and a bbc investigation finds the former boss of the fashion brand abercrombie & fitch faces claims of exploitation, by men recruited to have sex at events he hosted. i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you forjoining us. we begin with former president donald trump's first day in court in new york, for a fraud trial that could threaten his business empire. mr trump and his company are accused of committing rampant fraud, by inflating the value of his real estate empire. mrtrump, who has denied all wrongdoing, was on the defensive, even before the trial began. we have a great company, i built a great company, it's got tremendous value, it's got some of the greatest real estate assets in the world, and now i have to go before a roguejudge, is a continuation of "russia, russia, russia", as a continuation of the greatest witchhunt of all time, and i don't think the people of this country are

going to stand for it. for more, nada tawfik, our correspondent in new york, sent this update about the day's proceedings. donald trump's appearance in person here at the court certainly changed the tone of proceedings. he came here speaking to the press no less than three times, slamming the case as a sham, and directly attacking the judge and attorney—general as out to get him, saying it was part of a plot to stop him from becoming the gop nominee. we also heard from the attorney—general, reiterating that no—one is above the law and saying she would go on to prove the rest of her case. now, inside the courtroom, donald trump listened all throughout the opening statements, and the first witness, nodding or shaking his head in agreement or disagreement, based on what he heard. from the attorney—general�*s

team, we heard them reiterate that donald trump had overvalued his assets by millions of dollars. they said it was one thing to exaggerate for the likes of forbes magazine but quite another to exaggerate when doing business in new york. but donald trump's lawyers, clearly performing with him there in the courtroom, took on a very familiar tone from the former president, saying this was a witch—hunt and he did not commit fraud all, period. this case is expected to last for several weeks. we're not sure yet if donald trump and his sons will testify but we are expecting to hear from numerous employees of the trump organization, and what is at stake here is no less than the future of donald trump's real estate empire in new york. empire in new york, and the potential that he will have to pay over $250 million in fines, which would be a significant hit to his net worth and ability to ever do business in new york again. cbs chief election and

campaign correspondent, robert costa, was in the courtroom during the hearing. we spoke to him for more on the political impact of the trial. the attorney general is seeking $250 million, the relocation of mr trump has made business licenses. what is the trump team telling you about how concerned they are about the seriousness of this trial? this is serious. — seriousness of this trial? this is serious, and _ seriousness of this trial? this is serious, and if _ seriousness of this trial? this is serious, and if you - seriousness of this trial? ti 3 is serious, and if you want to underscore it, all you have to do is be in that courtroom today, not only trapped himself but trump's son, eric trump, who is indicated in all of this. eric trump was sitting there, stonefaced, watching the proceedings. we are here in lower manhattan so i appreciate the patience with the noise. he saw the trapp family, trump advises, long time trump business people, watching all of this with eyes wide open because they know the trump company, the trump organisation is on the line right now. there is on the line right now. there is a possibility if this goes through and the government makes its case, the business licences, the ability of the trump organisation to operate

in new york at all be taken away are matters very seriously someone like donald trump. we have seen _ someone like donald trump. we have seen with the criminal indictments mr trump has, he has used them to strengthen his position to raise more funds. do you anticipate he will do it with this case? it do you anticipate he will do it with this case?— with this case? it is already happening _ with this case? it is already happening online. - with this case? it is already happening online. for- with this case? it is already i happening online. for trump, grievances happening online. fortrump, grievances about the legal challenges he is facing is central to his legal campaign in his bid to win back the presidency. he is telling his voters day in day out that he is a target in his view of the special counsel in washington, at the federal level, the city level, down the street in new york looking into its hush money payments in new york with the state level, and what did trump do today? he didn'tjust sit there in the courtroom. at every break he went out and he spoke to reporters, he went up to the camera and he expressed his anger, his fury about what is unfolding for him here in new york in washington, as he faces down all of his republican opponents and all of

these prosecutors.— these prosecutors. speaking of those opponents, _ these prosecutors. speaking of those opponents, bob, - these prosecutors. speaking of those opponents, bob, we - these prosecutors. speaking of those opponents, bob, we did | those opponents, bob, we did seejust a few those opponents, bob, we did see just a few weeks ago the last republican debate of course, where we saw some of the candidates taking a shot at the candidates taking a shot at the former president for the first time. we have also seen now republican donors, who are a bit anxious about the fact that mr trump could be the candidate, they are looking for alternatives. is there at this point any viable alternative to the former president? it point any viable alternative to the former president?- the former president? if you talk to advisers _ the former president? if you talk to advisers to _ the former president? if you talk to advisers to current i talk to advisers to current contenders of the race, you say that nikki haley, mike pence, chris christie among many others who are running, ron desantis, they all believe, they donors believe they still have a path to the nomination, but time is of the offence for many of them. they need money, they need momentum as the race —— time is of the essence. as the race moves to the winter stage in the primaries approach, and there is a sense of alarm among some of the biggest republicans i have known for over a decade in the country, some of them have gone on the record —like millionaire

thomas perfidy, and he said it is time for virginia governor colette duncan forgetting in the race. that effort is such a reflection of the angst among what we would call long—term traditional republicans about where this party is going and its continued embrace at least at the voter level, the grassroots level, of the former president. grassroots level, of the former president-— president. bob, thank you for “oininu president. bob, thank you for joining us _ president. bob, thank you for joining us with _ president. bob, thank you for joining us with your— president. bob, thank you for joining us with your insights l joining us with your insights tonight. joining us with your insights toniaht. ., ~ joining us with your insights toniaht. . ~ i. 0n capitol hill, here in washington, republican house speaker kevin mccarthy is facing a rebuke from within his own party, as republican representative matt gaetz, of florida, has filed a motion to vacate him from his leadership role. here's the moment that it happened. the gentleman will state the form of his resolution. declaring the office of speaker of the house of representatives to be vacant. resolved that the office of the speaker of the house of representatives is hereby declared to be vacant. speaker mccarthy then posted on x, formerly known as twitter, saying simply, "bring it on." the move tees up a showdown in

the house, as representatives will now need to decide whether to oust mccarthy over the next two days. but it's currently not clear if gaetz has the crucial 218 votes needed to remove mccarthy. he may even need to lean on democrats to do it. democrats are set to meet, tuesday morning, to discuss that very dilemma. it's an escalation of a dispute, after mccarthy relied on democratic votes to pass government spending legislation, saturday. it keeps the government funded and open in the short term, but does not provide funding for ukraine. some republicans have defended mccarthy, but a vocal minority of the party are not convinced. republican representative victoria spartz voted against the stop—gap funding bill that averted a shutdown. i spoke with her about mccarthy's future as speaker. congresswoman, thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. will you support matt gaetz�*s motion to the speaker's chair? i'm very open—minded. i haven't decided yet. what considerations will go into that decision for you?

well, i'm going to see, in reality, you know, ithink, speaker mccarthy had several chances to deliver. he failed and i need to decide do i trust to give him one more chance, what i believe we can try someone else and i will have to think very hard. what would speaker mccarthy have to say to you to make sure you could stand behind him? listen, i generallyjudge people by actions, not by words, and unfortunately, you know, kevin would not be able to fight the fight to win. it is one thing to fight for the picture on the wall and get the leadership position, and another to fight to actually deliver for the people, and it's very difficult. you need to have backbone, you need to have vision and you need to be able to challenge the status quo and not be afraid of the big machine in washington, dc. but there is no lobby for the people here. but there is no lobby for the people here. we are the only lobby and we have to start delivering for the american people, and i have a responsibility to my republicans to deliver.

i want to ask where your colleague stand. we heard matt gaetz say that kevin mccarthy doesn't have the support of a requisite number republicans. what is your sense among your colleagues? there is a lot of frustration, i'll be honest. a lot of issues of kevin wasn't created just by him, they have really been accumulated by years by many congresses, but we are in charge right now so we cannot blame other congresses. we have to deal with some major issues, whether it is border security, crushing debt. we have to start moving the needle, and there is a lot of frustration, but in the end, people will have to make a decision, what they believe or what they want to do, and that is up to them. but there are a number of republicans who are frustrated right now. do you think there are enough republicans frustrated so that matt gaetz would have the number of votes he needs to make this successful? it is a possibility, it depends what democrats do. i don't think a lot of democrats don't dislike kevin.

he gave a blank cheque during our debt ceiling deal until the end of �*24 for president biden to spend as much as he wants, he gave actually more money this time than nancy pelosi, 16 billion more, and it already wasn't inflated spending. so i think some democrats might actually decide, you know, to support him, unless they want to, you know, give a hard time and just play politics, with having republicans go through another speaker election. so it is hard to say but i wouldn't be surprised if some democrats will support kevin. so what would happen if the democrats did make a deal for kevin mccarthy to stay in hisjob? i don't think it is about making a deal, they might be afraid, you know, kevin has been not as big of a fighter to win on some of the issues as some other speaker might be, so they might decide that he is actually not as bad for them, because ultimately there are some challenging

issues, that we have not been able to push senate. 0ur power of the purse is in two chambers. actually we can blame the president as much as we want but has ultimate responsibility to have the power of the purse and exercise it and deliver for the people, and we haven't been able to push on the senate, on both parties. it is controlled by democrats but also there are plenty of republicans that are voices in the senate and we didn't really dig in enough. one of the big questions about the power of the purse right now and specifically among republicans is more aid for ukraine. you are the first ukrainian—born member of congress, you have been a strong supporter of aid for ukraine. do you know if there's any agreement at this point to put more aid for ukraine forth? yaya i think we have to have a serious discussion. i have been raising this concern for years about accountability and strategy and making sure it is delivered faster so they understand the power of weapons. not the talk.

and president biden did not communicate that fact to the american people or congress as to why it is in our national interest to help ukraine to deter russian aggression. soa so a lot of things were done that i was very, very disappointed, so now we will have to have a discussion on how congress, and i hope on a bipartisan basis with the senate, can push on president biden to do better in ukraine, but also domestic issues like border security. the pentagon has been warning congressional leaders that it is running low on money for ukraine and the $5.2 billion could last only for another few months. what do you think of that? well, maybe they should do better accounting. last time they found 6 billion, may be based on looking in their accounting and the department of defence actually needs a serious question in why they haven't been able to be auditable now for years. it is very alarming. so i think the pentagon has

a better time to worry about what is happening in the department of defense before they asked congress, and actually give us the numbers, because, strangely enough, we asked for that for a long time. can you reconcile the money we are providing? much of this money we are giving to associated courses and i would like to know what companies and countries receive the money and for americans to see. didn't really benefit, americans, american companies and actually... americans, american companies and actually. . ._ and actually... congresswoman, if i could and actually... congresswoman, if i could just — and actually... congresswoman, if i could justjump _ and actually... congresswoman, if i could justjump in _ and actually... congresswoman, if i couldjustjump in there. - beyond the question of accountability do you think there is an argument over whether to give more funding to ukraine or not emboldens vladimir putin? when we do not spend money wisely and not spending in the right courses, that benefits only here because the deal is with

governments with bad track records and vladimir putin knows how to take advantage and to destabilise. do not underestimate. do not underestimate him. good strategy, action and accountability will serve for the benefit of the ukrainian people but when we do not have it, it only benefits him. great to have you tonight on bbc. thank you very much. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the un security council has voted to send an international protection force to fight gang—related violence in haiti. it will be led by a large detachment of kenyan police officers. gangs have taken control of large parts of the country, waging terror on residents and killing hundreds. authorities in port—au—prince asked for internatioanl help nearly a year ago, following the assassination of presidentjovenel moise. this a lightning strike has caused a huge gas explosion at a food waste recycling plant just outside the english city of oxford. witnesses reported seeing a huge fireball lighting up the night sky.

officials said the strike caused a biogas tank at the facility to ignite. there have been no reports of casualties and stafff are working to secure the site. the james webb space telescope has spotte jupiter—sized planets free—floating in space. that is, they're unconnected to any star. and they appear to be moving in pairs. the telescope observed about a0 pairs in a detailed new survey of the famous 0rion nebula. they've been nicknamed jupiter mass binary 0bjects, orjumbos for short. you're live with bbc news. the capital of nagorno—karabakh is reportedly deserted, after more than 100,000 ethnic armenians fled the territory. journalists in stepanakert say its desolate, journalists in stepanakert say it's desolate, with only stray dogs wandering the town square in search of food. ethnic armenians fled amid fears of persecution and ethnic cleansing. azerbaijan, which seized the territory earlier this month, denies these fears. the bbc�*s rayhan demytrie

has the latest. the republic of armenia is in the republic of armenia is in the process of absorbing more than 100,000 displaced persons from nagorno—karabakh. among them nearly 30,000 children. all of these in the middle of a school year so there is an urgent need on top of housing also to help find schools and kindergartens for the children of refugees. the government here says it is allocating funds and monthly payments to each and every family will be given to help settle in, because most of the people left their entire livelihoods behind. but there is growing pressure on the prime minister because many people hold him responsible for the loss of karabakh. but he and his team appointed the fingers at the hand of russia and saying that moscow has failed to fulfil its

obligation as a security guarantor for ethnic armenians in nagorno—karabakh. the wall streetjournal is reporting that the pentagon still has more than five billion dollars left to aid ukraine with weapons and other miliary assistance. that's after congress rejected additional funding for the war over the weekend. but the biden administration is reporteldy unsure just how long that money could last, even as the white house looks to show support for president zelensky. some believe it could only be a few months. on monday, the european union's most senior diplomat, josep borrell, told the bbc he's worried by the us decision not to include any new ukraine aid in that short—term funding deal. 0ur kyiv correspondent james waterhouse has more on today's events and the absences of the three foreign ministers. the european union and ukraine, this was an attempt to show a united front, where you have what was hoped to have 27 foreign ministers from foreign states. three were missing.

from poland and hungary which created difficulty around continuous support for ukraine. nevertheless, it is a meeting not to be dismissed. the european union has provided tens of billions of euros of military and humanitarian aid to this point. they have emerged from this meeting and ours continued training for tens of thousands of ukrainian fighters, they say, and fighter jet training, so we're seeing that continued long—term support being pledged but if you scratch behind the surface a bit, certainly with biden administration officials, in a link to on the politico website, suggest that they are concerned about high—level corruption which continues in ukraine. i should say kyiv has embarked on a sizeable anticorruption campaign. president zelensky has really not let up in trying to claim about corruption, is a key condition of receiving all of this aid to date but it shows a

gross scepticism in the us which at the white house is struggling to contain, not least with some pockets of the republican party, as well as some cracks we are seeing on the european continent with a pro moscow party winning an election in slovakia as well. military progress has been relied on to ease fears or satisfy more sceptical allies in the west. at the moment the counteroffensive is going more slowly than kyiv and the westward like so president zelensky is relying on his diplomatic skills more than ever since the invasion last year. the former chief executive of global fashion brand abercrombie & fitch and his british partner are facing allegations of exploitation from men recruited for sex events they hosted around the world. a bbc investigation found a highly organised operation running the events, with a middleman finding young adult men for mikejeffries and his partner matthew smith. eight men told the bbc they attended these events, some of whom alleged they were exploited or abused.

mrjeffries and mr smith did not respond to requests for comment. rianna croxford has the story. in the early 20005, abercrombie and fitch became one of the hottest labels in the us and around the world. sexualised imagery and provocative billboards turned the teenery tailor which also owns hollister brand into a multibillion dollar sensation. the man behind the vision was then ceo mikejeffries. mike was tireless. he was very energetic and boisterous. he was an incredibly big personality. he would explode into a room. bbc panorama has uncovered a highly organised international operation recruiting young adult men for sex with mikejeffries over several years when he was ceo of the brand. the experience i think broke me

and it mentally messed me up. two men agreed to tell me their accounts on camera. they attended separate events hosted by mikejeffries in 2010 and 2011. both men say they were recruited and auditioned by a middleman. james jacobson, known to the man asjim. david says mrjacobson led him to believe he was pursuing a modelling opportunity. i was made to believe this is where everybody gets their start, this is where you want to get your start. it was like he was selling fame. and the price was compliance. david says compliance meant engaging in a sexual act with mrjacobson. seven more men i have spoken to say they also met with jim. the men say mrjacobson was part of a well—oiled machine which included recruiters, drivers and other staff.

mrjacobson told the bbc any encounters were fully consensual, not coercive. he said he had no recollection of making promises of modelling opportunities and that everyone who came into contact with who attended these events went in with their eyes wide open. this is the route the man would have taken on their way to the hamptons when they were going to go meet with mike jeffries. 0nce through the audition, the men would go to an event hosted by mrjeffries and his british partner matthew smith. some were held at their home here in the exclusive new york coastal community the hamptons. barrett said he was introduced to mrjacobson by an older model who he felt indebted to. and knew there would be some kind of sexual activity. david said he was not extending sex to take place at the hamptons. i was taken, chaperoned

over to the main house, to the doors that entered into the bedroom where everything was happening. and then told to disrobe. barrett says he engaged in an intimate act with another man. david says mrjeffries had sex with him. i did not feel safe to say no or that i don't feel comfortable with this, i don't really know what would've happened. i didn't feel like i had any choice. both men say they felt leaving did not seem to be an option because mrjeffries' private staff were supervising the event. including in the bedroom. they also say there asked to sign nondisclosure agreements and not given any copies to take away. felt like they were trying to scare us, that is what it felt like. it felt like intimidation. both men were paid around $2500 after the events they attended. still hoping it may lead to modelling work, david went to further events with mrjeffries and mr smith, both in the us and around the world. two us lawyers who reviewed evidence uncovered by the bbc

said prosecutors should investigate whether allegations could amount to sex trafficking. the bbc has made repeated attempts to contact mrjeffries and mrsmith. they have not responded. abercrombie & fitch told us: its new executive leadership team has transformed the company's brand and culture, adding the company has zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination ofany kind. rianna croxford, bbc news. and before we go, we have two health—related stories for you. the world health organization says a new malaria vaccine was found to be 75% effective in phase three trials. the trials took place in four african countries, involving nearly 5000 children. it is the most effective jab developed against the disease so far. and that is a hopeful sign to who's african region, where 95% of all malaria cases are found.

and the nobel prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to two scientists who developed the technology that led to the mrna covid vaccines. professors katalin kariko and drew weissman will share the prize. the technology was experimental before the pandemic, but has now been given to millions of people around the world. the same technology is now being researched for other diseases. that's all for now. i'm sumi somaskanda, and i'll be back in 30 minutes with more. stay with bbc news. hello. it's been a warm first few days of october, following on from the record breaking september. well, joint record, as you can see, for maximum temperatures that was tied with the record set in 1895. now, all that heat and humidity has triggered some thunderstorms during the latter part of monday.

they have continued through the night. lots of excess rain, standing water, slow to clear away. as well as that, this weather front here as well, just lingering in southeastern parts first thing. so a bit misty and a bit grey, showers following towards the north. this is the weather system i talked about, the rain starting to ease but leaving lots of damp, misty, murky weather and then potentially some thunderstorms following in the wake of that weather front. certainly a fresh night and a cool night to end in the north but it will still be quite muggy in the south with that lingering misty, low cloud. and damp weather, perhaps a few thundery showers across southern areas first thing. in terms of dry weather improving, bright, more blue sky around but scattered showers most frequent in the north and the west for the day. and a brisk wind whisking the showers through. 14—19 our highs. it will be notably cooler feeling or fresher feeling across england and wales because of the breeze and also we've lost the humidity.

now, by wednesday we have high—pressure starting to build towards the south. further weather fronts invading northern parts, particularly scotland and then northern ireland and then that weather front might well become slow—moving across parts of southern scotland, northern england. so there are warnings out appropriately for the end of the week. to the south, mainly dry and fine but quite a bit of cloud around, showers follow to the north. look at those temperatures. still around about 14—19, just a little bit still above average actually for the time of year. we keep our weather front with us through wednesday night into thursday, probably pushing northwards once again, another pulse of rain on that weather system. there are warnings out for the rainfall in northern and western part of the uk for the latter part of the week. but for many parts further south, it is dry, it is fine and it will get warmer. in fact, we are hinting, the computer models are hinting at temperatures getting into the low to mid 20s across many parts as we go into the weekend. the warnings are on the website.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.

so, this is what 1,000 cannabis plants look like. these batches here are grown for the clinics in the uk. this is a film about a very controversial plant. so, i give alfie his cannabis oil four times a day. he would have these big seizures. so, eyes going back in your head, you stop breathing. without the cannabis, we'd be in hospital in a few days. cannabis has been legal in the uk as a medicine for five years. i would like to make a statement on the medical use of cannabis. it's legalised, but it's not freely available for me to prescribe. so, i think it's outrageous. i think it's actually a scandal that so little has happened i in the nhs. we've been up and down the uk, meeting those who rely on it... 0h, mercy. once i vape, it's like 30 seconds, i'm like, "0hh!"

the pain just leaves. ..and find out why being prescribed medicinal cannabis is still a problem. these products are not available within our much—loved nhs, free at the point of need. it's expensive and it's something i can't... i ..i can't live without. morning. are you looking forward to school? are you going to put your order in for breakfast? where's table seven, is it down here? oh, you're cute. alfie's my first—born. he's coming up to 12 years old. he has severe epilepsy. he's also diagnosed with autism. and he's a very special little boy, as far as i'm concerned. this will be familiar to many. a busy family morning routine.

who do you want to ask to do your meds?