Morning Briefing Thursday 5th November

0:00At PwC, we optimize the systems that put your data to work, so you can scale your AI from proof of concept to competitive edge, and accelerate your tech evolution so you can redefine what's possible. From blueprint to breakthrough, we take you further with tech. So you can outthink, outpace and outperform. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.

0:33This is Times Radio's morning briefing on Thursday the 5th of November. I'm Daryl Jackson. Donald Trump says he had no choice but to intervene in Iran after the issue was blamed on Republican Party losses in the midterm elections. The Democrats took control of both houses of Congress, meaning they can make it hard for the president to pass laws. Vice President J.D. Vance blamed the conflict in the Middle East and the U.S. president says he's right. Larissa Brown, The Times' defence editor, says there's been nervousness about what Donald Trump will do next. There has been a lot of rumours that he is planning another wave of attacks on Iran.

1:11I guess it's unclear whether will this result change his mind. J.D. Vance did obviously point out that Iran was a key problem, that people wanted to see an end to it. There's also the U.S.'s relationship with Israel. There's clearly a few things that Trump's going to have to go away and look at and decide what he does next. Meanwhile, the US president has said he's happy to work with the Democrats, who will have control of Congress from January. But Lord Derrick, former UK ambassador to the US, told Times Radio the atmosphere can turn sour where Mr Trump is concerned. What control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives means for the Democrats is they can, first of all, they can launch dozens of investigations into corruption, into presidential overreach, into why the war in Iran with Iran was started.

1:59And they also will control the money in the sense that Trump can't spend any money without congressional approval. Well, Joanna Maska, former Barack Obama White House official, has told Times Radio the president will face a lot of questions. He is building this White House ballroom with donations, he says. And the question is, what are they getting in return? There are a lot of questions about Air Force One, what he has done with the Qatari government's plane. There are security questions, there are questions of financial benefit that deserve oversight, and you do have some fresh faces who are very much looking forward to holding this administration accountable.

2:40The Times is reporting that billions of pounds spent on post-Brexit food checks will be wasted as part of Labour's reset with the European Union. Prime Minister Andy Burnham's due to unveil a new deal with Brussels that will eliminate controls on food and agricultural goods. But the National Audit Office estimates that£4.7 billion has already been spent on border-related control since 2019. Here's The Times policy editor Olly Wright. Andy Burnham has said that he wants to look again at Britain's membership of the single market, talk about opening free movement up, the potential even for rejoining the EU.

3:15The point of this article is saying if we are now going and looking at reintegrating that, what is the sort of opportunity cost of it? What have we lost? What have we spent? that we're not going to get back, and it does seem like quite a big figure. And Commonwealth leaders have said Britain's agreed to engage in talks that address the historical harms of the transatlantic slave trade. In a joint statement, they say the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation. It comes after the Prime Minister, Ante Burnham, opened the door to a formal apology on behalf of the UK. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:56At PwC, we optimize the systems that put your data to work, so you can scale your AI from proof of concept to competitive edge, and accelerate your tech evolution so you can redefine what's possible. From blueprint to breakthrough, we take you further with tech. So you can outthink, outpace, and outperform. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Hey, we're Nick and Jack hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, email, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets.

4:41No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work, around the work, and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle slash workspace with Gemini. That's goo.gle slash workspace with Gemini.