you're watching beyond one hundred days. parkland, pittsburgh, and now add thousand oaks to the list of places in america that will forever be remembered for a mass shooting. and those are just this year and just the names that made it to the headlines. in fact, there have been many, many more. the 12 victims were in a nightclub, many were students in the prime of life. the killer was a 28—year—old marine corps veteran armed with handgun. we thought it was a joke. we didn't take it seriously at first. it was kind of like you freeze because it sounded like firecrackers and you kind ofjust... like, everyone just drops down to the floor. only two days since the mid—terms and democrats are already warning of a constitutional crisis after president trump got rid of his attorney general. also on the programme... donald trump says he is happy to work cross party, but not if the house bury him under subpoenas. so how do the democrats handle this most mercurial of presidents, without harming their own chances in 2020 7 and here today, but maybe i am gone tomorrow.

the advent of artificial news presenters. hello and welcome. i'm katty kay with christian fraser in washington. he was 28 years old, a marine corps veteran, he'd had run—ins with the law and a history of mental health problems. last night, armed with a glock handgun, he killed 12 people in a bar in california. your first reaction may be, how could this happen so soon after the shooting in a synagogue in pittsburgh less than a fortnight ago? two in as many weeks. but, in fact, since that pittsburgh attack on october 27th, there have been 11 serious shootings across the country, with multiple victims. the bbc‘s james cook is in thousand oaks, california with this report. keep moving down this way. for the united states, this is the nightmare that never ends. it could be las vegas, orlando, virginia tech or sandy hook.

but this time it is thousand oaks, the borderline bar and grill. it was a college night and the place was packed with young people enjoying country music and dancing when the shooting started. i saw the gunman with his gun drawn at the front, where you pay, and i was really, really close to him. as soon as we heard a shot, i dropped to the floor. i told all my friends to get down, we stayed behind the stage and got out, went through the kitchen and the back door. the shooting was on that side so our friends got the bar stools and started throwing them against the windows so we could get out. outside the bar, sergeant ron helus was on the phone to his wife. he told her he loved her and ran into the building. he was shot immediately. you know, it's very, very sad. he was out there fighting for us and for the public and the people of the community to try to protect

them and unfortunately we lost somebody. speaking to people here, you get a sense of shock and a sense of despair but what is really striking is the absence of surprise. america has come to expect mass shootings. the gunman was a local man, ian david long, a 28—year—old former marine. he had had run—ins with police before and they had concerns about his mental health. but although his handgun's extended magazine is illegal in california, he had bought the weapon itself lawfully. why do you think this keeps happening in the united states of america? i don't know. if i knew the answer to that, i would do something to stop it. this city is ranked as one of the safest communities in the nation but no corner of this country is immune from the american plague of gun violence. and we can speak to james now in thousand oaks, california. as you said, he was a known us

marine which tells us he was highly trained. that's right, very well trained, he had risen to the rank of corporal and he had been a machine gun and served in afghanistan between 2010 and 2011. there had been some history problems. some suggestion he might have been suffering from post—traumatic stress disorder, a mental health condition which had effected many troops returning from war. the police had been called to his home last spring and, at that time: he had been agitated committee was behaving in a manner that disturbed people. he had been assessed and the decision was taken he did not need to be taken against his will into the custody of mental health services. clearly there will now be an investigation into whether or not more could have

been done to foresee what happened here but the information that is coming out so suggests this was a damaged mind who went on to inflict much more horrific damage on the people of his own community. you have been in america three or four yea rs, have been in america three or four years, you have covered too many of these mass shootings at every time there seems to be a different cause. some kind of different motivation. and yet nothing ever changes. is there any chance something will change after thousand oaks? no. i mean, honestly, no is the answer. it is the answer to the question. if you are talking about a federal response, a nationwide response, i spoke to one mother who was here with her little girl, they had seen what happened right outside their front door last night. she was pleading with the president to do something about this. but the

chances of that are zero, it is as simple as that. if the nation can sustain the murders of our whole class of primary school children, thenit class of primary school children, then it can presumably sustain anything and that is a pretty depressing thing to say. here, even speaking to people, this is a pretty rural community, this was a country music bar, and there is support for retaining the right to bear arms. it is an important part of the culture for many people in the united states. some people look at it and say this is not about gun laws but in this case, about a disturbed individual and in other cases. but the commonality running through these crimes is that in the united states there is easy access, relatively easy access, to firearms. one thing that may have changed is that in these midterm elections, some 25 odd candidates ran on tighter gun controls and many won.

do we have a new generation, perhaps after parkland, that is saying that we will not wait any more for the people who are older than us, the people who are older than us, the people affected by the gun industry, to do something about this? we want to do something about this? we want to address this. i think that is a fair point. of course there are people who are now getting into politics who are animated by this particular issue. the students at parkland continue to lead a vociferous campaign to do something about this but the reason i save the chances of change are practically nothing is because at the moment and in the foreseeable future, it seems inconceivable that a president who has boasted of his close links with, in terms of their support for him and his support for them, the lobbying organisation the national rifle association, would actually ta ke rifle association, would actually take significant action to curtail the sale of weapons. to be honest,

the sale of weapons. to be honest, the other reason why is that it is probably impractical. there are so many weapons in this country now that many people you speak to say that many people you speak to say that perhaps the country could begin to nibble around the edges of it by addressing semiautomatic weapons. there was an extended magazine he used here which is illegal in california which has tighter gun laws than the rest of the country. but this weapon, crucially, was purchased legally. james cook in california for us, thank you. you say that some of these candidates with had run on tighter legislation but the president shows no inclination largely because he is supported by the gun lobby. and in the past he has suggested something has to be done. after, i can't remember which mass should it was, but he came out and said maybe it is time also be talked about the

prospect of it and came away from that press briefing and got in contact with the republican leadership, which is in lockstep with the nra, the national rifle association, and the next day he backed down. and it is not about the money, it is not that the nra pours tonnes of money into political races here, it is because they have this grading system, scoring system, and if you fall foul of their system, that will directly affect your chances of being re—elected. extraordinary there was one person in vegas and at that shooting last night. and sad that james goad has begun so much of an expert on this. ——james begun so much of an expert on this. —— james cook. fresh from their election victory in the house, democrats are demanding emergency hearings into the firing of attorney generaljeff sessions and warning of a constitutional crisis. mr trump has put the country's top legal department in control of a man who has already expressed a lot of scepticism about the special counsel investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. the president forced

mr sessions to resign and put in his place matthew whitaker, a trump loyalist. so, is the mueller probe now at risk and can democrats protect it? the bbc‘s north america editor, jon sopel, reports. jeff sessions — until last night, donald trump's attorney general, and punchbag. after months of public abuse, the president finally moved from ridiculing his senior law officer to firing him. and it was a glassy—eyed jeff sessions who bade farewell to staff. sessions' crime, in the president's eyes, had been to step aside from overseeing the russia investigation into whether there was collusion between the trump campaign and moscow. no wonder could be surprised thatjeff sessions was made to walk the plank. he was living on borrowed time. what has raised eyebrows and caused concern is the man who is now the acting attorney general. he has been openly hostile to the mueller investigation and that leaves a burning question. is donald trump planning to axe

the inquiry altogether? in the short term, the man now running the justice department is matthew whitaker, a trump loyalist. so, i can see a scenario wherejeff sessions is replaced with a recess appointment and that attorney general does not fire bob mueller but he just reduces his budget so low that his investigation grinds almost to a halt. to dwindle his resources. and he wrote this... democrats are suspicious. protecting mueller and his investigation is paramount. it would create a constitutional crisis if this were a prelude to ending or greatly limiting the mueller investigation.

but what is the fuss about, says the white house. the mueller investigation has gone forward using your tax dollars. we have not impeded it at all. we had an attorney general who was recused from it. we now don't have an acting attorney general who is recused from it. nobody wants to prolong it. we have done everything that we have been asked to do. a breaking point where donald trump goes nuclear and fires robert mueller has long been anticipated. it hasn't happened yet. it doesn't mean it won't happen. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. of course, a technicality, it is not the president who would fire robert mueller but the attorney general or acting attorney general who would do that but presumably doing so at the behest of the president. joining us now is caroline polisi. she is a federal and white—collar criminal defense attorney. nice to meet you in person. for our

viewers around the world, explain to them what an attorney general does, what powers do they hold over the special counsel? he has ultimate power. we can't forget, this is not ken starr, an independent counsel investigation, those were separate regulations. under the special council regulations, mueller is part of the doj, reporting directly to the attorney general soap whitaker effectively has complete control over this and mueller has to get his sign up to expand the scope of the investigation, to issue subpoenas and obviously a big question is whether donald trump will be subpoenaed himself. that would be a question that whitaker would weigh in on. the only fault i can see that jeff sessions made was to recuse himself from an investigation he had to recuse himself from. yet been pa rt to recuse himself from. yet been part of the campaign and talked about the russia investigation. donald trump demands total loyalty from those who work from him and the concern will be that matthew

whitaker will somehow have to bring this to a close. that was the original sin in trump's view, that jeff sessions recused himself did not tell trump and he stated publicly he would not have chosen jeff sessions because he needed someone jeff sessions because he needed someone loyal. under the regulations, the vacancies and reform act, whitaker can stand as acting attorney general for 210 days which could be a lifetime in terms of this investigation. he is not a senate confirmed. there are some who would argue this goes against the constitution in terms of advice and consent that the senate has to confirm a person in this high a position but whitaker is there nonetheless. matthew whitaker as expressed many times scepticism about this russia investigation. would that normally be grounds for him to recuse himself from it? it's an interesting question because everybody is a human being and it is

not as though people cannot have their own personal opinions but once they take the oath of loyalty, approach something in that mindset. but in this instance, it does seem as though he has prejudged the case and that is the famous ginsberg rule. she famously would not answer questions that could come before the court because you don't want to prejudge cases. he has done exactly that and some beeb would think he needs to recuse himself. democrats on tuesday took back the house of representatives. can they do more 110w representatives. can they do more now to protect the mueller investigation? they can, there is rumblings about whether they will pass legislation. it has not gotten anywhere thus far. people are saying that now that the house as the subpoena power that they could conduct their own investigation but i tend to give that less weight, i don't think not having the powers behind the largest investigative body in the world, that will not do

much. the acting attorney general doesn't have the fire robert mueller but he could stifle him by withdrawing money. that is exactly what he said and if you look at it, there is a video of him saying exactly that. effectively the wheels would grind to a halt, if you could rein in the funding. that would be more pernicious even than firing mueller! as we sit here, do you think there is more of a likelihood that robert mueller is going to get fired? i have no idea and i'm not in the business of pontificating but i do think that there will be big changes in this investigation. whitaker obviously has a different idea about where it should go and rosenstein. it probably matters that the democrats now have the house and of course those important committees but they do not have those committees until january when but they do not have those committees untiljanuary when they ta ke committees untiljanuary when they take over and two months in this administration is a lifetime. take over and two months in this administration is a lifetimem take over and two months in this administration is a lifetime. it is, absolutely. nobody knows for sure what will happen. trump said

himself, if he had wanted to fire mueller previously he would have. eu stated on numerous occasions he could fight everybody and he would not fight him and supper direct the attorney general to do so. who knows? thank you very much for coming tojoin us. and for more on the politics behind jeff sessions' departure, we are joined now by mark lotter, a spokesman for the republican national commitee. great to see you. we should make the point straightaway that there are some senior republicans who have said this mueller investigation should be protected and among them is chuck grassley who is the chair of the justice committee. and i would reiterate what kellyanne conway said before, that the administration has not done anything to limit the investigation, it is fully operating with it. right now, the rest of us, we are waiting for him to conclude that investigation, to write his report. and the resignation of attorney general

sessions is something that is not directly related to it. it does impact but right now all we have is speculation in terms of what might happen and we are still waiting where we were yesterday and the day before for the director to wrap up his work and write his report. so you don't think this changing of the guard in thejustice department means that we are looking at the prospect of robert mueller being fired? no one has given any indication of that as yet and is the president said and you noted, if we wa nt president said and you noted, if we want to be directed to be gone, he would be gone. he is still doing his job. would you support the white house if that is what the president and the acting attorney general decided to do? i believe it to the white house and the attorney general to make the decision they think best reflect the goals of where this investigation is going and when it concludes. we will see. but right now, we are all still in the same place we were three weeks ago and a month ago, waiting for the director

to finish his work. you are in the communications business, i have to ask you about the row that has blown up ask you about the row that has blown up about the president's treatment ofjim acosta from cnn and the tweed that came out from seb sanders, accusing him of placing his hand on the intern that came to take the microphone and then retweeting what appears to be a manipulated video of the incident released by the conspiracy website infowars would speed up the hand movement of acosta to make it look like a karate chop and when you put it along somewhat happen in real time, that is not what happened. i'm not to into how we describe the laporta's response to the microphone being taken away but i look at this as a simple act ofjournalistic integrity in terms ofjournalistic integrity in terms of how we conduct ourselves in public. i am a formerjournalist,

i'd trained to be one and wanted to be one almost my entire life until i came over tojoin be one almost my entire life until i came over to join the be one almost my entire life until i came over tojoin the political side andl came over tojoin the political side and i thought the rule was that we we re and i thought the rule was that we were not supposed to become part of the story. it is not a single activity, it has happened on multiple occasions where things have begun centred on a specific reporter and not necessarily the acts they are supposedly reporting on. i think we all need to take a break and figure out what the best way forward here is. the white house has taken this step because they thought it violated the protocols and procedures of how these news conferences are to be conducted and how the staff are to be treated and hopefully we can move forward and remember that we all have jobs here. sometimes they are at odds, whether it isa sometimes they are at odds, whether it is a reporter and a political figure and let's just it is a reporter and a political figure and let'sjust do ourjobs and tried to treat each other with respect. i am sure jim acosta would

argue he wasjust like respect. i am sure jim acosta would argue he was just like to ask a question. do you think the president goes too far ever in his criticism of the news media? i think what we are seeing is that the president has are seeing is that the president has a problem with fundamentally erroneous reporting and we have seen that on a number of occasions but we also have a president who is probably the most open and transparent president we have had in re ce nt transparent president we have had in recent times. you have no qualms with him calling the press is the enemy of the people? it is not language i would use but what i'm telling you is that when we have false reporting out there and people under the guise of journalism seeking to transmit their opinion rather thanjust seeking to transmit their opinion rather than just reporting and covering the facts, that is a problem long—term and something that we all have to account as a society, what are we going to hold to be where the facts are and where opinion starts. thank you very much. of course, we did have fox news

hosts up on stage with the president as part of the campaign so i think that crosses the line. i am in two reminds for the isa portjim acosta but my feeling is that you have to give way, if you don't respect the man you at least have to respect the operas and there is a crossover. i think they feed off each other. —— respect the office. there is a certain amount of theatre about these things. you're as young as you feel — so goes the famed expression. and many of us would be inclined to agree. but what happens if you take that feeling one step further? 69—year—old emile ratelband from the netherlands is launching a legal battle to shift his birthday from 11 march 1919, to the same date but 20 years later, in 1969. his main argument is that if transgender people are allowed to change their gender identity, he should be able to do the same with his age. mr ratelband says his youthful makeover will help him score more dates on tinder. it's surprising he's

not having more luck, since he's boasted his doctors say he has the body of a a5—year—old. i have some sympathy with this because i would also like to change my age from 31 down to 26. i like that you didn't even go for me there! i have given up, it's been a long week! apparently the judge wa nted long week! apparently the judge wanted to know what would become of the 20 years that mr ratelband wa nted the 20 years that mr ratelband wanted to raise, what about those 20 yea rs wanted to raise, what about those 20 years when his parents had raised him and when he went to school? do they disappear from the record. i was thinking there could be some president. if you could erase moments through your life, all of those nights on the dance floor... the night on the dance floor would definitely be good! the question for our viewers can exactly what age

would you go back to. we have a couple of minutes left before we have to go in this half hour. you have to go in this half hour. you have been here all week. what did you make of the mid—term elections? your closing words of wisdom. you make of the mid—term elections? your closing words of wisdomlj you make of the mid—term elections? your closing words of wisdom. i had one thought today, and this was ringing in my ears as we left the studio on wednesday, is that the race for the 2020 elections had already begun. we then started to predict, and we will do it later you might be running, what might happen and within 2a hours, we had had the firing ofjeff sessions, the row withjim firing ofjeff sessions, the row with jim acosta, firing ofjeff sessions, the row withjim acosta, the shooting in california and the president saying to the democrats, all bets are off if you come after me on the subpoenas. and i thought, my lasting impression is that news never stops in this office. it is extraordinary in the united states at the moment. i have to say, i think it has been like this for the last two years, ever since donald trump announced

his candidacy. i get to the end of some weeks on friday and i can't remember what happened on monday because so much has happened. we feel like we are permanently in a spin dryer. i have been covering american politics for almost 20 yea rs american politics for almost 20 years and it has never been this frenetic, this is a new level of pace. the folly of trying to predict what will happen in 2020, we don't even know what will happen tomorrow! this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, hillary clinton's former communications director joins us in the studio to discuss what's next for the democrats. the search is on for presidential contenders to face donald trump in 2020. and prince harry marks 100 years since the end of world war i with a visit to the field of remembrance at westminster abbey. that's still to come. the weather has not exactly been a

quiet so far this week that it is about to get even livelier. things have been clouding over in western areas, some outbreaks of rain already with this cloud seeding in across western parts and we have more cloud in the atlantic which is hurtling towards us and promises to bring some very wet and windy weather tomorrow. through the rest of this afternoon, rain will become increasingly widespread in western areas, windy as well. the white arrows show average wind speeds, gusts a bit stronger on the western coasts. tonight, in cornwall, west wales, eastern parts of northern ireland and the good part of scotland, we will have outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, clearspells, but given the wind, it will not get too cold, the minimum temperatures between four and 10 degrees. this low— pressure between four and 10 degrees. this low—pressure is lurking out west and as this system approaches, it will bring some very wet weather and very

windy weather as well with gales in places tomorrow. some travel disruption is possible also your bbc local radio station will keep you up to date. but not a bad start in many areas, quite breezy but there will be some sunny glimpses but some showery rain creeping eastward and then this wet weather is concerning in northern ireland, wales, the far south—west, with strengthening winds coming from the south. temperatures up coming from the south. temperatures up to 1a or15 coming from the south. temperatures up to 1a or 15 degrees. looking at that rain in the afternoon rush hour, in plymouth, cardiff, wet conditions, the rain moving into birmingham and clipping parts of northern ireland, north—west england and the west of scotland and those black arrows show the wind gusts, up to 60 mph, perhaps a touch stronger unexposed coasts. the wet and windy weather sweeps eastwards but low— pressure weather sweeps eastwards but low—pressure is still in charge going into the weekend. things not

really settling down an awful lot, there will still be quite a few showers packing into the south and some will be heavy and thundery. some sunny spells and still quite mild, 11-14d. some sunny spells and still quite mild, 11—14d. on sunday, remembrance sunday, similar with spells of sunshine but heavy downpours as well. this is beyond 100 days. i'm katty kay and christian fraser is with me in washington. our top stories: police say a former us marine with suspected mental health issues is responsible for killing 12 people in a bar in california, including a policeman. democrats express concern about the future of the investigation into alleged russian meddling during the 2016 election, after president trump fires his attorney general jeff sessions. coming up in the next half hour: we will speak with one author who believes the opioid epidemics didn't happen by accident. and could christian and i soon be without a job, as bots show they could be just as able, if not more so, at bringing you the news?

it isa it is a beautiful day in washington. the midterms were only two days ago, but even before the dust settled, the focus of attention has shifted on the presidential election of 2020. and if the republican party is ever more the party of president trump, on the other side the race for the democratic nomination is wide open. to talk more about this, adrienne elrod joins us now, she is the former director of communication of hillary clinton. welcome. thank you for having me. on tuesday night we were trying to work out whether this had been a success for the democrats, was it a blue wave or blue trickle? it was somewhere in the middle, i would say. earlier in the evening

things came in slowly and i in particular thought newjersey particular thought new jersey and pennsylvania would come in faster than they did and they did not do as the night went on we started seeing lots of big winds for democrats and women lead the charge, which is very exciting, 23 women foot seats from red to blue which is very exciting, no over 100 and women serving in the us congress so still not as far as we need to be but we're getting there. florida back and play. what is it about florida, every single time. folder that is basically three different states, the panhandle is very very conservative, the central pa rt very very conservative, the central part which tends to be pretty progressive and the middle which is an amalgamation of a bunch of different voters. it isjust an amalgamation of a bunch of different voters. it is just a challenging state. we know the senate seat is going to the recount

and possibly the governor's seat as well. we will see. when looking at the results and going into the exit polling data, what do they tell you about who the democrats should field to run against president trump in 2020? for one, the democrats did very well in suburban america which is large metropolitan areas and republicans did very well in a rural america. much of that has to do with the fact lots of educated americans, college—educated americans are in the suburban areas and the detested tromp, when as many people in a brutal america making up much of his base —— people living in rural america. i think we need to have stumbled across the board appealing to progress as a moderate independents and someone with lots of charisma. which side of the party do they come

from? that which side of the party do they come from ? that anything which side of the party do they come from? that anything on tuesday set up from? that anything on tuesday set up that as to whether they are a progressive or from the centre? the short answer is no. i think there will be several people who will emerge as we have this giant field that drops down to four or five candidates. someone or a couple will emerge to budge those two worlds. time for some names. i think this much is a big issue running against this president as many republicans found out he is not easy to run against. if our audiences want to sound smart about the 2020 election campaign, who would you talk about? i would sue for overall charisma it is hard to beat the californian senator paris, she can ignite a cloa k senator paris, she can ignite a cloak that nobody else on the democratic side and i am a huge fan of hers and i think she can appeal to middle america. she has not had the chance to get so i am looking to

her. from virginia, we saw him made him move that state from red to now almost the blue. perhaps too close to the clinton family. that is something he will have to contenders, it's not necessarily the worst thing in the world but he will have to cloak —— show clear separation. you spoke about the success of the women candidates and you might think this is the year for the women and the year you can bring women behind a female candidate, there are other democrats who are concerned this president would destroy a female candidate, where do you stand on that? that is the good question. it depends who it is. whoever it is, male or female, i always envision who can stand next to donald trump on the debating stage in front of millions of people in america and

around the world and holds him to the line and do so effectively. you've got to have the right kind of tone of you cant be an over policy wonk, you've got to take it to him. i thought philip clinton did a great job but nor is there charisma factor. it's good to be hard to take him on and not make it look like you are too whiny but also being aggressive. i think this is something i am surprised by the number of democrats and democratic women who said to me almost under their voices they do not want to be heard saying it, we are worried about running a woman against drunk because we think he will destroy that person on the debating stage. i think there is a counterargument, looking at the election results and see how the present‘s rhetoric on something like immigration and separating families

on women has a limited limited suburban women voters, you could say you put a woman who is strong and charismatic and accomplished and the president, some will say, we'll get into that kind of language and some kind of misogynistic language and perversely, that could actually galvanised some suburban women voters. britain's prince harry has opened the field of remembrance at westminster abbey in london, ahead of sunday's armistice commemorations, marking 100 years since the end of the first world war. the duke of sussex attended a ceremony in the churchyard garden, where he laid wooden cross in tribute to those who died in the conflict. he also greeted military veterans who had come to pay their respects. the service has been held on the grounds since 1928. we're joined from plymouth by conservative mpjohnny mercer who was captain with the 29th commando regiment royal artillery, and served in afghanistan.

i want to ask about how your life changed as a soldier but, firstly, the thing that has struck me being in washington this week, i have to active and swords. i saw veterans come off —— i will give you two anecdotes. i saw to that veterans coming offa anecdotes. i saw to that veterans coming off a plane and getting applauded and the captain got some vetera ns to applauded and the captain got some veterans to set down the front, it seems they hold their vitamins in high regard and i do not see we do not —— we don't do that as much in the uk. i think there are fundamentally different cultures in play. whilst people like me would feel quite uncomfortable with that sort of thing, but i think there are deeper issues at play and how this country looks after those who have served i'm afraid is not good enough. it has not been for some time. but

drove me to be member of parliament and we have still got quite a long way to go. but they have a veteran's secretary here, a veterans committee wouldn't the senate, they have a big budget, we could at least do that within the uk parliament? when i first came end in 2015 at spoke about how we could professionalise the sector and bring ina single professionalise the sector and bring in a single point of contact and common needs assessment and try and draw down some of the charities and wrap the care of veterans around a vetera ns wrap the care of veterans around a veterans organisation. the single biggest factor improves someone's life as eviction is having a job and that's not the mod commitment so we will always be playing catch—up until we get some sort of centralised either department commissioner. for some reason the reticence is still there and that

continues to this day, i'm afraid. do you think it might be a good idea to have someone who served in the armed forces as defence minister? you have got that, tobias ellwood, the veterans minister, you have another in minister for armed forces, it helps to have an understanding that department but i don't think it is mandatory. it is more, these things come from the top down and the whole thing it is a culture thing and imparts a leadership thing about where vetera ns sta nd leadership thing about where veterans stand in our society. we can all stand at the cenotaph but it is how it feels for our veterans and we have some way to go. as we approach armistice day what does that mean to you and to veterans? for me it is always quietly poignant day, i think about those who have

been less fortunate than myself and friends we have lost over the past ten or 15 years. but also the supreme sacrifice of our forefathers and many others try to emulate when we we re and many others try to emulate when we were fighting in these battles over the last ten or 15 years. it's a day for everyone just to remember and remember what these guys gave up. we and remember what these guys gave 'oy and remember what these guys gave up. we enjoy an amazing quality of life despite our problems in this country and the reality is we enjoy an extraordinary quality of life and we would not have that today had people not fought and died for the country and that is sometimes overlooked and is —— that is worth remembering sometimes. really good to get your thoughts. thank you forjoining us. the former brexit secretary, david davis, says prime minister theresa may will probably lose a vote by members of parliament on her brexit deal. mr davis resigned from his role injuly over the proposed agreement. he said a defeat would push the uk and european union to come to a better deal.

us supreme courtjudge ruth bader ginsburg has been hospitalised after fracturing three ribs in a fall in her office in washington. the 85—year—old justice was admitted to george washington hospital on thursday morning. ms ginsburg has sat on the supreme court since 1993 and is seen as the most senior justice on the court's liberal wing. it meant that ms ginsburg was not present for today's investiture of brett kavanaugh, whose controversial appointment was mired in protests over allegations of sexual misconduct. a scaled back ceremony was held for mr kavanaugh. this is beyond 100 days. still to come — are our days as anchors numbered ? china unveils a virtual newsreader, claiming it can do the job just as good as the professionals. we'll find out. the prince of wales has said he'll keep his views on controversial issues to himself when he becomes king. in a bbc documentary to mark his 70th birthday, he says he recognises being heir

to the throne and head of state are two different roles. the bbc‘s royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the details. for nearly half a century now, charles has tried to, as he puts it, to make a difference for the better. as prince of wales, he has campaigned on the environment, the inner cities, youth opportunities, architecture, to name just four of the causes he has pursued. but as he approaches his 70th birthday, charles knows better than anyone that a new role beckons. when he succeeds to the throne, his public interventions must stop. but can the passionate prince transition to a monarch who doesn't meddle? in tonight's bbc documentary charles says he can and will. i think it's vital to remember there is only room for one sovereign at a time, not two. so you can't be the same as the sovereign if you're the prince of wales. but the idea i'm somehow going to go on in exactly the same way if i have to succeed,

is complete nonsense, because the two situations are completely different. clearly i won't be able to do the same things that i've done as heir, so of course you operate within the constitutional parameters. conventions are clear. the british monarch shouldn't make public interventions, as charles has now explicitly accepted. but a king or queen can, encourage or warn, but that must be done privately to the prime minister. slowly but surely the way is being prepared for the moment when the crown passes from a monarch noted for her discretion to a prince who, until now, has never been slow to speak out. here in the us, the food and drug administration has approved a new opioid painkiller

that is 1,000 times stronger than morphine and up to ten times as strong as fentanyl. it's called dsuvia — and the fda assures it will be available only in hospitals. but the decision has attracted lots of criticism as many people fear this could contribute to worsen the opioid crisis in the country. more than 70,000 americans have died from drug overdoses in 2017 alone. breaking down the numbers — this means 130 people are killed by an overdose every day. it means there is one death every 11 minutes. to discuss more about this issue, joining us now is journalist chris mcgreal — he's the author of american overdose — the opioid tragedy in three acts. thank you for coming in. why is this an american problem, why do we not hear about this around the world? partly because of its origins. it is a prescribing problem in its origins and that is because the drug

companies set out to market their drugs to as many people as they possibly could. they did that in pa rt by possibly could. they did that in part by persuading the medical institutions of this country that op a lwa ys institutions of this country that op always work the answer to all pain and they should be described left, right and centre, no matter how small or large the pain and that's to calls and it reached and broke through what had been for many years a hesitation on the part of doctors and the medical profession to prescribe these drugs because of addiction fears. your book is full of extraordinary characters, heroes and villains and one of the things that struck me is how many doctors are motivated and were motivated by the profit incentive. they are handing out prescriptions to opioids in places like the —— west virginia. doctors in one part of west virginia where doctors in a particular pill

mill were writing more prescriptions each year that west virginia's main hospital. just to make money? just to make money. when they were finally raided the five millions of dollars in cash in drawers, under beds, they made so much money they did not have anywhere to predict. there was one lane in your article about the book that struck me and you spill out quite clearly where this comes from. "among those patients on high doses the more drugs they too could worse their pain became. but if they tried to cut back their pain also worsened." so they were trapped. they were com pletely so they were trapped. they were completely trapped. doctors warned of this. one of the most striking things is how long it lasted, 20 yea rs, things is how long it lasted, 20 years, effectively, even though it is only spoken about nationally recently. very early on there were

doctors warning about this, one of them who produced a study showing how these drugs were not working for her patients. in 2003 she published an article in the new england journal of medicine which laid out in great details how the patients she was prescribing to actually were being drawn into higher and higher doses but those dosages were creating more, not less, pain. she thought that would be a warning signal. you so politicians in the book trying to do something. often they are republican politicians who have seen the devastation is causing. there is a congressman in eastern kentucky, a very early on he became aware of the devastation it was causing in his part of the world and he tried to get people to take daughters and try to get his fellow members of congress to take notice —— people to take notice. he went to

the fda and was constantly brushed off but nobody wanted to hear. we should explain the pressure coming from the top. in washington they were lobbying but it was an epidemic of untreated pain and sergeants were facing disciplinary proceedings for not prescribing these drugs. there was a conscious decision by the drug and once the alarm was raised that they needed to change the conversation because if these people will listen to that would be restrictions on prescribing. so the change the conversation to say it is not one of addiction but of untreated pain. to blame these people to say they are addicts and it is their own fault and we need to focus on the people in pain. those who need the prescriptions but often they are the same people, those with they are the same people, those with the prescriptions became those addicted. we saw that so much in west

virginia, the book is great, thank you so much for coming in. it was extraordinary in west virginia, we parked in a car park and the dj we were interviewing said thatis and the dj we were interviewing said that is the drug is right there behind the car park. after the broadcasting marathon christian and i have done this week, there were moments when we could have done with a bit more sleep. if only there was someone who could step in while we took a nap. oh, but, katty, be careful what you wish for. our days as news presenters could well be numbered, if china has anything to do with it. it's state news agency has unveiled a virtual newsreader. apparently it can do the job as well as a real human. hello, everyone, this is my very first day, my voice and impedance are modified on the real anchor. the development of the media industry

calls for continuous innovation... do you know what? you have some flaws but i think you can do better than that guy. imagine that, two christian frasers? it could be big business. during these mid terms we've heard — and repeated — the refrain that america is bitterly divided. but what if it's just that the loudest voices are being heard and the rest of us are simply stuck, exhausted and rather silenced in the middle? those are the findings of a study by the group more in common and we are joined from new york now by the co—founder tim dixon. good to see you. i was under the impression, perhaps it was misapprehension, the centre ground was shrinking and there were smaller number of people in the centre and the division was getting better with more people on either side but you think that is not the case? when you ask people the questions about their values and how they see the country, the surprising thing for us is that is true you could ask

questions and you get 50—50 answers and we have had a long series of knife edge election outcomes and seen the same thing in the past few days. in fact, the conversation in politics and the activism has dominated by a small group and the striking thing for us as you mentioned, the middle groups as we describe them, they are two thirds of the country and the biggest issue they talk about now is not actually they talk about now is not actually the politics of this site or that said, it is the division itself. is it as simple as saying it is conservative television and radio websites on one side and liberal radio and television and the other an they have captured the megaphones. and also social media which plays such a big role in elevating the loudest voices. one of the changes is that, we literally see on the two sides of politics thatis see on the two sides of politics that is a traditional liberal group and a traditional conservative group

and a traditional conservative group and further out and the voices that often dominate the conversation is a group of progressive activists who are group of progressive activists who a re really group of progressive activists who are really much harder edged than that additional rubbles —— traditional liberals and a group of the border conservatives who are also much more hard edged and traditional conservatives. social media particularly plays a role in elevating more extreme views. one way it is infecting the larger conversation is people across the country, who leaned in one direction or the other, often seek the more extreme groups on one side or the other is representative of the hole. so that every donald trump supporter must be like that hard—core devoted conservative group or every liberal must be like those progressive activists. in fact, what you find there is many more shades of grey. is that not a larger less active quiet but the others committed cohorts that have already decided which side of the stand and the left

or right, they might not be noisy or shouting and social media but you will not shift in one way or the other? we find there are seven tribes, there are differences and we talk about the middle groups as being the three big groups, one is the path of liberals who clearly have a liberal disposition but mostly ijungle, less engaged, lower income, until this year the majority did not vote. we find they are politically disengaged —— we also find a politically disengaged group who engage with very little news and do not political identified with one side or the other. and then the moderates, suburban women, they are traditional swing voting group who came out in force this week and are a big factor in the suburban election, the suburban district swing to the democrats. they are people who shift their position. i think the thing is that is quite distinct patterns in those are three

groups. it is whether you turn up to vote and also who you vote for. social media is not going anywhere so this is just going to get noisier and noisier, isn't it? as it plays out right now, social media is elevating those extreme voices. it is also the business model of media. part of the media play a bigger and bigger role and tend to drown out the moderate voice because they love conflict and love the explosion of opposing opinions. ido the explosion of opposing opinions. i do think one of the outcomes from this research shows there is a big group in the middle who are turned off politics by that style of politics and that we need a change. most of this big group feels unrepresented. it is really worth reading, beheading it is really worth reading, beheading this idea is so interesting —— the hidden tribes of america. .

i think that is one of the big picture was from this, social media is like pure oxygen to people on either end of the political spectrum. let's hope we get some quiet for the next few days. see you backin quiet for the next few days. see you back in london. the weather has been a tale of 2/2 today, sunshine eastern areas and the beauty of the colours and further west it has been very wet as it has across cornwall and north—western parts of wales, nor the england and used in northern ireland. the rain is pushing across central scotland. quite heavy, summer rumbles of thunder and staying quite intense before easing away overnight a little and pushing across much of scotland. because it

gets swamped tomorrow by this next developing area of rain. with the cloud and the winds it is mild tonight. this is what takes centre stage for friday, huge area of low pressure for much of the eastern atla ntic pressure for much of the eastern atlantic and bringing us notjust more rain tomorrow but some windy weather as well, autumnal gales and even weather as well, autumnal gales and eve n severe weather as well, autumnal gales and even severe gales. potential for disruption because after all the rain the rivers are getting higher and the ground is saturated. this weather front moving eastwards, not as much sunshine for the eastern side of the country. some wet weather for the afternoon in south—west england and wales. temperatures are just above average. again and east — west split but windy all round. gusts of wind close gale force. and around the coast so gales. wet day from northern

ireland, rain moving infora southern and western scotland through the day. after several days of rain it will not be pleasant. low pressure stays throughout the weekend with further showers. the rain may be slow to clear in southern and eastern areas and still win for southern and eastern areas and still winfora southern and eastern areas and still win for a time. the showers will be prevalent in southern and western areas so perhaps eastern and northern areas and scotland seeing less showers. we could see the rain bands still lingering across the northern isles, showers elsewhere and quite breezy but temperatures just above average. this is bbc news, i'm rachel schofield.

the headlines at 8pm. a man who opened fire at a bar in california killing at least 12 people has been named as 28—year—old ex—marine ian david long. it's suspected he was suffering from mental health issues when he carried out the attack. we thought it was a joke, we didn't take it seriously at first. it was kind of like you freeze because it sound like firecrackers, and you just... everyone just dropped down to the floor. prince charles tells the bbc he'll no longer air his opinions on topics important to him when he is king. he's been speaking to the bbc ahead of his 70th birthday. you can't be the same as the sovereign, if you are the prince of wales or the heir. but the idea that i would go on in the same way if i have to succeed is complete nonsense, because the two situations