hello and welcome to bbc news. it's been another turbulent day for the british prime minister. theresa may has again been selling her draft brexit agreement, this time to the british public on a radio phone in. she also announced a new brexit secretary, previously a junior minister who supports leaving the european union. the moves come amid speculation that a leadership challenge against mrs may is about to be launched by hard—line brexiteer members of her own party. here's the prime minister speaking to a british radio station. this is not the deal of a future relationship with the european union. the deal of the future

relationship with the european union means we take control back of our laws, and free movement, take control back of our borders, take a drawback of our money so to spend it on parities like the nhs. were out of the customs union, the single market, the common policy, that is what i think people voted for. our correspondent iain watson is in westminister. earlier i asked him if things are looking a bit more stable for the government now. stable, i think, stable, ithink, is stable, i think, is too strong a word for it. but certainly things are coming down a bit from a very feeble atmosphere westminster during the course of public. why it the calming down? first of all, there has been no formal leadership challenge to theresa may and would require 48 of her own politicians to require 48 of her own politicians to require a vote of no—confidence. it could happen next week, but she seems to have some breathing space over the weekend. secondly, she is at least carrying on with the demeanour of business as usual, she has made some important appointments to cabinet. she have —— has

you would have known about it long ago if there was. they shouldn't have had it. they wasted millions and millions of dollars. there should have have never been a so—called investigation, which in theory, it is not an investigation of me. as far as i am concerned, i like to take everything personally because you do better that way. the witch—hunt, as i call it, should never have taken place. it continues to go on. let's get some of the day's other news. ten days after the mid—term elections in the united states, the democratic party candidate who hoped to become the country's first black female governor has acknowledged that her republican rival will be sworn in. stacey abrams said she had run out of legal options to challenge the outcome of the contest in georgia. the official result has yet to be declared. friends and relatives of the murdered saudi arabian journalist jamal khashoggi have begun a wake for him at the family home in jeddah. the wake, which will continue for four days, is an acknowledgement by the family that mr khashoggi's body is unlikely to be found. he was killed inside the saudi consulate in the turkish city of istanbul last month

by agents from riyadh. northern california's air quality has become the worst in the world, according to monitoring groups, as the state battles devastating fires. the famous golden gate bridge in san franciso is barely visible through this thick cloud of smog which now blankets the region at least 63 people have died in the camp fire, the state's deadliest blaze, and the number of people missing has increased to more than 600. let's return now to our top story. theresa may's move to shore up her government, following widespread opposition to her brexit deal with the eu. there are some flashing images in this report by the bbc‘s political editor, laura kuenssberg. car horn beeps

imagine, submitting yourself first thing in the morning to this... and here in the studio with me this morning, the prime minister. ..literally taking a call from the public asking you to quit. why do you think you should stay on as pm when you have failed, despite your no doubt honourable intentions, to honour the referendum results? and if you cannot do that, i respectfully ask you to do the right thing in the national interest — to stand down and allow someone from the brexit camp to take the lead. i believe that we've got a good deal from europe. we've still got some things to sort out with them, but i believe we've got a good deal from the european union, and that's what i'll put to parliament. she was more keen to pitch her brexit compromise. this message needs to be convincing to survive. myjob is to persuade, you know, first and foremost, my conservative benches, those who are working with us — the dup are working with us obviously in confidence and supply. but i want to say, to be able to say to all parliamentarians, every mp — i believe, truly believe, that this is the best deal for britain.

reporter: will you be resigning today, mr gove? good morning. he doesn't think it's much of a good deal. but, after wobbling and wavering, look... the minister's red box, still in his hand. do you have confidence in the prime minister, mrgove? i absolutely do. i'm also looking forward to continuing to work with all of my government colleagues and all my colleagues from parliament in order to make sure that we get the best future for britain. i think it's absolutely vital that we focus on getting the right deal in the future and making sure that in the areas that matter so much to the british people, we can get a good outcome. thank you very much. we know this cabinet minister, penny mordaunt, doesn't like the agreement that much either. but neither is she going anywhere fast. i've not got anything to say to you, i'm afraid, this morning. and, look who's back. amber rudd, the former home secretary. yet to remember she's got a ministerial car, along with her newjob. and maybe part of her task — to defend the pm and her deal like this.

this is not a time for changing our leader. this is a time for pulling together by making sure that we remember who we are here to serve, who we are here to help — and that is the whole of the country. and i worry sometimes that my colleagues are too concerned about the westminster bubble rather than keeping an eye on what ourjob is — to serve people. and you'll soon hear more of this man. meet steve barclay. a big promotion for him to the new brexit secretary. and this long—time cabinet brexiteer. notjust urging colleagues to back the pm, but no longer saying no deal is better than a bad deal — a complete change. we're not elected to do what we want. we are elected to do what's in the national interest. and, ultimately, i hope that across parliament will recognise that a deal is better than no deal. businesses do require certainty. this melee isn't for a celebrity, but for a leading eurosceptic. there's absolutely no need to have a big flap. no need for a big flap, he says.

he and his colleagues are only trying to depose the prime minister! it's time to put the letters in and to have the vote and test the will of the conservative party to continue. he and many brexiteers believe the prime minister has signed up to a relationship that's just far too cosy with the eu. so, letters are being written to try and force a contest. but they need 48. we've done our honest best to persuade her not to stick to it. she's made plain that she will, and therefore the party, i'm afraid, now faces a stark choice. and for you, that choice is, she has to go? well, if it means defending the destiny of our country, which i believe is literally what is now at stake, then, reluctantly, i'm afraid to say, yes, she does. it's impossible to tell right now if the tory tussles will end in the prime minister leaving office. no—one in westminster knows. hard for all of us to fathom. i think it's a complete shambles.

you don't know from one day to the next what's happening. it doesn't feel as if there's anybody in power. what she's been saying for months and just stringing us along until a boom, right at the end, it's too late to say anything, take it or leave it. i hope we go home for the weekend and they chill off and come back and support her. theresa may's team will do everything they can to help her cling on. but neither the chief whip will anyone knows if in days they'll be fighting a vote to oust her, or only having the hugejob of pushing her brexit you'll through parliament. i've never accepted the argument that the prime minister can come back with whatever she is cobbled together and say, well, it may not be very good, but the alternative is even worse. in the 21st—century, looking at the future of our country, with got to be able to do better than that. tonight, downing street appears at least to have a new and calmer cabinet. but we do not know yet, and they don't either, if theresa may can stay on, because many people in her own party do not wish her well. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the chief constable

of northern ireland has rejected claims that threats to security at the border with the republic, are being exaggerated. concerns have been raised that any new checkpoint could be targeted by paramilitaries, and that political uncertainty could generate tensions amongst republicans or loyalists. our ireland correspondent chris page begins his exclusive report on patrol with an officer based in the south of county armagh. six zero, six zero. two boys made off in a van across the border, windscreen smashed. they have got proof they've taken drugs. on the uk's only land frontier, police are on the front line. officers routinely patrol in a convoy of four armoured cars. they are conscious of the risk of being rammed or trapped on narrow roads by cross—border criminals. crime gangs and individuals use the border as a way

of evading capture by police. we have good cooperation with our colleagues in the south, but we cannot cross the border because we're carrying firearms. so, if you are involved in a pursuit and the car goes across the border somewhere like this... that's it. that's us stopped. and then would the police force in the irish republic pick up the pursuit? yes, they would pick it up. even in recent years, paramilitaries have targeted police with murderous intent. you can see the hedge line and the hedge line is the border. they planted a landmine here and they used the border conveniently to get away. the police service of northern ireland says its task is set to become even more demanding. it is recruiting around 100 extra officers to prepare for brexit and is likely to ask the government to fund more. the chief constable is hoping for a brexit deal, but thinks that would not solve all the issues.

even a deal scenario, you know, we would need to try to work out and protect the likely responses to it. there are people in the brexit debate who will say that the threat of violence at the border, or the threat to stability in northern ireland is being exaggerated. what are your thoughts on that? those that say that we or others are overplaying the border of brexit in policing terms, they are simply wrong. history tells us that these issues around identity and people's position, as irish citizens all british citizens or both, all of that plays out at times into increasing tension. and the man in charge of the police in the irish republic says any increase in organised crime like smuggling would benefit dissident republicans who are opposed to the peace process. one of the principal issues might be about driving funding for terrorist groups. but also then they will wish to use any difference in the border arrangement as a rallying call to their campaigns. in spite of the continuing threat, the border beat‘s changed remarkably since the frontier looked like this.

no—one is expecting military watchtowers to return, but police who built up relationships with previously hostile communities hope the gains of relative peace will be protected. i'm not a politician, i'm a police officer. but small decisions that are made can have massive implications for me working along the border. without seeing this, you perhaps don't realise what it's really like. chris page, bbc news, in county armagh. this is bbc news, the headlines: leading brexiteers in the british cabinet rally behind theresa may, amid attempts by rebel mps to challenge her premiership. president trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election. the number of people missing after wildfires destroyed the californian town of paradise, has risen to more than 600. so far 63 bodies have been discovered there,

but the death toll is expected to rise considerably. at least three other people have died in a separate wildfire in southern california. president trump will travel to the state tomorrow to meet those affected. 0ur correspondent dan johnson has the latest. these smouldering ruins still refuse to revealjust how many lives were lost when paradise burned. the official number killed has kept slowly climbing. but the latest update brought a stunning new figure. the number of people who we are still looking for, who are unaccounted for, has increased to 631. and this number increased by 501 people. that is because they have checked the number of emergency calls made from people's homes when the fire was at its most intense. boards like this have appeared at shelters around town, with lists

of people who are missing and the numbers of loved ones to contact. but this search is increasingly being conducted on social media. so, facebook pages are filled with stories of family members missing, friends and relatives not heard from for more than a week. like jonathan's brother, maurice, missing, along with his wife and daughter. this isn't like maurice to just disappear off the face of the earth and not let anybody know. but we are still trying and we will do whatever it takes until he is found. dead or alive. here, another body has been found. another family will get a call. they will have the answer, but so many more are still waiting. danjohnson, bbc news, in paradise. the un says that both sides in the

yemeni conflict have promised to come put peace talks in sweden. he said this could be a crucial moment in the war between houthi rebels. said this could be a crucial moment in the war between houthi rebelslj have in the war between houthi rebels.” have heard that they are committed toa have heard that they are committed to a committee consultations. i believe they are genuine and i expect them to continue in that way and to appear for those consultations and indeed so do the yemeni people. they are desperate for a political solution to a war in which they are the main victims. 0ur correspondent nada twafik — who's at the united nations headquarters in new york — told us, the talks appear to be a signicant breakthough. according to martin griffiths it is a major development, we have to remember that in september there were peace talks planned in geneva, and they collapsed when the houthi delegation did not turn up and made last—minute demands.

what martin griffiths said to the security council is that the increased international concern about what is happening in yemen led the parties to recommit to these talks. it was not long ago when the united states and britain and other western powers said they wanted a ceasefire and political talks to get under way. martin griffiths said he will be travelling to yemen next week to finalise logistics. he said he would even escort the houthi delegation to sweden himself to make sure the talks take place. he also said there was a lot of progress made on other issues including the exchange of prisoners and also the critical issue of the hodeida port which is responsible for 80% of yemen's imports, until a deal is reached. what would be some of the potential problems that would have to be

thrashed out between the two side? when you look at the humanitarian situation there are so many concerns there and the un officials are really keen for both parties to iron out that. for example the british ambassador to the un is putting forward a resolution on monday which would really endorse five of the key asks if you will bat their humanitarian chief of the un put forward. one of them is making sure that there is complete access to all of the ports, that they remain open, and the key one is hodeida. they want a foreign exchange to pour into the economy, because the economy now is in crisis and that is making the fragile situation even worse. as martin griffiths goes through and tries to nail down this framework on this political settlement he will be looking for some of the assurances and their humanitarian issues as well to get that cessation of hostilities.

the cnn journalist who clashed with president trump at a news conference and subsequently had his media pass removed is to get it back. ajudge in washington dc has ordered the white house to return the pass tojim acosta, who said the decision was good news for freedom of speech and the independence of the media. the incident has highlighted the tense and hostile relations between the president and journalists, as our north america editorjon sopel reports. they are hundreds of miles away, though. they are hundreds and hundreds of miles away. that's not an invasion. honestly, i think you should let me run the country. you run cnn. it started as a bad—tempered exchange between an angry president and a provocative cnn correspondent. that's enough. put down the mic. the temperature rising when the white house justified removing acosta's hard pass, saying he had laid

hands on an intern. you are a rude, terrible person. you shouldn't be working for cnn. and released an edited video that had been put out by a right—wing conspiracy theory rich website. but when this was ridiculed, the white house changed tack and said it was because he hadn't given back the microphone. this spat grew when the president threatened to take away the credentials of otherjournalists he thought were rude. cnn took legal action and, significantly, all the other broadcasters herejoined in, including fox news, normally a cheerleaderfor the president. this was now about press freedom —— this was now about press freedom and, today in court, it was acosta one, trump zero. we're extremely pleased with the ruling today. that is a great day for the first amendment and journalism. we're very excited to have mr acosta be able to go back and get his hard pass and report the news about the white house. i want to thank all of my colleagues in the press who supported us this week and i want to thank the judge

for the decision he made today. and let's go back to work. today, jim acosta was able to return to the white house. in this topsy—turvy world, the man who is meant to report the news seemed to be enjoying being the news. thanks, guys. thanks. decorum, you have to practise decorum. while the president, who has never shied away from a fight, bemoaned the lack of decorum in white house news conferences. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. let's return now to our top story: brexit. it was in bolton that theresa may launched the conservatives‘ last general election campaign. in the last twenty—four hours the town's only tory mp, chris green, revealed he has submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister. judith moritz has been to bolton to find out what people there think of the prime minister and her leadership. the conservative party can come together and under my leadership it will. am i going to see this through? yes, it takes strong and stable leadership in the national interest. brexit means brexit. the sound bites are well—known,

the quotes often repeated, but in bolton they have their own versions. she said brexit means brexit and now it feels more like fudge. i would not say is strong. in the 700 years since bolton became a market town they have seen plenty of leaders come and go and some here like dave would not be sorry if theresa may went as well. he has voted tory for years but he has run out of patience with the prime minister. i think she was doing all right until she started dancing. we do not like it. get over it. bolton lose at football every week and i have to get over it. who would you want? a brexiteer. someone like michael gove, someone who has a little bit of common sense and understands what the people of bolton especially want. there is also banter at the barbers. you have people who have very strong opinions.

this man talks politics while he trends and he says he wants mrs may to stay where she is. who would you have to take over from her, who would want to with all the hassle that is going on? who's going to do it? do you have sympathy for her? yeah. i do not think anyone else would want to do it. all political colours are on show at the haberdashery but the assistance here are united and they agree that theresa may has to carry on. most politicians want to become prime minister, so she got thrown in at the deep end, but roll with it. get on with it. bolton backed brexit but many here are getting weary of westminster and are losing patience with the politics of who should lead it. judith moritz, bbc news, bolton. more than 40 years after his death the king of rock

and roll — elvis presley — has been awarded america's highest civilian honor. he's among seven recipients at president donald trump's first medal of freedom ceremony since taking office. gareth barlow reports. an icon, a legend, the king of rock vnv an icon, a legend, the king of rock ‘n‘ roll: elvis presley led a music revolution, and over 40 years after his death, he is still winning awards. the man behind hound dog and heartbreak hotel was among seven recipients of the presidential medal of freedom, america's highest civilian honour. all this presley remains injuring and beloved american icon. the united states is honoured to honour this legend.

elvis presley enterprises collected the middle on his behalf. one of the most beloved artists and most enduring colourful icons that haven't lived. the king of rock ‘n‘ roll, the true king, and you have to say that, all this aaron presley. 0ver say that, all this aaron presley. over 50 legendary seasons, babe ruth led the yankees to seven american championships. babe ruth was another one honoured. as was the late court to make you as court ofjustice, and the scarier. in winning one of the nation ‘s eyes towards the joint bob dyla n. nation ‘s eyes towards the joint bob dylan. a true sign that he remains one of america's and music's biggest stars. and more than £50.5 million has been

raised in the bbc children in need 2018 show tonight. —— £15.5 million. the annual fundraiser means the charity has now raised more than £1 billion is the first major appeal backin billion is the first major appeal back in 1980. radio two listeners have brought in more than £9 million. congratulations to ever uninvolved with that. now it is time for the weather. hello. some of us got to see sunshine on friday but for many more today was spent under cloud shrouded in mist and murk. but as we progress through the weekend, more and more of us will see that sunshine. with that though, it will start to turn chilly. high pressure anchored across the heart of europe, winds moving high pressure around in a clockwise direction, that gives us a south—easterly wind which will bring us some dry air. watch the cloud, it

starts to break up. we will see more and more sunshine. let's look at that in more detail. a lot of cloud, some mist and murk and fog to start the day, the odd spot of drizzle. east anglia and northern scotland seeing some brightness, the cloud retreating westwards during the day, more and more of us see those blue skies overhead, so by lunchtime devon and cornwall and west wales might still have some cloud but for the midlands, east anglia and the south—east there should be some sunshine. north—east england and eastern scotland, particularly around higher ground, may well keep more cloud. it will take awhile to brighten up across northern ireland, but western and northern scotland will see some sunshine. temperatures around 11 or 12 degrees, but a noticeable easterly breeze particularly in the south, making it feel cooler than that. into early sunday with clear skies overhead, it is going to be a cool night, probably too much of a breeze to allow things to get really cold, but your towns and cities will get down to 4—5 degrees, maybe just a bit colder than that in the countryside. getting on into sunday

it is a beautiful looking day for most of us, we will see plenty of sunshine, still perhaps some cloud at times feeding into some of the eastern slopes of the pennines, parts of eastern scotland, and those temperatures, 9—12, just subtly creeping downwards. a sign of what is to come, because going into the start of the new working week, high pressure will still be sitting here, those winds moving clockwise, but that will introduce some colder air from the east and that will also bring back the cloud. more cloud around on monday, perhaps the odd spot of drizzle, still a keen breeze particularly in the south, and the coldest feel will be in southern areas. single digits here, we may get to 10 degrees for belfast and glasgow, but it does look decidedly chilly into the middle part of the week. there will be cloud and the odd spot of drizzle, and over high ground maybe just a flake or two of something wintry. this is bbc news, the headlines.

the uk prime minister, theresa may, has moved to shore up her government, following widespread opposition to her brexit deal with the eu. mrs may has won the support of some of her key brexiteer ministers, but she has had to defend herself against further calls from critics to stand down. donald trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election. mr trump said he had not yet submitted the responses because he'd been very busy. he again described the investigation as a witch hunt.