:00:12. > :00:17.The American surgeon who pioneered a treatment to destroy brain tumours
:00:18. > :00:19.has told a Teesside family the operation could change
:00:20. > :00:24.Five-year-old Finley Ingles travelled to Houston
:00:25. > :00:26.after his family raised ?200,000 from well-wishers to fund the trip.
:00:27. > :00:36.Stuart Whincup sent this report from Texas.
:00:37. > :00:42.It's home to America's biggest Children's Hospital.
:00:43. > :00:43.Ground-breaking brain surgery is performed here,
:00:44. > :00:47.and this is why Finley desperately needs it.
:00:48. > :01:03.He's laughing, but feels discomfort and is left confused.
:01:04. > :01:06.The seizure happened as Finley's family were meeting the man
:01:07. > :01:08.who pioneered the surgery that he'll undergo.
:01:09. > :01:20.The treatment is called laser ablation surgery.
:01:21. > :01:25.A tiny hole is made in the skull, the size of the tip of a pen.
:01:26. > :01:28.And using MRI for guidence, a laser is directed where the tumour is,
:01:29. > :01:38.When we are considering our skill at treating this type of haematoma,
:01:39. > :01:44.even in open operations that would incur lots of side effects,
:01:45. > :01:46.it's only about 50%, that were getting better.
:01:47. > :01:55.Even away from the hospital in Houston, Finley's keen to show
:01:56. > :02:01.I'm not allowed to get in here because I'm a doctor.
:02:02. > :02:10.For Finley's family, today's appointment did offer reassurance.
:02:11. > :02:13.It filled us with positivity, really.
:02:14. > :02:16.It filled us with a lot of confidence, knowing that he feels
:02:17. > :02:18.the operation will be such a success.
:02:19. > :02:20.Nothing can quite prepare you for your child to have surgery.
:02:21. > :02:23.And with the best will in the world, for all the googling
:02:24. > :02:26.and everything that we've done, actually meeting the man himself has
:02:27. > :02:30.After the years of hospital appointments, tests and scans,
:02:31. > :02:33.Finley is now just 24 hours away from the operation that
:02:34. > :02:38.He'll be admitted to Texas Children's Hospital in the early
:02:39. > :02:47.His family say this is Finley's last hope.
:02:48. > :02:49.His last chance for a happy childhood, free from
:02:50. > :03:03.The 15 year-old girl accused of the murder of seven-year-old
:03:04. > :03:05.Katie Rough in York in January has today pleaded not guilty.
:03:06. > :03:12.John Cundy was at Leeds Crown Court, and sent us this report.
:03:13. > :03:19.Katie Rough's family arriving at Leeds Crown Court today. They sat in
:03:20. > :03:24.the jury area of a court to follow the legal proceedings. Katie was
:03:25. > :03:31.attacked on playing fields and the Woodfield area of York in January.
:03:32. > :03:35.She died soon afterwards as an arrest was made in the community.
:03:36. > :03:39.Earlier this week crowds gathered outside York Minster where the
:03:40. > :03:43.funeral was held. A 15-year-old girl accused of the murder of Katie Rough
:03:44. > :03:50.made a 20 minute appearance by video link here at Leeds Crown Court. She
:03:51. > :03:52.can't be named for legal reasons. Her solicitor sitting beside her
:03:53. > :03:59.said the girl was pleading not guilty to the murder of Katie on
:04:00. > :04:05.January nine. The judge explained the proceedings of the court to the
:04:06. > :04:11.girl and told she would stand trial in July. The community was united in
:04:12. > :04:15.grief at the death of Katie Rough. The trial of the girl accused of her
:04:16. > :04:19.killing is expected to last between two and three weeks.
:04:20. > :04:21.A wealthy Tyneside businessman, accused of sexually abusing boys,
:04:22. > :04:25.has told a court he's the victim of a "police witch hunt."
:04:26. > :04:28.75 year-old Colin Gregg, from Newcastle, was giving evidence
:04:29. > :04:30.in his defence against nine counts of indecent assault.
:04:31. > :04:38.Here's our correspondent, Peter Harris.
:04:39. > :04:40.Colin Gregg, the court has heard, has said
:04:41. > :04:47.Today, he spoke directly to the jury.
:04:48. > :04:51.Under cross-examination, he was asked, is it
:04:52. > :04:54.of these components is either mistaken or lying?
:04:55. > :04:58.He said that those making false allegations are doing
:04:59. > :05:05.He accepted that while he's a wealthy man, none
:05:06. > :05:07.of the complainant has made a claim of compensation,
:05:08. > :05:23.give any reason why any of them would choose to lie.
:05:24. > :05:34.The jury has been told of Colin Gregg's background.
:05:35. > :05:36.That he'd helped develop the family's bakery business,
:05:37. > :05:39.is a former head teacher, and had driven forward the Yellow
:05:40. > :05:53.He denies nine counts of indecent assault on four boys.
:05:54. > :05:56.He was asked by his own barrister, it did yet any stage
:05:57. > :06:06.Now, for many smokers, kicking the habit can be
:06:07. > :06:11.But it's one of the best things you can do for your health -
:06:12. > :06:13.and if you're pregnant, it's vital for the
:06:14. > :06:17.Now, Newcastle University researchers have
:06:18. > :06:22.are almost twice as likely to quit smoking if they're tested
:06:23. > :06:25.with a carbon monoxide monitor at their first midwife appointment.
:06:26. > :06:32.Here's our health reporter, Sharon Barbour.
:06:33. > :06:34.When Melanie fell pregnant with her little girl, Faith,
:06:35. > :06:38.she had been a heavy smoker for years.
:06:39. > :06:46.I started smoking when I was about 16, so yes, a school you smoke, try
:06:47. > :06:50.to impress the boys, and it was the fashion in them days. Then I smoked
:06:51. > :06:52.until I was 40. She'd smoked through all four
:06:53. > :07:05.previous pregnancies - I never ever thought, it was just
:07:06. > :07:08.like, I'll carry on like I did, and people have healthy babies and smoke
:07:09. > :07:15.before, my parents both smoked. But something different happened
:07:16. > :07:17.with this pregnancy - that changed her: The amount
:07:18. > :07:27.of carbon monoxide in a non-smoker They checked the amount of carbon
:07:28. > :07:32.monoxide in my breath. Event light came on and she demonstrated what it
:07:33. > :07:35.does to your baby once you smoke. It is basically just strangling you,
:07:36. > :07:39.and you actually trying to reach for breath, and I'm thinking that is
:07:40. > :07:43.kind of frightening, and that is the first time I actually literally, in
:07:44. > :07:48.my head, visualised what it must be for a little person inside,
:07:49. > :07:57.basically you are just constantly strangling that child.
:07:58. > :08:00.It's this test and the chat from a midwife - that
:08:01. > :08:03.Newcastle University have found does hugely help pregnant mums to quit
:08:04. > :08:14.What we found is that this test, and then put in touch to stop smoking,
:08:15. > :08:20.nearly doubled quit rates in pregnancy. There is very clear
:08:21. > :08:24.evidence that smoking in pregnancy can lead to a lighter birth weight,
:08:25. > :08:28.which can lead to a lot of problems also on in their lives. The
:08:29. > :08:30.The team studied 40,000 mothers-to-be at maternity units
:08:31. > :08:36.across the North East, including 10,500 who smoked.
:08:37. > :08:39.The programme's called "BabyClear" - and for mums like Melanie,
:08:40. > :08:42.it clearly works, and there are now calls for the approach to be used
:08:43. > :08:47.On to football, and the Premier League's leading referee
:08:48. > :08:52.is quitting his job to take up a post in Saudi Arabia.
:08:53. > :08:55.Mark Clattenburg from County Durham was unveiled on the Saudi
:08:56. > :08:57.FA's live Twitter page as their new head of referees.
:08:58. > :09:00.The 41 year old - who's widely considered to be one
:09:01. > :09:03.of the world's top officials - could even leave the UK
:09:04. > :09:07.before the next round of Premier League fixtures.
:09:08. > :09:11.Last year, he officiated the finals of Euro 2016,
:09:12. > :09:16.Clattenburg was in charge at the Emirates on Saturday,
:09:17. > :09:21.in Arsenal's 2-0 win Premier League over Hull City.
:09:22. > :09:24.I know it's been mild, but I'm not sure we can quite
:09:25. > :09:40.ever the optimist, it is mild but not quite that mild. It stays with
:09:41. > :09:44.us over the next few days, western areas generally cloudy and misty,
:09:45. > :09:47.mostly dry. East of the Pennines tend to have clearer skies and with
:09:48. > :09:52.light winds we could set the temperature is maybe outlying parts
:09:53. > :09:56.from Northumberland as low as two or three Celsius, perhaps just called
:09:57. > :10:02.in a fight ground frost, elsewhere between five and 7 degrees
:10:03. > :10:05.overnight. The East-West split continues, eastern Area C the best
:10:06. > :10:11.of the sunshine, always a bit more clout in the West, some low cloud as
:10:12. > :10:15.well, so poor visibility over the higher ground but most places dry
:10:16. > :10:19.through the day. The temperatures will reach about 10 Celsius at best
:10:20. > :10:24.and the wins will be pretty light tomorrow. A little ridge of high
:10:25. > :10:26.pressure over us tomorrow, it gets shunted away as we head to the
:10:27. > :10:30.weekend. Weather fronts coming in from the west. But the weather
:10:31. > :10:34.fronts have been fairly weak affairs, some patchy rain on them
:10:35. > :10:39.although little lines on the chart, so fairly breezy at times through
:10:40. > :10:44.the weekend. Saturday, fairly cloudy skies, thick enough just rain at
:10:45. > :10:47.times, especially in the West. The temperatures again into double
:10:48. > :10:51.figures, ten or 11 at best, although it will be fairly breezy with it in
:10:52. > :10:55.the south-westerly wind. Some rain for many of us on Saturday night,
:10:56. > :10:59.and then Sunday again, a fair amount of cloud around. The best of any
:11:00. > :11:01.you with a summary for tomorrow. you with a summary for tomorrow.
:11:02. > :11:08.forthcoming weekend. Here is Nick Miller with a resume of the National
:11:09. > :11:12.weather picture. Hello, rain for some of us today
:11:13. > :11:16.although it won't make much of a dent in the dry winter so far across
:11:17. > :11:20.much of the UK. A few threatening clouds in Cumbria but more than a
:11:21. > :11:25.threat of rain across the pond for Friday. The wettest weather system
:11:26. > :11:28.of the season is over heading into California, and there have been a
:11:29. > :11:35.few, with copious amounts of rain and lots of mountain snow.
:11:36. > :11:36.Record-breaking wet winter so far in parts of California. In Los Angeles