a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a trail of destruction left by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the united states. and there it is lift off of the soyuz. russia suspends all manned flights to the international space station after the crew of a soyuz rocket were forced to make an emergency landing. mum's the word — researchers in china say they've created baby mice with two mothers and no father. a special report from kabul on the taliban and islamic state prisoners jailed for violence and disruption. people on florida's gulf coast have spent the day assessing the damage to their homes and businesses, from one of the strongest storms that's ever hit the united states.

hurricane michael tore into north—west florida as a category four on wednesday, with winds over 150 miles an hour — that's 240 kilometres an hour. two people, including a child, were killed by falling wreckage. emergency workers say the town of mexico beach was worst hit. the bbc‘s gary o'donoghue was there. two days ago, this was an orderly beachfront community, home to around 1,200 people. but street after street, michael tore through this town, uprooting and smashing everything in its path. this is what the federal emergency director is calling ground zero. mexico beach, where hurricane michael came ashore yesterday with those winds of 155mph. it's completely devastated the street down to the sea, just two houses left standing, and people's things all over the street, microwaves, mattresses, kitchen sinks, you name it. the stuff of everyday life turned into detritus in the matter of a few hours. around the town, friends

and neighbours are doing their best to console one another. hard to do when your dream retirement home has ended up like this. i think there's a lot of, you know, anger and shock and, you know, just emotion, you know, that is at its peak right now. i think we just need a few days to digest what has happened, and see how the rebuilding is going to happen. mexico beach was also the maximum point of the storm surge. the water here rising more than eight feet at the height of the onslaught. 0ne resident said she had five feet of water in the downstairs of her house. the floors and the furniture now ruined. i was in and out of the closet, i went to check on my husband, and i was just a basket case. to hear that roar is just... just amazing. it's so loud. 30 miles west of mexico beach, the hurricane‘s aftermath proved

a temptation some couldn't resist. this was a family dollar store, and when we arrived there were a whole bunch of people who were helping themselves to pretty much everything inside, mainly the cigarettes and the batteries, they were taking those away in bag—fulls, and while we've been here, a whole load more people have been coming back and doing exactly the same. it's a bit of a freefall. —— free—for—all. but for the time being the priority is seeking out anyone that might need urgent help as the rescuers make their way to some of the more isolated communities. life will not be back to normal here any time soon. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, florida. when i spoke to vicki eichstaedt from the red cross, i asked her how things were in tallahassee, florida. in tallahassee, things are starting to return to normal. power is coming on sporadically. very few stores are beginning

to open on generator power. lots of cleanup going on here of... 0f detritus, trees down, lines down, that kind of thing, also powered down with lines affecting roads and that sort of thing. but very slowly starting to come back. i guess it is mercifully rare to see a category 4 hurricane making landfall, but pretty rough i know and i gather that the further west to go towards panhandle, it's really quite catastrophic there? it absolutely is. tallahassee only suffered from the outer bands of the storm, and really got off fairly likely. but the further west to go from here, there's absolutely catastrophic damage. how was it overnight?

a lot of people i've talked to who been through hurricanes talk about the sound of it being particularly terrifying, especially, of course, in the dark? yes, and i think there's not a way to compare it or to try and paint a visual picture of that sound. you can talk about freight trains moving very fast. you can talk about the sound of wind in a tunnel, but that doesn't come close. the sound is deafening. vicki eichstaedt from the red cross in tallahassee, florida. let's get some of the day's other news. ajudge in new york has dismissed one of the six sexual assault allegations against harvey weinstein. the dismissal relates to lucia evans, who accused the movie producer of forcing her

to perform a sexual act. weinstein‘s lawyer believes this development taints the whole case against his client. president trump says he's reluctant to block saudi investments in the us despite concerns over a missing saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi. mr khashoggi was last seen since entering the saudi consulate in turkey more than a week ago. meanwhile the saudi ambassador has told the bbc he remains concerned about the disappearance of mr khashoggi. china says there is no basis for allegations by the united states that a chinese intelligence official attempted to steal sensitive trade secrets from a us company. yanjun shu was arrested in belgium in april after meeting an engineer from ge aviation, which makes aircraft engines. russia has suspended manned flights to the international space station, while it investigates what went wrong with a soyuz spacecraftjust after take off from kazakhstan. it was dramatic and dangerous and it hasn't happened for decades, but the crew — a russian and an american — survived the emergency landing unharmed. here's sarah rainsford.

and there is liftoff of the soyuz ms—io... a burst of fire and noise, as a soyuz rocket lifted its crew into orbit. at first, this was a routine launch to the international space station. then came this. less than three minutes into the flight, the commander, alexey 0vchinin, reported an emergency. the booster system had failed. the launch had to be aborted. moments later, the two men were plunging back to earth in their tiny capsule. the crew did train for this nightmare scenario, the gruelling g—force their bodies would have to endure. but russia's soyuz rocket hasn't failed on launch in over three decades. for american nick hague, it was an abrupt end to his first ever mission.

he was due to spend six months in orbit. ever since yuri gagarin launched into orbit, russia has been immensely proud of its space programme. this accident, then, will be a major blow. but it is notjust a matter of prestige. russian rockets are currently the only way up to the international space station. what happens now, then, is a big question. rescuers were quick to reach the remote landing site, hugely relieved, too, that the crew emerged unharmed, even walking. but all soyuz flights have now been suspended as an investigation is launched. the safety measures of this space — of this launcher are very good, and the two astronauts are well, they are in good shape. so therefore i think we should investigate the case, and as soon as possible fly again. tonight, the astronauts were reunited with their families. for them, it was a moment ofjoy. for russia, though, a time of tough questions over what exactly went so wrong here. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow.

well let's get more on that story now. for more on this, i'm joined by michael dodge, space policy researcher at the university of north dakota. he joins me now from the city of grand forks. thank you for your time. what do you think happened? with this particular incident are not entirely sure what went wrong with the soyuz loggia. there are theories out there, but it is best to wait for the investigation to tell the shore. what is good is that they have a good and robust safety system and the astronauts 0k. most of the safety system is automated by the on—board computers on the soyuz. still pretty rough, didn't they have two enjoy a i.7g? still pretty rough, didn't they have two enjoy a 1.76? it was a very tough trip back down. but these are tough trip back down. but these are tough people. fortunately they survived. what did he get does to the space programme now for the

future? there are other ways to get supplies to the space station, aren't there? yes. there are other ways to get supplies to the space station. spacek has the dragon they can deliver to the iss. but u nfortu nately soyuz can deliver to the iss. but unfortunately soyuz is the only way up unfortunately soyuz is the only way up there. —— for people. in the event of emergency, they could use a module to get back to the heavy capital. it is not preferable, because this current soyuz as the controversy about the whole, but it is believed they could safely come back down if they needed to. how did soyuz become the only way to get people up to the iss? 0ther political decisions around is? absolutely. this basically deals with the issue of retirement of the space shuttle in the united states. the united states has a policy of desiring to have access to space in

more than one way. but with the obsolescence of the space shuttle, we have no other way to do that. at the moment, until spacek and our other partners can get us up there, soyuzis other partners can get us up there, soyuz is the only way. michael dodge, thank you forjoining us. kanye west has met president trump at the white house. in an epic monologue in the oval office, which seemed to leave the president fairly speechless, the rap star who now wants to be known as ye, declared himself a huge fan. he said mr trump made him feel like a superhero. he also said the best way to keep black americans off welfare and out of prison was to create more jobs. this from our washington correspondent chris buckler. with his appearance in the white house, dundee west truly made this the west wing. how does it feel in the west wing. how does it feel in the oval office? there is good energy in this. and he had a fair amount of energy himself. at one

stage he delivered a long and produce beach that silenced even president trump. trump is on his hero ‘s journey right now. he president trump. trump is on his hero ‘sjourney right now. he might not have expected a crazy person they can us, to support him, but we are going to make america great. that was quite something. that was quite something. he talked enthusiastically. about criminal justice reform. jobs and education. showed off a picture of a hydrogen powered plane he thinks should replace m4 is one. but perhaps most memorable of many memorable moments came when he talked about the superhuman qualities of donald trump's signature make america great again campaign gathers. trump's signature make america great again campaign gathersm trump's signature make america great again campaign gathers. it is only about previous cap on that it made me feel like superman. you may be superman. that is my favourite superhero. and you made one come from me. dundee west is one of the

world's most famous entertainers and there is a serious political point to all of this. —— kanye. gold cup does not poll well with black americans, and manly west is his most well—known black supporter. when i sound like donald trump is that he was liberal, and they see his race, i say racism can't control me. that is invisible wall. it is a sign of this era of personality in america that ka nye sign of this era of personality in america that kanye even referenced his own presidential ambitions, although he made a pledge not to run against the man he called his brougham, and there seems to be quite a brian masse. -- bromance. i love this car radio. let me get this car radio. i love this gay radio. that is really nice. that is from the heart. i didn't want to put you

in this position. that is from the heart. special guy. —— i love this guy right here. critics compare this president's presidency to ravage television. but if anything, this meeting of two soccer came geniuses vote on the surreal. surreal indeed. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: reagan returns. how one of america's most revered former presidents is making a sort of comeback. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20lb bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken.

democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. and then... bells toll bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a trail of destruction left by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the united states. russia suspends all manned flights to the international space station, after the crew of a soyuz rocket were forced to make an emergency landing. afghan voters go to the polls this

month in important parliamentary elections, amid a deadly cycle of violence. 15 members of the border police were killed on thursday by taliban insurgents in the north of the country. the taliban control more territory than at any point since the removal of their regime 17 years ago. meanwhile, the islamic state group have been active there in recent years, adding to the violence. but many extremists have been captured. the bbc‘s ben zand was given rare access to a jail in kabul. kabul, afghanistan, a city in lockdown. the threat from groups like the taliban and the so—called islamic state were constant and real. the country has been in a state of war since the us invasion in 2001, and now, attacks are worse than ever. if i was to find myself talking to the taliban or the islamic state on the streets of kabul, that would mean something has gone very wrong.

so realistically, the early way to do it is to speak to them in a prison. i'm headed to afghanistan's biggest prison. i had heard about a taliban commander who had been involved in numerous ied attacks on afghan and foreign forces. but would he talk? the prison was separated into an area for the so—called islamic state, and one for the taliban. the prisoners were free to talk, and first up were members of is, or daesh. do you admit you are members of is, or do you say you are innocent? if you're all not members of islamic state, are you happy to renounce what they do, the tactics they use, the people they kill? i mean, do you think the act of beheading people, killing people, is acceptable? when i asked that question, though, you two both smiled. what is funny about the concept of killing people and blowing them up? it seems unusual, if you're not of islamic state,

and you think what they do is wrong, that you would be so unwilling to comment on anything that they do. it seems like you're scared, because you are in fact members of islamic state. the so—called islamic state clearly weren't in the mood to talk, so it was time to try the taliban. ok, so this guy is supposedly a dangerous member of the taliban. he was the taliban commander i had heard about. i mean, there have been some pretty deadly suicide bombings killing many innocent civilians in kabul. do you condone those attacks? why can you not have talks, ceasefire, communication? what if you get to the gates of heaven, and you tell god you've

killed all these people, and he tells you they are innocent, and that you have not been a good muslim? before we could challenge him further, we were told we had to leave. yourtime is up. 0k. the guards were concerned with our safety. the taliban were angry at my interview. we're now rushing out of the prison. that was my chance to meet the guys who terrorised this place. they are the people literally killing civilians, on an almost daily basis now. and you can see why — because death is really nothing to them. this is a country desperate for peace, but for many here, it feels further away than ever.

ben zand, bbc news, kabul. and you can see more of ben zand's film in the series the world's most dangerous cities, which you can see on bbc iplayer. researchers at the chinese academy of sciences are saying they have created created baby mice with two mums and no dad. the researchers say the bi—maternal animals were healthy and went on to have pups of their own. the team also had a go at mice with double dads, but they died within days of being born. professor monika ward is from the institute for biogenesis research at the university of hawaii, and gave me her thoughts on the research. well, this is a very fascinating and comprehensive study, that taught us a little bit new about the special imprinted genes. and the team, the chinese team, made some progress over what was known before. in 2004, a japanese group also developed offspring from the maternal parents,

but the efficiency of this process was much lower, and the mice were not normal. the new study shows that plenty of the offspring could be obtained. they grew up well, and they were able to have offspring of their own. however, there is still a lot we don't know about these mice. as you know, you cannot ask a mouse if she has a headache, so i believe a lot of follow—up studies are necessary to investigate these mice, and to be really sure if they are normal and healthy. there's been some talk about it breaking the rules of reproduction, but i guess these things called rules are maybe for humans, that you need a dad and a mum, but not so in the rest of nature at all. well, if we're talking about the mammals, maternal and paternal parts are needed, and they complement each other. so for humans, we do need

maternal and paternal genes. what we are doing now with difference assisted reproductive technologies, and different genetic manipulations, is overcome this barrier and see if we can obtain offspring from only mums and dads, and that's what the team from china was trying to achieve. and of course, i think it's some female fish, isn't it, reptiles, amphibians and some birds can go it alone. where do you hope that this might lead eventually? i think for now it's teaching us a lot about imprinting genes. the technologies are being developed. and perhaps in the future we will be possible to obtain live offspring from two dads. we are definitely not yet there. and even with the offspring from two mums, i believe we need more investigations on the normalcy of these mice. professor, thank you very much.

you're very welcome. whenever an american president leaves office, he will invariably set up a presidential library. it is a place to showcase historic documents and burnish the legacy of your time in the oval office. but one presidential library has gone a step further in enhancing the visitor experience, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. robert wilson reagan, of the united states, a hero of conservative america, credited by some with winning the cold war. he died in 2004, but if you happen to be paying a trip to his presidential library in california, you might think he had been reborn. welcome to the oval office... a3-d had been reborn. welcome to the oval office... a 3-d hologram welcomes visitors, an opportunity to look history in the eye. i think that people are just history in the eye. i think that people arejust going history in the eye. i think that people are just going to be drawn into this incredible image. it'll be the first time, if you've never been ina room the first time, if you've never been in a room with president reagan, this will feel like you are standing

right there with them. we've been blessed with a vast and beautiful land... the audio comes from speech as president reagan made during his time in office, but the visuals are a mixture of an act of providing the body and the computer providing the face. the team behind it are proud of their work. it is the greatest hologram that we've ever done. it's the greatest hologram that exists anywhere in the world. all the feedback that we're getting all positive. the designers describe this as something that has never been done before. the possibilities are endless. or, as reagan himself put it... you ain't seen nothing yet. just briefly, a singapore airlines plane is currently in the air for what the carrier says will be the longest non—stop passenger flights on record. it is currently about 11 hours into a 19 hourjourney from singapore directly to new york. tickets not cheap on this gave us

a350, there is no economy class on board. it is due to end its trip at newark airportjust board. it is due to end its trip at newark airport just after 10:30am gmt on friday. and that main story again: people in florida's gulf coast have spent the day assessing the damage to their homes and businesses from one of the strongest storms to ever hit the united states. hurricane michael taught in the florida as a category 4 on wednesday. wins more than 150 mph —— tore into. two people including a child were killed by falling wreckage as it moved north—east. emergency workers say the town of mexico beach was worst hit. thank you for watching. hello there. storm callum is approaching, and it is set to bring us some pretty wet and windy weather

over the next few days. on thursday, it was a breezy day, with a few showers around. this was the picture as we ended the day, taken by one of our weather watchers in reading. now, our attention is turning to the west, and this is storm callum, this developing area low pressure. as it moves in on friday and lingering into saturday, it will bring particularly windy and wet weather on the cards too. the rainfall totals could be mounting up, particularly in parts of south wales, where we've got an amber warning for that heavy rain, around 40 to perhaps 60 mm of rain, could be even more over high ground, up to 100 over the two days. so this is how friday is looking then. let's focus in on the regional detail. on friday morning, look at the wind speeds, 50 or 60mph, maybe a bit more than that over some of these exposed irish sea coasts, and heavy rain in the south—west of england, wales and the midlands. northern ireland will have seen the worst of the wet weather by 8:00am friday morning, but still very windy

here, and wet and pretty windy conditions in the bulk of scotland and northern england too, with those strong gusty winds. so particularly windy in the north and west too, but wherever you are, you'll notice the strength of the winds. down towards the south—east of england and east anglia, you're more likely to stay dry for quite a good part of the day, and it's still pretty warm. in fact, temperatures once again up to 22 or so in the south—east. cooler further north and west, but actually mild wherever you are. but we have got strong winds and heavy rain to contend with, too, so this area of rain becomes quite slow—moving through friday evening and into saturday morning, especially heavy in wales. and remember, we've got that amber warning in force for heavy rain in south wales, maybe flooding and disruption to transport as well. as we move through the weekend then, the trailing weather front from storm callum stays put through the day on saturday. it's just slowly edging a bit further eastwards. but again, it will be parts of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, wales and the south—west of england that will see the bulk of that heavy rain. strong winds again, especially down towards the midlands and the south—east of england.

with that mild air in charge, though, in the sunshine, we could see temperatures up to 24 degrees, well above average for this time of year. then, as we move into the second half of the weekend, we'll see the rain edging its way further eastwards. so perhaps a soggy start for london and the south—east. some rain and even snow over the mountains of scotland. once the rain and hill snow clears to the east, an improved today in much of the country but temperatures will be almost 10 degrees cooler on sunday than they are on saturday. into next week then, still pretty unsettled and breezy, with some showery rain at times. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: the scale of destruction wrought by hurricane michael in the us is becoming clearer.

the storm hit florida and then made its way northeast. video shot from a helicopter shows rows of houses near coastal areas ripped from their foundations. hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without electricity. russia has halted manned missions to the international space station while an investigation is held into why the crew of a soyuz spacecraft were forced to make an emergency landing minutes after lift—off. the russian cosmonaut and his american colleague are spending the night hospital under observation. scientists in china say they've managed to genetically produce healthy baby mice with two mothers and no father. they took an egg from one female mouse and a type of stem cell from another. they then used gene editing to delete some of their dna to make them compatible. it's just gone half past three in the morning. now on bbc news, panorama. every year in the uk,

two million people suffer domestic abuse — the majority at the hands of men. i hit her two times. i go to her... but can more be done to stop it? i grabbed her round the neck and threw her through a door. for the first time, panorama has been allowed inside the controversial courses trying to change abusive men. so how do you know you're getting angry? you feel your blood boil, don't you? but there are some who doubt they can work. you can't go on a perpetrator course for three, six, nine, 12 months, and undo 20 years of violence. and others who even think they can be dangerous.