welcome to bbc news — i'm james reynolds. our top stories: president donald trump has been taken to hospital for treatment after being diagnosed with coronavirus. he left the white house unaided, wearing a mask. on twitter he said he was "doing well". i am going to walter reed hospital, i think i am doing very well, but we are going to make sure that things work out, the first lady is doing very well. so thank you very much, i appreciate it, i will never forget it, thank you. he's already been treated with an "antibody cocktail" and vitamins. but in good spirits." we'll look at the possible health risks the president is facing.

donald trump has been taken to the walter reed medical hospital as a "precaution" less than 2a hours after testing positive for coronavirus. his physician said he was feeling "fatigued but in good spirits" and is expected to spend "the next few days" there. here's our north america editorjon sopel. an extraordinary moment in an extraordinary day. the president leads by marine one from the south lawn, destination walter reed hospital. i think i am going very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out. the first lady is doing very well. so thank you very much, i appreciated, i will never forget it. thank you. but if the symptoms are mild, why is he having to go to hospital, particularly when the white house has its own medical unit with a team of dock as a

nurse's, and a well—equipped surgery? as you know tonight. .. on thursday night in what appears to now be grim irony, the president made a speech from the white house about the pandemic. the worst was behind us, he said. and ijust want pandemic. the worst was behind us, he said. and i just want to say that the end of the pandemic is insight and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country. but then later that evening came a bombshell statement that will reverberate around the world. the most serious health issue to affect a serving president in decades. a hint of something being wrong came earlier in the evening when it announced that this woman, hope hicks, had contracted the virus. on wednesday she was part of the inner circle to travel with the president on the cramped marine one helicopter. none of them is wearing a mask. as donald trump seemed to dance with joy at the rally in duluth, minnesota, she had become symptomatically and was quarantined on air force one for the return journey to washington. the ripples of concern will reach everyone who has been in close contact with

the president. not least joe biden, who shared a debate stayed with him for a shouting 90 minutes on tuesday night. a debate where the president ripped into the democratic candidate for his mask wearing. i don't wear masks like him, every time you see him he is wearing a mask. he could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask i've ever seen. (laughs). and it was notable that none of the trump entourage will face coverings. that actually violated the rules of the clevela nd violated the rules of the cleveland clinic which was in charge of all the safety issues inside the hall, which said that everybody except the president, the vice president andi president, the vice president and i were were not supposed to wear masks, i mean, were supposed to wear masks. the president has won masks in public on less than a handful of occasions, and his ambivalence towards them is evident. can you take it off because i can't hear you. evident. can you take it off because i can't hear youlj will because i can't hear you.” willjust speak louder sir. you wa nt to willjust speak louder sir. you want to be politically correct. it isa want to be politically correct. it is a recommendation, they recommend it. iam

it is a recommendation, they recommend it. i am feeling good. and he has been holding rallies as though covid was in the rearview mirror, with thousands turning up, no attem pts thousands turning up, no attempts at social distancing, few wearing masks. messages of support have come in from around the world. this from borisjohnson who has been where the president is now.” think we all want to send our best wishes to the president, and the first lady, and i had done that this morning, as you can imagine. and i am sure that they will both stage a very strong they will both stage a very strong recovery. they will both stage a very strong recovery. and messages of support to from political rivals. this from joe biden, who has tested negative. my wife jill who has tested negative. my wifejill and who has tested negative. my wife jill and i who has tested negative. my wifejill and i pray they who has tested negative. my wife jill and i pray they will make a quick and full recovery. this is not a matter of politics, it is a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. but another leading democrat, speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, comes very to saying to the president, serves you right. this is tragic, it is very sad. but it also is

something that... again, going into crowds, unmasked and all the rest, was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen. the president has now left the white house and is in the care of the medical teams at walter reed medical teams at walter reed medical centre to the north of washington. it is an unbelievable series of developments that have taken place today, two days ago, no—one could have imagined this. but now the president has coronavirus and he is in hospital, and who knows how the election will unfold. let's show you the scene live at the walter reed hospital, near washington, where it isjust after 9pm, and inside that complex my president trump is now beginning his first night in hospital, in a secure part of the hospital —— inside that complex.

earlier our washington correspondent, barbara plett usher, outside the walter reed hospital, told us what facilities the president will have at his disposal there. he has settled into the medical executive treatment unit, that is a special unit for vips, presidents in this case, which is pretty self—contained, we are told it has a dedicated doctor, nurse and technician team, trained to shift away from normal hospital work to look after the president when he comes. it has everything he needs there to continue working which is what the house says he will do. it has an office space, a kitchen and dining room, it has space for secret service, it has its own intensive care unit, so it is everything that he needs to be monitored as the white house said he was going to be for tests, and anything should take a turn for the worse he will get the best treatment available. it seems the medical experts and physician —— positions want

to see what happens over the next couple of days. let's speak to our north america correspondent, peter bowes. it is one month until in—person voting day. what kind of campaign can there be until then when one of the main candidates has just gone to hospital? well, it will be a campaign like no other, and we are already seeing signs of course from joe biden that everything has changed. the democrats, the biden campaign have pulled what they called "negative ads", the attack ads that we always see and they increase in intensity as the election campaign goes on, criticising the other candidate. so clearlyjoe biden will continue with his campaign, but he will focus on talking about his policies and what he will do if he has elected america's next president. and clearly central to that will be the coronavirus. and i don't think he is going to shy away from

criticising the president over his past statements and past attitude towards the virus, because that is central to at least howjoe biden sees america's predicament right now, with a number of cases rising in some states, with more than 200,000 americans having been killed by the virus. directly blaming the trump administration's slow response, mr trump's refusal to be totally open with the american public about the severity of the virus again earlier in the year. that will bea earlier in the year. that will be a running theme, but those personal criticisms, those personal criticisms, those personal attacks that we see during the campaign at this time of year will not be happening. the next presidential debate is scheduled for october 15, what happens to that? we don't know, we really don't know the course of this disease as far as the president is concerned, we don't know whether he willjust be in hospital as the white house is suggesting right now, just for a few days while he is

looked at by the medical experts, and his situation is gaugedin experts, and his situation is gauged in terms of where he is fighting covid—i9. but we know for the example of so many other people that is very unpredictable. what is certain is that the president won't be doing any of his rallies, it seems unlikely that he will be able to part in at least at first debate, but everything hinges on the president's health. what might the vice president, mike pence do, might we see him try to substitute for the president and the rallies himself, or not? it is a lwa ys rallies himself, or not? it is always a possibility. white house for the time being has ruled out the possibility of mike pence taking over the presidential duties, mr trump remains in charge, of course mike pence has his own debate next week against the bright —— vice presidential candidate kamala harris, there is only one and that takes place next week. as far as we understand that we still go ahead. mike

pence will be focused on that. whether he will then take over perhaps some of the duties of the president in terms of appearing in front of huge crowds, which of course have been much criticised and again go to the central issue that is a lack of social distancing, the use of masks, again whether mike pence would step into that role, it is difficult to see because he is a very different person, a very different personality and politician to donald trump. donald trump revels in that situation, he enjoys talking off—the—cuff, thatis enjoys talking off—the—cuff, that is not the style of mike pence. so maybe a political decision will be made on the trump side as to whether it would indeed be beneficial to book mike pence in that —— put mike pence in that kind of situation. let's keep an eye on those pictures from walter reed hospital, we can see an impromptu gathering of half a dozen potentially trump supporters, i can see that certainly one person is waving a flag with mr trump's name on

it, where the president is in a secure part of that facility, we understand it has a dining room and huge numbers of medical facilities, room and huge numbers of medicalfacilities, and room and huge numbers of medical facilities, and where it is well enough he will continue to work. we can now speak to del quentin wilber, an investigative reporter in the los angeles times and author of the book rawhide down: the near assassination of ronald reagan. that was back in 1981. it is great to speak to you. we have seen a great to speak to you. we have seen a lot of talk tonight about the importance of donald trump's walk, from the white house to marine one and then from marine one into the car at walter reed. it reminded me of something you wrote in your book, the importance of president raisin's —— president reagan's walk when he was wounded by a bullet. is it ronald reagan who invented the look of president in peril showing he was ok? it was very important to reagan, to demonstrate that he was not in trouble. he wasn't on live

television when he did that. in fa ct, television when he did that. in fact, it happened so quickly, three minutes after the assassination attempt that he arrived at the hospital, he was doing it mostly to send a message to those around him, and even himself, i can do this. as we know he got into the hospital and walked 35 feet before he collapsed like a dead weight in the arms of his agents and we learned that he was shot and nearly killed. he lost more than half his blood today and a bullet was extracted nearly an inch from his heart. in terms of it being important for trump to be seen walking to the helicopter, it proves that actually, to the next day after reagan had been shot, but i after he had been shot, but i after he had been shot, he had to sign a dairy bill. it is kind of crazy, but if he didn't sign the bill it wouldn't go into effect. and it was “— wouldn't go into effect. and it was —— they were desperate to make sure that he could sign it, his aides, to send a message that the president is 0k message that the president is ok and doing hisjob. so they went into his room that

morning, after he had been shot and he's called, you could see how messy his signature is, and that was the moment that is more analogous to today, without trying to demonstrate that the president is in fact still doing hisjob, he is ok, because you have to send that message, you don't want to send the message that the president is in dire straits. do americans tend to rally around a leader who was struck down either by a bullet or in this case a virus? absolutely. everywhere there is a sympathy factor, we don't want the president to die, people are praying for him to get better. reagan, when he was shot, he had a lot of goodwill from the american people, but it went beyond sympathy. he was a humble person, he showed a lot of grit and courage when he was shot. when he saw his wife she worked into the emergency room and he was in the trauma day with a test—tube draining his blood, he looked at his wife and the first thing he said was" honey, i forgot and the first thing he said was" honey, iforgot to duck". he wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about those around him. those

m essa 9 es those around him. those messages and quips he issue that they got out and formed a bond with the american people, because it reinforced the image of who reagan really was, he was a cowboy. this situation is different, four months and months, trump has been downplaying the seriousness of the virus. only old people get it, it is a miracle, it will go away, it is a hoax, it is all these things. and now he has it and he is in some peril if he is going to hospital, for several days. and so is a different situation. in your book, you wrote about the confusion around who would take over president reagan's powers if necessary. was anything learned from the confusion in 1981 which could be applicable either now or in future cases? absolutely. when reagan was shot, there was a great deal of debate around whether they would invoke something called the 25th amendment to the constitution which allows you to tra nsfer constitution which allows you to transfer power temporarily from the president to the vice president of the president is incapacitated. they didn't do

it. but now there are people involved, and the physicians in grey that they probably should have, because the president was unconscious and in surgery and couldn't have made any decisions like lodging metals or defending the country. —— launching missiles. if it gets to the point where the president cannot do the job it is incumbent upon the vice president and cabinet to inform congress that the vice president is acting president until the president gets better. i don't think we're close to that yet and the president obviously was to give a video talk tonight to the american people, and he was seen american people, and he was seen walking to the helicopter, my gut is he is probablyjust going to rest a lot and get fluids at the hospital and they will keep a close eye on him. i don't think we are there yet. fascinating to talk to you, thank you so much. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: with just a month to go before the election, what impact could the president's illness have at the ballot box?

in all russia's turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affection from catholics throughout the world, but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel's right—winger ariel sharon, visited the religious compound, and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites — an idea that is unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president donald trump has been taken to hospital for treatment after being diagnosed with coronavirus. he's already been treated with an antibody cocktail and vitamins. his doctors earlier said he was fatigued but in good spirits. staying with that now. we can now speak to luis fajardo from bbc monitoring in miami. he monitors media and public opinion in the america, with a focus on latin america. i would like to start with miami, with florida. you are in the key battleground states are what kind of reaction has there beenin what kind of reaction has there been in florida? of course as anywhere else in america there is enormous, anywhere else in america there is enormous, enormous expectation to see what kind of impact this is going to have in the election of course it you

we re the election of course it you were saying florida is a big battlefield state for this, a big battlefield state for the election and actually donald trump was supposed to be here today. besides the non—stop news coverage we have also been experiencing a massive amount of advertising, political advertising, and many of these ads, especially from the trump side, were trying to clearly move away the discussion away from coronavirus, of course, this new development is going to change it substantially, going to again focus the attention on this crisis so a lot of people expecting a change also in attitude and tone of that discourse here. but of course everyone is expecting to hear the latest news from donald trump. of course, that is the reaction in florida but what about the region itself of latin america? in latin america of course many people are trying to establish

a line with what happened with bolsonaro, the brazilian leader was also criticised just as trump has been for allegedly not paying enough attention to the covid crisis, and trying to minimise it, and in the end of course bolsona ro was minimise it, and in the end of course bolsonaro was also testing positive for this disease a couple of months ago. the whole experience in brazil of course was very traumatic and controversial and of course in the end bolsonaro had a mild case of covid and some people we re case of covid and some people were suggesting he even emerged even perhaps strengthened politically because of all of this so many people in latin america are wondering what will be the case particularly with trump. picking up on president bolsonaro, having the disease change the way for —— did having the disease change the way he fought politically or not? that is an interesting question. a lot of people would say no, not completely, because he kept on saying the main

objective for the brazilian government, for the brazilian state was to recover normality, to open the economy as soon as possible and he was very often accused of maintaining the same level of what his critics would call disdain to the advice of health experts. so it really didn't fundamentally change the way he led his country in the covid crisis and of course brazil is a country that has suffered horribly. because of this continued health crisis. thank you so much. john connolly, the white house doctor, has said the president has been treated with monoclonal antibodies, and experimental treatment. how does it actually work? rebecca morrell explains. when a person is infected with coronavirus they produce antibodies and these attached to this spike of the virus, blocking it from entering ourselves. we make hundreds of

different types of antibodies so different types of antibodies so scientists sifting through them to find the best at sticking to the virus. they chose two because they both attached to slightly different parts of the spike so if the virus mutates and the structure changes, at least one will still work. both antibodies are then multiplied in the lab and produced in huge quantities. they are then mixed together and given to the patient, immediately boosting their own immune response. rebecca morrell talking about the treatment president trump will receive. this is where he will receive. this is where he will receive it, at the walter reed hospital in bethesda near washington, the very short flight washington, the very short flight of the president from the white house from the south lawn of the white house on the grounds of the walter reed hospital, where he now has his own wing and clearly half a dozen or so from supporters have got as close as they came to the outskirts of the hospital to show their

support from the —— for the president and we understand the white house as they expect the president to spend a few days there and of course we know through the course of this disease that nothing is certain. well, with just a month to go before the presidential election, what impact could donald trump's illness have at the ballot box? our north america correspondent nick bryant reports from michigan. the lockdown is a scam! the covid press are a scam! the coronavirus has opened up yet another fault line in an already fractured country. these militiamen part of a protest of those who see the covid restrictions as a threat to american liberty. cheering and applause. it was packed with supporters of donald trump, most of them still not wearing masks, and began with heads bowed in prayerfor the president. if we can take, like, five seconds just to say a prayer for the guy, if that's ok? cheering. lord, we pray for president trump, his family, for a swift recovery. i understand he's got some mild symptoms but i think he'll

probably be over them soon and it'll be a victory for him. a victory in what way? a victory in showing that there's a lot of overreaction to this covid stuff. ijust hope he pulls through it. do you think he took enough precautions? do you think you should have worn a mask? no. i think everybody — this is a free country and everybody should not be dictated to and everybody shouldn't have to wear a mask if they don't want to. this was another covid protest — of childcare workers bemoaning the lack of financial aid — and their responses to the overnight news spoke of how in american democracy right now, there's not even an agreed—upon set of facts. i don't believe it. why don't you believe it? i think it's just a ploy because he did so bad debating, he did horrible in the debates, so i think it's a ploy to get out of debating again. and if he does have it, i don't believe it. i can't even say if he does have it. ijust don't believe it. michigan is a key battleground

state that donald trump won unexpectedly in 2016, but there aren't so many trump yard signs as there were four years ago. we've fallen flat on our face. jack spielman is a lifelong republican who supported him back then, but he's already voted forjoe biden, partly because of the president's mishandling of covid. initially denied it, called it fake news, blamed it on the democrats, blamed it on the chinese. then he transitioned and said it's going to go away like magic. then it was going to go away when the heat comes. then we just had to deal with it, and then it was we were going to have a vaccine just before the election. we can't trust anything he says with it. in a bygone political age, the nation might have rallied behind a leader suffering from a virus that had killed so many of his compatriots. but this is such a deeply divided america, and this is such a deeply divisive american president. crowd chants: usa! usa! even this pandemic has become an accelera nt of political polarisation.

nick bryant, bbc news, michigan. a reminder of our top story — president trump has been taken to hospital after contracting coronavirus. the white house says he will spend several days there as a precautionary measure. these are live pictures of the walter reed medical centre near washington where president trump was flown on marine one several hours ago. mr trump posted a video on twitter saying he thought he was doing "very well". earlier, the president's doctor released a statement saying mr trump was fatigued but in good spirits. mr trump has been receiving an experimental drug to treat his coronavirus infection. it is a synthetic antibody cocktail which has not yet been tested on a large scale, manufactured by the biotech firm regeneron. we will continue to give you any and all updates we have on this story as we get it.

please, do stay with bbc news. hello there. scotland, northern ireland didn't fare too badly on friday with some good spells of sunshine around, some pleasant sunset scenes as well. but for england and wales, it really was pretty atrocious. wet and windy — all courtesy of storm alex — and it looks like all areas willjoin in with the heavy rain this weekend, including scotland and northern ireland. could cause some transport disruption, some flooding in places, and the winds will be quite a feature too. so for saturday, it looks thoroughly wet to start the day across much of england and wales, eastern scotland, that rain also drifting a little bit further westwards at times. but meanwhile, it will be clearing a little bit from the south—east, so here, we could see some brightness into the afternoon, but it stays windy. south wales into south—west england, those temperatures pretty disappointing — the low teens for most of us, could see 16 in the south—east. but it's the rainfall amounts we are most concerned about this weekend. saturday into sunday morning, amber warnings issued for parts

of wales, the south—west of england and also for the east and north—east of scotland. areas here, certainly over the high ground, could see in excess of two inches of rain, so flooding is likely to be an issue here. as we move through saturday night then, that rain really piles its way westwards, affecting northern ireland as well. winds will be quite strong across the south—west. temperatures a little bit lower than what we had for the previous night, typically around 9—10 degrees. now, this new area of low pressure will be sitting right across the uk as we head on into part two of the weekend. it will be sending bands of cloud and rain around the country, mainly around its periphery, where we will also see the strongest of the winds — gale force winds at times here — but in the centre of it, winds not quite as strong. and we should see some sunshine and that will set off a few heavy, maybe thundery showers. and again, those temperatures pretty disappointing — in the low teens for most. as we move out of sunday into monday, our area of low pressure begins to fill somewhat, begins to weaken

a little bit, but it is still going to be enough to generate showers or longer spells of rain, certainly around the edges. fairly strong winds, too, though those winds will continue to ease down. central areas will see the lightest of winds with some sunny spells through monday afternoon, but that could set off some heavy, maybe thundery showers again. temperatures again low teens for most, but we could make 15 or 16 in the south—east, given some sunshine and light winds. but it remains unsettled as we have through the new week, certainly for england and wales, with a high chance of heavy showers and sunny spells.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: president trump has been admitted to the walter reed military hospital in washington to undergo medical tests as a precautionary measure after having contracted coronavirus. earlier, the president's doctor released a statement saying mr trump was fatigued but in good spirits and he was expected to continue to work. president trump has been receiving an experimental drug to treat his coronavirus infection. it is a synthetic antibody cocktail which has not yet been tested on a large scale. early results from a small trial showed a decline in virus levels after patients had been given a high dose of the drug. mr trump's democratic challenger, joe biden, has twice tested negative for the virus following tuesday's debate in cleveland. he's continued his campaign with a speech in michigan. he announced he would temporarily withdraw negative adverts regarding president trump due to his health. now on bbc news: the week in parliament.