. if he was to win, roy miller, —— moore, what would it mean for the movement that donald trump started? it would mean he was right in looking at the national trend in this country which is pushing against the elite and the establishment in congress. i absolutely stand—by moore. i'm tired of business as usual and gridlock in washington. i want a sea change and action. i want to see is more power back to the states —— i want to see change. i want to see jobs coming back to this country and i feel that once again, i do blame the senate leadership, the house did itsjob, i

do feel that mitch mcconnell and the house leadership has dropped the ball. i'd love to see them go through that sell for diplomacy and leave their cell phones behind and sit down and talk to each other and get something done, which they did, by the way, during george bush senior. lets you figured it. thank you for coming in. —— lets see if they can do it. emmanuel macron set out his plan for a more integrated europe with a shared civil and defence forces. he has what he had to say. translation: europe two is an idea carried by centuries by visionaries, andi carried by centuries by visionaries, and i get we have to constantly reclaim. the most beautiful ideas, those that improve the fate of humans, are always fragile. europe

will only lead to the idea we give ourselves of it. it's up to us to put life in it, like its stronger and more beautiful and not be limited by the shape that historical circumstances give it, because the ship will pass —— shape will pass but the idea remains and its ambition should remain ours. emmanuel macron's ally for reform is angela merkel but she has had a setback in the election. now she will have to marry this vision for a renewed european union with the reality of german politics.“ renewed european union with the reality of german politics. if she we re reality of german politics. if she were to back emanuel makarov us ideas, angela merkel would need support from her party. let's speak toa support from her party. let's speak to a politician from angela merkel‘s senior party from berlin. it's not going to be easy, this coalition. is

there an appetite for the sort of federal reform, the bigger europe that emmanuel macron was setting out today? we really have a need for discussion for institutional europe and president macron has brought up some really good ideas but it's not only wishing, it's also the work and the details that have to be taking ca re the details that have to be taking care of. one of the problems, the voters that left cdu for afd. want germany to be their paymasters for more europe and plenty people in germany feel that way. of course, this came from the so—called euro crisis, from the over debt situation of greece, which was bailed out three times now and hasn't really

re cove red three times now and hasn't really recovered until now and the opposite was promises to people, we told people when you take a year and leave, everybody is responsible for its own deficit so they will be no bailout and this is one of the reasons why we really lost a part of the population. the other one was that we had difficulty coping with the massive tarmac mass of refugees coming to our country in 2016 —— the mass of refugees, and those two topics together made it very hard for us to get along. we have to have talks with the greens and with liberals, and this will be not an easy task. you are suggesting it is

not going to be easy for angela merkel to build this coalition and a woman who recently has been called the leader of the free world, the new leader of the free world, i'm assuming that for the next few months at least, she's going to have to focus inward on german politics and not outward on global affairs. well, that's true. maybe the time needed will be at least until christmas to erect and build up a new government. there is no rule this time. the government is in charge and the new one —— until the new one is composed but we will be preoccupied with domestic questions in orderto preoccupied with domestic questions in order to get along the programme which fits to those three parties. thank you very much forjoining us. the training to become an officer in

the us marine corps is notoriously gruelling. 10% of recruits fail on the very first day. a 13 week course. but one has made history becoming the first woman to complete it, that any graduated in virginia and will soon be assigned to lead a 40 strong platoon. there are almost 1.4 million active duty troops in the us armed forces, about 15% of them are women. in march of last year, former president barack obama opened up all military positions to women including combat units. i'm sure this is related to german politics in some way but i can't think how. here is what americans are matching up with. britain, israel, they have already opened, positions up to women so in a way, america isjust catching up positions up to women so in a way, america is just catching up with other countries. about time, right? i think britain followed america's lead, we opened it up in november to front—line combat roles and i was

reading today that 7000 women in the army, there was a debate about it, they said about 5% of them would be able to carry the packs and complete the marchers and all that sort of thing, physically they wouldn't be able to do it. but on the other hand when you look at the pictures from silly at the mums and you see the kurdish women fighting there in close open settings —— —— the pictures from syria at the moment. what we have a phone from israel is where they cannot necessarily carry the same weight as men, they're mentally more agile and creative apparently. before we go, if you ever get that pair of rooster pyjamas, will you make me a promise that you will read on the programme? ds, only you wear your

i think we better leave it there. we will see you tomorrow. the weather becomes more changeable to the end of the beat. at the moment, the winds are converging and many late winds tonight so it will be like last eight, there is a must of cloud and misty in places, typically across parts of eastern england is they're and over eastern parts of wales and scotland but temperatures in double figures on wednesday morning. quite a bit of grey cloud which will break up like today, but the weather front starts today, but the weather front starts to slowly edge in from the west later on. it does mean the bulk of scotla nd later on. it does mean the bulk of scotland and be parts of england will stay dry from sunny spells, more sunny spells but temperatures still knew how to —— still in the

low 20s, high teens. heavy bursts of rain in southern hills as well but you will notice across the north of england and good parts of scotland it stays dry, but turning easier, windiest and wettest of all from midday onwards, northern ireland and with that rain band slowly moving, we will see quite a bit of rain across the southeast of northern ireland which will lead to minor flooding and big puddles. clear skies into the west on thursday morning after the rain band anti—male started thursday, a little bit fresher than we will see on wednesday morning across northern ireland —— and a mild start to thursday. the cloud might take a while to shift by far the majority of the uk, a sunny afternoon, a big improvement to wednesday particularly across the western half of the country and temperatures high when the sun is out. things get more changeable towards the end of the

week because there is a clash of tropical air from week because there is a clash of tropical airfrom the week because there is a clash of tropical air from the hurricanes week because there is a clash of tropical airfrom the hurricanes in the west atlantic meeting cold here from canada, it supercharges the jet stream, the jet stream from canada, it supercharges the jet stream, thejet stream gets more vigorous. low pressure gets stormier but this one stays to the west of us but this one stays to the west of us but it helps to move the weather front across the uk click on friday so most will start with cloudy outbreaks of rain, turning sunnier through the day, one of bodies in evidence to the country but nice enough when the sun is out. there changeable pattern continues into the weekend, saturday the brighter of the two days brightness and showers, sunday, windy with rain. this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at eight. labour plans for power — it says it's ready to deal with whatever is thrown at it — even a run on the pound. if we're going to move into government we need to know, a,

what we're going to do, that's set out in our manifesto and we're putting a lot more detail into that, that's what this conference is about and that's what all the policy developments are about, but also look at all the scenarios that we might face. thousands of children harmed in the womb by valproate, today some mothers give evidence at a public hearing in london. you will laugh on the other side of yourface.