wildfires doubles to ten. a fire official says there's currently no evidence the fires were started deliberately. up to 10,000 buildings have been destroyed, with 180,000 people ordered to leave their homes. the national guard's been deployed amid reports of looting. we hearfrom residents returning to their burnt—out houses to pick through the ashes. i just wanted to see if anything is left. we had everything, like, the sentimental things, like my mom passed away, we only had a few things of hers left. we will bring you reaction and analysis of the fires. also coming up... a warning of further travel disruption as snow and ice continue to affect many parts of the uk. tiktok will make tiktok will make a final plea at the us a final plea at the us supreme court today, supreme court today, to block a new law which could to block a new law which could shut it down in america. shut it down in america.

hello, i'm martine croxall. we begin with the developing story of those devastating wildfires in los angeles. 10 people are now confirmed to have been killed — double the number reported earlier. these are live pictures from la where it has just gone 2am. the biggest fires are burning for a third night. the los angeles county sheriff says it hasn't been safe to reach many hard—hit areas and the number people who have lost their lives is "absolutely going to change". weather forecasters are warning that more high winds may fan the flames further.

but a fire chief has now told the bbc that — although investigations are continuing — there is, as yet, no "conclusive evidence" that the wildfires have been deliberately set. officials say as many as 10,000 homes and other structures have been damaged or destroyed. accuweather estimates the damage is expected to be at least $135 billion — and up to 150 billion. five fires continue to burn across los angeles. the national guard has been deployed amid reports of looting. officials have had to correct an evacuation alert that was sent to every cell phone in los angeles. people were asked to disregard it as it was only intended for the kenneth fire. the devastation has been illustrated by one resident who sent this photo of his home before the wildfires, and this is what is left of it now after

the eaton fire which burnt almost 111,000 acres in los angeles. as well as losing his home, he also lost his pet cat. we'll have the latest from our correspondent in la shortly. but our first report this hour is from helena humphrey. i watched this house burn down live on the news. yeah, this was a beautiful home. had a lot of good times here. it's hard to put into words the level of devastation here, but the la county sheriff put it bluntly. in some areas, he said, it looks like a bomb had been dropped. so far, land more than twice the size of manhattan lies in ruins. and, still, these fires rage out of control. there is a new fire, unfortunately, in west hills pushing into ventura county. and we are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds. this is a reminder that this is a very dynamic situation that can change quickly.

on thursday, a brief lull in those fierce santa ana winds allowed aircraft to streak across the skies, dropping water and fire retardant onto the flames. but there's no guarantee that that calm will last, with forecasters warning more winds could fan these infernos even further. the wind definitely played the biggest part, especially with the flying embers. i mean, i rememberseeing embersjust shooting over my head, like, oh, my gosh, that's somebody�*s house. that's someone�*s property. just balls of fire. some residents have ventured back, bracing themselves for what they'd find, only to discover their homes reduced to little more than ash. many told us they're simply too devastated to speak on camera. these fires don't discriminate — tearing through every kind of neighbourhood, from lavish mansions to humble bungalows, all of them once a place of safety for someone.

this looks like the apocalypse. it just doesn't feel like the normal, er, things that happen in your life. this is something very unusual. and for others, the scope of this catastrophe confirms their growing fears about the changing climate. this is obvious that stuff like this is happening because of global warming, and people just want to deny it, just don't know science and don't know how to research those things. so i think that humans are funny because they think anywhere they move in this world, they'll be safe. but the entire world has global warming. i guess, pick your disaster and live there. what disaster makes you feel most comfortable? because that's the world we're living in at this point. here in altadena, fire crews are out battling these hot spots. you can see that many homes, like this one, are still smouldering. and you can see here that this entire neighbourhood, this entire community, has essentially been wiped out. we've been speaking to families here who have lived in these homes for generations and, in just a matter of hours,

they've lost everything. and in some of the hardest—hit areas, a night—time curfew is in place as some try to profit from the chaos. looting has already led to multiple arrests. meanwhile, president biden has pledged his support for all those affected. to the families who have been impacted by this disaster, you're living through a nightmare — i know. i promise you, we're going to help you get through this and, eventually, recover and rebuild. but rebuilding is hard to imagine right now, when all these residents can do is wait, hoping and praying that the next gust of wind won't stoke the embers back into an inferno. helena humphrey, bbc news, los angeles. there have been some incredible stories of rescues and bravery as people fled their homes. and many neighbourhoods now look like this — completely deserted for block after block. many people who escaped have talked of the speed

with which the fire spread, including aaron sampson who helped his father—in—law get out — here is their story. we've just been evacuated. we've just been evacuated from this good samaritan�*s car. you got it, dad. we're having to walk. this is crazy. there's a fire right outside our car. we got it. no, not that way. dad! my father in law has parkinson's. he can barely move. this was a heroic effort on his part. very wobbly. here, let me try to get you some help. which way do i go? this way. to the sidewalk. i went outside, i saw smoke and fire near my father in law's house and realised we need to go. the problem is, we didn't have a car. by circumstance, we had no car in the house. iran up and down the street where he was, glen haven, finally found a neighbour who was willing to swing by and pick us up. most people had already gone at that point, and at that point, i grabbed his medicine. that's the only thing i could think to grab. turn around, dad, we got this.

and at that point, wejumped in his car. this guyjeff, a neighbour we'd never met before but, you know, salt of the earth saved our lives. as we're driving down, there's fires on both sides of the car. we're driving. we're suddenly seeing fires. you can feel the heat. and then the fires were getting closer and closer. and at that point, just being stuck there, surrounded by fire, these... the policemen started running up the street. "get out of the car, get out of the car," and started screaming. you don't really realise how serious it is. you don't think this is a life threatening situation. jason kirkpatrick, a climate expert and former vice—mayor of arcata in california, says these fires bring back memories of his time there. i know exactly what this feeling is like, it is terrifying. i've been stuck in these fires, my cousin lost her house in this area a few years ago when it burned down, and even as a youth in this area i remember nearby fires, i was on the roof of our wooden shingled home with a garden

hose, hosing down the roof so that flying embers with these big winds called santa ana winds would not catch my house, it was terrifying. when we see fires on this scale, the worst in los angeles history, and are told by climate change experts at the frequency is likely to increase, what needs to change, first of all, in terms of how emergency responses are organised, in your view? the short—term thing for emergency response, there are some small things, we are learning from these lessons we are hearing in the news. water planning needs to be done a bit better. they have really done well but this is the worst ever fire and now there will be lessons learnt, there will be more waterstorage, better collaboration with other agencies possibly outside of california so there can be rapid reaction from nearby states like arizona, nevada, 0regon.

another thing we can see dealing with evacuations, we know the firefighters are tired, they are exhausted, so having things like the national guard and reserve but maybe trained in advance to deal with mass evacuations, if they were able to be called in from early on to help firefighters and police, that would free up more time for the firefighters, that is something they could do. longer term, what do you believe needs to happen in terms of how we protect these houses, these buildings in parts of the country which are at risk? the argument is preventative measures are are immensely expensive. some things are low level and i will talk about short—term and long—term, when i was a young person fighting with my garden hose on my roof top with wooden shingles, those were going up in flames like crazy. since then there are more

fireproofing laws and this can be changed and improved, instead of wood shingles at all, even if i approve, they are not exactly fireproof, they're fire retardant or more fire retardan recharging that you can change rules so there is no word on the roof but stone shingles, things like this, we see this spanish—style roofing, that is something we can change. we can change the zoning laws so homes are not built as much in these areas. we need to be serious about the financial impact. this is costing hundreds of billions of dollars, of pounds, these extreme weather events. as you know, in britain, mostly with the floods, i would say the british equivalent of california fires is more flooding in terms of extreme weather impact caused by climate. we can save money, the financial costs that the insurance companies complain about should be taken into consideration. we have massive public costs for these extreme weather events and we should stop

subsidising fossil fuels. joseph kirkpatrick, climate change expert and former vice mayor arcata. we have a live page running with the very latest on the la fires from correspondence in the area, you will find that on the bbc news pipe and —— on the bbc news website and on our app. 2024 was the hottest year since records began, according to new figures from european climate scientists. climate monitoring body copernicus says temperatures were 1.6 degrees higher than the pre—industrial average. the agency said this showed that a warming threshold of 1.5 degrees agreed in paris in 2015 was in danger of being permanently breached. with the details here's our climate editor, justin rowlatt. remember the series of huge storms that battered the uk at the beginning of last year and left large areas flooded? scientists judge climate change has made rain and snow

on stormy days here in the uk 30% more intense. and we've had it relatively easy. remember those devastating floods in spain in october? or the historic drought in the amazon basin, which reduced river levels to a 120—year low. or how about the six typhoons that hit the philippines injust 30 days in november? these are just a few examples of the extreme weather, which affected the world last year, and which scientists say was linked to climate change. this map shows how the world has warmed since 1940. the blue shading is when temperatures are lower than average. red shows where it is getting hotter. as you can see, virtually the whole planet has got warmer over the last eight decades, with last year, 2024, the hottest ever recorded. today's figures show the last

decade has included all ten of the hottest years on record. "it represents a new climate era for our species," say experts. we're living in a climate that humanity hasn't experienced before. we can say with confidence when we look at ice core records, when we look at other data sets, that this is the warmest period for at least the last 100,000 years 01’ so. and when we look back at the ice core records, it's the highest concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere for the last 800,000 years or so. unless greenhouse gas emissions start to reduce, global temperatures will continue to rise, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather. "that presents a huge challenge for the uk," says the new head of the country's independent watchdog on climate. the climate change committee has been clear with government that we are in no way ready for the changing weather events, that this economy will face — increased flooding, increased drought, extreme

heat, orjust the kind of changing seasons and what that means for our existing infrastructure. she says 7% of the new housing planned for the uk will be built on flood plains, for example. the government told the bbc, strengthening the uk's resilience to a changing climate is one of its top priorities. it said it is investing billions in flood defences, and has launched a new climate service to help local authorities prepare for changing weather patterns. the fires in la are exactly the kind of event climate scientists have been warning about for years, and are yet more evidence of why we should all be worried about the way our climate is changing. justin rowlatt reporting.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

here in the uk, temperatures are to stay below freezing as the met office issues four fresh weather warnings across the uk. it is expected to stay cold for another couple of days, with yellow warnings of ice in place in scotland, north—east england and wales. there are also dozens of flood alerts due to heavy rain or melting snow. 0ur reporter thomas magill has more. high up in the yorkshire dales, 1800ft above sea level, and it's a race against time forfarmer frank carr as he digs out a sheep trapped in the snowdrift. good thing about horn sheep is they've got good handles. he has more than 1300 animals spread across 2,000 acres — many now completely cut off, such is the harsh conditions. we were predicted 40cm,

and i think we definitely got that, as well, with the winds — it's the wind that makes the drifts as bad as they are. in leeds city centre, there was less snow, but icy conditions left it like a ghost town as people heeded advice and stayed away. many roads across the uk were blocked, with drivers facing some challenging conditions, and there was disruption to flights and some rail services. and in the south—west, many schools and colleges remained closed, with many taking a chance for a bit of winter fun on dartmoor. just thought we'd try to have a bit of family time, really, and enjoy the snow. we did think about the road conditions. didn't feel it was too bad, so we've come up. the met office has issued two new weather warnings for ice and snow covering parts of northern ireland and wales, as this cold snap is expected to stick around a bit longer. 0ther yellow warnings covering most of england and parts of scotland also remain in place until later this

morning, as snow continues to freeze and icy conditions persist. thomas magill, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our reporter, nickjohnson. he's in harrogate, north yorkshire, where conditions have remained icy since sunday it is chilly here, it was about —4, —2 degrees, we think, overnight, probably around —2 and we think it will get to around plus two at around midday. this scene, it really is lovely, it feels like a winter wonderland and we are seeing many people enjoying it this morning but there has not been a fresh flake of snow here since sunday. but because the temperatures have been so bitter, everything has frozen over. one of these pavements here right in the middle of town, more like a skaterink, we have seen people really struggling to negotiate that this morning. this is in the middle of town next to the shops, we have heard the snow and ice has had a real impact on businesses.

we heard from somebody who speaks on behalf of local business who said that in the past week or so they have had a 75% reduction in footfall because people have not been able to get into town, schools have been closed, some children have not been to school since before the christmas break meaning parents have had to stay home and there have not been enough staff to work in businesses. so a real knock—on effect in harrogate. we have had some businesses say not enough has been done to treat these pavements, these walkways, to grit them to ensure they are safe. north yorkshire council, the local authority, says it has been working around the clock to ensure it is doing the best it can, we have seen gritting lorries go by. but that record overnight temperature, it was —13 degrees altnaharra in northern scotland but we have some way to go to reach that in northern england at the moment. nickjohnson in harrogate.

officials in the home office are monitoring elon musk�*s social media posts, as well as posts from other accounts which have large numbers of followers. 0ur political correspondent helen catt is in westminster. who is doing the monitoring and why? who is doing the monitoring and wh ? , , ., , who is doing the monitoring and wh? _ why? this story was broken by the mirror— why? this story was broken by the mirror newspaper - why? this story was broken by the mirror newspaper this - the mirror newspaper this morning, it is understood there are officials within a team inside the home office known as the homeland security group looking at elon musk�*s tweets and those of other accounts with large numbers of followers, as you said. this team is responsible for reducing national security risks and according to its website focuses on the highest harm risks to the homeland. they are looking notjust up the tweets themselves but the reach, how far they are going, who is seeing them and who is engaging with them. the home office is not commenting on this but a source said it was being done to make sure they were on top of whatever challenges were being posed by

non—state actors. as to when they started, it is understood they started, it is understood the monitoring of elon musk�*s tweets began after he made comments about safeguarding minister jess comments about safeguarding ministerjess phillips.- ministerjess phillips. helen catt in westminster, - ministerjess phillips. helen catt in westminster, thankl ministerjess phillips. helen i catt in westminster, thank you for the moment. the british government has been defending its handling of the economy after a turbulent day on the markets on thursday saw the pound drop to its lowest level in more than a year and government borrowing cost surge to a 16 year high. the chancellor rachel reeves is on her way to china with a delegation of city executives, as labour seeks closer economic links with beijing as part of its quest for growth. 0ur asia business reporter sura njana tewari has more. rachel reeves under quite a bit of pressure over this trip to china given what is going on in the uk markets, but the goal could ultimately benefit the uk economy, with her defenders saying the trip is important

for uk trade & investment. china is a uk's fifth largest trading partner with $68 billion worth of trade going from china to the uk last year. miss reeves will be the most senior british official to visit beijing in seven years and as you mentioned there is a concerted effort by labour to build bridges with china. ties have been strained in recent years with allegations of chinese hacking and spying and its jailing of pro—democracy figures in hong kong. ms reid says travelling to china with senior financial figures including the governor of seniorfinancialfigures including the governor of the bank of england and the chair of hsbc -- bank of england and the chair of hsbc —— miss reeves. as for what is in it for china, one of the main goals is more cooperation in financial services. china is moving up the value chain. the uk could help, given its expertise in services and financial services. china is expected to be at the sharp end of donald

trump's aggressive trade policy which could result in tariffs of up to 60% on all chinese goods. chinese officials are already contending with a rapidly declining currency and trade stock market sell—off and a protracted property crisis. the uk is unlikely to be able to resist taking sides but rachel reeves and her delegation might be hoping for something of an opportunity and amidst those tensions. london's national gallery will stay open all night next friday to give art lovers a final chance to see its vincent van gogh exhibition. more than 280,000 people have visited "van gogh: poets and lovers" so far. more than 60 works are on display, including "sunflowers","starry night over the rhone", and "van gogh�*s chair". it's only the second time ever the museum has stayed open overnight in its 200 year history. the experiment was first attempted for a leonardo da vinci exhibition in 2012.

in fact, they have never been put together before, the opportunity has never arisen exceptin opportunity has never arisen except in his studio, one presumes. it is a wonderful moment to begin to realise what vincent was telling us about bringing his works together in decorative sequences. perfect if ou decorative sequences. perfect if you are _ decorative sequences. perfect if you are a — decorative sequences. perfect if you are a night _ decorative sequences. perfect if you are a night owl. - decorative sequences. perfect if you are a night owl. let's i if you are a night owl. let's take you to our live page and remind you that it minute by minute updates are being added to the live page about the fires in los angeles. you can see all sorts of pictures about the before and after images showing the sheer scale of devastation and also an explanation of the different kinds of warnings in place to alert people to the risks they are facing across this part of california. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello, there. coldest morning of the winter so far this morning. temperatures down to —14.4 celsius in altnaharra. if it's all getting too cold for you, there are changes on the way. it's going to be a slow change, though. gradual thaw into the weekend after a frosty start and the risk of some freezing fog. just how cold it's been compared to normal, you can see by the blue colours here on the chart with the coldest is relative to normal across europe. 0ur anomaly chart though shows we switch them for reds, especially across scotland and ireland and some in northern scotland. you might be around 25 degrees warmerfor the start of the mornings next week, compared with what we've seen today. —14, as i said in altnaharra, but widely a very, very cold start to the day and some struggling to lift above freezing even this afternoon. we have more cloud though, towards the south west, south wales as well. that's producing some outbreaks of light rain or drizzle. some snow over the moors, a few rain, sleet and snow showers close to eastern coast of scotland and england. most, though, staying sunny through the afternoon. and, as i said, temperatures struggling to get above freezing for some of you. and they will drop straightaway as we go into tonight.

lighter winds tonight. that means fog could become a bigger issue across wales, central and southern england. cloud, outbreaks of rain and sleet into northern ireland, but with the winds lighter across scotland a bit further east, it's the grampians where we could see some of the lowest temperatures, maybe down to a —15 or —16. so, this is the chart for saturday. high pressure, not much wind around, not many isobars. but this weather front out towards ireland is going to produce cloud, outbreaks of rain in the morning. it will slide into southwest scotland. increased cloud across many western areas. but notice here, across parts of southern england, east wales and the midlands, some could sit in fog all day long. away from the fog, lots of sunshine around but still temperatures struggling for most. but notice changes. belfast seven, plymouth eight degrees. milder air is trying to push its way in. it's going to be a slow process. it's going to come around this area of high pressure that's with us into the start of the weekend and through much of the weekend. but eventually the mild air will topple down. notice it arrives in the south and east last of all, through monday and tuesday next week. so, a quick look at sunday for you.

lingering fog patches potentially again across some parts of england and wales. more cloud through scotland, northern ireland and parts of western england and wales. temperatures well above freezing by this stage, but still a chilly one towards the south and the east. but even here, temperatures will rise as we go through much of next week. that's how it's looking. see you soon.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the number of people killed in los angeles' worst wildfires doubles to ten. a fire official says there's currently �*no evidence' the fires were started deliberately. up to 10,000 buildings have been destroyed, with 180,000 people ordered to leave their homes. the national guard's been deployed amid reports of looting. donald trump says he's arranging a meeting with vladimir putin. earlier he reiterated his willingness to negotiate an end to the war in ukraine. the american singer chappell roan has been named bbc�*s sound of 2025. the first event to mark bradford's status as the uk's city of culture 2025 begins tonight, despite the icy temperatures. let's return to our top story this morning, and those fires in the los angeles area. president biden has described the la fires as the most devastating in california's history. have a look at these before and after images

of the devastation the flames have left behind.