light, it's going to be a cold one. a widespread, sharp frost. temperatures are likely to be lower than they were last night in many places. heading into tomorrow, there could be some early mist and fog patches across northern ireland, parts of north—west england and the north—west midlands. otherwise, for many northern parts of the uk it will be sunny. one or two wintry showers for northern ireland. further snow showers across northernmost parts of scotland. temperatures will struggle after that colder night, typically 2 or 3 degrees. for much of wales, the midlands and southern england, it's going to be clouding over. we've got the chance of some rain, even a bit of sleet and snow, coming into the far south of england for a while. then we're going to find an area of low pressure, and that weather front bringing that wetter weather through the channel moving away, and then we're going to be left still with the winds coming in from the north, keeping us in this cold air. so, another widespread quite severe frost overnight into thursday. a few more snow showers across northern, perhaps eastern scotland.

one or two wintry showers around some irish sea coasts. many places, though, will be dry and sunny. a sunnier day for southern parts of england and wales on thursday, but another cold one. and with no wind and clear skies overnight, thursday night could get very cold, perhaps as low as —15 to —20 in the far north of england and inland parts of scotland. so, the rest of the week is staying cold, particularly cold at night. we've got the risk of some further snow and ice. but over the weekend it becomes less cold but with more cloud.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the coffin bearing the former us presidentjimmy carter will arrive in washington dc in the coming hours ahead of his funeral on thursday. this is the scene — outside the carter centre in georgia — where ceremonial troops will be arriving shortly. meta — the owner of facebook and instagram — announces an end to fact—checking on its platforms, saying it wants to prioritise free speech over censorship. flood warnings are in force in more than a hundred parts of the uk — with a danger to life warning near one river in leicestershire. mcdonald's staff say they're still facing sexual abuse and harrassment — despite the company promising to clean up behaviour

at its uk operations. hello from the bbc sport centre. the carabao cup semi—finals get under way later. the ties are two legs, each a month apart. all of the last four are premier league teams which allows an experiment with var, as referees will make in—stadium announcements. first up tonight arsenal host an in—form newcastle, who have won six in a row in all competitions. i am very excited to play the game in front of our crowd, a semi final opportunity to earn the right to be in the final, with two legs. obviously it will be two long games against a very competitive team, we know that. but very excited and we need a big atmosphere in our stadium. it isa it is a tough opponent for

everybody. they are a really good side, they have really good individual players. this is an important game for us, this sets up what is going to happen afterwards. we need to be at our absolute best. this is a high—level game, a lot at stake for both teams. we have to pick the best players physically for the game, it is a massive game for us. we are under no illusions how big this game for us this season. arne slot has played down suggestions that trent alexander—arnold's contract situation was behind his poor performance in the two all draw with manchester united at the weekend. real madrid made an approach for him last week which was rebuffed, but slot says that wasn't a distraction. it was not only trent, there were more things in the game that we could have done better. trent didn't play his best game, but that is not for the first time in his life he didn't play the best game of his career. he has played so many games well for this club. now it wasn't his best.

like for some others, it wasn't the best for some others as well. there are things i had to show him which he has to improve. ahead of the first leg of their league cup semi—final against liverpool on wednesday, the tottenham manager, ange postecoglu, has welcomed the news that heung—min son has extended his stay at the club. the 32—year—old joined spurs from bayer leverkusen nearly ten years ago and they've triggered a one year extension he has already had an outstanding career at this football club. he has played a big role in the last ten years and made an impact at the club, and made an impact at the club, and an impact in the premier league. great to extend his stay, and the ambition is to make sure he finishes his tournament career with some silverware. northern ireland golfer, tom mckibbin is set for a shock switch tojoinjon rahm's liv golf team in a lucrative

multi—year deal. the 22—year—old claimed a pga tour card in november but will forgo a debut season with them to take the final spot in rahm's legion 13 team. with them to take the final mckibbin turned professional in 2021 and won his first dp world tour event injune 2023 at the porsche european world tour event injune 2023 at the porsche european open in germany. to tennis and ons jabeur continued her return from injury problems by beating fourth seed danielle collins at the adelaide international. the tunisian was a wildcard for this event ahead of the first grand slam of the year — the australian open which begins on sunday. she had a shoulder injury at the end of last year, but looked in good form as she got past collins 7—6, 6—2 to move into the last 16. novak djokovic and his new coach andy murray have practised in melbourne for the first time. djokovic is hoping murray can help win a record—extending iith australian open title this month at the age of 37. the serbian took the tennis world by surprise when he announced murray was to join his team. britain's three—time

grand slam winner retired in august and this is his first coaching role. things you never thought you would see. and that's all the sport for now. mcdonald's staff have told the bbc they still face sexual abuse and harassment — a year after its boss told mps safeguarding had been strengthened. the uk's equality watchdog says it has intervened again, after fresh complaints from employees, and has asked mcdonald's to improve its hr practices. the firm said it has a " relentless focus on eliminating all forms of harassment" and had rolled out company—wide programmes to improve safeguarding, awareness and training. zoe conway reports. mcdonald's does 100% have a problem with sexual harassment. teenagers speaking out about working at mcdonald's. he started saying the n—word to two boys in the kitchen

and then started referring to me as a monkey n—word. hundreds of mcdonald's workers spoke to the bbc in 2023 during our investigation into a culture of harassment, bullying, abuse. there are testimonies led to the company's ceo being summoned to parliament. i am absolutely determined to root out any of these behaviours. but how much has the company changed? there are things that have been happening within mcdonald's i which shouldn't evenj have ever happened. it was horrible. matt left mcdonald's seven months ago after two years of working there. i don't think they care at all. he says it was a toxic place to work. for myself, it was being bullied for having a learning disability, having some astigmatism with my eye. and then it was stuff you noticed, managers and staff being racist to other staff, managers trying to touch other staff up.

it was emotionally draining. mcdonald's said it has created a head of safeguard, established five ways for employees to speak up confidentially, including a new digital channel allowing instant and confidential reporting of issues; created an investigation's handling unit, drawing on independent legal expertise. in 2023 mcdonald's signed a legally binding agreement with the equality watchdog ehrc pledging to protect its staff from sexual harrassment, since then there have been 300 reports of harassment made and so it has been forced to take stronger action against the company in the light of the serious allegations that it has heard. alan, not his real name, a teenage crew member in south—west scotland says he and his colleagues are routinely

subjected to verbal abuse, his words are spoken by a producer. very degrading, humiliating, it is homophobic slurs, sometimes to my face, sometimes behind my back. he says he complained to a senior manager, but nothing was done. do you think there is a speak up culture? that is not happening, i have heard people who have faced bullying who are scared to talk up just because they feel as if they are not going to get the help they need. mcdonald's told the bbc that keeping its workers safe was their most important responsibility. and it says it has undertaken extensive work over the last year to ensure we have industry leading practises in place, to support this priority. any incident of misconduct and harassment is subject to rapid thorough investigation and action. what is happening shouldn't be happening and people need to know about it. byjoining hundreds of mcdonald's workers in a legal action

against the company, matt hopes to improve the lives of the teenagers still working there. the boss of mcdonald's uk and ireland says these allegations don't reflect the culture of the company today. he told mps on the business and trade committee, he cannot guarantee a time when there will be no harassment claims at the firm. iii will be no harassment claims at the firm. ., , .,, the firm. if nobody was speaking _ the firm. if nobody was speaking up. _ the firm. if nobody was speaking up, i - the firm. if nobody was speaking up, i would i the firm. if nobody was | speaking up, i would be concerned something is stopping people from speaking up. my aim is there is nobody that has any doubt at all that mcdonald's is a business that will not tolerate harassment of any kind. i am a leader who believes every person should come into work safe and be respected, and everybody should be included, no matter where they are from, what their background is or what they believe in. that is what i stand for and what my business

stands for. we will drive to do that. at the heart of it, is having the best to speak up process. because a business in which stickup is healthy and people believe and trust in it, is a business in which there is no hiding place for bad actors. that is what i am searching to do. the time has passed for another investigation into grooming gangs, according to the head of a committee that it is a child sexual abuse in the uk. because of discover a new national inquiry saying there may be up to 50 places were grooming gangs are operating. yesterday the prime minister defended his record on dealing with child sexual exploitation. here is our political correspondent.

rotherham — one of many towns where hundreds of girls were raped and abused by gangs, mostly men of south asian heritage. a decade ago, a report detailed failings by the police and child protection agencies there. its author says politicians now seizing on the issue are ignoring the victims. certainly we've been very unhappy about the politicisation of child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse, and the way that many people, sometimes in a very uninformed way, have waded into the argument. professorjay went on to chair a seven—year inquiry which delivered its findings two years ago. she said another national inquiry would be another delay. i think the time has passed for more inquiries. we have had enough inquiries, consultations and discussions, especially for those victims and survivors who have had the courage to come forward, and there are many of them, not simply in child sexual exploitation, and they clearly want action. and we have set out what action is required, and people should just get on with it, locally and nationally.

her independent inquiry into abuse recommended, in 2022, it be mandatory for child abuse to be reported to authorities, and it be a criminal offence if those in a position of trust didn't report abuse. there were more points, too, including the need for more data. yesterday the government promised it would criminalise failing to report abuse this year — something the conservatives did not commit to in office. this inquiry took seven years, it cost £100 million, over 7000 victims and survivors gave their brave testament to that inquiry, and it is on the government now to listen to them and work at pace to look through these recommendations and deliver them. thousands of girls suffered abuse in towns across the country over many years. the opposition parties say the scale of it is why a new national inquiry is needed. shadowjustice secretary robert jenrick was asked why he is urging for action now, when he didn't do so in office.

when you put in the name robert jenrick, grooming, no mention. i wrote about this last year... no mention. rochdale, no mention. there is no mention, mrjenrick. child rape, no mention. you have not raised, and please correct me if my search is wrong, the issues that you are so energised about. you have no evidence you raised it as a ministerand no evidence you raised it in the house of commons. i wrote about this last year, and was criticised by the media for doing so. sir keir starmer too has said a new inquiry is not needed, but the question is whether the controversy being stirred by opposition parties and online might force him to concede. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. let me take you back to georgia and show you the pictures. i said around now we will begin

to see the ceremonial speaking and that is what is happening at the carter centre. ecb bands and the crowds, all of this as and the crowds, all of this as a prelude to the moving of former presidentjimmy carter's body from the carter centre in georgia to washington, dc, and the beginnings of thatjourney start in about 15 minutes. you can see some of the bands in place, the family there. we will continue to keep an eye and return to this in the coming minutes, those are the life pictures coming in to us from atlanta. another thing we are keeping an eye on is we are expecting a news conference from donald trump. and today the us president—elect has asked a new court to throughout his convictions on criminal charges stemming from that hush money payment to a pawn star

and to dismiss the case before his scheduled sentencing on friday. we will keep an eye on what he says the next little while.

you are watching bbc news. let's return to georgia because the state funeral of the former us presidentjimmy carter continues today as the coffin bearing the late president travels to washington, dc to lie in state at the capital rotunda. since sunday president carter has been lying in repose at the carter centre in atlanta for the public to pay their respects. these are the life pictures coming in. it is a must have passed to there, and for nearly six days public ceremonies and people who have been arriving there, it all concludes with that state funeral service at the

washington national cathedral on thursday. let's speak to arthur milnes. he was a friend of president carter's and an author of 98 reasons to thankjimmy carter. welcome back to the programme. welcome back to the programme. we were talking only 45 minutes orso we were talking only 45 minutes or so ago. we are seeing the beginnings of the ceremonials at the carter centre. on thursday for the state funeral, the great and the good will be assembled. the carter family have invited you to that funeral, how much of an honour and privilege does that feel? i never expected that. never at all. my wife and i are still in shock, so we leave for washington tomorrow night. it is one of the greatest honours that we have ever received outside of family. i still

can't believe that the president put us on his invitation list, very moving for us. ~ . ~ ., for us. we were talking about his legacy _ for us. we were talking about his legacy as _ for us. we were talking about his legacy as a _ for us. we were talking about his legacy as a president, - for us. we were talking about his legacy as a president, butj his legacy as a president, but probably unlikejust his legacy as a president, but probably unlike just about every american president, he did so much of his work post presidency. how much of that did you see at close quarters? i will answer that by sharing a story that you will enjoy from when he was at my house, because like him, former us president herbert hoover only served one term and then he lived on and on and did good work for the rest of his life, so i told president carter, i said you remind me of herbert hoover, and president carter laughed and said i have been called many things but never that. how are we the same? i said well, not long before hoover died, a reporter asked, he said what is it like now to

see all these groups that used to oppose you, now they are giving you awards and praising you, wherever they can what is your secret? you, wherever they can what is yoursecret? how you, wherever they can what is your secret? how did you do it? and hoover looked at the young reporter and said, the secret, i outlived them. president carter has been outliving a lot of them, so it has been wonderful to see that. i stress the success of his presidency in so many ways. in what has been wonderful, because he lived so long, he has been able to see historians now and those archives at the carter centre, thatis archives at the carter centre, that is an active archive with all the papers and files of the carter administration. and so many of them are now open. so researchers are getting in there, historians and journalists, and starting to

see how this idea that carter's was a failed presidency doesn't add up to the facts. i mentioned camp david earlier and panama canaland mentioned camp david earlier and panama canal and the nuclear arms reduction agreement, domestically in the united states of america, places and people receiving orders through the mail and places like amazon, they should be pausing to think. jimmy carter deregulated the trucking industry and things like that. —— they should be pausing to thankjimmy carter. we -- they should be pausing to thankjimmy carter.- thankjimmy carter. we are -la in: thankjimmy carter. we are playing pictures _ thankjimmy carter. we are playing pictures of - thankjimmy carter. we are playing pictures of that - playing pictures of that historic agreement between israel and egypt, all of this big ticket things that people obviously remember. they also remembered the humiliation over the iran hostages, but the ordinary things he did perhaps go under the radar, so things

like seat belts and airbags coming in. that came with his presidency, the devaluation of the alcohol industry, the airlines industry that has impacted millions of peoples lives. ., ., , ., lives. the other thing, and you are hitting _ lives. the other thing, and you are hitting right— lives. the other thing, and you are hitting right on _ lives. the other thing, and you are hitting right on it, - lives. the other thing, and you are hitting right on it, you - are hitting right on it, you are hitting right on it, you are bang on, is what attracts me tojimmy carteras me tojimmy carter as president, me tojimmy carteras president, when i study him, is in many ways he represents my own personal politics and the politics of i would argue most americans, and people want to sayjimmy carter is a left wing, was a left—wing president. well, he wasn't. he used to describe himself as a conservative progressive. and i think that very much fits. he was definitely accurate. he could be very economically conservative, but progressive on many social issues. it is

very difficult to putjimmy carter in a box. very difficult to put jimmy carter in a box.— carter in a box. you are absolutely _ carter in a box. you are absolutely right - carter in a box. you are| absolutely right because carter in a box. you are - absolutely right because he was much more complicated. there is a lot of rethinking. he was in effect a social liberal and a fiscal 70. we have only got a minute left, so briefly on this final part. overarching all of that was a lifetime of service. —— fiscal conservative. i that was a lifetime of service. -- fiscal conservative.- -- fiscal conservative. i am . lad -- fiscal conservative. i am glad we _ -- fiscal conservative. i am glad we are _ -- fiscal conservative. i am glad we are seeing - -- fiscal conservative. i am glad we are seeing here - -- fiscal conservative. i am glad we are seeing here in | glad we are seeing here in georgia because people forget he was a state senator, a skilled politician, to navigate those politics during the segregation era, and then to rise above it, both as governor and as president. his first words as governor of georgia was the time for racism is over. it shocked the segregationists when he said that, because they thought he was his father's son, and i am so glad we are seeing atlanta today. so glad we are seeing atlanta toda . ~ ., ., .,

so glad we are seeing atlanta toda .~ ., ., ., , ., today. we have got to pause for a little while, _ today. we have got to pause for a little while, we _ today. we have got to pause for a little while, we will _ today. we have got to pause for a little while, we will talk - today. we have got to pause for a little while, we will talk in - a little while, we will talk in the next few minutes as we will continue to see the live pictures from atlanta. we will return to that seen in a moment or two. hello there. there are still lots of flood warnings in england, but the numbers are dropping, and that's because many places today are dry, with some sunshine as well, although it's still cold out there. typical temperatures this afternoon are 3—6, similar to what we had yesterday. perhaps not quite as windy as yesterday, the strongest winds are in the north—east of scotland, but we've still got some blustery west to north—westerly winds near those showers, and those will continue to blow in more snow showers across this part of scotland and northern ireland through tonight and into tomorrow morning. a few centimetres widely, more than that over the hills in northern scotland. could be some further snow falling in the showers across north—west england, wales, the north—west midlands. those will die out, but some icy conditions are likely to be left behind.

otherwise, we're going to have some clear skies developing overnight, and with the winds falling light, it's going to be a cold one. a widespread, sharp frost. temperatures are likely to be lower than they were last night in many places. heading into tomorrow, there could be some early mist and fog patches across northern ireland, parts of north—west england and the north—west midlands. otherwise, for many northern parts of the uk it will be sunny. one or two wintry showers for northern ireland. further snow showers across northernmost parts of scotland. temperatures will struggle after that colder night, typically 2 or 3 degrees. for much of wales, the midlands and southern england, it's going to be clouding over. we've got the chance of some rain, even a bit of sleet and snow, coming into the far south of england for a while. then we're going to find an area of low pressure, and that weather front bringing that wetter weather through the channel moving away, and then we're going to be left still with the winds coming in from the north, keeping us in this cold air. so, another widespread quite severe frost overnight into thursday. a few more snow showers across northern, perhaps eastern scotland. one or two wintry showers

around some irish sea coasts. many places, though, will be dry and sunny. a sunnier day for southern parts of england and wales on thursday, but another cold one. and with no wind and clear skies overnight, thursday night could get very cold, perhaps as low as —15 to —20 in the far north of england and inland parts of scotland. so, the rest of the week is staying cold, particularly cold at night. we've got the risk of some further snow and ice. but over the weekend it becomes less cold but with more cloud.

live from london, this is bbc news... the coffin bearing the former us presidentjimmy carter will arrive in washington dc in the coming hours — ahead of his funeral on thursday. this is the scene outside the carter centre, in georgia, where ceremonial troops will be arriving shortly. iam gary i am gary o'donnell who, at the capitol, where the public will get their chance over the next two days to pay their respect to the 39th president of the united states. meta, the owner of facebook and instagram, announces an end to fact—checking on its platforms —

a powerful earthquake hits china's tibet region,