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Top story: Clinton opens up about election interference

Hello, Warren Murray here with the news at breakfast time.

The woman who would have been president is cranking up her public appearances, telling a panel that she takes absolute personal responsibility for losing the election but it was Russian interference and the FBI chiefs ill-judged intervention that tipped the balance in favour of Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton said she had been on the way to winning until James Comey wrote his ultimately baseless letter and Wikileaks published confidential Democratic campaign emails that are believed to have come from Russian hacking. Did I make mistakes? Oh my gosh, yes But the reason why I believe we lost were the intervening events in the last 10 days, says Clinton.

Pointing out that she won the popular vote receiving 3m more than Trump Clinton says she is now focused on being an activist and part of the resistance against any harmful actions by the Republican president.

Drama at Barclays The banks boss Jes Staley faced censure and had to apologise after hunting down an internal whistleblower and now he is under more pressure. A row with big US client KKR has come to the surface after Staley took his brother-in-laws side in a dispute with the buyout company. It marks the latest occasion on which Staley has been accused of letting personal relationships affect Barclays business. Nils Pratley examines whether Staley should go.

Bloody difficult campaign Jeremy Corbyn is depicted with a bomb labelled MORE DEBT HIGHER TAXES looming behind his head in a Conservative attack ad, which picks up on the Labour leaders pacifism No bombs for our army and what it says is his penchant for more taxes one big bombshell for your family. Labour says it is desperate nonsense, and that all its policies are fully costed and paid for. Theresa May has meanwhile declared herself a bloody difficult woman who wont give Jean-Claude Juncker an easy time when they next sit down together for Brexit talks.

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Statins and the nocebo effect People who dont know if they are taking a statin or a placebo report no difference in side-effects, a study has found. Researchers determined that symptoms like muscle aches and erectile dysfunction only increased if patients and their doctors were aware that a cholesterollowering drug was being given. Its called the nocebo effect and experts argue that the resulting overblown health warnings mean a safe heart medication with only rare side-effects is being under-used. There are people out there who are dying and they are dying because of a nocebo effect, in my opinion, said Peter Sever from Imperial College London, calling on medicines regulators to tone down their warnings.

Obamacare relapse The Republicans have not cured themselves of the urge to get rid of the affordable health insurance brought in by the previous president. A new repeal bid is under way but the party remains divided, and removing protections for people with pre-existing conditions is a big sticking point. The hard-right Freedom Caucus supports the latest bill but key moderates do not.

After the late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel gave an emotional account of his newborn son Billys congenital heart defect and declared that people should not be denied lifesaving treatment because of money, Barack Obama tweeted: Well said Jimmy. Thats exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA, and why we need to protect it for kids like Billy.

Seeking to control the Islamic world One aspect of the complex tensions between the Middle Easts major powers has been laid bare in an interview with Saudi Arabias deputy crown prince. Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, who is also the defence minister of the Sunni kingdom, made the prospect of any rapprochement with Iran sound far-fetched, condemning its extremist Shia ideology. We know we are a main target of Iran we will work so that it becomes a battle for them in Iran and not in Saudi Arabia, he said. Meanwhile Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a good phone conversation in which they discussed creating safe zones in Syria to help ends its civil war, according to the White House.

Scarlett Johansson propositioning genuine strangers on the streets of Glasgow, crew pretending to take happy snaps while actually shooting a dark fantasy in Disneyland, and an Oscar-winning expos of the slaughter of dolphins made with cameras hidden in rocks.

Ben Child takes a look at the movies shot in secret because asking permission would only have meant those in authority saying no.

Cristian Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to set Real Madrid on course for a third Champions League final appearance in four years in a performance against city rivals Atltico that made fools out of those who are trying to write him off. The London Stadium is moving closer to hosting two matches over a weekend in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, creating what the ECB hopes will be a festival of cricket. Andy Murray, a fierce anti-drugs campaigner, has said individual events will do what is best for them over any wildcards given out to the returning Maria Sharapova.

Saracens will rest a raft of key players for Saturdays last regular Premiership fixture against table-topping Wasps but insist it will not diminish the clubs chances of retaining their title. Salford are to launch an internal investigation as the winger Justin Carney is banned for eight matches after pleading guilty to a charge of racial abuse. And a New York City man is on a mission to flush the cremated remains of his lifelong friend a plumber down baseball stadium toilets around the US.

Apple reported a drop in iPhone sales that caught the markets off-guard, causing the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in New York to fall. Not to worry though, the companys overall value earlier reached its highest ever level of $776.59bn. It remains the most valuable company in the world.

Not such great news for a more traditional communications business. Fairfax Media is cutting a quarter of editorial staff at its Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne Age and Australian Financial Review mastheads as it struggles with declining readership.

The pound edged up against the greenback to $1.294 but was flat to the euro at 1.183.

The Suns headline is Quids on the Skids as it reports how thousands of 1 coins have been found to have production defects. Cracked and middle falls out says its subheading, which one could take as an unintended commentary on the UK and Brexit.

The Mirror leads with the story of the topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge and the court case in France involving the magazine that published them in 2012. Its headline: Kate demands 1.3m over topless pics. The Mail continues its investigation into IVF clinics and claims that some are exaggerating the success rate of the treatment to women who are in need.

The Times says Theresa May will be barred from negotiating the terms of Brexit with European leaders directly and instead will be confined to discussing them solely with the EUs chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. The Telegraph leads with a report that the Conservatives will offer diesel drivers compensation to scrap or retrofit their vehicles to cut emissions. The FT says that the EU is upping the Brexit divorce bill to 100bn.

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Wednesday briefing: Blame me but also Putin, says Hillary Clinton - The Guardian