welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: all change at the us supreme court. as one judge steps down, president trump's choice of replacement could shape the political landscape for a generation. more than 200 migrants stranded on a rescue ship in the mediterranean are allowed entry into europe but the row over migration continues. auf wiedersehen, germany. the reigning champions crash out of the world cup, beaten by south korea. there's despair and delight among the fans and no small measure of disbelief. i will be honest, i thought deutschland would win because they are really good. i was really surprised when we scored two goals! prince william speaks of his hopes for lasting peace in the middle east after meeting the palestinian president. and joe jackson, father and former manager

of michaeljackson and the jackson 5, has died at the age of eighty nine. president trump has begun the search for a successor to a key member of the us supreme court, who's standing down after three decades. justice anthony kennedy often sided with liberals to cast tie—breaking votes on key issues, such as the legalisation of gay marriage in 2015. his retirement gives mr trump the opportunity to shift the balance of the country's highestjudicial body further to the right. jane o'brien reports. i'd like to express our delight with the nomination ofjudge anthony m kennedy to be an associate justice of the united states supreme court. anthony kennedy was a harvard law

professor when he was nominated by ronald reagan. 30 years later, president donald trump bid him farewell. i just want to thankjustice kennedy for the years of tremendous service. he's a very spectacular man, really spectacular man. throughout his decades on the bench, he was a consequential voice, advancing gay rights but limiting abortion rights. a moderate republican, kennedy was often the swing vote on contentious issues, sometimes taking a more liberal stance. his departure opens the door for somebody who will appeal to conservatives. a potential shift that alarms democrats. this is the most important supreme court vacancy for this country in at least a generation. in his brief letter of resignation, justice kennedy said his service on the supreme court had been

the greatest honour and privilege. his last few weeks were busy. he wrote the ruling that centred religious freedom in the case of a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. and he voted to uphold president trump's highly contentious travel ban from five muslim—majority countries. are you ready, justice gorsuch, to take the oath? with the appointment of neil gorsuch, donald trump has already fulfilled his campaign pledge. with the resignation of anthony kennedy, he has the chance to reshape the supreme court. elizabeth wydra is a senior lawyer and president of the constitutional accountability center based in washington. she explained how the balance of the supreme court could be affected if president trump appoints a conservative. the stakes could not be higher. what we have here with this potential shift on the court will see major constitutional battles that have come down

tojustice kennedy's vote hang in the balance. for example, kennedy was the vote that maintained roe vs wade, the case that gives the fundamental right for women to choose whether or not to have an abortion. the protections for gay and lesbian couples to experience the marriage equality just like any other couple. also issues of racialjustice and environmental protection. these hang in the balance withjustice kennedy's vacancy and president trump is likely, in fact, i would say you could make a sure bet, that he will put someone on the court who is much more conservative thanjustice kennedy. does that mean potentially the previous decisions of the court, like the ones you mentioned there, could be overturned 7 absolutely. in the last few days of this just—concluded supreme court term we saw a five justice majority on the court overturn several important precedents just this morning in a case involving unions. the public sector unions in the united states.

absolutely. president trump said during his campaign that he wanted to putjudges on the bench who would be willing to overturn abortion rights and one thing we have seen from president trump is that he likes to follow through on extreme campaign rhetoric, so i think that is something we can look for in whoever the nominee that president trump puts forward. if he does put forward someone as extreme as some of his rhetoric, as you say, what are the chances of that choice being approved? it is unquestionably going to be a battle royale. there is an election coming up so it is a charged political environment here in the us and it will be a huge issue. even some of the republican senators represent states where the majority of people support abortion rights, for example. most americans support gay marriage and marriage equality.

i think there will be some difficulty if there is an extreme conservative put up by president trump. there could also be a push to try and wait until after the mid—term elections that are coming up here in november to see whether or not the senate changes hands and goes back to the democrats, in which case we will see a major, major push back against whoever president trump nominates. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. russia and the united states have agreed that vladimir putin and donald trump will hold a long—delayed summit. president trump's national security adviser, john bolton, has been meeting president putin in moscow. the summit will take place in a neutral country, with the date to be confirmed later today. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, says he's confident that north korea understands america's desire to see complete denuclearisation. mr pompeo insisted president trump

had been correct when he declared that north korea no longer posed a nuclear threat — he said the risk had indeed been reduced. armed groups in eastern libya have defied calls by the united states and several european countries to return oilfields under their control to the internationally recognised state oilfirm. the us and its allies warn any attempts to illegally export oil or petroleum products would be a breach of un sanctions. more than 50 fire—fighters are working through the night to tackle multiple moorland fires to the east of manchester. the ministry of defence says around one hundred soldiers and an raf chinook helicopter are being sent to help efforts to extinguish the flames. it covers over six kilometres of area and has led to the vacuum late —— evacuation of over 100 homes. more than 200 migrants on a rescue

boat have been taken in by malta, following an informal eu agreement to share out those on board the ship. seven countries from western and southern europe will each take in some of the migrants. the agreement comes on the eve of a two day eu summit in which profound divisions over migration will be discussed. 0ur correspondent james reynolds reports from the maltese capital valletta. after days stranded at sea, the rescue ship called the lifeline justified its name. the boat, carrying over 200 exhausted migrants, was finally allowed to dock in malta. it was escorted into the harbour by the maltese navy. 0n deck, survivors of a long journey from africa took in the arrival in silence. for years, malta and nearby italy have complained that the rest of the eu has largely left them alone to deal with arriving migrants. so they will now be extremely satisfied that they have forced the rest of the bloc into helping

them share the duty of care for these migrants arriving on the lifeline. at a news conference, the maltese leader told me that this was a one—off arrangement. it is ad hoc because it is an ad hoc case. whilst to the general public it may be seen as just another vessel, it is a very unique case. the maltese authorities will now give several days care to the lifeline‘s migrants before sending them to the eu countries who have agreed to take them. malta and italy have now created their own de facto relocation scheme. at the eu summit in brussels, they may seek to make it more permanent. world cup holders, germany, have gone out of the tournament at the group stage — their earliest exit since 1938. the four—times winners lost 2—0

to south korea in a dramatic finish. sweden and mexico go through from that group whilst brazil and switzerland are also through to the knock—out phase. austin halewood reports. almost impossible to comprehend. in a tournament of shocks, it was one of the biggest in football history. germany out in the group stage for the first time since 1938. before kick—off, all four teams could still make it through but another flat and tired performance held the champions back. 0ne one player went close but was denied bya one player went close but was denied by a brilliant save. while germany languished in kazan, 1000 kilometres away sweden did all they needed against mexico. a 3—0 hammering was enough to guarantee their spot in the last 16 and the fans in dreamland.

back in kazan came the moment of the tournament. kim young—gwon tapped in, var confirmed it. the germans heading home. with mexico through in the place. and then son heung—min made it two. south korea out, but into the history books. in rio, germany with a team of the future. here in russia they were the men of the past. the wheels had almost come off the brazilian campaign but they did enough to only need a draw against serbia and they gave the fans something to cheer about finally. the last 16 finally in sight. switzerland willjoin them. a 2—2 draw with costa rica just about enough see them through. so german fans are drowning their sorrows following that shock defeat. there were tears in berlin too, where chancellor angela merkel said she was very sad. the country's top selling bild newspaper said the defeat was the biggest disgrace

in the country's world cup history. in sharp contrast, the south koreans were delighted. though the country is not going through to the quarter finals, it's the first time south korea has beaten germany in a world cup match. it's also the first time germany has ever been defeated by an asian nation in a world cup match. naturally, the fans‘ reactions to the match were different too. translation: we did not play like a world champion today. we needed a goal and the team did not fight enough. they stood still with the ball, even when moving forward. that was everything except like a world champion. next world cup! i will be honest, i thought deutschland would win because they are really good. i was really surprised when we scored two goals! 0ur correspondent, sophie long, has the reaction from

seoul. it is fair to say that people here were stunned and elated. i was leaving the office last night and telling people, asking people if they were going to watch the football tonight, and they were self—deprecating saying that they had checked a betting website and saying that the odds were extremely against them, that it was more likely to be a 7—0 german win, than for south korea to win. and look what happened. it is reflected in the papers this morning. then he is, son heung—min, there he is called a korean soccer miracle. the next one says that we are so proud of you. and another one here, the man of the moment again. and it has speculation about what this will mean for his career. man united, liverpool, arsenal, speculation about where he will go next with huge transfer fees. people are quite happy here. it was on quite late last night, so people were awake at 11 o'clock,

you could hear screaming from living rooms at 1am when they realised what had happened. the twitter stream was interesting to look at as well with people saying that the first goal was a miracle and the second goal was surreal. they were questioning if it was real. 0ne south korean woman tweeted that it was the most awkward time to be married to a german. the german embassy is next door to our offices here at the bbc and as i came up the morning i saw the south korean security guard, asked if he watched the football and he nodded. and then i asked what the germans had said and he said he does not know and he will not know. i think that next door it is very much "don't mention the football" today. many sleepy south koreans coming to work this morning. it felt a little like the morning after the night before. a boost for football here in seoul. it reached a peak in 2002 when they hosted the world cup and one person i spoke to this morning said that this game reminded him of that, when he saw dedication

and commitment on the pitch. literally, they could not believe it. so very happy people here in seoul and, as you mentioned, in mexico. can we show you the pictures of the celebrations outside the south korean embassy there? the consul general being lifted into the air and some people tweeting that he even had a shot of tequila with them. so they had been celebrating like they won the world cup but they certainly left the audience wanting more. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: upset by a long—shot. a top—ranking us congressman loses to a 28—year—old running on a progressive platform. members of the neo—nazi resistance movement stormed

the world trade center, armed with pistols and shotguns. we believe that, according to international law, that we have a rightful claim on certain parts of this country as ourland. i take pride in the words "ich bin ein berliner". chapman, prison—pale and slightly chubby, said not a single word in open court. it was left to his lawyer to explain his decision to plead guilty to murdering john lennon. he believes that onjune 8, god told him to plead guilty, and that was the end of it. the medical research council have now advised the government that the great increase in lung cancer is due mainly to smoking tobacco. it was closing time for checkpoint charlie, which for 29 years has stood on the border as a mark of allied determination to defend the city. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: president trump has begun the search for a successor to a key member of the us supreme court, who is standing down after three decades. more than 200 migrants stranded for five days on a rescue ship in the mediterranean have been allowed entry into europe. prince william has spoken of his hopes for lasting peace in the middle east, after meeting the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, in the israeli—occupied west bank. he also met refugees at a camp near ramallah. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. the transition from israel into the occupied palestinian territories, marked by high concrete walls and, for william, a switch into a palestinian vehicle. in the main city of ramallah, he was welcomed by the president of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, at a ceremony akin to a full state welcome. except, of course,

this isn't a state. it is palestinian territory, still occupied by israel. william went on to a refugee camp — not tents, but permanent buildings, including a small health centre. it was established in 19119 for palestinians who had fled or been expelled from their land when israel was created. nearly 70 years later, the two communities are still trying to coexist in close proximity. and here is that problem in microcosm. i'm in the palestinian camp. the houses over there are inhabited by israelis. some of them are flying israeli flags. in the middle distance is an israeli watchtower, and in between is this narrow buffer zone, where there are frequent clashes. in the centre of ramallah, there was a cultural festival. as he has done throughout this visit, william focused particularly on young people. and tonight, in eastjerusalem, he spoke about their hopes to put the past behind them, and he had this to say to the palestinians. my message tonight is that

you have not been forgotten. it has been a very powerful experience to meet you and other palestinians living in the west bank, and to hear your stories. i hope that, through my being here, and understanding the challenges you face, the links of friendship and mutual respect between the palestinian and british people will grow stronger. for a senior royal, the language was unusually direct. this visit appears to have made a deep impression. nicholas witchell, bbc news, jerusalem. joe jackson, father of michaeljackson and manager of the jackson five, has died. he was 89 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. he is widely credited with directing the group's career and propelling

them to stardom. 0ur los angeles correspondent, peter bowes, has more. he was a towering figure, especially in terms of the success of the jackson 5. he gave up his own dreams of becoming a boxer. he recognised the talent of his children early on. joe jackson was key to success. when michaeljackson died eight years ago, he attended a tribute for his son. what do you think about what has happened ? son. what do you think about what has happened? it is a fantastic thing. i wish he could be here to see all of the celebrations. it is

hard, though? it is, but he is gone. lam here hard, though? it is, but he is gone. i am here to celebrate my family. the family patriarch was known as a strict disciplinarian. michael jackson said his father was a bully, subjecting him and his siblings to physical abuse and punishing work schedules. since his death, members of the family have shared tributes. a grandson said he was loved by the entire family. in reference to negative comments, he said let us grieve without nasty mass. —— nastiness. in greece, athens and surrounding areas have been hit by floods after two days of heavy rain.

several roads were closed and several people had to be evacuated from homes and cars. last year, dozens of people were killed in floodsjust outside the capital. lebo diseko has more. water—logged streets and homes. this is what is left after flash flooding caused by summer rains neighbourhood. people here say they we re neighbourhood. people here say they were powerless to stop the waters which came pouring in to their homes. the clean—up may have started, but the memories are still fresh. translation: were flooded in five minutes. 0ne torrent came from there and another from the mountain. it could only come inside. we broke the walls and opened this was so the majority of the water could leave. last year, flash flooding killed 2a people in a new bag town, not far from the minds of people here. ——

nearby. some roads have reopened as people try to return to the mother there. the damage caused is clear to see. residents are hoping that the worst is over and they have seen the last of the damaging rains. in the increasingly polarised world of american politics nothing can be taken for granted. and on wednesday, democrats witnessed their biggest primary upset in many years. joe crowley, the 10—term congressman for new york was defeated by a first—timer, alexandria 0casio cortez. she is a mixed race, 28—year—old woman from the bronx who campaigned for bernie sanders. nada tawfik has the story. she is looking at herself on television... it was a win that seemed so impossible that it caught everyone, including the victor, by surprise. 28—year—old alexandria 0casio—cortez compared her race to the story of david and goliath. representativejoe crowley has held his seat for 20 years, and was even regarded as the next leader of his party in the house of representatives. 0casio—cortez was the first person in over a decade to challenge him. i wasn't born into a wealthy,

powerfulfamily... in a campaign video which went viral, the former organiser for bernie sanders emphasised her roots in the community, while portraying her opponent as an out—of—touch washington outsider. doesn't live here, doesn't send his kids to our schools, doesn't drink our water or breathe our air, cannot possibly represent us. she promised voters to fight for universal healthcare, a federaljobs guarantee, and immigration reform. the morning after her win, she explained how she pulled it off. well, i think what we did was that we focused on grassroots, on—the—ground organising. we focused on making sure that every person could see and have physical contact with our campaign in this community, and we made sure to have a message that was very unapologetic in its advocacy for economic, social and racial justice for working—class americans. what do you think your win means for the future of the democratic party? i think — i hope that it ushers in a new time and a new era of candidates that are kind of a little more independently

funded, that are not primarily financed by lobbyists and corporations, and that are fighting for a very specific agenda that champions working—class people. this is for alexandria 0casio—cortez. after the shocking result, representative crowley tried to go out on a high note with this performance of bruce springsteen's born to run. his defeat will rock the democratic party for a long time. president trump has begun the search for a successor to a key member of the us supreme court, who is standing down after three decades. that is a quick reminder of the top story. that is it from me. you are up story. that is it from me. you are up to speed. this is bbc news. hello there.

it's a bit of a case of deja vu with the weather forecast at the moment. day—on—day, we're seeing those temperatures building. lots of sunny and dry weather during wednesday. top temperatures reached 32 at porthmadog in north wales. and we could see a similar story, i think, during the day on thursday. so high pressure well and truly driving our weather, keeping things dry and settled, with generally gentle breezes around. this was the picture in workington, cumbria during the day on wednesday. not a cloud in the sky there. i think we will have one or two areas of cloud around through thursday, particularly around the east, down towards lincolnshire, east anglia, some cloud around the coast that should thin and break during the day, but anywhere you could see fairweather cloud. as we draw in the breeze from the north—east, it's looking a little bit cooler around those eastern coasts. but, for central and western parts of the country, temperatures widely in the high 20s. some seeing top temperatures of 30 or 31, particularly for central scotland, but those temperatures could just kick off one or two isolated showers. if you do catch one, could be a bit pokey, but most places will avoid any of those isolated showers

through central parts of scotland. hot again for northern ireland, england and wales having a decent, dry and bright day. lots of sunshine, just that gentle breeze coming in, keeping things a little bit cooler around the east. now, moving through to friday, high pressure still with us, drifting a little bit further northwards. a similar day on friday. i think the best of the sunshine will be to the north and west. most places seeing clear blue skies, but in the east, with that breeze coming off the sea, it will be a little bit cooler and perhaps cloudier at times. i think the warmest weather during the day on friday will be further south—west, not quite as hot as thursday's weather across scotland and northern ireland. but further south, cardiff, bristol, for instance, we could see 29 or 30 degrees. looking to the weekend and saturday, we still got the warm air mass with us through the day. that's going to be bringing a fine weekend. through the weekend, again, mostly warm and sunny, just the small chance of one or two of us seeing some isolated showers. most places will avoid those showers. i think, through the day on saturday, it does look dry really across—the—board to start the day. later on, could just see one or two showers creeping into the far west of scotland, perhaps western parts of northern ireland. not quite as hot here as recent

days, but still a beautiful day. temperatures the further south could be 28 or 29 degrees. mostly dry for most places again on sunday, but notice these showers to the south—west could creep into south—western parts of britain. top temperatures, though, once again 29 or 30 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines: us supreme courtjustice anthony kennedy is to retire, giving president trump the chance to cement a conservative majority on the top court. the conservative has sided with liberals on many decisions, including the 5—4 rulings that decided same—sex marriage and upheld abortion rights. more than 200 migrants on a rescue boat have been taken in by malta, following an informal eu agreement to share out

those on board. seven european countries will each take in some migrants. the deal comes on the eve of an eu summit — aiming to tackle divisions over migration. german football fans have reacted with dismay to the defending champions' humiliating exit from the world cup. 0ne newspaper called it a nightmare come true. the four—time winners lost two—nil to south korea. it's germany's earliest exit from the tournament since 1938. now on bbc news, click.