tonight at ten: donald trump sets a legal precedent — becoming the first former us president to face criminal charges. it's alleged mr trump paid hush money to a former porn star, stormy daniels, over an affair — but recorded it as a business expense. it is finally good to see some justice happened. it's a political sham and it's politically motivated. mr trump has issued numerous professions of innocence on social media — and said 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.

as the energy price cap for businesses ends tomorrow — we talk to companies feeling the heat of rocketing energy bills. sewage was discharged into england's waterways at the equivalent of 800 times a day last year — according to the environment agency. and gwyneth paltrow wins her court case against the man who tried to sue her over a skiing accident. and coming up in the sport later in the hour the bbc news channel... we will discuss today's biggest talking points from here at the bbc sport centre. good evening. donald trump has become the first former us president to face criminal charges — over money paid to the former porn star stormy daniels.

the accusation — or indictment — was the result of a secret vote by a new york grand jury. that's a group of citizens who hear evidence and decide whether there's enough to charge someone with a crime. we don't know the specifics of the charge yet, but it centres on a payment made to stormy daniels after an alleged affair between her and mr trump in 2006. in 2016, days before mr trump was elected president, his lawyer michael cohen paid her $130,000 to stop her from selling her story. two years later, michael cohen testified that mr trump directed him to make the payment. that payment was not in itself illegal. but when donald trump reimbursed michael cohen, it was recorded as legal fees — and prosecutors say this amounts to mr trump falsifying business records, which is a crime. mr trump is due in court in new york to face the charges next tuesday. he denies the affair and any wrongdoing. in a moment we'll hear how this most divisive of presidents divisive of presidents

continues to divide the us. but first, our north america correspondent gary 0'donoghue reports from new york. this manhattan courthouse doesn't normally look like this. but then it's not every day a former president gets charged with a crime. in fact, it's never happened before. and this is the man who's 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 was saying nothing, the former president wasn't so reticent. he's called it "political persecution", "election interference" and his opponents "thugs" and "radical—left monsters". no—one is above the law, not even a former president of the united states. the case all centres on the financial accounting for $130,000 paid to this woman to buy her silence before the 2016 general election. hi, everyone! stephanie clifford —

aka stormy daniels — an adult film star, says she had sex with donald trump in 2006, something he denies. today, it's donald trump. tomorrow it's going to be a democrat. the day after that it could be your brother, your son, your daughter. and we have to be concerned about the rule of law falling. because what's happened here is this is a case that would not have been brought against another individual in this country, if his name wasn't donald trump. in the next few days, donald trump will come here to the courthouse. he'll have his fingerprints and his photograph taken. he'll then appear before a judge to enter a plea. until recently the most powerful man in the world will be processed like any other defendant. it's finally good to see somejustice happen. it's a political sham, and it's politically motivated. but this case in new york is not the only legal problem facing donald trump. stop the steal! two other criminal investigations

are looking into his role in the storming of the capitol onjanuary 6th two years ago, after he lost the election, and attempts to overturn the results. # cos there ain't no doubt i love this land...# 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. to find out what trump supporters have made of today's development, our correspondent nomia iqbal has been to boones mill in virginia. it's seen as donald trump's heartland. away from the spectacle of the courthouse in manhattan, this quiet part of virginia really loves donald trump. whitey, who owns the store, says this indictment is good for his pockets and trump's popularity.

oh, it's only been positive, and it just sends all the sympathy to him. and it's what...it plays right into his hands. they'll do anything to try to take down trump, so this proves it. the case that's been brought against donald trump, it's been decided by your fellow countrymen and women in new york who are doing their civic duty. but they're, uh... ..over the top liberals. yeah. they're just out to smear him any way they can, but it'll backfire on them. even sybil, the shop dog, is gearing up for 202a. people have travelled from outside of virginia state to get their trump merchandise. saw the store, i wanted to stop cos i'm a trump supporter, and i'm even more of a trump supporter today than i was yesterday. tell me why. cos of this stupid indictment. it's just politically motivated. when i heard it on tv last night, ijust, i could not believe it. but the only thing it's going to do is just make the case strongerfor trump. this indictment has clearly fired up donald trump's core supporters, the ones he relies on. some have said it's awakened the sleeping giant.

but will it get him the votes he needs to win back the white house? no, i don't. you don't? no, i don't. interesting. why? because...i don't really think the american public will go for an indicted person. yes, he has for two elections, going on three. so i wish the election was this november and not in '24. it's often asked, is there a red line for donald trump's most ardent supporters? it would seem even becoming the first president ever to be indicted has made them more entrenched, not less. nomia iqbal, bbc news, virginia. let's return to new york now and speak to gary 0'donoghue. gary, how bad could this be for trump — and for the us? no one wants to be charged with a

crime, journal, donald trump is angry with that. it is notjust this one potential criminal cases looking at, there are two in georgia and one in washington to do with the special council and the january six riots and the election. all of those are significant risks for the president. however, you have seen there in nomia iqbal�*s package the base are fired up by this, they support donald trump, this gets them going, and more significantly perhaps the republican establishment is forced to swing behind donald trump, and that includes some of those who will be challenging him for the absolute right to run for the white house next year. so this toys him up in so many ways as well as being a risk to his reputation and his liberty. —— boys him up. his reputation and his liberty. -- boys him urn-— his reputation and his liberty. -- boys him up. the allegations of racism made by former yorkshire cricket player azeem rafiq have been largely upheld in a report by the cricket discipline commission. it's upheld complaints about five of his former team—mates — but cleared michael vaughan, the ex england captain and bbc

pundit, of using racist language. here's our sports editor, dan roan. as a former ashes—winning england captain turned commentator, michael vaughan�*s one of cricket's highest profile figures. but for almost 18 months, accusations he used racist language hung over him. vaughan denied the claim, and after a hearing earlier this month, today was cleared. a disciplinary commission ruled, "the panel is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that these words were spoken by michael vaughan at the time, and in the specific circumstances alleged." vaughan stepped back from his bbc broadcasting work last year after former yorkshire team—mate azeem rafiq alleged that, moments after this huddle before a match in 2009, his former captain said, "there's too many of you lot" to him and three other asian players. today in a statement, vaughan said, "i've never wanted to do anything that runs contrary to genuine efforts to clean up the game of cricket. i truly hope people can understand why, on a personal level, i could notjust accept or apologise for something which i know i did not do."

vaughan urged 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 their team. i think michael himself will be able to give greater detail about exactly the toll it takes on him, notjust him, but his family, close friends as it were, but there have been some difficult, challenging times and some 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 disrepute 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, the hearing was very much closure for me, and again today i feel very vindicated. seven out of the eight charges, i'm not going to be... you know, 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. 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 what is expected to be a chastening game—wide report on diversity in english cricket still to come, the scrutiny is set to remain. dan roan, bbc news. a man has been charged with the murders of a 57—year—old man and his 32—year—old son, who were shot dead in two villages six miles apart in cambridgeshire. stephen alderton, who's 66 and of no fixed address has been charged with two counts of murder and of possession of a firearm. he will appear in court tomorrow. a couple who went missing with their baby, sparking a 53—day search across britain, have appeared at the

old bailey charged with the infant's manslaughter. constance marten and mark gordon didn't enter a plea and will remain in police custody. they'll go on trial next january. the baby girl was eventually found in a shed in brighton after an extensive police operation. businesses are warning they may have to cut working hours, lay—off staff and scale back investment due to high energy bills — as the government's financial support is reduced from tomorrow. ministers say the £18 billion cost of the business energy price cap is unsustainable. instead businesses will receive a subsidy expected to cost around £5 billion. here's our business editor simonjack. the cost of energy hit record highs last year, and the government stepped in with subsidies. but 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've got to do that for another 11 months. i just don't see how we can continue to do that. you know, you feel totally trapped. it is an extremely stressful time for everybody involved with 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 for the economy. at this family—run textile factory, they're 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, snahal 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 staff 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've told us they are either going to have to close, restructure or downsize,

unless the government step 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. a make or break few months lie ahead for some. simon jack, bbc news. the uk has secured an agreement to join a trade pact consisting of 11 asian and pacific nations. the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans—pacific partnership includes countries such as australia and japan. our global trade correspondent dharshini david is here to tell us more. dharshini. the name may sound like someone leant on their keyboard, but cptpp is a club of 500 million people in some fast—growing nations. so, how could joining change fortunes here? the pact involves 11 nations from canada to australia — which account for £1 in every eight

of the world's income. they are looking to make it easier and cheaper to trade with each other, and also invest. but in total, we sold almost as much to germany as to all these countries put together last year. and we already have free trade deals with most of them, seen here in blue. it's just brunei and malaysia left, the tiny ones in red. so the financial gains may be minor. 0n the government's calculations, it could add just 0.08% of our gdp in a decade or so. in other words, only an extra sp to every £100 we earn. that goes little way to compensate for the blow the government's independent forecasters reckon could result from leaving the eu, which could leave incomes 4% smaller than they could otherwise have been. and there's issues the government has had to navigate tojoin, including how much access foreign

beef and dairy farmers can have to our markets — less has been granted than british farmers feared. ensuring food standards are upheld — hormone treated meat remains banned, but the uk has had to agree to remove tariffs on malaysian palm oil, blamed for aiding deforestation. and the fineprint of this deal will be carefully scrutinised. so, why go to all this trouble? it's about the potential. think of it as buying a start—up. you wouldn't buy a small company like that and expect it to be delivering on the day. you're thinking about the potential. it could mean closer links with some of the fastest growing nations, so business groups are broadly supportive. and greater gains could come if others sign up, south korea for example, or even china. we'd help decide if and how itjoins. hopes however that america, our biggest trading partner, might apply have been dashed. for now, though, the significance

ofjoining is more strategic — about post—brexit britain's tilt away from europe towards the east — rather than financial. cptpp may be the newest game in town, but it's no get—rich—quick scheme. reeta. the controversial social media personality andrew tate and his brother tristan are to be released from prison in romania and placed under house arrest after winning an appeal. the two men have been detained there since december and are being investigated on allegations of rape and people—trafficking. they have denied wrongdoing. 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 utility companies repair roads, after they've carried out work. but he said controlling inflation remains his top priority. 230 councils across england will hold elections on the fourth may. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports.

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 fixing 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, notjust 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? 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's 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 onto 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. next week it's the 25th anniversary of the historic good friday peace deal in northern ireland — but it comes as political leaders condemn 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 — sparked by a fall—out within a loyalist paramilitary group, as 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. and this afternoon, a man was assaulted by a masked gang in a shopping centre. in nightly attacks on homes, petrol bombs have been thrown through windows, a pipe bomb was used and properties have been smashed with hammers. many had children inside. these attacks are incredibly reckless, and place our communities at grave risk. 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 like that? a number of people have left their home and obviously, that has a significant impact on them, their children and their wider family circumstances. the disorder has been linked to what is believed to be around 50 members who've been expelled from the loyalist paramilitary group the uda. decades ago, loyalist paramilitaries were involved in the conflict in northern ireland known as the troubles, attacking catholic communities in sectarian violence. but today, the organisations have largely become gangs involved in the drugs trade. there has been a three—year—old girl in a house that was attacked. 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. 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's about to mark 25 years since the peace deal, which largely ended the conflict. but paramilitary groups continue to exercise control over some communities. the issue with the loyalist paramilitaries is they continued to recruit young people into their ranks. 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 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. new figures show 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 treatment works during periods of heavy rain. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill has more from west yorkshire. we're swimming, even though we're actually going with the flow! i know! braving the chilly water of the river wharfe. under the tree, woo! 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. that was so much fun! 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 a 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. well, 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 the 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. if it has just... when is a sensible time? if it has just rained, that, i wouldn't think, is 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, in ilkley. russian and belarusian players will be able to compete at wimbledon this summer, after the all england club lifted the ban it imposed following russia's invasion of ukraine, and belarus' support. the players will be able to play as neutral if they comply with certain conditions. 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. sophie long reports from utah. the oscar—winning actress has been present throughout this trial, which became a reality tv courtroom drama. a "he said, she said", "who hit whom" on the slopes of a luxury ski resort. this is hard because 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 blood—curdling scream. just, i 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. may i ask how tall you are? i'mjust under5'10". with some of ms paltrow�*s testimony as left—field as her lifestyle tips, the trial became an unexpected social media circus. how tall are you? iamjust under5'10!. i think i'm shrinking, though. god, i'm jealous! and late—night hosts turned the case into comedy. he's a bumbling optometrist. she's a celebrity mogul. they collide on a ski mountain and neither one can remember what happened? this christmas, see hallmark�*s newest hit, goopsy daisy, a ski accident of the heart! applause and cheering. thank you. but no—one was laughing here. 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." then expressed her satisfaction with the result on instagram. gwyneth how do you feel? sophie long, bbc news, park city, utah. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. just 90 minutes away from the end of march and march has been an exceptionally wet month, not least in england, where provisional met office statistics suggest it has 0ffice statistics suggest it has been the wettest march since 1981. now, it hasn't been that wet everywhere. parts of northern scotland have actually seen less rain than they would normally expect, 56% of the normal monthly rainfall. those figures run up to nine o'clock this morning. compare that with cambridge, more than three times the average monthly rainfall. those rain gauges have certainly had a further top up on the last day of

the month. this is the radar picture, you can see where we have had rain. some particularly heavy rain right now across western counties of northern ireland. that could well course of localised flooding, may be some transport disruption. this band of rain really sticks in place throughout the night. a lot of cloud as well, mist and murk, temperatures generally four or 9 degrees. we start the weekend with a lot of cloud around. still this band of rain across parts of northern ireland, wales, parts of south—west england. much of the rain will peter out, but northern ireland in particular will stay cloudy and damp. at the same time, a lot of cloud rolling in from the north sea, with some spots of rain, mist and murk, and with this breeze it will feel rather chilly for north sea coasts. furtherwest, feel rather chilly for north sea coasts. further west, temperatures of ten or 30 degrees. as we head into the second half of the weekend, things look a little bit brighter. this area of high pressure tends to build its way in. that means more in the way of drive weather on sunday. not completely sunny, there will be

spots of rain around, for the south—west, the odd shower. but