welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: explosive revelations about president trump's white house in an investigation by veteran journalist bob woodward, who warned the president beforehand. president trump's nominee for the us supreme court, brett kava naugh, has stressed his belief in impartiality in a chaotic senate committee hearing, after suggestions he will make the court more conservative. a million people are forced from their homes as japan faces its worst storms in 25 years. and we return to iraq to meet the yazidis,

the small religious minority killed or enslaved by islamic state. the picture is of a white house in a perpetual state of nervous breakdown, as staff try to control the president's anger, and even secretly remove some controversial policy documents from his desk, to avoid him acting on them. that account is one of many in a damning new book by the distinguished american journalist bob woodward, whose reporting helped remove president richard nixon from office. excerpts have been published by the washington post. the white house says they are fabricated stories by disgruntled former employees. nick bryant reports. today, the white house looked as stately and elegant as ever.

but, according to the new book, this mansion is home to a presidency in chaos, a west wing suffering a nervous breakdown, an administrative coup d'etat. it details how senior aides tried to prevent donald trump from wielding his presidential pen, hiding official documents from his desk to stop him withdrawing america from the nafta free—trade agreement, and ignoring his suggestion to assassinate the syrian leader, bashar al—assad. it quotes the white house chief of staff, john kelly, describing the president as unhinged. i think it's going to be a lesson that has to be absorbed by future presidents... what gives the book so much credence is the authority of its author, bob woodward, whose work alongside carl bernstein during watergate did so much to bring down richard nixon. woodward is a washington institution. bob woodward finally managed

to speak to the president, but only after the book was finished. ..so help me god. it is certainly a bad one for the embattled attorney general, jeff sessions, who mr trump apparently described as "mentally retarded" and "a dumb southerner". and there are insights into the legal advice the president received about talking to the special counsel, robert mueller. "don't testify", his former lawyer told him. "it's either that or an orange jumpsuit". the president last appeared before the cameras yesterday on what looked like an aborted golf trip. and now, yet another diversion. the white house claims the book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former

disgruntled employees. now, the white house chief of staff, john kelly, has also issued a statement saying he didn't call the president an idiot. he has also referred to a statement in may, saying the allegation then was "total bs", in his words. it is curious, though, that the white house hasn't used the phrase "fake news," its usual blanket condemnation of the media. maybe that will come, but it is worth remembering they are up against bob woodward here, a journalist known for his rigour and fairness. he has written about eight presidents, and has been critical of democrats and republicans. even the president, in that phone conversation with bob woodward, admitted that he was fair. so i think many readers will see in this book an accurate rendering of history. nick bryant reporting. president trump's latest nominee for the us supreme court, brett kava naugh, has stressed his belief in impartiality at a chaotic confirmation hearing

before a senate committee. opponents believe he will make the supreme court substantially more conservative. he said it should never be viewed as a partisan institution. protesters shouting their opposition to his appointment were removed. here is how the first few minutes played out. i welcome everyone to this confirmation hearing on the nomination of... mr chairman... ..judge brett kavanaugh. mr chairman... you're out of order, i'll proceed. we cannot possibly move forward, mr chairman, with this hearing... i extend a very warm welcome to judge kavanaugh, . .. we have not been given an opportunity to have a meaningful hearing on this nominee. ..to his wife, ashley. mr chairman, we received 42,000 documents that we haven't been able to review last night, and we believe this hearing should be postponed. i know this is an exciting day for all of you here, and you're rightly proud of thejudge... mr chairman, if we cannot be recognised, i move to adjourn. the american people should hear directly from judge kavanaugh. .. mr chairman, i move to adjourn. applause

when things did settle down, at the end of the day, the president's latest pick to join the supreme court delivered his opening statement. the appointment could affect the direction of the united states for decades to come. he addressed how he sees the role of the highest court in the land. our independentjudiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. in our independentjudiciary, the supreme court is the last line of defence for the separation of powers, and for the rights and liberties guaranteed by the constitution. the bbc‘s david willis has been following events. despite the objections of democrats, and there were considerable objections today on the first day of hearings. there was disruption from the public gallery, constant disruption, and continued calls by democrats on the senate judiciary committee for the proceedings to be adjourned, because they argued that they hadn't had enough time to review more

than 40,000 documents relating to brett kavanaugh's role in the george w bush white house which only got released last night. so tomorrow, brett kavanaugh is due to be questioned directly by members of the committee, and he faces a real grilling from democratic members of that group. let's get some of the day's other news: south korean envoys are travelling to pyongyang to plan a third summit between president moonjae—in and the north korean leader, kim jong—un. attempts to get the north to abandon its nuclear weapons programme appear to be stalling. amazon has briefly become the second us—listed firm to have a market value of more than $1 trillion. shares rose nearly 2% to a high of $2,050.50 in morning trade, before slipping back. apple reached the same milestone in early august. the new york times is reporting that us special counsel, robert mueller, will accept written answers from donald trump

on whether his campaign conspired with russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. but it seems that offer doesn't apply to allegations the president tried to obstruct the mueller investigation. president trump has claimed the sports giant nike is sending a terrible message with adverts featuring the american footballer colin kaepernick, who has been a figurehead of the protests against police violence towards african—america ns. he first stirred controversy by kneeling during the us national anthem before games. the united nations has called on russia and turkey to act urgently to avert bloodshed in the rebel—held syrian province of idlib. there are signs president assad's forces are preparing an offensive in the densely populated region. russia, which backs the syrian government, is thought to have carried out new airstrikes. caroline rigby reports. an airstrike on a village in the west of idlib province.

anti—government activists claim this was one of 30 in the region carried out by russian warplanes. for weeks now, the syrian government has been amassing troops in the country's last remaining rebel stronghold, ahead of what is expected to be a major offensive. the population of idlib province in syria's north—west has dramatically increased throughout this conflict, with people fleeing the regime. russia claims the region is now dominated by rebel fighters andjihadi groups, a nest for terrorists. but it is also home to an estimated three million civilians, who have nowhere else to go. around half displaced as a result of previous battles. the un warns a full—scale assault here would be like having a war in a refugee camp. it has appealed for sanity in order to avoid humanitarian catastrophe. we could see a battle more cruel than any previous battle in this,

the cruelest war of our generation. the kremlin has rejected talk of mass casualties, saying action is needed to clear out what it has described as a cradle of terrorism. earlier, president trump warned against a reckless attack against idlib. the us has also threatened swift retaliation to any use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime. russia's making accusations about opponents, white helmets, everything else. assad is doing the same thing. that is the exact formula they always follow before a chemical weapons attack that assad does on his own people. we're not going to accept it, it's not ok. some believe an offensive on idlib could mark the beginning of the end of syria's seven—year war, but at what cost to civilian life? caroline rigby, bbc news. the strongest typhoon to hit japan in a quarter of a century has claimed the lives of several people

and injured more than 150. strong winds have battered western parts of the country and more than a million people have been told to leave their homes, with further rain and wind forecast, as our correspondent robin brant reports from tokyo. screaming japan knew that this storm was coming, but some were still caught out, and had a very lucky escape from the torrent of water below. typhoonjebi is the strongest to hitjapan in 25 years. in the worst—hit area, around osaka, the damage is widespread. down there, on the left, you can just about make out a runway. the rest of kansai international airport is underwater. but 3,000 passengers have nowhere to go. the bridge thatjoins the airport and the mainland has been damaged. a ship was repeatedly blown into the columns and roadway. the storm surge caused fires that destroyed dozens of cars waiting

to be shipped abroad. others were battered by the winds, that reached 135 mph. typhoons and serious storms are not unusual injapan, but more than a million people have been advised to leave their homes as jebi approached. prime minister shinzo abe warned them to take action to protect your lives. those who left now have to wait for the damage reports. this is a country well prepared for extreme conditions, but 2018 has been hard so far. japan achieved its highest—ever recorded temperature this summer — that after severe flooding killed more than 200 people earlier in the year. robin brant, bbc news, tokyo. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: they are amongst the most famous footwear on film. judy garland's stolen ruby slippers from the wizard of oz are finally found. she received the nobel peace prize

for her work with the poor and the dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies then arrange the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting and wives are waiting, so... hostages appeared, some carried, some running, trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today, described by all to whom she reached out as irreplaceable. an early—morning car crash in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain and courage, warmth and compassion. this is bbc world news.

the latest headlines: explosive revelations about president trump's white house by veteran journalist bob woodward. the white house says they are fabricated stories by disgruntled former employees. president trump's nominee for america's highest court, brett kava naugh, has stressed his belief in impartiality, after suggestions he will make it more conservative. let's stay with that story. how is the book going down in the rest of the book going down in the rest of the country? mike noble is a pollster in phoenix, arizona who often works on behalf of the republican party. he says views of president trump are affecting the chances of republican party candidates running in state elections. we have been tracking the races,

especially in arizona since november. what we can tell you is that we have seen definitely a big effect of donald trump's approval numbers on the down tech and why this it is important is that the gop has two seats at this election that they are in danger of losing. one is in nevada and the second is in arizona. said these numbers and basically anything that comes up regarding donald trump is going to have an effect. by and large we hear that people who vote republican, or as long as they get majority in the supreme court, tax cuts, they will pretty much hold their nose even if they pretty much to like him or what he does. what do you reckon?“ they pretty much to like him or what he does. what do you reckon? if you look at the approval numbers, usually they are the high 80s. the

ones we have been looking at are about 20% of voting republicans that have an unfavourable view of the president. usually they would hold their nose and go along with it, which you are seeing, however there is definitely a bit of a rebellion among the gop class. we talked about michael wolff's book for about a week and then it went a way. you think this will be different for a quy think this will be different for a guy who has released orcs before and will —— has brought down a president already? what is unique about donald trump is that his campaign has been covered with a lot of drama, that it was that initial video with those salacious comments he made in the campaign, to now in the russian

investigation, were ever you go, you a lwa ys investigation, were ever you go, you always hear about donald trump. my question about voters is will they be able to discern this book from all the other hundreds and thousands of others, when you add in his tweets, about robbing people the wrong way. that is a factor, not sure about that yet, that is what i am curious to look at. what is more important is how the supreme court is shaped, that affects the us for yea rs is shaped, that affects the us for years to come. definitely. if you look at trump, he had trouble passing legislation but where he got his first win was when he had conservatives on the bench which helped his approval numbers with the base, his numbers were high going in but failing on getting some policy pushed forward you started to see those numbers slipped. after that pushed through, they are overall pretty strong among his base. i think this other one will secure that base wants more. what is your

expectation on how arizona will pa rta ke expectation on how arizona will partake will play to the republicans? if it was today, i would say the democrats have the advantage, which is important due to historical fact advantage, which is important due to historicalfact is. advantage, which is important due to historical fact is. the first female senator ever elected in arizona and we haven't elected ace democrat to the position since 1988. why is that important? this current atmosphere that we are seeing is that trump is a bit ofa that we are seeing is that trump is a bit of a drag with anyone who has a bit of a drag with anyone who has ar a bit of a drag with anyone who has a r next to their name on the ballot. four years ago, thousands of yazidis, a small religious minority in northern iraq, were killed or enslaved by the extremist group that calls itself islamic state. more than 50,000 people fled to nearby mount sinjar, and the united nations decided the treatment of the yazidis was a crime against humanity. but what's happened to the community since? our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has been back to iraq to find out. life now on sinjar mountain,

the heart of the yazidis' homeland. tens of thousands fled to these slopes four years ago, when islamic state fighters swept in. and many never left, leaving behind their homes in villages below to live here, the only place they feel safe now. isis destroyed my house and many houses... hadi tells me, when is arrived, their muslim neighbours betrayed them. when the isis came to sinjar, our neighbours explained everything to isis. they said that yazidis is — like, don't believe god, and they are not muslim. and they killed all the men, and sold women in the market. most yazidis feel

they can't come home. this is what the town of sinjar looks like. survivors are now scattered in camps across northern iraq, or living abroad. there are so many reasons why the yazidis feel they can't come home. look at this. all this needs to be rebuilt, and it is full of the bombs and booby—traps that is left behind. but it runs far deeper than this. after all that has happened here, they don't trust the authorities to protect them, and they are losing hope that anyone will help them. is took bahar‘s husband and oldest son. there is no man to take care of her family, in this traditional culture. so they found a home in this orphanage — a refuge, after surviving their horrific ordeal.

bahar tells me she and her children were taken as slaves, forced to convert to islam, beaten daily. you can still see the scars. translation: my children are always upset, and i keep having flashbacks. we've had no word from either my husband or my son for the past two years. and sometimes this one cries for hours, asking for her father and brother. almost every yazidi we met told us they have no future here. these families are waiting to get out. this makeshift centre in a nearby town is packed. every family has their own story of suffering, and a few western countries are now offering special visas for yazidi victims. but if so many leave, the future of this tiny community, one of the world's oldest religions, is at risk. as yazidi leaders gather at one

of their biggest temples, they beseech the world to help them. they fear is could again return, and no—one in this country will protect them. lyse doucet, bbc news, sinjar. inactivity is putting almost one and a half billion adults at risk. research led by the world health organization and published in the lancet global health, has found that people who don't take regular exercise could end up with cardiovascular disease, dementia and cancers. the study also says there's been no improvement in levels of physical actvity since 2001. our global health correspondent smitha mundasad reports. do more exercise. keep fit. get that heart racing.

messages the world has heard over and over again. but it looks like some countries, particularly rich ones, aren't keeping up. experts from the world health organization analysed hundreds of self reported surveys to see if people actually do the 75 minutes of intense activity, or 150 minutes of moderate physical activity recommended each week. they found that more than half the populations of kuwait and saudi arabia did not meet the target. in the uk, 36% of people were not physically active enough. in contrast, in uganda and mozambique, just 6% needed to move more. researchers say as countries get richer, their populations become more sedentary putting them at greater risk of heart disease, strokes and some cancers. and scientists found overall,

women were more inactive than men. they are calling on governments to act so that both men and women do more exercise without actively having to seek it out. we have focused so much on physical activity being individual responsibility, and instead of thinking about how we can build our environment to facilitate physical activity. for example, through urban planning, through transportation systems, through building more parks and recreation facilities, so that physically active choices are the obvious choice, the easier choice, free choices for everybody. some countries like china and india have made improvements. but experts say other nations need to act fast to stop this pandemic of inactivity in its tracks. smitha mundasad, bbc news. one of hollywood's most treasured pieces of memorabilia had been lost for 13 years, since they were stolen from a museum in minnesota. now, a pair of ruby slippers worn

byjudy garland in the wizard of oz have been recovered by the fbi. an anonymous donor once offered a million dollars ransom for them, they're one of four pairs worn by the star in the 1939 film. they are more than just a pair of shoes, the slippers. they are an enduring symbol of the power of belief. and i know i speak for everyone in the grand rapids community when i say that we are very, very pleased that the public again has a potential opportunity to view this piece of hollywood, this most treasured piece of the nation's film history. there is much more on all the news any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. thank you for watching. hello again.

well, if you're heading outside over the next few hours in england and wales, chances are it's going to be pretty cloudy, and that cloud will be thick enough for some rain from this weak weather front that we've got sat across the far east. otherwise, a few showers coming into western scotland from time to time over the next few hours, that rain mostly focused towards the eastern coast of norfolk and suffolk. that's where it's going to be at its heaviest. a lot of cloud for england and wales, but that's keeping the temperatures up. so, for the early rises, double—figure temperatures. it's not going to be too cold a start to the day. for scotland and northern ireland, chillier air here, but not as cold

as it was last night. nevertheless, a cool start. but should see some early morning sunshine for scotland and northern ireland, before the cloud thickens up. and we'll start to see outbreaks of rain arriving through the afternoon, that rain turning progressively heavier, particularly across western scotland, turning wet too for northern ireland. england and wales for the most part, yes, it's a dry kind of day, cloud with us for most of the day, but there'll be some sunny spells coming through every now and then. temperatures high teens to low 20s. however, towards the end of the week it is going to get more unsettled. cooler and breezier, with rain at times too. here's the charts, then, for thursday. low pressure starts to form around about scotland, and that area of low pressure is going to be bringing fairly extensive outbreaks of rain across scotland, moving into northern england, and we'll see a weather front sliding its way in across wales, probably bringing some wet weather through thursday afternoon across parts of the midlands,

and maybe southern counties of england as well. in between these areas, for the lucky few, we might actually stay dry, with some sunshine. but those temperatures will be edging down, so it will feel noticeably cooler, particularly so across the north of the uk. now, towards the end of the week, the jetstream pattern amplifies. now, if we were underneath this ridge, we'd have fine and dry weather, but we're not. we're underneath this trough, and within this trough, we get an area of low pressure spinning around like a washing machine, right over the top of the uk. that's through friday, and on into the weekend as well. so, as you can imagine, it is going to be quite an unsettled looking weather picture. now, for friday, we'll see pretty extensive rain across the northern half of the uk. there could be a few showers, though, even in the south. so an unsettled kind of day. quite breezy, quite cool as well, with temperatures coming down. now, for england and wales, we'll probably see a belt of heavy rain working in across saturday, probably turning a bit drier and brighter by sunday. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: a new book by the veteran american journalist bob woodward offers a damning assessment of the trump presidency, a white house in a perpetual state of nervous breakdown as staff try to control the president's

anger, hiding documents from him, ignoring some of his orders. a white house statement says they are fabricated stories from disgruntled former staff. president trump's latest nominee for the us supreme court, brett kava naugh, has stressed his belief in impartiality at a chaotic senate confirmation hearing. opponents believe he will make the supreme court substantially more conservative. he said it should never be viewed as a partisan institution. the strongest typhoon to hit japan in a quarter of a century has killed several people and injured more than 150. strong winds have battered the west of the country, and more than a million people have had to leave their homes. now it is time for hardtalk.