hello and welcome to bbc news. five people have been killed as hurricane florence continues to batter the us east coast. it has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, but forecasters still fear it may cause catastrophic flooding in parts of south and north carolina. our correspondent laura trevelyan is in wilmington. hurricane florence has been downgraded to at optical storm but she still poses a great threat. the high winds have subsided a bit and so high winds have subsided a bit and so has the storm surge, but now what we are seeing is absolutely torrential rainfall as she pounds the coast of north carolina and south carolina. and the threat now is coming from flooding, potentially catastrophic flooding. i am speaking to you from the cape fear river in wilmington north carolina. it has already broken its banks. and we are told that the river won't actually

top onto a tuesday. that means that homes and properties are going to flood well into next week. and that is now the worry for people, can they return to their homes if they evacuated, only to find that they are going to flood again? so, across the south—eastern coast of the united states, from virginia, maybe even all the way to georgia, people are braced to see how much damage of this storm can still do. laura trevelyan. meanwhile a super typhoon has hit the north—east of the philippines. millions of people are directly in the path of the storm and thousands have been evacuated. our correspondent howard johnson has been travelling through two areas weather forecasters say are likely to be hardest hit. within the last few hours, typhoon mankhut has made landfall on the northern tip of the main island of luzon. 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 ana, 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 a village council has advised them to get out early. on the road out of cagayan province, we passed farmers anxious to do what they can to salvage their harvest. the philippines endures about 20 typhoons and storms each year, mankhut is the strongest storm of 2018 so far. it's more than 500 miles in diameter, with sustained winds of over 160 miles an hour. we're around 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 warnings to stay inside and wait for this potentially devastating typhoon to pass. president trump's former campaign

manager will 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 he's agreed to help robert mueller‘s investigation. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel has this update paul manafort had already been found guilty of bank and tax fraud and month ago, and he was due to face another trial when, at the eleventh hour, 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 manafort was found guilty a 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 an example he was for standing firm. well, now manafort has flipped. it means he will agree to testify in any other proceedings. he will hand over papers. and one other key phrase:

"he will help on any and all matters as 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. one of the key areas for questioning will be, what happened at that trump tower meeting with donald trumpjunior and a russian lawyer who had very close links with the kremlin, promising dirt on hillary clinton? now, the white house have issued a brief statement saying, look, all of this, 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 mood will have darkened and some of his family members will become a good deal more anxious. jon sopel. you're watching bbc news.

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 horror film. 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. prison officers across england and wales walked out earlier today in protest at what they say are unsafe conditions. a report into hmp bedford 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 are currentlyjust over 83,000 prisoners in england and wales. last year there were more than 8,400 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 additional 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. on september 15th 2008, lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy, a move 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 subprime mortgages in the united states, when too many people were given mortgages they couldn't afford to repay. 0ur north america correspondent correspondent nick bryant has been to one of the areas affected, in southwest 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 machoseph 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 lynn 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 ofjust 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. this is bbc news.

the headlines: hurricane florence is pounding the carolina coast with powerful winds and devastating rain. severalfatailities are reported — with predictions of more storm surges to come. super typhoon mangkhut has made landfall in the northwestern philippines, with winds of over 200 kilometres per hour. thousands of people are being moved to safety. the country director for the uk charity christian a in the philippines says disaster relief in the country's resort to promote unity can be complex. you have seen the map of the path of the typhoon and you will see mountainous areas and small islands, and those are the geographically hard to reach areas. and an early warning system,

even if it is done in many parts of the part of the typhoon, there will be areas where they will be disasters, so that's what worries us. that will be up—land communities, where indigenous peoples live, and also inhabitants of small islands, so that's what we are worried about. what we've done in the past is to build disaster risk reduction and building plans in these remote areas, but you can never be too sure about how prepared the communities will be. we are just hoping that all those awareness regimes and education sessions have paid off and that there are institutions in the communities like churches and ngos to support them. we have done a lot of preparedness with local government officials also, so we really hope that this pays off. so, we've co—ordinated, actually days before this we've been meeting and trying to figure out how we can communicate with, you know, telecoms and power lines will be down, so we made sure that they have done their disaster

preparedness work and we are sending in a team as soon as roads so we get that information. so just making sure that they're safe and to get information from them, that will be our next priority. 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. earlier this week the archbishop of canterbury criticised the retail giant amazon for paying ‘almost nothing' in taxes. 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... 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. in the world of basketball, steph curry looms large. at six foot three, he may not be the tallest in the sport, but he‘s the highest paid player in the nba and is considered by many to be an all—time great. the superstar of american sport has been shooting hoops in east london, and our sports editor dan roan has been to meet him. 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 inspiring 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. and for me to continue to put the work in. 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. the whole thing is obviously about love and respect. curry‘s also backed tennis star serena williams after her claims of sexism in the sport following an outburst during the us 0pen final last weekend. the way that she handled it post match, with how eloquently she put her sentiments around gender equality in her sports, and created that conversation that i think we can all assess for ourselves. 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. both on and off court, curry‘s a man who rarely looks like missing. and at a time when sports and politics seem closer than ever, he is determined to speak on behalf of those who can‘t. it brings together fans of science fiction, video games and super—heroes — and this weekend, comic con is in africa for the first time. as lebo diseko reports, the genres represented at the convention are becoming increasing popular on the african continent. zombies, superheroes and more. thousands of comic and science fiction fans all dressed up for comic con in johannesburg.

it is the first time the convention has taken place in africa and organisers say it has brought in people from all around the continent. it is a chance for comic book lovers to dress up as their favourite characters. no outfit is too out there, no costume too crazy. you get to dress up and be somebody else for a day and i think that is pretty awesome. you get to be your favourite person. i think dressing up, i never pass up a chance to dress up. i think it is very important to promote diversity, that you can cosplay anybody you want outside of your skin tone, your body type, your ethnicity — it‘s a form of expression. it‘s notjust about dressing up. there are exhibitions, performances, and a chance for those who come along to meet their favourite artists. the three—day event co—exists with a big push by streaming services to cash in on the continent‘s love of all things comic related. but if you are hoping

to get in on the action, it‘s too late. 0rganisers say it‘s a complete sellout for all three days. the upside for the cosplay community, though, is that this year‘s convention may be the first of many to come. the reality tv show big brother will end after nearly 20 years on british television. channel 5 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. hello again.

before we look at the weather in the uk let us have a round—up of what is happening with the storms elsewhere in the world. for northern parts of the philippines battered by typhoon mangkhut, that is heading out into the south china sea, not far away from hong kong on sunday, not as powerful by this stage. back over the pacific, into north america, where we find florence. that will weaken over land this weekend it will continue to bring flooding rains to the carolinas. this area of cloud contains remnants of an ex—hurricane that could be heading our way next week. this weekend, bit of a mixed bag. wetter windier weather in the north—west that will start to push its way will start to push its way into england and wales next sunday. the best of the weather will be in the south—east. we have this link of drizzly rain across northern england. perhaps even into north wales. the wetter weather a rise as the winds pick up

in the afternoon across northern ireland and into western scotland. elsewhere dry weather. the difference in temperatures in the sunshine. through the evening and overnight you can see how this rain develops more widely in northern ireland, in scotland, pretty heavy rain. quite windy out there as well. some of that will edge of the irish sea. the south—east dry and clear. and across the board it should be quite a warm night on saturday night. the rain should move away from scotland and northern ireland. being replaced by sunshine and showers in the north—west. the rain gets stuck across northern england, wales, not far from the south—west. the east midlands, east anglia, the south—east likely to be warm but towards the north—west of the uk a different story, quite a bit cooler with the show is coming in was the south—east, the temperatures continuing to creep up and up. into the early part of next week, this area of low pressure contains remnants of ex—hurricane helene. it will drive its way quickly

northwards up the western side of the uk. uncertainty about the detail. the winds will collect really picking up as it sweeps its way northwards and is threatening to bring heavy rain briefly as well. the system has come from a long way south and contains tropical air. that will be felt across the east and south—east of the uk for monday and tuesday. it will be not as warm in the north and west of the uk. stronger winds. rain for a while. towards the south—east this is where temperatures will continue to climb into the mid—20s.