Top story: Sessions sacking sparks Mueller fears

Good morning briefers. I’m Martin Farrer and thanks for joining me for a run through of the top stories today.

In a night of high drama in Washington, Donald Trump has rid himself of two troublesome figures by sacking his attorney general Jeff Sessions and then revoking the press pass of CNN reporter Jim Acosta after an angry exchange at a press conference.

Sessions was the first to go. He had infuriated the US president last year by recusing himself from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling and, with the dust still settling from Tuesday’s midterm elections, the senator was told he had to go. His departure – and interim replacement by his deputy, the controversial arch-Mueller critic Matthew Whitaker – brought immediate calls from Republicans that the investigation should be allowed to continue. Democrats also cried foul. Tom McCarthy has this analysis of what it all means for the Mueller probe. And if you’re counting, Sessions is the 41st high-profile appointees who have been fired or resigned since Trump took office.

The buildup to Sessions’s sacking was a chaotic press conference at which Trump clashed angrily with Acosta when the CNN reporter challenged the president’s scare-mongering about immigration. Trump tried to brush him off at which point a White House staffer tried to take the microphone off Acosta, but he held on. Some hours later the administration media relations reached a new nadir as Acosta’s credentials were withdrawn on the basis that he had “placed his hands” on an intern. CNN responded that the accusation was false and said it stood by the reporter. You can watch the clash here. You can also read how Trump raged at possible Democrat attempts to use their newly gained control of the House to investigate him.

Play Video 1:34 White House accuses CNN’s Jim Acosta of 'placing his hands' on young 'intern' – video

Elsewhere in America, the ramification of the midterms are being felt, such as in once rock-solid Republican Orange county, California which appears to be turning for the Democrats. Despite that, the party is left hoping for miracles in tight races in Florida and Georgia and has emerged from the elections still lacking an obvious presidential candidate for 2020. But perhaps the most bizarre question of all is what happens now that a dead pimp has won a Senate seat for Nevada?

Ill-advised – Drama was also promised in the latest crunch cabinet meeting on Brexit. But that meeting will not now go ahead as expected today or tomorrow amid a wrangle about senior ministers’ access to legal advice on the Irish border backstop issue. A summary of the sensitive advice, which is seen as crucial to determining the government’s strategy in the final negotiations with Brussels, was given to cabinet by attorney general Geoffrey Cox on Tuesday. But calls are now growing from all sides for it to be published in full. The cabinet will now most likely meet at the weekend or early next week, enabling time for ministers to digest Jeremy Hunt’s planned Armisitice day speech saying that Anglo-French relations will not be destroyed by Brexit.

Uneasy lies the crown – In case you were worried about Prince Charles meddling in national affairs if he ever becomes king, the man himself has told the BBC that he wouldn’t be “that stupid”. Giving an interview to mark his 70th birthday today, the monarch-in-waiting cites Shakespeare’s Prince Hal as an example of how donning the crown can make all the difference to one’s behaviour. “I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign,” he says, perhaps reassuring those concerned that he would lobby about his radical, unkingly hobbyhorses such as the danger of GM crops and climate change. Meanwhile, the prince has been trying his skills in pidgin English during a visit to Nigeria, telling an audience in Lagos: “‘God don butta my bread’ (God has blessed me).”

Housing gloom – The property market is at its weakest for six years, according to a new survey, with house prices falling in London, the south-east, south-west and East Anglia. The monthly snapshot by the surveyors’ body Rics says the market had its worst reading since 2012 and that the lingering uncertainty around Brexit had “massively affected buyer confidence”. Rics said the price falls would continue for another three months, but it wasn’t all gloom for homeowners. Some markets – notably Northern Ireland, Scotland and Northumberland – reported brisk sales.

Bibi freed – The Pakistani Christian woman whose blasphemy case has triggered violent protests and assassinations has been freed from jail. Asia Bibi left a detention facility in Punjab yesterday and was flown to Islamabad, where she was at a secure location because of threats to her life. Some reports said she had already left Pakistan. Canada, France and Spain have reportedly considered offering asylum to Bibi and her family. Her husband has appealed to the UK and the US to offer a safe haven.

Doctored figures – A medical school in Japan has offered places to dozens of women who were unfairly rejected in favour of male candidates. Tokyo Medical University caused an international furore when it admitted that some women’s exam scores were deliberately marked down to restrict the number of female students. Yukiko Hayashi, who became the school’s first female president in September, apologised and said 67 women who had been unfairly excluded over the past two years would be able to take up their places next April.

Today in Focus podcast: Can you take on the EU and win?

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. Photograph: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Some sobering thoughts for Theresa May and Brexiters in today’s podcast from the former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who staked his career on getting a deal with the European Union – and lost. As the PM enters the endgame with Brussels, Varoufakis looks back at the tactics used against Greece and which Britain’s negotiators could learn from. Plus: US political correspondent Lauren Gambino reacts to the midterm results.

Lunchtime read: The forgotten gems of England’s heritage

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A detail from a rare medieval fresco inside the city’s Holy Trinity Church which is on Historic England’s risk list. Photograph: Will Binns / Coventry Evening Te/PA

Historic England has released a list of properties that are under threat from development or neglect that reads like a collection of the country’s forgotten heritage gems. The list includes the neo-gothic church in Salford where the suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst married in 1879, Grimsby’s Kasbah area (I know – me neither), and the centuries-old Coventry church that counted George Eliot as a worshipper and survived the wartime blitz. It also lists the Wisbech & Fenland Museum, which is described as “an almost perfect example of a Victorian museum”.

Sport

José Mourinho defended his reaction at the end of Manchester United’s breathtaking late comeback against Juventus, a victory that saw the United manager ushered from the pitch at the final whistle after cupping his ear provocatively towards the home crowd. Back in Manchester, City moved to the verge of qualification for the Champions League knockout stage with a 6-0 thumping of Shakhtar Donetsk, but the night will be remembered for a Norman Wisdom-style pratfall by Raheem Sterling rather than the football produced. Floyd Mayweather appears to have backed out of a planned New Year’s Eve fight with Japanese kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa, claiming he was “blindsided” by the promoter regarding the nature and magnitude of the event. England have told Maro Itoje to get in the faces of the All Blacks on Saturday despite concerns over his discipline. Tommy Makinson has become only the fifth Englishman to receive rugby league’s highest individual accolade, the Golden Boot award. And Ladbrokes could be forced to pay out on hundreds of bets which were turned down by its trading team if the Independent Betting Arbitration Service finds against the firm in three near-identical disputes over bets which are currently being considered by its adjudicators.

Business

Samsung is losing market share to Apple and is pinning its hopes of catching its American rival with a foldable phone that offers a tablet-sized screen with a pocket-sized device. Unveiled in San Francisco last night, the company said it would be ready for mass production in the coming months.

Asia Pacific markets have followed Wall Street’s upbeat mood today in the wake of the midterms. The FTSE100 is seen opening up strongly by 0.6%, while the pound is at $1.312 and €1.148.

The papers

Guardian front page, Thursday 8 November 2018. Photograph: The Guardian

The US midterms feature on the front pages of several papers, including the Guardian “Trump issues threat of warlike response after Democrat gains”, the Times “Trump points to second term”, and the FT “Trump urges bipartisan approach as Democrats take control of House”.

The Telegraph leads with the Prince Charles interview, headlining: “I won’t be a meddling king ... I am not that stupid”, as does the Express: “‘I’m not that stupid’”.

The Mirror has story of 98-year-old veteran who is in hospital after being beaten during a robbery “What have we become?”, while the Sun reports on a 50-year-old woman giving birth to four babies: “Quads gift”.

For more news: www.theguardian.com

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