Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 13 Sep 2019

1. DUP ‘has opened door to new Brexit deal’

Boris Johnson has been “handed a lifeline” by the DUP that increases the odds of securing a Brexit deal, The Times reports. The newspaper claims the party last night agreed tentatively to the possibility of Northern Ireland operating under some EU rules after the UK quits the bloc, and to drop its objection to checks on vessels in the Irish Sea. The change of heart would open up the possibility of replacing the backstop. However, DUP leader Arlene Foster has refuted the claims, tweeting that “anonymous sources lead to nonsense stories”.

Today’s newspapers: ‘Bullish Boris ready to walk away’

2. Bercow: I’ll get ‘creative’ to stop Johnson breaking law

Speaker of the Commons John Bercow has said he will allow “additional procedural creativity” to help Parliament stop any illegal attempt by the prime minister to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31 October. He added: “The only form of Brexit that we have, whenever that might be, will be a Brexit that the House of Commons has explicitly endorsed.”

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What might no-deal look like for Britain?

3. Domestic violence killings hit five-year high

A total of 173 people died in domestic violence-related homicides in Britain last year - up from 141 in 2017 and the highest number in five years, newly obtained data from UK police forces reveals. One criminologist told the BBC, which obtained the data, that many of the dead were “invisible victims” of the country’s knife crime epidemic.

4. Biden, Sanders and Warren face off in TV debate

The three US Democrats considered the front runners to be the party’s candidate in the 2020 presidential election have faced each other in a televised debate for the first time in the contest. In previous Democratic debates, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have appeared separately. Last night, they clashed on issues including expanding state healthcare.

Who won the latest Democratic debate?

5. Child abuser Vanessa George banned from Devon and Cornwall

A nursery school worker jailed for ten years for sexually abusing children in her care in 2009 will be banned from her home county of Devon and neighbouring Cornwall when she is released, the Parole Board has decided. However, a statement from the board said that Vanessa George no longer poses a “significant” risk to the public.

6. YouTuber PewDiePie drops £40,000 anti-hate donation

Popular YouTube star PewDiePie has scrapped a promise to donate £40,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, a group which opposes racism, following a fan backlash. The vlogger, real name Felix Kjellberg, has previously been accused of anti-Semitism and has been embraced by the far-right.

7. Adele files for divorce

Singer-songwriter Adele has filed legal documents in the US initiating divorce from her husband of three years, investment banker-turned-charity boss Simon Konecki. A spokesperson said the pair are still “committed to raising their son together lovingly” and asked for privacy. Adele married Konecki in a private ceremony in 2016.

8. Remains found after sunken car spotted online

The remains of a man who went missing 22 years ago in Florida have been found in a sunken car spotted on Google Maps. William Moldt failed to return from a night out in Lantana on 7 November 1997, when he was 40 years old. A resident of the area spotted the car on aerial photographs and alerted police, who found skeletal remains in the wreck.

9. Tiananmen Square ‘tank man’ photographer dies

A photographer who captured images of the now-famous “tank man” protester facing off with the Chinese army in Tiananmen Square in 1989 has died at the age of 64. Charlie Cole took the photo with a long lens from a hotel balcony for Newsweek, hid the film in the bathroom and then smuggled it out of the country.

10. Briefing: how Britain’s Supreme Court works

The UK Supreme Court has become the latest institution in the spotlight as a result of Brexit drama.

Britain’s highest court is due to hear a combination of two legal challenges to Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament in the run-up to the 31 October Brexit deadline. Here is what you need to know.

Supreme Court: how Britain’s highest court works