this is bbc news — because the last one was so much fun — it is election day, again, in america. polls in georgia close soon — at stake control of the senate — and just how much power joe biden will have. voters lined up first thing this morning to cast their ballots. millions of others voted early. turnout will be key, for both sides. and don't lose sight of washington, where trump supporters want to stop biden from being confirmed as the next president. also in the programme.... a waiting game. getting a vaccine in the us is proving no easy task, as queues form in various parts the country. and donald where's you troosers. speculation mounts that president trump will depart washington for scotland on inauguration day,

rather than shake the hand of the incoming president. hello i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. it's election day in the us state of georgia. yes, another one. this time two senate seats are up for grabs, in a pair of races that will decide which party controls the us senate. it's the most important election in america since — well — the last election in america. democrats and republicans have spent hundreds of millions of dollars — because why not drop a few more million on an american election — ensuring their candidates have the best chance of winning. 33—year—old democrat jon ossoff is hoping to defeat the incumbent david purdue. and kelly loeffler — a favourite of the trump crowd — is looking to hold off a challenge

by the democrat, reverend raphael warnock. so here's a quick reminder why this race in georgia is so important. the senate currently stands at 50 republicans and 48 democrats. there are two vacant seats. if ossoff and warnock win their races, democrats would have a tie. then the vice president—elect kamala harris would then have the deciding vote. and that would give democrats control of both chambers of congress and the white house, meaning mr biden‘s could get more of his agenda passed by the house and senate. he'd have more power. here's the democratic candidate, jon ossoff, speaking just a short time ago. georgia voters have never had more power than you have today. that's the reason the whole world is watching us in georgia. that's the reason everybody needs to get out to the polls and make their voices heard. let's head over to downtown atlanta and speak to the bbc‘s larry madowo.

i think you said last time your spec you were going to be moving to atla nta you were going to be moving to atlanta because so much was happening there. our georgians fed up happening there. our georgians fed up with elections or want to get over or are the excited and turning out to the polls in big numbers? some people are turning out part of it because there's so much money spent here that everyone that can be reached has been reached. $833 million has been spent on these two senate runoffs. so every person knows there's an election and those that want to devote have voted already. they're still a big question of how much is enough to where the democrats steal both seeds, or will the republicans hold both of them. because the whole thing comes down to turn out. president trump was here in georgia yesterday and present a joe biden was here in metro atlanta. estimates say if the turnout is anything below 800,000 voters today, then the

republicans will lose this thing. they need a turnout of 800000 and above to be able to wipe out the early lead that the democrats have an early voting ofjust over 3 million. $0 an early voting ofjust over 3 million. so georgia kind of sent shock waves through the american political world in november when it broke three decades of tradition and elected a democrat as the presidential candidate. do you think this senate race reflects that demographic change in the state? that georgia is becoming more purple, more blue, more democratic and that's going to be reflected in this senate race? the thinking here is that georgia is a registered shade of purple which is more likely to lean rather than blue. democrats are hoping they can pick up on that momentum from the general where they turned the stapler for the first time since 1982, turned the stapler for the first time since1982, but georgia also

has not elected a democratic senator in 20 years. so people we have spoken to in the democratic side a nyway spoken to in the democratic side anyway think they are doing really well and they basically swarmed the airwaves with ads and those will be enough to turn it around. those who feel in the republican party that they were stolen from in the general wa nt they were stolen from in the general want to come out and prove that actually georgia is not really blue and this is still a reliably red state, that's why president trump meeting yesterday helps reinforce that message. a lot of grievances about how georgia should actually, how he won the state even though the facts don't support that and that's where the thin line that everybody voting today indicated the candidates especially are waiting to see what happens. i've heard competing claims about advantages from early voting, who do you think took an advantage into voting day? so the democrats have an advantage in early voting. they turned out

more than the republicans, however in senate runoffs in special elections republicans turn out more. although white voters turn out more and democrats are tragic younger voters, people turning 18 for the first time. joe biden won georgia proudly reaching out getting as many people in the metro areas in atlanta and more urban parts of the state, and more urban parts of the state, and thus the place where if you look at where president trump did well, northern georgia which is reliably conservative, help the every single one of those people will turn out to vote today but for the democrats they hope that all of the young people from the black people will come out and vote, and the strategy of the democrats is simple. get at least 30% of the vote of the white people and then at least 30% of the total turnout to have black voters in georgia and if that happens democrats will win this, however it david perdue is one of the favourites to win back his seat, and that means that i don't know what to

protect, i want to leave that to both of you because you have a better crystal ball but looks like the democrats might win one and if that happens then the democrats lose control of the senate. could you have you there. thank you very much for that. let's speak now to democratic strategist abigail collazo — former spokesperson for stacey abrams' 2018 campaign in georgia. she of course did so much in that race a couple of years ago and she joins us from atlanta. good to have you with us. the loeffler warnock battle is one that considers b. weber have the first woman senator elected in georgia or the first black senator from georgia and only of the 11th black senator in history so of the 11th black senator in history so really significant. how do we feel the warnock role has changed the debate in georgia? thanks for having me. as you say it could be hit historic election notjust

because of the candidates running in that particular seeds, kelly loeffler and rafael at warnock but it's inspiring so many people to come out and see themselves represented in the us senate. no doubt about the fact that a victory for warnock will be a victory for the black community in georgia and for everybody who's going to see themselves in that senator and in themselves in that senator and in the policies he's going to promote for us in the us senate. and if he wins, does that tell us more about georgia in the way that it's changing and perhaps even the result in november? absolutely and notjust that race but with the ossoff race andl that race but with the ossoff race and i believe that these seats will move in tandem. the truth of the matter is that georgia is not a trajectory right now to continue flipping and get even deeper blue, and we are headed down that path if folks turnout today. abigail, it was really stacy abrams and joe biden has credited her just really stacy abrams and joe biden has credited herjust a note

yesterday, and who had this huge effort to turn georgia blue commit to get democratic voters to go to the polls and find them, you are pa rt the polls and find them, you are part of that effort when you were working for stacy abrams, how did you do it, what was the strategy with the discussions about how you we re with the discussions about how you were going to shift georgia which has this new economy in the south, does not look quite like other southern states, how were you going to do it and go about that? southern states, how were you going to do it and go about that7m southern states, how were you going to do it and go about that? it was different in some other traditional campaigns have worked. i've worked all of the country where it's up and down the ballot and was different about the camp it was their commitment to reaching out to communities that had been traditionally ignored or marginalised or pushed aside. abrams and herteam were marginalised or pushed aside. abrams and her team were campaigning marginalised or pushed aside. abrams and herteam were campaigning in every corner of georgia. folks talk i'iow every corner of georgia. folks talk now about the importance of the metro atlanta counties and they are not wrong about that, there's a huge percentage of the population that lives there, but these campaigns are doing following the platelet which to reach out to everybody in the everybody know that they have a

voice in this election, and if they cast their ballots and make their voices heard they can have representation. we seem to pick up an early voting amongst asian—american voters, amongst black american voters and hispanic voters. but as we saw in the november election, president trump actually one more hispanic voters in 2020 then he had back in 2016. some of those hispanic voters could well be voting republican, correct? that's correct. i think that such an important distinction that there's i'io important distinction that there's no group that is voting is a monolith that's running all one way or the other way. that's why it's important to be campaigning the way that warnock and ossoff are and not just talking to attack committees and saying you are latino, or this or that, and therefore you should vote for me. that's what are we going to do for your community, how are you going to get relief from the pandemic, help some businesses, help access to health care and jobs and

justice. really talking about the issues that matter. briefly, when do you think we will get results?” think will be a few days and i think that's a good thing. folks need to really understand that taking the time to count every single vote, to ensure that every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot and to cure the ballot if there is any issues or concerns because they got until friday to do that making sure that every single eligible vote cast is counted as a good thing for our democracy. i would encourage everyone to stay calm, stay patient and allow our elected officials do oui’ and allow our elected officials do ourjobs and —— do theirjobs.” like that you are grinning as he said that. the account of a recount and another recount. abigail, thank you very much indeed. you know i am sure — after the last few weeks of controversy — everyone would love to ‘forget about georgia'. but we can't — given the importance of the vote —

and that is why i have georgia on my mind. are you going to do this all through the programme. song puns? do i need to put you on the midnight train to georgia? ah, very good. yes, and then we can do the devil went down to georgia. the charlie daniels band. 0r ‘the devil comes back to georgia', also by the charlie daniels band. is that it? "i been to georgia on a fast train," billyjoe shaver. now i'm done. good so we can move on? music. that was nothing to do with me, i promise. they could our producer for all of that. we actually news to get to. on all of that. we actually news to get to. 0na all of that. we actually news to get to. on a very different note. the number of people to test positive for coronavirus in the uk has today topped 60,000, the highest figure in a 2k hour period since the beginning

of the pandemic. speaking this afternoon at downing street — the prime minister said the government estimates 1 in 50 people in england to currently be infected with covid—19, a rate so high that he had no other option but to announce a new lockdown. we have no choice. when the office of national statistics is telling us that more than 2% of the population is now infected, that's over1 million people in england, and when today we reported another 60,000 new cases, and when the number of patients in hospitals in england is now 40% higher than the first peak in april. the infection rate is highest in london — where government statisticians now estimate1 in 30 people currently have the virus. in many ways how long and lethal this new wave is, depends very much on how widely and how quickly we roll out the vaccine.

so where are we with that? boris johnson said today that around a quarter of the over 80's have been vaccinated. in total 1.3 million have had the jab. the uk is performing better than most, but still the operation will have to be ramped up significantly if the uk is to reach its target of vaccinating 13 million by mid february. globally — as a percentage of the population — israel is leading the way — 15% of the population has already been vaccinated. the uk is atjust under 2%, france is lagging far behind — just 2000 people vaccinated. in the usa - 4.7 million have received the vaccine — way short of operation warp speeds target of vaccinating 20 million americans by the end of december. and the concern is mounting about how long it is taking in some states. here to discuss this with us is bruce y lee, professor, at the cuny graduate

school of public health and health policy, and executive director at phicor. thank you forjoining us, professor. what do we not get to 20 million at the end of december as the ministry she had said we would? the several issues, one if the production of the vaccine, so if you look at the cdc vaccine, so if you look at the cdc vaccine tracker, so if you need to vaccinate 20 million people in each person needs to get two doses go that means you need to produce at least 40 million vaccines. and you look at the chart it's far less than that. it has been below 20 million in terms of the number of doses and so in terms of the number of doses and so there has not been enough doses. and then if you look at the number of doses that's been administered that's also far less than the number of doses that have been delivered to the states. and so that shows that... the states. and so that shows that. . . why the states. and so that shows that... why is that? is a very complex operation, there was not

enough talk about how are we actually going to deliver the doses within the states, and administer the doses. before the vaccine was actually rolled out. see hear stories of people being told, get ready for the vaccines, get ready for vaccines but people were not told how they were going to come. who's going to administer them, how they're going to be stored, so all of the deed to be prepared so we are having a situation where the states we re having a situation where the states were not prepared in many cases to receive these doses and things were not organised on the national level. the need to be organised on a national level and coordinated. but this has to work because in a way the trumpet ministration affect eve ryo ne the trumpet ministration affect everyone into a corner. but all their chips in the vaccine rather than the public health messaging. it is not a supply issue, is it? i think the 50 million doses that have gone up to the states yet only four and a half million have been administered, do you know who is responsible for that final mile if you will come of the putting in the arm? that's one of the challenges,

it's been left up to the states and each of the states have varying degrees of resources, and all of the things like that. a release to be organised a national level because the federal government is the one entity that can really say everyone needs this, and let's see which counties and which municipalities don't have enough equipment, don't have this now and don't have enough channels to really get the vaccine, so channels to really get the vaccine, so it's like entering or getting on a football pitch and telling the players, 0k a football pitch and telling the players, ok i'm the coach but you guysjust do players, ok i'm the coach but you guys just do whatever you want to do, and that's the problem. in one of the issues has been the gene sequencing and what we are spotting this variant in the united states, it talked about in new york yesterday, can you get your view over the uk is doing given one jab to his many people as a cannon and pushing the second jab somewhere down the line just to give us many people as possible production because the who said today they are

not really in favour of that, the fda said they are not in favour of that, but if the variant is spreading in the united states may be the fda has to go back and look at that. i understand the rationale, because the rationale is saying let's try to cover more people with just one dose of the problem is we don't have enough data to determine what that means come over the edge of trials were oriented towards people getting to doses and then measuring them with the protection or the efficacy of vaccine efficacy that we might have come we don't know if you get one dose what level of effectiveness will there be and how long it will last, so those things need to be answered before we really determine whether you can split the doses. the other issue is if you have a week —— weaker protection or efficacy and might drive of the to emerge, we need to answer these questions before we make a change in strategy like that.

0k, thank you very much forjoining us. that issue of simply securing the vaccine and not be able to distribute it because people do not turn out to happen in washington, dc. the young guy with the local supermarket and some of the vaccines had been thawed and the people who we re had been thawed and the people who were meant to get the vaccine did show up, so he was handed it. because we are in 2020 in the world of social media he did it take talk about it. just going to loiter around the clinic. hospital administrators got many of the people running the hospitals got jabs because people did not turn up and they said rather than wasted sit down we will put in your arm. no discussion here that pharmacists shall get it. but there's more that firms are should be told that, that

you have any supply left over it's going to be thrown out or used just grab anyone who's there, buying the sausages and give them a vaccine. for those of you watching on bbc we will see right back. at this evening's downing street briefing, england's chief medical officer said that if people stick to the rules, then the lockdown combined with the vaccination programme could be "enough" to help defeat the virus: i think the key to this is all of us buying into this really seriously. if we all buy into this, and people stay at home, if people, apart from things like work, going out for essential shopping, and exercise, if people stick to those rules really strongly and at the same time the nhs is vaccinating as fast as it can, then our hope is the lockdown will be enough. but we've all got to do that. this has very much got to be a collective effort, no one can do this on their own.

you can'tjust do it by rules, there's got to be people buying into this really seriously. and chris whitty also said some restrictions may have to be brought back next winter and that people need to be aware the virus won't "disappear with spring". he could be living with this but for some months to come. there is some good news amid all the gloom. the first people who were vaccinated in the uk, are now believed to have developed full protection against the virus. so — exactly four weeks ago, december 8th — the first pfizer vaccines were administered. then 21 days on from that — december 29th — that same cohort received their booster dose. which means today — january 5th — seven days on, from that boosterjab, scientists say they should be fully vaccinated against the virus. and we can talk to one

of them, pauljohnston — a care home manager in belfast who we spoke to last month just after his first dose. he is now one of the first people in the uk with full protection. what does it feel like, graduations. it's good, it's a relief. very, very positive news. to be at the stage of the game and i feel very fortunate to be one of those people. and help other people in your care facility, have they all been vaccinated into they now have full immunity as well? yes, they're fully vaccinated. all of the residents and staff are fully there. i like to think of you of summer there. i like to think of you of summer with his bat shield you are fully and i quit and challenge the world, it's great news. do you have that sort of confidence? do you feel invincible? no. i think that sort of confidence? do you feel invincible? no. ithink the that sort of confidence? do you feel invincible? no. i think the harsh reality of it is it's a step in the

right direction, positive news and great for the residents, very important to protect the most vulnerable, but also takes for everybody to have the vaccine for this to be really, for this to work really well. the stall long way to go really well. the stall long way to go throughout the uk and ireland. it's used ago for elderly patients and their hope is that the family concert to visit again. does it immediately change the way you run the home? no, today is a good day, but still that does not prevent people carrying coronavirus into the home or out of the home, does not mean that i could not be a carrier of covid and pass it on to someone else, so that is the reality of it. it's good news we're going the right direction, but there still a tough road ahead for a lot of people. doesn't mean that some people could see family, some elderly people that

have not seen family could get them into the facility? is about mitigating the risk and just because somebody is fully vaccinated and really does that reduce the severity of any symptoms but it does not mean you cannot test positive. so for me being responsible and taking care of those residents we still need to look at that and give families access to the loved ones via video calls rather than visits in the home, or outside as it's prevented but we know it's not the time to be outside. well let's hope that soon they can know all of the visits they need because that's what we need and paul you are right, everybody needs to get the vaccine as soon as possible. thank you very much for joining us and congratulations again. good to see. what will donald trump do on the day ofjoe biden‘s inauguration? lots of intrigue surrounding his movements — and now

we might have a clue. scotland's sunday post is reporting that prestwick airport — which is near mr trump's turnberry golf course — has been told to expect a us military boeing 757 that is occasionally used by trump on the 19th of january. lest you forget that is the day beforejoe biden would take charge at the white house. the paper says that speculation is fuelled by the activity of us army aircraft, said to be carrying out reconnaissance of the president's turnberry resort. not going down to well this with some of the scottish politicians. patrick harvie of the scottish greens said today... "it is a relief donald trump has been sent packing by the us electorate, but the last place we want him running for cover is scotland". so maybe not the red carpet treatment. he would not be allowed

to with lockdown against suppose if he had a covid test. saving face. hello there. another cold and frosty night in many western areas tonight. temperatures the lowest across parts of central scotland and to the west of northern ireland. he at times medically for england and wales. it was a sales call with the frost and ice it be more in the way of rain that sleeping pills now particular towards the southeast corner especially wet across parts of kent, sussex, surrey down towards the channel islands, because he is much as 50 mm of rain could cause some minorflooding, that's the monday to wednesday totals, but even here we can see things turn wintry in the tops of the downs and also across the surry hills, so there could be a slight dusting of snow.

when the way of of snow across the patterns dusting and especially release other opens of scotland in the morning come away from that icing conditions across many western areas interpreters as low as —8 again in parts of a highlands. a cold started tuesday morning. still that run of rain come a little bit of hill sleet and snow towards the southeast corner and the channel islands, but wintry showers in northern england and so eastern scotland. track and bright weather for many as will be over the next few days, when slightest in and quite a stiff breeze so long for england and wales and it's here where the wind show will make you feel substantially colder than three to five celsius would suggest. tuesday evening, so that those lights or share across scotland northern england, and that one towards the southeast corner of the channel islands, that will persist in fact through tuesday night and into wednesday. clear skies away from it means it will be another widespread frost and some ice around, but noticed as we go into wednesday the isobars opening out, the further apart they are the light of the wins will be, and so that's

pretty different many in england and wales. noble wanted down the eastern coasts but a shift in direction that means the rain will gradually start to ease away from some in east anglia, kent instilled in the channel islands and shower through central parts but for many dry and bright and cold day. widespread frost will follow to take us there wednesday night into thursday morning about maybe not as low as —5 in some parts of the west. temperature is not as cold in scotla nd temperature is not as cold in scotland and northern ireland, that is because weather front for cloud and rain and sleet and he'll snow for a time.

you're watching bbc news with me, katty kay, in washington. christian fraser is in london. our top stories... there are just a few hours left of two crucial georgia run—off elections, which will determine which party controls the senate. pro—trump supporters descend upon washington dc as the city prepares to hunker down following violent clashes at similar demonstrations last year. also in the programme.... president trump applies maximum pressure on his deputy, mike pence, to try and thwart the results of the electoral college vote. and is this year we discover alien life? we'll find out why 2021 is a big year for space exploration.

georgians are voting today in run—off elections for both of the state's two us senate seats, and the stakes couldn't be higher. if democrats flip both seats, they'll have control of both houses of congress for the first time in ten years. but if either gop incumbent manages to cling on, president—elect biden will be forced for the next two years to compromise with republicans to pass any legislation. at a rally last night in dalton, georgia, the republican candidate kelly loeffler aligned herself closely with president trump. all right, georgia, i have a very important question for you. are you ready to show america that george's a red state ? ready to show america that george's a red state? cheering that's right! this president fought for us, we're fighting for him. he put america first, he put the

american worker first. thank you, mr president. let's get former adviser to president george w bush, ron christie's take on the run—offs in georgia. hgppy happy new year, ron. happy new year. we think it's going to be a good one. i want the money back, actually. it's been rubbish. this georgia race, i guess in a way it was interesting, aside from the senate, is that this is the first test postelection of whether the republican party of trumpism can when without trump being on the ballot. absolutely. this is the first nationalised race of a post trump presidency. using hundreds of millions of dollars pour into the peach state, and they are asking two questions. 0ne, doesn't trump still have us way that you wanted to carry

these two senators? secondarily, do these two senators? secondarily, do the democrats feel empowered and emboldened to really set the table and set the stage for the senate? both parties have a lot to gain and lose. if the democrats to when both of their seats, it's 50—50 and kamala harris is the tie—breaker, which givesjoe kamala harris is the tie—breaker, which gives joe biden kamala harris is the tie—breaker, which givesjoe biden control, but it's a squeaker. how much actual difference will it make to him? it's a squeaker, but it will make a huge difference. when i worked for vice president cheney, we were always on standby because we needed a vice president that had the tie—breaking vote, which he did several times. you're doing your work and the next thing you know, you're in the capital. still, it's the opportunity

to get his agenda accomplice and passed, and i think that's what you are going to see should the republicans lose. vice president harris will race down to the capital and cast the tie—breaking vote.” was thinking when you gave us the first answer, whether it's a tougher sell for president trump, if the two republicans win because he already said he couldn't believe republicans we re said he couldn't believe republicans were winning if he wasn't. if they lose, you could say this was a rigged election, why would republicans turn up? if they win, does that become harder for him? good evening, and happy new year, christian. it really does. this will bea christian. it really does. this will be a repudiation of president trump. in other words, the two senators could when or one of the code when, but still, he didn't. so the notion that president trump has been saying

..|.m that president trump has been saying "i'm not going to lose tojoe biden, he'sa "i'm not going to lose tojoe biden, he's a loser." and yet one of these republican senators could win, could have the president heading back on air force one to florida thinking what went wrong. last night, they we re what went wrong. last night, they were both stamping. they were in georgia. his closing argument was the election is rigged, it was stolen. joe biden‘s closing argument was get your us, you'll get your leaf checks —— vote for us. which is a better closing argument? the better argument is always being on the offensive but being positive. the notion that the election was rigged, the president and his team have had numerous losses, the supreme court wouldn't take up one of his challenges. the notion that you're still going out and bringing two republicans or maybe one across the finish line by saying it's rigged, i think that's not nearly as strong or powerful as to say here on

day one, this is what i'm going to do for you. should democrats win and prevail this contest. it's going to beafun prevail this contest. it's going to be a fun day tomorrow. maybe you'll come back and join us.” be a fun day tomorrow. maybe you'll come back and join us. i do hate it when that happens. in the middle of your workday you have to rush down... terribly time—consuming. i'm getting texts. my friend jan is saying "i'm now googling songs with georgia in the title. yikes, there are so georgia in the title. yikes, there are so many! " washington is bracing for more clashes as thousands of pro—trump supporters arrive in the capital to protest the results of the presidential election, and showing their support for the challenges to wednesday's official certification of the results in congress. mr trump tweeted he plans to attend at least one of the demonstrations. the bbc‘s barbara plett usher is at the rally as things begin to warm up.

the president says this is going to be the biggest event seen from some time. what does look like to you?m doesn't look like the biggest event that one has seen for some time, but bearin that one has seen for some time, but bear in mind this is the warm—up rally. tomorrow is supposed to be the big thing, and bear in mind also that it's not very warm out here, it's cold and rainy. the rally was bigger and the hard—core has remained. but you still have the same message. they are here to show their support for the challenge to their support for the challenge to the election results, and some of them really believe that the election can still be overturned. the people we've been speaking to are very much steeped in conspiracy theories that feed this lease. 0ne woman said it's all part of the plan. i asked what plan, and she said president trump's plan he has all along, to drain the swamp. he knew this is the opposition would come. i said it doesn't look that

way, what makes you think that. she said she doesn't know, but she believes because good wins over evil, and this is good against evil. that is a hard—core view. not everyone believes that, but those conspiracy theories are definitely here. i know it pretty miserable out there, but we have been warned to avoid the downtown area tomorrow because of threats of violence. there's been talk of protesters bringing guns to the protest tomorrow, which is not actually legal. do you have the feeling that it could turn nasty down there? it's really ha rd it could turn nasty down there? it's really hard tojudge it could turn nasty down there? it's really hard to judge from tonight because the weather is very bad and people are just kind of hanging on, but if you look at some kinds of people who are coming and what's happened before, it could. both previous maga rallies turned violent. you do have light rain militias that are coming, and they are the ones from the violence ——

right—wing militias. that is the fear because the mayor has pulled up the national guard to try to keep order. so, people are poised for that, but i should add, that's not the only danger. i'm not wearing my mask right now, but believe me, i was because nobody else is. the tens of thousands that are predicted, that would be also a real security threat. there's also the wearing of masks that's political. thank you for braving the elements for us. so, as barbara was saying there, the final stage in certifying joe biden‘s win in the presidential election takes place tomorrow on capitol hill. all 50 states have certified the election results, and so this part of the process is normally a formality. but at least a dozen republican senators and around 140 republican members of the house plan to object to certification. as the head of the senate, vice president mike pence will have the responsibility

of overseeing the session and declaring mr biden the winner. here's president trump at last night's rally urging pence to refrain from doing so. two i hope mike pence comes through for us i hope that our great vice president, our great vice president comes through for us. he's a great quy~ comes through for us. he's a great guy. if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. and he's followed that up with this tweet from a couple of hours ago. so much for loyalty. let's speak to trevor potter, former commissioner and chairman of the federal election commission. thanks forjoining us. ifeel like i should apologise to our viewers because they expected an election in

november, and we are still talking about a year in january. november, and we are still talking about a year injanuary. let's clear up about a year injanuary. let's clear up this thing first. does a vice president have the power to go to co nve rse president have the power to go to converse tomorrow and overturn the certifications —— go to congress? converse tomorrow and overturn the certifications -- go to congress? he clearly does not. it would violate the expressed wording of the law, the expressed wording of the law, the electoral contact that lays out what will happen tomorrow, and it would violate our entire constitutional theory of federalism, which is the state's elect doors and congress simply count their votes. mr pence is a bit more like the guy at the oscars, or woman, who reads in the name out of the envelope, not the actual voter. in the name out of the envelope, not the actualvoter. exactly. in the name out of the envelope, not the actual voter. exactly. think 0scars. he's the envelope guy. after

tomorrow, is it all over? is there any sliver of possibility thatjoe biden will not be the next president of the united states? let me start with the beginning of that question. tomorrow may actually take a couple of day, which seems odd, but tomorrow is our attempt at a british pomp and circumstance ceremony with the senate marching across the capital, meets with the house in a joint session. the vice president presides the envelope is handed to them, he doesn't even open it. he hands it to someone else to open and read. why? if there is an objection to the content of the envelope, which we know there will be, if a memberof the which we know there will be, if a member of the house and the senate in writing object to the receipts of electoral votes from one or more

specific states, then things change. the two houses separate, the senate marches back across the capital and they have two hours of debate on each objection to the electoral votes from the states. and the likelihood is that if five, six or more states are objected to, this could drag out for tomorrow into thursday because each objection is entitled to two hours of debate, and thena entitled to two hours of debate, and then a vote in the complication now is of course, we're in the middle of covid and not totally locked down. there are members there and there are limits on how many may be on the floor and voting at any one time, so the vote will be a long process. i'm at least looking forward to the british pomp. they're mahogany boxes! serious note, it's not the

threat of changing the outcome that's of concern. it's the danger of spreading misinformation. it's the undermining of american democracies. we know what the result will be because there are enough republican senators and enough republican senators and enough republican house members who have said "we're not going along with these challenges, we recognise even if we don't like it that biden one and we're going to accept —— that biden won. let. biden won. " and we're going to accept —— that biden won. " that's all they're doing is counting the votes and biden will, in fact, that's the final say of him becoming the president—elect and then there is a pause until january 20, president—elect and then there is a pause untiljanuary 20, when he raises his right hand and takes the oath of office. but there is noah other procedure after the reception tomorrow —— no other. there's nothing else that has to happen

before the biden inauguration on the 20th. good information. trevor potter, thank you very much. there we re potter, thank you very much. there were some good pictures this morning ofa were some good pictures this morning of a very animated conversation going on in the over between president trump and the vice president, mike pence. penny for his thoughts on the eve of this count tomorrow. is he going to get the jeff sessions treatment? he wasn't meant to be. that launch appeared after last night's comments. that's what you get, you're loyal to somebody forfour years. he's what you get, you're loyal to somebody for four years. he's been doggedly loyal to the president for four years, and now, this happens. if you want to run in 2024, is between a rock in the hard play. if you want to run in 2024, is between a rock in the hard playm a very difficult position. a lot of this makes me thinks this long

transition period... we've had legislators on the programme who have stuck with the democratic process and who have not been swayed, but you have to wonder, this whole process has made people think, "is whole process has made people think, "is our democracy solid?" i think this transition period must be up for a big day. even thursday. let's make this as long as possible. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... with three probes set to land on mars next month, and a telescope set to search for life across the universe — is this year we find out we're not alone? in a televised response to the prime minister's announcement yesterday of further restrictions, the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has said the government's handling of the pandemic could have been better, and urged it to use

the third national lockdown in england to create a ‘round the clock‘ vaccination scheme in order to bring the virus under control. there are serious questions for the government to answer. why did they not act sooner? why after £22 billion of taxpayers money is the testing system still not working? why were families given so little time to plan for child care and for schools closing? and why, once again, have businesses and millions of working people not been given the support that they need? we'll keep asking these questions and fighting for proper support for businesses and for families. but whatever our quarrels with the government and with the prime minister, the country now needs us to come together. the

virus is out of control. infections are rising sharply. more people are in hospital and tragically, more people are losing their loved ones. at the stark moments, we need a new national effort —— at the darkest moments. to come together and to do everything possible to stay at home, to protect the nhs and save lives. so, i'll labour will support this lockdown. we will vote for it in parliament, we will join lockdown. we will vote for it in parliament, we willjoin in this national effort, challenging the government where it's getting it wrong, standing up for families and businesses and urging everyone to follow the new guidance. for decades, generations

of earthlings have looked to the sky in the dark of night and asked one question.... #is # is their life on mars? is the moon made of cheese? no, is there life out there? and maybe this year, we will discover the answer to that question, because there are three mars missions taking place next month. like london buses, you wait eternally for one, and then three come along at once. nasa, china and the uae are all sending robots to the red planet to search for signs of life. but scientists are also looking further afield, to infinity and beyond. yes, this year, nasa will also launch the james webb telescope that will hunt for any intelligent life throughout the solar system. so, let's speak to dr jessie christiansen. she is the deputy science lead at the nasa exoplanet science institute.

jessie, i must say i sympathise with your search. i've been trying to locate intelligent life on this programme for years! seriously, why now? why is this coming together this year? my instinct is, this is so bad on earth, we have to look somewhere else. is it just earth, we have to look somewhere else. is itjust coincidence? actually, it's not a coincidence, it has to do with where earth and mars are in their relative orbits around the sun. sometimes it's easier to get those out of earth's orbit, and this is one of those times. that's why three different countries took the opportunity to fire off. how long is it going to take them? and ta ke long is it going to take them? and take them a few months. these were launched last year. theyjust wanted to get off the earth, and the countdown is on. if less than two months until mars's perseverance

lands and searches for microbial life. so, we're very excited. that's the point. we're looking for tiny microbes, not green men with trumpet ears? not this time. not this time. the telescope, that's looking far, far out there. wouldn't it be unthinkable that there isn't something like us in all that space? that's a really good question. there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, and one of our recent discoveries is that most of them have planets around them. and a lot of them are kind of like earth. if we know it happened at least once, if you extrapolate to the entire galaxy, the chance that there's life out there is so exciting. i'm excited at least. has there been a giant leap in the technology we have or is ita giant leap in the technology we have

or is it a giant leap in the number of nations who now have the resources to do something like this? 0h, resources to do something like this? oh, that's a good question. certainly, there have been giant leaps in technology. for instance, this telescope that nasa is going to launch represents a incredible improvement. it has ten times the collecting area and a suite of instruments which will allow us to prove these atmospheres. but also, more and more, countries around the world a re more and more, countries around the world are starting to invest in space as the future, so that's very cool. how much cooperation is there between these three missions and will we make faster progress if we co—operate? will we make faster progress if we co-operate? you will always make faster progress if you co—operate. there are some countries that are working together on these. i believe these three missions are quite separate in terms of engineering and

operations, but they all have shared science goals, which is exploring mars and discovering whether or not life could have risen on mars and somehow travelled on earth and populated there. jessie christensen, thanks forjoining us. thanks for having me. we all want to know what's happening. now to something we were meant to do yesterday but we ran out of time. covering brexit and trump on this programme for the last four years has sometimes required a dictionary just to keep up with all the slang, jargon and catchphrases that journalists and politicians love to use. for everything from the minutiae of trade negotiations with brussels to the media circus that surrounds this white house, there seems to be a word or phrase coined by pundits for everything. and it turns out, a lot of the most popular terms are actually meaningless to the majority of people in uk. that's according the

polling company yougov. so, christian, it's time for a quiz. we did warn you about this. let's come up with some of the first of your sling phrases. what does ubi mean? i do know this. universal basic income. that's right. that's very popular in france, actually. how you deal with robots. we've got to get to the next one. next one is net zero. that is the sucking out of c02. is it the balance between c02 and what we put in? yes. net zero

emissions. quickly! hello. you may have in the press or online, the impact something cold, sudden stratospheric warming may happen on our weather here in the uk over the next few weeks. well, what is it? it's happening at the moment, way, way above the arctic on the edge of our atmosphere. pool of cold air normally circulating around by some vigorous anticlockwise winds. those winds have weekend, that vortex has split and as those those winds have weakened, that vortex has split and as those winds weaken, it may start to have an influence further down through the atmosphere towards us. and it's been known in the past to bring us some pretty severe winter weather here in the uk at the back end of winter. but before you get too excited by scenes like the, it doesn't always happen, and certainly,

over the next ten days, the opposite is about to occur. 0ut there at the moment, the cold weather we've had is just fairly standard winter weather. we've had easterly winds, which continue through wednesday. going a bit more northeasterly through the day, and the impact of that will actually clear some of the showers we've seen lingering across east anglia and the southeast, producing some minorflooding. the showers will continue in the channel islands, one or two wintry showers elsewhere after a pretty frosty and icy start to the day. most, though, will have a predominantly dry and bright wednesday, but still cold, particularly so where we could see some lingering fog patches. later in the day, a weather pushes in to the northwest of scotland, preceded by some snow. that could give a covering in parts of scotland, northern ireland some icy conditions with temperatures just below freezing, but southern scotland into northern and western england and wales, and especially cold start to thursday morning with some dense patches of fog which could linger through the day as well. 0ur weatherfront by this stage will be across southern scotland, northern ireland, still producing a covering of sleet and snow in places, pushing slowly into the far north of england later in the day. either side of that, some sunshine, a few lingering fog patches and some snow showers continue

in the far north of scotland. at this stage, still cold, too — three celsius at best, some staying below freezing. 0ur weatherfront then pushes southwards through england and wales through thursday night into friday. there could be a slight dusting of snow just about anywhere on friday across england and wales, nothing too significant. another frosty start for many, some fog towards the south and east. dry and bright through much of scotland and northern ireland, plenty of sunshine here. temperatures still 2—5 c at their warmest. then, as we go into the weekend, we start to see changes. this high pressure has a little bit more influence, particularly across the southern half of the country. so, a frosty, and in places, icy start for england and wales. lots of sunshine, though, to get the weekend under way. just one or two isolated showers in the east, but as that high pressure sinks southwards, a bit more of a breeze developing across parts of scotland and northern ireland, introducing more rain, a few spots of rain in the north and west, more cloud and temperatures starting to rise. and as that high pressure continues to sink a little bit further southwards, we've got more of a westerly wind pushing in as we head into sunday,

and that will start to lift the temperatures for many. still cold across the south. frosty start for the vast majority on sunday, but plenty of sunshine here. always a bit more cloud further north. sunny spells, wettest weather in parts of scotland, but temperatures by this stage around 5—7 celsius, getting closerto where we should be for the time of year. then as we go into next week, it looks that atlantic influence will continue even more, pushing rain at times to the north and west, but high pressure always dominant the further south you are, so always staying drier here. and it does mean that whilst we will continue to see some overnight frosts at times, even some fog patches, too, things will be slightly milder than they have been of late, but a little bit windy at times in the north. more details on that and more on the sudden stratospheric warning online.

tonight at ten, every part of the united kingdom now in lockdown, with more than a million people infected with coronavirus. the message once again is to stay at home to slow down the alarming spread of the virus across the uk. with a record 60,000 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, the nhs needs the public to follow the rules. if people don't take the stay at home seriously, the risk at this point in time, in the middle of winter with this new variant, is extraordinarily high. we'll have more on the surging nature of the pandemic and the latest on the vaccination programme. more than 1.3 million people in the uk have been given the first dose of a covid vaccine including a quarter of the over—80s in england. this years's gcses and a—levels in schools in england are to be