welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: the fbi questions marilou danley, girlfriend of the las vegas gunman. police say he lived a secret life for decades. "he never said anything to me or took any action that i was aware of that i understood in any way to be a warning." in the past hour police have said it's unlikely stephen paddock acted alone and it appears he intended to survive. spain's political crisis deepens. catalonia's leader accuses the king of siding with the government and ignoring millions of catalans. and political speech or pantomime? theresa may's keynote address to the conservative party conference suffers a series of bizarre setbacks. borisjob done there, given her the p45. police in las vegas say the man

who shot dead 58 concert—goers on sunday, and injured nearly 500, spent decades acquiring weapons and ammunition and living a secret life. at least 100 investigators are now combing through stephen paddock‘s life. they hope his girlfriend, just returned from the philippines, will shed some light. she was met by the fbi as she landed in los angeles. president trump has been in las vegas to meet victims. 0ur north america editorjon sopel has the story of the day. it's just after 10pm and the first shots have been fired. police body cam images capture the panic that is starting to spread

in the concert ground. police are trying to identify the source of the firing... ..and to shepherd people to safety. today the president and first lady arrived in las vegas to meet some of the survivors and first responders. at police headquarters, he was briefed on the investigation and then spoke to the people of las vegas and america. we cannot be defined by the evil that threatens us or the violence that incites such terror. we're defined by our love, our caring and our courage. key to the investigation will be this woman, stephen paddock‘s girlfriend. marilou danley was brought back from the philippines last night and is questioned by the fbi. "he never said anything to me or took any action that i was aware

of, that i understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen." donald trump has described paddock as demented and a madman. well, that's as maybe, but as more details emerge what's become clear is that this was a meticulously planned and executed attack by a man that had a massive armoury all legally attained. at the hospital, the president met medical staff and praised the way they responded to the disaster. it makes you very proud to be an american when you see the job they've done, and people that would not be around today are up there and they'll be leaving the hospital in a week or two weeks or five weeks. though one question he didn't want to engage with. does america have a gun violence problem? we're not going to talk about that today. but in washington, no such restraint from those demanding a tightening of gun laws.

gabby giffords, the congresswoman who nearly died after she was shot campaigning, leading the charge. now is the time to come together. be responsible. democrats, republicans, everyone. we must never stop fighting. fight, fight, fight! donald trump's motorcade passed by the mandalay bay. today he's fulfilled his role as consoler—in—chief, but on wider policy questions arising from this shooting, he chose silence. jon sopel, bbc news, las vegas. 0ur correspondent gary 0'donoghue has more details on the las vegas police conference. the police have just been speaking and giving some very interesting new details. a couple of things that stand out from that — one, it is their view that paddock intended to survive this massacre.

that he intended to get away. they wouldn't go into any detail about how they knew that but they were pretty categorical that he intended not to die at the scene. of course, we now learn that he did die. we do not know exactly how that happened, whether it was at his own hand or whether it happened as a result of the blast from the door, or anything like that. but they believe he had a plan to get away which puts a whole new light on potential or and the range of motivations that may have driven him at that time. we also know that the police now believe that it is unlikely he acted alone. they think he must have had help in the preplanning of this and the arrangement of this. now, again, they didn't produce any evidence for that, they just said they thought that was pretty obvious. we also learned that the first security guard to get to identify the room, that he faces a barrage

of 200 bullets as paddock shot through the hotel room door at him. that was clearly one of the reasons why the police had to regroup and bring a swat team before they could go into the room. just forgive me for the noises off camera here. 0bviously they have some hope that his girlfriend, now returned from the philippines, will now shed light on this. and yet they're talking of a secret life that he lived, possibly for decades, while he amassed these weapons and this ammunition? yes, although they are also telling us that of those 47 weapons they found, 33 of them were bought in the last year or so and they're identifying 0ctober, 2016 as a moment in which something may have happened. again, they're not giving us any detail but they were asked, was there some sort of event, some sort of moment that mentally

might have changed then? that is something they are looking at very carefully. i think they have an inkling of something that may have changed at that moment in time, that may have caused this huge spree of buying of weaponry and ammunition. there were thousands of rounds left in the room, when the police finally got into the hotel room up there, behind me. he had murderous intent in mind, mass murderous intent in mind, he managed t ocommit that and was intending to get away afterwards. the president of catalonia has again appealed for mediation over the region's bid for independence. last weekend's referendum was violently disrupted by police, and has been declared unlawful by the central government in madrid, and the european commission. the spanish government has said there can be no mediation unless catalan leaders respect the law. from barcelona, our special correspondent fergal keane sent this. bells ring and clatter so much noise, and so far very little listening. the now nightly protest in barcelona.

to which the ears of madrid have been firmly shut. tonight the catalan president appeared on television, criticising spain's king forfailing to condemn police violence in his address last night. but also seeming to soften his tone with an appeal for dialogue. i'm open to a process of mediation, he said. peace, dialogue and agreement are part of the catalan way of doing politics. emotions are running high. yesterday, nearly three quarters of a million people protested against spanish police brutality. among the president's core supporters, his pledge to declare independence in days is keenly welcomed. i'm for independence, it's my culture, this woman says. it's true that there is also an economic aspect and very potent oppression by the state. nationalism might be in the ascendant, but catalan politics is,

and always has been, a complex mosaic. among the diverse coalition now confronting the spanish state is this barcelona academic. translation: it's not necessarily that people only love what is catalan, rather they are saying that this state as it is does not serve us any more, we don't like it any more. the question is whether new alliances can be created from this common and broad rejection. but among those who oppose madrid, many are scared by the idea of cessation. in this bar, they celebrate left—wing heroes of the spanish civil war and the owner is deeply concerned at the move towards independence. translation: i don't support independence because i don't know what it means. what it is showing is that there is a fracture in society and it is breaking up families and friendships, stretching coexistence to the limits. declaring independence and actually

making it work are very different things. the regional government here does have a strong degree of popular support, but it's by no means universal. the coming days will pose fundamental questions. how many people here will back the government in a prolonged showdown with madrid? and how far would they be prepared to go in support of independence? mediation, perhaps by the church, is possible, but it would require both sides to step back now from the politics of belligerence. fergal keane, bbc news, barcelona. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has delivered a public statement denying a report that he'd become so frustrated with president trump he had to be talked out of resigning. mr tillerson told reporters at the state department that he supported the president's foreign and domestic goals. jesse byrnes is associate editor of us political website the hill.

he joins us now from washington. the reporters running with this story seem very sure of their sources, the president and his supporters are shouting fake news. what do you think? we've had the president come out and call this fa ke president come out and call this fake news. nbc news, which broke that story... i think we've lost jessie, we will try and get him back. jessie, can you hear us? especially in july back. jessie, can you hear us? especially injuly he gave that politicised speech before the boy scouts of america group that tillerson used to lead. tillerson having to push back on that, something that dominated the news in dc today, him pushing back on speculation that he would have resigned as a cabinet official in trouble's administration. the allegation was that he just threatened to resign but he caused the president a moron, in fact an

effing moron at a pentagon meeting, what do you make of that? he didn't directly deny that, he directly denied the idea he didn't want to leave his post. 0ther spokespeople in the state department have said he has flatly denied that and he hasn't used that kind of language, we didn't hear it from the secretary himself. but i think the broader brushstroke here is that there is this tension within the highest levels of trump's administration. this is a person who has never held elected office before and as the commander in chief is dealing with a plethora of international and domestic issues that he's not had to encounter as an elected official before. so these details, plans for dealing with the war in afghanistan, these immigration policies that his administration is trying to enact, a lot of issues that tillerson, the

secretary of state, has been leading, there are some tensions there. a notable one being north korea and the approach to that regime over its nuclear programme. you know that tensions at that level are not unusual in many administrations, how much does it matter? it matters in so far as the direction and the strategy coming out of this administration is must more discombobulated compared to past administrations, especially compared to the 0bama administration administration. looking at north korea, we have a president coming out on social media and on his twitter account publicly undermining the approach is secretary of state is taking, open dialogue, trying to push for some kind of diplomatic resolution and it wasn'tjust push for some kind of diplomatic resolution and it wasn't just this past weekend we saw, doing that, he has sent a series of tweets going back weeks saying dialogue isn't

necessarily the strategy he will pursue and he will encourage officials to look at all other options. i think that one dissonance between the president and cabinet member officials on issues such as north korea and its nuclear programme, that is a contrast we haven't seen to this degree before. jesse burns of the hill, good to talk to you, thanks very much. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: second world war secrets. the brothers who finally discovered their father's resting place more than 70 years after his death. in all russia's turmoil, it has never come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affection from catholics throughout the world.

but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. israel's right—winger ariel sharon visited the religious compound and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea that's unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. this is bbc news. the latest headlines. the girlfriend of the gunman who shot dead 58 people in las vegas has said she was unaware of the planned attack. police have said it's unlikely

stephen paddock acted alone, and it appears he intended to survive. senior members of the british government have been rallying to support the prime minister, theresa may, who was left struggling through a series of embarrassments in a major speech at her party conference. as she battled to overcome a persistent cough, she was interrupted by a comedian who'd evaded security, while parts of the conference display collapsed behind her. this report from our political editor laura kuenssberg contains flash photography. a wobble. a wave. and a long, lonely walk. her colleagues fixing those smiles for the camera. a clear of the throat... may coughs. ..before what was meant to be a comeback. sorry was not the hardest word at all, but it was the first important one. we did not get the victory we wanted because our national campaign fell short. it was too scripted, too presidential. and it allowed the labour party to paint us as the voice of continuity when the public wanted to hear a message of change.

i hold my hands up for that. i take responsibility. i led the campaign. and i am sorry. applause. for her husband and closest staff, this speech was to take the party by the scruff of its neck and move on. but then... it's the conservative party... just as she was finding her stride, out of the corner of her eye a piece of paper was proffered. in the buttoned—up guise of a tory activist, a man interrupted theresa may. stand—up comedian, simon brodkin, handing her a fake p45. boris, job done, i've given her the p45. to start with, neither the prime minister nor anyone else knew what was going on. a stunt during the biggest speech of the most powerful politician in the country. i did the job, it's done. go, go.

get lost. go away. leave please. this gentleman will escort you. with terribly british polite irritation, the cabinet tried to get him to leave... boris asked me! boris, please, say you did this, you asked me to, and now you're denying it! ..before eventually security guards and chants from the crowd got him out. it was allegedly a joke — nothing to do with the foreign secretary. there could be trouble for the conference organisers — a man cleared by the tight security here... reporter: anything to say, sir? ..causing trouble within inches of the prime minister, ending up in handcuffs. cheering and applause. back in the hall, an ovation in support, to will her on, even though there has been chatter about her suitability for thejob for weeks. it was at least good fodder

for a joke at labour's expense. i was about to talk about somebody i would like to give the pas to and that isjeremy corbyn! cheering. as she tried to press on, to make the case for markets, new plans for housing, schools and capping energy bills... she coughs. ..she began to falter. stuffed with a cold all week, what were meant to be bold statements were repeatedly choked by coughs. voice cracking: the deficit is back to precrisis levels. it sounds as if my voice is not on track! more than an hour on the podium. in some moments, it felt as if she wouldn't go on. hear, hear. the home secretary telling

colleagues to get to their feet for ovations, to give the prime minister time to recover. the chancellor, yes, the chancellor, passing cough sweets to try to help. i hope you noticed that, ladies and gentlemen, the chancellor giving something away free! laughter this was an ordeal. miles from a heart—swelling speech. and as if a prank and a dreadful cough weren't enough, watch this. theresa may's slogan literally falling apart as she spoke. but word by word, phrase by phrase, she doggedly ground on to the end. let us fulfil our duty to the british people. let us fulfil our duty to our country. let us fulfil our duty to britain and let us renew the british dream. thank you. cheering and applause.

trying to contain her cough, but perhaps distress, too. it was clearly a feat just to get through it. those who eye herjob wearing loyalty today. imagine this happening to you on your most important day at work of the year. her husband comforting, rather than celebrating with her at the end. but she led the party into an election she did not have to call, losing her majority and much of her authority. a precious commodity, today's speech was intended to restore. that speech was less the british dream, it felt like a nightmare, it was a real struggle and notjust because of her voice. i don't think it felt like a struggle at all, i think it was really ambitious with clear proposals for reforms, ambitious on housing which i think is what we all know needs to be addressed. it was a brilliant speech

and i think the most important thing is that she set out her vision for how to renew the british dream. she fought through and came out triumphantly and made a great speech despite having problems with her throat. great speech. went through the things that matter. some of the audience clearly dumbfounded by what they had just seen. she needs to resign, the sooner she goes, the better for the party. so what if she had a bit of a cough, she is human. good on you, theresa, keep going. conference speeches can make or break political leaders — it's as simple as that. the air in here was deeply, deeply awkward at times, the crowd willing the prime minister just to get through it. no leader wants a sympathy vote. yet theresa may's allies are already praising the resilience that she showed today. there is drift in this party. the conference was a chance to set a direction again, to stop power deserting her. the prime minister has put her arguments, but will they be really be heard?

this was her answer to her terrible luck this afternoon. now for her party, and for you, to answer her. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, manchester. twin brothers who've spent a lifetime trying to find out what happened to their father in the second world war have finally discovered how he died and where he's buried. the grave of edward graham of the royal irish fusiliers was discovered at catania in italy and has now been re—dedicated by his sons, born just before his death in 1943. the bbc‘s robert hall was at the ceremony. the irish brigade, the royal irish fusiliers came over the river simeto in that direction. across the misty slopes of mount etna, edward and sydney graham are following a personal trail which has lasted a lifetime. so, this building behind us, which is pockmarked, is where the germans had one of their positions. the trail of a man who fought his way across sicily in 1943, with no idea that he'd become father to twin sons. he would never meet them. this instalment of the war in sicily... the allied landings in sicily led to six weeks

of fighting across difficult and heavily defended terrain. the twins' father, also called edward, serving with the royal irish fusiliers, fell during a night attack. edward, sydney. this is the end of the journey. last night, as fog swirled around the volcano, researcher richard 0'sullivan took the brothers to the area where he died. it does bring it into perspective and it does make it more real, when you are actually here on the site. he was one of many brave men who participated in the liberation of europe. i just feel enormously proud. fusilier graham was never identified, buried as unknown among more than 2000 in the cemetery at catania, but after decades of dogged research, edward graham believed he had found his father's last resting place. we were able to narrow it down quite easily, of royal irish fusiliers in sicily, who had no known grave,

and then at that point it was just a case of narrowing down their final locations through war diaries. today, there was a new headstone alongside those of fallen fusiliers. edward graham's sons could finally be with their father. i am pleased that he has the dignity of a proper resting place and i am delighted that it is here amongst all his comrades. it is a day that will live with me forever and, yes, it is the end of the trail. robert hall, bbc news, at catania in sicily. more on that and all the news at any time on our website. thank you for watching. good morning.

the farmers may well have ploughed fields but that hasn't stopped our weather watchers from posting photos of the harvest moon. it has clouded over. not quite a full moon. 98%. we will see the full moon tonight. the time being, the cloud has arrived and we will see strong winds and rain but the next few hours and then that eases away through the south—east corner. it would be a damp old start first thing thursday morning. if you are travelling to work there will be outbreaks of rain and still pretty blustery. behind it, quite a clearance and some decent spells of sunshine to look forward to. not a bad start through northern england, northern ireland and scotland. scattering of showers to the north and west but they should be isolated. into the afternoon, we continue with the risk of a few showers and maybe one or two showers driven along by the north—westerly breeze to the north midlands.

it should be dry with spells of sunshine. the winds lighter and we will see highs likely at 11 to 17 degrees. 63 in terms of fahrenheit. with the clearer skies by day, it will lead into clear skies by night. for the football, it could turn chilly and that is worth bearing in mind if you are going to watch the international matches. the reason for the chilly feel, high pressure is set to build from the west. quieten things down quite nicely but it means a chilly start to our friday morning before more wet and windy weather arrives at the start of the weekend. friday morning first thing, we could see a touch of light frost and that is certainly worth bearing in mind if you are a gardener or a grower. despite the chilly start, there will be lovely spells of sunshine coming through. temperatures will recover. 9-16. by the end of the day,

more cloud into the western scotland and northern ireland. a cloudy weekend ahead for many of us. there will be rain around and particularly into the north and west. the best of the bright spells into the east. saturday looks likely to be the most unsettled day. after a misty, murky start, the showers will be light and by sunday, things will be that little bit quieter and any showers will be chiefly out to the north and west. highs again 11—17. enjoy. the fbi has been questioning the girlfriend of the las vegas gunman who was in the philippines at the time of the massacre. marilou danley described stephen paddock as "kind, caring, and quiet" — and said she had no idea what he was planning. president trump has visited las vegas to offer his support and thank the emergency services. he said america is truly a nation in mourning in the wake of the mass killings that left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured. the shooting has prompted calls for reform to us gun laws. the spanish government has rejected a call by the catalan leader for mediation over the region's

demands for independence. madrid said it would not accept blackmailfrom carles puigdemont. the recent referendum has been declared unlawful by spain and the european commission. now on bbc news, click. this week...