chris mason there.r a new general secretary of unite — britain's biggest union. it emerged yesterday that gerard coyne, the main challenger to the current boss, len mccluskey, has been suspended from his post as a regional official with the union. joining me now from the headquarters of unite in central london is our political correspondent, leila nathoo. when will we get a result and do we know anymore about gerard coyne's suspension? gerard coyne's suspension? gerard coyne's suspension from his position came com pletely suspension from his position came completely out of the blue at the end of what has been a bitter battle to be at the helm of britain's biggest union and one of the labour pa rty‘s biggest union and one of the labour party's biggest donors. now, we are no clear as to why exactly he was suspended. we know there will be an investigation into what has gone on, but his suspension from his post doesn't actually have an effect on this contest, which is being seen as a proxy election for the

our political correspondent chris mason is with me now. in the numbers. the department for work and pensions uses the department for work and pensions uses an awful lot of taxpayer money paying benefits and pensions. this is about the personal independence payment, first introduced four years ago, the idea it would help working age people with the additional costs associated with disability. at the heart of the project was assessing potential recipients to try to work out what day, if anything, should be paid. the department made an estimation in 2013 that the overall costs would be £500 million. now analysis by the press association news agency suggests by the end of the contract for atos and capita, by the contract for atos and capita, by the end of the year, that figure will be £700 million stop well they say the reason there is this additional cost. far more people came forward for assessment than initially anticipated. a small amount of extra cost is people appealing against the assessment results and having the whole thing done again

with me is our political correspondent chris mason. al fall—off in the number of people going in to branches, so why is labour proposing this? about 3096 fall—off in the number of people going through the doors of traditional branches and doing banking the old —fashioned traditional branches and doing banking the old—fashioned way in front of another human being across a till, gone down by about a third since 2011. what labour are arguing is that despite that, they don't dispute that figure, there is still a sizeable minority of people who are entirely reliant on the physical branch to do their financial stuff, around seven million people, 11% of the population don't do any online banking according to research. they say those people need to be looked after. they make the argument that given the banks globally make a huge amount of money, part of their roll, beyond being a commercial entity in the business of making money, should be about maintaining services as a local level for those reliant on a particular form of the service, ie a ph

our political correspondent, chris mason, is at westminster for us now. i wasn't keeping a track of how many times justine chris, i wasn't keeping a track of how many timesjustine greening has said the phrase ordinary working families so far this morning, but it's been a lot. is there anything in this speech that tells us more about how she is going to deliver on this, this promise or this aspiration of more grammar school places for children from those families? i think it is offering an insight about the phone boxes of devon! what we got this morning from the education secretary as the beginning of what they recognise is going to be a pretty long argument about making the case for grammar schools. the blunt your question is no. what we have got from justine greening is a desire to make the case for grammar schools. she says they are oversubscribed and lots of pa rents a re they are oversubscribed and lots of parents are very keen on them. and there should be the opportunity for there should be the opportunity for the numbers to expand. just i60—odd gram

june, and those all—important party manifestos yet to be released — our political correspondent chris masonhow significant theresa may's comments were on tax. i think what is curious at this stage, the early verbal skirmishes of an election campaign, is that there is a distinct absence of definitive promises, and there is a good and understandable reason from the perspective of political parties. they are furiously assembling manifestos, those those supposedly sacred promises. and so, the mantra we so often get at the moment when we ask a politician question is, wait for the manifesto. they can a week or fortnight away. we have a definitive promise that there will not be an increase in vat, and labour said the same. but, as you say, clearly there is an awareness within the conservatives, and we have seen this articulated publicly, that they do not want to bind themselves into something we're the do not increase income tax or national insurance, but what we do not know is how they may want to tinker with those. during election campaigns, politicians love to push the answers down the road int

with me is our political correspondent, chris mason.t is and no to add temp one and increase from theresa may, but she is clearly feeling confident enough to open up the possibility of other tax rises. the curious... there is a distinct absence of definitive promises, and there is an understandable reason for that. they are furiously assembling manifestos, though supposedly sacred tones of promises that we hold this government to account for for the next five years. normally they have a lot of —— have a lot longer to prepare them. the mantra that we gather at the moment when we ask a politician question is, wait for the ma nifesto. politician question is, wait for the manifesto. they could be a fortnight away get. we had a definitive promise from the prime minister saying that there will be an increase on vat and labour have said the same. there is an awareness amongst the conservatives that they don't want to bind themselves into this lock, as they have in the past, we re this lock, as they have in the past, were they wouldn't touch na

our political correspondent chris mason is here. isaid our i said our political mason!en labour leader and also why he won the labour leadership in the first place, which is that he is very different in his political instinct and outlook and policies from lots of other labour mps. the tricky thing yesterday was that he was articulating something which was different from what we are now told us different from what we are now told us established party policy. he said the party were having a discussion as to whether they would back the renewal of the uk's nuclear deterrent. jeremy corbyn has been a long—standing campaigner to get rid of it. the party then put out a statement saying it would say in its ma nifesto, statement saying it would say in its manifesto, its bundle of promises, that it would commit to renewing trident. the party has had to effectively get the gaffer tape out and stick it across the big gap between whatjeremy corbyn is saying and what lots of mps would like him to say. today, he heads to scotland to say. today, he heads to scotland to try and change t

foreign secretary's decision not to go to moscow next week, with me is our political correspondent chris masonwhile foreign secretary to arrange a meeting somewhere important like moscow and pull out of it, quite significant. it is, as foreign secretary your joys to be significant. it is, as foreign secretary yourjoys to be the country's chief diplomat, conducting politics by making statements and a raging blizzard to then cancel it does raging blizzard to then cancel it d oes exa ctly raging blizzard to then cancel it does exactly that. it is quite striking looking at the statement, written statement by the foreign secretary this afternoon thing developments in surrey have change this situation fundamentally. the context of cause of the relationship between london and moscow has been pretty icy for some time going going back all the way to the killing of the man poisoned on the streets of london. it would be the first visit in five years. there was a desire prior to the last few days for the uk to try and build, rebuild a relationship with moscow but clearly given what has happened, there is

here's our political correspondent chris mason. the next prime minister of the uk, jeremy corbyn.me minister of the uk, jeremy corbyn. do you believe it? do they believe it? does he believe it? 0pinion polls suggest it's highly unlikelyjeremy 0pinion polls suggest it's highly unlikely jeremy corbyn will 0pinion polls suggest it's highly unlikelyjeremy corbyn will be heading for downing street but mr corbyn is trying to change people's minds. much of the media and the establishment are saying this election is a foregone conclusion. they think there are rules in politics which, if you don't follow by doffing your cap to the powerful people, accepting that things can't really change, then you can't win. but of course they don't want us to win, because when we win, it is the people, not the powerful, who win. jeremy corbyn was full of vim, zip and energy. the conservatives, he said, are morally bankrupt, the system is rigged and he would prove people wrong. anyone who stands up to create a better, fairer, more decent society gets vilified. 0ur party gets vilified. but i'll tell you, w

june, and those all—important party manifestos yet to be released — our political correspondent chris masonhow significant theresa may's comments on vat have been. you can tell that we are in an election campaign that the prime minister managed to grace the soft furnishings of the bbc and itv in the time it would take you to make a bacon sandwich and eat it, but she was pressed again and again on a whole range of issues and could say repeatedly, "ah, hang on, wait for the manifesto". those manifestos are a week or fortnight away, in all likelihood. now, yes you might think, as a voter, well, that is very frustrating. there is an election coming along and where are these bundles of promises? if you are a political party, you are going to be held to these for the next five years, so it is not unreasonable that they would spend quite a bit of time knocking them together, particularly given that they have had to go from a standing start ten days ago to try and produce these glossy tomes. so, yes there is a focus on this vat thing. yes, it is relatively small, but it is a definitive promise both

with me is our political correspondent chris mason.labour proposal? the labour pitch is that the current arrangements allows a bank to decide on the closure of a local branch purely on a commercial basis. yes, there is a process where they try to establish the extent to which that branch is still used and the effect it would have on the local community. but it's a commercial decision and the bank can decide to get rid of the branch if they conclude it's not making them money. labour say they want to toughen up the law, new legislation, hand the power to the financial conduct authority to basically go through a series of checks to try and establish whether it is justified in a more broad sense as to whether or not that bank should close. the labour pitch is that banks, broadly, prove to be very profitable on a national or international scale and therefore, evenif international scale and therefore, even if a particular local branch might not be making them money, part of their community remit, if you like, should be — are still available

foreign secretary's decision not to go to moscow next week, with me is our political correspondent chris masononsultation. he was due to go as well, the us secretary, he still well. iris johnson will not. he has built out a statement this afternoon saying we deplore rusher‘s continued defence of the assad regime. he says because of the assad regime. he says because of what he described as a fundamental changing of the situation, he does not want to go to moscow on monday. instead, he will go to moscow on monday. instead, he will gotoa moscow on monday. instead, he will go to a meeting of 6—7 foreign ministers who are meeting in italy to talk about syria amongst other things. the us secretary will go on his own after that meeting. my understanding from speaking to those around boris johnson is understanding from speaking to those around borisjohnson is that they did not feel that strategically use was worthwhile, that the two men pretty much going one after another because of fears that russia might try and find a way of praising them apart politically, even though on this issue and the us inte

to tell us more is our political correspondent chris mason. controversy about these two companies or more specifically about the government's forecasts over how much it would be to pay them. and in essence they are having to pay more than they anticipated because these companies are having to do much more work than they anticipated. this is about personal independence payments, first introduced four yea rs payments, first introduced four years ago with the aim of helping people with disabilities with the extra costs associated with those disabilities but crucially, at the heart of getting that benefit, there is an assessment to try and work out what a potential recipient is capable of doing. that has been hugely controversial for many adventure recipients who have found the whole process to be deeply unfair but what here is the essence of the story is the government setting out on it start of this project and estimate of how much they thought it would cost. they thought around about £500 million. analysis by the press association newsagency su

the backbone of the economy and they should not have to "make do." 0ur political correspondent chris masontminster. the government is continuing to move forward with its grammar schools plans? it is, and it recognises nothing will get through the gist of what justine greening has to seen a couple of hours, it recognises it has some persuading to do. theresa may has long been a passionate advocate of grammar schools. she went to a grammar school herself. but there is a huge amount of opposition from teaching unions and other political parties, and indeed some conservative mps, to this idea. so whatjustine greening is going to do is try to wind together one of the big mantras of theresa may, which is helping ordinary working families. —— bind together. notjust the poorest, the government thinks it does a good job for them already, at those who are a little above that, though sawai just managing. it will argue today that when you look at the statistics a similar number of people from that background go to grammar schools as go to competence of schools. but it also shows that a disproportionat

foreign secretary's decision not to go to moscow next week, with me is our political correspondent chris mason an insignificant decisionm not an insignificant decision. it is not. boris johnson decided not an insignificant decision. it is not. borisjohnson decided to make a political standing, saying he will not go out to moscow. it would've been the first visit by a uk foreign secretary of the five years. it gives you a sense of how pretty much frozen the relationship has been between london and moscow. i think the decision from borisjohnson is significant because it allows them to make a statement that he is not happy with russia's ongoing involvement in syria. i will bring you a little bit of a statement. developments in syria have changed the situation fundamentally. my poetry is contact with the us and others in the run up to the g—7 meeting. —— my priority. instead the us secretary of state is going to go to moscow after that meeting of the g-7. to moscow after that meeting of the 6-7. it to moscow after that meeting of the 6—7. it will to moscow after that meeting of the g—7. it will be

earlier simon spoke to our political correspondent chris mason. 0n the face of it, when you look at theas said, it seemed absolutely categoric. just a little bit of a caveat, in what was said. you can come to your own judgment. but the context, an intense discussion going on in the conservative party, david cameron's idea of guaranteeing in law that the united kingdom would spend 0.7% on overseas aid. some critics thought it was perverse, because it guaranteed the department for international development a certain amount of money. and they would somehow have to work out how to spend that money. an odd way of budgeting. that is why it was going to be keen eyes on this, to see if theresa may would stick with it. this is what she said. the 0.7% commitment remains, and is going to remain, but we need to look at how that money is spent, and make sure we are able to spend that money in the most effective way. i am proud of the record we have, the children around the world being educated as a result of what the british government, the taxpayer is doing, in terms of international aid. the abili

here's our political correspondent chris mason. the next prime minister of the uk, jeremy corbyn.believe it, does he believe that? opinion polls suggest it is highly unlikelyjeremy corbyn will be heading for downing street. but he is trying to change people's minds. much of the media and the establishment are saying this election is a foregone conclusion. they think there are rules in politics which, if you don't follow by doffing your cap to the powerful people, accepting that things cannot really change, then you cannot when. then you cannot win. but of course they do not want us to win because when we win it is the people, not the powerful who win. jeremy corbyn was full of vim, zip and energy. he said the conservatives are morally bankrupt. the system is wrecked. the system is rigged. and he would prove people wrong. anyone who stands up to create a better, fairer and more decent society gets vilified. but we are bigger and stronger than have ever been. and more determined than we ever been. his challenge is convincing enough people outside of this run. there is a clear choice

chris mason is at westminster and is following the story for us. what exactly is being proposed?actly is being proposed 7m essence, the government is starting an arms race to try to make the case forgrammar an arms race to try to make the case for grammar schools. the prime minister is an advocate for grammar schools, she went to one herself, but she knows andy education secretary knows that there is a lot of persuading to do, notjust many in the teaching profession and indeed on labour's benches, but quite a number of conservative mps, too, so they are trying to make the argument that any new set of grammar schools would be different in their outlook and indeed in who they recruited from the current set of grammar schools. but she isn't saying that there would be any kind of quota, or she is not willing to put a number on it. here isjustine greening making the case, i spoke to her in the last hour, about why she wa nts to her in the last hour, about why she wants to see an expansion of grammar schools in england. i think we have always recognised the debate. we need to work out

alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent chris mason joins us from westminsterear those soundbites again and again ——jeremy and we will hear those soundbites again and again —— jeremy corbyn. i can't believe we are talking about a general election and westminster can't either. it gives you a sense of the pace and excitement. it already feels we are well into the campaign. there is still seven weeks to go. big moment forjeremy corbyn as he sets out his stall, antiestablishment, acknowledging the opinion polls suggest he is1 million miles behind. he says he won't play by the normal rules of politics. he is fighting for ordinary people. i think we will have a similar set of language from theresa may to what we heard in alex's report from her visit to bolton last night. her argument is the conservatives can offer stable leadership with a bigger majority because that is what it is about from her perspective. that will mean getting stuff through the commons around brexit much easierfor getting stuff through the commons around brexit much easier for the. what about pol

mason on the bench. fall behind by three. chris feeding the goalie. fighting back. brayden schenn. within two. and filppula, gets them within one with 1:15 left. one last shot to save the season. filppula, has the puck with 9.8 seconds left. what's he doing? filppula, come on. shoot! shoot! time runs out. flyers lose 4-3. they're eliminated. the first team in nhl history to miss the playoffs despite a ten game winning streak in the season. >>> talk about smart-handed, no embiid, no okafor, no covington. and saric restricted to 24 minutes because of soreness in the heel. and it's winding down. tonight the new guy, poythress, signed in a pinch. fighting back in the third. two of his career high 23. and saric comes back in as they try to get back in it. heel looks great, huh? sixers within four. but the raptors run away with it. 113-105. the last time they won at toronto? 2012. >>> let's play ball. phillies open the season tomorrow at 4:10 in cincinnati with jeremy hellickson making his second-straight opening day start. hoping it goes better than last year, they were swept in cincinnati to start

mason on the bench. fall behind by three. chris feeding the goalie. fighting back. brayden schenn. within two. filppula, gets them within one with 1:15 left. one last shot to save the season. filppula, has the puck with 9.8 seconds left. what's he doing? filppula, come on. shoot! shoot! time runs out. flyers lose 4-3. they're eliminated. the first team in nhl history to miss the playoffs despite a ten game winning streak in the season. >>> talk about smart-handed, no embiid,

hiss buddy mason is also over 100 pounds. owners marcie and chris have kept pigs since 1990 and they say those weights are normal. but what's normal in pleasant hill would be illegal under the weight limit. marcie thinks the 100-pound restriction comes from an old guide line for one-year-old pot bellied and show pigs. the california pot bellied pig association that she runs with husband chris has more than 1,000 members from around the globe who write asking forred a virs. here's what she tells potential pig owners. >> they're always trying to get into things, they can be very destructive if they want, they can be very gentle and loving. >> reporter: the christiansons say the city would be better off adding more substantive idea it. >> if they want to mutt restrictions, mandatory licensing, mandatory spay and neuter. >> and the pigs can be hard on lawns and homes, rack up expensive medical bills and are totally inappropriate for apartments. in pleasant hill, eric thomas, abc7 news. >>> $100 million in damage, thousands of people evacuated and months

hiss buddy mason is also over 100 pounds. owners marcie and chris have kept pigs since 1990 and they say those weights are normal. but what's normal in pleasant hill would be illegal under the weight limit. marcie thinks the 100-pound restriction comes from an old guide line for one-year-old pot bellied and show pigs. the california pot bellied pig association that she runs with husband chris has more than 1,000 members from around the globe who write asking forred a virs. here's what she tells potential pig owners. >> they're always trying to get into things, they can be very destructive if they want, they can be very gentle and loving. >> reporter: the christiansons say the city would be better off adding more substantive idea it. >> if they want to mutt restrictions, mandatory licensing, mandatory spay and neuter. >> and the pigs can be hard on lawns and homes, rack up expensive medical bills and are totally inappropriate for apartments. in pleasant hill, eric thomas, abc7 news. >>> $100 million in damage, thousands of people evacuated and months

his buddy mason is also over 100 pounds. owners martiany and chriskept pigs since 1990 and say those weights are normal. >> though grow till they're 5 typically and i've seen 300-pounders. >> reporter: but what's normal in pleasant hill would be illegal illegal under bennisia's proposed bill and its weight limit. marcy thinks the restriction comes from an old guideline for 1-year-old potbellied show pigs. >> >> sadly some areas are run running with that figure even though that's not a realistic figure. >> reporter: the potbellied pigs association she runs with her husband has more than 1,000 members around the globe. here's what she tells potential pig owners. >> they're always trying to get into things. they can be very destructive if they want. they can be very gentle, very loving. >> i find i relate to them better than i relate to dogs or cats or anything else. >> reporter: the christiansens say cities would be better off dropping unrealistic weight limits and adding more substantive ideas. >> if they really want to put restrictions put mandatory

steve mason who missed the game yesterday from illness with the backup. deflected by chris. you think the game's out of reach. it's not. it's 4-2. his second of the game flies with 1:42 to go. the flooirds lose 4-3 and are knocked out of the post-season. >> we had a lot of opportunities this year to get some points and to tie games. in the third period we weren't able to get it done. and i think it happened too often, that's why we're in the situation we are in right now. >> we've just kind of been inconsistent in this league. we just win one, lose one, you can't ever make it up. that's kind of what happened. >> wrapping up the stretch with eight games in four different cities. look closely. he played well over a minute without his shoe. a career high 23. lead back to double digits, 63. >> he's throwing out his confidence with his shot, and i think that his tunesty playing defense and just trying to understand nba nuances, but in general he's been really good for us. >>> phil aez open the season tomorrow. the coverage starts at 3:00. last season in cincinnati he gave up one

mason, cbs news, new york. >> pelley: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, >>> tonight -- >> my name is chris frantic 911 call. >> i rear-ended a guy on a tractor. he's mot conscious. >> the night of the fatal car crash. chris in his own words. accused of fleeing the scene. was he hiding from police? >> it took hours to get a search warrant to retrieve mr. soules from inside of the house. >>> a breakthrough in brad and angelina's divorce battle. what we just learned. >>> why is george clooney popping up in hollywood classics? only we can take you behind the scenes of the dad-to-be's new project. >>> and -- >> i'm groot. >> vin diesel on fatherhood and what you don't know about his baby groot voice.

chris kristen son's backyard has gone to the hogs. >> vietnamese, asian, giuliani, they'll all the same thing, all the same pig. >> reporter: they currently have two bricks and masone one who likes to layout in the shade. mason is the alpha pig, but doesn't care for the limelight. together they run the california pot belly pig association with more than a thousand members around the world. >> i find i relate to them better than i relate to dogs or cats or anything else. >> cats look down on you. dogs look up to you and pigs look the square in the eye. >> reporter: that quote is from winston church hill but he should have added except when they're eating. the couple is glad she is thinking about allowing residents to own pot belly pigs except for one provision in the ordinance which would require the pets to way under 100 pounds. >> they grow till they're five typically, and i've seen 300 pounders. >> pigs won't climb up in your lap necessarily thank god. [ laughter ] >> reporter: they believe that standard comes from a 20-year-old set of guidelines for one-year-old show pigs. >> if they really want to put some restrictions, put mandatory licensing, mandatory yearl

chris christie. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. >>> coming up on "cbs this morning," inductees, joan baez, journey. she talks with anthony mason i didn't know they had a relationship. >> that does it for us. sure to -- more about joan tomorrow. >> yeah. >> -- tune in with "cbs evening news" and scott pelley. ads we leave you, we take a look back at what happened all this week. we hope you have a great weekend and we'll see you monday. >> that's right. >> tonight i ordered a targeting military site on the airfield in syria. >> there are reports of several dead following the early morning strike. >> president trump has shown he is willing to use military action. >> it showcased the lives of women and children. >> no surprise that the syrian regime called the air strike an act of blatant aggression this morning. >> it went about 40 miles before splash boog the sea. kim jong-un may be signaling a moment of defiance. >> the really of the senate will be forever changed. >> hamilton is probably rolling over in his grave. >> i'm going to do whatever it takes to get gore ssuch in the supreme court. >> don rickles. >> i have to tell you