and the state of texas actually did a taking of our property, which is unconstitutional, it's against the law and it's against our wishes. they were travelling from south america, from venezuela, and they crossed the darien gap. they walked through several states through mexico. this is not going to stop them. they're coming across. do you feel like you're in the middle of a political football here? 0h, completely. we've seen quite a few candidates that are running for president who've been down here. we've seen a lot of people from congress — on both sides, republican and democrat. you know, you don't have to, it doesn't matter whether you're a republican or a democrat. there's right and wrong, and what's happening here is wrong. it doesn't matter what spectrum or side you're on. most people here in eagle pass happen to be democrats, but they'll tell you they're not happy. once the migrants are across the river and through the wire, they're taken into custody by border patrol agents. they're divided into men, women and families. shoelaces and belts are removed and most of their baggage is dumped. they're then photographed, along with any documents. many here told us they were from venezuela. what strikes you about these crossings is not simply the scale, hundreds of people wading through the river at any one time, it's also the efficiency of the system. within 18 to 2a hours, everyone here is likely to be on their way on buses to towns and cities across america. it's that distribution — much of it, on buses, paid for by the government of texas — that's causing huge political ructions in big american cities. many that had previously welcomed incomers now say they're at capacity and can't cope. the chair of the local democratic party in eagle pass, juanita martinez, is very supportive ofjoe biden, but on this issue, she says, there needs to be more federal help. i think they should pass some legislation to make it easier, to make the process better, where you don't, you don't wind up having immigrants having to risk their lives on the river. putting these coyotes out of business because, let's face it, they�* re making money. because these people that come, the ones that we have rescued, the ones we've helped, you'd be surprised how much money they took from them. but that's not the most precarious thing that they go through, because they come from venezuela because evidently, there's a problem in venezuela that maybe the federal government could go and help. but republicans like hugo urbina are looking for an entirely different response. if president biden was to say, anybody who crosses illegally into united states will be sent back to the prior country, i guarantee you mexico will make a stop and say, we don't want these people here because you're going to... and they won't be coming in because the cartel's asking for them to pay them a significant amount of money, and they're not going to come all the way over here just to be sent back. and that would deter, you think? significantly. i know president trump did that at one point. having been photographed and processed, today's arrivals line up for the buses that will take them to a local shelter for a few hours' rest, some food and fresh clothes. adult children go to separate facilities from their younger siblings. there is anxiety, but there is also hope. more than a quarter of a million people arrive in the us like this every month. even with its vast resources, many fear that america is struggling to cope. that's all from us tonight. faisal�*s here tomorrow. goodnight. in their long—running dispute over pay. the aslef union has announced a "rolling programme" of walk—outs between the second and 8th of december, with different train companies affected on each day. drivers will also refuse to work any overtime from the first to ninth december. bbc analysis shows that two thirds of nhs maternity units in england don't consistently meet safety standards. the care quality commission says maternity has the worst safety ratings of all hospital services it inspects. more than 15% of units are now classed as inadequate. scotland's health secretary michael matheson has admitted that an £11,000 data roaming charge on his ipad was caused by his sons watching football during a trip to morocco last year. the expense was initially paid for by the scottish parliament, for by the scottish parliament. you're live with bbc news. the rapper and music mogul sean combs is being sued by an ex girlfriend for rape and physical abuse. the hip—hop artist — who's also known as puff daddy or diddy has been accused by the singer cassie of more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, and of raping her in 2018. the papers were filed in a court in new york. a lawyer for sean combs says he vehemently denies the allegations, describing the lawsuit as "riddled with baseless and outrageous lies". live now to washington and our north america correspondent shingai nyoka. great nyoka. to talk to you again. what are the great to talk to you again. what are the allegations and when do they date from? , , ., the allegations and when do they date from?— date from? this is a civil suit so this is not _ date from? this is a civil suit so this is not a _ date from? this is a civil suit so this is not a criminal case. - date from? this is a civil suit so this is not a criminal case. shel date from? this is a civil suit sol this is not a criminal case. she is seeking unspecified damages in her lawsuit which was filed at a cultural court in manhattan. a fairly successful r&b singer as well as model says that in 2005 when she began a relationship with puff daddy, at the time he was known as puff daddy, sean combs, that is when the physical abuse began. and in her suit she details a litany of accusations saying he physically beat her, he plied her with drugs and also that he forced her to have sex with multiple numbers of male prostitutes in the video did that. she says that in 2018, which was shortly before they broke up that she alleges he raped her. these are very serious allegations that she is making against him. she says that at some point the parties had sat down before the suit was filed and that sean combs had offered her in eight figure salary but she rejected it and said she wanted to raise her voice and wanted other women to recognise that this is what women must do, they have to come forward rather than remain silent. and; rather than remain silent. any response _ rather than remain silent. any response from _ rather than remain silent. any response from sean combs so far? rather than remain silent. any - response from sean combs so far? is response from sean combs so far? is attorney has responded and i think you preface it fair, said that these allegations were offensive as well as outrages. he says for the past six months she has been trying to elicit 30 million us dollars from sean combs and he rejected that essentially they say that this is her last resort and her attempt at a pay day. effectively rejecting those accusations but these are serious accusations. sean combs is one of the biggest hit pop stars worth close to $1 billion. this really could damage his reputation depending on what happens next. shingai nyoka, our correspondent in washington, dc, thank you. president biden says he made clear that the us does not seek conflict with china, during talks with president xijinping, despite calling him a "dictator". in their four—hour meeting, the two sides agreed to restore military to military communications, and engage over artificial intelligence. president xi said china was ready to be a partner and friend of the united states. mr biden told the apec summit on thursday that their discussions were candid and constructive. let me be clear. we're de—risking and diversifying our economic relationship with the prc. not decoupling, not decoupling. we'll be firm standing up for our values and our interest. and i was very straightforward as he was with me yesterday. at the same time, when critical global issues such as climate, ai, counter—narcotics where it makes sense to work together. we've committed to work together. we're going to continue our commitment to diplomacy to avoid surprises and prevent misunderstandings. stable relationship between the world's two largest economies is not merely good for the two economies, but for the world. we can cross live to san francisco and my colleague sumi somaskanda. a definite thought and the frosty relations between us and china. what is the reaction been in the us? it’s is the reaction been in the us? it's been is the reaction been in the us? it�*s been welcomed here. i can certainly say there is a sigh of relief after seeing that meeting go up yesterday. the fact that us and china were able to sit together, these two presidents were able to sit at a table to talk through some of these thorny issues and establish a line of communication we heard president biden reiterate the fact that military to military communication will resume. he told delegates, ceos in the room that is particularly important if there's another spike intentions that it doesn't spiral into conflict. that is something that ceos, delegates here at the apec summit have welcomed for that and generally democrats are welcome. he has been criticised by republicans who have said that this meeting hasn't produced anything substantive and should be sitting down with president xi jinping in the first place. mostly this has been a welcome sign. you should say it you mentioned that president biden after that meeting did call president xijinping a dictator again. that might�*ve had some in the white house shaking their heads after this carefully orchestrated meeting, a meeting that went fairly well. to be fair, we start the chinese foreign ministry we haven't seen much coverage of that statement from president biden. all and all it seems that this meeting and the plant to bring the sides together to speak and make sure those lines of communication are open, that did go well. i communication are open, that did go well. . , communication are open, that did go well. ., , ., ., ., ,~' communication are open, that did go well. .,, ., ., ., ,., communication are open, that did go well. ., ., ., ., well. i was going to ask you about that dictator _ well. i was going to ask you about that dictator comment. _ well. i was going to ask you about that dictator comment. the - well. i was going to ask you about that dictator comment. the deals| that dictator comment. the deals announced, military to military communication has been welcomed for the defensible deal, some criticism it was lacking in more detail on how they were going to stem the flow. —— thank at all. they were going to stem the flow. -- thank at all-— thank at all. this agreement is siml thank at all. this agreement is simply that — thank at all. this agreement is simply that china _ thank at all. this agreement is simply that china has - thank at all. this agreement is simply that china has agreed l thank at all. this agreement is| simply that china has agreed to crack down on some of the products that go into making fence at all. it remains to be seen whether china will go forward and actually make that happen, implement that on china side. we should say from president biden perspective fence it all is a big deal, despite that criticism it has been a huge problem in cities like san francisco where we're. we have welcomed the deal and said the fact that it's on paper is a good sign, let see if is it implemented going forward. thank you. it's the moment fans of "the crown" have been waiting for. after a year—long wait, netflix has begun showing the first episodes of the final series of the royal drama. it depicts the events of the late 1990s, including princess diana's death. but critics aren't impressed. has the drama lost its gloss? charlotte gallagher reports. don't really understand how i ended up here... one of the most famous women in the world. ..and losing sight of myself in the process. one of the most defining moments in contemporary british history, the death of princess diana, and the cataclysmic effect on the royal family. what do people want from me? for you to be mother to the nation. this series of the crown recreates events many will remember. do you know anything about it? the intense tabloid frenzy and diana's relationship with dodi al fayed are the focus of the first episodes. he said to me, every survivor has a date, the day they stepped on the landmine. and i said, mine was the 29th ofjuly, 1981, my wedding. i couldn't have done it without khalid, who plays dodi. i think the two of us just held each other through that. some days coming to work was incredibly painful and sad, and you just have to keep in the front of your mind the responsibility you feel to tell the story. the crown is obviously a drama not a documentary. but historians say it's lacking accuracy. what happened in private, we have no accounts for because they were very private moments. so they have to take liberties in terms of how did charles broke the news to william and harry. we don't know what the queen was like in those moments. we don't know what she said to prince philip. so they will take artistic license. this final series depicts the drama and emotion that consumed a country, a family, and left a legacy that's still felt today. this is going to be the biggest thing that any of us has ever seen. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. it's a very mixed picture of weather across the uk on thursday and the rain and the winds will return along with the milder feeling air over the weekend. but on friday it's looking largely dry. a few showers out towards the west, plenty of sunshine around. temperatures now close to the seasonal average. so we're between weather systems on friday. these fronts clear into the north sea. this is the weekend's weather, a deep area of low pressure approach. and from the southwest, we'll be seeing that by the time we get to the end of the day. but most of the day, it's certainly looking dry. the early cloud will clear away into the north, away into the north sea a few showers across north west england, the isle of man down through wales and possibly the south west of england. and here it will cloud over also northern ireland as we head towards the end of the afternoon. but plenty of sunshine around temperatures close to the seasonal average, generally eight to 13 degrees. but still that cold air lingers across northeastern areas of scotland. as we head through friday night and into saturday morning, that wet, windy weather spreads in from the southwest, brisk southeasterly winds, spells of heavy rain, the temperatures rising unusually through the night. so this is how we're set to start off saturday morning, between 12 and 1a degrees celsius out towards the south of england. the rain gradually clears its way eastwards, so it will turn a lot drier across much of england and wales or eastern scotland as we head through the afternoon. some showers further west. temperatures certainly very mild rising to 15 or 16 degrees celsius in the south, ten to 13 degrees celsius further north. now, that deep area of low pressure is still spinning its way eastwards as we head through sunday. the focus of the rain on sunday will tend to be towards the north. so across northern england and much of north west scotland, also northern ireland seeing some hefty showers at times, a few showers out towards western wells, perhaps further south across much of england and wales is dry. but here we'll see some very blustery winds, gusts of a0 to 50 miles an hour. temperatures perhaps just that little bit lower. now, as we head through sunday night, the area of low pressure starts to clear away, but it does leave a legacy of showers. still, the milder air hangs on for part of monday, but you can see we draw down more of a northerly wind. so the temperatures are set to turn cooler as we head through it into the start of next week. a drop in temperature turning more settled, too, as we head into the middle of the week for most of us. bye for now. this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from washington, dc. i'm stephen sackur. how complete is donald trump's takeover of the republican party? now, that is a question which will hang over the coming year's presidential election and the multiple trials of the former president. can republicans seriously back a presidential candidate who is in the dock and facing the real possibility ofjail time? well, my guest today here on capitol hill is one of mr trump's most loyal congressional supporters, republican congressman mark alford. what motivates those who are all—in for donald trump?