today at six, donald trump becomes the first former us president to face criminal charges — over money paid to a former porn star, stormy daniels. it's alleged mr trump paid hush money to ms daniels over an affair but recorded it as a business expense. mr trump denies wrongdoing, and the affair, saying the indictment is "political persecution". he's due to appear in court on tuesday. also on the programme: charges of racism are upheld against five former players at yorkshire cricket club, but ex—england captain michael vaughan is cleared. sewage was discharged into our waterways at the equivalent of 800 times a day last year, according to environment agency figures. and plans to create and protect up to 100 wild flower meadows to mark the king's coronation.

and coming up on the bbc news channel — wimbledon later we'll have sportsday on the bbc news channel, we will have the and key interviews on the day's talking points all from the bbc sport centre. good evening. donald trump will be the first former us president to face criminal charges after a grand jury indicted him over money paid to the former porn star stormy daniels. the indictment, which is a formal criminal accusation, was the result of a secret vote by a grand jury in new york. that's a group of citizens who hear evidence and decide whether there's enough to charge someone with a crime. so what's this charge about? we don't know the specifics yet, but it centres on a payment made to stormy daniels

after an alleged affair between her and mr trump in 2006. in 2016, just days before mr trump was elected president, his lawyer, michael cohen, paid £130,000 to stormy daniels to stop her from selling her story. two years later, michael cohen testified that mr trump directed him to make the hush—money payment. that payment was not in itself illegal. but when donald trump reimbursed michael cohen, the record said it was for legal fees, and prosecutors say this amounts to mr trump falsifying business records, which is a crime. mr trump is expected to appear in court in new york to face the charges and enter a plea next tuesday. he denies any wrongdoing, and the affair, saying the indictment is "political persecution". 0ur north america correspondent gary 0'donoghue reports. this manhattan courthouse does not normally look like this, but then, it is not every day a former president

gets charged with a crime. in fact, it's never happened before. it's a political sham and it's politically motivated. it's finally good to see some justice happen. if you do something wrong, you should be held responsible. right, you can'tjust buy your way into getting out of trouble. - and this is the man who has brought the charges against donald trump, district attorney alvin bragg, a democrat and a prosecutor in america's highly politicised legal system. but if mr bragg, like most democrats, was saying nothing, the former president was not so reticent. he has been on social media to rail against the decision. he has called it political persecution, election interference, and his opponents thugs and radical left monsters. the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the united states on a campaign finance issue is an outrage. no—one is above the law,

not even a former president of the united states. in the next few days, donald trump will come here to the courthouse. he'll have his fingerprints and his photograph taken. he will then appear before a judge to enter a plea. until recently, the most powerful man in the world, he'll be processed like any other defendant. the case all centres on the financial accounting for $130,000 paid to this woman, to buy her silence before the 2016 general election. stephanie clifford, aka stormy daniels, an adult film star, says she had sex with donald trump in 2006, something he denies. at mr trump's florida home, his supporters have been fired up by what they see as a political witchhunt, reinvigorating his political campaign. 100%, they don't want the man to even make it to election day, because they are afraid he's

going to win with a landslide and i believe he will. but this case in new york is not the only legal problem facing donald trump. stop the steal! two other criminal investigations are looking to his role in the storming of the capitol onjanuary the 6th, two years ago, after he lost the election, and attempts to overturn the results. those inquiries could prove much more serious for the former president as he readies himself for another run at the white house. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, new york. while we are looking at next tuesday, 2:15pm here in lower manhattan for donald trump to come and plead to those charges. his lawyer tells us that he will not be handcuffed, but will he do the famous perp walk where they get the perpetrators to walk in front of the

press? whatever happens, it will be a picture for the ages, and as we speak, fellow republicans falling in behind donald trump, including those rivals for the presidential election next year. that is the upside of being charged with a crime. reeta. gary 0'donoghue, thank you. a further highly critical report into yorkshire cricket club following allegations of racism by former player azeem rafiq has upheld complaints of racism against five former team—mates, but has cleared michael vaughan, the ex—england captain and bbc pundit, of using racist language. the report, by the cricket discipline commission, is the latest into the claims into historical racism by rafiq which he first made in 2020. here's our sports editor, dan roan. asa as a former ashes winning england captain turned commentator, michael vaughan is one of cricket's house profile figures, but for almost 18 months, accusations are used racist language hung over him. he denied

the claim, and after a hearing earlier this month, today was cleared. a disciplinary commission ruled, the panel is not satisfied in the balance of probabilities that these words were spoken by michael vaughan at the time and in the specific circumstances alleged. he stepped back from his bbc broadcasting work last year after former yorkshire tea made azeem rafiq alleged that moments after this huddle before a match in 2009, his former captain said, there is too many of you lot to him and three other asian plays. today in a statement, vaughan said, i have never done anything that would run contrary to genuine efforts to clean up contrary to genuine efforts to clean up cricket, and i truly hope why people could understand that i could not accept or apologise for something i know i did not do. vaughan are urged to reconciliation but condemned what he called an inappropriate approach by the ecb, saying there had been no winners. now out of contract, the bbc will have to decide whether to restore him to the team. i have to decide whether to restore him to the team.— him to the team. i think michael himself will— him to the team. i think michael himself will be _

him to the team. i think michael himself will be able _ him to the team. i think michael himself will be able to _ him to the team. i think michael himself will be able to have - him to the team. i think michael. himself will be able to have greater detail about exactly the toll it takes on him, notjust him, but his family, close friends as it were, there have been some difficult, challenging times and dark times. but this was still another damaging day for yorkshire, which admitted four charges, including a failure to address systemic use of racist language over a prolonged period. the panel said that its findings did not undermine rafiq's wider assertions and upheld some of the distributor charges against five other former players and coaches here. all five, which included former england stars matthew hoggard and tim bresnan, had withdrawn from the disciplinary process. today, rafiq gave me this reaction. you know, rafiq gave me this reaction. you know. the _ rafiq gave me this reaction. you know, the hearing _ rafiq gave me this reaction. m1. know, the hearing was very much closure for me, and again today i feel very vindicated. in terms of the charges, for me, it is very important that we don't get hung up on individuals, because that is not the way we are ever going to solve

this issue. ., .,. the way we are ever going to solve this issue. ., .. ., this issue. yorkshire, facing a financial crisis _ this issue. yorkshire, facing a financial crisis after _ this issue. yorkshire, facing a financial crisis after having . this issue. yorkshire, facing a financial crisis after having to | this issue. yorkshire, facing a . financial crisis after having to pay compensation to staff sacked in the wake of the scandal, could now be hit with a points deduction and with it what is expected to be a chastening game wide report on diversity in english cricket still to come, the scrutiny are set to remain. dan roan, bbc news. new figures show that large amounts of raw sewage were discharged into england's rivers and seas last year by water companies. untreated effluent, including human waste, wet wipes and sanitary products, were released 300,000 times — that's equivalent to over 800 times a day. the figure was down 19% from the previous year, but that was due to last year's dry weather rather than company action. water companies release sewage when there is too much demand on their treatment works during rainy periods. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill has more from west yorkshire. braving the chilly water of the river wharfe. do you do this every day?

we do! for the wild swimmers here in ilkley, this river is a lifeline. my wife died nearly seven years ago and i used to come swimming as often i could because that was the way of getting into a social circle where you didn't talk about death or anything like that. it was my escape. but beneath the surface there is a problem. we are keeping our heads above the water. i wouldn't want to put my head in this because i think the risks are too great. just half a mile away, raw, untreated sewage is regularly released into the river. so this is where it comes out, down here. it's just a grille, so it means that solids can come out as well. in an effort to have their river cleaned up, campaigners here lobbied to have this stretch of the wharfe officially designated as a bathing site. that means the environment agency has to test and monitor the quality of the water. members of the public,

when they come to ilkley, because it's designated as bathing water, they think the water is clean. the tests actually show that the water quality is poor. how do you feel then about the state of this river now? it's very frustrating, we should be putting the quality of the river before the profits of water companies. the water company is investing in the wharfe. this £13 million pipe will divert much more rainwater and sewage away from the river and store it underground ready for treatment. have water companies done unacceptable amounts of ecological damage to the rivers? i don't think any water company can say that their activities don't do harm to the river environment, but what we're trying to do is to do less. would you swim in the river around here? i would swim in the river when i think that it's a sensible time to do so. when is a sensible time? when it has just rained, i wouldn't think was a good time to go swimming. pollution in the river wharfe isn't hidden under the surface any more, it's a problem that runs through the heart of this community. victoria gill, bbc news, ilkley.

rishi sunak has been campaigning in darlington ahead of the local elections in england in may. he's highlighting more funding to tackle potholes, and new powers to try to ensure that utility companies repair roads after they've carried out work. but he said that controlling inflation remains his top priority. 230 councils across england will hold elections on the 11th of may. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has been talking to voters in darlington about their concerns. ah, here it is! rishi sunak seems to have identified a political enemy in these council elections — potholes. it's a sign that his campaign is firmly grounded in local issues. conservatives locally are delivering for the north east, for teesside in particular, but today we're announcing more money for potholes. we all hate them, the government is putting more money into them. he's in contested political territory. the conservatives are the largest party on darlington council but don't have an overall majority.

so what are voters here looking for? they seem to be in the market for national and not just local policies, with cost of living a major concern. definitely spending a lot more money on food than what we were, possibly like up to £100 a week now. just everything has gone up in price, and money doesn't seem to be going up as well, you know? and what issues were on these voters' minds? 0h, there's that many, isn't there? we've got darlington here, which has a very high rate of teenage pregnancy, gun crime we're discovering, drugs. we do need to sort the national health out, _ instead of trying to get rid of it. asked if he was out of touch, rishi sunak insisted that prices and notjust potholes remains his priority. i want people to feel better off, i want to put more money in their pockets. we're only going to be able to do that if we can get inflation down, we've got a plan to do that. the question towering over these local elections is whether rishi sunak can hold on to territory won under boris johnson. this is his first electoral test as prime minister, and if the national opinion polls

are even remotely accurate, his key task won't be so much making progress but stemming losses. the conservatives say they are also campaigning on the issue of safer streets, but their hold on some english councils currently feels far from secure. iain watson, bbc news, darlington. inspectors have found widespread bullying, harassment and discrimination in every fire service in england. a new report includes examples of language often excused as banter, including male firefighters telling a female colleague they would rape her and a senior officer using a racial slur. both were described by the perpetrators as a joke. the home office has said the findings are "deeply concerning". 0scar pistorius, the former paralympian who murdered his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, in 2013, has been denied parole in south africa. the 36—year—old had been seeking early release after serving half of his 13—year sentence. ms steenkamp�*s mother told the parole board she opposed his release as she felt

pistorius was not remorseful. it emerged that officials had made a mistake and he needs to spend more time in prison before he is eligible for parole. the 0scar winning actress gwyneth paltrow has been awarded a symbolic sum of $1 after winning a two—week court battle over a skiing collision in utah in 2016. terry sanderson, who's 76, had accused her of crashing into him at a resort, and sued for $300,000. sophie long reports from utah. the oscar—winning actress has been present throughout this trial that's been streamed around the world like a reality tv courtroom drama. a "he said, she said, who hit whom" on the slopes of a luxury ski resort — and at what cost? this is hard, cos i don't like going through this scene. he said he broke four ribs and has permanent brain damage. but she said she suffered too.

he has deterred you from enjoying the rest of what was a very expensive vacation? well, i lost... _ half a day of skiing, yes. right, 0k. he said he was hit from behind. i heard something i've never heard at a ski resort and that was a bloodcurdling scream. just can't do it, it was... "aaagh...!" and then, boom. but she gave a different version of the collision. i was skiing, and two skis came between my skis, l forcing my legs apart. and then there was a body pressing against me, - and there was a very. strange grunting noise. so my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening, _ i thought, "am i...? "is this a practicaljoke? "is someone, like, - doing something perverted? "this is really, really strange." mr sanderson�*s lawyers tried to paint a picture of an entitled celebrity lacking in care

for the little people. and ms paltrow�*s legal team said he wanted to hold her accountable for the unwanted effects of ageing and exploit her high profile and wealth. was gwyneth paltrow at fault? no. after a trial lasting nearly two weeks, it took the jury just two hours to decide that it was not ms paltrow but mr sanderson who had been responsible for the crash. as the actress and influencer left court, she went to see the man whose accusations had brought her here and said, "i wish you well." sophie long, bbc news, park city, utah. our top story this evening: donald trump becomes the first former us president to face criminal charges — over money paid to a former porn star, stormy daniels. still to come — the businesses who say they'll feel the heat of sky high energy bills when government support is reduced tomorrow. coming up on the bbc news channel —

manchester city against liverpool begins the final stretch of the premier league season. not a title decider perhaps, but still a match that could have a big effect on the destination of the trophy. political leaders in northern ireland have condemned an outbreak of violence which has seen a series of attacks on homes linked to a drugs feud. families are being caught up in the tensions which have been sparked by a fall—out within a loyalist paramilitary group. but with the 25th anniversary approaching of northern ireland's historic good friday peace deal, there are renewed questions over why the armed groups of the past still exist today. emma vardy reports. in broad daylight, masked men pursuing a fight over turf and drug money. this was the scene yesterday in one of four towns affected as a school and nursery nearby were advised to lock their doors. after dark, there has been nightly attacks on homes

lasting over a week. petrol bombs have been thrown through windows. in one instance, a pipe bomb was used. properties have been smashed with amazon bricks. —— hammers and bricks. many of them, say police, children inside. these attacks are completely unacceptable, incredibly reckless, and place our communities at grave risk. we are utilising the specialist expertise of armed response unit officers and we are working closely with our colleagues in the paramilitary crime task force to counter the threat posed by these gangs. what is the impact of attacks on homes and people like that? a number of people have left their home and obviously, that has a significant impact on them and their children and their wider family circumstances. the disorder has been linked to what is believed to be around 50 members who have been expelled

from the loyalist paramilitary group the uda. decades ago, loyalist paramilitaries were involved in the conflict in northern ireland is known as the troubles, attacking catholic communities in sectarian violence. but today, the organisations have largely become gangs involved in the drugs trade. this is stuff that should have ended 25, 29 years ago. you know, there has been a three—year—old girl in a house that was attacked. i'm told an elderly woman had her windows put in. a petrol bomb being thrown through a window into a living room where 15 minutes previously, a ten—month—old baby was crawling around. as we returned to the town of newtonards last night, masked men holding bricks were guarding houses. violence from armed groups continues in republican communities, too. while filming, we hear about a victim being taken to hospital not far away in west belfast. police received a report of a man being shot in both legs in this street here, a so—called paramilitary style attack, the kind of which still happens pretty regularly. northern ireland is about to mark 25

years since the historic peace deal, the good friday agreement, largely ended the conflict. but paramilitary groups continue to exercise control over some communities. the issue with the loyalist paramilitaries if they continue to recruit young people into their ranks. that is why, 25 years on, in what should be a peaceful society, we still have incidents happen such as what is going on in north down. they are being groomed and sucked into these paramilitary crime gangs and then they are used as foot soldiers. when something like this happens and the leadership of these organisations clash with each other, they are dragged into these violent disputes. police have made ten arrests in relation to the recent attacks, and while the violence sparked by this turf war remains on a much lower level than the feuds of the past, in this significant year for northern ireland, there is a renewed desire to find better ways to weaken the groups behind it. emma vardy, bbc news.

now a look at some other stories making the news today. constance marten and mark gordon will stand trial injanuary 2024 over the alleged manslaughter of a baby girl. the infant's remains were found in a shed in brighton after a 53—day missing persons search. the pair appeared at the old bailey today. they did not enter pleas and were remanded in custody. figures from the nationwide building society suggest house prices have fallen at their fastest annual rate in 1a years. the lender says its data suggests they were down by 3.1% in march compared to 2022. property prices have now fallen for seven months in a row. virgin 0rbit — the rocket company owned by sir richard branson — is planning to lay off 85% of its workforce. the firm failed to secure new investment and is expected to stop operating for the foreseeable future. earlier this year, a virgin 0rbit rocket failed to complete the first ever satellite launch from the uk. businesses warn they may have

to cut working hours, and possibly lay off staff and scale back investment due to high energy bills, as government financial support is being reduced from tomorrow. the government says it can no longer afford to finance the current energy price cap for businesses. here's our business editor, simonjack. the cost of energy hit record highs last year, and the government stepped in with subsidies. that support is slashed from tomorrow, which means shaf islam will revert to a deal he agreed to at the beginning of this year, since when prices have fallen. in 2021, his bill was £1,000 per month. for the next 11 months, it will be £4,400. i am paying double what the market rate is now and i have got to do that for another 11 months. i just don't see how we can continue to do that. you know, ifeel totally trapped. it is an extremely stressful time for everybody involved in the business, even the staff as well, they don't know if i'm going to cut their hours. energy feeds through to

ingredient costs and many prices have had to go up. as government support for energy bills is withdrawn by two thirds from monday, so bills go up at businesses like this one, they pass some of that cost onto consumers, fuelling inflation and it also means their ability to invest is greatly reduced. those are both bad outcomes for the government and the economy. at this family—run textile factory, they are already gearing up for next winter. but energy bills are a concern right now. the steam from this boiler presses the clothes and heats the building. in 2021, mr patel was paying £5,500 per month for energy. this year, it will be nearly £15,000 per month which is forcing some tough decisions. we have cut production down from five days to four days in some areas.

what has that meant for the next 12 months? it means we are severely reassessing where we reinvest. we are spending 10—20 grand on gas and electric so that money cannot be spent on retraining existing staff, employing new stuff or investing in capital assets. the good news is that energy prices have fallen and firms can eventually look forward to more stable costs, but business groups are warning that many will be stuck on crisis era rates for months, with radically reduced government help. so there are around 370,000 small and medium businesses that will be impacted by this up and down the country. that means that they have told us they are either going to have to close, restructure or downsize, unless the government steps in and gives the assistance they need. the government said companies would benefit from the discount and very intensive energy users would get more help. energy prices may be falling but many bills will be rising and a make or break few months lie ahead for some. russian and belarusian players will be able to compete

at wimbledon this summer after the all england club lifted the ban it imposed last year. they were banned in response to russia's invasion of ukraine and the support provided by belarus. the bbc tennis correspondent russell fuller is at the all england club now. russell... paris and new york, rations and belarusians will be free to compete. last year there were financial repercussions when they were banned. 12 months on the decision is different. that is because the all england club says they are asking russian and belarusian players to sign a declaration saying they are happy to play as neutral athletes. they are to say they are receiving no money from the state and do not support the russian invasion. the

majority of players were uncomfortable with the concept any player could be prevented from earning a living by the actions of their government. it will be another bruise on the arm of the ukrainian players who had spoken very eloquently in recent weeks about the pain they are going through and also the desire from their point of view to not have rations all belarusians competing anywhere on tour. with the king's coronation now just over a month away, plans are in place to mark the occasion, including the boosting of nature sites across the uk. a hundred wildflower meadows are to be created or enhanced at historic sites across england. the uk's meadows have been decimated in recent decades, with around 97% disappearing since the 1930s. 0ur correspondent phil mackie is in kempley in gloucestershire, there is so little of this type of landscape left. these daffodils have created a blanket of yellow at st mary's in kempley in gloucestershire. it's a view that's barely changed in

hundreds of years. the reason that this has survived is it is not farm, it's in a churchyard. 100 years ago, that field there would have looked like this. modern farming methods have put an end to wild flower meadows. the critical thing about a meadow is that they require cutting for hay. english heritage has promised that within a decade there will be another 99 wildflower meadows like this at its historic sites. the announcement has been made to mark the coronation. because the king has done so much for heritage and also for wildlife, we know he's very keen on meadows as well. what better to make more meadows on heritage sites. the king has already created his own wildflower meadow and long campaigned for more to be planted because they provide bees, butterflies and other pollinators with food throughout the year.

this is one of the future wildflower meadows, recently planted at boscobel, associated with the previous king charles ii. there have been more new ones, too, at other well—known sites, like the gothic ruins of whitby abbey. although the daffodils and kempley will soon be gone, it's hoped this particular meadow will always be here. phil mackie, bbc news, gloucestershire. a lovely day by. not so much here. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. a wet month folsom of us. we did need some rain. it has been dry for many months. we have seen a lot of it in places. there are some places in northern scotland that till nine o'clock this morning only seeing half the rainfall they would normally expect in march. compare that with the east of england which has seen three times the rainfall

they would normally expect. those figures have been topped up today. we have seen wet and windy weather meeting across southern parts of the uk and also rain into northern ireland. some of that rain will continue tonight into northern ireland, parts of wales. elsewhere extensive cloud, missed and mark stop not a particularly cold night with frost in some parts of north—east scotland. —— mist and murk. the dove cloud rolling into many central and eastern parts. it will be damp and cool in places on the east coast. in the west cooler than of late, highs of 12 or 13. for the second half of the weekend we see this area of high pressure building its way. that will settle things down. sunday is actually looking like a pretty decent day. there will still be a fair amount of