a deeply divided america — president trump declares tremendous results for the republicans in the midterm elections, despite significant losses. the democrats celebrate after regaining control of the house of representatives, but the republicans tighten their grip on the senate. i think it was a great victory. i'll be honest, i think it was a great victory, and actually some of the news this morning was that it was in fact a great victory. chanting. and a new wave, as a record number of women are voted in, including for the first time two muslims. tonight president trump has sacked his attorney general, sacked his attorney general, jeff sessions. we'll be asking what impact these elections will have on his presidencey. also on the programme. fighting for his life — the 98—year—old assaulted and robbed in his london home. police say the violence used was beyond belief. tough on the high street — marks & spencer report falling sales for food and clothing, and warn it's not likely to improve anytime soon. dozens of illegal cannabis clubs have sprung up in the uk, prompting calls for police

to take tougher action. looking for ronaldo... what about that! cristiano ronaldo upsets his old club manchester united tonight, but was it enough? and coming up on sportsday on bbc news... england dominate in galle, as they bowl out sri lanka on day two of the first test, with moeen ali taking four wickets. good evening. president trump has declared that his republican party defied history by gaining seats in yesterday's midterm elections, widely viewed as a referendum on his first two years in the white house. his party did indeed tighten its grip on the senate. but the democrats made gains too, taking back control of the house of representatives for the first time in eight years, which they say

will mean more checks and balances on the trump presidency. the elections were for congress, america's law—making body, which is made up of two chambers — the house of representatives and the senate. the democrats have been celebrating after so far winning 222 of the 435 seats. but the republicans were able to increase their control of the senate, making key gains in indiana, missouri and north dakota. so how much of an impact will the results have on donald trump's next two years of his presidency? our north america editor, jon sopel, has been following it and is at the white house now. sophie, thank you. i think i'm right in saying that the mid—term elections were only last night, got since then we've already had a kind

of freewheeling news conference given by the president, the firing of the attorney general, and it all makes it feel like it was a lot longer ago. maybe this president isn't as happy with the results as he has been saying. my report contains flashing images. not very bloodied, but suddenly unbowed, donald trump was the model of defiance at his post mid—term news conference. tired, yes, but despite losing the house of representatives, aglow with his own achievements. i think it was a great victory, and actually some of the news this morning was that it was a great victory. but not all the press. it's a new political reality, with democrats now having a powerful oversight role on the white house. questioned about this, he rounded on the media in general and cnn in particular. it was roughhouse stuff. put down the mike. are you worried

about indictments? cnn should be ashamed of itself, adding you working for them. you are a rude, terrible person and you shouldn't be working for them. jim is a diligent reporter. i am not a big fan of yours either. to the democrats, an olive branch of sorts, don't investigate me and we can work together, he said, plain nasty and i'll together, he said, plain nasty and ru fight together, he said, plain nasty and i'll fight back. we can look at us, they can look at us, we can look at them, and it will go back and forth and it will probably be good for me politically, i could see it being good for me politically, because i think i am better at that game than they are. waiting for the news conference to end was nancy pelosi, leader of the democrats in the house, also making positive noises about working more closely with the white house but not offering a blank check for the we will strive for bipartisanship. we check for the we will strive for bipartisa nship. we believe check for the we will strive for bipartisanship. we believe we have a responsibility to seek a result

where we can but, where we cannot we must stand our ground. these elections profoundly underline how divided america is, between young and old, black and white, men and women, those in the suburbs and cities and those in the countryside. i have said since the beginning of this campaign that change is coming. the virginia suburbs delivered the first election result and the first upset, a democrat game in the house. was this the much vaunted blue wave that would see donald trump's republicans swept away in a seismic up republicans swept away in a seismic up evil? no. in the senate, a different story, with republicans making net gains. where donald trump campaigned most republicans won, like ted cruz in texas. this was an election about hope and the future and the people of texas decided we wa nted and the people of texas decided we wanted a future with more jobs and more security and more freedom. cheering that left the rock star of these

elections, the democrat beto o'rourke, ruing what might have been. i am as inspired as hopeful as i have ever been in my life, and tonight's loss does nothing to diminish the way that i feel about texas or this country. but change is coming in other ways. the house will have its first two muslim women and its first native american woman, and the youngest member of congress will be 29—year—old alexandria ocasio—cortez, from cocktail waitress to legislate in less than a year. this is what is possible when everyday people come together in the collective realisation that all our actions, no matter how small or how large, are powerful, worthwhile and capable of lasting change. # what you need... female voters in the suburbs in previous elections

described as soccer mums or security mums, but this time round they've shown they are mighty powerful months. congress will have record numbers of women. jon sopel, bbc news. this election has underlined the deep divisions within the united states. it was very much an election of suburban america against rural america. the democrats' gains were helped by educated suburban voters who had voted republican in the past but switched this time. meanwhile, it was voters in rural areas who helped republicans to tighten their grip in the senate, as our north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports from philadelphia. the prosperous suburbs of america's major cities have traditionally been a republican stronghold. this is golf club country. but this seat went democrat because of a white—collar revolt against donald trump among more affluent and highly educated voters. we either organise or we fail... suburban women especially have been energised, many like this group of volunteers who decided to get involved in politics in reaction to his presidential victory two years ago.

i'm not sure that donald trump is able to take much of a message from this but i really hope that other leaders in congress and other national political leaders will recognise that that message of hate and racism doesn't work. what we've seen since his election is that a lot of suburban america that didn't feel that it needed to be involved before woke up and got involved and came out, and i think we are seeing the results of that now. what was striking about this seat on the outskirts of philadelphia was just how easily the democrats won it. in an area full of multi—million dollar homes, the republicans suffered a landslide defeat. these elections have reinforced a realignment of us politics, where democratic strength is concentrated in metropolitan areas, the cities and their suburbs, and donald trump's america lies beyond. the neighbouring congressional district is rural and strongly republican. pennsylvania went trump two years ago, partly because of blue—collar voters

in these heartland communities. they've remained fiercely loyal. i think he's trying to keep his promises to the best of his ability... truck driver eric mcclun thinks that donald trump is that rare thing, a presidential promise keeper. he also likes his hardline stance on immigration. i guess you have to make a stand between breaking the law and not breaking the law, and criminals coming in. if criminals can come in, terrorists can come in the same way. you believe donald trump is protecting the american border? i think he's trying to. philadelphia's independence hall is the cradle of us democracy, the place where a new nation came together to draft its constitution. but modern day america is deeply polarised. in these congressional elections, a divided country has produced a divided outcome. nick bryant, bbc news, pennsylvania. and jon sopel is at the white house.

a dramatic night, and tonight he's sacked his attorney he's sacked his attorney general, general, jeff sessions. a lot of turbulence still unfolding. i think the president felt emboldened to fire jeff i think the president felt emboldened to firejeff sessions because he had done well in the senate and he had got people in the senate and he had got people in the senate to help him reappoint a new attorney general. the two men have been getting on terribly virtually sincejeff sessions been getting on terribly virtually since jeff sessions became been getting on terribly virtually sincejeff sessions became attorney general and stood aside from the russia investigation. nancy pelosi, who we heard in my report talking about how we can maybe work in a byte atherton —— bipartisan way, put out this tweet, it's impossible to read this firing as anything other than another blatant attempt to undermine and end special council mueller‘s investigation into whether

there was russian collusion. so this bipartisanship, started there was russian collusion. so this bipartisa nship, started 2a there was russian collusion. so this bipartisanship, started 2a hours ago, and it's not going terribly well. there is an optimistic scenario that may be republicans and democrats can work together to deal issues like infrastructure, health care, immigration, big issues americans would love to have progress on, but politics is polarised, as we heard in that report, and getting democrats and republicans to work together in a constructive way is going to be exceptionally difficult. a 98—year—old man is fighting for his life in hospital after being assaulted and robbed by burglars at his home in north london. police say it was a "brutal and senseless" attack. peter gouldstone was found badly injured in his bedroom yesterday afternoon by his son, who says he's "lost for words at man's inhumanity to man". navtej johal‘s report starts with an upsetting image of mr gouldstone in hospital that his family want people to see. left for dead.

this photograph released by the metropolitan police shows 90—year—old peter gouldstone in hospital fighting for his life. a veteran of the second world war, he was robbed and attacked at his home in north london, and he remains in a critical condition. this is where my dad lived... his son, simon, was the first person to find him at his home there were some injuries that i could see to his face and his forearms, and he certainly wasn't fully conscious. i don't get it. i don't know how people could do that. police believe the attack took place sometime between 2pm on monday and 10am the following morning, when he was found by his son. his neighbours tell me they are shocked and horrified by what's happened. i am really thinking of taking more security measures. i do already have some in place, but i need to review it all again, i think. it's scary in a way they could just come through anyone's door at any

point and do whatever they like. police say they've increased patrols in the area since the attack, but no arrests have been made so far. this is an absolutely horrendous attack on a vulnerable man with medical conditions. the amount of violence used was completely disproportionate and, as you can see from the injuries that were sustained, the level was just beyond belief. injuries that have led to two bleeds on the brain, all for not much more than an old television set. a christian woman who was acquitted on blasphemy charges in pakistan last week has been released from jail, according to her lawyer. asha bibi has spent the last eight years on death row. the ruling by pakistan's supreme court last week angered religious hardliners, sparking days of violent protests. theresa may is coming under intense pressure to publish the legal advice

behind her brexit plan, as labour, tory eurosceptics and the democratic unionist party line up against her. labour says parliament should be shown the full legal advice on the backstop — the plan to prevent border controls on the irish border — before voting on any final deal. our political correspondent ben wright is at westminster. is the prime minister likely to give way? there is an edgy sort of atmosphere around westminster right now, a definite sense we are close to the moment that theresa may will finally put her brexit plan in front of the cabinet and ask them to back it, because she needs their approval before she can try and sign of the deal with eu leaders. today, members of the cabinet have been filing through a secret room in whitehall to flick through the draft withdrawal deal which has pretty much been agreed, apart from one

crucial missing bit, which is this mechanism that both sides agree needs to be there to ensure there is no hard border on the island of ireland after brexit, the issue causing division between the eu and the uk and within the cabinet. perhaps the most important person in the government right now is the attorney general, geoffrey cox, who is putting forward pretty much every day legal advice on how the mechanism will work in practice. today, there were cross—party demands for that legal advice to be published in full, and that matters because parliament will need to pass any deal that theresa may gets but, perhaps more interestingly, a call from michael gove, the environment secretary, for the full legal advice to be presented to the cabinet, which suggests there are still concerns among the cabinet for that northern ireland issue. this edginess, the atmosphere here is compounded by the remorseless ticking clock at the moment, and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, said today he thought the chances of

this special summit, where both sides hope to do the deal, are receding every day. he doesn't think it's going to happen this month, and i don't think the cabinet meeting will happen tomorrow for the pressure on both sides is increasing, but these are clearly critical days for the government and the course of brexit. marks & spencer has reported falling clothing and food sales, and warned that it sees little improvement in the coming months. the retailer added it was "continuing to review" its store closure plans, which would see 100 shops shut by 2022. m&s did still make a profit despite the drop in sales, with 32 million people visiting their stores a year. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. she's the new face. but that's the same old story at m&s with yet another drop in sales. holly willoughby has been drafted in to broaden its appeal. her must—haves have been selling fast, but this retailer is still not getting it quite right. this is the second time i've been looking for a particular jumper and they have not got my size in stock.

they have the big sizes, but the smaller sizes, they don't seem to have. i've just been looking for a skirt and i can't find anything i like at all. so i'm really disappointed. i can't tell you what i've got today, but i got what i wanted, thank you. giving customers what they want. this business is now focused on change. i outlined in may the fact that marks & spencer needs to undertake a programme of radical transformation if we are really going to make m&s special again. we are at the first stage of that and it's part of a three to five—year plan and we are really just trying to fix the basics. that includes food, where sales are nearly 3% lower, the worst for years. premium products, which got too pricey for some. the company is promising they are getting cheaper. m&s doesn't just have christmas on its plate. it's in the midst of yet another turnaround plan, but this time they're being brutally honest, saying the whole business has to change,

the culture is too hierarchical. online isn't up to scratch and it needs to attract younger shoppers. well, it's clear m&s has taken a long, hard look in the mirror and have rightly come to the conclusion that if they still want to be trading in ten years' time, they need to make some fairly radical changes to the way that they do business. m&s is an iconic brand, it's much—loved, but it's not immune from the challenges and the broader structural changes we are seeing on the high street. m&s is already closing 100 stores over the next four years and the company hinted today there could be more to come, as it tries to future proof its business. a job that will be no quick fix. emma simpson, bbc news. the seaside town of rhyl in north wales is one of the most deprived areas in the uk with high levels of unemployment, particularly among the young. now a project by one charity, the prince's trust, is trying to tackle that by bringing some

of country's top business leaders to the town to work with young people. our home editor mark easton has been to see how its working. i think pretty much everyone i know wants out. sunny rhyl, like many seaside towns, can cast a shadow over the life chances of its young. 0perating the rides at the fun fair, low—paid, seasonal work, michael feared he was heading for a dead—end. drains the life out of you more than anything. it feels like you're going nowhere. today, michael is happy to be part of rhyl‘s story. the prince's trust charity restored his confidence and helped him find training which led to a retailjob and now the prospect of a career in hospitality. michael's life has been turned around. there's a lot of people, talented people who want to go far, but they really don't have the self—confidence to thrive in that workplace environment

and don't put themselves forward for it. there is a lot ofjobs that i probably could have applied for, but didn't because i thought i could not do that. and here you are. indeed. hopefully for a long time. when british holiday—makers started boarding their charter plane to spain, self—doubt landed in rhyl. the youngsters felt stranded as the tide went out on the domestic tourist trade. a survey of young people out next week suggests in north wales, 37% believe that no one in the community cares about them. 64% think they have a better future somewhere else. in the face of such findings, the prince's trust charity assembled a task force of top business leaders and took them to the seaside. chief executives from global companies and public sector organisations like the nhs were challenged to solve the riddle of rhyl. we brought people to rhyl because it represents a lot of what britain is like now. nick stace once worked a a problem

solver at ten downing st. now he is demanding solutions for britain's forgotten young. this is about rolling up sleeves and making stuff happen. there are great opportunities here and across the country. the nhs has 100,000 vacancies, why don't we employ tens of thousands of young people into the nhs? this is actually about turning around the fortunes of rhyl and other places around the country. the drugs and alcohol problem... dan is another example of what happens when people with power take an interest in people without. instead of the lost land living on the margins, marks & spencer were convinced to see the potential within. as soon as i had the opportunity, ijust let it all out and marks & spencer saw that in me. and here you are. here i am now. transformed? transformed. can't remember who i used to be. rhyl is trying to transform itself, too. but like dan, it will not do it on its own. local counsellors complain that potential visitors don't see the signs for the turn—off and drive straight by.

the town feels cut off. what is needed ? a strong connection to where power lies outside of the town, to the big employers and the major service providers like the nhs. organisations that often complain they cannot find young and enthusiastic british workers to fill thejobs. make those connections and maybe you can solve the riddle of rhyl. looking out, but also looking in. realising the best restaurant staff or the new council—run theatre already here. people like lucy, who worked as a lifeguard on the beach. there is a massive confidence boost just even getting the job. and now you are a supervisor. you have moved up the ranks. yes, definitely. i'm hoping to to get more progression from here. this is a really good example. if we had more people like this, it would be a success.

confidence is the key. confidence in the town, confidence in its young, and confidence company not to see them as the problem, but the solution. the boss of britain's 2nd biggest house—builder, persmimmon, has agreed to stand down — after an outcry over his 75million pound pay deal. i would rather not talk about that, it has been well covered. last month the chief executive jeff fairburn walked away from a bbc interview after refusing to answer questions about his salarly and bonuses. he has now agreed to leave by the end of the year after the company said the row was damaging its reputation. anti—drugs campaigners are calling on the police to take a far tougher approach to the use of cannabis. new research suggests there are now more than 150 illegal cannabis clubs operating across the uk. the people who run them claim

there is no dealing on the premises. 0ur correspondent, fiona trott, has been given special access to one club in teesside and has this report. this is a club where everybody breaks the law. for £25 a year, members have been coming here to smoke cannabis. there are believed to be around 160 clubs in the uk. this one is even registered to pay tax. we come here so that we can have a safe environment, where we know the cannabis hasn't been street derived. all 200 members bring their own. they say they are sharing, not dealing. the key of it all is you want a place to enjoy it with your friends, just like you go to a pub and have a drink with your mates. people want to come and have a smoke with their mates. what would you do if the police turned up right now and closed it down and arrested you? well, we'd go and get arrested. we'd get arrested. we'd have to follow a protocol. we'd have to be looked at as criminals, even though we are not, we are users.

and cannabis is all they use. class a drugs are prohibited. the chairman says that's why his business model works. i think we need full regulation. i think that we need the government to offer clubs such as myself licenses. if you look at the politicians and the police that have worked alongside us that do support us, there is another way of doing things, and this is it. the cannabis club was one mile away from a police station, but nobody has been arrested. well, would always like more resourcing. the reality is, the more resource we have, the more we could do. the issue we have around it is, this is one of the many things we have to deal with so, in terms of prioritisation, yes, it's an illegal offence, we will take action where we can take action but, as i've said to you, by the time we find out where premises have been, they've already closed down and moved on somewhere else. but a police and crime commissioner has visited that cafe. did they not give you information about who was there and where it was? no, they didn't. the important thing is there is a police service. we are an enforcement service and therefore we have to enforce the law and, if we don't enforce the law, we need to justify why we don't do that.

that's part of the debate about what is our approach to drugs. this is the box that was found next to nicholas's body... elizabeth burton phillips' son was a drug addict who took his own life. he smoked marijuana at school. she says police forces need to toughen up their approach to cannabis use. when it is a senior police officer, when it is a senior member of parliament, when it is somebody in a position of power and privilege, if it happens to them and a member of their family is affected, they will know what it's like to walk in the shoes of families whose lives are impacted. and she believes lives may also be impacted by the relaxation of rules over cannabis oil. it's our young people that are perhaps going to misread the messages — everybody does it now and it's legal, you can do cannabis oil, that means you can do skunk. the body which registers these clubs in the uk says the number is growing. the home office says the issue will form part of an independent review. fiona trott, bbc news, teesside. football and both manchester

clubs have been in action in the champions league tonight. manchester city had a chance of qualifying early for the knockout stages. but manchester united had to face the italian championsjuventus and their former star striker christiano ronaldo, in turin. 0ur sports correspondent andy swiss reports. just a fortnight ago, manchester united were outclassed byjuventus soa united were outclassed byjuventus so a rematch with cristiano ronaldo and company, probably wasn't top of their wish list. after weathering a first half storm they fell behind in spectacularfashion. 0f first half storm they fell behind in spectacularfashion. of course it had to be him. cristiano ronaldo with his first ever champions league goalforjuventus. he is unlikely to score a better one. it seemed all over until a stunning late turnaround. juan mata's free kick offered a lifeline and a scrambled own goal gave united a 2—1victory.

jose mourinho's reaction at the end did not endear him to the house. manchester city emerged after what has been an uncomfortable few days. newspaper claims they broke european spending rules and manchester city say it is an attempt to damage their reputation. they had an easier ride. david silva prodding them ahead before one of the most farcical moments and you will see. raheem sterling tripping over his own feet and guess what? penalty. do you laugh or cry. manchester city didn't mind, jesus making it 2—0. from there it was jesus going mind, jesus making it 2—0. from there it wasjesus going on to com plete there it wasjesus going on to complete a hat—trick as manchester city cruised to a 6—0 victory. almost into the knockout stage in knockout style. and the swiss, bbc news. across the island of ireland, north and south, the thousands of irishmen who fought for britain in world war one will be remembered on sunday on the centenary of armistice day. for much of the last century the contribution of men

from the south was deliberately written out of history while those from northern ireland were treated as heroes. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. they were musicians who became soldiers. when world war i broke out, every member of londonderry‘s hamilton flute band signed up. 0ur connections with this part of history are gradually fading into the past. i think that he must have seen some terrible things. ruby jordan's father played in the band. she died aged 92 a few days after we filmed this interview. herfather, archie, went to war when he was 18. he returned to northern ireland, but many other members of the band lost their lives. and my father, i didn't know if he was joking or not, but he said, he gave us all a glass of rum and shouted no surrender and they all raced over the top. the eejits.

how do you feel to this day when you hear the band playing? ifeel proud. i love to hear the band. derry‘s bandmembers doubled as stretcher bearers, and their part in the war has never been forgotten. every year, we would commemorate the battle of the somme, and we would parade to the cenotaph and lay a wreath in memory of the fallen. by the end of the war in 1918, tens of thousands of irishmen from the south had also fought alongside british regiments, but while they were away the easter rising had been launched by irish republicans to end british rule. it meant, coming home, southern ireland was no place for irish soldiers who served with the british army.