this is bbc news — i'm rebecca jones. this is bbc news — i'm carrie gracie. the headlines at 11:00: a historic vote on capitol hill: congress will tonight decide on whether to impeach donald trump — a debate that deeply divides the house. ifa if a president undermining our national security is using the federal government for its own selfish personal gain is not impeachable conduct, then, madam speaker, i don't know what is. it's a shame impeachment. it's been carried out at the expense of hard—working americans who just want us hard—working americans who just want us to move forward. (00v)britain‘s dementia crisis — millions of people may be forced —— britain's dementia crisis — millions of people may be forced

to become carers for loved ones unless more money is invested in the system. former prime minister tony blair launches a scathing attack on his party's performance at the election — laying the blame onjeremy corbyn. more than 15,000 nurses in northern ireland walk out in an unprecedented strike over pay and patient safety. and at 11:30, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers laura hughes and anna isaac — stay with us for that. good evening. in the united states, members of congress will vote in the next few hours on whether to impeach donald trump. impeachment is the two—stage procedure which can lead to the removal of a sitting president. in the first stage today, a majority in the house of representatives, led by the democrats,

would need to support the move. if that passes, a trial would be held in the us senate dominated by republicans, the president's party, next month. two—thirds would have to vote in favour. that's unlikely to happen. but if it did — donald trump would be forced from the white house the president has called it all a ‘witch hunt‘. donald trump left the white house about an hour ago and he is on his way to a rally in michigan and it is possible you will have that split screen possible you will have that split screen moment. he faces two charges, the first is abuse of office, leaning on the ukrainian president to get him to investigate a political rival, joe biden, who is running for the democratic nomination next year and the other is that he obstructed congress by

refusing to allow his staff or to handover papers to that congressional investigation into looking into impeachment. december 18, 2019. a day that will go down in american history. a day that started at least with solemnity. give them wisdom and discernment. if that is not impeachable conduct, then i don't know what is. today we have a president who seems to believe he is a king or above the law. 0n the counter blast from the republicans. it isa counter blast from the republicans. it is a shame impeachment. there is

no proof, none, that the president has committed an impeachable offence. and from the democratic speaker, a tone of sorrow rather than anger. i solemnly and sadly opened the debate on the impeachment of the president of the united states. if we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. it is tragic that the president does make reckless actions make impeachment necessary. he gave us no choice. the last president to be impeached was bill clinton in 1998 over lying about his relationship with the white house intern, monica lewinsky. and before that, you have to go back another 130 years to president andrewjohnson. by the end of today, donald trump well in all likelihood have joined the club that no one wants to be a member of.

the president has spent the morning and the residence where his twitter thumbs have been busy. donald trump left the white house this evening saying nothing. for this evening saying nothing. for this first part of the impeachment process , this first part of the impeachment process, it would be about prayer, it will be about votes and the president doesn't seem to have them. a little earlier i spoke to someone who knows the president well — eric bolling, tv host and friend and supporter of president trump. he told me he doesn't think it will be too detrimental for president trump. it's clear president trump will be impeached this evening, around around seven o'clock, eight o'clock eastern time in the us and what will happen, it will go to the senate in january. there is no way he gets convicted of an peach mint, the

senate will acquit him. they need 20 congressmen to leave the republican party and vote for impeachment. the democrats have played their hand, there was no smoking gun, there may be democrat senators are moved to the republican side. they need 20 to move, they have zero right now so this is a process. i'm not sure what the game was, what the play was here because in the midst of all this, a poll came out today stating president trump is it not only of the highest he's ever been as far as approval ratings, is higher than barack 0bama approval ratings, is higher than ba rack 0bama was approval ratings, is higher than barack 0bama was at this point in time and the american people against impeachment to integrating degree than they had been prior to the proceedings so this big charade by the democrats in the house is really coming around and hurting them. trump, i know him, i'm a personal friend of his, in that letter he wrote to nancy pelosi indicated to me that this is bothering him. he doesn't want that to be part of his legacy but he will get over that

like he always does. the issue isn't whether or not he will be impeached fully out of office, it's not going to happen, but will it remain on his legacy, i guess that will. i think it is going to lead him to a 2020 when because they are very smart, they will use that running against any of the democrats in the next year. dr brian klaas is an assistant professor of global politics at university college london — and a columnist for the washington post. he told me impeachment would be historically significant. its history. its history because trump will become in a few hours most likely the third president in american history to be impeached by the house of representatives and evenif the house of representatives and even if that does not result in his removalfrom even if that does not result in his removal from office because there even if that does not result in his removalfrom office because there is going to be a senate trial in early 2020, this is going to be the first thing that when you open history book 100 years and you read about donald trump, the line was that he was one of three people to be impeached in american history so it will stand with his legacy forever and it is a very serious scandal so

i suspect this will be on partisan lines, the load today, but there will be a majority for the democrats to vote to impeach him. obviously the counterargument we've been hearing from the republican side is that they were trying to find a way to get at him, they didn't think they could beat him in the election so they could beat him in the election so they are finding this way to get at him. is that as far as you can make out an argument that works for the section of the american public that supports donald trump? yes, but i think the base for donald trump is not going anywhere, no matter what. there was this moment in the campaign where he could choose —— shoot someone on fifth ave and not lose any supporters, he might not have been wrong and the idea that these are not serious allegations is under mentally wrong. we put it in a british context, if you imagine borisjohnson were to be accused, andi borisjohnson were to be accused, and i notice did not happen, of holding up security aid to ukraine and saying, you can have it and you can have a visit to ten downing street if you investigate the labour

party or try to dig up dirt on jeremy corbyn, it would be a serious allegations i think this idea that it's not a serious charge doesn't pass the scrutiny. the uk is facing a crisis because of the rapid rise in the number of people living with dementia. that's according to the charity the alzheimer's society — which says the care system is failing those with the disease and their families. dementia devastates lives — those who get it and their loved ones — many of whom are forced to give up theirjobs to provide round the clock support. around 850,000 people in the uk already have dementia but that number is set to double over the next 20 years. unless far more money is invested in the social care system — the charity is warning that by 2035, almost 3 million people will find themselves, in some way, having to care for a family member who has dementia. jeremy cooke has spent time with two women who've become full time carers to their husbands — both in their 60s — who have dementia. what he found is a story of emotional and physical exhaustion and the threat of financial ruin.

0k? anne is the face of dementia care. put it on your face. on your face, like that. so, every morning, at home in newcastle, she helps her husband, john, who is 64, to relearn the most basic tasks. turn around — that's it, like that. there you go, like that. can you put your arms through? yes, he can get up out of bed if i tell him it's time to get up but, from that moment on, virtually everything has to be done for him. one, two, three. at home in essex, julia is a full—time carer for her husband bob, who is 69. he's living with dementia but also parkinson's and diabetes. julia's life is now totally dedicated to his physical,

mental and emotional needs. i remember the way he was, how good—looking he was and then i look at him now... and he's so changed. john was a factory worker. he's a family man, a dad, a granddad, hoping for a long and happy retirement. unfortunately, that didn't really materialise, because obviously john was diagnosed when he was 57. john? yeah? what do you think of anne? what do you think about anne? john chuckles. 1.8 million people in england care for someone with dementia. are you drinking your tea? got to drink your tea. forjulia and anne, it's meant giving up their own careers for what can feel like a 24/7 drip

feed of mundane tasks, all set against the backdrop of losing someone you love. julia? yeah, i'm gonna come and help you. julia? yeah, i'm coming. i peed my trousers. did you? it's going to claim you, it's going to make you ill, make you depressed. lift your foot up for me. it's not the dementia that's killing me, it's exhaustion. even at night, forjulia, there can be little peace. i'll record this because then maybe somebody can give us the answer. in desperation, she has taken to filming what happens. i can't step back because i'm stepping in urine. bob, bob, bob. it's all a long way from when bob had a senior role at bt. julia has fought in vain to get better professional support but, at 3am, she is still coping alone.

remember then that was, when we called him luke? he connected with that, see? john has rare moments of clarity. bob can go from total immobility to this — busy doing nothing, going nowhere. although both are suffering chronic progressive disease, they, like thousands of others, fall under the social care system rather than the nhs. in the end, a care home may be the only option, but that can mean the family home, the savings of a lifetime, can be lost. when i've been phoning round various homes, some of them were quoting £1,800 a week. i'm quite convinced that somebody‘s getting very rich out of frail, vulnerable, very, very sick people, and that is wrong. i've worried about that probably from day one. because of the money? yeah. if it was this moment in time,

i'd be left with nothing. like bob, john and anne get some support from their wider family and he has access to a day centre twice a week. the alzheimer's society organises events to raise awareness, warning that, in the next 15 years, the number of us giving care to someone with dementia, full—time or part—time, will have risen by almost a million. the loneliness is just terrible. it's a cruel disease, isn't it? it's awful. no matter what you do, there's going to be no happy ending whatsoever. you're very tough on yourself. and you're very lovely to him. doesn't always seem that way. julia, can you do me a favour? shouldn't i be in bed with you? in an ideal world, absolutely, yes. going to get some sleep. if you had a moment of clarity

with him, if he had a moment, what would you say to him? come back. i miss you so much. but the home appliances company whirlpool has apologised for technical problems which means customers are struggling to access a website to check if their machine is a fire risk. yesterday, the company recalled half a million hotpoint and indesit models, because of a flaw that can lead them to overheat and catch fire. australia has experienced its hottest day on record. the national average temperature reached a high of 40.9 degrees centigrade, with some areas enduring temperatures above 45 degrees. it comes as the nation battles a severe drought and bushfire crisis. forecasters have predicted it may

get even hotter later in the week. the headlines on bbc news: a historic vote on capitol hill. congress will tonight decide on whether to impeach donald trump, a debate that deeply divides the house. britain's dementia crisis. millions of people may be forced to become carers for loved ones unless more money is invested in the system. former prime minister tony blair launches a scathing attack on his party's performance at the election, laying the blame onjeremy corbyn. 15,000 nurses in northern ireland have walked out in an unprecedented strike over pay and conditions. it is the first time in its 103—year history that the royal college of nursing has taken strike action. a 6.5% pay rise last year for all nhs staff, excluding doctors, has not been implemented in northern ireland because of budgetary reasons and political paralysis. unions argue the real value of nurses‘ pay has fallen by 15% over the past eight years. northern ireland‘s health service, which is devolved, is already under

strain, with record waiting lists and staffing problems. emma vardy reports. horn honking. cheering. from 8:00am this morning, an unprecedented step. thousands of nurses out of the wards and on picket lines. nobody wants to be here today, but we‘re at the point where nurses have been talking for a long, long time, and action has been required. no—one is standing out here in the rain out of choice, but we feel like it is essential for our patients‘ safety. nearly 5,000 outpatient appointments were cancelled today, and a number of minor injury units closed, but there was significant support for health workers striking. from those like sean, who came to stand in solidarity with the nurse who cared

for his dying daughter. where she died was like something out of the 1980s, a horrible grey room. it‘s a horrible environment, the facilities are poor. 0ur hospitals need major investment. our staff need major support from our politicians. there are problems with filling posts and retaining health workers, in part because pay here has fallen behind the rest of the uk. hospitals in northern ireland have become badly short—staffed. it'd be very common to find a nurse crying in the corner because they feel that they aren't able to provide the care that they want to provide to their patient. it would not be unusual for me to work a 12—hour shift and maybe have a 20—minute break in that period. just 20 minutes? 20 minutes. in12 hours? when you're working with a patient, they become your responsibility, almost like your family, and you cannot walk away. waiting lists are

the longest in the uk. it took three years for nick to get surgery on his foot, and he now faces another long wait for a hernia operation. it was debilitating and very, very annoying. it‘s the not knowing. i‘m sick and tired of northern ireland being treated like the kind of second—class pariah of the united kingdom. we‘ve already got one of the major strikes in the whole of northern irish history. it‘s been going on for three years. it‘s called the assembly. and they‘re getting paid, and they haven‘t done a stroke of work for three years. mounting criticism is being directed at the politicians who are meant to be sitting here. since power—sharing between sinn fein and the democratic unionists collapsed, there have been no ministers to tackle the health crisis. now, there are calls from all sides for westminster to intervene. but downing street says for the parties to start governing together again is the best way for this dispute to be resolved. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. relatives of four british soldiers who were killed in the 1982 hyde park bombing have won the first stage of a high court civil case

against a convicted ira member. today, the judge ruled the suspect john downey was an active participant and was jointly responsible, with others, for the attack. the judgment will enable the families to now seek damages. 0ur correspondent angus crawford was in court. an attack on the very heart of london, in a royal park. they‘ve waited years, the bereaved, fighting to get to the truth. the judge gave that decision. but no matter what decision is given, nothing can bring those four boys back, but we‘ve worked tirelessly as a family to get that decision. a wicked, premeditated attack, the court heard.

on a warm summer‘s day in 1982, an ira car bomb in hyde park cut down a troupe of the household cavalry, killing squadron quartermaster corporal roy bright, lieutenant dennis daly, lance corporal jeffrey young and trooper simon tipper. fellow soldier simon utley was just 18. i had a problem with my side. i had shrapnel in it, but at the time i didn‘t know. and ijust remember staring in this direction, walking over, but then stopping, because i was frightened. and just — ijust did not know what to do. this man, a convicted member of the ira, john downey, did face criminal charges five years ago, but the case collapsed because of a so—called comfort letter sent to him by the government. the letters followed the good friday agreement, ruling out criminal prosecution for some ira suspects on the run. more than 180 were sent.

but civil cases are unaffected, and today the high court found downey responsible for the attack. thisjudgment turned on parking tickets bought for the car which carried the bomb. the judge said she was satisfied the prints did belong tojohn downey, and he couldn‘t explain how they came to be there. after 37 years, some measure ofjustice for both the living and the dead. angus crawford, bbc news. a drug dealer has beenjailed for murdering a 14—year—old boy in a targeted, violent and frenzied attack. jaden moodie was knocked off a moped and repeatedly stabbed by a rival gang member in east london in january. ayoub majdouline was found guilty of murder last week after his dna was found on the murder weapon. today the 19—year—old was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 21 years. tony blair says labour‘s performance

at the election has brought shame on the party and let the country down. mr blair, the only labour leader to have won a general election in the last 45 years, attacked the current leadership for going into the campaign with a strategy for defeat. his damning words came as emily thornberry became the first mp to publicly declare herself as a leadership candidate. here is our political editor laura kuenssberg. this is what losing looks like. labour fell away in leigh... it‘s not yourfault, you know that. i know. ..a seat they‘ve held for nearly a century. seats like it fell like dominoes, more than four years afterjeremy corbyn took over labour. the only man born within a century to win an election for the labour

party. it‘s clear what went wrong, in his view. the takeover of the labour party by the far—left turned it into a glorified protest movement, with cult trimmings, utterly incapable of being a credible government. the result has brought shame on us. we let our country down. but the contenders for taking over aren‘t screaming for a huge change in direction away from mr corbyn, at least not yet. keir starmer, who wanted to campaign to stay in the eu, wants thejob. jeremy corbyn was right in 2015 when he said we should be an anti—austerity party, we should be against cuts to public spending, and that was a fundamentally important shift in our party. and what i'm concerned about, in the aftermath of this election, is that we oversteer and lurch to a different position. as does his fellow europhile and london mp emily thornberry, who has been a shadow

foreign secretary. we went into an election about brexit, where we were not sufficiently clear what our position was. and if you do that, as i anticipated, and as i told them, this would be catastrophic, and we would end up with another five years of a tory government. why would labour members, looking at the scale of the loss here, think, i know what we need, we need somebody who has been part of this project? we need somebody who is tested, who has experience, who spent two years taking on borisjohnson of the dispatch box. i know how to get under his skin. you need to look at the details. you don't allow him to throw you off course with all his bluster. you know, you have to be a girly swot, and that's what i am. the closest candidate tojeremy corbyn‘s machine is rebecca long—bailey. like the other contenders, it's the 500,000 or so members they have to convince when the contest starts proper injanuary. my own preference is for becky long—bailey, but i think it‘s welcome that the members are going

to have a real choice. it could be a choice between many, not few. 0ther mps, like jess phillips, lisa nandy and yvette cooper may run as well. the scale of labour‘s loss here is onlyjust really sinking in, and at labour hq, there is a long list of questions that beg hard answers. first, can the party avoid slipping into a bitter blame game over what went wrong, before a healthy discussion over who and what might be next? it might be five years before labour has another chance on the doorstep at the next general election, but time may not automatically be a healer. without doubt, for labour, there are many wounds to put right. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. there have been mass protests outside the stadium in barcelona ahead of a game with real madrid, which was postponed back in october because of widespread demonstrations then over the jailing of nine catalan separatist leaders. the barcelona fans and the other protesters want a legal referendum on independence for the north—eastern region of spain. gavin lee reports from barcelona.

in the shadow of barcelona‘s football stadium tonight, the crowds outside are making a political point. catalan independence demonstrators are outside every corner of the stadium, while record numbers of police stand guard as one of the biggest spectacles in world football, real madrid and barcelona, takes place inside. well, the demonstrations tonight have been largely peaceful, but small groups of catalan separatist protesters have been burning the dustbins all around the stadium and throwing projectiles at police. and they‘ve responded cat—and—mouse style, getting out and pressing then back. this game had already been postponed two months ago, given the tensions here in spain‘s north—east region in the aftermath of the jailing of catalan separatist leaders for attempting independence in 2017. the gathering started hours before the match, and it was no coincidence that spain‘s biggest

football game was targeted. the clasico is seen by millions of people around the world. every country where i‘ve lived, for example, people can watch the clasico, right? so the opportunity that you have to send a message to the world is clear, and it‘s, like, free. 0rganisers behind tonight‘s actions say they will continue to target public events and places. the flames of the catalan protest movement shows little sign of dying out. gavin lee, bbc news, barcelona. just before we go to the weather, let‘s go to battle creek, michigan, and takea let‘s go to battle creek, michigan, and take a look at what you can probably guess is preparation for a rally by president trump. he left the white house a little while ago, and he is due to turn up there. this rally is, whether coincidentally or deliberately, it is coinciding with the outcome of that vote in the house of representatives on the impeachment, the articles of

impeachment, the articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power, one for obstruction of congress, which we expect in about an hour‘s time. so if we see the president on the stage there, we will take you over to hear what he has got to say. already today he has been on twitter complaining about a witch—hunt complaining about a witch—hunt against him, complaining about an attempted coup, et cetera, obviously in reference to those moves by the house of representatives. so lots more to come from stateside, and right now we‘re coming back home and we are going to take a look at the weather. hello there. parts of southern england have already had a wet start so far, and with more rain in the forecast over the next few days, the rain falling increasingly unsaturated ground, we bring the risk of some localised flooding. these pulses of heavy rain working northwards, the main driving area of low pressure stays to the west of the uk over the next few days. weatherwise on thursday, it is

probably going to be a damper start to the day across england and wales, the rain easing off for a time midday, but later on we will see another pulse of heavy rain pushing back into wales, southern england and the midlands. whereas further north, northern scotland probably staying drier and brighter. a few showers for northern ireland from time to time. it is a mild start to the day and a mild day throughout, really, the temperature is barely budging from what we have in the first part of the morning. highs of around 10— 13 degrees with a brisk, southerly wind. through the course of the night our first pulse of rain pushes northwards but more wet weather working across england and wales during the second part of the night as well. it is going to be a mild night, but the rain is increasingly cause for concern. areas that perhaps giving us most concern at the moment are into southern england and wales, with the prospect of localised flooding building and on account of the fairly persistent bursts of heavy rain and the ground being completely saturated. we could see some localised disruption on the roads, and