welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america changes to her brexit deal — and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. ahead of a crunch vote in westminster on tuesday. our top stories: theresa may and eu officials agree the alterations involve the backstop "legally—binding changes" — the guarantee of no hard border to the brexit deal, ahead of a crucial vote in northern ireland. in the british parliament. european commission president jean—claude juncker warned if the deal was voted down there was "no third chance". today we have secured legal changes. now is the time to come together us aviation authorities say they believe the boeing 737 max to back this improved brexit deal aircraft — of the type that crashed and to deliver on the instruction in ethiopia on sunday — is airworthy. airlines around the world have of the british people. grounded nearly 80 planes over safety concerns. investigators have found the voice european commission president jean—claude juncker warns voting and data recorders but it will be down the deal would put a while before the findings everything at risk. in politics, sometimes you get a second chance. it is what we do with the second chance that counts because there will be no third chance. are made public. in other news: investigators recover the voice and data recorders from the ethiopian air crash. algeria's ailing president, abdelaziz bouteflika has pulled out of a bid for his fifth term in office —

following widespread protests. nhs england has announced plans — which could see the 4—hour a&e waiting target scrapped in favour of prioritising treatment for the sickest patients. health bosses said the target was becoming outdated. it's not been achieved sincejuly 2015 as our health editor hugh pym reports. at the moment, we haven't got any beds available in the unit. whether it's a&e, routine operations, cancer or mental health care, nhs targets are there to try to reassure patients they're being treated as quickly as possible. now there's to be a big shake—up of the whole system in england. nhs leaders argue the 15—year—old a—hour a&e target is outdated. what matters to patients in a&e departments is that when they arrive, they are seen and assessed quickly to a high standard. that if they are severely ill with life—threatening conditions, stroke or heart attacks, they are treated quickly, rapidly and to the highest possible standard. nhs england will try out alternative a&e targets. for example, reducing

average waiting times, measuring the time taken for an initial assessment by senior clinicians, and ensuring the sickest patients are prioritised for quick treatment. there'll now be a debate over whether introducing new nhs performance standards and benchmarks can improve patient ca re and outcomes. and whether altering an existing target which has been missed looks a bit like shifting the goalposts. senior a&e doctors say their research shows the existing system does work. our belief is that by dismantling the 4—hour standard, we'll be adding to the crowding that occurs in emergency departments. some patients say there are bigger problems to deal with. i think they need to plough more money in to the a&e service. because they're all worked off their feet. there are other things that need to be looked into, like the fact there are lots of patients in a&e

that shouldn't be there. most health experts say it's worth trying out a new approach, though there are no planned a&e target changes in scotland and wales. hugh pym, bbc news. now on bbc news, it's the travel show — with flying cars, sausage hotels and the campaign to keep austin, texas weird coming up on this week's show: we are getting weird in the lone star state. doesn't like being on tv! hejust bit me! why flying taxis and sausage hotels are the future of travel. and in the snow and against the clock, i take on the european sauna marathon. i don't quite know the sauna etiquette — i think i'm just gonna myself in there.

we start this week in austin, the state capital of texas. every year, it hosts south by southwest, which has grown from a one—week showcase of the city's musical talent to a massive internationalfestival. so in the face of all that global attention, how do you keep a little bit of local flavour alive? we sent kate hardie—buckley to find out. the city of austin claims to be the live music capital of the world with over an estimated 300 venues offering a song and dance on any given night. austin is a phenomenal place if you play the music we play, which is what i call texas—made honky—tonk, and it's all about the dancin‘ and having a good time. every march, over 200,000

people flock here for the south by southwest festival, where you can delve into a world of music, film, interactive media and seminars. the city, which also happens to be janis joplin‘s birthplace, is a liberal hub in a traditionally conservative state. there(s a lot that you can get away with here that maybe you can't get away in other parts of the state. austin is home to the only nudist beach in texas, as well as over 1.5 million bats in the summertime. it has its own cathedral ofjunk, and in all—year—round christmas shop. the city's immensely proud of its so—called weirdness, its creative, original character. in fact, there is even a motto here — keep austin weird. 20 years ago, red wassenich coined the term on a radio chat show in an attempt to fight off any

signs of gentrification. so they said, "well, why are you donating to this show?" and i said, "it helps keep austin weird" and i kind of clicked, and i said it to my wife and she said, "well, let's get bumper stickers. " so we did, i got a website up, and it slowly took off. i can't believe it's lasted this long. 20 years. yeah. austin strikes me as a city where everyday life has an added twist. this coffee shop really is keeping it weird. civil goat's special offer with your coffee is a date with a furry friend. the old story of folklore is that, you know, a goat herder and his goats were out and they found some coffee plants and he saw them eating the berries and so the herder ate the berries and then he felt energised, and so that's how coffee was discovered. he's a little bit feisty today, i will say.

he is a little... yeah, uh... he doesn't like being on tv! hejust bit me! he doesn't — oh, my god, this is so weird. he usually doesn't bite like that! take a trip downtown and it's easy to see how much the city is expanding. it's a modern metropol now with a thriving tech scene. the economy is booming and properties are going up left, right and centre. the joke is that the sky — the skyline is all cranes now, that you can't do the skyline without cranes. um, yeah, it's everywhere. it is sometimes good, sometimes bad. more housing for a growing city. we're a booming city, we have to make room for people, we have to put them somewhere. i think there's no other way to do it but to go up. with all this development, i just wonder if the quirky character of the city is injeopardy. anyone who says you can't change

or tries to fight against the change is fighting against the inevitable. i think we are much better served just trying to find a way to grow together and to make sure that no—one‘s getting left behind. but not everyone in town is as optimistic about the change. everything new that's coming in is raising the cost of living and the cost of everything else so high that you just don't have any other people that everybody thought was so cool or, "oh, i really liked that business, it was so weird," or "i like these people, because it was so much different than here." and it's like no, it'sjust like every other city. but some people are determined to preserve the quirk and the individuality here. i'm about to meet someone who, for a year, pushed the boundaries of weirdness to the extreme. professor dumpster spent the year living in — well, yes, you guessed it — a dumpster. i wanted to do an experiment around seeing how little stuff you needed and how little space you needed to have a pretty happy life. part way through that experiment, a lot of things were really better about life by downsizing. and i came to the sort of awareness that, hey, we should do something totally different with housing and try to make housing more like a product than building it

like a traditional house. all of that time in the dumpster inspired jeff to create the kasita, or ‘little house', merging originality and the city's housing needs. he's keen to show me one that's just up and running. you can issue a voice command and the whole home will respond. so you can just say, "alexa, turn kasita on." or you can say, "alexa? turn kasita on." please? alexa: 0k. see, you have to say it with some polite british, like, say please. really, what the dumpster did was allow a sort of shift in how we actually thought about housing, so kasita was actually designed by a product designer.

jeff thinks these kasitas would be an ideal home for holidaymakers. the idea would be that wherever you travel, you're going to get a premiere sort of hotel experience anywhere you go by staying in a kasita. it seems only somewhere like here in austin could someone swing from living in a dumpster to launching a new technologically entrenched style of living. there's a lot of weird and wonderful things across the city, and some people are using their creativity to keep austin kind. these chefs have left theirjobs in gourmet restaurants and are now using their talents to feed austin's homeless. 0n tonight's menu... wow! ..pulled pork and a truffled corn grits with brussels sprouts gorgonzola salad.

flavours are like music. you taste something that you haven't tasted in a long time, it will take you right back to where you were. and that's what these men experience with our food. i think that it fits in with what austin — how austin sees itself, you know? we want to be perceived as a city that is doing better. well, i am very inspired. so, uh, while you're being inspired... how do you want these? so the guys are beginning to pour in now for their meal and it's really lovely to see the look on their faces when they see the delicious food. this food they give us here, i love it! this is a good place to, you know, come in and rest and eat and get a good meal, take a shower. everywhere you look in this city, you see examples of people pushing boundaries and embracing unusual approaches. i've been to a number of cities across the us, but i've never found anywhere as quirky as here, and the people of austin are all bursting with pride,

all eager to preserve the playful, weird soul of the city. red, who coined the term "keep austin weird," has invited me to chicken poop bingo. so, how many tickets can we get you? ah, two tickets — a ticket each, please. alright, so it's gonna be $4. may you all be chicken poop winners. the board has, i guess, 100 numbers on it in squares. 0k. and they put birdseed all over it. they put the chicken in there and the chicken wanders around and eats and then eventually, it poops, and there you go. cheering there's four, so i'm down there. and you are 26. she's hovering around yours. yeah. right now. this could be good. man: we have a winner! it's been going on here for a little over 20—plus years and it came from a local musician. a different chicken, i'm presuming. yes, there's been about 12 chickens. this is miss jenny. the noise doesn't bother them? not at all. looks happy. she looks very healthy. yeah, they are. they're very healthy, happyr

and they're great babies. my time in this eccentric city is almost up, but i've got time for one more austin offering. quick, quick, quick. there you go. so, this is texan dancing? this is texan dancing. there's gonna be a one, two and then quick, quick, quick. is austin changing? that seems inevitable. but there's no doubt in my mind austinites will forever embrace all things weird and wonderful. and if texas is on your bucket list, here are some things we think you should look out for while you're there. space center houston is one of the big family attractions. the museum has loads of interactive exhibits and the world's biggest collection of moon rocks. there's a 90—minute tram tour

of the old mission control itself, which is currently being restored. it's expected to reopen in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in july. if you're looking for cowboy culture, fort worth is a strong choice. it's often called the place where the west begins, and it won't take you long to find out why. there are twice—daily cattle drives at the stockyards, and it is also the home of billy bob's texas, which claims to be the world's largest honky—tonk bar. another interesting site is the cowgirl museum and hall of fame, which aims to honour the women who helped shape the american west. big bend national park is vast, around 1,200 miles of rivers, mountains and deserts on the us—mexico border. there's an incredible amount to do there, including canoeing, hiking and horse riding. during peak periods, a lot of the campsites get booked up, so try to avoid holidays like spring break in mid—march. and if you're a carnivore,

the state has plenty of meaty delights. visitors rave about texan barbecue. you'll find good eateries all over the place, but our tip is to look for a place with an outdoor pit and choose the brisket. still to come on the travel show, the electric journey that took this man from amsterdam to australia. and i test my inner warmth in one of the world's chilliest marathons. this is really very nice. i can't imagine it will be warm when we get out. time now for trending travel, our monthly look at some of the best travel—related stories, pics and videos making news online. facial recognition technology has been used on humans for the past few years. but now, its use has been turned

to track stolen apes and chimps. the idea came to conservationist alexandra russo, who has teamed up with non—profit conservation x labs to create chimp face, software that will search through social media and be able to track down animals stolen from the wild. wiebe wakker and his electric car, the blue bandit, havejust completed an electric road trip of a lifetime. travelling from the netherlands all the way to australia, he has relied on the kindness of strangers, who offered him a place to stay and charge his car through his website, plugmein.com. the offers determined the route, and have taken him through 33 countries on his epicjourney over the past three years. unfortunately, the uptake of electric vehicles is going quite slow, because people assume that they are not reliable, or that you cannot cover long distances with them. so i thought if i could do something which really spoke to the imagination, driving

an electric car from amsterdam to literally the other side of the world, i'm able to create a lot of exposure, and i'm hoping to change people's opinions of electric cars, basically showing that it can be done. flying taxis have been out of the news for a while, but now boeing has successfully tested its prototype of a pilotless air vehicle. even though the test lasted less than a minute, boeing are predicting that these vehicles could be flying passengers as soon as 2023. now, this is a hotel for meat lovers all over the world. founder claus bobel, who is unsurprisingly a butcher in germany, has recently opened what is claimed to be the world's first sausage—themed hotel. the bobel bratwurst bed and breakfast, or bb&bb for short, features wallpaper festooned with sausages, bratwurst—shaped cushions, and even some sausages hanging from hooks. and getting that great photo to put on instagram is all—important to a lot of us when we are away.

but now, vienna is asking people to unhashtag vienna and have a digital detox. the city says it wants you to photograph less, enjoy more. now, lots of you have sent us your pictures this month using the hashtag #traveltuesday. here are some of our favourites. there is an infinitely italian feel to our first two. marilyn hosken sent us this reflective photo of the waterfront in florence. and rebecca hussman shared this picture of the streets in scenic siena. while fern shared this stunning picture of chefchaouen, the moroccan city that's completely painted blue. remember, keep sending in your pictures. now, let's meet the travel filmmakers and vloggers who have caught our eye this month. now, we all know berlin is one of the great capital cities of the world, with an exciting

and vibrant culture. but did you know that their public transport system is also pushing artistic boundaries? berlin's bus and metro company, the bvg, has racked up over 30 million views on youtube, with some great videos that are making the german capital's public transport network go viral. well, that's your lot for now. but don't forget to send us your best pics, clips and stories, and who knows — maybe next time you could be trending in travel. we are heading to the vast forests of southern estonia, and the popular ski resort enjoyed by everybody from local kids to the estonian 0lympic medallists. once a year, though, it morphs into something slightly different. this little town is very quiet today, but that is all set to change

tomorrow morning, when 0tepaa becomes the staging area for the madcap, high—energy and very, very chilly european sauna marathon. sauna has been part of estonia's culture for 800 years, so it's no surprise the marathon is popular. several hundred people are taking part this year, but before stripping down they need to register, and i need to find my team. i've been told they are wearing t—shirts with the town name on them. i see plenty of onesies, and funny costumes and wigs, but no t—shirts. the marathon‘s rules are simple. teams of four must visit a list of local saunas as quickly as possible. they get time bonuses if they also visit hot tubs and ice holes. you must be my team, i hope? hello, i'm christa.

that's for you. is this for me? excellent. i'll wear it with pride. many nationalities are represented in this hall, starting with estonia's big neighbour. i love your costumes. you look very beautiful. but you will be very cold. no! we are fine with that. with so many teams, starting times have to be staggered. and keeping track of them all requires some clever technology. i've been given a microchip which i keep on my wrist and use it to check in and check out of each of the different saunas, hot tubs and ice holes along the route, and it times us. clock is ticking, got to go.

so, we need to visit all of the saunas. they're marked in blue dots. 19 of them. a long day ahead. yes, hot fun. first stop, a traditional smoke sauna. in here, in here. you have to register. ah, registered. i don't quite know the sauna etiquette. i think i'm just going to throw myself in there. each team must spend a minimum of three minutes in each sauna. at around 80 degrees, plus a little extra heat coming from the crowd, you get warmed up pretty quickly. so we're probably about three minutes in now. let's go, let's do it. all right, guys. you see the ice hole down there?

somebody has to do it and it's not going to be me. i'll do it. yes! it takes bravery to plunge into a frozen lake, but thanks to lilia, ten minutes will be deducted from our overall time. yes! now, everyone in? let's go. another way to win time bonuses is the hot tubs. and i'm definitely volunteering for this one. this is really very nice. we're surrounded by snowy estonian forest, and feel very toasty warm. i can't imagine it'll be warm when we get out, though. at our next stop, the sauna truck, we meet two brits who seem to really enjoy the estonian winter. it's not as cold as it looks. like, you know you've been in the sauna long enough when nothing feels better

thanjustjumping into an ice hole straight afterwards. so yeah, it's been fantastic. after going through many more thermal shocks, the finish line is finally in sight. well, we haven't won, but we did make it to the end, and i think it's not too bad for a first attempt. and, if that wasn't fun enough for one day, a wild party has just kicked off. these guys really don't know when to stop. that's all we have time for this week, but coming up on next week's programme, carmen is here with a look back at some of our favourite trips over the last few months. oh, my gosh! we've been everywhere from taiwan to los angeles to the french alps. and do watch out for the hairy new friends ade made in morocco. this one's called daisy,

and i think we're friends now. hello, daisy! hello. so dojoin us then, and in the meantime, don't forget, you can sign up to our social media feeds, where you can share with us your travels around the world. until next time, from me, christa larwood, and from the rest of the travel show team here in the baltics, it's goodbye. hello there. although it was quite windy out there on monday, it was probably the quietest day of this week. through the next few days, the rest of the week, we're going to see some outbreaks of rain, which will be heavy at times, and accompanied by some very windy conditions. in fact, we've got

a storm on the way. the latest storm is being named storm gareth, and it's around that curl of cloud there, already pushing ahead this thickening cloud to bring some outbreaks of rain, and on and ahead of those weather fronts, we've got some strong and gusty winds, as well. but it's really as the storm, the low centre, approaches later on on tuesday and into tuesday night that the winds really start to pick up. so this is what we look like early on in the morning. those are the sort of temperatures — pretty mild out there. that's not the main story, mind you. you can see we've got that band of rain around from that cloud, and these are the sort of gusts we're looking at early in the day, so gales, i think, in many places. and it could be particularly squally, briefly, in that rain band, as it sweeps its way across northern england, wales and the south—west of england in the morning, into the south—east of england through the afternoon. we may well find some sunshine and showers following on, and the winds easing just a little. but then they really start to get

noisy again around that swirl of rain, around our storm that approaches the north—west later on in the day. and we're drawing down some chillier air as the day goes on, so temperatures will be dropping a bit. the winds, though, really picking up through the afternoon, into the evening and overnight in northern ireland, western parts of scotland. 70, maybe 80mph around some coasts, and we've got that rain around, too — that'll push its way into england and wales. 50—60mph gusts quite widely. very slowly, the winds easing down just a little bit on wednesday, but still a very windy day, and there'll be some sunshine and some showers, before we get some more persistent rain coming back into northern ireland. those temperatures should be a little bit higher, typically in double figures. now, our storm is heading across the uk and out into the north sea, so the winds are easing down a little bit. but then we've got that next weather system coming in rapidly from the atlantic. as you can see, overnight it brings rain in many areas, that weather front then sinking its way southwards on thursday. some of the heaviest rain

likely to be over the high ground in north—west england. you can see we've got some strong to gale—force winds, and then by friday, sunshine and some showers. the strongest of the winds, though, arriving with storm gareth later on on tuesday. through tuesday night and into wednesday, there's likely to be some travel disruption and some damage. you can keep up to date with the forecast here, and all the details on bbc local radio.