this is 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. bowel cancer campaigner dame deborah james, host of the bbc podcast you, me and the big c, has died at the age of a0. and, the 7—time wimbledon champion serena williams suffers a shock first—round defeat. she was playing herfirst singles match in a year welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the inquiry into the riot at the us capitol last year has been hearing dramatic testimony 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, or mags, 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 advisors 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. drexel heard ii is democratic strategist and hejoines me now from los angeles. good to see you. thank you for talking to us. a lot of reporting around this is that dumb at describing the testimony as explosive, do you agree —— —— has described. i think it reminds us that the trump administration was and continues to be an unethical administration and the shows he remained in office after the rightful election ofjoe biden. with regard to the detail we have heard from the testimony from ms hutchinson in particular, many are saying,

actually this is just hearsay. details are here from a second or third party, so they should not carry that much weight? i think what you heard from ms hutchinson today reminded us, again, of an undisciplined white house.— again, of an undisciplined white house. ,, white house. she was the eight to the chief— white house. she was the eight to the chief of _ white house. she was the eight to the chief of staff _ white house. she was the eight to the chief of staff and - white house. she was the eight to the chief of staff and to - to the chief of staff and to the president of the united states, that has a lot of information about the inner workings of the white house for this is not necessarily secondhand, this is a person whosejob secondhand, this is a person whose job it is to know exactly what happens in the white house at all times, who is the person closest to the president of the united states. i think it testimony today, certainly was a testimony that was needed for the january six humidity to remind the american people that donald trump and his clowns were out there to cause harm to the united states anti—

democracy, and that is what we saw in today's testimony. what saw in today's testimony. what sort of action — saw in today's testimony. what sort of action do _ saw in today's testimony. what sort of action do you _ saw in today's testimony. what sort of action do you think- saw in today's testimony. what sort of action do you think may | sort of action do you think may be prompted by what we have been hearing today, for instance, this paved the way for prosecution of donald trump? for prosecution of donald trum - ? ., ., for prosecution of donald trum? ., , ., ., trump? today was 'ust another heafina trump? today was 'ust another hearing about _ trump? today wasjust another hearing about what _ trump? today wasjust another hearing about what will - trump? today wasjust another hearing about what will happen | hearing about what will happen of the january six committee will be up to the attorney general and the department of justice to make that determination. but between chairman thompson, liz cheney and all the congress members on the january six panel who have laid out the evidence against his president and administration and against rudy giuliani and mark meadows an entire trump administration, and there is no doubt that the department ofjustice has to do what is right by the american people and what is right about america in general to close this case out, to make sure we know exactly what happened and who is responsible for the riots on the capitol. thank

you, we will leave it there. let's get some of the day's other news. in colombia, family members of prison inmates have clashed with police officers outside the jail where a riot broke out, leaving at least 51 prisoners dead. officials say the blaze began when inmates set fire to mattresses and tried to escape from the jail in the south west city of tulua. most of the inmates died of smoke inhalation. president lopez obrador of mexico has blamed trafficking and what he called a lack of control at the us border for 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. six officers were wounded at a

shootout in british columbia. authorities say they are searching for a third man. 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. our 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. well, earlier i asked jeffrey lichtman from thejeffrey lichtman law firm in new york if there are grounds for ghislaine maxwell to launch an appeal.

one of the main rounds is that one of the jurors came out and said he did not give a truthful answer and he claimed he had been molested as a child. that is one of the key things that you want to know picking a jury, you don't want people predisposed to your client. i was surprised any trial was not ordered on that ground. we represented al chaparro and we learned afterwards that multiple juror will listen to evidence of accounts and judges are loath to order a new trial in such a high profile case, and that is a big issue for appeal. in and that is a big issue for a- eal. . ., and that is a big issue for a--eal. , ,., appeal. in court ghislaine maxwell— appeal. in court ghislaine maxwell said _ appeal. in court ghislaine maxwell said jeffrey - appeal. in court ghislaine i maxwell said jeffrey epstein should have been here before you. throughout the trial, her lawyer said that she was being

tried for the crimes ofjeffrey epstein. how much do you think the fact you cannot stand trial has influenced this case? i think it meant a light in sentencing and thejudge think it meant a light in sentencing and the judge came out and said that he was not sentencing if anything we could not do too jeffrey sentencing if anything we could not do toojeffrey epstein but the fact is if he was there at sentencing as well, the lawyers for ghislaine maxwell would have pointed to him and said he was the leader, he was the organiser, he manipulated maxwell and surely that would have come out and then they would have said she was not as culpable as epstein was and i think that was reflected in the sentence. i 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 3h years, and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: a former white house aide has told a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. ghislaine maxwell is sentenced in new york to 20 years for helping jeffrey epstein abuse young girls. 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. our 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 40,000 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. more on this now from nato expert michael o'hanlon who is a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution. earlier i asked him if he thought it was inevitable that turkey would drop its objections. 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 4 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 it has been clear that in the future, these countries will have to be very careful about how

they absorb kurdish and try 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 picture 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 sweden and finland, is this 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 russia problem pretty well. they are small countries in the north. the last war each of them fought against russia, sweden 200 years ago, and finland during world war ii and just before. they have done a magnificent

job of figuring out how to posture themselves as neutral countries, near russia, closer to the west but still independent and autonomous and not aligned. 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, or would have, but if i were swede or finn i would be nervous. i don't know how to understand vladimir putin anymore. he has made a big miscalculation and maybe he can find some other pretext to attack me, maybe wanting to restore the grandiose idea of russia he has in his mind. i don't blame them for wanting tojoining nato and i think the alliance have done the right thing by committing them to the organisation. 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. our 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. on 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 40th 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. here's chettan pattak with the rest of the action. if day one at wimbledon was about novak djokovic, having to find his form and battle through, day two was very much about rafa nadal doing the same. he was playing francisco cerundolo, the argentinian, on centre court. francisco cerundolo has only one one match on grass on the atp tour. and, boy, did nadal have to work hard for this one. 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 four sets. he is looking, at 36 years old, to win three grand slams in a row and then potentially the calendar slam at the us open. that is still a big if and a big dream but here with the men's door opening up, matteo berrettini having to withdraw with a positive covid test, marin cilic out for the same reasons, too, former semifinalist here, hubert hurkacz isn't at these championships any longer after he lost in the opening round, it is potentially looking like a djokovic—nadal final but it is a bit too early to talk about that. chettan pattak. a soon—to—be married couple who were serenaded at a pub in england by coldplay�*s chris martin. after spotting the singer in the pub, the couple told him they were planning to play his song, a sky full of stars, at their wedding and then he responded with an impromptu

performance that won't be forgotten any time soon. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @kacungira. thanks for watching bbc 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. otherwise, 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 injailfor helping herformer partner, jeffrey epstein, abuse underage girls. maxwell was found guilty in december of sex trafficking. epstein killed himself in a manhattan jail cell in 2019. the turkish government has dropped its objections