Plus, Megan Rapinoe's fight for equality
   
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By Andrew McFarlane

 
 

Floods leave dozens stranded overnight

 
 
Story detail

Bedding down on food hall seats... using rolled up clothes as pillows... sharing midnight snacks... Dozens of shoppers and staff are waking up after an uncomfortable night at Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre, having been unable to battle home through flood waters affecting much of South Yorkshire. The atmosphere? "Weird but communal," Disney Store worker Jodie Whelan tells us, as she tries to "make the best out of an awful situation". Hers was among stores handing out drinks, while others opened late so people could buy pyjamas.

More than 100 flood warnings remain in place across northern England, with rain causing serious disruption to roads and rail services. Sheffield City Council declared a major incident overnight, saying there was "some water" coming over the top of the River Don's defences, while neighbouring Rotherham urged people not to travel as police worked to move those who were stranded in the town's Parkgate Shopping Park to "a place of safety". Forecasters say Friday will be generally drier and brighter across Yorkshire, at least.

 
 

 

SNP launches campaign with 'NHS Protection Bill'

 
 

The Scottish National Party is launching its election campaign  with a vow to introduce a bill blocking any UK government from using the NHS as a "bargaining chip" in trade talks. If passed, the law would give devolved parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland a veto on any subsequent trade deal. The UK government insists the NHS will not be "on the table" during talks or in any way "up for sale". Separately, the Conservatives say they will introduce an "NHS visa" to make it easier for doctors and nurses from overseas to work in the UK. Meanwhile,  Labour is promising to increase the scope of statutory maternity pay from nine to 12 monthsFollow the latest election developments via our live page. Plus:


Find out how to register to vote.

 

Hear what motivates candidates who repeatedly stand for election even though they lose every time.

 

See who parties are targeting on social media

 

Read about the major economic problems that await whoever wins, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies

 
 

 

Introducing our general election newsletter

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We want to help you understand the issues behind the election headlines. What are the forces driving this election? Why are you seeing those ads on your social feeds? Sign up for our Election 2019 newsletter, Outside The Box. (UK only)

 
 
 

'I pawned my nan's jewellery for a dating scammer'

 
 

Amid calls for dating apps to do more to help prevent "romance fraud", the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme hears from five victims of a man who conned a total of £24,000 out of various women. "He knew I was looking for a loving, meaningful relationship," says one, who pawned her late grandmother's jewellery and handed over £1,600 to Ivan Nkazi. He ran his scams like a business - using an index system to keep track of his lies - before being jailed for three years for fraud and malicious communications. Figures suggest thousands of people each year are targeted by such scams.

 
 
 
 

Megan Rapinoe's fight for equality

 

Megan Rapinoe is surprisingly small, a petite frame with a big smile. Her pink hair is styled in a quiff and she's wearing a denim jacket and black leather studded-leggings. At 34 she's by no means new to the game of football, but this summer her star has risen to new heights.

Rapinoe finished the World Cup with six goals and three assists. In September, [she] was named Fifa Player of the Year alongside Lionel Messi. She used her acceptance speech to draw attention to a range of issues, including racism in sport. "If there's ever an instance of racism, if every single player on the field is not outraged then to me they're part of the problem," she tells me.

 
 
 
 
 
  Read full article >   
 
 
 
 

Eleanor Roper

Newsbeat sports reporter

 
 
 
 

 

What the papers say

 
 
Story detail

Suggestions from former Labour MPs Ian Austin and John Woodcock that voters should back the Conservatives lead some papers. "Vote Boris!" is how the Daily Express sums up their call for people to support Mr Johnson's party, while the Metro sees them "ganging up on Corbyn" - a reference to the Labour leader, Jeremy. Other papers focus on the party's election pledges, which the i sums up as "spend, spend, spend".  Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror finds "another victim of heartless Tory cuts" in the form of an 88-year-old who spent six hours on a hospital trolley. Read the full review.

 
 
 

Daily digest

 
 
   

Grace Millane Trial hears suspect 'cleaned up blood' in apartment

 
   

US election Michael Bloomberg mulls presidential bid

 
   

Health Check Five things everyone with a vagina should know

 
   

7 days quiz Test your knowledge of the week's news

 
 
 

If you watch one thing today

The sumo wrestler fighting to get women in the ring
 
 
 
 

If you listen to one thing today

The Joy of Text: a tale of love, loss and technology
 
 
 
 

If you read one thing today

'I think I inherited my loneliness'
 
 
 
 

Today's lookahead

   

09:30 Ex-British Cycling & Team Sky medic Dr Richard Freeman to appear before a medical tribunal, charged with ordering testosterone in to give to an unnamed rider to boost performance.

 
   

12:00 Funeral of Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral Church, Dublin.

 
 
 
 

On this day

 
 
   

1987 A bomb explodes during a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen, in County Fermanagh, killing 11 people.

 
 
 

From elsewhere

 
 
 

Emmanuel Macron warns Europe: NATO is brain-dead (Economist)

 
 
 
 

Ambushed and massacred by 'monsters': How a Mormon family became the latest victims of Mexican cartel turf war (Telegraph)

 
 
 
 
 
 

How Tasnim Lowe survived the death of her family - and the truth of her father's horrific crime (Guardian)

 
 
 

We can laugh at Emma Watson's "self-partnering" - but the idea of being happy alone is still taboo (Prospect)

 
 
 
 

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