laura bicker reports. laura: it was a regular morning baseball practice that a gunman tried to turn into a killing field. the horror was captured on camera by a dog walker. the shots rang out for several minutes with few pauses. >> is that guy ok up there? laura: one of the victims was, congressman steve scalise. his colleagues could not get to him as the fighting continued. >> i could see steve scalise on the field. he dragged himself after he was shot near second base 10 or 15 yards into the field, just to be a little further away from the gunmen, but he was laying motionless out there. i wanted to get to him, but there were still shots going overhead from both sides. finally, when we heard that the shooter was down, i just ran low out to steve and started putting pressure on the wounds. laura: the gunmen was james hodgkinson from illinois. his social media posts were antirepublican and anti-trump. he died in hospital after being shot by capitol hill police. survivors say this would have been a massacre w

laura bicker has more from nationals park.terday's shooting. not only have there been extra ticket sales, they have gone ata extra ticket sales, they have gone at a rate of 500 extra tickets an hour. that is 20,000 being sold in the last 2a hours since the shooting. when it comes to what they will wear, usually they were the uniform of their local state university. but this time, in honour of congressman steve scalise, still in hospital, they will wear the uniform of his state university. they said tonight it is not about republicans and democrats, it is about steve scalise. when the players take to the pitch, it is worth mentioning this is a rare and genuine opportunity for these politicians to show bipartisanship. it has been going on since 1909. and, yes, raised ball practice may have been marred by violence, but tonight they have a chance to show they are notjust politicians, but people and players. —— baseball practise. they are notjust someone you can pin ideology to. that is the spirit in which this game will be held. l

laura bicker has more. supposed to be about strengthening nato alliances, especially with a country like romania, who is prepared, they say, to pay their dues. but the only thing, the one thing, looming large over the trump administration is the testimony from the former fbi director, james comey. yesterday, he told the senate intelligence committee that he did not trust the president not to lie about their meeting. so much so that he kept memos, he kept notes of their meeting. he talked about a meeting with the president where donald trump is alleged to have turned to him and said, could you see your way to letting the investigation into michael flynn, his former national security advisor, who had to be fired because of his contacts with russia, could he let that investigation go? well, from the podium, president trump says that account is not as he remembers it. and he says he's prepared to go under oath and talk to the special counsel, who is now looking into this whole russia investigation, is prepared

laura bicker reports from virginia.orning baseball practice, but a gunman tried to turn it into a killing field. the horror was captured on camera by a dog—walker. the shots ring out for several minutes with few pauses. is that guy ok? one of the victims was a congressman steve scalise. his colleagues could not get to him as the firing continued. i could see steve scalise out on the field. he was shot from near second base. he was a little bit further away from the gunman. he was lying motionless out thee. i wanted to get to him but there were still shots overhead from all sides. finally when we heard the shooter was down, ijust ran low out to steve and started putting pressure on the wound. the gunman was 66—year—old, james hodgkinson from illinois. he was anti—trump. he was shot by capitol hill police. survivors say it would have been a massacre without their help. they are trying to come to terms with having to dodge bullets on what should have been a day for batting practice. the emotional shock of seeing your frien

laura bicker reports from virginia. gunshots. but a gunman tried to turn it into a killing field. the horror was captured on camera by a dog—walker. the shots ring out for several minutes with few pauses. is that guy 0k? one of few pauses. is that guy ok? one of the victims was a congressman, steve scalise, as his colleagues could not get to him as the firing continued. i could see steve scalise out on the field. he was shot from near second base. he was a little bit further away from the gunman. he was lying motionless. i wanted to get to him but there were still shots overhead from all sides. finally when we heard the shooter was down, ijust ran low out to steve scalise and started putting pressure on the wound. the gunman was a 67—year—old, james hodgson, from illinois. he was anti—trump. he was shot by capitol hill police. survivors say it would have been a massacre without their help. they were dodging bullets on a day that should have been batting practice. the emotion of seeing your friends shot while you are helpless. you

laura bicker reports.sted tail light and the police, he's just killed my boyfriend. philando castile was pulled over by the police because he had a faulty brake light. minutes later he was shot five times. his girlfriend, diamond reynolds, streamed the aftermath on facebook as the officer kept his gun trained on the car. oh my god, please don't tell me he's dead. please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that. keep your hands where they are please. yes, i will sir, i will keep my hands where they are. philando castile was seen telling the officer there was a legally purchased weapon in the car but he wasn't near it. the officer said he felt his life was in danger, that mr castile was high on marijuana and matched the description of a robbery suspect, thejury believed him and found him not guilty of manslaughter. the family of philando castile could not contain their grief at the verdict. my son loved this city and this city killed my son and a murderer gets away. nojustice! no peace! this vigil spar

laura bicker is in washington. hi, laura. kind of d raft people were wondering what kind of draft would come out, and what we have seen is basically quite similar to what the house of representatives came outwith. there are some key changes. the cats that the house proposed to medicaid, the system for the poorest in america —— beat cuts to that are not as deep and they roll—out over a longer period, so they will eventually bite, which is one of the concerns of health groups and democrats, who say there will be and democrats, who say there will be a tax cut for the wealthy in the us. the reason they are cutting back taxes because that is what fun is the affordable care act. they are cutting taxes for the wealthy, and yet the poorest in america, who require health care, might not get the care they need under this bill, and that is the main criticism you are seeing from the democrat side. and is this a done deal, bora? earlier in the year, there were a rather —— there were other efforts that fell down because the republicans cou

laura bicker, bbc news, washington. that sort of weather but that is what we are expecting. it is going to be quite humid as well. a lot of sunshine in the forecast. you have to look towards the south where that air is coming from. very hot weather across the iberian peninsula. the air is coming from that direction so we will see temperatures up to 30. probably more than that into the early pa rt probably more than that into the early part of next week. south—westerly winds bringing fairly warm air. good spells of sunshine. more cloud further north. some rain across scotland over the next few hours. a few patches of low cloud here and there but essentially a dry night with clear skies and light winds and it is going to be warm. some places no low than 16 or 17 so difficult for sleeping. the north and west of scotland sees the workload tomorrow morning and outbreaks of rain but already we have temperatures of 19 or 20 in aberdeen. it is the upper teens in northern ireland. england and wales, 19 or 20 northern ireland. en

the bbc's laura bicker was at the white house, and she joins me now. is is a complete contradiction. where do we go from here? laura: donald trump was utterly defiant. he was on the defense and when , he does that, he goes on the attack. he says he did not ask james comey to end the investigation into michael flynn. he says he did not ask for that pledge of loyalty. and he says he is to say all of this under oath. jane: does that mean we could actually have the president of the united states appearing publicly to tell the truth? laura: that appears to be what he is saying. yesterday we had the extraordinary account of james comey, the former head of the fbi, accusing the sitting president of lying. and today we got it the other way around. president trump does safety is -- say he is completely vindicated in james comey's testimony, but there was a problem and contradiction for the president, because on the one hand he is saying james comey is not telling the truth in his account of the meetings, and on the other he is saying he is completely vindicating

laura bicker in washington. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. have been killed and eight wounded in kidal in the north of the country. the peacekeeping mission in mali is known as the most dangerous in the world and the mission's camp came under heavy fire. a jihadist group linked to al qaeda says it carried out the attack. the saudi football federation has apologised after its national team didn't take part a minute's silence for the victims of the london attacks. some saudi players milled around while their australian opponents stood in silence before their world cup qualifier in adelaide. the saudi football governing body issued an "unreserved" apology and said it "deeply" regretted the episode. two people killed in the attacks were australian. the leader of the spanish region of catalonia has called an independence referendum for october the 1st, and with the central government in madrid views as illegal. voters will be asked if they want the region to be asked if they want the region to be an independent republic. catalonia has its own dist

laura bicker, many thanks.y nicholas, associate professor of sustainability science at lund university centre for sustainability studies in sweden. i wonder how you would react if as expected he says america is pulling out of this deal. the paris climate agreement is the world's commitment to maintaining a liveable and living planet earth, and i think that is an incredibly important commitment, one thatis incredibly important commitment, one that is shared by 200 countries, businesses, faith communities, all kinds of city and regional governments, individuals in civil society. and if that is a commitment that the us president doesn't share, it greatly concerns me and keeps me awake at night. why do you think he is so out of step with yellow that i can't answer, and i wouldn't try to understand what happens in the mind of donald trump. what i do know is that the science is overwhelming about climate change, that the climate is warming and it is caused by people and it is overwhelmingly negative in its impacts. b

from there laura bicker reports. this is what donald trump described as ‘forgotten america'.l country. it is not any longer. it is now blighted by ill—health and an opioid crisis. let's have a look at things. how is your breathing? so i can focus on things other than getting that feeling every day. doctors say this kind of intervention will save money in the long run and save what is becoming a lost generation. this community is finding ways to look after its own after enduring so many changes. they hope that washington is listening and will not turn its back on them now. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a sad ending to the story of the baby chimpanzee nemley rescued from animal traffickers in west africa. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong, with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that w

our washington correspondent laura bicker has more.ey could avoid controversy by drafting this bill behind closed doors, well they we re bill behind closed doors, well they were wrong. within just a few hours of it being released already there is dissent within the party. why? the cuts go far too far. they are looking at the likes of medicaid cuts, the programme for the poorest on lowest incomes in america in order to help them get healthcare. the cuts are over a longer period of time than its predecessor in the house but they will go deeper and there are some moderates in the party, some worried about re— election, some worried about the effect it may have on people within their states, they are already coming out and saying they have to think about this because these cuts may go far too far. and then there are those on the right of the party, rand paul, ted cruz for instance, they say it is obamacare light and they say it is obamacare light and they say it is obamacare light and they say there is too much federal involvement in medic

from there laura bicker reports. this is what donald trump described as ‘forgotten america'.try. it is not any longer. it is now blighted by ill—health and an opioid crisis. let's have a look at things. how is your breathing? clinics are seeing higher rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease than the rest of the us. and that years of working at the coalface have taken its toll on some. what did he tell you about a lung transplant? he gave me an option to get a transplant. if i don't, would be five years life expectancy. claude has black lung disease. he has to fight to breathe. i worked underground for 27 years. my lungs have shutdown. when the mine shut he lost his job and his health insurance. but his treatment is free, due to 0bamacare reforms. this doctor was voted country doctor of the year. half of his patients receive government funded medicaid. he warned against making the debate political and has advice for both sides. other countries have done — they set the groundwork for us. we will not be a pioneer but we can take what they have done and use it and build it to

our correspondent laura bicker is in washington for us.saysin the consequences of what james comey says in the next few hours could be huge. the question that dominated washington politics for months is did donald trump try to stop the investigation into alleged russian meddling in the us presidential election and alleged collusion with the trump campaign? james comeywritten testimony, which we have already seen, his account is breathtaking in its flavour of the awkward and uncomfortable moments that he had with the president. and it's clear from his account is that the president was frustrated at his inability with the fbi director to get him to say what he wanted him to say. but does it say that donald trump broke the law? does it say donald trump the sun is high in the sky, so solar power has been humming. ever since electrical devices came into our homes, your kettle, your toaster, your washing machine, have been powered by electrons created by burning gas, or burning coal, but 110w burning gas, or burning coal, but now we've reached a

laura bicker has sent this report from virginia.men tried to turn into a killing field. the horror was ca ptu red into a killing field. the horror was captured on camera by a dog walker. the shots rang out for several minutes, with few pauses. if that quy minutes, with few pauses. if that guy ok? one victim was steve scalise. his colleagues could not reach him as the firing continued. we could see steve scalise out in the field. he dragged himself there from second base, about ten or 15 yards into the field do is to be further away from the gunmen. but he was motionless out there so i to him but there were still shots going overhead from both sides and, so, finally when we heard that the shooter was down i just finally when we heard that the shooter was down ijust ran low out to steve and started putting pressure on the wounds. the gunmen we re pressure on the wounds. the gunmen were 66—year—old james hodgkinson from illinois. he had antirepublican and anti— donald trump faced social media posts. he died in hospital after being shot

laura bicker will tell us more. this is what donald trump described as "forgotten america".cky is now blighted by ill—health and an opiate crisis. let's ta ke ill—health and an opiate crisis. let's take a look at things. clinics are seeing far higher rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease than the rest of the us, and years of working at the coal face are taking its toll. i had a lung transplant. they gave me an option. they said if i did it, it would be five years life expectancy. claude has black lung disease. he has to fight to breed. i worked underground for 27 years, and my lungs had shut down. when the mines shut, he lost hisjob and down. when the mines shut, he lost his job and his down. when the mines shut, he lost hisjob and his health insurance, but his treatment is free due to obamacare but his treatment is free due to obamaca re reforms. but his treatment is free due to obamacare reforms. this doctor was voted country doctor of the year. half his patients received government funded medicaid. he warned against making this debate political. other countries have

laura bicker has more from nationals park.on hearts, their minds were on those who could not be here. congressmen steve scalise is critically ill in hospital after the shooting on wednesday. he has undergone several surgeries. president donald trump had this video message for the players. this game is always an important moment for both parties to come together, to support charity, build friendships, and celebrate a national pastime. the ceremonial honour of the first pitch went to david bailey, the capital hill police officer who was injured while he helped bring down the gunman. the crowd had come in their thousands to pay tribute to the spirit of this game. it's not about either side, it's just about having fun and we are all human and we are all trying oui’ are all human and we are all trying our best for the country, so i think that we are just going to take a deep red and enjoy the game. it's definitely an opportunity for all of us definitely an opportunity for all of us to come together. this is actually one of the most

laura bicker in the rose garden of the white house. stay with us on bbc news.ardener — a new approach to weed control in new york's woodlands. the day the british liberated the falklands and by tonight british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, crowd to see the man with great hopes for the division of europe. michaeljackson was not guilty on all charges. the screams of the crowd testament to his popularity and theirfaith in his innocence. as long as they'll pay to go and see me, i'll get out there and kick them down the hill. what does it feel to be the first man to go across the channel? it's pretty neat. this is bbc news. million the latest headlines: theresa may has been forced to form a minority government — after losing her parliamentary majority in britain's general election. president trump has called the sacked fbi directorjames comey a liar — and said he's willing to testify under oath. an inquest into the deaths of the 22 people killed at a concert in manchester last month has heard the explosive

scalise is still critically ill in hospital, though his condition has improved. 0ur correspondent laura bickerminds were on those who could not be here. congressman steve scalise is critically ill in hospital after the shooting on wednesday. he has undergone several surgeries. president donald trump had this video message for the players. this game is always an important moment for both parties to come together to support charity, build friendships and celebrate our national pastime. the ceremonial honour of the first pitch went to david bailey, the capitol hill police officer who was injured when he helped bring down the government. the crowd had come in their thousands, to pay tribute to the spirit of this game. for two hours each year, these politicians put and often bitter and entrenched party divisions side. for those who survived the gunmen's hail of bullets, that message is particularly poignant. —— gunman's. we are glad to be here, raising twice as much money for charity as we usually do, twice as many eyes on us tonight, to watch as mess up in the field(!) it's intimidating. all of us

laura bicker joins me now.hael flynn and that meeting in the oval office which has been much written about and whether 01’ been much written about and whether or not james comey wrote been much written about and whether or notjames comey wrote a memo straight afterwards saying there was pressure put on him by donald trump to drop the investigation into michael flynn. who of course was a former national security adviser and had to be fired after his meetings with russian ambassadors was disclosed. let's read some of the text from a meeting. when he leaned over, he said that when it came to the study 1ath meeting, he wanted to talk about flynn. this is donald trump talking about flynn. he said the president began by saying clinton had not done anything wrong in speaking with the russians but he had to let go because he misled the vice president. he said after a while, the president returned to the topic of mike flynn think is a good quy topic of mike flynn think is a good guy and has been through a lot. he repeat

that's get more of —— on this from laura bicker. is leading up the investigation on collision between the trump campaign in russia. it looks like he is not going to be fired. but he is certainly throwing up some doubt as to how independent mr mueller might have been. —— collusion. we now know that they were friends, mueller and james comey. james comey has said that the president asked him to drop an investigation into michael flynn, it is for me at national security adviser. now, there was the debacle over whether or not they were tapes of that conversation. donald trump hinted that they were. and then yesterday, we got the news that, by the way, there are not. so when it comes to the account of these conversations, donald trump does not have the backing of a tape. james comey has the contemporaneous memos that he took after each visit. so by thawing sunshade on bob mueller, it is perhaps saying, perhaps, bob mueller is on is eager to take james comey's side on this. arnold schwarzenegger has warned that tackling global warning mus

from there laura bicker reports. this is what donald trump described as forgotten america.o be coal country. it's not any more. it is now blighted by ill—health and an opioid crisis. let's take a look at things. how is the breathing? clinics are seeing far higher rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease than the rest of the us. and years of working at the coal face have taken its toll on some. we're talking about a lung transplant. they gave me an option to do the transplant, said it would be five years. claude has black lung disease. he has to fight to breathe. i worked underground for 27 years. my lung just shut down. when the mines shut, he lost his job and his health insurance. but his treatment is free due to 0bamaca re reforms. let's see if we can get you in this week. doctor reading was voted country doctor of the year. half his patients receive government funded medicaid. he warns about making this debate political, and has advice for both sides. other countries have done it. they set the groundwork for us. we will not be a pioneer, but we can take what they have

joining me now is our washington correspondent laura bicker.hat'll be the most awkward moment but of course, donald trump and his lawyers havejumped on the fa ct and his lawyers havejumped on the fact that james comey and his lawyers havejumped on the fact thatjames comey in this opening written statement does say on several occasions that he reassured the president he was not under investigation. the most awkward moment for president trump today will be that recount of the conversation between james today will be that recount of the conversation betweenjames comey today will be that recount of the conversation between james comey and the president, when he asked to see his way to letting michael flynn go, letting him go. that is whatjames comey remembers and what he wrote down in his memo. when it comes to letting the investigation go, james comey then writes in his memo that he didn't see it as him asking him to drop the wider investigation. in the potential russian meddling in the potential russian meddling in the us election and alleged col

here's laura bicker with the latest.turn into a killing field. the horror was ca ptu red into a killing field. the horror was captured on camera by a dog walker. the shots ring out for several minutes with few pauses. one of the victims was congressman steve and his colleagues could not get him as the firing continued. his colleagues could not get him as the firing continuedlj his colleagues could not get him as the firing continued. i could see steve out in the field, he dragged himself from their second base 1015 into the field, further away from the gunmen. he was laying motion is out there and so i wanted to get to him but there were still shots going overhead from both sides and so finally when we heard the shooter was down, i ran low out to steve and started putting pressure on the wounds. the gunmen were 66 rods james hodgkinson from illinois. a social media posts were anti—republican and anti—trump. he died in hospital after being shot by capitol hill police, survivor so this would have been a massacre without th

we can now speak to our washington correspondent, laura bicker.with the president. these are reports are collated by the washington post and the new york times they allege that james cole me the day after he met president tramp, it is alleged that president tramp, it is alleged that president tramp leaned over to him and asked him to see his way to letting the investigation into michael flynn the former national security adviser go, to let it go because he is a good quy- to let it go because he is a good guy. apparently, after that meeting and this is based on reports in the newspapers, he went to the attorney general and asked not to be left alone with the president. we hope to hear more about that when he testifies tomorrow because it will be the first time we have heard from him since he was fired. today, intelligence chiefs are before senators and eyes are beginning to move towards capitol hill as those questions continue about whether or not russia meddled in the us presidential election and whether trump aids colluded with russia needs to he

laura bicker reports. we got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back and the police just... castile was pulled over by police because he had a faulty brake light. minutes later he was shot five times. his girlfriend filmed the aftermath on facebook, as the officer kept his gun trained on the car. oh my god, please don't tell me he is dead. please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that. keep your hands where they are! yes, i will keep my hands where they are! mr castile was seen on police video telling the officer there was a legally purchased weapon in the car, but he wasn't going anywhere near it. 0fficer yanez said he felt his life was in danger, that mr castile was high on marijuana and he matched the description of a robbery suspect. thejury believed him and found him not guilty of manslaughter. mr castile's family could not contain their grief and outrage at the verdict. my son loved this city and this city killed my son and a murderer gets away! nojustice! no peace! this shooting sparked vigils and protests in cities across the us. first peaceful... ..but the f

laura bicker reports. busted tail light and the police, he's just killed my boyfriend. philando castile was pulled over by the police because he had a faulty brake light. minutes later he was shot five times. his girlfriend, diamond reynolds, streamed the aftermath on facebook as the officer kept his gun trained on the car. 0h facebook as the officer kept his gun trained on the car. oh my god, please don't tell me he's dead. please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that. yes, i will sir, i will keep my hands where they are. philando castile was seen telling the officer there was a legally purchased weapon in the car but he wasn't neared. the officer said he felt his life was in danger, that tempt one mac was high on marijuana and matched the description of a robbery suspect, thejury description of a robbery suspect, the jury believed him and found description of a robbery suspect, thejury believed him and found him not guilty of manslaughter. a family of philando castile could not contain their gri

let us bring in our correspondent laura bicker covering events for us. is has been considered a hot ticket, laura? well, the towering, looming figure of the fbi director, james comey, 6 foot 8 in height. he will be walking through the halls of capitol hill sit in front of that committee and give his evidence. why are we fixated on this. he was fired as the man who was investigating whether or not the trump campaign colluded with the russians during the us presidential election. many people have speculated, one — why was he fired? was this a reason that donald trump was trying to put the brakes on that investigation? was he trying to prevent that investigation? and what on earth went went on between the president and james comey. laura, thank you very much indeed. people at home now can seccombe comey taking his seat there. the flashes of the cameras of course as people crane in to get a shot before he makes his opening remarks. we are expecting him to make an opening statement, i believe, before questions begin. it looks like that will take a good 15 minu