this is bbc news — i'm laura trevelyan. our top stories: doctors treating president trump for coronavirus at a military hospital outside washington have just given the latest information about his condition. at this time the team and i are extremely happy with the progress the president has made. thursday he had a mild cough and some nasal congestion, both of which are now resolving and improving. the president's medical team say since he arrived in hospital he has not needed oxygen and no longer has a fever. he is an exceptionally good spirits and in fact as we were completing out and in fact as we were completing our multidisciplinary rounds this morning, the quote he left us with was, "i feel like i could walk out of here today. " the white house says

mr trump remains in charge — but his presidential campaign is postponing rallies and other events. borisjohnson and the president of the european commission say the uk and eu will work intensively to overcome significant gaps in their positions on a post—brexit relationship. hello from washington. donald trump's physician — in the latest statement on the president's condition — says the president is doing ‘very well‘ and is in ‘exceptionally good spirits', after spending his first night in hospital. he was transferred to a military hospital outside of washington from the white house following his diagnosis with covid—i9. our first report is from our correspondent nomia iqbal, at the reed medical center in bethesda. it is one month exactly to election day and president trump expected to

be on the campaign trail. instead woke up in hospital. earlier his physician gave an update from the walter reed medical centre. physician gave an update from the walter reed medical centrem physician gave an update from the walter reed medical centre. it is important to note the president has been fever free for over 2a hours. we remain cautiously optimistic, but he‘s doing great. one of the note. it should be clear that he‘s got plenty of work to get done from the chief of staff. and he‘s doing it. last night he left for the hospital unaided but there was none of his usual bluster and show for the media, and unusual for the usual bluster and show for the media, and unusualfor the president he was wearing a mask. the white house is trying to predict business as usual. mr trump is not transferring powers to the vice president mike pence and he is in charge and he attempted to calm jittery nerves with a message before he left. —— project business as usual. i want to thank everybody for the tremendous support. i‘m going to

walter reed hospital. i think i‘m 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 appreciated andi thank you very much, i appreciated and i will never forget it, thank you very much, i appreciated and i will neverforget it, thank you. he can't have visitors inside but it didn‘t stop his supporters from turning up outside the gates. his political rival, democratic candidate joe biden, is his political rival, democratic candidatejoe biden, is on the campaign trail. here in the swing state of michigan. but he‘s been careful not to be seen as exploiting the president‘s illness. delivering a message of american unity. i'm sending my prayers for the health and safety of the first lady and president of the united states, after they tested positive for covid—i9. my wife jill and after they tested positive for covid—i9. my wifejill and i pray that they will make a quick and full recovery. this is not a matter of politics. it‘s a bracing reminder to all of us that we need to take this virus seriously. it's been more than

24 virus seriously. it's been more than 2a hours since president trump announced his and the first lady‘s results, and more and more of those close to mr trump have tested positive for covid—i9. his campaign manager bill steffi and, his former senior adviser kellyanne conway and several republican senators. they we re several republican senators. they were all present at what may turn out to have been a super spread that event, the announcement of the supreme court nominee amy coney barrett last saturday in the rose garden. —— bill stepien. democrats are calling for hearings to be postponed. the president has been criticised for his cavalier attitude towards the virus which has killed more than 200,000 americans and infected more than 7 million. in recent history no presidential candidate has come down with an illness this close to an election. millions of voters have already cast their ballots where the incumbent has been infected with the potentially deadly disease. for a president who didn‘t want the virus to be the centre of the 2020

campaign, he now finds himself at the heart of it. let‘s cross live now to the walter reed medical center — where mr trump is being treated — and speak to our correspondent lebo diseko. we were hearing there from the president‘s doctors that he was doing well but they didn‘t want to comment on specifics, especially not whether he had ever had oxygen. absolutely. there are a number of questions that have been raised as a result of that press conference. also the team said that he was diagnosed 72 hours ago, and actually he only announced that he had a coronavirus on friday. similarly, as you said, journalistic press on whether he has received oxygen at all. -- whether he has received oxygen at all. —— journalists did press. they said he is not taking in oxygen at the moment. in the last few minutes we have had a statement from the white house pool. they are usually

briefed by very senior members of the white house and we do have to ta ke the white house and we do have to take this very seriously. what they are saying is that the president‘s vitals over the last 2a hours were concerning and the next 48 vitals over the last 24 hours were concerning and the next 48 hours be critical in terms of his care. we are still not on a clear path to recovery. obviously that is a very different tone from that of the press c0 nfe re nce we different tone from that of the press conference we heard, the update from donald trump‘s medical team. lebo diseko, it certainly is. let‘s speak to our senior north america reporter, anthony zurcher. we have the president‘s physician given a glowing report on his health but then a source close to the president said the vitals were concerning over the last 24 hours in the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. we are still not on a clear path to recovery. what are we to make of the dissidents there? what we are to make of it is that the goal of this press c0 nfe re nce

make of it is that the goal of this press conference here on saturday morning was to put the nation‘s mind at ease that the president is doing well, that his medical team is on top of everything and in charge. but that was not a successful mission, all they have done is create more confusion thanks to the conflicting state m e nts confusion thanks to the conflicting statements about how the president is doing, about whether he was on oxygen in the past or not, and also the timeline, as you mentioned earlier, the timeline about whether the —— when the president was diagnosed, 72 hours ago would put it on wednesday when the president revealed that he was diagnosed at one a local time on friday morning. the white house has come out since then and said, no, the doctor sean conley meant three days ago, thursday night, he started drugs on thursday night, he started drugs on thursday night, he started drugs on thursday night to treat the diagnosis. but the fact they are having to clean this up now immediately after a press conference whose goal was to settle things down is just whose goal was to settle things down isjust a whose goal was to settle things down is just a remarkable whose goal was to settle things down isjust a remarkable mishandling of this. we did here at the press conference that the president is

going to be treated with remdesivir. it's going to be treated with remdesivir. it‘s a five—day course. so how long can we expect him to be there?“ you look at the centers for disease control guidelines, if you tested positive you‘re supposed to be in isolation for ten days after that initial positive test and then you have to be symptom—free. one would imagine that it‘s going to be a while before donald trump can hit the campaign trail again. whether that means he can go back to the white house and be in isolation the oi’ white house and be in isolation the or he stays at the medical centre, we don‘t have any details on that as well. but we have to remember that the reason he moved to the hospital was because they wanted to have all the different tests, all the different facilities available for him. soi different facilities available for him. so i don‘t think they are going to try and move him back until they feel like they are out of the woods and as that seen the administration, oi’ someone and as that seen the administration, or someone familiar with the president‘s health said, it was said that the next 48 hours owing to be

key. also in the briefing with the president‘s doctor, how the journalists pressed him on whether the president had been on oxygen and marco rubio, an ally of the president, sue biggs of the conspiracy theories around the president that are online now it is critical to get accurate information but it seems like the waters are muddied now, doesn‘t it? but it seems like the waters are muddied now, doesn't it? it does. as i mentioned they were trying to clarify things but having the president‘s position be evasive on questions like that on basic questions like that on basic questions like that on basic questions like whether the president was on oxygen, it undermines the credible itty, not just was on oxygen, it undermines the credible itty, notjust of the white house but of the medical team. you have to remember in crisis situations like this, credibility, trust from the media, from the american public, is invaluable and any misstatements have to be clarified, any misdirection is, it squanders that credibility that they will be relying on to calm the american public, to make the world

and financial markets more at ease with the situation. we the american people, the financial system, eve ryo ne people, the financial system, everyone else has to have faith that they are getting the truth from the white house and from the decisions. —— physicians. white house and from the decisions. -- physicians. thank you forjoining us. now, with 30 days to go until the us election and the incumbent president in hospital, the country has to ponder a number of scenarios as matter of national importance. one of those is what to do if president trump had to withdraw from the race. the prospect opens a range of issues that congress would have to deal with, especially given that around 2 million americans have already cast their votes. to work through some of these problems — and options, bruce ackermanjoins us now from new haven, connecticut. he‘s a sterling professor of law and political science at yale, university. a lot of confusion about even the condition of the present at this point. but with 2 million americans having cast their ballots, this election is well under way, isn‘t it, regardless of the president?

absolutely. there is a short term and not so short—term problems. in the short term, if, as i very much hope will not be the case, the president does decline the 25th amendment comes immediately into play, enacted afterjohn f kennedy‘s death, which contemplates two ways of handling a situation in which the president is no longer capable of discharging his duties of office. one straightforward way is if the president himself may recognise this fa ct president himself may recognise this fact and informs congress, and until he decides otherwise, vice president mike pence will be acting president, and he could take away this authority whenever he recovers. but the second and more troubling scenario is when he is incapable of

functioning but doesn‘t recognise this. this second option is that vice president mike pence, if he gets the consent of the majority of the cabinet, can notify congress of this fact and both houses have 21 days, they can vote earlier if they choose, to decide whether vice president mike pence shall be the acting president regardless of what president trump says. and in order to do that they have to vote to make vice president mike pence acting president by two thirds in each house. so the crucial thing, of course, is as house. so the crucial thing, of course, is as soon house. so the crucial thing, of course, is as soon as house. so the crucial thing, of course, is as soon as such a declaration is made, who are americans voting for? moreover, to

compound the difficulty, the republican national committee of 168 members from all the states is authorised to designate in this circumstance, a new presidential candidate. so within this 21 day period, more or less, we could have... thank you, it's very complicated, but thank you for explaining it, mr ackerman. wrote this is a moment of anxiety for americans with 30 days to go to the election and the president in hospital. it isn't only that. when people go to vote they are voting on ballots which say i am voting for president trump, you see? not for vice president mike pence, or that save the republican national committee says, well, mike pompeo

should be the new presidential candidate, or perhaps mike pence himself. this compounds the difficulty when congress has to meet, as instructed by the constitution, injoint session meet, as instructed by the constitution, in joint session as soon as constitution, in joint session as soon as they get to washington, dc onjanuary soon as they get to washington, dc on january four, fifth or sixth. soon as they get to washington, dc onjanuary four, fifth or sixth. the constitution has 600 words of very explicit rules. bruce ackerman, thank you so much forjoining us. we apologise we had some trouble with your vision. these are live pictures of walter reed hospital where the president is being treated. we have been told by his doctors that he is doing very well but equally a source familiar with the president‘s health says that his vitals over the past 24 hours were concerning in the next 48 is will be critical in terms of his care. we are still not on a clear path to a full recovery, so

slightly conflicting signals there with different briefings. we will bring you all the latest. you‘re watching bbc news. thanks so much for joining watching bbc news. thanks so much forjoining us. welcome to bbc news in london, it is 6:15pm. more from laura trevelyan and the team later in the programme. the headlines on bbc news — president trump‘s doctor says he‘s "doing very well" and "in good spirits" as he‘s treated in hospital for coronavirus. parts of northern england face new coronavirus restrictions from today — including a ban on households mixing indoors. borisjohnson and the president of the european commission say the uk and eu will work intensively to overcome significant gaps in their attempts to agree a post—brexit trade deal. lets stay with that story. boris

johnson spoke to the president of the european commission ursula von der leyen, and they have agreed on the importance of reaching a trade deal when the brexit transition period ends on the 31st of december. they are, though, saying there are still significant differences on both sides. with me is our political correspondent iain watson. on one hand this is a good sign, presumably, that they are saying we will keep talking and there is more to talk about. on the other hand, though, they are still talking about differences that are proving incredibly difficult to bridge. they are. what is first of all interesting is the formal negotiations have concluded and yet rather than throwing in the sponge, is borisjohnson rather than throwing in the sponge, is boris johnson put rather than throwing in the sponge, is borisjohnson put it, they have agreed to keep talking up until october 15, the big eu summit, but both sides recognise they will not getan both sides recognise they will not get an agreement by then and probably have to go a bit further. he was talking about that as an informal deadline if we haven‘t got a deal by then, then we really have to work on our no deal arrangements. yes, he was effectively talking about walking away at that point. in

the nicest possible terms, no hand on, don‘t worry. the nicest possible terms, no hand on, don't worry. can you politely walk away? we will go off and trade like australia, as he puts it, or some people say like somalia, a country that doesn‘t have a formal trade agreement with the eu. there is an effort to get a deal, partly because, if not, by the end of the brexit transition period at the end of the year there will be tariffs, another was effectively taxes on imports and exports, prices go up. there is something in it for both sides to avoid this. there are potential compromises out there but whether there is, as i still underline said, where there is a will there‘s a way. i‘m not sure if there is a will. one fishing, effectively phasing in an extra share. rather than saying come 1st of january we have everything. there could be the possibility of a longer term deal, the eu are resistant to an annual negotiation. equally, we have signed a trade deal with japan which has a state aid restrictions on it, canada has a state aid restrictions in its deal with the

eu, so they could be a way around this, which is the other alleged stumbling block. what i found slightly more concerning for those who might want to deal in the downing street statement today was they are saying there are differences beyond these, these are just the notable differences, so there are less notable differences. they have noticed, may be the other side haven‘t noticed yet! they have noticed, may be the other side haven't noticed yet! the intense negotiations might make them more noticeable. michel barnier had said there was a range of other problems, yesterday, including data protection which he has concerns about. it is curious since we are pa rt about. it is curious since we are part of the eu data protection rules. are we saying we would tear those up? presumably that‘s not clear. i think it must be around data sharing, and in the future as well. he is also saying there are concerns about staying in step with the eu on social and environmental rights. we have said we will take them as they are now but we don‘t wa nt to them as they are now but we don‘t want to remain in step with them in the future. we thought progress had been made there so it‘s interesting that was raised as well. so it will

have to be very intensive negotiations over the next couple of weeks if they are going to solve that. it sounds like most of it can be solved because there is progress already but the question is whether there is the willingness to go the extra mile. and in the end, if it needs a compromise, that means we have to lose something. and the eu side have to do something as well. presumably the prime minister has to worry about how his party would respond that may be how those extra conservative eu proponents of leaving the eu might respond as well. nigel farage has been strangely quiet these last few months, hasn‘t he? strangely quiet these last few months, hasn't he? yes, but he could be back with a bang if he smells any kind of sell out. borisjohnson will be very well aware of any sentiment from his backbenchers if you keep saying we will not compromise in these areas, and today the virtual conference the conservatives are having, dominic raab making a very clear and appealing to precisely those long—standing brexit supporters in the conservative ranks saying that the days of when we were

being held over a barrel by brussels are long gone. there is no question it is our government who will control our fisheries. so it is our government who will control ourfisheries. so he is saying that. but equally that means that the room for compromise becomes very narrow without disappointing your own site. you are from scotland, i‘m from the west country. we both know that the emotional attachment to fishing in this country is very strong. often not necessarily in proportion to its economic importance but for those communities that fish, it is life and death. it is notjust fisheries, it is fish processing, for example, isa it is fish processing, for example, is a big thing for us. i was struck talking to fishermen in devon at the time of the referendum who said a lot of what we sell is an even by the people of this country, they don‘t like it, but we sell successfully to the continent. we sell to mediterranean countries. i wish i remembered the name of the fish, but they described it as black gold down in devon for the fishermen there. what is the sense politically? that was the great accusation against ted heath, wasn‘t it? he sold out the british

fishermen in order to get a deal to get us into the eu. how sensitive are conservative politicians today do you think about the kind of emotional attachment people have two fishing? i think hugely. you mention to fishing? i think hugely. you mentioned ted heath. i think the quotas we work on it now were agreed in the 1970s when we firstjoined what was then the european community. what is interesting i think is that, yes you are right, in terms of the economy, less than 2% of the economy, but hugely important emotionally. it also is seen as a symbol by many brexiteers of becoming an independent coastal state. this is saying to the world that we are actually taking back control, if nothing else. but equally if we are talking about the potential come from is, perhaps phasing in new arrangements, from the other side it is a big emotional issue in france as well. similarly, not that big economically, but still something, and the spanish as well. so perhaps then we can start phasing out your access to the market because there is no point collecting all these fish from the sea but not

being able to sell it to your biggest market, which incidentally is going to be the european union. i think that‘s one of the reasons why it is so intractable. very interesting one. i know the people who would not miss the quotas were the people who have ever been a fisheries ministerfor the people who have ever been a fisheries minister for britain the people who have ever been a fisheries ministerfor britain or scotland, those late nightsjust before christmas in brussels, trying to negotiate, never mind what the fishermen think. thanks very much. new coronavirus restrictions have come into force across parts of northern england. from today, people living in liverpool, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough can no longer meet up indoors with anyone they don‘t live with. this includes bars and restaurants. 16.8 million people or around one in four of the entire uk population are now living under some form of increased measures. it comes as 770 students have tested positive for the virus at northumbria university in the north east of england. this report from greg mckenzie. hi, becca! hello. how are you?

a student house in a student street in newcastle. coughs. all the people in this room have tested positive for covid, and are now isolating. the neighbours have had it too. we thought we were, like, some dangerous household, "we've got covid, stay away." "we've got covid, stay away." but they were like, "we've already had it." you think it‘s already widespread in student houses in the street? absolutely, oh, it's widespread completely. also with everybody going back out on the night out scene, or whatever's left of it. some in their second year only returned to newcastle a week ago. now, 770 students there have tested positive for coronavirus. it has left some questioning why they were allowed back so soon. i think that they definitely had a lot of time, the planning, i think, some precautions are not quite as good as they could have been, like, students coming back to the halls. they were all just thrown back in there and it has shot back up. i don‘t regret it at the moment, we‘re still having a good time in the household and we‘re working through it quite well.

with many of the isolating students miles away from friends and family, the universities themselves are having to step in and send out supplies. it‘s becoming a huge operation. we are working with partners in the students' union and the city council to make sure those students have supplies. young people have been increasingly blamed for the spike in covid infections. these were the scenes last weekend in liverpool, as pubs and bars were forced to close at 10:00pm. but as of today the city is one of many places facing even tougher measures. in merseyside, warrington, hartlepool and middlesborough, in merseyside, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough, it‘s now illegal for people to mix with anyone from another household. also on the latest watchlist for possible new restrictions in england, rotherham has been added. sheffield has moved

to a higher level of support. cheshire west and chester and cheshire east have been added, along with barrow—in—furness. wakefield joins others in west yorkshire on the list. back in newcastle, these students have another week left in isolation ahead of them — and the hope that student life can at least return to some sense of normality, whatever that normal may look like. greg mckenzie, bbc news. just going to bring you the latest from washington, this is a trump tweet from the president. he says that doctors, nurses and all at the great walter reed medical center, and others from likewise on credible institutions who have joined them, are amazing. so there you go, combative stuff from the president. he says the walter reed medical center in bethesda in maryland, just a few miles from washington, dc, we

can see the outside of that building. we actually heard from his doctor sean p connolly at a news conference a couple of hours ago with a very upbeat message from him, and also making the point that we are only 72 hours into the diagnosis and the key days are 7—10, when you know it there it is likely to get very serious or whether the worst has passed. —— sean p conley. his fever has gone and the president tweeted doctors, nurses and all at the walter reed medical center are all amazing, as are all the other people helping him. we are told he is still working. this is actually pa rt is still working. this is actually part of the white house in technical terms. it is not part of the military. the bit he is in is technically part of the white house so technically part of the white house so it is all set up for a president and there are all the facilities he needs, and for his aides to sleep over as well and we will doubtless look to daily updates on the president‘s condition, because particularly this close to polling day there will be great concern about the president‘s condition and

recovery, and prospects of him getting back at any point on the campaign trail. that‘s the latest on donald trump in washington. the duke and duchess of cambridge have released a video of their children princes george and louis and princess charlotte asking questions to sir david attenborough about the natural world. we will have more on that later after sportsday. but now we will see little extract. they filmed their children at kensington palace before meeting sir david in person. sir david attenborough answering questions. and we‘ll have a special programme

of bbc breakfast‘s louise minchin‘s interview with sir david at 6:45pm. that is coming up after sportsday. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. good afternoon. the weather is continuing to cause disruption through the rest of the weekend, particularly with the slow—moving nature of the rainfall. a couple of areas have amber weather warnings for heavy rain, particularly wales, west midlands, parts of south—west england, flooding likely, also for eastern scotland, heavy rain, amber weather warning. 120 millimetres over the highs ground to corsican flooding problems through the afternoon and evening. tonight still rain with us on the brisk easterly wind across scotland, pushing into northern ireland. and wet and windy weather across wales and much of southern england as well. some clearer skies for northern england, southern scotland, fog patches developing overnight. sunday brings another wet and windy day for many, rainfall starting to ease,

in a spiral across northern scotland and northern ireland down toward southern wales and southern england. some brighter weather in between but still some blustery showers around. bye— bye. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump‘s doctor says he‘s "doing very well" and "in good spirits" as he‘s treated in hospital for coronavirus. his medical team says the president was admitted as a precautionary measure and is not currently being given oxygen. at this time the team and i are extremely happy with the progress the president has made. on thursday he had a mild cough and some nasal congestion, fatigue, all of which are now resolving and improving. resolving and improving. parts of northern england face new coronavirus restrictions from today — including a ban on households mixing indoors. borisjohnson and the president of the european commission say

the uk and eu will work intensively to overcome significant gaps in their positions on a post—brexit relationship. at least eight people are missing in south—east france after a powerful storm caused what is being called the worst flooding in living memory. now on bbc news it‘s time for sportsday. welcome to sports day. here is what is coming up in a very busy programme. they have got the moves and the