the department for transport said the change would make it easier for those with conditions such as autism need. helena lee has the story. the blue badge scheme was first introduced in england in the 19705. today, around 2.4 million people with disabilities have one. it allows them to park free of charge on roads, and normally without a time limit. the government is now proposing to extend the scheme. it wants people with hidden disabilities and conditions like autism and dementia to be able to qualify for a blue badge, so they too can enjoy the freedom to get out where and when they want. for many parents, they tell us that sometimes they don't want to go out. they don't want to take their autistic son or daughter out to the shops, out to schools and services and other places because they are worried about what might happen. but if they can park much closer to their destination then they can easily take someone away if there is an issue and if there are difficulties when they are out and about. the department for transport says only some councils recognise hidden disabilities under the cu

according to the campaign for better transport, some trains can be refurbished but others, like the pacers built in the 1980s as a short—term fix, should be scrapped. the departmentiages will be introduced by 202a. it estimates the investment programme will cut the average age of the fleet from 21 to 16 years. from tomorrow millions of train users will pay up to 3.6% more for their tickets, the highest increase for five years. special coins marking the 100 year anniversaries of women getting the right to vote and the end of the first world war are being released this year. the royal mint will also introduce one is celebrating 200 yea rs introduce one is celebrating 200 years since the publication of mary shelley's frankenstein. the two—pound coin marking the anniversary of the first world war armistice features a quote from wilfred owen's poem strange meeting — which says "the truth untold, the pity of war". it's time now for a look at the weather forecast. let's join darren for the latest. hgppy for the latest. happy new year, the first day of the new year brings some sunshine but we also have areas of rain. it's been quite a soggy morning in the south—east corn

julian, you are in the department for transport.ose problems with the east coast and west coast franchises. trying to write a contract for something that would be run for the public. a lot of the problems of these contracts in different areas are linking to the government. the capability of government knowing what it has to be to be a good customer. if you want a hospital run in one place without any changes, long period of time, it isn't a bad idea to sign a lock in contract for that period. trouble is, a few years and you decide to shift. if you hand over a motorway to the private sector, the public sector has done a good job with the makers, but as soon as you make a choice it's an issue. the government doesn't know what it wants. it changes its mind. doing things with a private contract is a good idea. but you want a big diversity. why is the government a poor client? partly because of the nature of government. government centralising decisions will always be difficult. when things were just run through the centre, when it took

department for transport says 11,500 new carriages will be introduced across britain by 202a. t of iran has appealed for calm, saying people would have the right to protest but not to commit acts of violence, amid continuing anti—government protests. in his first public comments since demonstrations against the government began on thursday, hassan rouhani warned that violence and public disorder would not be tolerated. the north korean leader has said that he has a nuclear button on his desk. in a defiant new year message, kim jong—un says now that north korea had developed the capability to hit all of the us mainland with its nuclear weapons, washington would never start a war. he added he would not order the use of weapons unless his country's security was threatened. the archbishop of canterbury has paid tribute to emergency workers in his new year's day message. justin welby reflected on the challenges faced by the emergency services, including the terror attacks in manchester, westminster and london bridge. he said 2018 could be defined either by human suffering or the com

the department for transport said the change would make it easier for those with conditions such as autismed in england in the 1970s. today, around 2.4 million people with disabilities have one. it allows them to park free of charge on roads, and normally without a time limit. the government is now proposing to extend the scheme. it wants people with hidden disabilities and conditions, like autism and dementia, to be able to qualify for a blue badge, so they too can enjoy the freedom to get out where and when they want. just being able to be a more active member of society, public transport can be really difficult for disabled people, whether that is lack of accessibility or the cost. so driving is often only way people can get around and so being able to park close to where ever they need to go is very important. scope said it's a real victory for common sense and i really do believe that. the department for transport says only some councils recognise hidden disabilities under the current scheme, because they interpret the existing rules differently. the proposals would be the biggest cha

the department for transport say5 they want. ays only some councils recognise hidden disabilities under the current scheme because they interpret the existing rules differently. the proposals would be the biggest change to the scheme since it was first introduced. the plans will now go through in a tight public consultation. helena lee, bbc news. they say a man‘s home is his ca5tle, and for one artist in brazil it really is. marcio matolia5 has lived in a 5andcastle for 22 years in an upmarket neighbourhood of rio de janeiro. it isn‘t huge inside, but he has everything he needs. marcio says if there is heavy rain he just 5culpt5 himself a new 5andcastle. he compare5 his style to niemeyer and gaudi, and makes money from donations and runs a book exchange. iam glad i am glad he has built it far enough back from the tide. you‘re on that beach, won‘t you? yes. you see these incredible 5a ndca5tle5 yes. you see these incredible 5andcastle5 and they truly are works of art. and that‘s pretty phenomenal. let‘s just take a look at the pap

for free parking. the department of transport said the change would make it easier for those with conditions such as autismicket this morning. we have the cricket in australia and the tennis as well. the world of the day so farfor the tennis as well. the world of the day so far for kyle edmund is resurgent. yes, let's start with tennis because kyle edmund is attempting to reach a grand slam quarter finalfor the first time. britain's number two has already seen off the eleventh seed kevin anderson and dealt with some incredibly hot conditions in melbourne on his way to the last sixteen. it's much cooler today, just 26 degrees. but the battle is just as intense against andreas seppi. edmund is 26 places above the italian in the world rankings, although you wouldn't know that from watching so far as it's been incredibly tight. england's cricketers can clinch their one day series with victory over australia in the third one day international in sydney. australia won the toss and put england into bat. they've not had an easy time at the crease. six wickets have fallen, captain 0wen morgan out for a1 and moeen a

the department for transport said the change would make it easier for those with conditions such as autismngland in the 1970s. today, around 2.a million people with disabilities have one. it allows them to park free of charge on roads, and normally without a time limit. the government is now proposing to extend the scheme. it wants people with hidden disabilities and conditions, like autism and dementia, to be able to qualify for a blue badge, so they too can enjoy the freedom to get out where and when they want. the department for transport says only some councils recognise hidden disabilities under the current scheme, because they interpret the existing rules differently. the proposals would be the biggest change to the scheme since it was first introduced. the plans will now go through an 8—week public consultation. helena lee, bbc news. they say a man's home is his castle, and for one artist in brazil it really is... have a look at this. marcio matolias has lived in a sandcastle for 22 years in an upmarket neighbourhood of rio de janeiro. have a look inside. it is not very big but we a

the department for transport say, "we are investing in the biggest modernisation of railways since victorianve services for passengers, providing faster and better, more comfortable trains with more seats." they say they keep their prices under review, and point to big investment projects going on in the rail system, so crossrail, thameslink, the great north rail project. they also point out, for every £1 paid in fares, 97p goes directly back to operating and improving services people use on a daily basis. many thanks indeed for that, jo black. i have been getting rail union reaction to the price rises. mick whelan is general secretary of aslef, the railway union. he gave me his reaction. i think it is quite frightening, we have done a number of studies in the last few years. we now have the term transport poverty in my industry, which is a shame. 23% of your gross income is spent travelling to and from work. in an age where most people can't afford to live where they were, something has to be done. but the government and rail executives saying that there have been decades of underinvestment

the department for transport says 11,500 new carriages will be introduced across britain by 202a. reports to more people have been killed in continuing anti—government protests in iran this morning, it comes after the country's president appealed on national television to appeal for calm. hassan rouhani said people would have the right to protest but warned of violence and public disorder would not be tolerated. the north korean leader has said that he has a nuclear button on his desk. in a defiant new year message, kim jong—un says now that north korea had developed the capability to hit all of the us mainland with its nuclear weapons, washington would never start a war. he added he would not order the use of weapons unless his country's security was threatened. a small passenger plane has crashed in a tourist area of costa rica, killing ten americans and two local pilots. it was travelling to the capital sanjose from the mountainous region of punta islita, near bejuco, an area popular with tourists on the pacific coast. the cause of the crash is not yet known. local reports say

delays to the project but in july difficulty because of delays to the project but injuly the department for transport contract. either one arm of government isn't talking to the other, and that's a conscious choice of the treasury, or they bailing them out. neither good. please stop them out. neither good. please stop the party political ding—dong because labour leeds council announced they wanted to award contractsjust announced they wanted to award contracts just before hand. announced they wanted to award contracts just beforehand. they hadn't signed it but they announced it. we all know you announce it and then have the formal signing later. when will you get a grip of this? the contracts that have been signed recently, my understanding for what the prime minister said today was all bar one have had this double wrapping. that's by accident rather than design. my understanding is that has been considered.|j than design. my understanding is that has been considered. i want to comment on your thing about the bosses. it's ridiculous it seems that no matter how big a failure, the people at the top alw

the department for transport says 4,500 new carriages will be introduced across britain by 2024.calm, saying people would have the right to protest but not to commit acts of violence, amid continuing anti—government protests. in his first public comments since demonstrations against the government began on thursday, hassan rouhani warned that violence and public disorder would not be tolerated. translation: the atmosphere for criticism, protest within a legal framework is absolutely free but the atmosphere for destruction and the rest is definitely not an atmosphere which people would tolerate. the north korean leader has said that he has a nuclear button on his desk. in a defiant new year message, kim jong—un said the united states would now never be able to start a war with north korea. 0ur correspondent sophie long is in the south korean capital seoul for us this morning. sophie, will this just be seen as another in a long line of threats against the us? i think ithink in i think in terms of his message, to the united states, there was nothing new, and other defined message sa

these prices on tickets and the rise, the department for transport say they are capped in line with inflationpeople's wages are not going up the same way as fare rises and again, we are in a situation where some people are getting priced off the railways because particularly if you a row paid, somewhere in the region of 20% of your income is going to be spent on fare rise, there is an alternative. it is to renationalise the railway, use the money that is being saved from that and re—invest it back in to the industry, and better investment or kit fares or reducing then. there are alternatives to this and this government won't see that, and won't allow it to happen. are you saying there should be no railfare rises at all today? well i am saying that there is an opportunityf at all today? well i am saying that there is an opportunity f you wanted to to turn round, and get rid of privatisation and use the money from that to save... you have told us that to save... you have told us that already. you said that already. iam asking that already. you said that already. i am asking you, are you saying

on thursday there was a meeting with the department for transport to look at the options if it got into what happens to the 28,000 pension scheme members who would receive reduced benefits if it fell into administration. the really bad news would be if it did go under, that army of subcontractors who rely on carillion for payment of supply. it also brings up the question of farming out public sector contracts to the private sector. is carillion too sensitive to fail? no? will the government 11 he can to stop that happening? yes. facebook says it's changing its news feed to make users' time on the social media site more meaningful. here's our media editor, amol rajan. mark zuckerberg's social network has become of the biggest distributors of news in history. today the company went back to its social roots. he said he wants to make sure the time we spend on facebook is time well spent. facebook‘s founder admits users are being fed a heavy diet of news and adverts. together with the more personal posts from friends and family. in bristol today, many young facebook users agreed. it's full o

the department for transport said the disruption caused a shortage of train crews and blamed not ford too few drivers when it was awarded the franchise in the first place. you're watching business live. our top story: the world bank says it expects the global economy to pick up speed this year and to operate at close to full potential for the first time in a decade. for over a century, the swarovski name has been synonymous with luxury crystals — the austrian firm supplied crystals for queen victoria's dresses. it was founded by daniel swarovski in 1885. his great, great grand daughter nadja swarovski made history in 2011, by becoming the first woman to be appointed to the executive board. she oversees the brand strategy of swarovski's $3.8bn global business, working with the fashion industry and designers to keep crystals contemporary. nadja swarovski joins us now. i went to a galleryjust before christmas and i saw some art using the crystals, you are branching out. it isa the crystals, you are branching out. it is a multifaceted product and i was proud to see it used in such a beau

according to the campaign for better transport, some trains can be refurbished, but others like the pacers built in the 1980s as a short—term fix should be scrapped. the department02a. it estimates the £7.5 billion investment programme will cut the average age of the nation's fleet from 21 to 16 years. from tomorrow, millions of train users will pay up to 3.6% more for their tickets. the increase is the highest for five years. bbc one launches its new flagship drama, mcmafia, this evening — an eight part global thriller about the world of organised crime. it stars james norton, playing the english—raised son of russian exiles with a mafia history, and features an international cast. let's get a taster of tonight's programme. and misha is with me now. this began life ten years ago as a non fiction account of the spread of organised crime. so how has it more offed from that into this drama series? yes, ten years ago i wrote this book which was about how organised crime had globalised along with elicit businesses globalising in the 1990s and in the first decade of the millennium. i was working as the bbc correspondent in the former yugoslavia and i noticed how orga

the department for transport can't foresee a time when new roads won't be needed. ny ancient woodlands. and the farmers‘ union is demanding that all prime agricultural land is kept for farming, not wildlife, to maximise food output. but the government's plan for nature will attempt to bring some nature back to farmland and replenish depleted soils. environmentalists welcome the government's plans to restore britain's nature, but the problem they say that is so far it is just a plan. to really convince them, ministers would need to introduce legislation and there seems no sign of that. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at the wetlands centre in south—west london weather prime minister gave her speech this morning. so the prime minister's first big speech of the year, why the environment why now? you are right, it might seem surprising in the sense mrs may has never been noted for her views on the environment, particularly given the current how all around the nhs, that she has chosen herfirst big current how all around the nhs, that she has chosen her fir

from all over government converging to talk about this, people from justice and health, the department for transportw sensitive this company is, everyone trying to figure out a way out of this mess. there is a possibility it could end up with the government having to support some of these contract in the short term because the banks which are owed £1.5 billion and are being asked for more are reluctant to put more money in and they are in control and at any point could put it into administration. some would argue that it was not quite a sensitive company they would have already done that. facebook has announced what it says is a major change to its news feed — prioritising posts from family and friends, over those from media organisations and businesses. 0ur media correspondent david sillito reports. facebook‘s founder mark zuckerberg had a new year's resolution for 2018. fix facebook. so what is he trying to fix? to understand what this is all about, let me log into my own facebook here. so this is my personal feed and when i scrolled down what have we got here? some bbc science news. bathrooms adv

in 2016, the department for transport set out its objectives for railfranchising.rishing, competitive passenger rail market which secures high performing, value for money services for passengers and tax payers, whilst driving cost effectiveness. deputy speaker, it is clear that the department has failed to meet these objectives. the latest collapse of the east coast franchise announced in november makes a mockery of the department's 2016 aims. virgin stagecoach didn't deliver and defaulted on their contract, and the secretary of state has given them a gift. i'll give way. i am grateful to my honourable friend for giving way. given on the east coast mainline that this will be the third occasion injust over a decade that the private contractor has announced that it wishes to hand back the keys, was it not a fundamental mistake, on the part of the government, not to have allowed east coast trains that successfully ran the franchise for over five and a half years, paid back £1 billion to the treasury, to allow carrying on its good work and instead ideologically demandi

the price rises we have got on tickets, an average of 3.4% across the uk, the department for transportapped in line with inflation. yeah, but the point is, people's wages are not going up at the same rate as fare rises. some people are getting priced off the ra i lwa ys people are getting priced off the railways because particularly if you are railways because particularly if you a re low railways because particularly if you are low paid, 20% of your income will be spent on fare rises and it is not good enough. there is an alternative, renationalising the railways, use the money saved from that, either reinvested back into the rail industry and better investment or cut fares or reduce them. there are alternatives and this government for some reason will not see it and allow the alternative to happen. are you saying there should be no railfare rises at all today? i am saying there is an opportunity, if you wanted to, to turn around and get rid of privatisation and use the money from that... you have told us that already. i am asking you, are you saying there should be no price rises at

the department for transport says a,500 new carriages will be introduced across britain by 202a.ional thriller about the world of organised crime. it stars james norton, playing the english—raised son of russian exiles with a mafia history. here is a taster of tonight's programme. stay there. earlier i spoke to the writer whose non fiction book inspired the series. so ten years ago i wrote this book which was about how organised crime had globalised along with elicit businesses globalising in the 1990s and in the first decade of the millennium. i was working as the bbc correspondent in the former yugoslavia at the time during the wars and i noticed how organised crime was using the fog of war in yugoslavia to move heroin or trafficked women or whatever it was through into their biggest market which was the european union. so i started exploring that world of globalising organised crime and then about four years or so ago, a great writer, who has written for hollywood and a great director, who has directed for hollywood, they are both british, although one was born in tehran appro

it also criticises the department for transport. our business correspondent, theo leggett reports.outhern and great northern are the large of largest of britain's rail services. it provides services along the south coast and into london. since 2016 the company has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the rmt union, over its plans to use trains on which the driver, rather than the conductor, is in charge of opening and dlosing the doors. over the past two years, there have been regular strikes on southern rail ways trains. this week, great northern services have also been affected. in fact, according to the national audit office, since it was created, the franchise as experienced worst disruption than any other part of the network. 146,000 trains have been cancelled, or delayed for more than half an hour sincejuly 2015. that's 7.7% of services. across the uk as that's 7.7% of services. across the ukasa that's 7.7% of services. across the uk as a whole, the figure is 2.8%. the report claims that although most of the delays were down to industrial action, the department for transpo

it says industrial action has been a majorfactorfor delays but the department for transport has alsotively impacted on passengers". the government has admitted the disruption has been unacceptable and has called on the rmt union to end what it calls needless strike action. a 16—year—old boy will appear in court today with the murder of a shop assistant in north london. vijay patel was attacked in a row over the sale of cigarette papers outside his shop in mill hill on saturday night. he later died in hospital. donald trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon, has stepped down from the right wing breitba rt news organisation where he built his reputation. the move comes amid a row over remarks he reportedly made about the president's son. he described a meeting donald trumer held in new york with a russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential election campaign as "treasonous". the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 will resume today, nearly a year after efforts to locate the plane were officially suspended. the search for the aircraft, which went missing with 239 people on b

known that there was difficulty with the royal liverpool hospital, yet injuly we saw the department for transportn though they issued a profit warning. 0ne arm of government is not talking to the other or we are giving these companies contracts because they cannot afford to fail. what makes you think that having the whole project under that government umbrella would be any more successful then? the first thing you have to do is develop a domesday book, and some people have talked about this, we know what it is we owe and to whom, because the treasury doesn't even hold that information century, sarita devi know how much we are in hock with. the government wants to tell you pfi has delivered £750 billion worth of investment but editors at a £200 billion cost. thank you for coming in. ten years ago it was fat. now public health enemy one is sugar. this year marks the introduction of the sugar tax — we've already seen some of the naming and shaming of companies that aren't prepared to reduce sugar content. this programme has been looking into whether companies are adhering to the new rules of online

it also criticises the department for transport. our business correspondent, theo leggett reports.. it provides services along the south coast and into london. since 2016, the company has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the rmt union over its plans to use trains on which the driver rather than the conductor is in charge of opening and closing in the daughters. over the past two years, there have been regular strikes on southern railways' trains. this week, great northern services have also been affected. in fact, according to the national audit office, since it was created, the franchise as a whole has experienced worse disruption than any other part of the network. 146,000 trains have been cancelled or delayed for more than half an hour, since july 2015. that's 7.7% of services. across the uk as a whole, the figure is 2.8%. the report claims that although most of the delays were down to industrial action, the department for transport should shoulder some of the blame. when it awarded the franchise, it didn't check they had enough drivers. didn't pay enough attention to the

the department for transport can't foresee a time when new roads won't be needed.any ancient woodlands. and the farmers' union is demanding that all prime agricultural land is kept forfarming, not wildlife, to maximise food output. but the government's plan for nature will attempt to bring some nature back to farmland and replenish depleted soils. environmentalists welcome the government's plans to restore britain's nature, but the problem they say that is so far it is just a plan. to really convince them, ministers would need to introduce legislation, and there seems no sign of that. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is at our westminster studio. in the times this morning, a former aide to theresa may suggested this was a fairly recent conversion to the environment by the prime minister. this goes back some time, prime ministers are often accused of talking the talk but will they act on it, you will remember david cameron when he first became leader, leader of the opposition, talking a lot about voting blue, going green, it all got pretty much ditched

the department for transport was trying to reassure us that all of these major projects will still gowrong per se with having a public — private partnership. i think where the government could try to look at where the terms could be improved, those things are absolutely what they should be doing. i think really, this is one of those unfortunate cases where a company goes bust. it happens and there is not anything the government can do about it. they could not have given them more contracts after july. there are questions about the timing of some more contracts. all i would say is you cannot avoid this situation entirely. there is going to be an investigation and it should look into what directors have done but also what the role of the government was. whether one allegation —— one allegation which has been made is whether carillion has been made is whether carillion has come in too low and civil serva nts has come in too low and civil servants signing them should have been aware of that and pushed harder. that is one thing we definitely had to find out. thank you for coming in. this i

the department for transport said price rises were capped in line with inflation and improved the network transport correspondent richard westcott has the story. cani can i see your tickets please? another new year, another fare rise. regulated season tickets go up by 3. 6% this year. it will add just shy of £150 for the price for commuters coming into the london on the line from hove in east sussex. nearly £110 to a yearly ticket from liverpool to manchester. and commuters going into birmingham from gloucester must find £140 more this year. many now pay between £3,000 to £5,000 to get to work, with the most pricey tickets in the south of england. the government says it's spending record amounts on improving the network, with more seats being provided on newer trains and more reliable electrified lines. campaigners argue that ordinary people are being priced off our trains, with the latest figures showing a drop in the number of journeys made using a season ticket. i think this fare rise really throws the spotlight on value for money. passengers want a more reliable service. they want a b

for him to present trophies if you are not there. we will have to see what happens on monday. there was some controversy over the weekend about a letter from the transport of —— departmentsince it is infrastructure week, i am wondering if the president... you're is it infrastructure we? when isn't it? there is a 50—50 split, and if not, what has changed? we don't have any new policy announcement on that front at this point that as we get further into the year and further into the conversations on infrastructure, we will be rolling out more details on what we want to do, what we hope to accomplish and what the planners to do that. some questions yesterday about the shorter list of demands on immigration. iam shorter list of demands on immigration. i am wondering if that is something... it is possible that it comes up, we are certainly... we will leave that press conference, sarah huckabee sanders taking some questions. basically charting the massive falling out between the president and his former chief counsel, steve bannon. joining me from washington, colombo shows, media and politics reporter at the washington post. thank you for being with us. what are you make of th

the department for transport can't foresee a time when new roads won't be needed.nds. and the farmers' union is demanding that all prime agricultural land is kept forfarming, not wildlife, to maximise food output. but the government's plan for nature will attempt to bring some nature back to farmland and replenish depleted soils. environmentalists welcome the government's plans to restore britain's nature, but the problem, they say, is that, so far, it isjust a plan. to really convince them, ministers would need to introduce legislation and there seems no sign of that. roger harrabin, bbc news, kent. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. why the environment? why this topic now? it is interesting, it is the first time the prime minister has ever made a significant speech on all of this. this idea of a long—term plan for the environment has been in the pipeline for quite a while. in some ways, they are reacting to a change in the public discussion. that is partly because ofa tv discussion. that is partly because of a tv programme, because o

county, and we've seen gaithersburg, then we went over to one of the substations for the maryland department of transportation. we were able to kind of catch up with the salt crews because they will be rotating throughout the night. this is for their state highway association administration and they tell us they've just got crews going back and forth and reloading the salt as needed. and they will continue to salt the roads through the all the overnight hours, the same for the virginia department of transportation. really the whole dmv area just to make sure the roads especially the main ones can stay treated. we did encounter slippery sidewalks and parking lots as people were trying to go in and out of residents and first and foremost, they kind of take it in stride, they're getting used to it but especially careful when it comes to black ice. >> are you worried about black ice >> yes, definitely worried about black ice. you just got to take it slow. >> definitely icy spots. i live in an apartment complex down here. the sidewalks are very bad. >> reporter: and another thing with -- this happening overnight t

in the last few moments, jojohnson has been appointed as minister of state at the department for transporter olympics in the south — in the first talks between the two sides for over two years. the south korean delegation also proposed more contact between the two countries. the number of people waiting more than four hours in scotland's accident—and—emergency departments reached record levels in the final week of last year. figures showjust 78 % of patients were seen within the target time. the former journalist toby young has resigned from the board of a new university regulator, following days of growing criticism over controversial comments he'd made in the past. mr young apologised for some of his remarks in his resignation letter saying they were "either ill judged orjust plain wrong." labour's dawn butler says the row about mr young casts doubt on the judgment of prime minister theresa may — who backed him staying in the post. she spoke to my colleague norman smith earlier. she failed to dismiss him from the position. there are a number of questions and issues which have been raised

transport secretary chris grayling to say that he would like to have a meeting between the department for transports yet chris grayling has not responded to that letter. so the rmt says those in three days of action today, wednesday and friday will continue. an accountancy firm advising the growing file enquiry has quit amid concerns over a conflict of interest. it audits three of the firms investigated and works for the royal borough of kensington and chelsea were the tower is located. the firm said it had mutually agreed to step down from the enquiry. the trial of former football coach barry purnell gets underway at liverpool crown court today. he has changed his name to richard jones and this charged with 5a offences of sexually abusing children. he denies the charges. some pharmacists at boost —— buti charges. some pharmacists at boost —— but i worried that work pressures mean patients could be per at risk. a former manager blew the whistle to the missive read later about his understaffing concerns before he resigned in 2015. he has now spoken publicly for the first time. but says it is confide

throughout georgia who we have to thank for our transportation improvements, there is one in particular who deserves our gratitude and our -- for making our department of transportation the most capable and the most cutting edge in the country. we're fortunate to have that man with us today, so i would like to ask commissioner russell mcmurray to stand as we give him a round of applause. [ applause ] over the past seven years we have partnered together on many great undertakings that now serve as the standard for other states to emulate. one of the proudest of those has been our overwhelmingly successful and bipartisan criminal justice reforms. this is a tree well-planted, and one that is changing the lives for the better every day. we're also doing what so many others thought impossible only a decade ago. and that is offering to those who have made mistakes but are willing to work hard to correct them a second chance through our accountability courts. the roots of this growing system have taken time to grow, having met obstacles along the way, but they have proven to be the most effective component of our overall criminal justice tomorrows. individ

but i would say that we're leaders across the country for city transportation departments in some of these things such as the on-street car share program, the principles we've established for emerging mobility. many of them being put to the test with things such as autonomous vehicles and really getting the long-term planning that we need for transportation in san francisco underway under the connect sf initiative. again, related to the equity conversation we had with fees, making sure that muni is and remains affordable, still pretty ground breaking and far and away more than just about anyone is doing, our municipally program, but we, together with b.a.r.t. and san francisco state launched the gator pass, which means that every san francisco state student, on their student i.d., is also a clipper card, and so they get access to b.a.r.t. and muni through fees that are paid by the entire student body, so it's a huge inducement for san francisco state students to get to and from school on public transit. so this is that big drop, as we've updated our vehicles and changed our fuel type.

for everyone. chuck: the department of transportation says it will make a decision about what to do on monday. >> questions need to be asked about why did the contingency fail? why was jfk not able to deal with these cascading failures as the storm wonton? chuck: temperatures expected to climb between 10 degrees and 20 degrees, but there is more trouble lurking in a different part of the another storm system developing in the pacific and heading toward california, bringing with it lots of rain. up to five inches forecast in some spots. that could spell trouble for those areas outside los angeles hit hard by wildfires. a high probability of muds guides and flash flooding. chuck sivertsen, abc news, new york. kimberly: as for our area, the dot is warning drivers to prepare for tomorrow afternoon's commute. you want to mention for potential slick spots. vdot reminds us, if you have to be out on the roads, assume any wet pavement is ice. willes, ramps, overpasses, ice first. make sure you have enough gas and an emergency kit in your car in case you are trapped in traffic for hours. while the deep freeze is not