welcome to americast. americast. americast — from bbc news. marianna, aka miss information, in the worldwide headquarters of americast, in london. and sarah, here in our studio in washington, dc, in the united states of america, of course. now, here in the states, we are perilously close to this election. i mean, it is about eight weeks away, it's going to be an incredible stretch, and it feels like everything is kind of changing again, because we've just passed the bank holiday weekend they call labor day here in america, and that is always a signifier in an election year that it's now gearing up properly. there's a lot of people who, frankly, don't have the time or interest to pay any attention to politics over the summer holidays. but now that you know, there's an autumn chill in the air, that back—to—school feeling everywhere, this is typically when people start tuning in and paying some attention to politics. so it's almost as though the election actually starts this week, marianna, if you can believe it. it started months ago for us. but

welcome to americast. americast. americast — from bbc news.d it alongside a picture of her cuddling her gorgeous cat, benjamin button. and then she was onstage at the mtv awards as well this week, where she was encouraging people to vote. ..thank the fans, so thank you for what you've done. and the fact that this is a fan—voted award and you voted for this, i appreciate it so much. and if you are over 18, please register to vote for something else that's very important coming up — the 2024 presidential election. i love you all so, so much. thank you for this moment. cheers and applause taylor swift is big. you don't need us to tell you that. she's very, very, very big. she's got a very big tour which has already grossed over $1 billion. she's got almost 300 million followers on instagram. she is one of the most photographed, most celebrated people on the planet. does that mean, though, that her endorsement of a political candidate will make any difference at all with how people vote, or whether people are paying any attention to this election?

welcome to americast. americast. americast from bbc news.stin in the worldwide headquarters of americast in london, england. i thought we'd decided that wasn't funny any more. it's sarah here and i'm in springfield, ohio. and it's marianna, aka miss information. also in london, also in what we are still very boringly calling the worldwide headquarters of americast. ok, it's not funny, but we're doing it all the same, and there's quite a lot that falls into that category. anyway, sarah, you're in an interesting place. explain where you are and why. well, everyone will remember that springfield, ohio is where donald trump said that haitian migrants were taking people's pet cats and dogs and using them for food. completely untrue, totally baseless rumour of which there had been a little bit online, but that he used during the presidential debate to try and highlight immigration. and that then brings us to the presidential stuff. and of course, it has been one of the things the trump campaign have been saying is that the rhetoric about trump bei

welcome to americast. americast. americast — from bbc news., it'sjustin in the worldwide headquarters of americast in london, england. sarah here, back in the studio in washington, dc. and it's marianna, aka miss information, also in the worldwide headquarters. i don't know when we'll stop saying "the worldwide headquarters", but for now... maybe we've done it for the last time. anyway... marianna chuckles i was going to say, you can stop when it stops being funny, but that was maybe a wee while ago. laughing: that was a long time ago. - that was a long time ago. i'm going to carry on anyway, because who cares? people expect it of me. and marianna, it was in the worldwide headquarters, wasn't it, that you found out the news that taylor swift had endorsed kamala harris. i was in the spin room in philadelphia, as all the presidential surrogates were trying to say, you know, how well their candidate had done in the debate. and then suddenly there was a sort of collective gasp, intake of breath, as everybody saw what had dropped on their instagram

welcome to americast. americast. americast — from bbc news.dio in washington dc, in the united states of america, of course. now, here in the states, we are perilously close to this election. i mean, it is about eight weeks away, it's going to be an incredible stretch, and it feels like everything

you can listen to more analysis on cats, social media and the debate on americast on bbc sounds.he live pictures from kyiv, we are waiting for that press conference with david lammy and antony blinken. we will go to that event as soon as it starts. figures published this morning show the uk economy failed to grow injuly. analysts had expected slight growth, but the office for national statistics said output in the production and construction sectors fell. the chancellor, rachel reeves, says she's "under no illusion" about the scale of the challenge the country is facing. earlier i spoke to our chief economics correspondent, dharshini david, about what these figures mean ahead of next month's budget. in pure numbers terms, july was a pretty easy one to look at and figure out because on the one hand we had the euros, we had wimbledon tennis. we had, of course, the start of the olympics. so that summer of sport boosted sales of food and drink and people going out enjoying leisure activities. on the other hand, however, it was a weak month for construction and manufacturing. the two

now on bbc news, americast.

you want to hear more analysis on the presidential debate, you can listen to a special episode of americast now. the us secretary of state antony blinken and the uk foreign secretary david lammy are in kyiv, on a joint visit. it is a show of support for the country, and the men will discuss ukraine's request to use long—range us and british missiles against russia. ukraine's president zelensky has repeatedly asked for permission to strike deep into russian territory, saying his forces were fighting with their arms tied. in recent days, ukraine has been stepping up its drone assault on russia, including the capital, moscow. but talk of more powerful weapons has sparked concern by russian leaders. state media reports deputy foreign minister sergei ryabkov as saying russia will destroy any new deliveries of long—range missiles to ukraine by the united states. he said any delivery would increase the "dangers and risks". and the kremlin has dismissed reports iran had shipped missiles to russia, saying claims about various arms transfers were baseless. antony blinken said on tuesday that russia h

you can hear plenty more on the debate on the latest americast podcast.bbc sounds. the uk economy failed to grow injuly — for the second month in a row according to officialfigures. manufacturing and construction declined while services — spurred on by a busy summer of sport were the only part of the economy to record some growth. the chancellor rachel reeves said next month's budget will involve difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare. here's our economics editor, faisal islam. the british economy was supposed to have been boosted by a consumer spending spree around summer's sporting success, such as at the euros football. today's figures, though, and the experience of players at this seven—a—side league in manchester, is that the recovery is pretty fragile. i wouldn't say the cost of living crisis is over. um, i guess we're in a period of change, though, with the government changing. food prices went up insanely during covid and they've never come back down again. and so we're still getting price gouged for, like, day—to—day groceries. and payi

now on bbc news — americast.la harris. highlights including accusations that immigrants are eating cats and dogs in ohio. that isn�*t true, by the way. and then a childless cat lady dropped a post on instagram just minutes after that debate finished. that�*s how taylor swift signed off her endorsement of kamala harris. she posted it alongside a picture of her cuddling her gorgeous cat, benjamin button. and then she was onstage at the mtv awards as well this week, where she was encouraging people to vote.

you can listen to more analysis on cats, social media and the debate on americast on bbc sounds.e highest number of child amputees in the world. between october and january, over a thousand children had one or both legs amputated — and those numbers have been rising daily, according to unicef. but with just 9 orthopaedic surgeons in the entire gaza strip, hospitals are overwhelmed. our reporter, ru abbass, examines the case of one patient and her doctor. a warning that this report contains distressing scenes from the start, and throughout. israel does not allow international journalists and gather. the bbc has been unable to independently verify this footage. with a building on the brink of collapse, every second counts in the front search for survivors. among them is a child named wafa. just minutes earlier, she was at home with her mother and sister, both died instantly in the bombing. just days from celebrating her seventh birthday. now, with each laboured breath, her fragile body struggles for survival, and aware that she will never walk again. according to unicef, gas is the

sarah smith, thanks for joining us- _ you can hear plenty more on the debate on the latest americastounds. the uk economy failed to grow injuly for the second month in a row according to officialfigures. manufacturing and construction declined, while services — spurred on by a busy summer of sport — were the only part of the economy to record some growth. the chancellor rachel reeves said next month's budget will involve difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare. here s our economics editor, faisal islam. the british economy was supposed to have been boosted by a consumer spending spree around summer's sporting success, such as at the euros football. today's figures, though, and the experience of players at this seven—a—side league in manchester, is that the recovery is pretty fragile. i wouldn't say the cost of living crisis is over. um, i guess we're in a period of change, though, with the government changing. food prices went up insanely during covid and they've never come back down again. and so we're still getting price gouged for, like, day—to—day groceries. and paying m

you want to hear more analysis on the presidential debate, you can listen to a special episode of americastn bbc sounds now. here, the chancellor of the exchequer has told the bbc that next month's budget will require difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare. rachel reeves was speaking as official gdp figures for july showed that the economy failed to grow for the second month in a row. we are confident that pensioner incomes will continue to increase, even after the changes that we've had to make. but when you face a situation where there's a £22 billion in—year gap in the public finances, you have to make decisions. taking no option... taking no steps is not an option in those circumstances. but more pain to come, more means testing perhaps of public services? i've been really clear that the budget on the 30th of october will require difficult decisions on tax, on spending, and on welfare. but the prize, if we can bring stability back to our economy, if we can bring investment back to britain, is economic growth, good jobs, paying decent wages in all parts of our country to realis

analysis on the presidential debate, you can listen to a special episode can listen to a special of americastow. the team have been working through the night to get that in addition to you. official figures just released for the uk economy show that it failed to grow for the second month in a row. the chancellor of the exchequer, rachel reeves, said the initital estimate of gdp forjuly from the office of national statistics reflected the state of the economy that her government had inherited from the conservatives. well, i am under no illusions about the scale that this new government faces in fixing the economy. after 14 years of economic stagnation, we are not going to be able to turn everything around in one month or indeed in one budget. but today, in welcoming the new investment from amazon web services in the uk, in data centres, in good jobs paying decent wages, and helping people train with those technical skills is about the price —— with those technical skills is about the prize that is on offer if we can bring stability back to the economy and work in partnership with business to r

you want to hear more analysis on the presidential debate, you can listen to a special episode of americastid i did listen to it this morning. it's very good, sol would point you in that direction. in that debate, donald trump refused to answer whether he wanted ukraine to win the war, prompting kamala harris to warn the former president would abandon kyiv in order to curry favour with russia's president, vladimir putin. let's hear some of that exchange. do you believe it's in the us's best interests for ukraine - to win this war, yes or no? i think it's the us's best interest to get this warfinished and just get it done... all right. ..negotiate a deal, because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed. i believe the reason that donald trump says that this war would be over within 24 hours is cos he would just give it up. if donald trump were president, putin would be sitting in kyiv right now. for now, the white house stands squarely behind ukraine. and today the us secretary of state antony blinken joined british counterpart david lammy on a visit to kyiv. the british

much more analysis on this presidential debate is available on a very special episode of americast.here, the chancellor has told the bbc that next month's budget will require "difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare". rachel reeves was speaking as official figures for the uk economy show that it failed to grow injuly. she's been talking to our economics editor faisal islam. we are confident that pensioner incomes will continue to increase, even after the changes that we have had to make. but when you face a situation where there is a £22 billion in year gap in the public finances, you have to make decisions. taking no option, taking no stops is not an option in those circumstances will the work means testing _ circumstances will the work means testing in _ circumstances will the work means testing in public - means testing in public services? here i been clear that the budget on the 30th of october will require difficult decisions on tax, spending and on welfare. but decisions on tax, spending and on welfare-— on welfare. but if we can bring stability back _ on welfare. but

you can hear plenty more on the debate on the latest americast podcast, available now on bbc sounds. manchester this summer has become the youngest person to be sentenced so far for his part in the disorder. the judge called it the "worst type of feral behaviour" and said the boy, who can't be named because of his age, could have been sent to prison for up to five years if he'd been an adult. his mother has also been ordered to pay compensation. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. the 12—year—old left court this morning with his mother, who had missed his last hearing so she could go on holiday to ibiza. he is the youngest person so far to be sentenced as a result of this summer's riots. the court heard that when rioters attacked a bus near a hotel housing asylum seekers, the boy, not seen in this footage, was one of the group. then, four days later, during another riot in manchester city centre, he was one of a gang of people who kicked at the door of a vape shop and looted a sainsbury�*s. the districtjudge, joanne hirst, said, this was the worst type of feral be

you want to hear more analysis on the presidential debate, you can listen to a special episode of americastng defeat the russian invasion. ukraine wants their permission to use american and british—supplied long—range missiles for strikes deep inside russian territory, a subject that's expected to be a key focus of talks. in recent days, ukraine has been stepping up its drone assault on russia, including the capital, moscow. but talk of more powerful weapons has sparked concern by russian leaders. state media reports the deputy foreign saying russia will destroy any new deliveries of long—range missiles to ukraine by the united states and any delivery would increase the "dangers and risks". let's speak to former ukrainian diplomat iuliia osmolovska, she's currently an executive director at the eastern europe security institute based in kyiv. welcome to the programme. just how significant is this joint visit to kyiv? it how significant is this “oint visit to kymi how significant is this “oint visit to kyiv? it is definitely significant. _ visit to kyiv? it is definitely significant, because

and you can get more analysis on the presidential debate on a special episode of americast, which isc sounds now. a man who was found guilty of murder in 1991 has had his conviction quashed. judges at the court of appeal ruled oliver campbell's conviction for the murder of baldev hoondle in hackney was "unsafe". our home editor, mark easton, joins us now. mark, tell us more. the first thing to say this is not one of those cases about an innocent man been stitched up by the criminal justice system in the court of appeal made it clear they gave very little weight and dismissed suggestions that the police deliberately misled and bullied mr campbell in order to obtain a false confession. however, they did quash the conviction on what they describe as a narrow but very important basis. mr campbell suffered severe brain damage is an eight—month—old baby and continues to struggle with memory and concentration and with retaining information. and what the court of appeal is saying is there has been fresh scientific evidence which shows that somebody with such a mental impairment would potenti

., ., , to hear more analysis on the presidential debate, you can listen to a special episode of americast a round—up of summer today because my other news. —— now for a round—up of some old today's other news. the public inquiry into the case of serial killer lucy letby, who murdered seven babies and tried to kill seven more, enters its second day. the hearings are examining the response from nhs managers to concerns about her behaviour. our north of england rowan bridge is outside liverpool town hall. rowan, what can we expect from today? the inquiry will resume around ten o'clock this morning here at liverpool town hall where the council to the inquiry is expected to outline more of the areas of the inquiry will look into and some of the key bits of evidence as well. as you say, lucy letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the countess hospital betweenjune 2015 and june 2016. the inquiry is looking at how she was able to do that and what lessons there are for the nhs. the two trials she was convicted from lasted several months. what is clea