welcome to bbc news. i'm nancy kacungira. our top stories: a former white house aide tells a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. the president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. mr engel grabbed his arm. he said, "sir, you need to take your hand off "the steering wheel. "we're going back to the west wing. "we're not going to the capitol." turkey drops its opposition to sweden and finland joining the nato military alliance after the three countries sign a joint agreement. in new york, ghislaine maxwell is sentenced to 20 years for helping jeffrey epstein abuse young girls.

and bowel cancer campaigner dame deborah james host of the bbc podcast you, me and the big c has died at the age of a0. three near williams suffers a shock first round defeat. she was playing herfirst singles match in more than a year. —— and serena williams. the inquiry into the riot at the us capitol last year has been hearing dramtic testomony from a former white house aide. cassidy hutchinson said donald trump knew supporters had weapons when he urged them to march to congress. she also said senior officials had warned repeatedly that mr trump's rally on that day

to try to overturnjoe biden�*s victory could spiral out of control. our north america editor sarah smith has more. do you swear on... a surprise witness. her appearance, kept secret until today, delivered explosive testimony. describing how trump had been informed that many in the crowd on 6 january were carrying weapons. yet he was furious about security measures. metal detectors were used to find guns and knives. he wanted the screenings stopped to let more people in, ms hutchinson told the committee in previously recorded testimony. i overheard the president say something to the effect of, "i don't effing care they have weapons. "they're not here to hurt me. "take the effing mags away." donald trump: we are going to walk down and i'll be - there with you. trump did want to go to the capitol, but as he ordered the secret service to drive him there he was told

it wasn't safe. he said something to the effect of, "i'm the effing president, take me up to the capitol now." when the president's secret service agent, bobby engel, refused to go to the capitol, trump got physical. the president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. mr engel grabbed his arm and said, "sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. "we're going back to the west wing. "we're not going to the capitol." mr trump then used his free hand to lunge towards bobby engel. trump has responded, saying this is a "fake story that is sick and fraudulent." today is the first time we have heard exactly what was happening inside the white house on 6january, how the president's most senior advisers anticipated the violence and did little to stop it, and then asked trump for a presidential pardon so they couldn't be prosecuted. did white house chief of staff mark meadows ever indicate that he was interested in receiving a presidential pardon relating to 6january? mr meadows did seek that

pardon, yes, ma'am. first—hand evidence from someone who was right at the heart of the white house. sarah smith, bbc news. jennifer kerns is a former republican strategist and now author and conservative national talk show host. she joins us from new york. thank you for talking to us. what did you think of that testimony by ms hutchinson? well, i certainly found the details to be quite fallacious and specific. unfortunately, i think some of this will be contradicted in the coming days. we do have a justice system in the country and both of the stories that ms hutchinson shared would actually be qualified as hearsay in the american court system, would this be an actual court trial. she heard this

from, secondhand individual, evenin from, secondhand individual, even in one of the cases, third hand, from two other sources so she actually... hand, from two other sources so she actually. . ._ she actually... not all of it was second _ she actually... not all of it was second or _ she actually... not all of it was second or third - she actually... not all of it was second or third hand. | she actually... not all of it - was second or third hand. there was second or third hand. there was the instance before the rally, for instance where donald trump acknowledge that people in the crowd had weapons and she heard that her self. correct. that is concerning. look, i think donald trump is still bruised from his inauguration. remembering january 2017 when the media poked fun at the low attendance. most of that was due to security measures, highlighting things that made it look more sparse than it was. i was there on the day doing production for a tv network. the two most salacious points getting most attention is that he lunged at the secret service driver, trying to rip the steering wheel from him, and he also through a plate at

the world. those i think that mr hutchinson did not see and they would be thrown out in court because they would be considered hearsay. ithink court because they would be considered hearsay. i think the timing of the hearing today was a bit of a setback. the democrats have come up with a bruising few at the supreme court, first, the overturning of the new york state gun laws and then the overturning of roe versus wade then yesterday... sorry to jump in versus wade then yesterday... sorry tojump in here. i do want to ask, because you have said that something may be hearsay but isn't the bigger point here that president trump, not only encouraged but did nothing to stop this march on the capitol, and that is what people are most concerned about and that is what could lead to a prosecution whether look, i know he did want to march to the capital. remember,

that was from _ march to the capital. remember, that was from the _ march to the capital. remember, that was from the peaceful - that was from the peaceful rally. i don't think he knew, as most didn't, even the media did not know the extent of the attack on the us capitol, and i think you did want to march with the people and show solidarity as he had done in his inauguration. they walked most, if not all, the streets of washington, dc against the pretty high risk situations. i think that was his intention that day and i don't think he knew sometime later, as we are hearing some testimony, that he did not know some a0 minutes into it that it got as serious as it had until it started unfolding on television. i can tell you personally, firsthand, i spoke to people on the ground he did his rally and i call because i saw things on tv. they were there and they had no idea what was happening just 1a00 feet away from them, at this rally, at the capitol steps. i think there was a lot

of confusion that day. for now, because it is not a court of law, i will give him the benefit of the doubt. jennifer is a former— benefit of the doubt. jennifer is a former republican - is a former republican strategist. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. president lopez 0brador of mexico has blamed trafficking and what he called a lack of control at the us borderfor the deaths of at least 50 migrants, who were abandoned in a lorry in texas. it's the worst case of migrant deaths due to people—smuggling in the us. the centers for disease control in the united states has launched an emergency response to help contain an outbreak of monkeypox. the us has recorded more than 2a0 cases of the disease, which causes fever, a rash and skin blisters. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has said she wants a second independence referendum to be held on october 19 next year. the uk government said now was not the time for another vote on the issue. ms sturgeon said the supreme

court would be asked to decide turkey has changed its mind and has now agreed to support the nato membership applications from finland and sweden. the breakthrough came at the nato summit in madrid where again the war in ukraine dominated the discussions. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports from madrid. it's taken weeks of negotiations, but sweden and finland are now well on their way to becoming nato members, after they signed an agreement with turkey to counter threats to each other�*s security. applause. nato hopes to present this united front tonight, to send a clear message to vladimir putin. welcoming finland and sweden into the alliance will make them safer, nato stronger, and the mid—atlantic area more secure. this is vital as we face the biggest

security crisis in decades. ukraine, of course, is on everyone's minds here. but so is the wider security threat from russia. nato is ramping up its rapid reaction forces from a0,000 to 300,000, like these french paratroopers preparing to support nato countries close to russia, now feeling very exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we will never be alone strong. so we have to have, like, friends and allies. finland and sweden agree. just look at finland's long border with russia. hello. thank you so much for taking the time. moscow's aggression has shocked them. we realised that we have to make a change. well, it appeared that russia is ready to try to invade a neighbouring sovereign country. are you worried, though? because president putin told

you directly, he warned you not to join nato, or there would be repercussions. yes, we are not afraid, not at all. but today, russia's foreign minister, sergey lavrov, warned the west beefing up its defences and supporting ukraine would only prolong kyiv�*s agony. and that is the delicate balancing act here. all nato countries agree russia is the aggressor, ukraine must be helped militarily, but to what extent? that's where there's disagreement. should russia be given such a bloody nose, it thinks twice in the future about acts of aggression? or, if vladimir putin feels pushed in a corner, is there a risk that he'll escalate, even making good on a threat to use nuclear weapons? trying to keep nato allies together isjoe biden, arguably the star guest at tonight's gala dinner, hosted by

spain's king and queen. europe's security has been thrown upside down by vladimir putin, but one thing hasn't changed — when this continent is in crisis, it still relies heavily on washington. katya adler, bbc news, madrid. we can now speak to nato expert michael 0'hanlon who's a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution. thank you forjoining us. how significant is this? was it inevitable that in the current climate, turkey would drop objections to finland and swedenjoining nato? sweden “oining nato? most eo - le swedenjoining nato? most eo - le i swedenjoining nato? most peeple i knew _ swedenjoining nato? most people i knew thought - swedenjoining nato? i’j�*if?3ii people i knew thought turkey was bargaining first something and it did. turkey feels strongly about threats around its own borders, and understandably so. it has had a

lot of internal dissent and conflict from various sources and, more importantly, it has had a million refugees from syria arrive in its territory in the last decade. turkey saw an opportunity here to use this moment, where all of nato otherwise wanted to bring in sweden and finland and turkey realised it had some leverage, and it was going to insist that the president of the united states engage and deliver some results. it appears that between the president and the nato secretary general, turkey has been consulted and its concerns are been addressed in regard to potential kurdish separatists —— terrorists. some of us think they are more separatists but turkey sees them as terrorists and that has been clear that in the future, these countries will have to be very careful about how they absorb kurdish and tried to

address the legitimate concerns of turkey. what i'm trying to say is that, in the end, turkey got what it wanted. it wasn't really about the big teacher question of how to deal with russia. it was more specifically about an issue of importance to turkey and now we have got it through to the point where sweden and finland canjoin. for point where sweden and finland can “oin. ., ,, ., can join. for sweden and finland, _ can join. for sweden and finland, it _ can join. for sweden and finland, it is _ can join. for sweden and finland, it is about - can join. for sweden and finland, it is about the i can join. for sweden and - finland, it is about the bigger picture? they have had to make some concessions butjust how much of a threat is russia to finland and sweden? they've had some direct threats from vladimir putin but would he follow through on them? probably not. those two countries have a 200 year history of managing the rush—hour problem pretty well. small countries in the north. the last war each of them thought they are against russia, sweden 200 years ago and finland during world war ii and finland during world war ii and just before. they have done and just before. they have done

a magnificentjob of figuring a magnificent job of figuring out a magnificentjob of figuring out how to posture themselves as neutral countries, near russia, closer to the west but still independent and autonomous and not aligned. at this last act of aggression by vladimir putin has changed their calculus and i don't really think that russia is likely to attack either sweden or finland and i don't think it will, orwould or finland and i don't think it will, or would have, or finland and i don't think it will, orwould have, but or finland and i don't think it will, or would have, but ifi were swedish orfrom will, or would have, but ifi were swedish or from the land i would be nervous. i don't know how to understand vladimir putin anymore. he has made a big miscalculation and maybe you can find some other pretext to attack sweden and finland and wanting to restore the grandiose idea of russia he has in his mind. i don't blame them for wanting tojoining nato in his mind. i don't blame them for wanting to joining nato and i think they've done the right thing by committing them to the organisation.— thing by committing them to the organisation._ thankl organisation. thank you. thank ou. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a shock

first—round defeat for the seven—time wimbledon champion serena williams in herfirst singles match in a year. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge fireworks display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. tennis balls thwack cheering and applause challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record

that had stood for sa years, and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc news. almania story: —— 0ur almania story: —— our main. a former white house aide has told a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. ghislaine maxwell, once a prominent figure in new york society circles, is facing 20 years in a us prison for trafficking young girls to be abused byjeffrey epstein. she issued a statement, apologising to her victims but herfamily said she would appeal. 0ur correspondent, nada tawfik, was in court. a long—fought victory for annie farmer and all of ghislaine maxwell's victims.

justice was slow. she was one of the earliest to report maxwell and the paedophilejeffrey epstein to police, in 1996. but today, annie said it was never too late for accountability. maxwell and epstein were predators who were able to use that power and privilege to harm countless individuals and for far too long, the institutions that should be protecting the public were instead protecting them. and i still hope that we find out more about how that was allowed to occur. maxwell did not look at her victims but she did address them. she said she was sorry for the pain they had experienced. she also said her association with epstein, who she described as a manipulative, cunning man, was the greatest regret of her life. her statement felt like a very hollow apology to me. she did not take responsibility for the crimes that she committed and it felt like, once more, her trying to do something to benefit her and not at all about the harm that she had caused. the court allowed others who were not a part of the trial to also confront maxwell. the pain and anguish

she caused was plain to see, as several accusers emotionally spoke about the lasting impact of her crimes, such as liz stein. she had a wonderful, full, beautiful life, and so many of us just didn't have a chance to have that. i think that the closure part of her sentencing is maybe the beginning for a lot of us to start having the life that we anticipated we might have if we had never met ghislaine maxwell and jeffrey epstein. the british daughter of the disgraced media tycoon robert maxwell ran in the most influential circles, rubbing elbows with presidents and princes. but in court, as she waited to hear her fate, she was supported byjust three members of herfamily. the judge rejected the defence's claim that maxwell was being punished in epstein's place

and said her sentencing had to reflect the seriousness of her role in the horrific scheme. today is a major step towards justice and perhaps healing for the victims. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. the campaigner dame deborah james has died of bowel cancer at the age of a0. she had been receiving end—of—life care at home and had raised millions to help others affected by cancer. dame deborah was host of the bbc�*s you, me and the big c podcast and was honoured in recognition of her fundraising work. 0ur correspondent, rachel burden, reports. my name is deborahjames. i'm a mum to two kids and a dog called winston. three years ago, at the age of 35, i was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and i have been living with cancer ever since. she was young, she was vibrant, with an infectious

sense of fun. for deborahjames, cancer was a devastating blow. but she was determined to share her story, in the hope it would help others. i've had everything — surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy — to enable me to live with cancer. 0n social media, the former teacher called herself bowel babe, detailing the endless rounds of treatment, but poking fun at her disease. having fun with her kids and marking life's important milestones. i made my a0th birthday. that's huge, that's enormous, it's the birthday i never thought i would make. i like winding up my oncologist because he's very strait—laced! on her podcast, you, me and the big c, deborah was open... you're sat on the chemo ward in an orange catsuit! ..funny... and he's, like... doesn't want to say anything and you'rejust, like, "yeah, hi!"

i'm back on treatment and every single time i'm back on treatment, i don't want to be here. i don't want to be back on treatment. ..but never tried to hide her emotions. you just think, it's just not fair. in a final interview, she hoped new treatments would soon be found. cancer should become a chronic disease. i hope it will be in my kids' lifetime, i hope it will become a chronic disease. but i think... there are people doing amazing things and we need to support them and fund them. # and i'll rise up # i'll rise like the day...# the fund she set up to aid research has raised millions. foryears, dame deborah, as she became, fought to increase awareness of her disease, with social media posts like these inspiring thousands of fellow patients.

in the words of one cancer charity, "the lives her campaign saved and will continue "to save was nothing short of incredible." the campaigner dame deborah james, who has died of bowel cancer at the age of a0. and there's just time to tell you about day two of wimbledon, where the seven—times champion serena williams has been knocked out in the first round. in a match that lasted more than three hours, she was beaten by the french player, harmony tan, who was making her debut at the championships. williams, who's a0, hadn't played a singles match since retiring injured at wimbledon last year. ifa if a day one about wimbledon was about novak djokovic finding his form and battle through, day two was about rafael nadal doing the same,

clear francisco surinder lew, the argentinian on centre court, and he has only 11 much on grass on the atp tour. nadal worked hard for this, finding his first serve at times hard to come by but having dropped the third set, the 22 time grand slam champion showed his battling qualities every inch of them as he powered through in full. in the end he is looking at 36 years old to win three grand slams in a row and potentially the calendar slab at the us open, still a big if and a big dream but herewith the men's draw opening up, matteo berrettini withdrawing, and a positive covid test marin cilic out for the same reason, the former semifinalist hubert hurkacz is it in the championship after losing an opening round. potentially looks like a djokovic under delta final but it's a bit too

for that. the world number one women showed us why she is the standout in the men's and women's game, 36 consecutive wins her now, beating a player in straight sets, working in the second set and admitted afterwards she is finding her feet on grass as she tries to translate her incredible clay—court form which saw her when the french open last month. simona halep is a former champion and argue we had the toughest test and opening against karolina more, but came in straight sets and coco gauff made her name at these championships three years ago by beating venus williams continues her incredible development, running up at the french open, dropped the first set against helena gabriella russo before winning in three. a reminder of our top story: a former white house aide has given an explosive

first—hand account of president trump's rage on the day of the riot at the capitol building last year. find all our stories on our website at bbc.com/news. hello there. on tuesday, we saw a definite east—west divide across the country. eastern areas saw the best of the sunshine and the warmth. further north and west, it was windy with outbreaks of rain and felt fairly cool for the time of year. now, for today, it's going to be one of sunshine and showers and it'll be less windy as well. the reason for it — the centre of this low pressure system will be just pulling away slightly from the northwest of the uk, so we'll have fewer isobars across the charts, but still some weather fronts which will bring outbreaks of rain. the overnight band of rain will be slowly clearing away from eastern england and eastern scotland. it will do by around mid—morning, and then we're all into the regime of sunshine and showers, and into the afternoon, some of these showers could turn out to be heavy and thundery across

some northern and western areas. probably the best of the sunshine across the southeast. winds will be lighter — these are mean wind speeds — much lighter than what we had on tuesday. i think with lighter winds and in the sunshine, it'll feel a touch warmer. temperatures range from around 18—23 degrees across the southeast. many of the showers will tend to fade away during wednesday night. just watching this area of heavy, perhaps thundery rain, just scrape the far southeast of the near continent there. that'll push in towards the north sea, perhaps affecting northeast scotland during the morning. but for most, it's clear spells, one or two showers and mild, with temperatures in double figures for most. you can see that weather front bringing heavy rainfall across the eastern parts of the uk as we head through thursday. 0therwise, low pressure, again, close enough to bring another day of sunshine and showers. so, this rain could get close, again, to the southeast of england during thursday afternoon. could be some heavy rain as well across the far northeast of scotland. otherwise, for most, sunshine and showers again, some of them will be quite heavy, and because the winds are light,

these showers will be fairly slow—moving. temperatures reaching highs of 18—21 degrees. friday, similar story. we've got low pressure to the west of the uk, so again, it's generally light winds, sunny spells, scattered showers and some of them could be quite heavy in places, and those temperatures around just a little below the seasonal norm of, say, 18—21 celsius. now, as we head into the weekend, we'll hold onto the sunshine and showers theme, but i think from sunday and into the following week, it looks like high pressure will build in from the west, and that should settle things down and turn warmer in the south.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a former white house aide has told a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. cassidy hutchinson also testified that mr trump tried to take the steering wheel from his limousine driver when he was told he could not attend. a court in new york has sentenced the british socialite ghislaine maxwell to 20 years in jail for helping her former partner, jeffrey epstein, abuse underage girls. maxwell was found guilty in december of sex trafficking. epstein killed himself in a manhattanjail cell in 2019. the turkish government has dropped its objections to finland and swedenjoining nato after spending weeks refusing to do so. turkey had accused both countries of harbouring kurdish militants but says it has

now got what it wanted from talks at the summit in madrid.