hurricane florence hits the east coast of america, leaving four people dead, including a child. winds of 90 miles an hour have brought down trees and pylons. more than 700,000 homes and businesses are without power. bunn one of the storm might have passed over the carolinas but hurricane florence is continuing to bring driving wind and rain. also on tonight's programme... the inquests into the westminster terrorist attack hear of the desperate attempts to save the life of pc keith palmer. donald trump's former campaign manager paul manafort agrees to co—operate with the investigation into possible russian collusion in the presidential election. prison staff walk out across england and wales, in protest at what they say are unprecedented levels of violence. and, one of basketball‘s biggest stars visits the uk — and tells us about standing

tall, and speaking out. we have an opportunity and a platform to speak for those that can't speak for themselves. and things that are important for us, we want to talk about. coming up in sportsday on bbc news, britain's simon yates is on the verge of winning his first grand tour title in the vuelta a espana. good evening. hurricane florence is causing devastation on the eastern coast of the united states. four people have died in separate incidents in north carolina — including one child, killed with its mother. more than 700,000 homes are without power, and one meteorologist has warned that the slow—moving storm

could bring eight months‘ worth of rain in the next three days. 0ur correspondent chris buckler is in wilmington. yes, it's the case that this storm is continuing to cause real problems for people here. they say time and time again it could be a deadly hurricane and such it is proved. as you stand here being battered by the weather it is very clear that there isa weather it is very clear that there is a threat to property and people. we area is a threat to property and people. we are a short distance away from the beach. that is where the hurricane made landfall earlier today and with it all of that rain and all of that flooding. the carolinas knew what was coming, but they could never fully prepare for the force of florence. along this coastline, houses found themselves

on the front line for a fierce incoming storm. and a surge of water that flooded streets and homes. despite the many days of warnings, there were people caught out, and families who needed to be rescued from their homes. cool water. in new bern, in north carolina, the emergency services had to move in as people became cut off. i've never been so terrified in my entire life. it was horrifying. just wondering what was going on and where the water is going to go, how high it's going to go and how we are going to get out. in the town of wilmington, street after street was littered with the debris of the storm. huge trees, no match for the power of the winds.

even though this hurricane had weakened before it reached land. this morning, people gathered to see what was left of their neighbourhood. they kept telling us how bad it would be, and we thought we were prepared. but you just can't be prepared for that. there's nothing to do when a tree falls, you know? and this storm has already proved to be deadly. a fallen tree near here was responsible for killing a mother and her child. hurricane florence is powerful, slow and relentless. it's an uninvited brute who doesn't want to leave. while florence is here, some families have headed to emergency shelters. places where they know they will be safe. what are you worried about? not having a place to go home to or a job. all those practical concerns are shared as florence continues to hover over the carolinas. she's wheelchair—bound, and it's been really rough. isaid, "god, through jesus christ, our lord, please, please, protect our home

and everyone else in wilmington." evacuation warnings remain in place, as families steel themselves for another night of wind, rain and damage here on cape fear. people might have been inaudible but the wind is still strong enough to knock you over and it will continue like that for some time. of particular concern is the rainfall and flooding as storm surges comes to new. —— continue. hurricane florence is hovering over this area and will do so throughout the weekend and that means people need to be aware of florence and the damage she could do. chris buckler there in wilmington in north carolina. in the philippines, thousands of people have been moved out

of coastal areas in the north of the country, in preparation for the arrival of typhoon mangkhut. more than five million people are in its direct path. 0ur correspondent howard johnson has been travelling through the provinces of cagayan and isabela — two areas weather forecasters say are likely to be hardest hit. within the last few hours, typhoon mangkhut has made landfall on the northern tip of the main island. 5 million people are thought to be in the path of this potentially deadly storm. authorities had already urged thousands of people to move inland from vulnerable coastal areas. in nearby santa anna, local officials aren't taking any chances. this village school has been turned into an emergency shelter. translation: there is a tendency for landslides in this area in the past

so landslides in this area in the past $03 landslides in this area in the past so a village council has advised them to get out early. on the road out of this province we passed farmers anxious to do what they can to salvage their harvest. the philippines enjoys about 20 typhoons and storms each year. mangkhut is the strongest storm of 2018 so far. it is more than 500 miles in diameter, with sustained winds—macro of over 160 miles an hour. were about 100 miles away from where this storm is about to hit hardest. already the winds are up and it's been raining heavily. as you can see most people have heeded the warning to stay inside and wait for this potentially devastating typhoon to pass. howard johnson, bbc news, santiago. the inquests into the westminster terror attack have heard harrowing details of attempts to save the life of pc keith palmer. khalid masood repeatedly stabbed the unarmed officer at the palace of westminster, after driving into pedestrians on the bridge in march last year.

lawyers for pc palmer's family today raised concerns about the lack of armed officers stationed near him outside parliament. daniel sandford was in court. pc keith palmer, on duty at westminster less than an hour before the attack. armed with a radio, a whistle, a stab—proof vest, cs spray and his baton. then, this. a car smashed into the side of parliament after killing people on westminster bridge. and witnesses saw khalid masood heading round the corner. police officers on duty at the entrance to parliament saw him coming through the gate. "i noticed a very large man with two extremely large knives, one in each hand," pc doug glaze told the inquest today. "he was walking like a robot, his hands moving up and down." pc glaze thought there might be multiple attackers. "i remember thinking, we're going to die," he said. antonia kerridge was watching from a nearby parliament building

and she saw pc keith palmer fall over as khalid masood charged towards him. "the policeman had collapsed," she said today. "the attacker ran over to him, lent towards him and raised the knife quite high, and hejust stabbed him two, three orfour times." another witness, james west, said the stabbing was slow and deliberate, like in a hollywood horrorfilm. after about five seconds pc palmer, now badly injured, managed to get away, and a nearby close protection officer rushed in and shot khalid masood. the inquest was played a distressing audio recording of the 25 minutes in which people tried to save pc keith palmer's life. "police officer stabbed in the head," one person is heard saying into their radio, while others tried to reassure pc palmer, "you're 0k, you're 0k," and, "come on, son," they can be heard saying. but his pulse was getting weaker and eventually they lost him. during today's hearing the coroner heard that at the time of the attack

it was not routine to have firearms officers stationed at the main vehicle gates to the house of commons. instead, their instructions were to do a roving patrol around the large area behind the entrance. pc james ross, who was also on the gate that day, agreed that it left the ordinary unarmed officers like him exposed. "you've got no protection at all," he explained. asked if he thought the arrangements had been adequate, he said, "it's above my pay grade." no firearms officers had been at the gate for more than three quarters of an hour when masood attacked. the lawyer for pc palmer's widow, michelle, said her husband had been left to defend himself with a spray and a stick. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. president trump's former campaign manager is to co—operate with the investigation into links between russia and the trump campaign during the 2016 us presidential election. paul manafort has admitted two criminal charges,

and as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors has agreed to help robert mueller‘s investigation. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is at the white house. just how significant is this decision by paul manafort? this is a very significant move. paul manafort had already been found guilty of bank and tax fraud a month ago and he was due to face another trial, when, at the 11th hour and he cut a plea deal with robert mueller, the special counsel, the man investigating whether there was collusion between russia and the trump campaign, and whether there was obstruction ofjustice. after ma nafort was obstruction ofjustice. after manafort was found guilty month ago and was facing ten years in prison, donald trump tweeted about what a brave man he was for not doing a deal, what kind of example he was for standing firm will stop well, now, manafort has flipped. it means

he will agree to testify in any other proceedings. he will hand over papers. 0ne other proceedings. he will hand over papers. one of the key phrase, he will help on any and all matters as to which the government deems releva nt. to which the government deems relevant. in other words, to which the government deems relevant. in otherwords, he to which the government deems relevant. in other words, he is giving robert mueller, the special counsel, a kind of wristband with access all areas written on it and one of the key areas for questioning will be, what happened at that trump tower meeting with donald trump junior and a russian lawyer who had very close links with the kremlin promising dirt on hillary clinton. now, the white house issued a very brief statement saying, look, all of this relates to the criminal prosecution relates to a period before manafort was working for donald trump, but be in no doubt. in the white house this evening i think donald trump ‘s move will have darkened and some of his family members will have become a good deal more anxious. jon sopel at the white house. the high court has ruled the election watchdog misterpreted

the spending restrictions on the eu referendum which allowed the vote leave group to break the rules. the campaign group paid £625,000 to clear bills allegedly run up by a pro—brexit activist. the electoral commission initially said they didn't think this was a ploy to get round spending limits. but it later changed its mind and fined vote leave and the activist involved. vote leave deny wrongdoing. funerals have been held for four children who were killed when their home in greater manchester was firebombed in the middle of the night last year. more than 200 people lined the streets of walkden, to remember demi, brandon, lacie and lia pearson, who were aged between 15 and three. their mother, michelle, who was injured in the attack, couldn't attend the funeral because she is unwell. two men are serving life sentences for the murders. prison officers across england and wales staged a walk out earlier today in protest at what they say are unsafe conditions. it follows a report into hmp bedford, which found that the site was violent,

overcrowded and infested with vermin. the government accused the staff of unlawful action. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. it began at 7am. officers in nottingham, staffordshire, leeds and north wales were among those who joined the protest across the country. they walked out over what they see as a lack of safety and security in the prison system. it's the situation at bedford prison which triggered this latest revolt. this is the jail with the highest rate of attacks on staff. we're very afraid. it's been close already this year, with one officer that punched unconscious and had his head stamped on, needing emergency surgery in order to save his life from a bleed on the brain. we're very concerned, and worried our concerns are falling on deaf ears. it's a prison with a history of trouble. there was a riot here two years ago.

this week, in a letter to thejustice secretary, the prison watchdog described a dangerous lack of control at bedford, with the inmates here effectively in charge at times. there currently are just over 83,000 prisoners in england and wales. last year there were more than 8400 assaults on prison officers. that's an increase of 158% in four years. and there's a problem with retaining staff. nearly 40% of those who leave have been in post for two years or less. there are also more inexperienced staff on the wings. a fifth of officers have under a year's service. the government responded to today's protest with the threat of court action against the prison 0fficers' association. after contact between the two sides, this was dropped as officers were told by their leaders to return to work. we need to reduce violence in our prison system. that is why we have recruited an extra 3500 prison officers. that's why we are taking

steps to improve security within prison to try and stop the drugs getting in. prison officers' leaders said they were saddened they had to call this action, but pleased by the outcome. they'll have talks with the prison service on monday. this action may have only lasted half a day but it's highlighted once again the ongoing anger amongst front—line staff about the perilous conditions in some of the country's jails. the prison officers made their point and won their meeting, with a warning to the government that they're not prepared to suffer in silence. june kelly, bbc news. the church of england has been forced to defend itself against accusations that it's not practising what it preaches. earlier this week the archbishop of canterbury criticised the retail giant amazon for paying "almost nothing" in taxes, and described zero—hours contracts as evil. but it's emerged amazon is one of the church's biggest global investments. 0ur religion editor martin bashir reports. packed full of references

to scripture, justin welby delivered his speech to the tuc on wednesday. the bible is political, from one end to the other. he took on zero—hour contracts, the gig economy and then attacked the online retail giant amazon for paying so little in tax. and, having leeched off the taxpayer once, they don't pay for our defence, for security, for stability, forjustice, for health, for equality, for education. but it's now emerged that amazon is one of the church's 20 biggest investments, out of a total portfolio of almost £12 billion. and, despite the archbishop condemning zero—hours contracts, several churches and cathedrals are advertising zero—hours vacancies. he either chose to ignore or was unaware that the church of england had significant holdings in amazon.

ijust cannot understand why the leader of the church of england, the leader of the nation's church, chose to be so poorly briefed or just ignore facts that he knew about. the church commissioners issued a statement defending its investments, saying... "we take the view that it is more effective to be in the room with these companies, seeking change as an active shareholder, than speaking from the sidelines. justin welby chairs the church commissioners' annual general meeting. he also heads up the archbishops‘ council, which provides guidance to the church of england on its investments. so, if he's so opposed to companies like amazon, why hasn't he used his influence to disinvest? unfortunately, lambeth palace has declined our request for an interview. amazon has rebutted the archbishop's criticisms, saying that it paid all taxes required in the uk and every country where we operate. martin beshir, bbc news.

this weekend is the tenth anniversary of the collapse of lehman brothers bank, which marked the beginning of the global financial crisis. the seeds of the problems had been planted in the years before, including the selling of sub—prime mortgages in the united states — when too many people were given mortgages they couldn't afford to repay. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant has been to one of the areas affected, in south—west florida. fort myers in florida was once the home of the american dream. but in 2008, it was dubbed the ground zero of the great recession. affluent, dream suburbs where more than 40% of properties were repossessed. everything in this area was totally in foreclosure. estate agent markjoseph witnessed the mystery of the crash, saw the tears of people who not only lost their homes, but also their faith in the economic promise of america. that whole dream of working hard

and actually reaping the benefits of working hard, i think, for me, the american dream was that. that wasn't reality. the dream would have been i would have been retired ten years ago. not so many americans own property any more, a child's chance of earning more than their parents has plunged from 90% after the war to just 50%. and as lyn williams and her daughter emma will tell you, the children of the financial crisis are finding it harder to leave home. i have twojobs, plus an internship, and i'm probably getting about four to six hours of sleep. maybe three. maybe three, some nights. it depends on, like, when i get off of work. and you still can't afford to move out? no. it's not any longer that you can go and get a degree and automatically get a well paying job. that isn't... that'sjust not how it runs any more in this country. what we didn't anticipate ten years

ago was how the financial earthquake would upend the american political landscape. how voters like brenda biddle, who lost two luxury homes, would become donald trump's forgotten people. i had a really horrible eight years of just trying to get back on my feet. for a couple of years it was hard to feed my children, to be honest with you, especially when i did become single. and so your feeling when donald trump came along? excitement. i think hope was instant, day one. i think everybody was lifted. much of the us economy has rebounded. unemployment is at an 18 year low. but even in the sunshine state, 2008 continues to cast long shadows. and its sprawling suburbs are no longer such a symbol of american upward mobility. nick bryant, bbc news, florida. the shadow foreign secretary, emily thornberry, says labour

is unlikely to support any brexit deal the prime minister makes with the european union. she says the party wouldn‘t vote for a ‘flimsy piece of paper‘ because the government says a no deal is the alternative. a party source however said labour‘s position hasn‘t changed, and ms thornberry was being sceptical about the negotiations with brussels. a man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of conspiring with five others to con dozens of investors out of millions of pounds. michael nascimento ran a call centre where investors were offered shares in fraudulent companies. he spent some of the proceeds of the crime on private school fees for his daughter, arsenal season tickets, and a trip to thorpe park. vital services, from social care to bin collections, could be run differently — as part of a radical overhaul of some local authorities. the conservative leader of leicestershire county council has suggested abolishing eight existing authorities in the area, and replacing them with one large council to save money. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth went to leicestershire to find out more. baby rowan might not know much about council

services but his mum, anna, a gp, relied on her local children‘s centre when she moved to leicestershire seven years ago. when she went back recently, she found the service had been stripped back. that lack of support means that people are really going to be at risk of postnatal depression and anxiety, and those families are really going to suffer because of the cuts. it‘s a familiar tale across the country as councils struggle to balance the books. leicestershire county council? now some, like leicestershire, are looking at radical solutions to cut back running costs and put more into services. at the moment, one big council, leicester county, covers the whole area and is responsible for major services like social care and highways. but the county is also split into seven districts and each has a smaller council which looks after local services like planning and leisure facilities.

my budget pressures are pretty horrendous. the county council leader has suggested scrapping all existing authorities outside of leicester city and creating one that does everything. i've got seven chief executives, seven heads of planning. seven people collecting in the council tax. i think that, if we went for a unitary form of government in leicestershire, i could save £30 million a year. bins, for example, could be collected by one contractor instead of several. some district council leaders say, "look at the system but don‘t ditch local democracy." a single council for leicestershire would be about 700,000 people. so, the question is, is it too big? i think a lot of people would be very concerned if they thought their services were going to be provided by one centre just outside leicester rather than actually somewhere that is close to where they are. it isn‘tjust here in leicestershire where they are thinking about changing the way

things are run. it‘s already happened in wiltshire and cornwall. dorset‘s in the process of replacing nine smaller councils with two big ones that do everything and nottinghamshire is looking at the idea. but with resistance on the ground from some tories, it‘s politically tricky for the government, even though some say, across england, it could save cash. some councils have warned services are at tipping point. the government says it will consider proposals with local support. change, it seems, is in the mix. alex forsyth, bbc news, leicestershire. he may be six foot three, but steph curry is actually quite small for his sport — basketball. yet he‘s the highest—paid player in america‘s national basketball association, having secured a $200 million deal. today, this superstar of american sport has been shooting hoops in east london — where he met our sports editor, dan roan. he‘s the sharpshooting superstar

of american basketball. steph curry from downtown! twice voted the most valuable player in the nba, steph curry‘s become one of the biggest names in world sport — king of the long—range three—pointer. today he was the main attraction at a court in london‘s east end. he told me that basketball will soon grow this side of the atlantic. how big do think this sport could be in britain in the future? i think it‘ll be extremely huge and aspiring for kids to play, especially at earlier ages. to get that instruction and develop their own passions for the game. curry‘s helped his team, the golden state warriors, dominate the nba, winning the title in three of the last four seasons. the californian franchise recently awarded him a record—breaking contract worth $200 million. are you at the peak of your powers now? i think so, but i‘ll hopefully stay there for a very long time. i‘ve learned a lot about myself in the game. like you said, accomplished a lot.

but i feel like there‘s more in the tank. but it‘s notjust on the court that curry‘s made an impact. last year he made a stand against the policies of the trump administration by snubbing an invite to the white house. the president himself then telling curry the invite was withdrawn. i said how i felt. i tried to provide reasons why i felt those ways and let it be. 0bviously i‘m not going to waver off of that. even if it comes with a risk or some fallout? for me, i know that you‘re not going to please everybody in this world. we have an opportunity and a platform to speak for those that can‘t speak for themselves. and things that are important to us, we want to talk about. and i think there‘s definitely a wave of athletes and influencers that are not afraid of the potential consequences of being disagreed with. curry‘s also backed serena williams after her claims of sexism in the sport following an outburst during the us open final last weekend. there were issues that serena

wanted to deal with. and those conversations are going to keep going, because of how she took a stand. another athlete activist who curry supports is colin kaepernick, the american footballer whose kneeled protests during pre—match national anthems became a movement that divided the nation. we wanted to shine light on police brutality, on racial inequality and things like that. that‘s what the nfl players have stood for, and i definitely respect that. the end of the day, he‘s done so much good in terms of helping communities that need help, raising awareness for people that need help. i think that‘s all right. on and off court, curry‘s a man who rarely looks like missing. an athlete whose influence extends well beyond his sport. dan roan, bbc news. the reality tv show big brother is to end after nearly 20 years on british television. channel five has announced that this year‘s series is the last. celebrity big brother is also being dropped. starting on channel 4 in 2000, it made household names of many people, including jade goody,

and created some memorable tv moments — including the politician george galloway pretending to be a cat. that is one way to end the programme, isn‘t it? that‘s it from everybody here tonight. here on bbc one, time for the news where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday. the headlines tonight: 0n the verge of a first grand tour title, simon yates climbs to a huge lead in the vuelta a espana. the biggest fight of the year. we‘re live in vegas as golovkin and alvarez get ready

for their re—match. and st helens secure this year‘s super league league leaders shield. hello there. lots to get through. we‘re starting with simon yates because he‘s on the verge of winning the vuelta a espana, which would make him the 3rd british rider to win a grand tour this year. he‘s leading the race by more than a minute and half with just one competitive stage left. joe lynskey reports.