0:00:08 > 0:00:10A warm welcome to BBC World News Today.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11I'm Celia Hatton.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12Our top stories:
0:00:12 > 0:00:14US lawmakers scrabbling for a solution to fund
0:00:14 > 0:00:22government operations - before the money runs out at midnight.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25A new front in the Syrian conflict.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Turkey intensifies its shelling across the border -
0:00:27 > 0:00:30into a Kurdish controlled region.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Scientists take a major step towards one of the biggest
0:00:33 > 0:00:39goals in medicine - a universal blood test for cancer.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41And fancy travelling in a tube at 1,000kph?
0:00:41 > 0:00:43We'll look at what some engineers say could be
0:00:43 > 0:00:51the future of transport.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02Hello and welcome to World News Today.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06We start in the United States, where the federal government
0:01:06 > 0:01:09is on the verge of being shut down.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12If the Senate doesn't approve new budget measures
0:01:12 > 0:01:15by midnight local time - that's ten hours from now -
0:01:15 > 0:01:17many services will be frozen.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21The House of Representatives passed the legislation on Thursday,
0:01:21 > 0:01:26but it's not certain there is enough support in the Senate to approve it.
0:01:26 > 0:01:34Live now to our correspondent in Washington, Gary O'Donogue.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39We've got ten hours to go before a possible shut down but this same
0:01:39 > 0:01:43group of Democrats and Republicans have come to last-minute deals
0:01:43 > 0:01:49before, is a shutdown inevitable? They have. It will be the fourth
0:01:49 > 0:01:54time that Congress and the President reach an agreement to temporarily
0:01:54 > 0:01:56keep the government open while long-term budget negotiations take
0:01:56 > 0:02:02place. You mention the Senate impasse. Donald Trump has invited
0:02:02 > 0:02:07the head of the Senate Democrats to the White House for a one-on-one
0:02:07 > 0:02:11meeting that is going on right now, we don't know of anything will come
0:02:11 > 0:02:15of it but there were meetings bit green them back in September where
0:02:15 > 0:02:23they reached in original agreement first the immigration protections
0:02:23 > 0:02:30for children who were undocumented migrants.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34migrants. Perhaps behind closed doors, they can come up with
0:02:34 > 0:02:39something again. It is getting very late in the game, only ten hours
0:02:39 > 0:02:43before the government shuts down.If there is a shutdown, who will get
0:02:43 > 0:02:48the blame?The polls have pointed towards the Republican because they
0:02:48 > 0:02:56control the White House and both changes as -- chambers of Congress.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59I find that these sort of shutdown since Jewish is, whoever was the
0:02:59 > 0:03:04least popular going into them of the ones who get the blame and right
0:03:04 > 0:03:12now, Donald Trump Ozma popularity is languishing. He came to Washington
0:03:12 > 0:03:16campaigning on being able to change the way things are done, change the
0:03:16 > 0:03:21way the system runs here. Another shutdown would not be a change to
0:03:21 > 0:03:25the gridlock we have seen over the years.How would shut down effect
0:03:25 > 0:03:31the US as a whole? The Foreign Secretary has said that arguments
0:03:31 > 0:03:37over the budget and possible shutdowns have done more to damage
0:03:37 > 0:03:41US military readiness than any enemy in the field. Is that fair?Without
0:03:41 > 0:03:45a long-term budget agreement, defence spending won't go up. That
0:03:45 > 0:03:49is one of the sticking points, and they could be mandatory cuts in
0:03:49 > 0:03:56defence if they don't meet an agreement. If there is a government
0:03:56 > 0:04:05shutdown, 50% of the civilian defence employees get put on furl L,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09people will continue to work and vital civilians will work but
0:04:09 > 0:04:13underpaid but training and maintenance will get suspended until
0:04:13 > 0:04:16government reopens, which could affect written -- Military Cross the
0:04:16 > 0:04:23net. The budget director tried to downplay the impact that a shutdown
0:04:23 > 0:04:29would have, saying that national parks would stay open, mud
0:04:29 > 0:04:35operations would continue, things like trash pick-up, the postal
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Service, that would continue to operate. But the longer this drags
0:04:37 > 0:04:45out, the more implication it has prolonged the programmes.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47All of this comes as Donald Trump prepares
0:04:47 > 0:04:48to celebrate his first year in office.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Our correspondent Laura Trevelyan is in Pennsylvania -
0:04:50 > 0:04:53one of the key states that unlocked his path
0:04:53 > 0:05:00to the White House.
0:05:00 > 0:05:07Donald Trump won the great state of Pennsylvania I just less than 1%,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12just over 40,000 votes, but that was enough to give him all the electoral
0:05:12 > 0:05:17college votes and send him on his way to the White House. If he is
0:05:17 > 0:05:19going to be re-elected, winning a state again will be crucial. One of
0:05:19 > 0:05:25the reasons he won here is because his message to Make America Great
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Again really resonated in Pittsburgh, known as steel city, and
0:05:30 > 0:05:37also along the whole of the Mon Valley here in western Pennsylvania,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40formerly an industrial heartland, and now an area where manufacturing
0:05:40 > 0:05:46is in decline. I went to talk to the blue-collar voters who likes Donald
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Trump's message to find out how they are feeling about him now.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53The Mon Valley in western Pennsylvania is the
0:05:53 > 0:05:54birthplace of US steel.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56This factory was once owned by the 19th-century
0:05:56 > 0:05:59magnate Andrew Carnegie.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00In its heyday, it employed thousands.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Donald Trump tapped into the sense of industrial decline,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04winning by promising to put America first.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Over lunch, I asked Donald Trump voters
0:06:06 > 0:06:13for their verdict on year one.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15It seems like he cares about the working class,
0:06:15 > 0:06:22he cares about the people who are trying to make
0:06:22 > 0:06:24a living and have businesses and things like that.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Small businesses, I think he cares about stuff like that.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Some of the stuff he does, I agree with.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Like that tax cuts, looking out for the working class people.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34But I'm not a big fan of all the rants on social media.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I think we can do away with all of that.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38How are you feeling about that vote?
0:06:38 > 0:06:40A little disappointed.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Juan Lacey, a small-business owner in the Mon Valley hoped Mr Trump
0:06:42 > 0:06:44would run the government like a CEO.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48So, does this former Obama voter regret switching to Trump?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50When I went into the voting booth and pulled the lever,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I was satisfied.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54I'm having buyer's remorse. Why?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Because it is not consistent.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00John Fetterman is a Democrat in Trump country.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04When you get out into some of these areas that no-one has visited,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08no-one has taken the time to care, left it really open and rife
0:07:08 > 0:07:12for someone to step in like Donald Trump,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and say, I'm the guy that can fix this.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18The populist mayor of Braddock with a tattoo of the town's ZIP code
0:07:18 > 0:07:20counsels his party to understand Trump's appeal.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24It has got to be more than Trump is awful, vote for us.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I think it has to come back to an earnest,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30progressive, populist message.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34In his inaugural address a year ago, Donald Trump promised people
0:07:34 > 0:07:38in towns like Braddock that he would give them
0:07:38 > 0:07:40back their jobs and their dreams.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43As an early electoral test here in Pennsylvania
0:07:43 > 0:07:47of whether the voters feel he is delivering, there is a special
0:07:47 > 0:07:49election in the state, in what should be a safe
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Republican seat.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53But the president is taking no chances.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57A real friend and a spectacular man, Rick Saccone.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00That is the candidate here.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Mr Trump doesn't want to lose this election,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06and he was in the Mon Valley on Thursday with this message.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Very simply, your paycheques will be much weaker because under our tax
0:08:09 > 0:08:17cuts, you will be keeping more of your hard earned money.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22-- much bigger.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24The question is whether Mr Trump can get the credit here
0:08:24 > 0:08:25for an improving economy.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Or if the heat generated by his tweets and feuds
0:08:28 > 0:08:35is distracting even his supporters.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Well that is the question of course. In his inaugural address a year ago,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Donald Trump talked about the forgotten people of America and
0:08:44 > 0:08:49promised them they would be forgotten no more. He described what
0:08:49 > 0:08:53he called American carnage, which is something many people here in the
0:08:53 > 0:09:00declining manufacturing towns feel, where you see homes in fact trees
0:09:00 > 0:09:03ordered up, so the question is whether these could tax cuts for
0:09:03 > 0:09:07individuals and the corporate tax cuts which business leaders here in
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Pittsburgh have welcomed will really improve the economic situation in a
0:09:12 > 0:09:16sustained way or whether Donald Trump himself just can't get out of
0:09:16 > 0:09:23the way. The tax cuts have yet to take effect. Do you think that if
0:09:23 > 0:09:26this vote was rerun again today, how would Donald Trump do in
0:09:26 > 0:09:32Pennsylvania?Look, he won Pennsylvania but just over 40,000
0:09:32 > 0:09:38votes which is almost nothing. Hillary Clinton outperformed
0:09:38 > 0:09:43expectations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, she does incredible it
0:09:43 > 0:09:48well in the Metrocentre is. Donald Trump got the benefit of the doubt
0:09:48 > 0:09:55from people who the message that Hillary Clinton was part of the
0:09:55 > 0:10:03problem, they liked something different. They felt he had his
0:10:03 > 0:10:06business background, they had seen him on The Apprentice, he seemed
0:10:06 > 0:10:14like the real deal. My sense of it is that that vision that he
0:10:14 > 0:10:17presented of himself to the electorate is not quite as bright
0:10:17 > 0:10:25and shiny as it was a year ago. One person in a report said he has by's
0:10:25 > 0:10:33remorse. It was a very close election last time and I'm sure the
0:10:33 > 0:10:42next one will be very close to. --, too.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45If all that has left you feeling a little confused -
0:10:45 > 0:10:48don't worry - because you can find much more on our website.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Our team has explained what a US federal government
0:10:50 > 0:10:52shutdown might mean, how it can be avoided,
0:10:52 > 0:11:00and what it's meant when it has happened in the past.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06While the battle over the US federal government budget
0:11:06 > 0:11:08has been rumbling on, we've also seen a significant
0:11:08 > 0:11:10announcement about a change in America's military policy.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says that instead of a past focus
0:11:13 > 0:11:15on terrorism, US national security is now focusing on competing
0:11:15 > 0:11:17with great powers like China and Russia.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Here's how he put it.
0:11:20 > 0:11:27We've faced growing threats from revisionist powers like China and
0:11:27 > 0:11:33Russia, nations that do seek to create a world consistent with
0:11:33 > 0:11:43authoritarian models top --. Rogue regimes like North Korea and Iran
0:11:43 > 0:11:49persist in taking outlaw actions that threaten global stability,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53oppressing their own people and shredding dead committee and human
0:11:53 > 0:11:57rights.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00One of the areas where a change in US military policy
0:12:00 > 0:12:03might have an effect is in Syria - where there's a continuing fight
0:12:03 > 0:12:05against the group calling itself Islamic State.
0:12:05 > 0:12:11America has worked alongside Kurdish forces to drive the militants back -
0:12:11 > 0:12:17so it will be interesting to see how a Turkish offensive
0:12:17 > 0:12:21against Kurdish-held areas will go down in Washington.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22Overnight, Turkish forces began a bombardment
0:12:22 > 0:12:23of several Kurdish villages around Afreen.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Around 70 shells were fired.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Turkey says that no ground forces have advanced on the area.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30But the Turkish Defence Minister has said his military will remove
0:12:30 > 0:12:33what he calls 'terror lines' near the border with Syria.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35The US has said the Kurdish peshmerga are training
0:12:35 > 0:12:39a 30,000 strong border force in the region.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44The long threatened offensive against the Kurdish offensive scenes
0:12:44 > 0:12:53imminent. Turkish tanks have been on the border. Reports that some Syrian
0:12:53 > 0:12:57rebel fighters have crossed in. We're waiting for the announcement
0:12:57 > 0:13:04of this former launch by Turkey. Turkey says the white PG in Syria is
0:13:04 > 0:13:10a terrorist group, an extension of its own Kurdish law -- militant
0:13:10 > 0:13:19group. Ankara has been incensed by American support for the YPG, as
0:13:19 > 0:13:26Kurdish militias fought the Islamic State group. The Turkish
0:13:26 > 0:13:31president... They are worried about the YPG extending their control
0:13:31 > 0:13:35along the border with Turkey so they are preparing for a ground offensive
0:13:35 > 0:13:41in two flavours. That could start within hours. This is a perilous
0:13:41 > 0:13:46venture for Turkey which faces five impediments. First of all YPG
0:13:46 > 0:13:51firepower itself which has proved extremely effective against Islamic
0:13:51 > 0:13:56State.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00State. The Russian presence on the ground, they have supported the YPG
0:14:00 > 0:14:05in the past although there are reports that they have begun to
0:14:05 > 0:14:12withdraw. The Assad regime in Syria has warned it would shoot down any
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Turkish jet, and the risk of civilian casualties in these two
0:14:17 > 0:14:24areas. That said, and caress still seems determined to clear the YPG
0:14:24 > 0:14:32from the areas and another front looks set to open in this seven
0:14:32 > 0:14:35years civil war.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Let's take a look at some of the other
0:14:38 > 0:14:44stories making the news.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Here in the UK, Downing Street has said
0:14:46 > 0:14:48there are "no specific plans" for a bridge linking
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Britain and France.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51The comment came after the UK's foreign secretary, Boris Johnson,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53reportedly raised the idea with France's President Macron,
0:14:53 > 0:14:54at a summit on Thursday.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57A spokesman for Mr Macron said a bridge had been discussed,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59but without any agreement to get a project under way.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Pope Francis has made his first visit to the Amazon
0:15:02 > 0:15:04on the final leg of his trip to Chile and Peru.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Speaking to thousands of indigenous people on the edge
0:15:07 > 0:15:09of the rainforest in Peru, he said Amazon tribes had "never
0:15:09 > 0:15:11"been so threatened", and that they "bore deep wounds".
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The Pope added that the region was under pressure from business
0:15:14 > 0:15:18interests that wanted to exploit its natural resources.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has
0:15:20 > 0:15:22announced she is pregnant with her first child.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24She told reporters the news was 'unexpected but exciting.'
0:15:24 > 0:15:28The child is due in June - Ms Arden says she plans to take six
0:15:28 > 0:15:30weeks off after the birth, before making a full return
0:15:30 > 0:15:33to her political duties.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34Some good news for you now...
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Scientists say they've taken a step towards reaching one
0:15:36 > 0:15:39of the biggest goals in medicine - a universal blood test for cancer.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42A team in the United States has trialled a method that detects eight
0:15:42 > 0:15:45common forms of the disease.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Ultimately, they're hoping to design an annual test designed to catch
0:15:47 > 0:15:53cancer early and save lives.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Here's our correspondent Fergus Walsh.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58It is ten years since Allie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02It is rare for anyone with the disease to survive that long.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05There is no screening programme so tumours
0:16:05 > 0:16:08are usually found too late.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11At that test would make a big difference.
0:16:11 > 0:16:19If we are able to get more people diagnosed sooner, like me,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22then it is going to make me feel a lot happier.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25There are only 1% of us who are surviving like me to ten years.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27And it is a bit of a lonely place.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29And it is a bit of a lonely place.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32There aren't many of us around, and I would really like pancreatic
0:16:32 > 0:16:35cancer to become more of a chronic disease rather than such acute
0:16:35 > 0:16:38deadly disease as it is now.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Scientists at John Hopkins University in Baltimore had made
0:16:40 > 0:16:43significant progress towards a blood test for cancer.
0:16:43 > 0:16:49The team examined blood samples from around 1000 cancer patients.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53They had one of eight different common cancers,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57lung, liver, pancreas, colon, oesophagus, breast,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00stomach, or ovary.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Now, cancer cells shed bits of DNA which circulate in the blood
0:17:03 > 0:17:08so the test looks for 16 gene mutations and eight
0:17:08 > 0:17:11protein biomarkers.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Overall, the blood test found 70% of the cancers but that success
0:17:15 > 0:17:21rate fell to just 40% with small early-stage cancers.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24And this is when you want to detect it, when there is the best chance
0:17:24 > 0:17:32of the cure through surgery.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38So, a reliable but test for cancer is some way off.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40But the Francis Crick Institute in London, which is pioneering
0:17:40 > 0:17:42research in this area, believes it will come.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45I'm almost certain that the next five to ten years, we will see tests
0:17:45 > 0:17:48like this become much more routine in clinical practice to help us
0:17:48 > 0:17:51diagnose tumours earlier and to help us increase the cure rates
0:17:51 > 0:17:52for patients suffering from cancers.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57The American Cancer a lot test cost around £350 per patient,
0:17:57 > 0:18:02and each positive result would need further investigation.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07So, the burden on the NHS would need to be weighed against the benefits
0:18:07 > 0:18:11of early treatment and lives saved.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16Fergus Walsh, BBC News.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Rail services are recovering in Germany after a powerful storm
0:18:19 > 0:18:22flattened buildings, disrupted travel and killed
0:18:22 > 0:18:25at least eight people.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29It also caused just over 100 million dollars in damage.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31The storm, called "Friederike", is now headed towards Poland,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34where it's expected to weaken.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Take a look at these pictures from
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Dusseldorf in Germany - where the high winds made coming
0:18:39 > 0:18:46in to land rather tricky.
0:18:49 > 0:19:06The winds approached 90 marks per hour.The winds are too strong.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07Over the border in the Netherlands....
0:19:07 > 0:19:09wind speeds reached up to 140 kilometres per hour -
0:19:09 > 0:19:11that's approaching 90 miles per hour.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13More than 60 trucks were reported to have toppled over.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Fallen trees also damaged vehicles.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18There was also a near-miraculous escape at a kindergarten.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24As the hurricane winds across the North Sea subsided, and the planes
0:19:24 > 0:19:30and trains serving the airport tried to catch up, people said about
0:19:30 > 0:19:33trying to patch up their battered homes and businesses. The skips
0:19:33 > 0:19:40cannot contain the debris that has come down across the country. Trees
0:19:40 > 0:19:45have been rooted. This one came crashing down on a creche. None of
0:19:45 > 0:19:49the children were -- what teachers inside the building at the time were
0:19:49 > 0:19:58injured. -- none of the teachers or children. Dutch meteorologists have
0:19:58 > 0:20:04been accused of leaving it too late before issuing the highest code red
0:20:04 > 0:20:11weather warning. It took many people off-guard. This storm is expected to
0:20:11 > 0:20:15enter the record books as one of the worst to hit the Netherlands since
0:20:15 > 0:20:19records began in 1990. It took just a few hours to sweep through but
0:20:19 > 0:20:25will take millions of euros to put parts of the country back together
0:20:25 > 0:20:28again.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30The Californian couple who are accused of imprisoning,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32abusing and torturing twelve of their OWN children
0:20:32 > 0:20:33have appeared in court.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35David and Louise Turpin were arrested on Sunday after one
0:20:35 > 0:20:38of their children escaped and raised the alarm.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Police say the children were fed very little,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43allowed to shower just once a year and chained for weeks
0:20:43 > 0:20:46or months at a time.
0:20:46 > 0:20:47The couple deny the charges against them.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50James Cook reports from California.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Give up that right...
0:20:53 > 0:20:57David Turpin, appearing in court to deny betraying his
0:20:57 > 0:21:01own children with a bewildering catalogue of cruelty.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06His wife, Louise, also pleaded not guilty to inflicting physical pain
0:21:06 > 0:21:08and mental suffering.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11It's also alleged that one of the couple's daughters
0:21:11 > 0:21:14was sexually abused by the father.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Prosecutors say the siblings endured the abuse for years,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20as their parents plumbed the depths of human depravity.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24One of the children, aged 12, is the weight
0:21:24 > 0:21:27of an average seven-year-old.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Several of the victims have cognitive impairment and neuropathy,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34nerve damage, as a result of this extreme and
0:21:34 > 0:21:36prolonged physical abuse.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39The children were supposedly schooled here in their home,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42but the district attorney said they lacked basic knowledge.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Some did not even know what a police officer was.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47They were reportedly allowed to shower just once
0:21:47 > 0:21:51a year and were beaten, chained up and tormented.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55They would buy food, including pies, apple pies, pumpkin pies,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58leave it on the counter, let the children look at it
0:21:58 > 0:22:01but not eat the food.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03About the only thing the children were allowed
0:22:03 > 0:22:05to do in their rooms, or chained up, was to
0:22:05 > 0:22:07write in journals.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09We now have recovered those journals, hundreds
0:22:09 > 0:22:13of them, and we are combing through them for evidence.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15The 17-year-old who raised the alarm after climbing out of the home
0:22:15 > 0:22:19through a window had been plotting the escape for two years.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24One of her sisters made it out with her but turned back out of fear.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26This case has sent waves of revulsion across
0:22:26 > 0:22:29the United States and beyond.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32The authorities say the siblings are doing well but some of them
0:22:32 > 0:22:35at least have almost certainly suffered irreparable
0:22:35 > 0:22:38physical and mental damage.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41The parents are due in court again next month.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44If convicted, they face life in prison.
0:22:44 > 0:22:52James Cook, BBC News, Riverside in California.
0:22:53 > 0:23:03Moving onto something totally different.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06How would you like to be strapped inside a pod,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08and then fired through a tube, hurting forward at more
0:23:08 > 0:23:09than a thousand kilometres an hour?
0:23:09 > 0:23:12It may sound terrifying - but one group of engineers think
0:23:12 > 0:23:15it's the future of travel.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17They call it the Hyperloop.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Rory Cellan-Jones has been to the Nevada Desert to see it
0:23:22 > 0:23:23in action.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25We heading through the Nevada desert, north of Las Vegas,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28for a glimpse of what its backers claim is the future of transport.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31This is Hyperloop, an attempt to send passengers hurtling
0:23:31 > 0:23:33at 700 miles per hour through a vacuum tube.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Many think that is far-fetched but this project got
0:23:35 > 0:23:37the backing last year of Virgin with Sir Richard Branson
0:23:37 > 0:23:39becoming chairman.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44In this 500 metre test track, they say they have shown
0:23:44 > 0:23:47that the technology works, although they have not yet put any
0:23:47 > 0:23:50human being is on board.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55I think my background in spacecraft engineering has given me the skill
0:23:55 > 0:23:57set to be able to...
0:23:57 > 0:23:59The head of engineering, a space scientist recruited from Nasa,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01sees no reason why people might be scared.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04The Hyperloop is a maglev train in a vacuum system, or a vacuum tube.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07And, so, you can also think of it as an aircraft
0:24:07 > 0:24:09flying at 200,000 feet.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11People don't have any issues flying in aeroplanes,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13and people don't have any issues going in maglev trains.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16This is simply combining the two, and allows you to be
0:24:16 > 0:24:17more energy efficient.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20This isn't the only project.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22The electric car type two Elon Musk, who originally floated the whole
0:24:22 > 0:24:29idea, has proposed a tunnel under Los Angeles that could carry cars
0:24:29 > 0:24:32or the transformed into a Hyperloop.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35The Virgin Hyperloop team say they could take passengers
0:24:35 > 0:24:38from London to Edinburgh in 50 minutes.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Or cut the journey between New York and Boston two and a half an hour.
0:24:41 > 0:24:49But making this work in the real world will mean running several
0:24:49 > 0:24:51of these pipes alongside each other over long distances,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54perhaps underground, and convincing governments of it
0:24:54 > 0:24:58being realistic is going to prove, well, pretty challenging.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01At that giant CES tech show in Las Vegas, Hyperloop's chief
0:25:01 > 0:25:03executive was wishing that message that this technology is ready,
0:25:03 > 0:25:11and just needs someone to push the button.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13I've got 200 of the most brilliant engineers from industries
0:25:13 > 0:25:15from around the world who have committed themselves
0:25:15 > 0:25:18to bringing something really new and important to the planet.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22We can go 500, 600, and 700 miles an hour.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24That is not what worries me.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27The biggest challenge ahead of us is to find governments
0:25:27 > 0:25:29and regulators that want to rapidly introduce this technology.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Even if some government do share that vision,
0:25:32 > 0:25:40they share another challenge.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48finding the money and the public support to build this kind
0:25:48 > 0:25:50of structure many miles across or under their countries.
0:25:50 > 0:25:58Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News, Nevada.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some