this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 11: donald trump says he wants to see "bi—partisanship and unity" in us politics, after the democrats won back control of the house of representatives in mid—term elections. i think it was a great victory. i'll be honest, i think it was a victory. and actually, this morning, some of the news was that it was a great victory. the president has fired his attorney general, jeff sessions. he had been the target of constant criticism from mr trump for removing himself from the inquiry into russian interference in the 2016 election. fighting for his life — the 98—year—old assaulted and robbed in his london home. police say the violence used was beyond belief. home secretary sajid javid calls on the net police to step up its response to knife crime. theresa may is coming under intense pressure to publish the legal advice behind her brexit plan. —— met police.

cristiano ronaldo upsets his old club mancheter united in the champions league tonight, but was it enough? and at 11:30pm, we'll take another in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, the guardian's media editorjim waterson and the victim's commissioner, baroness newlove. president trump has declared that his republican party defied history by gaining seats in yesterday's mid—term elections — widely viewed as an opportunity for voters to deliver a verdict on his first two years in the white house. 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

winning control of the house for the first time in eight years — winning 222 of the 435 seats, which they say will mean more checks and balances on the trump presidency. but the republicans were able to increase their control of the senate, making key gains in indiana, missouri and north dakota. this evening, president trump is not wasted any time shaking up his cabinet, fire and attorney general jeff ‘s options. half —— firing jeff session. so how much of an impact will the results have on donald trump's next two years of his presidency? our north america editor is jon sopel. his report does contain some 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, he was aglow with his own achievements. 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 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. that's enough. put down the mike. mr president, are you worried about indictments from this investigation? cnn should be ashamed of itself, having 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, play 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 can see it being good for me politically, because i think i'm 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 was not offering a blank cheque. we will strive for bipartisanship. we believe that we have a responsibility to seek common ground where we can but, where we cannot we must stand our ground. what these elections profoundly underline is how divided america is, between young and old, black and white, men and women, between those in the suburbs and cities and those in the countryside. i've been saying since the beginning of this campaign 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 evil? it wasn't. in the senate, a different story, with republicans making net gains. where donald trump had campaigned most, republicans won, like ted cruz in texas. this was an election about hope and about the people and the future of texas, rendered a verdict that ssaid we wanted a future with more jobs and more security and more freedom. 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've 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 legislator 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, have this time round 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 on 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. and 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. and in these congressional elections, a divided country has produced a divided outcome. nick bryant, bbc news, pennsylvania. will be talking to our correspondent in washington within the next few minutes or so. stay with us to that. —— fallout. 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 98—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 and this is where i found him... his son, simon, was the first person to find him at his home in bounds green in north london. there were some injuries that i could see to his face and to his forearms, and he certainly wasn't fully conscious. sorry, i don't get it. i don't know how people could do that, whoever they are. police believe the attack took place sometime between 2pm on monday afternoon and 10am the following morning, when he was found by his son.

his neighbours tell me they're shocked and horrified by what's happened. i'm really thinking of taking more security measures. i do already have some in place, but i need to review it all again. 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 he 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. theresa may is coming under

increasing pressure to release the legal documents are high and brexit. labour, tory eurosceptics, and the democratic unionist party have lined 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 jonathan blake is at westminster. is the prime minister likely to give way? you do get the sense that we are moving closer to the moment when theresa may is able to put her plan oi’ theresa may is able to put her plan or the basis of a deal to the rest of the cabinet, and asked them what they think and get them to sign up to it. cabinet ministers have been going into downing street today to going into downing street today to go through a draft copy of the withdrawal agreement, the divorce

deal between britain and the eu, to review it, but it is missing a crucial 5%, as the prime minister says the withdrawal agreement is 95% complete. what is missing is the remaining 5%, which pertains to the potential backstop, which both the eu and the uk have agreed to include. a reminder, that is in case a trade deal heart be done and put in place by the end of the transition period, it is a way of ensuring that there will be no checks on the border between the northern ireland and the republic of ireland, and throughout the last day oi’ ireland, and throughout the last day orso, ireland, and throughout the last day or so, we've had calls for legal advice which the attorney general has been giving to the prime minister and cabinet to be published in full, both either to government ministers or mps. labour says that that should happen, the democratic

unionist party says that it should happen, and they have gone further and said that it should be published and said that it should be published and made public for everyone to read. it isa it is a sign that the extent to which people are uneasy about the detail of the agreement and the deal which, just to remind you, is not yet done. —— can't. which, just to remind you, is not yet done. -- can't. as if we needed reminding. the home secretary has called on the metropolitan police to step up its response to knife crime following a string of stabbings in the capital in recent days. sajid javid has urged scotland yard to make full use of police powers, including stop and search. mrjavid told the commissioner of the metropolitan police cressida dick: ‘we must act together, and i stand with you as we face this challenge", and that he was committed to bringing down violence in capital. first, iam first, i am deeply worried about this. there are so many people being hurt, so many lives being lost and i

am committed to doing everything they can to help drive down to knife crime and all types of serious violence. so this morning, i spoke to the met chiefjust an operational date, because as you say there has been so much of this just in the last few days, but then also to give her my support and give her team i support, and to commit to doing everything that i can to help. the headlines on bbc news: donald trump claims "tremendous success" in the mid—term elections, after a night of mixed results for his republican party. fighting for his life, the 98—year—old assaulted and robbed in his london home. police say the violence used was beyond belief. home secretary sajid javid calls on the metropolitan police to step up its response to knife crime. let's return now to our top story. president trump has hailed the midterm elections

as a "tremendous success" after a night of mixed results for his republican party. the democrats won the house of representatives, which will enable them to thwart the president's agenda. but the republicans consolidated their grip on the senate, ensuring he can still make key appointments. our correspondent dan johnson is in washington. hejoins us now, and i want to start i asking you, the results would suggest a divided country. how do you think the president will deal with the newly divided congress? well, there was talk of donald trump at adopting a softer tone, perhaps be more measured, having lost control of the lease part of congress, but no sign of that today. if anybody thought the donald trump presidency rollercoaster was going to pause for breath after these mid—term elections, they were very much mistaken because we have an absolute firecracker of a press conference in which he took on

members of the media today and then announced that he had effectively sacked his attorney general, jeff sessions. so all things change, plenty more to come from the president, and already it feels like the mid—term elections were a long time ago. they were only last night, the results were only announced in the results were only announced in the early hours of this morning, and yet already the president has moved on. he has done different things, we are talking about different issues, and we are waiting to see what comes next. can he actually work with the democrats in congress? nancy pelosi, the leader of the democrats in congress, has said she is willing to be more bipartisan but now she is already on social media criticising the president for having sacked his attorney generals of the early signs we re attorney generals of the early signs were working together to in congress and the president are not good. what should we read into the fact that he sacked his attorney general, jeff sessions? well, it had been coming for a long time. he has been criticising jeff ‘s essence for 18 months or more on social media, saying he is an ineffective, wheat

attorney general —— jeff sessions. whenever i'm was expecting that he would be replaced. it is something ofa would be replaced. it is something of a surprise it has taken this long but the president had to wait until the midterms were out of the wall away. the important question is whether this has me bearing into the investigation into whether russia interfered with the presidential election two years ago. that is an investigation thatjeff sessions was ultimately in charge of as the attorney general, but he has had to step aside with having anything to do with the day—to—day running of that investigation because he had to reveal that he had had meetings with the russian ambassador during that campaign. now thatjeff sessions is gone, it is a big question about who replaces him and whether they will ta ke replaces him and whether they will take a different approach to this investigation, whether they will allow the investigation to be run so independently. the democrats are already voicing their concern, some republicans as well, saying that the independence of that investigation must be preserved. now, the president hasn't said anything about curtailing that investigation or cutting its funding, but that is a

concern for many people already. they are saying that robert mueller, the special counsel, who is investigating all these issues about what russia's influence was, need to be left alone to do his work. that depends on what approach they take. the man who is doing thejob in the interim is somebody who has already previously written about the breach of that investigation, saying that the investigation needed to be scaled down and should go too far, so scaled down and should go too far, so that has caused concern for a lot of people in congress in washington already. and what about the democrats? they have got some power now, what are they going to do with a? well, the early signs from nancy pelosi was that she wanted to work constructively with the president, that she was prepared to be bipartisan, as they described it, to work together in congress to try and get at least some things done. she will have some control if she

becomes the leader of the house of representatives over funding for certain projects and programmes. she will be able to block certain bits of legislation if she wants, and she can launch further investigations into issues like the russian influence in the election campaign. now, whether she actually wants to go that far and make life that difficult for the president, we will have to see, because during that press co nfe re nce have to see, because during that press conference today he flagged that up and said, well, if they want to play that game, the democrats, bring it on. i think i am is good at playing that game as the democrats. i will bat things back and forth nothing will happen for two years and perhaps two years down the line the president will be able to blame the president will be able to blame the democrats for the fact that nothing has been achieved for the last two years. how will that play out for the democrats in the next presidential election? all of that has to be considered, they will have to work out what their strategy and tactics are that if they wanted to work with the president, the early signs are that he seems determined to be as comedy of a destructive and divisive as he has been during this election campaign, during the two yea rs of election campaign, during the two years of his presidency in the campaign before that. very much we saw the president back on familiar territory, acting as he has done so farduring territory, acting as he has done so far during his term in office. a christian woman who was acquitted

on blasphemy charges in pakistan last week has been released from jail, according to her lawyer. asia 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. the boss of britain's second—biggest housebuilder, persimmon, has agreed to stand down after an outcry over his £75 million pay deal. i would rather not talk about that. it has been well covered, actually. so you don't want to discuss that today? 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. marks & spencer has reported falling clothing and food sales, and warned that it expects to see 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 is the new face. but it is 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 that 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're really going to make m&s special again. we're at the first stage of that and it's part of a three to five—year plan, and we're 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 is 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. 0nline 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're 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 unemployement, 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 it is working. i think pretty much everyone i know wants the help.

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. just drains the life out of you, more than anything. feels like you're going nowhere. today, though, michael is happy to be part of rhyl‘s story. i'll stand outside while you have a cigarette... 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 holidaymakers 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 taskforce 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 largely because it represents quite a lot of what britain is like now. nick stace once worked a a problem solver at ten downing street. 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 the alcohol problems... dan is another example of what happens when people in 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 has obviously seen 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 is 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 for the new council—run theatre already here, people like lucy, who worked as a lifeguard on the beach. there's a massive confidence boost just even getting the job. and now you're a supervisor, you've 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 not to see them as the problem, but the answer.

now it is time for the weather, with susan powell. good evening. if you managed to dodge the rain today you have done pretty well. some fairly hefty showers running around with the more persistent rain in places as well. tomorrow over all much drier picture. not entirely dry, however. it will still be breezy as well because low pressure will continue to govern our weather. if you look closely at this chart there is a little bit of a gap between the weather fronts through the remainder of the day and into thursday. the isobars opening up a little, lighter winds for many of us overnight and clear skies. quite a chilly start to thursday across central and eastern areas in scotland and northern ireland. we will see our weak weather system initially pushing its way into the south—west of wales and into northern england and southern scotland. showery at first, and then more persistent rain courtesy of this weather system, but i think the far south—west of england and western fringes of wales in the

afternoon. either side of a lot of dry weather. some decent sunshine and began temperatures in double figures, up to the new teams. thursday into friday, cast her highs into the atlantic and watch our area of low pressure kicking low of its own, quite a deep feature potentially for friday, and that means the risk of some disruption to transport, i think. means the risk of some disruption to transport, ithink. strong means the risk of some disruption to transport, i think. strong winds to the west, and the risk transferring further east as we get towards the evening. first thing on friday rain piling its way into northern ireland, wales and the south—west of england. the wind the most disruptive factor. strong gusty cell lee is affecting ferry service is in some flights —— southerlies. dry and sunny weather, highs of 13 or 1a. get to dusk and we will start to see this whole system allowing its way further eastwards, so eastern areas