Good Morning Australia!! - More than 200 are still missing in California's deadliest fire - America's not supposed to have a royal family, is it? - CNN is suing Trump - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

Negotiators from Britain and the European Union struck a preliminary deal for the UK's smooth exit from the continental bloc.  The draft agreement reportedly involves a common customs arrangement for the UK and the EU, to eliminate the need for border checks, with special provisions for Northern Ireland and a review mechanism to oversee its functioning.  But the agreement faces a rough road ahead when British Prime Minister Theresa May presents it to her suspicious cabinet where many Brexiteers view it as a capitulation to European demands while giving up representation in Brussels. 

Search teams are combing through debris and ash in the town of Paradise, California, where the death toll after the state's worst-ever wildfire has grown to 42 lives lost while more than 200 people are still considered missing.  Local authorities are joined by 13 forensic teams from around the state, plus a cadre of cadaver dogs and two portable morgues for their grim assignment.  The wind from Nevada turned hot and dry again, making things difficult for firies trying to contain the fire - that may not happen for a week or more.  The Camp Fire isn't just California's deadliest, it's also the worst for real estate having destroyed more than 7,600 structures - mostly homes.

In southern California, firefighters believe they are starting to get the upper hand on the Woolsey Fire that devastated Malibu and killed at least two people.  And a smaller blaze just on the other side of Thousands Oaks is 95 percent contained.

Okay, let's go to Crazytown..

The White House is preparing for a "Game of Thrones"-style bloodletting, with Donald Trump reportedly considering sacking at least two top aides and Melania Trump pretty much getting the head of another.  And if you're thinking, "Wait: first ladies don't get to make these decisions," you'd be correct.  Except that these are the Trumps and the deed appears to be done.  Melania publicly invited defense aide Mira Ricardel to the Red Wedding with her spokeswoman announcing, "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House."  How petty is this?  The first lady's staff clashed over plane seating with Ricardel - a top aide to national security adviser John Bolton - during last month's African tour.  The last time a first lady got involved in sacking a top administration official was when Nancy Reagan engineered the ouster of Ronnie's chief of staff Don Regan in the 1980s.

The other two aides are Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who has not been able to sell Trump on an internationalist solution to the problem of undocumented immigration over the southern border.  She wants the United Nations to set up refugee camps in Mexico; Bolton opposed this and worked to undermine her within the administration.  Trump is reportedly considering sacking her knowing that her chief ally, chief of staff John Kelly, could consider it the last straw and bail out himself.  Kelly is seen as the last of "Trump's Generals" - also known as "the adults in the room" - who have tried to steer Trump away from his worst impulsive actions, often unsuccessfully.

CNN is asking a federal judge to force the White House to immediately restore the press credentials of White House Correspondent Jim Acosta, saying the revocation was a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.  CNN is suing, claiming the First Amendment was violated by the administration attempting to control how it's covered by CNN; the lawsuit also says Mr. Acosta's Fifth Amendment due process rights were violated because he was not given a chance to defend himself.  The White House responded by accusing Acosta and CNN of "grandstanding".

Yikes.

Egypt has brokered a ceasefire to end the latest violence between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza.  Eight people died while Hamas lobbed more than 460 rockets into southern Israel and the IDF responded with far more powerful and accurate air strikes.  The clashes began after Palestinians accused an undercover Israeli commando unit of infiltrating Gaza to kill a leading Hamas figure.  Israel would only say that the operation was "not intended to kill or abduct terrorists, but to strengthen Israeli security".

Embattled South African Home Affairs minister Malusi Gigaba has quit the cabinet after an embarrassing sex scandal which involved the leaking of a video engaged in a sex act with someone who was not his wife.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the audio recordings of the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi are a "true disaster" that "shocked" the Saudi intelligence officer who heard it.  A pro-government newspaper said Erdogan quoted the Saudi spy as saying, "I guess they were on heroin; only someone who is on heroin would do such a thing."  This came after The New York Times reported that people familiar with the audio recording say it contains an instruction to "tell your boss" - US intelligence officials believe is a reference to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince.  Riyadh has shifted its story over the murder of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, but has maintained that Prince Muhammad and the royal family are not involved.